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From religion to politics: Saudi Arabia feeling the chill of isolation

Sharmine Narwani
RT
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 19:36 UTC
Saudi rulers
© Faisal Nasser / Reuters
At the end of August, a meeting of Muslim clerics and scholars convened in the Chechen capital of Grozny to forge a consensus on the subject of 'who constitutes a Sunni.'

Sunnism, the 200 or so Sunni clerics from Egypt, South Africa, India, Europe, Turkey, Jordan, Yemen, Russia warned, "has undergone a dangerous deformation in the wake of efforts by extremists to void its sense in order to take it over and reduce it to their perception."

The Muslim world is currently under a siege of terror, led by a deviant strain that claims religious authority and kills in the name of Islam. So the Grozny participants had gathered, by invitation of the Chechen president, to make "a radical change in order to re-establish the true meaning of Sunnism."

If their final communique was any indicator, the group of distinguished scholars had a very particular message for the Muslim world: Wahhabism - and its associated takfirism - are no longer welcome within the Sunni fold.
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Megaphone

Maiziere's terror warning: Hundreds of smuggled ISIS fighters in Germany

Charlie Peat
Daily Star
Sun, 11 Sep 2016 10:32 UTC
At least 500 Islamic State fanatics are hiding in Germany, ready to strike at any moment, a minister has warned.

Warning
© NC/GETTY
WARNING: Germany is packed with lone wolf ISIS jihadis
Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere revealed there were at lease 520 potential "attackers" waiting to strike with a further 360 "relevant" people known to authorities.

The harrowing warning comes after the country saw a spate of terror attacks including two Islamic State-inspired killings in July.

Comment: See also:
  • Germany's interior minister declares its number of potential terrorists at an all-time high
 Update: Terrorist threat on rise in Germany, attacks possible at any time
Germany may be targeted by jihadists at any time with air, railway transport as well as crowded places such as fairs, markets and festivals being especially vulnerable to possible terror attacks, according to secret governmental report on domestic security.

The terrorist threat in Germany continues to increase and the country could be targeted any time, a secret governmental report on domestic security said as cited by a local newspaper Thursday.

"The Federal Republic of Germany is a declared and actual target for jihadists' violence. German agencies and interests are subjected to the hypothetical threat within the country as well as in other parts of the world," the Bild newspaper quoted the secret report prepared in June.

The paper said that there is the heightened risk that sympathizers of terrorist organizations that have no direct links to such groups may commit their own attacks.

According to the report, there is an almost uncalculated in the long term threat posed by jihadists, who left for Syria and Iraq and later returned in Germany.

The document concluded that Germany may be targeted at any time with air, railway transport as well as crowded places such as fairs, markets and festivals being especially vulnerable to possible terror attacks.

The report was prepared a month before Germany suffered a number of terror attacks in July.


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Dollar

Need jobs: Britain finally approves Hinkley Point nuclear plant deal


RT
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 19:16 UTC
Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hand with British Prime Minister Theresa May
© Etienne Oliveau / Reuters
Construction of the controversial Hinkley Point C nuclear power station will go ahead after 'new safeguards' for national security were established amid speculation Britain is bowing to Chinese pressure.

Prime Minister Theresa May has given the green light to Britain's first nuclear power station in two decades, which will be jointly financed by French and Chinese energy firms.

Ministers said the agreement comes with new conditions which will give the government greater oversight and prevent investors from selling off their shares without permission.

The project, which was first touted in 2007, has split opinions, with critics raising concerns about allowing foreign governments to own critical infrastructure.
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USA

How corporate media uses a single talking point about Killary's health to brainwash Americans (VIDEO)

Claire Bernish
Free Thought Project
Wed, 14 Sep 2016 00:00 UTC
Hillary health

Folks ain't buying it this time
Brainwashing can be most effectively accomplished through subtle — preferably imperceptible — repetition and reinforcement of ideas. Targets of efficacious brainwashing campaigns will never realize the tactic being used — unless someone provides clear evidence of the perpetrator's methods.

On that note, consider the captive audience cable television and mainstream, corporate news outlets have at their disposal — when a big story hits headlines, the American public sits for hours, glued to nonstop coverage and overanalysis of every detail.

This week being no exception, when Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton fainted after an early exit from a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York City, conservative mainstream media scrambled to theorize on the ever-deepening questions surrounding her health.

Qualifying to head the empire, after all, would ostensibly require a person in their physical prime.
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Snakes in Suits

Brazil's ex-president Lula da Silva charged with corruption in bid to prevent running again

Simon Romero
The New York Times
Wed, 14 Sep 2016 17:45 UTC
The former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
© Lalo de Almeida for The New York Times
Federal prosecutors in Brazil filed corruption charges Wednesday against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the former president who has wielded influence across Latin America for decades, portraying him as the mastermind of a sprawling graft scheme intended to maintain his party's grip on the presidency.

Deltan Dallagnol, a prosecutor, called Mr. da Silva the "ultimate commander" of bribery and kickback schemes that allowed his leftist Workers' Party to build coalitions in Congress, describing him as "the general" at the helm.

The actual charges against Mr. da Silva, who was president from 2003 to 2010, focus on a much narrower claim: Prosecutors accuse Mr. da Silva and his wife of illegally receiving about $1.1 million in improvements and expenses for a beachfront apartment paid for by a large construction company seeking public contracts.

