Puppet MastersS


Family

China: In a majority Muslim region, parents banned from encouraging children into religion

chinese muslims
© Damir Sagolj / ReutersNew rules for Muslim parents in China.
In a bid to curb Islamic extremism, the Chinese government has announced that parents in a majority Muslim region will be reported to the police if they encourage or force their children into religious activities. The new rules for Xinjiang, scheduled to come into effect on November 1, explicitly state that parents and guardians cannot "organize, lure, or force minors into attending religious activities," Xinjiang Daily reported, as quoted by Reuters.

In addition, parents are forbidden from promoting extremist beliefs in children and forcing them to dress in extremist clothing or symbols. The new law encourages ordinary citizens to look out for such activities. "Any group or person has the right to stop this kind of behavior and report it to the public security authorities," the government said in the rules.

The rules also forbid any form of religious practice in schools. If parents cannot protect their children from extremism and terrorism, and students cannot stay at existing schools, parents must apply to have them go to specialist schools for "rectification." Schools, in turn, are being made responsible for steering students away from separatism and extremism in order to create an atmosphere that "esteems science, seeks the truth, refuses ignorance [and] opposes superstition."

Crusader

Putin: We know who destroyed aid convoy in Aleppo, US whips up anti-Russian hysteria

Russian President Vladimir Putin
© Alexei Druzhinin / Reuters
The attack on a UN humanitarian aid convoy near the Syrian city of Aleppo last month, which Washington has blamed on Russia, was actually carried out by one of the terrorist groups present in the area, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.

"It was one of the terrorist groups. And we know that, say, the Americans know it too, but prefer to take a different position, to falsely accuse Russia. This is not helping," Putin said at an economic forum in Moscow.

The aid convoy was attacked on the night of September 20. The International Committee of the Red Cross reported 20 civilians killed and 18 vehicles destroyed.

The Pentagon alleged that the convoy was destroyed from the air and that Russian warplanes were present in the area, concluding that it was a Russian strike that was responsible.

Russia denied the accusation and said a US drone was monitoring the convoy, so Washington should know the truth about the attack.

Comment: Once again Putin sheds light on the US anti-Russian propaganda. Hopefully the world is listening and watching.


Laptop

Emails reveal State Dept. helped Clinton Foundation donors get contracts for 2010 Haiti quake — report

Clinton
© Andres Martinez Casares / ReutersFormer U.S. President Bill Clinton (C) chats with staff members during a tour to Kreyol Essence, a Haitian women owned and operated company in Mirebalais February 23, 2015.
International efforts to help Haiti following the 2010 earthquake have come under scrutiny recently, specifically those involving the Clinton Foundation. By combining aid groups and the private sector, the foundation may have given its friends special treatment.

Emails released by ABC News show that the State Department assisted friends of the Clintons in facilitating government contracts and aid groups. Friends of Bill Clinton were flagged for special treatment by the State Department, while others who offered aid were redirected to a general government website.

Comment: Everywhere she goes Hillary leaves a trail of corruption, misery, and destruction.
See also:
  • Hillary Clinton's role in Haiti's political chaos



Attention

Shadow Foreign Secretary Thornberry addresses hypocrisy of politicians pushing for Syria intervention

Emily Thornberry
© IBTimes UK
Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry has accused the British establishment of preferring "brinkmanship" to "statesmanship," during a Commons debate on the Syrian conflict. She told her fellow MPs that it was inadmissible that the government expressed concern over the Syrian civilians trapped in the five-year war, while it continued selling arms to allies in the region.

"If we say those things about Russia and Aleppo we must be prepared for what they say about Saudi Arabia and Yemen," she said on Tuesday. "We cannot condemn one and continue selling arms to the other, we cannot call for investigations into one and say to the other that we are happy for them to investigate themselves. We cannot pour scorn on the assurances of one that they have not hit civilian targets while blithely accepting the assurances of the other. Most of all, Mr Speaker, We cannot cry for the people of Aleppo and the suffering they face while turning a blind eye to the million children in Yemen facing starvation."

