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Might be the last: IMF approves delayed $1bn tranche to Ukraine


RT
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 16:42 UTC
A general view shows Independence Square in central Kiev, Ukraine
© Valentyn Ogirenko / Reuters
A general view shows Independence Square in central Kiev, Ukraine.
After a year's delay the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a $1 billion aid tranche for Ukraine from its $17.2 billion bailout program.

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has described the IMF decision as "positive."

The amount is less than the originally planned $1.7 billion because some conditions were not met.

So far, Ukraine has received only the first two tranches from its four-year bailout program. Last year the IMF allocated $5 billion in March and $1.7 billion in August.

Comment: This may be the last IMF tranche Kiev gets: Russia sends tough warning to IMF on Ukraine

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Snakes in Suits

Surprised US spy agencies divert resources from war on terror to focus on alleged Russian threat


RT
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 16:09 UTC
CIA floor logo
© Larry Downing / Reuters
America's extensive intelligence apparatus is diverting its resources from the war on terror to increase numerous spy agencies' capabilities in gathering intelligence on Russia, a number of US officials told The Washington Post.

As Russia-US relations hit their lowest point in decades, Washington has been refocusing its spying activities on Russia on a scale unprecedented since the end of the Cold War. The Washington Post's sources claim that recent directives from the White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) moved Russia higher up the intelligence priorities list.

Some ten percent of American intelligence resources are now dedicated to gathering information on Russia. US spy agencies continue to increase their personnel dealing with Russia by shifting the resources focus from terrorist threats and US war zones abroad.

Comment: A classic psychopathic view of a non-psychopathic intentions; confusion reigns.

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Dollars

Corruption and waste in Afghanistan: Role of US gov't exposed


RT
Wed, 14 Sep 2016 15:32 UTC
Afghanistan
© Omar Sobhani / Reuters
A new report examining widespread corruption and waste in Afghanistan found that the practice blossomed following the US invasion in 2001. The problem was fed by its slowness to recognize the problem and exacerbated by the injection of tens of billions dollars into the economy with very little oversight.

"Corruption in Conflict: Lessons from the U.S. Experience in Afghanistan" examined how from 2001 to 2014 the US government, through the Department of Defense, State, Treasury and Justice and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) understood the risks of corruption in Afghanistan, how the US evolved its understanding, and the effectiveness of that response.

Comment: Read more on the ongoing corruption in Afghanistan:

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Info

UN court official: No chance of Russia compensating Ukraine over Crimea reunification


RT
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 15:45 UTC
Participants of second anniversary of Crimea
© Maks Vetrov / Reuters
Participants of a festive event dedicated to the second anniversary of Crimea reuniting with Russia in Yalta.
Ukraine's threats to seek compensation from Russia over its 2014 reunification with Crimea are doomed to failure because they lack any legal grounds, according to an official from a UN arbitration court.

"I have repeatedly heard statements from [Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavel] Klimkin in which he promised to file a lawsuit [against Russia] at some international court in the nearest future," Kamil Bekyashev, a member of the UN Permanent Court of Arbitration and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, said in comments with Izvestia daily.

"At the same time, he cannot say what particular instance Ukraine is going to address. There is a hierarchy of international court bodies, consisting of the UN International Court, the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea... But whatever court they turn to, I will be there," Bekyashev added.

Comment: Kiev is broke and looking for any means to find money:

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Snakes in Suits

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

Rob Merrick
The Independent
Wed, 14 Sep 2016 00:00 UTC
Cameron in Libya

The chairman of Britain's Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Crispin Blunt, described the decision to intervene in Libya in 2011 as based on a 'blood-curdling assessment'
The scathing verdict comes just one day after Mr Cameron's sudden announcement that he will leave Westminster immediately

The bloody collapse of Libya - which triggered a refugee crisis and aided the rise of Isis - is blamed today on David Cameron's blunders when he intervened to overthrow Colonel Gaddafi.

A damning report by MPs condemns the 2011 military campaign for lacking both "accurate intelligence" and a coherent strategy for the aftermath of removing the dictator.

The disastrous results were "political and economic collapse", tribal warfare, the refugee crisis, widespread human rights abuses and the rise of Islamic State (IS) in North Africa, fuelled by weapons abandoned by the Gaddafi regime.

The Foreign Affairs Select Committee concludes: "Through his decision-making in the National Security Council, former prime minister David Cameron was ultimately responsible for the failure to develop a coherent Libya strategy."

Comment: And yet, after calling out Cameron on his part of destroying a whole nation, the British MP's still insist on vilifying and characterizing Gaddafi as "unpredictable," or a danger to his people.

