Puppet Masters

Anatomy of a hitpiece: Lawsuit exposes how the media and the Deep State hatched the Russiagate hoax

Margot Cleveland
The Federalist
Sat, 01 Jun 2019 16:21 UTC

Reading the defamation complaint Svetlana Lokhova filed last Thursday against Stefan Halper and three media giants felt like paging through a Nicholas Sparks novel. But instead of finding a formulistic young love tragedy turned epic romance, Lokhova's lawsuit exposed the outline the intelligence community used to spread the Russia collusion fiction. It also revealed that the United Kingdom held a prominent role in the plot development.

Other than a blip of notoriety in 2015 when she won a £3.1 million award in a harassment case against her former employer, the Russian bank Sberbank CIB, Lokhova resided in obscurity at Cambridge University. At Cambridge, Lokhova focused on completing her PhD in Soviet Intelligence Studies under the tutelage of Professor Christopher Andrew.

According to Lokhova's complaint, all that changed on February 19, 2017, when her long-time mentor penned an article for the U.K.'s Sunday Times, painting her as a Russian spy and possible paramour-in-waiting for Michael Flynn. These are the allegedly false and defamatory claims that formed the basis for her lawsuit.

Comment:

Indian PM Modi sworn in for 2nd term in ceremony attended by Asian leaders & Bollywood stars

RT
Thu, 30 May 2019 00:00 UTC

Modi and his cabinet during 2019 Sworn in ceremony

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been sworn in for a second term in office after his ruling party won a landslide victory in elections last week.

Modi's Hindu Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 303 out of 525 seats, easily giving them the simple majority needed to form a government, in an election which saw some 600 million people go to the polls.

Diplomacy? The US has bullied 36 countries just this week

RT
Sat, 01 Jun 2019 16:13 UTC

It's been a busy few days for American diplomacy, with three dozen nations ending up at the receiving end of threats, ultimatums and sanctions this week alone. And it's only Friday.

Mexico is the latest target, slapped with 5 percent tariffs on each and every export, gradually increasing to 25 percent until it stops the flow of Latin American migrants into the US, thus fulfilling one of President Donald Trump's election promises. Most of those migrants aren't even from Mexico.

On the other side of the world, India is reportedly about to be forced to face a choice: ditch the purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems or face sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA, Washington's go-to cooperation enforcement instrument).

Trump approves of map of Israel including occupied Golan Heights: Netanyahu says 'very nice'

RT
Sat, 01 Jun 2019 15:42 UTC

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu beamed as he showed off a new, Donald Trump-signed US State Department map which redraws Israel's border to include the Golan Heights - an occupied territory annexed from Syria.

The map was passed along at a meeting on Thursday between Netanyahu and White House adviser Jared Kushner, according to Israel Channel 13 journalist Yosef Yisrael.

Kushner's visit is part of an international tour to sell the much-anticipated Middle East peace plan, set to be unveiled this summer, but the territory-divvying map does not bode well for peace in the region.

Comment:

Trump slashes India's trade benefits demanding 'reasonable access' to markets

RT
Sat, 01 Jun 2019 13:47 UTC

Slamming India for its refusal to provide American companies with unlimited access to its markets, President Trump has announced that New Delhi is set to lose its preferential trade status with the US next week.

"I have determined that India has not assured the United States that India will provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets," Trump said in a statement on Friday, announcing that India will be excluded from the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program on June 5.

Under GSP, India has been annually importing to the US some $5.6 billion worth of products duty-free. The program, designed for developing nations, especially facilitated the exports of textiles, leather, engineering goods, gems and jewelry.

Comment: Trade wars are escalating.

China's retaliatory tariffs on $60bn of US products kicks in

RT
Sat, 01 Jun 2019 13:43 UTC

China's tariffs targeting $60 billion of American imports have taken effect as part of a tit-for-tat response to Washington's trade war which saw Beijing slapped with extra levies on $200 billion worth of exports back in May.

Over 5,000 US products coming into China will now face a 25 percent import tax instead of the usual 10 percent. Higher tariffs will target a range of food products, including cooking oils, frozen vegetables, wine and beer, in addition to industrial minerals and chemicals, textiles and clothing. Consumer items ranging from home appliances to condoms will also be subjected to increased import duties, as will jewelry, metal products, and machinery parts.

