Puppet MastersS


Attention

France closes embassy and consulate in Turkey for 'security reasons'


Sputnik
Wed, 13 Jul 2016 13:08 UTC
French Embassy in Turkey
© Flickr/ Panoramas
French embassy and consulate were closed in Turkey due to security concerns, the Embassy of France in Ankara said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The embassy of France in Ankara, as well as the consulate general in Istanbul will be closed from Wednesday July 13, 1 p.m. local time, until further notice," the statement read. "We thank the French community in Turkey and all our guests for their understanding".

Earlier, the consulate general in Istanbul stated that information pointed to a 'serious threat' to plans to celebrate the country's National Day on July 14. Those celebrations were cancelled.

French consul to Istanbul Muriel Domenach wrote on Twitter the events France's consulate in Istanbul, its embassy in Ankara and its mission in the Aegean city of Izmir were cancelled "for security reasons" and France was in touch with the Turkish authorities.
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Snakes in Suits

Social media blasts US ex-President Bush for dancing at Dallas memorial service


Sputnik
Wed, 13 Jul 2016 13:02 UTC
Bush and Obama at Dallas memorial service
© AP Photo/ Eric Gay
Former President of the United States George W. Bush managed to raise quite a few eyebrows in the US and across the world when he started dancing at a memorial service for the Dallas police officers killed by snipers during a protest on July 7.

During the ceremony, the ex-president was seen smiling and even dancing while holding the hands of his wife Laura and First Lady Michelle Obama as the choir performed "Battle Hymn of the Republic."
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Attention

Taiwan warship sets sail for South China Sea after Hague verdict


PressTV
Wed, 13 Jul 2016 12:56 UTC
President Tsai Ing-wen
© AFP
A Taiwanese warship has set sail for the South China Sea "to defend Taiwan's maritime territory," a day after an international tribunal ruled against China's claims to islands and undermined Taipei's claims to the islands there.

On Tuesday, a tribunal in The Hague ruled that China has no historic rights in the waterway and sided with the Philippines that had filed the complaint.

It also ruled that Taiwan-controlled Taiping, the largest island in the Spratlys chain, was legally a "rock" that did not give it an exclusive economic zone, undermining Taiwanese claims to waters surrounding the island.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen rallied troops on the deck of a frigate on Wednesday, saying the Taiwanese are determined to "defend their country's rights."
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Stock Down

Global economy continues to lose momentum after Brexit

Translated by Karin
South Front
Wed, 13 Jul 2016 11:42 UTC
borse europee
Apparently the world economy continues to lose momentum. Exports from German companies in May went down significantly. Meanwhile first observers are mentioning the possibility that the German gross domestic product could even have shrunken during the second quarter.

German exports fell in May due to the weak global economy. They went down 1.8 percent compared to the previous month, said the Federal Statistics Office on Friday. This is the strongest decline since August 2015. This ended a run of three consecutive increases. Reuter's poll of economists had predicted a renewed growth of 0.25 %.

"German exports are sluggish dragging throughout the year," said the foreign trade chief of the German Industry and Commerce (DIHK), Volker Treier. "Outside of the EU is, due to international crises and low oil prices, hardly any potential for growth." World trade has already cooled down noticeably. In addition the sanctions against Russia, which exacerbate the difficult business environment for German exporters even more.

The weak exports signal that Europe's largest economy is expected to have lost considerably momentum after a strong start in the spring - especially in May the production shrank and industrial orders stagnated. "All indicators show a significant slowdown," said ING economist Carsten Brzeski. DekaBank expert Andreas Scheuerle did not rule out that the gross domestic product could shrink even further in the second quarter.

Comment: Further reading: After Brexit, ramped up warnings of global economic instability and financial panic

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Snakes in Suits

Theresa May vows to stop tax avoidance while her husband profits from Amazon & Starbucks


RT
Wed, 13 Jul 2016 12:41 UTC
Theresa May and her husband Philip John May
© Chris Ratcliff
Incoming Tory Prime Minister Theresa May's husband is a senior executive at an investment fund which manages $20 billion of shares in tax avoiding companies like Amazon and Starbucks.

Philip May's position at the Los Angeles-based Capital Group, which controls $1.4 trillion in assets, has come under scrutiny after his wife was announced as David Cameron's successor in Downing Street.

His role at the firm has garnered even more attention since his wife, the prime minister-designate, vowed to clamp down on tax avoidance earlier this week.

