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Mysterious death of White Helmets founder leaves many unanswered questions

Paul Antonopoulos
BRICS Information Portal
Wed, 13 Nov 2019 00:00 UTC
james le mesurier

The dubious death of a former British intelligence member living in Istanbul with his family is thought provoking and must raise serious questions.
James Le Mesurier, the founder of the Al-Qaeda affiliated White Helmets, known as an "aid organization" in the West but known everywhere else for fabricating chemical weapon provocations in Syria, was found dead in Istanbul on Monday under dubious and confusing circumstances, and many question marks are being raised about his own death. Journalist Ramazan Bursa claims that the suspicious death clearly demonstrates the White Helmet's connection with intelligence organizations, particularly the British MI6.

The connection between the M16 and the White Helmets is often overlooked by the Western media, but on Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry made a startling revelation. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova revealed that "The White Helmets co-founder, James Le Mesurier, is a former agent of Britain's MI6, who has been spotted all around the world, including in the Balkans and the Middle East. His connections to terrorist groups were reported back during his mission in Kosovo." A few days later he was found dead...

Of course, Karen Pierce, the UK Permanent Representative to the UN, denied the Russian allegation, claiming that they were "categorically untrue. He was a British soldier," before describing the mercenary as a "true hero." The claim he is a "true hero" is a curious choice of words considering he has a long history of working alongside terrorists, as Zakharova correctly highlighted.

Comment: See also:

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Russian Flag

Watch Russian military police descend on & secure hastily abandoned US airbase in Syria


RT
Fri, 15 Nov 2019 16:57 UTC
army mine
Russian military police and bomb disposal experts have taken control of an airfield in northern Aleppo province, which was abandoned in a hurry by withdrawing US forces. The operation to secure the base was captured on video.

Up until recently, the Sirrin Air Base was one of the largest military installations illegally occupied by American forces in Syria, but was hastily abandoned after President Donald Trump abruptly announced that the US had no reasons to stay in the region - besides 'securing the oil', of course.

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Bullseye

Bolivia's coup: Morales toppled not due to his failures, but due to his success

Pablo Vivanco
RT
Fri, 15 Nov 2019 16:43 UTC
evo morales
© Global Look Press / Jair Cabrera Torres
Questions remain about the circumstances that lead to the ouster of Bolivia's socialist leader, Evo Morales, and whether foreign governments played a role in it, but recent history provides grounds for suspicion.

In a near empty room, a Bolivian military official placed the presidential sash over Jeanine Anez Chavez, a senator from the Beni region who didn't run the country's recent election. The ardently Christian politician carried a Bible with her into the ceremony, which consolidated the coup d'etat in the Andean country.

Meanwhile, the victor of the October 20 vote, Evo Morales, was just arriving in Mexico where he has been exiled by the very same actors who claim that no coup has taken place. After calling for new elections in an attempt to quell unrest over election fraud allegations, Morales resigned when military and police heads 'suggested' he step down, though only after failing to protect activists and election officials from Morales' left-wing Movement For Socialism (MAS) party.

Though there is still certainly a lot of questions around the circumstances that led to the ouster of Morales, how it happened and why it did are clearer.
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Snakes in Suits

Desperate Democrats impeaching Trump to avoid defeat in 2020 - as well as possible jail time

Robert Bridge
RT
Fri, 15 Nov 2019 15:53 UTC
schiff
© Global Look Press / Stefani Reynolds / CNP / AdMedia 12
Here we go again. Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi have put the US government into a state of suspended animation as impeachment hearings against Trump go live. What insanity has gripped Washington, and, more importantly, why?

On Wednesday, the sound of millions of TV remote controls clicking in unison echoed across the heartland as the top American diplomat in Ukraine Bill Taylor told the stony-faced gallery: "What I can do, um, for you here today is tell you what I heard from [dramatic pause] people."