See:

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Satellite

Russia's UN Ambassador: US pursuit of military domination hampers space arms ban negotiations


RT
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 15:38 UTC
Earth satellite image
© NASA / Reuters
The US' selfishness and its desire for global military domination accounts for its reluctance to negotiate the ban on the placement and development of weapons in space, and poses a threat to other countries, Russia's UN Ambassador told RT.

"They want to have American military domination, they are not comfortable enough in the world of checks and balances. They don't want much to share power and influence with others," Vitaly Churkin told RT's Sophie Shevardnadze.

"If you imagine that the arms race weapons spread into outer space ... it creates all sorts of problems," Churkin explained. "For example, in terms of the possibility of continued reduction of nuclear weapons. From time to time Washington says that they want to see further negotiations with Russia on the reduction of nuclear weapons, but it's hard to talk about that without keeping in mind the possibility of weapons appearing in outer space. If that were to happen, that would create a completely different strategic situation, much more difficult to regulate."

"So, we will keep pushing an international ban on the deployment of weapons into outer space," the Ambassador added.
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Snakes in Suits

Greenspan concerned that 'crazies' will undermine the U.S. system


Bloomberg
Wed, 14 Sep 2016 14:52 UTC
Alan Greenspan
© Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan voiced concern that the U.S. economic and political system could be undermined by what he called "crazies."

"It is the worst economic and political environment that I've ever been remotely related to," Greenspan, 90, told a conference in Washington Tuesday evening sponsored by Stanford University and the University of Chicago.

On the economic front, the U.S. is headed toward stagflation -- a combination of weak demand and elevated inflation, according to Greenspan. "Politically, I haven't a clue how this comes out."

"We're not in a stable equilibrium," he said. "I hope we can all find a way out because this is too great a country to be undermined, by how should I say it, crazies."

Greenspan, who served from 1974-1977 in the Republican presidential administration of the late Gerald Ford, declined to comment on Wednesday when asked whom he was referring to.


Comment: Might we say the "crazies" are psychopaths?

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Snakes in Suits

Declassified 2011 FBI report: Foreign policy, not religion, sparked rise of terrorism in US


RT
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 13:49 UTC
Terrorism billboard
© Larry Downing / Reuters
A newly-released 2011 FBI Intelligence Assessment shows the 11 percent uptick in terror plots against the US from 2006 was led by US persons, not foreigners. A "broadening US military presence overseas and outreach by Islamist ideologues" bolstered the increase.

The previously classified document was the result of analysis conducted by the Los Angeles Division of the FBI and the Joint Regional Intelligence Center (JRIC), covering terrorist plots against the US and its interests from 2001 to 2010. It was made public via a California Public Records request to the Los Angeles Police Department, according to Muck Rock.

"With high confidence," the March 2011 intelligence report says, foreign nationals "led anti-US targeting prior to 2006" with 52 percent, but a swift change came in the subsequent years, with Americans plotting 70 percent of attacks.
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Star of David

Israel launches airstrikes against Gaza in response to alleged 'rocket attacks'


South Front
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 12:19 UTC
Israel Air Force Jets
© agrinioreport.com
Airstrikes on the Gaza Strip were carried out by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at 4:00 am local time on Thursday morning. The strikes came in response to a single rocket, struck an open area in southern Israel, and targeted members of the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement.

According to the Jerusalem Post newspaper, a spokesman for the IDF confirmed that three Hamas terror infrastructure sites were targeted by Israeli aircraft in the Gaza Strip, and blamed the group for launching a rocket at Israel.

According to social media reports and Arabic media, the IDF's F-16 warplanes struck multiple sites in Gaza, including the Hamas training area in Shujaeya and agricultural land in the northern Gaza Strip. Reportedly, a fire from the Israeli strikes also broken out in Gaza city. There is no information about any casualties.

Comment: Israel has a long history of faking rocket attacks and then 'retaliating' against the defenseless people in Gaza.

Also see: Sick bag: US to sign record $38bn military aid deal with Israel

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Quenelle - Golden

DPR Army prevents breakthrough of Ukrainian forces near Donetsk


South Front
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 12:05 UTC
DPR Donbass Donetsk Ukrainian soldier
© thespeaker.co
Last evening, the Ukrainian Army tried to break through the defense line north of Donetsk, Ukrainian soldiers were stopped by small arms fire, DAN news agency reported, citing the Operational Command of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).
"Today at 20:50, a day before the announced regime of complete ceasefire, the enemy has tried to break in the area of the village of Avdeevka on one of the sectors of our defense and displace DPR units from their positions. However, the enemy was stopped small arms fire," the news agency quoted the words of a representative of the DPR's Operational Command.
According to the Operational Command, one Ukrainian infantry combat vehicle was hit by a light anti-tank weapon; a chassis of the vehicle was damaged.

Comment: Further reading: DPR leader survives possible assassination attempt, bomb claims one victim

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