China's actions, which were announced last month, came in response to the US tariff hike on $200 billion in Chinese imports after bilateral talks seeking to avert a full-blown trade war failed.

Signal to Pakistan? India lifts air traffic restrictions imposed after recent flare-up

RT
Sat, 01 Jun 2019 13:36 UTC

Planes are seen at the New Delhi airport on a smoggy day

India has lifted all the restrictions that were imposed on air traffic back in February over the surge in hostilities with Pakistan. The move is apparently a signal to Islamabad to further de-escalate the tensions.

The decision to lift all the restrictions was announced by the Indian Air Force on Friday. Air traffic above India has been limited since February 27.

India is ready to open 11 entry points on the border with Pakistan, but that will only happen if Islamabad lifts its own air traffic restrictions as well, local media reported, citing sources with the IAF.

The move comes shortly after Pakistan extended its airspace restrictions until June 15.

"This basically is a signal from India that we are willing to lift restrictions and that Pakistan should reciprocate," an unnamed official told The Times of India.

Reports indicate DOJ preparing to launch antitrust probe into Google

RT
Sat, 01 Jun 2019 13:26 UTC

Google risks falling under scrutiny again as the US Department of Justice (DOJ) gears up to investigate the IT giant after studying its ads and search policies, new reports say.

The DOJ is considering launching an antitrust investigation into Google, the Wall Street Journal wrote on Friday, citing sources. The story was quickly confirmed by several other media outlets.

The agency had reportedly decided to gear up against the Silicon Valley-based company after receiving several complaints, referred to it by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It is unclear what stage the government's move is at, as some sources said the DOJ was making "early steps" in launching the probe, while others told reporters that it was "exploring" whether to do it.

Comment: More on Google's dominance:

The Geography of War: No Iraq...? No Iran!

Brett Redmayne-Titley
Sott.net
Sat, 01 Jun 2019 10:39 UTC

No other country in the Middle East is as important in countering America's rush to provide Israel with another war than Iraq. Fortunately for Iran, the winds of change in Iraq and the many other local countries under similar threat make up an unbroken chain of border to border support. This support is only in part due to sympathy for Iran in the face of the latest bluster by the Zio-American bully.

In the politics of the Middle East, however, money is at the heart of all matters. As such, this ring of defensive nations is collectively and quickly shifting towards the new Russo/Sino sphere of economic influence. These countries now form a geo-political defensive perimeter that, with Iraq entering the fold, make a US ground war virtually impossible and an air war very restricted in opportunity.

If Iraq holds, there will be no war in Iran.

'Respect normal energy dealings': Beijing rejects US threat over Iranian oil vessel

South China Morning Post
Wed, 29 May 2019 11:15 UTC

© www.wakentsu.com/MarineTraffic.com
Hong Kong has been told not to offer any services to Pacific Bravo by the Americans, who believe the oil tanker is heading towards the city.

Beijing has dismissed Washington's warning to Hong Kong not to provide services to a vessel carrying Iranian oil, saying "normal energy dealings" between the international community and the Middle East nation are reasonable, lawful and should be respected.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman reiterated its opposition to America's "long arm jurisdiction" and "unilateral sanction" in a statement issued to the Post on Wednesday.

"China has all along opposed unilateral sanctions and so-called long arm jurisdiction," the spokesman said.

The response came as the Hong Kong government dropped hints it would not heed Washington's requests.

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Puppet Masters

Anatomy of a hitpiece: Lawsuit exposes how the media and the Deep State hatched the Russiagate hoax

Indian PM Modi sworn in for 2nd term in ceremony attended by Asian leaders & Bollywood stars

Diplomacy? The US has bullied 36 countries just this week

Trump approves of map of Israel including occupied Golan Heights: Netanyahu says 'very nice'

Trump slashes India's trade benefits demanding 'reasonable access' to markets

China's retaliatory tariffs on $60bn of US products kicks in

Signal to Pakistan? India lifts air traffic restrictions imposed after recent flare-up

Reports indicate DOJ preparing to launch antitrust probe into Google

The Geography of War: No Iraq...? No Iran!

'Respect normal energy dealings': Beijing rejects US threat over Iranian oil vessel

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