Translation: The inquisition's star witness 'witnessed' absolutely nothing that could warrant the removal of a sitting president from office. Their other so-called witness, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent, did not fare any better at proving that Trump was looking for some 'quid pro quo' (i.e. dirt on his political rival Joe Biden and his dealings with a Ukrainian gas company, Burisma Holdings, in return for US military aid) in his June 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

To add some gravy to this dry biscuit of a story, the White House on Friday released the very first phone call between Trump and Zelensky just hours after the latter was elected to office. Predictably, Twitter has lit up in a virtual game of Clue to find some hint of foul play on the part of the US president.
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Star of David

Gaza attack aimed to get Netanyahu out of Israeli political jam


Arab News
Fri, 15 Nov 2019 08:48 UTC
Netanyahu
© Reuters
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem November 13, 2019.
Pundits and politicians appear to agree that the assassination of Islamic Jihad leader Bahaa Abu Al-Atta and his wife in Gaza, as well as the failed attack in Damascus against Akram Ajoury was committed to assuage domestic Israeli political tensions.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing a corruption indictment and possibly about to lose power to opponent Benny Gantz, apparently acted in his own self-interest, disrupting political talks and potentially destabilizing Gantz' support from the Arab Joint List.

Jafar Farah, director of the Haifa-based Mossawa Center, told Arab News the Israeli attack in Gaza had all but ended the possibility of the Joint List supporting any Israeli government.

"Before the attack, 10 out of the 13 elected members of the Knesset were on board with the idea of supporting, externally, a minority government. Now the number of those supporting this has been reduced, as the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality are opposed to supporting any government," he said.

Gantz, who apparently was briefed before the attack, has come out publicly in support of Israel's actions, which killed over 20 Palestinians including women and children.

Comment: With all the corruption charges against him within Israel and the condemnation of his murderous politics against the Palestinians internationally, the fact that Netanyahu continues to hold a position of power in Israel is a reflection of the moral and intellectual degeneracy of the country in general.

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Network

Trump's V-Day plans to visit Moscow would be 'the right thing to do' even during election season - Putin


RT
Thu, 14 Nov 2019 21:58 UTC
Trump Putin
© Reuters / Kevin Lamarque / File
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin meet in Helsinki, Finland, 2018
As Russia prepares to celebrate the May 2020 anniversary of the defeat of the Nazis in World War II, President Vladimir Putin said that a visit from Donald Trump would be "the right thing to do," even during an election campaign.

Trump's re-election campaign will be in full swing next May, when Russia marks the 75th anniversary of the Soviet and allied victory over the Nazi Germany. While the US president's opponents will likely still be hammering him on his "friendliness" with Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader told reporters on Thursday that a visit from Trump would be fitting.

Even as part of the election campaign, that [visit] would be the right thing to do. But it is not for us to decide. The American president will make this decision.

Comment: See also:

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Bad Guys

Stephen F. Cohen: Ukrainegate impeachment saga worsens US-Russia Cold War

Aaron Maté
The Grey Zone
Wed, 13 Nov 2019 00:00 UTC
Stephen Cohen

Comment: Watch one of the most informed, rational and erudite analysts in the US, Stephen F. Cohen, give his take on the current state of affairs between the US, Russia and the Ukraine.


As the House opens impeachment hearings for President Trump, Professor Stephen F. Cohen warns that the US military assistance at the heart of Ukrainegate escalates the US-Russia Cold War.

Guest: Stephen F. Cohen, professor emeritus of Russian studies at New York University and Princeton University, contributing editor at The Nation, and author of War with Russia: From Putin & Ukraine to Trump & Russiagate.


Comment: See also:

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Blue Planet

10 years of BRICS: What keeps 5 headstrong powers together in times of global disunion

Fyodor Lukyanov
RT
Thu, 14 Nov 2019 11:11 UTC
BRICS
© RIA Novosti / Alexei Druzhinin
For the past 10 years, BRICS has navigated dramatic turns in global politics and the economy to emerge as an association of countries that is likely to play a key role in a new world order.

As I'm writing this, the BRICS summit is going to an end in Brazil. This particular summit is significant not only because the association marks its 10th anniversary. This time, the most noteworthy aspect is the location.

Brazil is headed by Jair Bolsonaro, a man considered staunchly pro-American, and someone who passionately admires and even imitates Donald Trump. Bolsonaro's sweeping victory in the presidential election last fall led some to speculate whether BRICS could lose its first letter.

Besides openly looking up to the US, the ex-army captain made a number of hostile remarks regarding China during his campaign, quite in the spirit of his American 'prototype.' One of his complaints was that Beijing has been economically enslaving Brazil and Latin America, in general. Another of his claims was that doing business with China is unprofitable.

