That's why the analyst's gut instinct rebels at any indication that things overall may be moving in a positive direction, however haltingly or indirectly.
Puppet Masters
That's why the analyst's gut instinct rebels at any indication that things overall may be moving in a positive direction, however haltingly or indirectly.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Foreign Minister of Rwanda Louise Mushikiwabo met in Kigali.
Tiny Rwanda punches well above its weight when it comes to military affairs, as it proved during the two Congo Wars, the first of which saw it conquer the gigantic neighboring country roughly 100x larger than its own size and then install an allied proxy as its leader. The Congo is once again nearing the brink of war and it's possible that the slow-motion meltdown of the past two years will accelerate into another full-blown collapse, potentially drawing Rwanda back into another Congolese conflict. Kigali already stages occasional raids into the Eastern Congo in order to hunt down Hutu militia leaders that it claims are "terrorists" and were involved in the 1994 genocide, and it's also reported to still be controlling Tutsi militia in the region as a means of indirectly countering them and maintaining influence there via the mineral trade that they're said to be involved in.
© FNA
Trudeau, who has been sparring with Mr. Trump on trade in recent days, announced at the conclusion of the G-7 summit in Canada that the retaliatory tariffs will go into effect July 1. Trudeau said he told Mr. Trump "it would be with regret but it would be with absolute clarity and firmness that we move forward with retaliatory measures on July 1, applying equivalent tariffs to the ones that the Americans have unjustly applied to us."
"Canadians, we're polite, we're reasonable, but we also will not be pushed around," Trudeau said.
Clearly, once again the familiar scheme for "honest" fleecing of money from a government, conceived back in 1982 by Professor John Williamson of the Institute for International Economics, has shown itself. In the USA's government and among its financial elite, this arrangement, by which the IMF today plunders whole countries, has received the name "Washington Consensus." In just recent years, the IMF's interference in international economic politics has resulted in the ruin of countries, such as Argentina, Ireland, Spain, Greece, Yugoslavia, and Somalia. The IMF pursues truly just one goal - impoverishment of weaker states with the subsequent appropriation of their assets. Moreover, this is done in favor of the United States of America, whose leading role in the IMF brings Washington colossal benefits. At the same time, the IMF does not give money for commercial projects, but provides funds exclusively for structural modernization of an economy, and the machinery of government as a whole.
© AP Photo/Evan Vucci
President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at the G-7 summit, Saturday, June 9, 2018, in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada.
President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at the G-7 summit, Saturday, June 9, 2018, in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada.
He talked about his desire for countries to remove all barriers to the free flow of goods. He looked ahead to the next big meeting on his schedule - a summit in Singapore next week with North Korea's leader. Along the way, Trump bashed the U.S. press and defended why he does it.
"I'd like to ask you why you do that?" said a White House reporter from the news agency Agence France-Presse.
Trump, who is obsessed with his media coverage and has labeled the press "the enemy of the people," defended the steady stream of attacks.
"Because the U.S. press is very dishonest. Much of it, not all of it," Trump said. "Oh, I have some folks in your profession that are with the U.S., in the U.S., citizens, proud citizens; they're reporters. These are some of the most outstanding people I know. But there are many people in the press that are unbelievably dishonest. They don't cover stories the way they're supposed to be. They don't even report them in many cases if they're positive. So there's tremendous - you know, I came up with the term 'fake news.'
Comment: Not that it matters, but the term was first coined by the mainstream news outlets themselves as a way to counter the popularity of RT, Sputnik, and alternative news sites. By the time Trump first used it, people on social media were already turning the term against mainstream media - quite correctly, by the way.
Comment: The full press conference:
© USN PO1C Dominique A. Pineiro / Reuters
Gen. Joe Dunford (left) and Gen. Valery Gerasimov (right), Helsinki, Finland, June 8, 2018
Gen. Joe Dunford (left) and Gen. Valery Gerasimov (right), Helsinki, Finland, June 8, 2018
Marine General Dunford and Army General Gerasimov met at the Konigstedt Manor in Helsinki on Friday after meeting senior Finnish officials.