Thornberry also challenged the government on its eagerness to intervene in the war in Syria, standing firmly against a no-fly zone and arguing for "more statesmanship and less brinkmanship." She insisted that she was "not a pacifist" but added: "Personally I believe that in a multi-playered, multi-faceted civil war such as Syria, the last thing we need is more parties bombing. What we need is a ceasefire and in fact for people to draw back."

The no-fly zone came as a suggestion from her opponent, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who said during the three-hour debate that the "House and our constituents are disgusted by the behavior of Assad and his regime. In Moscow and in Damascus I hope they will hear the message from British MPs that we are willing to consider anything, honestly and practically, that can be done to bring peace and hope back to Syria."

Comment: It's hard to turn down those multi-billion pound arms deals for the safety and wellbeing of countries 'not-British.' Bravo to Thornberry for trying, but Britain lost its conscience centuries ago.


Eye 1

Washington needs new conflicts between Russia & Turkey

erdogan-putin
The US needs a confrontation between Russia and Turkey to reach its own interests in Syria.

In these latter days, US activity in the Turkey's direction increases, amid normalization of relations between Turkey and Russia. Moreover, this activity is directly proportional to the improvement of Russian-Turkish relations.

Western media and Turkish opposition sources do not stop to report about 'Russian aggression' in Syria. It is already becoming a commonplace. But one of the most popular news in the West is the news about an airstrike, allegedly carried out by Russian aircraft on the place of deployment of the Turkish Special Forces in Syria, which killed several Turkish military.

As usually, the blame for this was laid on Russia, although the Russian Aerospace Forces do not operate in this region (in the north of the Syrian province of Aleppo). According to a tacit agreement between the sides, this area is under control of aircraft of the US-led coalition.

Binoculars

The Syrian war and the question of an American mutiny

Pentagon
© Unknown
A recent press conference given by US Army General Mark Milley, the present serving army chief of staff reminded me of the fictional character played by Burt Lancaster in the 1964 movie 'Seven Days in May'. That film posited the scenario of James Scott (the Lancaster character) as a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who, disgruntled about the serving president's perceived weakness in seeking a treaty with the Soviet Union, plots to overthrow the civilian government.

Seven Days in May was based on a book that drew its inspiration from real life American political and military figures in the early 1960s during the Cold War. At that time Right-wing, verging on fascist-leaning generals such as Army General Lyman Lemnitzer the supremo at the Pentagon and Air Force Generals Curtis LeMay and Tommy Powers dominated the Pentagon. A Major General named Edwin Walker actually tried to indoctrinate troops under his command with the teachings of the Right-wing John Birch Society.

It was in the prevailing atmosphere of fervent anti-communism at the time that these generals sought to undermine and even plot to overthrow the government of President John F. Kennedy. This view was not limited to a few senators and journalists of the time. The Kremlin apparently believed this to the extent that it is claimed to have influenced Nikita Khruschev's decision to reach the settlement that he did with Kennedy over the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviets feared a US military government would make the issue of a nuclear war not merely a possibility, but one of absolute certainty.

Light Sabers

Syria crisis risks becoming 'Suez crisis and Cuban missile crisis' rolled into one

Russia-Syria-US
© Unknown
On Saturday, Russia on one side and the US and its allies on the other clashed at the Security Council over Syria. As expected, the two sides weren't able to reach a compromise. Unfortunately, analysts say, Syria is no longer just a local conflict, and not even just a clash between Russia and the US - but a struggle of entire geopolitical coalitions.


This, experts warn, tremendously increases the risks of a global conflagration sparking off over the conflict in the Middle Eastern country.

On October 8, Russia vetoed a French-drafted Security Council resolution calling for a halt to airstrikes over the city of Aleppo, where the Syrian military is currently engaged in a campaign to liberate eastern sections of the city from a hodgepodge of militant groups.

Bell

Deutsche Bank bankruptcy would collapse world financial system

Luke MacGregor/Reuters
© Luke MacGregor/Reuters
The main reason the US government wants $14 billion in penalties from the German bank is that it is deep in debt. They've got a gigantic deficit - they are desperate for money. They'll try to get it anywhere they can, Jim Rogers, financial commentator and investor, told RT.

