It's fascinating to watch the vast, well-rewarded western army of Saudi lobbyists/stenographers singing the praises of a "traditional and conservative institution", a.k.a. the House of Saud, now embarking on a new, "assertive foreign policy."

As this concerns the ideological matrix of all Salafi-jihadi variations in the demented galaxy of Wahhabi extremism, I'd rather call it a Mob rule update. Not nearly as entertaining as Coppola's Godfather saga, but certainly more sinister.

Imagine the outrage, broadcasted to distant galaxies, if this was taking place in certified opponents of the Empire of Chaos such as Iran, Venezuela, Ecuador, Russia or China. But as the House of Saud are "our bastards", complete with a minister, Ali al-Naimi, capable of saying that Allah should set oil prices, they can get away with literally anything.

New House of Saud capo di tutti I capi, King Salman, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, must have been brushing up on his Al Pacino to learn how to be swift as a dagger. Lesson learned; with a single move, he achieved the following:

He got rid of his half-brother and sitting Crown Prince, Muqrin. Muqrin duly pledged allegiance to the new boss.

He promoted his nephew, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, from No. 3 to No. 2 in the House of Saud succession line.

He promoted his own son, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to No. 3.

He got rid of the former, eternal, Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, and placed a Washington darling, the non-royal Adel al-Jubeir, who as ambassador to the U.S. has been the voice, in English, not lost in translation, of the (illegal) Saudi war on Yemen.

He gave the entire military and security forces a bonus of one-month's pay.

He separated the Saudi Oil Ministry from ARAMCO, the state-owned oil company. Gotta try to balance the books — especially with the Saudi-instigated oil price war going nowhere; the ridiculously expensive war on Yemen; and all those huge bonuses to content the subjects; after all, virtually everyone in the oil hacienda works for the House of Saud. It was Salman's son, Mohammed bin Salman, who came up with the oil ministry/ARAMCO scheme.

Russia and China suffered the worst casualties during World War II and thus have the greatest reasons to oppose attempts to rehabilitate Nazism and militarism, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after meeting China's President Xi Jinping.

Xi arrived in Moscow to meet his Russian counterpart with an array of economic deals to sign. The Chinese leader will also take part in the V-Day celebration in Moscow on Saturday. A military parade demonstrating brand new Russian weapons is part of the festivities to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany.

"Tomorrow with other world leaders we will take part in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the [Soviet] victory in World War II, and in September in Beijing we will mark the end of the World War II. We will commemorate those who stood side by side against the militaristic Japan," Putin said.

"Once again a country "liberated" by the West is sinking deeper and deeper into chaos." Global Research.

This could be anyone of the countries in conflict, where Washington and its Western and Middle Eastern stooges sow war - eternal chaos, misery, death - and submission.

This is precisely the point: The Washington / NATO strategy is not to 'win' a war or conflict, but to create ongoing - endless chaos. That's the way (i) to control people, nations and their resources; (ii) to assures the west a continuous need for military - troops and equipment - remember more than 50% of the US GDP depends on the military industrial complex, related industries and services; and (iii) finally, a country in disarray or chaos, is broke and needs money - money with hardship conditions, 'austerity' money from the notorious IMF, World Bank and other associated nefarious 'development institutions' and money lenders; money that equals enslavement, especially with corrupt leaders that do not care for their people.

The United States needs to set the rules on trade while its economy is still strong before China does, US President Barack Obama said during a news conference to promote his Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal at the Nike headquarters in Oregon on Friday.

"We have to make sure America writes the rules of the global economy and we should do it today while our economy is in the position of global strength because if we do not write the rules for trade around the world, guess what, China will," Obama said.

Obama's remarks came at a time US Congress is deciding whether to pass what is poised to become the largest free trade deal to date.

Despite nationwide protests across Canada, the lawmakers have passed the controversial anti-terrorism bill, known as Bill C-51, thus granting the country's spy agency extra powers and carte blanche to operate overseas for the first time.

The Anti-Terrorism Act has won the approval of the House of Commons. It passed the third reading by a margin of 183 to 96, thanks to the Conservative government's majority and support from the Liberal Party. It will now move to the Senate for an expected passage into law.

The ruling government tabled the legislation in January, claiming it would improve the safety of citizens after two attacks (believed to be the first on Canadian soil) left two soldiers dead in October.

Opponents of the bill say it "will recklessly undermine our rights and our privacy while making us less safe." Tens of thousands of protestors across the nation took to the streets in March saying the bill undermines basic democratic rights and freedoms.

A recent Forum Research poll cited by AFP has shown that only one-third of Canadians support the stepped up national security measures, while the majority is against them - renowned author of 'The Blind Assassin' Margaret Atwood among them.

CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, who exposed the treatment of al Qaeda suspects held in secret prisons, told the Bureau today it was now down to journalists to "tell the full story" about the intelligence agency's torture programme because politicians did not have the will.

In a video interview on the last day of his house arrest recorded for the Bureau by film-maker Tarquin Ramsay, the former CIA counter-terrorism analyst called on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to release more details from its 6,000-page report on CIA torture completed last December.

Wall Street is jubilant today as the April unemployment rate dropped to 5.4%. As reported by Reuters:

Wall St. opens sharply higher after strong jobs data:

U.S. stocks rose sharply on Friday after data showed U.S. job growth rebounded and the unemployment rate dropped last month, signs of a pickup in the economy that could keep the Federal Reserve on track to hike interest rates this year.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 223,000 in April, just below the 224,000 that economists polled by Reuters had expected.

The unemployment rate dropped from 5.5 percent to 5.4 percent, its lowest level since May 2008, despite an increase in the number of people entering the labor market.

The drop in the unemployment rate pushed it to within a whisker of the 5.0 percent to 5.2 percent range that most Fed officials consider consistent with full employment.

"I think this is exactly what the market was looking for. It's a Goldilocks number - not too strong, not too weak," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of Sarhan Capital in New York.

March payrolls were revised to show only 85,000 jobs created, the smallest since June 2012.

Still, the solid report suggested underlying strength in the economy at the start of the second quarter after growth hit a soft patch in the first.

Such wonderful news right?

A jihadist group with ties to the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a mortar attack on a Hamas base in the Gaza Strip.

The group, calling itself 'Supporters of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL),' said in an online statement that it fired mortar rounds at a base used by the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas' armed wing) in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, on Friday.

Witnesses told AFP they heard explosions close to Khan Yunis.

Vladimir Putin said that cooperation between Russia and China contributes to the creation of a more fair and democratic world order.

The cooperation between Russia and China contributes to the creation of a more fair and democratic world order, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a made-for-TV documentary, aired on Friday.

"Our interstate interests coincide on the majority of positions, and this is exactly what forms the basis of our relations today. In the sphere of international relations, we coordinate our work at the United Nations Security Council level and within the framework of the United Nations. And this coordination is a very important part of the creation of a fairer, more democratic world order today," Putin said in an interview in a film by Alexei Denisov "Russia and China: The Heart of Eurasia," broadcast by Rossiya-1 TV Channel.

The German secret service BND has pulled the plug on the internet surveillance program for the US National Security Agency (NSA) amid the growing scandal over its extent of cooperation in spying on its EU partners, German media reported.

The Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) - the German Federal Intelligence Service - stopped sharing internet surveillance data with the NSA on Monday, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily, public broadcasters NDR and WDR, and national news agency DPA reported.

Berlin has demanded that the US spy agency first file an official request explaining the need for the internet-based data from Germany's Bad Aibling listening post in Bavaria, where 120 BND employees and some NSA technicians work, according to reports.