Comment: RT reports on the coordinated divestment of the dollar:
In past five years, Russia has almost halved its foreign trade payments in US currency, from 92 to 50 percent, said the CEO of Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and member of the BRICS Business Council Kirill Dmitriev.

Talking to RT on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Brazil, Dmitriev said that payments in ruble increased from 3 to 14 percent over the period.

The five major emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa - are currently developing a joint new payment system.

He explained that developing the national segments of payment systems and their sustainable integration are the "key drivers of the economic partnership among the BRICS countries, given the increasing non-market risks of the global payment infrastructure."

The potential use of a single cryptocurrency for payments among BRICS member-countries is also expected to be discussed during the forum. Such payments will be conducted via the BRICS payment system, Dmitriev said, adding "The joint funds established with RDIF's assistance for investments made in national currencies and technology development can serve as the foundation for that."

RDIF is the Chair of the BRICS Business Council's Financial Services Working Group.
And Russia's portion within BRICS exceeds $125 Billion, and counting:
Russia continues expanding economic cooperation with fellow BRICS countries, said President Vladimir Putin at BRICS Summit in Brazil. Russia's trade with Brazil, India, China and South Africa has grown by 22.4 percent.

"We are actively participating in international trade, boosting our mutually beneficial ties with foreign countries — first and foremost, our BRICS partners. In 2018, our trade with the four countries exceeded $125 billion," said the Russian leader.

He also said that Russia is ready to share its experience in digital technologies. "There are good chances for boosting our cooperation in computer science and telecommunications. Russia offers BRICS states to take a closer look at our newest projects. I am talking about electronic document management, search systems and antivirus software, which responds to the highest advanced security requirements."

The Russian president offered to expand energy cooperation, noting: "Russia reliably ensures deliveries of energy materials to global markets and makes a significant contribution to supporting global energy security which is vital for economic growth and social development."

Putin has earlier called on the trade partners to develop settlements in national currencies, instead of the commonly used currencies like the US dollar. According to him, the integration of payments systems and the establishment of an independent channel on information exchange could facilitate the stability of the banking systems of the five countries.

As of 2018, combined nominal GDP of these five emerging economies amounted to $18.6 trillion, which is about 23 percent of the gross world product. The trade bloc represents more than 40 percent of the world's population.

According to International Monetary Fund estimates, member states are responsible for more than half of the global economic growth of the last 10 years.
RT provides Putin's full press interview at BRICS below:



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Vader

Since 9/11 attacks the US has spent $6.4 TRILLION on wars that killed 800,000


Sputnik
Thu, 14 Nov 2019 20:28 UTC
romania us soldiers military equipment
© AP Photo / Andreea Alexandru
Servicemen of the Fighting Eagles 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, walk by tanks that arrived via train to the US base in Mihail Kogalniceanu, eastern Romania, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017.
New figures from a US military watchdog group have tallied the incredible costs of the US war on terror since September 11, 2001, finding that well over $6 trillion have been dropped on dozens of conflicts in which some 800,000 people have died.

"Since late 2001, the United States has appropriated and is obligated to spend an estimated $6.4 trillion through Fiscal Year 2020 in budgetary costs related to and caused by the post-9/11 wars," the Costs of War Project reported in a November 13 paper. The Brown University-based project went on to note that the cost figure comprises "an estimated $5.4 trillion in appropriations in current dollars and an additional minimum of $1 trillion for US obligations to care for the veterans of these wars through the next several decades."

Comment: Can't say the American public wasn't warned.

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Bad Guys

Top Bolivian coup plotters trained by US military's School of the Americas and FBI programs

Jeb Sprague
The Grey Zone
Wed, 13 Nov 2019 21:41 UTC
Bolivian commanders
The United States played a key role in the military coup in Bolivia, and in a direct way that has scarcely been acknowledged in accounts of the events that forced the country's elected president, Evo Morales, to resign on November 10.

Just prior to Morales' resignation, the commander of Bolivia's armed forces Williams Kaliman "suggested" that the president step down. A day earlier, sectors of the country's police force had rebelled.

Though Kaliman appears to have feigned loyalty to Morales over the years, his true colors showed as soon as the moment of opportunity arrived. He was not only an actor in the coup, he had his own history in Washington, where he had briefly served as the military attaché of Bolivia's embassy in the US capital.
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