Puppet Masters

The Saker: Debunking the rumors about Russia caving in to Israel

The Saker
UNZ Review
Thu, 04 Jul 2019 10:34 UTC

Patrushev in Jerusalem

This Spring saw a sudden increase in the volume of articles in the so-called "alternative media and blogosphere" about Putin "selling out" Syria or Iran to the Israelis and their US patrons, or both. What was particularly interesting about this campaign is that it was not triggered by any kind of event or statement by Putin or any other senior Russian decision-makers. True, Israeli politicians made numerous trips to Russia, but each time they walked away without anything tangible to show for their efforts. As for their Russian counterparts, they limited themselves to vague and well-intentioned statements. Nonetheless, the "Putin sold out to Netanyahu" campaign did not stop. Every meeting was systematically interpreted as The Clear Proof that the Zionists control the Kremlin and that Putin was doing Netanyahu's bidding.

The fact that this campaign began ex nihilo did not seem to bother most observers. Soon I started getting steady streams of emails asking me to react to these articles. My reply was always the same one: let's do the opposite of what these supposed "specialists" are doing and wait for the facts to come out and only then form an opinion.

Comment: See also:

And check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: Israeli-French Deception Downs Russian Spy Plane Off Syria, US Escalates 'Regime Change' Against Iran

'What about Assange?' UK Foreign Office video calling for press freedom shamed for hypocrisy

RT
Wed, 03 Jul 2019 16:35 UTC

© Reuters / Henry Nicholls
(Main) FILE PHOTO: UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt Reuters / Pool (Top left) FILE PHOTO: WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange

The UK Foreign Office has come under fire after posting a video online that calls for an increase in media freedom in nations around the world, drawing accusations of hypocrisy from those citing the treatment of Julian Assange.

The 13-second video includes the shocking statistic that "Only 10% of the world's population live in a country with a free media," with images of journalists and high profile world leaders past and present. It ends with a declaration that "This has to change."

On the day Australian journalist Assange 'celebrated' his 48th birthday inside Belmarsh maximum-security prison, it may not be unreasonable to suggest that this 'free media' video was nothing more than the UK government's way of trolling the WikiLeaks co-founder.

Comment: And this isn't the first time: "Free Assange first": Twitter schools hypocritical UK Foreign Sec over 'media freedom' event

See also:

France's richest people get richer faster than everyone else

Alexander Sazonov
Bloomberg
Mon, 01 Jul 2019 09:00 UTC

The first half of 2019 brought continued civil unrest to France, with throngs of protesters taking to the streets to demand higher wages and pensions amid widening wealth inequality. But for the nation's richest citizens, the first six months have been filled with good fortune.

The 14 people from France on the 500-member Bloomberg Billionaires Index added a combined $78 billion to their collective net worth since Dec. 31, a 35% increase. That's more than double the pace of China's richest, at 17%, and the U.S.'s 15%. The best returns outside of France came mostly from Asia as Thailand's wealthiest were a close second at 33%, followed by Singapore's 31% and 24% for Japan.

The figures exclude countries with fewer than two billionaires in the ranking. That makes Aliko Dangote, the sole Nigerian on the list, an outlier. His wealth has surged 60% to $16.8 billion this year.

Comment: See also: Forgotten France rises up

And check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal #26: Globalization vs Nationalism - The Hidden Causes of The Yellow Vest Protests in France

Venezuela's Maduro 'certain' peace will come by year-end

PressTV
Wed, 03 Jul 2019 19:31 UTC

© gence France-Presse
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro speaks with members of his government at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, on July 2, 2019.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says he is certain a peace agreement with the country's opposition will be reached until the end of the year, despite remarks just earlier by opposition figure Juan Guaido ruling out negotiations with the government.

In a televised speech on Tuesday, Maduro said, "I am sure that in 2019, we will reach a great agreement on mutual understanding and peace, dialog, and democracy for Venezuela."

He also said his government was ready to continue talks with the opposition in Norway toward "creating a permanent mechanism for talks and [to] search for solutions."

"That process is going well," the Venezuelan president said. "There will be good news in the coming weeks about how well the contact, negotiation, and pre-agreement processes are going." He did not elaborate.

Comment:

Have the world's conspiracy theorists been right all along?

