The country has invested billions in Ecuador and elsewhere, using its economic clout to win diplomatic allies and secure natural resources around the world.

Where the Andean foothills dip into the Amazon jungle, nearly 1,000 Chinese engineers and workers have been pouring concrete for a dam and a 15-mile underground tunnel. The $2.2 billion project will feed river water to eight giant Chinese turbines designed to produce enough electricity to light more than a third of Ecuador.

Near the port of Manta on the Pacific Ocean, Chinese banks are in talks to lend $7 billion for the construction of an oil refinery, which could make Ecuador a global player in gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products.

Across the country in villages and towns, Chinese money is going to build roads, highways, bridges, hospitals, even a network of surveillance cameras stretching to the Galápagos Islands. State-owned Chinese banks have already put nearly $11 billion into the country, and the Ecuadorean government is asking for more.

Ecuador, with just 16 million people, has little presence on the global stage. But China's rapidly expanding footprint here speaks volumes about the changing world order, as Beijing surges forward and Washington gradually loses ground.

NATO member Turkey has been busted supporting ISIS.

The Guardian reported this week:

US special forces raided the compound of an Islamic State leader in eastern Syria in May, they made sure not to tell the neighbours.

The target of that raid, the first of its kind since US jets returned to the skies over Iraq last August, was an Isis official responsible for oil smuggling, named Abu Sayyaf. He was almost unheard of outside the upper echelons of the terror group, but he was well known to Turkey. From mid-2013, the Tunisian fighter had been responsible for smuggling oil from Syria's eastern fields, which the group had by then commandeered. Black market oil quickly became the main driver of Isis revenues - and Turkish buyers were its main clients.

As a result, the oil trade between the jihadis and the Turks was held up as evidence of an alliance between the two.

The chairman of a committee that oversees Britain's media blackout system has denied claims that state orders were given to withhold child abuse allegations against the late MP Cyril Smith MP.

In his first interview as Chairman of the Defense and Security Media Advisory Committee, Air Vice-Marshal Andrew Vallance said police may have handed fake gagging orders, known as D-notices, to a number of news outlets.

The government D-notices are issued to news editors, demanding they withhold information from the public on national security grounds.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today program, Valance said "not a shred of evidence" exists that authorized D-notices were issued.

Don Hale, former editor of the Bury Messenger, claims he obtained a cache of files in the early 1980s regarding a group of elite political figures who seemed sympathetic to notorious pro-pedophile group The Pedophile Information Exchange (PIE).

Among these high-profile figures was the late Liberal MP Cyril Smith.

Times are tough for America's "color revolution" industry. Perfected in Eastern Europe after the fall of the Soviet Union, and honed during the so-called "Arab Spring," the process of backing subversion in a targeted country and overthrowing a sitting government under the cover of staged mass protests appears to be finally at the end of running its course.

That is because the United States can no longer hide the fact that it is behind these protests and often, even hide their role in the armed elements that are brought in covertly to give targeted governments their final push out the door. Nations have learned to identify, expose, and resist this tactic, and like Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime's tactic of Blitzkrieg or "lighting war," once appropriate countermeasures are found, the effectiveness of lighting fast, overwhelming force be it military or political, is rendered impotent.

This was most recently observed in Armenia during the so-called "Electric Yerevan" protests - Yerevan being the capital of Armenia, and "electric" in reference to the alleged motivation of protesters - rising electric prices.

American-backed "color revolutions" always start out with a seemingly legitimate motivation, but soon quickly become political in nature, sidestepping many of the legitimate, practical demands first made, and focusing almost entirely on "regime change." For the Armenian agitators leading the "Electric Yerevan," they didn't even make it that far and spent most of their initial momentum attempting to convince the world they were not just another US-backed mob.

It's been a bad month for the angst-ridden US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power. Last week, she was "outraged" by Russia's veto at the UN Security Council of an international criminal court into the downing of Malaysian airliner MH17 over eastern Ukraine.

Three weeks prior, Power was again "outraged" by Russia's veto of a draft resolution to declare the mass killing at Srebrenica during the Bosnian War in 1995 a "genocide."

On Srebrenica, Power said: "Russia's veto is heartbreaking for those families and it is a further stain on this council's record."

On the latest MH17 veto, the American ambassador fulminated: "When people see Russia's hand up on something like this, when the whole world is united that when a civilian airliner goes up in smoke and so many families are affected, it is in all of our interests, our collective interests to see that justice is done."

Leave aside Power's assertion that "the whole world is united" over the crashed airliner, which was apparently shot down near the city of Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine in July 2014, with the loss of all 298 people onboard. The draft resolution for a criminal tribunal was tabled by the Netherlands, Australia, the Western-backed Kiev regime and Malaysia. The first three are allies of the US-led NATO military alliance. Hardly a world consensus, as Power would claim.

But it was what Power said next in relation to the Russian veto on a MH17 probe that reveals the politicized agenda lurking behind her emotive appeal. She told US government-controlled Voice of America: "I think not only does it raise real questions about Russia's relationship to the crime itself and what they're afraid of within the creation of an independent tribunal, but also raises real questions about the Security Council and whether it can be counted on to enforce the UN charter."

Just a few weeks ago, an act of piracy took place on the high seas, whereby a group of international activists taking part in a humanitarian mission including a member of the Israeli parliament, were captured and detained.

The story didn't attract much coverage in the MSM. Coverage elsewhere among alternative media outlets ranged from being accurate to downright disingenuous. At best, those taking part were described as what they were - aid workers, artists, journalists and politicians working toward a shared aim of reaching Gaza - and, at worst, were described as terrorists and "agitators."