Germany's Deutsche Bank reportedly failed to reach an agreement with the US on settling a massive fine. The bank is facing a $14 billion fine penalty from the US Justice Department for mis-selling mortgage securities in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis.

RT: Firstly just to make it clear why has the US imposed such an enormous penalty?

Jim Rogers: The main reason is that the US government is deep in debt. They've got a gigantic deficit - they are desperate for money. They'll try to get it anywhere they can. I can't imagine that Deutsche Bank should be liable for $14 billion, but I'm not involved.

Comment: Deutsche is selling debt in order to raise the required cash:
Germany's biggest bank returned to the US high-grade bond market on Tuesday to sell an additional $1.5 billion worth of debt, offering more than double the yield it paid a year ago. Deutsche raised $3 billion in a bond sale last week.

This has given investors in the troubled bank confidence it can tackle the litigation with the US Department of Justice. ... "If they are able to take $4.5 billion out, this shows there is clearly demand for the name if there is adequate compensation," Reuters quotes one syndicate banker as saying.

According to Bloomberg's sources, this week's deal was at 290 basis points above borrowing benchmarks, while last Friday's was at 300 basis points. "It would be expensive for Deutsche Bank to go to the public market for debt issuance now because it has to pay a significant premium and that may shake confidence among investors," Ben Sy, head of fixed income, currencies and commodities at the private banking arm of JPMorgan Chase in Hong Kong told the media.

"The private debt sale shows they can still access the market for sizable term funding," he added.



Cult

Clinton camp calls WikiLeaks 'Russian propaganda arm' after damaging emails leak

Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
© Lucy Nicholson/ReutersU.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton's campaign has dubbed WikiLeaks "Russian propaganda," accusing it of supporting Republican candidate Donald Trump. The comments came after a cache of leaked emails from the campaign's chairman were published by the whistleblowing website.

Addressing the site from his Twitter account on Monday, Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said: "You are no media organization. You are a propaganda arm of the Russian govt, running interference for their pet candidate, Trump."


Comment: Oh great good strategy, much tactics!


Bell

Royal Bank of Scotland crushed British businesses for profit - leak claims

Toby Melville/Reuters
© Toby Melville/Reuters
The majority state-owned Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) profited from crippling and destroying thousands of UK businesses during the crisis as part of its 'Dash for Cash' project, according to documents published by BuzzFeed and the BBC.


Comment: Now there's a credible source! Buzzfeed is like the more politically savvy Gawker.


The leaked files show RBS "artificially" distressed businesses to buy their assets at a discount and charge them fees. The bank is currently being investigated by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority.


Comment: We're pretty sure that during and following the 2008 crisis there would have been very little need to "artificially" distress businesses.


Comment: RBS is facing similar charges as Deutsche Bank, with RBS facing as big as a $27 million fine for there alleged misconduct before and after the 2008 crisis:
The figure is roughly the market value of the bank at the upper end of its valuation. The fines are related to RBS's alleged wrong-doing which includes the mis-selling of mortgage-backed securities in the US which led on to the housing crisis.
...
"The concern is that it could be another Deutsche Bank-style situation where the fines that come in are higher than the market expects," said Laith Khalaf, an analyst at financial service company Hargreaves Lansdown as quoted by Reuters. The expert stressed that there was no reason to invest in RBS until it settles the issues.
...
If the bank manages to win in court and reduce the fines, it expects to pay around $5.5 billion, a sum it has already set aside to cover the damages, according to analysts. However, experts warn the DOJ might fine the bank over $11 billion in the next few months.

RBS also faces a fine of up to $5 billion to settle a similar case with the US Federal Housing Finance Agency, for selling $32 billion of mortgage-backed securities before the financial crisis.
That's not all. They've already paid $1.1bln to settle one probe, face another case involving over 100 small businesses ($1.23bln in damages), $2.45bln in damages for mis-selling Enterprise Finance Guarantee loans (which RBS denies), and a $7.36bln lawsuit for misleading shareholders before the 2008 bailout.