Alex Proud
The Telegraph
Mon, 15 Jun 2015 12:18 UTC

You'd have your mate who, after a few beers, would tell you that the moon landings were faked or that the Illuminati controlled everything or that the US government was holding alien autopsies in Area 51. And you'd be able to dismiss this because it was all rubbish.

Look, you'd say, we have moon rock samples and pictures and we left laser reflectors on the surface and... basically you still don't believe me but that's because you're mad and no proof on earth (or the moon) would satisfy you.

It's true that there was always the big one which wasn't quite so easily dismissed. This was the Kennedy assassination - but here you could be fairly sure that the whole thing was a terrible, impenetrable murky morass. You knew that some things never would be known (or would be released, partially redacted by the CIA, 200 years in the future). And you knew that whatever the truth was it was probably a bit dull compared to your mate's flights of fantasy involving the KGB, the Mafia and the military-industrial complex. Besides, it all made for a lot of very entertaining films and books.

This nice, cozy state of affairs lasted until the early 2000s. But then something changed. These days conspiracy theories don't look so crazy and conspiracy theorists don't look like crackpots. In fact, today's conspiracy theory is tomorrow's news headlines. It's tempting, I suppose, to say we live in a golden age of conspiracy theories, although it's only really golden for the architects of the conspiracies. From the Iraq war to FIFA to the banking crisis, the truth is not only out there, but it's more outlandish than anything we could have made up.

FM Katz: Israel is building up 'military might' to respond to a US-Iran 'military conflagration'

Sputnik
Tue, 02 Jul 2019 22:08 UTC

The ever-increasing Washington-Tehran tensions further deteriorated on June 20, when the Islamic Republic reported the downing of a US spy drone which Iran claims ventured into Iranian airspace. The White House, in turn, insisted that the downing took place over international waters.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has announced that the Jewish state is bracing itself for its possible military involvement in the escalation of relations between Iran and the US.

Addressing the Herzliya Conference on Tuesday, he claimed that "mistaken calculations by the [Iranian] regime" may bring about a "military conflagration" in the Middle East region. "We must be prepared for this, and thus the State of Israel continues to devote itself to building up its military might for the event that it will have to respond to escalation scenarios," Katz pointed out.

The remarks come after he told the Israel Army Radio that after its current uranium enrichment ramp-up, Iran is sliding toward a war in which it may suffer heavy losses. The top Israeli diplomat pledged that the Jewish state would not "allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, even if it has to act alone on that".

Comment: More from Reuters: Israel is bracing for possible US-Iran escalation

Israel has encouraged the Trump administration to press ahead with sanctions against its arch-foe, predicting that Tehran will eventually renegotiate a more limiting nuclear deal.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz told an international security forum that Iran might accidentally stumble out of what he termed the "gray zone" of contained confrontation. "It should be taken into account that mistaken calculations by the (Iranian) regime...are liable to bring about a shift from the 'gray zone' to the 'red zone' - that is, a military conflagration," he said in a speech to the Herzliya Conference.

Israel has long threatened to take preemptive military action to deny Iran the means of making nuclear weapons. Tehran says it has no such designs. One of its senior lawmakers warned on Monday that Israel would be destroyed within "only half an hour" should the United States attack Iran.

Production shift: Microsoft, HP and Dell add to the electronics exodus from China

Cheng Ting-Fang, Lauly Li,, Coco Liu
Nikkei Asian Review
Wed, 03 Jul 2019 17:50 UTC

Global consumer electronics makers HP, Dell, Microsoft and Amazon are all looking to shift substantial production capacity out of China, joining a growing exodus that threatens to undermine the country's position as the world's powerhouse for tech gadgets.

HP and Dell, the world's No. 1 and No. 3 personal computer makers who together command around 40% of the global market, are planning to reallocate up to 30% of their notebook production out of China, several sources told the Nikkei Asian Review.

Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Sony and Nintendo are also looking at moving some of their game console and smart speaker manufacturing out of the country, multiple sources told the Nikkei Asian Review. Other leading PC makers such as Lenovo Group, Acer and Asustek Computer are also evaluating plans to shift, according to people familiar with the matter.

Tech companies' plans, spurred by the bitter trade battle between Washington and Beijing, have not changed despite the truce that was struck between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at last weekend's Group of 20 summit in Osaka. Multiple sources said the situation was still too uncertain, while rising costs in China were also prompting manufacturers to examine alternatives.