"It is really good that the United States and Russia have a dialogue in a tense international environment," Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini told Finnish broadcaster YLE.
The two generals discussed various ways of resolving the crisis in Syria, including the avoidance of incidents between the US and Russian forces operating in that country, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. They also touched upon the topic of lowering tensions and ensuring security in Europe.
"The US and Russian militaries have undertaken efforts to improve operational safety and strategic stability," said Colonel Patrick S. Ryder, spokesman for the Joint Chiefs. "Both leaders recognize the importance of maintaining regular communication to avoid miscalculation and to promote transparency and deconfliction in areas where our militaries are operating in close proximity."
Ryder added that both generals have agreed to keep the details of their talks private, "in accordance with past practice."
© Brad Mills / Reuters
In what he seemingly sees a solution, President Donald Trump said he wants NFL players and other athletes who kneeled during the National Anthem.
"I'm going to ask them to recommend to me people who were unfairly treated," Trump said at White House Friday. Trump's contentious relationship with the NFL reached a peak last year when he lambasted players who took a knee during the National Anthem to protest institutionalized racism and police brutality.
"You have a lot of people in the NFL in particular, but in sports leagues, they're not proud enough to stand for our National Anthem. I don't like that," Trump said Friday, also insisting that players should not remain in the locker room when the "Star Spangled Banner" is playing.
"What I'm going to do is, I'm going to say to them instead of talk ... I am going to ask all of those people to recommend to me -- because that's what they're protesting -- people that they think were unfairly treated by the justice system," Trump said. "And I understand that."
He added, "If the athletes have friends of theirs or people they know about that have been unfairly treated by the system, let me know."
Trump called his presidential power to pardon people a "beautiful thing," adding that "you got to get it right." The President also floated a pardon for posthumous boxing great Muhammad Ali, though the athlete's attorney said that is "unnecessary" because the Supreme Court overturned his previous conviction.
© Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
A senior US official had called Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before President Trump announced his decision on the Iran nuclear deal, to make sure that the United States could count on OPEC's largest exporter and de facto leader Saudi Arabia to keep prices stable, because Washington was concerned that the sanctions could drive oil prices up.
A senior Saudi official did not confirm the call had taken place, but told Reuters: "We were made aware of the decision on the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] before the announcement...We always have conversations with the US about the stability of the oil market."
"That's the way it should be, no tariffs, no barriers ... and no subsidies," Trump said, referring to his former college education. "That's the way you learned at the Wharton school of finance, I mean that would be the ultimate thing."
Trump's proposal reflected an entirely free-trade approach to economics, which he said the leaders discussed.
He offered no significant updates on NAFTA negotiations, but suggested that perhaps the United States could negotiate unilateral deals with Canada and Mexico.
Comment: Trump now says he is all for free trade when the big news in the last couple of weeks had been exactly the opposite when he imposed new tariffs. Is he just talking hypothetically - as in a 'perfect world' scenario - or is he really asking for the implementation of hardcore free trade? Is that even a good idea? Time will tell. In the meantime:
- US slaps 25% steel tariff on EU, Canada and Mexico - Brussels vows retaliation
- Canada and Mexico follow in EU footsteps, vow to retaliate against Trump's trade tariffs
Behind the Headlines: Trump's Economic Nationalism: Dismantling the US Empire
© Issei Kato / Reuters
The request came as US President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un are on their way to the much-anticipated June 12 summit in Singapore. With high hopes being pinned on eventual peace in the peninsula after years of nuclear saber-rattling by Pyongyang, Kim indicated that he would be ready to give up nukes only if his country's security is guaranteed.
The US, in turn, hinted that it is ready to provide Kim with certain safeguards, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying on Thursday that should the North agree to de-nuclearization, the US president "is prepared to ensure a DPRK free of its weapons of mass destruction is also a secure North Korea."
Comment: See also: Trump calls for G7 inclusion of Russia ahead of summit