Comment: There is much trouble and confusion in Brazil right now. Is this the result of US machinations?

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Star of David

Israel wins in November - no matter who gets elected

Philip Giraldi
The Unz Review
Tue, 13 Sep 2016 00:00 UTC
Bibi and us politicos
There is considerable chatter about who will win in some of the hotly contested congressional races around the country, but one thing is certain: whoever triumphs will soon be receiving a nice all expenses paid luxury trip to Israel to learn all about Benjamin Netanyahu's views regarding what more Washington can do to support him and his government. The "educational seminars" are organized by the Israel Lobby, more specifically by a tax exempt entity referred to as the American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF), which is a part of the hardline American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Participation in the journey by all freshman congressman is not mandatory but is advisable if one wants to stay on the right side of the Lobby. In August 2015 the class of 2014 only had three abstentions out of 53 new congressmen when it traveled to Israel along partisan lines with a Democratic group followed shortly thereafter by a GOP contingent.

These orientation trips are in addition to the frequent taxpayer funded visits made by congressmen to update themselves on Israel's expanding list of "needs." One such recent excursion involved Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who enthused that "in a region consumed by terrorism and oppression, Israel stands out as a shining beacon of hope and freedom." Congressman David Rouzer, also from North Carolina, observed that "Any attack on Israel of any kind is an attack on the American people. It was an honor for us to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."
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Info

Iran press claims US uses 'all means available' to spy on Iran


Sputnik
Wed, 14 Sep 2016 17:19 UTC
Captured US drone in Iran
© AFP 2016/ ATTA KENARE
As the number of incidents between US and Iranian armed forces in the vicinity of the Islamic Republic's borders continues to increase, it appears that Washington remains insistent to keep assessing Tehran's defensive capabilities using every tool at its disposal.

The most recent incident involved a P-8 and an EP-3 US reconnaissance aircraft that were flying in close proximity to the Iranian border. The planes were contacted by Iranian military and were told to change course or risk being shot down if they violated the Islamic Republic's border.

This is the latest in a series of recent altercations between the US and Iran. The Pentagon claims its ships have been intercepted by Iranian vessels on at least 31 separate occasions since January.
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Info

That will be the day: UN Ambassador Churkin says countries that cause instability should pay more to alleviate humanitarian crises


RT
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 17:11 UTC
Vitaly Churkin, Russian ambassador to the United Nations
© Carlo Allegri / Reuters
Vitaly Churkin, Russian ambassador to the United Nations.
Countries responsible for launching wars and stirring instability should be held accountable and pay a heavy share of the financial burden of aiding devastated regions, Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told RT.

"We believe that, first of all, it should be the responsibility of those countries who actually caused those problems," Churkin said in an interview with RT's Sophie Shevardnadze, referencing Iraq and Libya as examples of countries suffering present-day instability.

"We know what countries caused destabilization in the Middle East, starting with the invasion of Iraq. We know who caused destabilization in Northern Africa with the invasion of Libya," Russia's UN ambassador said in an apparent reference to the United States and its NATO allies.

"Mostly those countries will have to pick up the tab for humanitarian work," he repeated.
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Megaphone

Tory MP wants to hold Cameron to account for 'ill conceived' Libya war


RT
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 16:55 UTC
David Cameron
© Toby Melville / Reuters
Former PM David Cameron should be summoned to Parliament to account for his decisions during the 'ill-conceived' 2011 Libya war, according to a Tory MP.

The call follows a scathing report by the Foreign Affairs Committee which found Cameron "ultimately responsible" for the disastrous war which plunged the North African state into chaos and led to the rise of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in the region.

Romford MP Andrew Rosindell, who sits on the committee, said the former PM, who stepped down as MP a day before the report was published, should be summoned before the committee at the "earliest opportunity."

Comment: Those responsible for the Libyan war need to be held accountable and jailed.

See also: House of Commons report: David Cameron 'ultimately responsible' for Libya collapse and rise of ISIS

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Cult

New York Times' Tom Friedman attempts to "bash Putin" - screws up for hubris and stupidity

b
Moon of Alabama
Wed, 14 Sep 2016 00:00 UTC
Tom Friedman

New York Times nitwit Tom Friedman - with an all-too-large readership
A lame as ever Tom Friedman joins the Putin bashing circus and, as a hundred columnists before him, connects Putin to Trump to hit his real target. But as also characteristically for him, Friedman demonstrates a lack the knowledge and understanding that few others are able to reach. Thus, Putin is bad, because:
A 2015 report in The Moscow Times noted that "life expectancy in Russia has been growing several times slower than in the rest of the world for the past 20 years, according to a research by the U.S.-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation." That coincides almost exactly with Putin's leadership of the country. The article explained, "During the period of 1990-2013 [life expectancy] only grew by 1.8 years in Russia, while the global average number increased by 6.2 years, pushing Russia out of the top 100 countries with the highest life expectancy and placing it in 108th position — between Iraq and North Korea."
Here is graph with the life expectancy in Russia.

Comment: The bastions of (what passes for) "respectable journalism" in the US are coming out full bore to demonize Russian President Putin.See the following for another recent example:

Gutter journalism: Washington Post mocks conspiracy theories - while creating their own about Killary being 'poisoned'

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