Comment: See also:

Rouhani: In 1 hour Tehran can reverse nuclear deal commitments, increase enrichment

RT
Wed, 03 Jul 2019 07:53 UTC

Tehran can reverse the scaling back of its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal in just one hour, the nation's President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday.

Rouhani said that, starting from Sunday, Iran will increase its level of uranium enrichment beyond the limit of 3.67 percent set by the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, local media reported. "From July 7, we will put aside our commitment in relation to the level of enrichment and we will increase to any level that we wish depending on the needs and our requirements."

The Iranian officials earlier called the move the "second phase" of scaling down the nation's commitments under the agreement. During the "first phase," which was activated by Iran last month, the county had increased its uranium stockpile beyond the 300kg allowed by the JCPOA.

In May, Iran gave the EU a 60-day deadline to negotiate the lifting of sanctions imposed on Tehran by the US, which unilaterally left the JCPOA last year.

Rouhani confirmed on Wednesday that the nation will revert back to fully following the deal if the other parties "return to their obligations and commitments" under the agreement. "Every action we take could be reversed within one hour." Rouhani also said that after July 7 Iran's heavy-water nuclear reactor in Arak will "return to its previous activities," unless Europe can provide sanctions relief.

'Tactical' rapprochement: Yisrael Katz' first visit to UAE, talks 'common enemy' Iran

RT
Tue, 02 Jul 2019 23:33 UTC

Yisrael Katz has visited the UAE for the very first time, discussing everyone's favorite bogeyman - the "Iranian threat" - with an "unnamed official." But is Tehran scary enough to cement ties between Israel and Gulf Arab states?

Katz, the Israeli minister of foreign affairs - and intelligence - visited Abu Dhabi over the weekend. It was the first time the Jewish state's top diplomat set foot on UAE soil, albeit as part of a UN-led Climate Meeting.

The diplomat used the opportunity to meet an unnamed senior local official to discuss growing ties between the two countries, economic cooperation and the ever-trendy "Iranian threat." "I am excited to stand here in Abu Dhabi and to represent the interests of the State of Israel vis-à-vis the Arab Gulf states," Katz said. "This is a significant step up in the relations between Israel and the states in the region."

Even though it was not a state-level visit, it's still "quite an unprecedented step, showing that the relationship has gone quite far," believes Dmitriy Maryasis, senior fellow with the Russian Institute of Oriental Studies.

"The Iranian issue is definitely the base of their relationship, it's always easier to unite against a common enemy," Maryasis told RT. "Tactically, the Sunni countries of the Persian Gulf and Israel turned out to be on the same side regarding the relations with Iran - both of them perceive it as a threat."

Comment: See also:

China lambasts British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt's Hong Kong comments

yan
Xinhuanet
Wed, 03 Jul 2019 22:48 UTC

China on Wednesday expressed strong dissatisfaction with and firm opposition to the recent comments on Hong Kong made by British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, urging him to stop wanton interference in Hong Kong affairs.

"He seems to be fantasizing in the faded glory of British colonialism and obsessed with the bad habit of criticizing and lecturing on other countries' affairs condescendingly," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a daily press briefing. Geng said China has lodged stern representations with Britain over Hunt's comments.

According to The Times, Hunt said on Tuesday that he expected China to honor the Sino-British Joint Declaration, a treaty signed in 1984 when Margaret Thatcher was the prime minister, and that "there will be serious consequences if that internationally binding legal agreement were not to be honored."

Geng said as Hong Kong returned to the motherland, the rights and obligations of the British side under the Joint Declaration were completely fulfilled.

Comment: See also:

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Puppet Masters

The Saker: Debunking the rumors about Russia caving in to Israel

'What about Assange?' UK Foreign Office video calling for press freedom shamed for hypocrisy

France's richest people get richer faster than everyone else

Venezuela's Maduro 'certain' peace will come by year-end

Have the world's conspiracy theorists been right all along?

FM Katz: Israel is building up 'military might' to respond to a US-Iran 'military conflagration'

Production shift: Microsoft, HP and Dell add to the electronics exodus from China

Rouhani: In 1 hour Tehran can reverse nuclear deal commitments, increase enrichment

'Tactical' rapprochement: Yisrael Katz' first visit to UAE, talks 'common enemy' Iran

China lambasts British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt's Hong Kong comments

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