Puppet Masters
RT's Keiser Report talks to Nick Giambruno of CaseyResearch.com about the relative calm in Buenos Aires among the populace, despite the ongoing currency and debt crises.
Argentina has gone through a number of financial crises in the past 100 years and it looks like it is on the cusp of another one, Giambruno says. According to him, the South American nation is facing another currency cataclysm "which is relatively normal for this country, it has happened repeatedly over the past 100 years."
And there are reasons for that, the analyst says, explaining that 100 years ago Argentina and the United States were "really kind-of on the same level." That was "kind-of a golden era for Argentina."
However, everything changed, a lot, since Argentina instituted a central bank in 1935, Giambruno points out. "The golden era was prior to the establishment of the central bank... like in most places the central bank is the magic money machine for the politicians and that's really how Argentina started its long descent downhill," he concludes.
Comment: Very informative interview!
"We assume that [Nord Stream 2] will be completed," he told journalists when asked whether Washington's potential sanctions might result in construction being suspended.
Peskov's comments followed the approval of a bill by the US Senate, which would sanction companies involved in the construction of Nord Stream 2. It is expected to be signed by US President Donald Trump later this week.
Pending White House approval, the companies working on the Nord Stream 2 project will have 30 days to stop their operations. The sanctions would revoke US visas and block the property of those individuals involved.
European companies involved in the project include German energy firms Wintershall and Uniper, French multinational Engie, British-Dutch oil and gas giant Royal Dutch Shell, and Austrian energy company OMV.
The Kremlin spokesman called the possible sanctions "a direct violation of international law" and "an ideal example of unfair competition and the spread of their artificial dominance in European markets." He said Washington is "imposing on European consumers more expensive and uncompetitive products - more expensive natural gas."
Comment: RT, 18/12/2019: Germany's not backing down
Chancellor Angela Merkel has insisted that Berlin will not give into pressure from Washington after the US Senate approved a bill sanctioning German companies working on a pipeline that will deliver natural gas from Russia.
During Wednesday's Q&A session in parliament, lawmakers asked Merkel about the possibility of the US slapping sanctions on German companies building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
The chancellor said that she firmly opposes such sanctions because they have an extraterritorial effect. They will not push Berlin to abandon the project, however, she said. "We haven't backed down [to the US] with regards to the NSA [spying] affair, nor do we intend to back down now."
On Tuesday, the US Senate approved a bill that allows the imposition of sanctions on German entities over Nord Stream 2. Officials in Washington have long tried to pressure Germany into ditching the project, arguing that it would render the country too dependent on Moscow.
Media outlets have even had to admit that even though they consistently sided with Rep. Adam Schiff's (D-CA) claims about the investigation, it was Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) who got most of the facts right. Taking a victory lap, Nunes wrote a letter on Friday to Schiff, who is the current chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
"After publishing false conclusions of such enormity on a topic directly within this committee's oversight responsibilities, it is clear you are in need of rehabilitation, and I hope this letter will serve as the first step in that vital process."Nunes went on to outline a small sample of the falsehoods Schiff spread regarding the FBI's investigation into the 2016 election:
While Judge Sullivan's opinion appeared measured as he dispatched the myriad issues Powell raised on behalf of her client, two passages, separated by scores of pages in the tedious 99-page opinion, make clear that the outcome was a forgone conclusion.
"The Court notes that Mr. Flynn's brief in support of his first Brady motion lifted verbatim portions from a source without attribution," Judge Sullivan began his analysis of Powell's legal arguments under a bolded heading entitled "Ethical Concerns with Mr. Flynn's Brief." Judge Sullivan then notes that Powell's brief provided a hyperlink to the "excellent briefing by Amicus in support of the Petition for Writ of Certiorari in Brown v. United States."
A photo of the arrest order has been shared on Twitter by Arturo Murillo, the interior minister of the "transitional" government of Jeanine Anez. He had previously promised to jail Morales "for the rest of his life," calling him a "terrorist."
Actually arresting Morales is currently easier said than done for Murillo, as the former Bolivian president has accepted political asylum in Argentina, and has vowed to "keep fighting" the opposition-led coup.
Comment: See also:
- Bolivia's deposed Evo Morales granted asylum in Mexico, vows to return - Trump hails 'democracy'
- 'Viva Morales': Massive march in Buenos Aires mobilizes against coup in Bolivia
- Evo Morales to RT: VP Mike Pence heads US campaign against anti-imperialist Latin American govts
- Ousted Bolivian President Evo Morales thanks Mexico for saving HIS LIFE, pledges to carry on fight despite coup
"Since [the EU] imposed sanctions, a total of $8.5 billion were lost," Szijjarto said. "Russia was our second-largest trade partner before the sanctions. Of course, we lost many export opportunities," he added.
He noted that Hungary has never violated the European unanimity on sanctions and will not do so in the future. "Even though we always promote honest dialogue, sanctions significantly complicate our work from the political and economic point of view," he said.
Comment: The U.S. and EU are willing to shoot themselves in the foot, and lose billions of dollars, just to virtue signal and look tough on Russia. It's hard to comprehend this level of lunacy, short-sightedness, and small-mindedness. Especially considering that for all the justifications given for the sanctions, Russia is actually innocent. For the past 6 years or so, the west has been in the grips of a collective fit of childish hysteria bolstered by their own paranoid fantasies.
Washington outlet Voice of America (VoA) has reported the Pentagon is "concerned" by rising sympathy for Russia among US citizens, in particular those serving in the military.
The second annual Reagan National Defense Survey, issued November, found 46 percent of armed services households said they viewed Russia as an ally, while 28 percent of average Americans did so, up from 19 percent in 2018.
Comment: Rising support among members of the US armed forces really isn't surprising or confusing. They see much more easily than the average citizen that Russia is actually fighting terrorism rather than supporting it.
"The president will not abandon the project nor water it down, though he is willing to improve it," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official added: "An improvement is possible concerning the pivot age" of 64 at which a worker would qualify for a full pension — a particular target of union ire that has sparked two weeks of massive public transport strikes.
Macron hoped talks with union leaders will allow "a pause" in the strike so people can travel for the holidays, the official added.
US troops have returned to six out of 16 bases and outposts in Syria that had been previously abandoned during the October withdrawal ahead of a Turkish military operation in the country's north, Anadolu news agency reported.
The agency clarified that the American soldiers have mainly been deployed to the oil rich regions in the country's northeast close to its borders with Iraq and Turkey. According to Anadolu's information, the US holds a total of 11 bases and outposts, five of them located in Deir ez-Zor Province, two more in Raqqa. They are also reportedly building two additional outposts in Deir ez-Zor Province.
Previously, the news agency reported that Washington had sent a group of experts to the al-Omar oil field in Deir ez-Zor Province, currently controlled by local Kurdish militia. These experts are reportedly expected to boost oil production and to train local Kurds how to operate the oil field properly.
Comment: With any luck, the Americans will be out of Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq by 2084...















Comment: President-elect Fernandez: "We were left with a debt that makes up 95 percent of our GDP... Everyone knows the International Monetary Fund is complicit in what happened."
Rather than deal with the corrupt and greedy IMF, or continue to be a punching bag for US lordship over economic solvency and a doomed dollar, Argentina will buy its way out of the America's financial empire with a plan that includes bitcoin and increasing its gold reserves. Fernandez will outright reject the $11B tranche of the IMF loan as soon as he takes office. Smart move.
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