Puppet Masters

World sheriff! US 'unseals warrant' demanding seizure of Iranian Grace1 tanker in Mediterranean

RT
Fri, 16 Aug 2019 22:15 UTC

© Reuters/Jon Nazca
Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 sits anchored, with its name and Panama's flag removed, after the Supreme Court of the British territory lifted its detention order, in the Strait of Gibraltar, southern Spain, August 16, 2019.

The US has ordered the seizure of newly-freed Iranian oil tanker Grace 1, charging the ship with illegally using the US financial system to sell oil to Syria to support the IRGC after Gibraltar released the vessel.

The Justice Department has unsealed a warrant ordering the seizure and forfeiture of the Iranian tanker, all of the oil it is carrying, and $995,000, claiming the Iranians illegally used the US banking system to finance the shipment of oil to Syria to support the IRGC, which the US designated a terror group earlier this year as Washington's "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran ramped up.

Accusing the ship of violations of bank fraud and money laundering laws, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and terrorism statutes, the US complaint alleges "multiple parties affiliated with the IRGC" used voyages like that of Grace 1 to support illegal activities and claims "a network of front companies" laundered millions of dollars through these shipments.

Comment: How America imagines the world sees it:

More from Sputnik 17/8/2019: Iranian tanker on standby to leave, despite US attempts to detain it

Iranian vessel the Grace 1, which has been caught up in a heated diplomatic dispute between Tehran and the West, was given permission to leave Gibraltar on 15 August, with the local authorities confirming on Saturday that the US Department of Justice is still seeking to detain the tanker on a number of allegations.

A shipping agent for Iranian supertanker the Grace 1 has claimed that the vessel is prepared to leave Gibraltar in "24 to 48 hours", despite a last-minute effort by the United States to seize it again, reported AP.

On Saturday the managing director of Astralship, Richard de la Rosa, said logistical preparations had been put into motion, with a new crew of Indian and Ukrainian nationals on standby to take command of the ship.

Data from Refinitiv tracking on Saturday briefly showed the Iranian tanker carrying 2.1 million tonnes of Iranian oil had changed its position status off Gibraltar to 'underway,' but by 12:00 GMT, it said the vessel was still anchored, reported Reuters.

On Friday, the US Justice Department issued a warrant for the seizure of Iranian supertanker the Grace 1. According to it, the vessel, all the oil on board, and $995,000 are subject to forfeiture based on violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), bank fraud, money laundering, and terrorism statutes.

In addition, the document stresses that "a seizure warrant and a forfeiture complaint are merely allegations. The burden to prove forfeitability in a civil forfeiture proceeding is upon the government", according to the Justice Department.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif slammed the US attempt to seize Grace 1 just hours before Gibraltar was poised to set it free as piracy.

Fixated, petty and doubling down, the US also did this:
US State Dept. slaps Iranian supertanker with visa ban after its release from Gibraltar

Galloway on German leaks: EU talks tough but needs Brexit deal as much as the UK

RT
Fri, 16 Aug 2019 22:36 UTC

Both sides may try to seem tough ahead of Brexit talks, but the EU needs the deal as much as the UK, George Galloway said in reference to leaks claiming that Germany is reluctant to renegotiate an agreement with Britain.

An internal briefing paper for the government of Angela Merkel stated that Germany wasn't going to accept Boris Johnson's demand to drop the Irish backstop and prepared for a No Deal Brexit ahead, German paper Handelsblatt reported. This came as German finance minister Olaf Scholz was taking [sic talking] to UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid in Berlin on Friday.

But Galloway believes that the revelations were no reason to panic, as "everyone talks tough before they sit down at the negotiations table."

"Of course, it's possible that the EU will prefer what will be if not a cataclysm, certainly, but a very bumpy landing," he said, referring to the No Deal possibility. But "there's no reason" for Brussels and London to not to reach a mutually satisfying arrangement. Capitalism is the key factor here, according to Galloway:

"The EU has a very substantial trade surplus with us. We buy far more from them than they buy from us, and business is business... The business interests in the EU definitely require a negotiated settlement."