Theresa May cited Amazon and Starbucks - both clients of her husband's firm - as examples of tax avoiding companies the government will crack down in a speech on Monday.
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Quenelle

Russia slams the delusional rhetoric coming from NATO's Warsaw Summit

Translated by Borislav
South Front
Wed, 13 Jul 2016 12:03 UTC
NATO-Russia
© NATO-Russia
US President Barack Obama announced that NATO would deploy an additional 4 troop battalions in Poland and the Baltics to strengthen the eastern flank. Moscow gave a tough critique: the Russian Foreign Ministry believes that the summit in Warsaw demonizes Russia, and Russia wants an explanation. Hollande wants more budget for defense and Steinmeier expects an increasingly difficult dialogue with Russia.
"The Alliance wants to build the largest collective defense of NATO against Russian aggression since the Cold War," said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and he also stated that the world is in a new Cold War. For his part, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, worrying about the powerful militarization in Eastern Europe and the increasingly deepening difficulties for dialogue, expressed his expectations that the difficult negotiations with Russia will stabilize. At the same time, Steinmeier urged Moscow to accept the offer for dialogue with NATO.
Following the summit in Warsaw, the Foreign Ministry of Russia announced: "The Alliance focuses its efforts on a non-existent threat from the east. By demonizing Russia, NATO justified its actions and the destructive role it plays in the world, to maintain tension in various regions." This is written on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry. The message says that "NATO is not paying attention to the long-term negative consequences of its policy in Eastern Europe." The Russian Ministry also mentioned that Finland wants to strengthen its air defenses over the Baltic Sea. While the Finnish State's military is neutral, its accession to NATO has been discussed several times.

At the NATO summit in the Polish capital, the leaders came to the conclusion that Russia's "aggressive actions" are a threat to peace and freedom in Europe, but that at the same time NATO as an Alliance is open to dialogue with the Russian side. A curious paradox, simultaneously declaring someone enemy number one and taking every effort to fight with him, but at the same time calling for dialogue and close relations.

Comment: Further reading: Pepe Escobar: NATO paranoia versus Eurasia integration

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Info

Iranian military vessels approach US warship in Strait of Hormuz


RT
Tue, 12 Jul 2016 00:36 UTC
amphibious vessel, the USS New Orleans
© J.G. Jared Apollo Burgamy / U.S. Navy / Reuters
In the latest escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran, five Iranian military vessels maneuvered extremely close to a US warship carrying a top American general just six months after two US ships were detained by Iran.

The ships, which were dispatched to the Strait of Hormuz by Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Monday, came within 500 yards (457 meters) of the USS New Orleans and its escort, the USS Stout, a guided missile destroyer, according to Reuters.

The Iranian fleet consisted of four speedboats, three of which had mounted machine guns, and a guided missile patrol ship.
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Info

After Hague ruling on South China Sea, Beijing unveils new guided-missile destroyer


Sputnik
Wed, 13 Jul 2016 00:17 UTC
China Yinchuan destroyer
© YouTube/CCTV News
On the same day that the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled against China's territorial claims in the South China Sea, Beijing has commissioned its fourth guided-missile destroyer.

The latest 052D Yinchuan destroyer was commissioned at a naval port in Sanya, in the Hainan province. Roughly 150 meters long with a 20-meter beam, the ship is one of China's most sophisticated vessels.

Equipped with advanced weapons systems, the Yinchuan is capable of aerial defense, antisubmarine operations, and anti-sea missions.
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Info

South China Sea dispute: Hague Tribunal rules in favor of Philippines, China to ignore decision


RT
Tue, 12 Jul 2016 00:03 UTC
Mischief Reef
© U.S. Navy / ReutersChinese dredging vessels are purportedly seen in the waters around Mischief Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in this still image from video taken by a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft provided by the United States Navy May 21, 2015.
China has caused irreparable harm to the ecosystem of the Spratly Islands and breached the Philippines' sovereign rights, the Hague Tribunal has ruled.

Beijing has ignored the ruling, saying its islands come with exclusive economic zones, where Chinese people have had activities for 2,000 years.

The court said in the 497-page ruling that "There was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the 'nine-dash line'," referring to a demarcation line on a map of the sea from 1947.

China has repeatedly warned that it would not recognize any adverse ruling from The Hague's arbitration court, which was widely expected. Beijing boycotted the hearings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, saying that it does not have jurisdiction to decide the dispute.
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Wall Street

EU politicians furious over Jose Manuel Barroso's new job at Goldman Sachs


RT
Tue, 12 Jul 2016 23:48 UTC
Jose Manuel Barroso
© Christian Hartmann / Reuters
EU politicians are demanding former European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso is sanctioned for taking a job with Goldman Sachs. They say he has failed to "behave with integrity and discretion."

He is criticized for joining the Wall Street bank that helped set off the 2008 financial crisis. Goldman has also been blamed for assisting Athens in hiding its financial situation in order to enter the eurozone in 2000.

Barroso has been appointed as a chairman and senior adviser to the international arm of Goldman Sachs, and will move to London and instruct the bank on UK negotiations to leave the European Union.

"Of course I know well the EU, I also know relatively well the UK environment," the FT quoted Barroso as saying, adding "if my advice can be helpful in this circumstance I'm ready to contribute, of course."

Comment: More stories of this awful too-big-to-fail bank called Goldman Sachs:

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