The illegally seized boat, the Marianne, was part of a convoy of vessels which had set sail from different destinations in European waters, with the aim of reaching Gaza in occupied Palestine.

Needless to say, a group of activists attempting to break an illegal blockade of a country occupied by one of the most powerful armed forces in the world can hardly be viewed as troublemakers.

Nevertheless, the Marianne was halted in its tracks, approximately 100 nautical miles from Gaza by the Israeli navy, which, operating without jurisdiction and in complete disregard of international law, boarded the boat, taking those on board prisoner.

These are the facts, and this is what happened. The wave of propaganda which consequently emanated from some Israeli press offices attempted to divert attention away from the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, to another equally tragic humanitarian crisis in Syria. In a letter presented to activists on board the Marianne after its seizure, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested that the activists had gotten "lost" on their way to Syria.

Perhaps in reality it was the Israeli navy which had lost its sense of direction (and priorities) by taking control of a boat of civilians in international waters and by then taking them to the Israeli port of Ashdod.

One of the activists on board the Marianne, Charlie Andreasson, was held by the Israeli authorities in Ashdod for six days before finally being released.

It took two decades for Russia and China to understand that "pro-democracy" and "human rights" organizations operating within their countries were subversive organizations funded by the US Department of State and a collection of private American foundations organized by Washington. The real purpose of these non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is to advance Washington's hegemony by destabilizing the two countries capable of resisting US hegemony.

Washington's Fifth Columns pulled off "color revolutions" in former Russian provinces, such as Georgia, the birthplace of Joseph Stalin and Ukraine, a Russian province for centuries.

When Putin was last elected, Washington was able to use its Fifth Columns to pour thousands of protesters into the streets of Russia claiming that Putin had "stolen the election." This American propaganda had no effect on Russia, where the citizens back their president by 89%. The other 11% consists almost entirely of Russians who believe Putin is too soft toward the West's aggression. This minority supports Putin as well. They only want him to be tougher.

The actual percentage of the population that Washington has been able to turn into treasonous agents is only 2-3 percent of the population. These traitors are the "Westerners," the "Atlantic integrationists," who are willing for their country to be an American vassal state in exchange for money. Paid to them, of course.

But Washington's ability to put its Fifth Columns into the streets of Moscow had an effect on insouciant Americans and Europeans. Many Westerners today believe that Putin stole his election and is intent on using his office to rebuild the Soviet Empire and to crush the West. Not that crushing the West would be a difficult thing to do. The West has pretty much already crushed itself.

China, obsessed with becoming rich, has been an easy mark for Washington. The Rockefeller Foundation is supporting pro-American Chinese professors in the universities. US corporations operating in China create superfluous "boards" to which the relatives of the ruling political class are appointed and paid high "directors' fees." This compromises the loyalty of the Chinese ruling class.

• Camila Batmanghelidjh was forced to quit as chief executive last month
• Whistleblowers claim children were given cash to spend on what they liked
• The government has threatened to withhold a £3million grant to the charity
• Critics claim the charity became a 'personality cult' around its founder

One of Britain's top charities is at risk of collapse after new details of financial chaos and unrest in the organisation emerged.

Secret plans have been drawn up to wind down Kids Company, sack most of its staff and launch a new streamlined organisation to help vulnerable children who rely on it. According to some sources, it could even be relaunched under a new name.

This newspaper has learned of concerns about Kids Company from whistleblowers, including employees and young people. They claim that cash was given to youngsters and spent on designer clothes, holidays, drink and drugs. The latest development in the controversy comes days after police launched an investigation into claims of sexual abuse by staff. Senior figures in the charity world believe it may be too late to save Kids Company. 'It is a financial mess and now there are serious allegations of misconduct,' said one. 'It is going to be hard to raise money for it and it is difficult to see a way forward.'

Camila Batmanghelidjh was forced to quit as its £90,000-a-year chief executive last month after the Government threatened to withhold a £3 million grant unless the charity's shambolic finances were sorted out. But she is resisting moves to make her cut all her ties with the charity. A well-placed insider said: 'Camila did a great job in setting it up but she has become a personality cult and that is no way to run a major organisation. It can only be saved if she goes - but she won't.'

Earlier this month, the Obama administration quietly issued new rules to the Fair Housing Act that will radically alter the way your neighborhood looks. The Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule (AFFH) will change zoning laws, redefine neighborhoods, control transportation and business development, and remove the authority of state and local governments in the areas of zoning, transportation and education.

President Obama's Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) regulation will redefine the American landscape, forcing radical changes to suburban and rural cities around the United States, as the federal government gets ready to take over and redefine the American Suburb. Under the guise of equality, the Obama administration is yet again using racial animosity to push their agenda, this time by annexing American Suburbs and filling them with low-income housing projects. Under the AFFH regulations, the Obama administration has given the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) the task of remaking America.

An investigative report by the Miami Herald published today reveals that two local Florida police agencies engaged in a slick money laundering scheme ripped from a Hollywood movie, reaping a whopping $2.4 million for themselves in drug money.

The Tri-County Task Force, which consisted of officers from two small police agencies, the Glade County Sheriff's Office and Bal Harbour Police Department, laundered millions of dollars via SunTrust Bank through countries including Panama and China, the Herald found.

Per the Herald:

The Tri-County Task Force turned a money-laundering investigation into a multi-million-dollar enterprise, spending lavishly on travel and dining while picking up suitcases stuffed with drug cash from as far away as Los Angeles and San Juan.

The officers used fake names to set up seven accounts, starting in 2009, with the help of SunTrust official Ivan Morales, laundering millions each month.

The so-called sting operation laundered a total of $71.5 million — but did not result in any arrests. The illegal cash was moved overseas despite U.S. policy that forbids it.