Comment: See also: Brexit: 8 reasons the EU will suffer far more than the UK

PetroChina suspends imports of Venezuelan oil, a huge blow to Maduro

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Sat, 17 Aug 2019 12:45 UTC

Even if China continues to thwart US sanctions on Iran, in the case of Venezuela Trump appears to be gaining the upper hand.

Bloomberg reported Friday that China National Petroleum Corp. (parent company of oil giant PetroChina Ltd) — the country's biggest energy company — is for the first time in over a decade backing away from Venezuelan crude, canceling shipments in August:

China National Petroleum Corp. has canceled plans to load about 5 million barrels worth of Venezuelan oil onto ships this month in the aftermath of the latest executive order by President Donald Trump, according to people with knowledge of the situation who asked not to be identified discussing proprietary information.

Beijing is seeking to reduce its exposure to the risk of Washington's sanctions, even as it grapples with the US on other fronts.

This could prove a final massive economic blow to President Nicolas Maduro's future prospects amid food and electricity shortages and hyperinflation, given China has been state-owned PDVSA's top offload destination since the US brought unprecedented sanctions against it starting January 28th. The Trump administrated expanded the sanctions further on Aug. 5, aimed at severing Maduro's final major cash lifeline.

Mission: Impossible? Ukraine's New President Ventures To Reform Powerful State Spy Agency

Christopher Miller
RFE/RL
Sat, 17 Aug 2019 17:44 UTC

The acting chief of Ukraine's SBU security service, Ivan Bakanov, who previously headed President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's entertainment studio, Kvartal 95, and his presidential campaign.

When Ukraine's domestic security service revealed last year that it had faked the death of a dissident Russian journalist to expose a team of hit men allegedly hired by Moscow to destabilize the country by assassinating high-profile figures in Kyiv, it expected to take victory lap.

Instead, the stunt sparked wide spread criticism and turned into a public-relations nightmare --- one of many in the past 28 years that have tarnished the reputation of the Security Service of Ukraine.

A year later, fresh off huge election victories that brought him and his fledgling Servant of the People party to power, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy -- a former comedian who has vowed to end endemic corruption and implement sweeping reforms - may have a chance to do what none of his predecessors was able to do: revamp the agency and restore its credibility.

How successful the 41-year-old Zelenskiy and his young team of reformers are in cleaning up the agency -- arguably the country's most powerful institution -- will be a litmus test of his administration's resolve to bring Ukraine more into line with Western democracies.

On the other hand, failure to reform the security service, critics say, could hobble wider efforts to curb corruption and economic crime, as the agency's activities have much to do with Ukraine's efforts to bolster the rule of law, and its checkered reputation deters foreign investors from bringing business to a country where the security service has enabled economic crime.

Trump admin requests permanent reauthorization of NSA mass spying program exposed by Snowden

Jake Johnson
Common Dreams
Fri, 16 Aug 2019 17:15 UTC

Civil liberties groups and privacy advocates raised alarm Thursday after the Trump administration called on Congress to reauthorize an NSA mass surveillance program that was exposed by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The New York Times, which obtained the Trump administration's request to Congress, reported that "the administration urged lawmakers to make permanent the legal authority for the National Security Agency to gain access to logs of Americans' domestic communications, the USA Freedom Act."

"The law, enacted after the intelligence contractor Edward J. Snowden revealed the existence of the program in 2013, is set to expire in December, but the Trump administration wants it made permanent," according to the Times.

Steele dossier 'pumped myths' into the US justice system - former Trump adviser Carter Page

RT
Sat, 17 Aug 2019 16:55 UTC

The former MI6 agent credited with launching Russiagate concocted dangerous lies and myths that made a mockery of the US justice system and misled the American people, former Donald Trump campaign adviser Carter Page has told RT.

Page, a primary suspect in the now-debunked theory that Donald Trump's presidential campaign colluded with the Kremlin, said that former MI6 agent Christoper Steele had "pumped myths into the criminal justice system," sparking a two-year investigation based on falsehoods.

"[The Steele dossier] was just a complete myth. Complete lies that were misleading the American public," Page told Afshin Rattansi on RT's Going Underground.

US policy destroyed Honduras and its destruction created opening for Trump - Max Blumenthal

RT
Sat, 17 Aug 2019 16:50 UTC

The 2009 US-backed coup in Honduras caused the migration crisis US President Donald Trump has weaponized, creating a situation where "everybody's making money except the Honduran people," writer Max Blumenthal tells RT America.

Honduran President Orlando Hernandez is "hated by every sector of society," Blumenthal told RT America's Rick Sanchez, explaining that the leader - who stands accused by a US court of using $1.5 million in narco-trafficking profits to fund his election, even as Washington allows him to travel freely and funds his regime's brutal crackdown on protesters - has allowed foreign corporations to pillage Honduras while plunging his own people into poverty.

'How is that non-news?' Lee Camp reveals why MSM chooses to ignore Honduras and Brazil unrest

RT
Sat, 17 Aug 2019 16:46 UTC

Americans are bombarded with non-stop news on Hong Kong and Moscow rallies, but how come mass protests in Honduras and Brazil aren't high on the agenda? Lee Camp looks at why the US corporate media are keeping mum on the subject.

Honduras, a Latin American nation of nine million people, has been hit by massive unrest, with people venting anger at pro-US President Orlando Hernandez. The wave of violent demonstrations saw the US diplomatic mission attacked by protesters - but the American mainstream media didn't say a word about it, Camp pointed out, speaking on Redacted Tonight.

"Protesters are literally burning the US embassy because we installed a f******d [Hernandez] rule over them, how is that non-news?" he wondered.

Tulsi Gabbard lists political correctness among threats to American values

RT
Sat, 17 Aug 2019 16:39 UTC

Widespread efforts to silence speech deemed to be offensive threaten US constitutional rights, Democratic presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard says. Her latest campaign ad takes aim at the hot-button issue of political correctness.

In a new campaign video posted on Twitter, Gabbard lists political correctness alongside things like overly powerful IT corporations and government overreach. All three infringe on Americans' personal rights, she says.

The battle between "PC culture" and free-speech advocates has become particularly fierce in recent months, with "woke" activists rallying against anything that could potentially cause offense.

Failed state made in the USA: Ex-president of Honduras and coup victim Zelaya tells all

RT
Sat, 17 Aug 2019 13:56 UTC

Zelaya at a protest against the US-backed Hernandez government

President Jose Manuel Zelaya of Honduras was deposed from power in a military coup after joining a progressive alliance of Latin American leaders and he has "absolutely no doubts" the US was behind his ouster, he tells RT America.

"The US warned me: If you sign the Bolivarian Alternative to the Americas (ALBA), you're going to have problems with the US. I signed it, and six months later, I had problems," Zelaya told RT America's Rick Sanchez.

"They kicked me out."

Comment: Also see:

Oh, and I thought he was f**king rhesus monkeys ... :O

codis

But now she is almost safe from Ze Virus ... Soon to be totally safe

codis

Every person I know fully supports the False-Flag narrative. Like everything else about our federal government deep state, they lie. It is all...

L. Wood

Wonder who created those vaccines and funded the research.

Searcher109

You can tell this is an MSM article, and on reading it, I could actually hear in my head the phony concern in the voice of a tv announcer, how...

ReRan

Puppet Masters

World sheriff! US 'unseals warrant' demanding seizure of Iranian Grace1 tanker in Mediterranean

Galloway on German leaks: EU talks tough but needs Brexit deal as much as the UK

PetroChina suspends imports of Venezuelan oil, a huge blow to Maduro

Mission: Impossible? Ukraine's New President Ventures To Reform Powerful State Spy Agency

Trump admin requests permanent reauthorization of NSA mass spying program exposed by Snowden

Steele dossier 'pumped myths' into the US justice system - former Trump adviser Carter Page

US policy destroyed Honduras and its destruction created opening for Trump - Max Blumenthal

'How is that non-news?' Lee Camp reveals why MSM chooses to ignore Honduras and Brazil unrest

Tulsi Gabbard lists political correctness among threats to American values

Failed state made in the USA: Ex-president of Honduras and coup victim Zelaya tells all

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