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House Aviation Subcommittee to review findings FAA overlooked 'critical safety risks' of Boeing 737Max


RT
Tue, 14 May 2019 18:07 UTC
Boeing737Max
Senior officials at the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) failed to properly oversee safety tests on the flight-control system of Boeing's 737 MAX aircraft, according to an internal investigation leaked to the press.

In an internal review set to be discussed before Congress on Wednesday, the FAA determined that its own personnel were lax in monitoring Boeing's safety assessments and effectively allowed the company to conduct the testing on its own, the Wall Street Journal reported.


Comment: See also:

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Chess

US plays carrot-and-stick game with India over their plans to buy Russian defense systems


RT
Tue, 14 May 2019 16:15 UTC
Russian S-400
© Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters
Russian S-400 air defense missile systems during a parade in Moscow.
The US has long vowed sanctions if India buys the S-400 from Russia, but now it is offering its THAAD and Patriot missiles as an alternative. But the sticks-and-carrots game won't help the US get its way, an analyst told RT.

Washington has pitched Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missile defense systems to India last month. Other details of the generous offer are shrouded in mystery, but it obviously comes to outweigh the $5 billion deal India has signed with Russia to acquire the S-400 air defense systems.

Simultaneously, the US seemed to have reeled back its threat of sanctions, choosing to go soft with India this time. This tactic looks particularly interesting when compared to the enormous pressure Washington is piling on Turkey, another future operator of the cutting-edge S-400.
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Chess

As US pressures India to cut Iran oil import, Indians ask what Iranian FM can offer in rushed talks


RT
Tue, 14 May 2019 18:44 UTC
zarif
© AFP / AFP / SAJJAD HUSSAIN
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif
While the plane of the Iranian Foreign Minister was landing at the New Delhi airport for unexpected talks with his Indian counterpart, Indians have been wondering about the timing and purpose of this last-moment scheduled meeting.

Javad Zarif has come at a peculiar time, in the middle of India's general elections. If he was to wait two more weeks, he could arrange talks with a new government, but the urgency of the meeting speaks volumes.

But as Washington puts pressure on Iranian oil importers, some Indians agree that some issues cannot wait.

India was once Iran's top oil client after China. Then the US and sanctions stepped in. Last year India, along with seven other nations, received a waiver from Washington which allowed them to import some oil. But earlier this month, the US renewed sanctions and New Delhi had to stop any purchases of Iranian crude. But while big politics are being decided in high places, Indians themselves seem positive about Iran, with many saying India should stick to its vows to Iran.
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Light Sabers

Lavrov and Pompeo agree to work on nukes control but clash on Venezuela, election interference


RT
Tue, 14 May 2019 18:27 UTC
pompeo and lavrov
© Reuters / Pavel Golovkin
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov concluded the Sochi talks by agreeing to cooperate on nuclear arms control. The two diplomats, however, could not reach agreement on Venezuela.

After emerging from a sit-down in the Russian Black Sea resort on Tuesday, Pompeo and Lavrov both talked of their governments' desire to improve relations, currently at a low ebb. Lavrov described the meeting as "frank and useful," while Pompeo said the US "stands ready to find common ground" with Russia.

As predicted, nuclear arms control was top of the agenda, following the Trump administration's recent withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Pompeo and Lavrov seemed open to cooperation on establishing new arms control pacts, with Pompeo restating President Donald Trump's desire to bring China into any future deal.

With the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty set to expire in February 2021, Pompeo said that Washington is willing to work towards extending the deal by five years, while the Russian FM said he hopes any future agreements will be "positively received by both nations."

Comment: Putin also met with Pompeo in Sochi and made it clear he wants to restore relations between Russia and the US since the Mueller inquiry exonerated Trump:
"As you know, just a few days ago, I had the pleasure of talking with the US president on the phone," Putin told Pompeo on Tuesday, as the two met in Sochi. "I got the impression that the [US] president was inclined to re-establish Russian-American relations and contacts to resolve together the issues that are of mutual interest to us."

"For our part, we have more than once said that we would also like to fully restore relations, and we hope that now the conditions for that have been met," Putin added.


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Heart

Tulsi Gabbard on Joe Rogan podcast: I'd drop all charges against Assange and Snowden

Caitlin Johnstone
Medium
Tue, 14 May 2019 18:17 UTC
tulsi on joe rogan
In midst of an interesting and wide-ranging discussion on the Joe Rogan Experience, Democratic congresswoman and presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard said that if elected president she would drop all charges against NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

"What would you do about Julian Assange? What would you do about Edward Snowden?" Rogan asked in the latter part of the episode.

"As far as dropping the charges?" Gabbard asked.

"If you're president of the world right now, what do you do?"

"Yeah, dropping the charges," Gabbard replied.

Comment: Watch the full interview with Tulsi Gabbard below:



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Gold Coins

Gold prices on fire, sparked by US-China trade war


RT
Tue, 14 May 2019 16:53 UTC
gold on fire
© Reuters / Ilya Naymushin
Non-ferrous metals plant in Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Renewed trade war fears are breathing life into the gold market, according to Phil Streible, senior market analyst at RJO Futures, who also pointed to growing investor fears over the possibility of a rate cut.

"Potentially down the road, if equities slow down, and if the global economy slows down enough, you might see the Fed cut rates, that's what's breathing life right now into that gold market," Streible told Kitco News.

Gold prices jumped on the news of China's tariff retaliation against the US, retaking the $1,300 key level. The yellow metal, which has been trading well below its key psychological level for the last few weeks, reacted as a safe haven asset on Monday, gaining one percent and hitting $1,303.26, which is its highest in over a month. Gold steadied on Tuesday, trading at $1297.60 an ounce as of 9:12 GMT.
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Jet2

Western aggression in ME heats up: B-52 bombers, F-15 fighters fly first deterrence sorties pointed at Iran

Kyle Rempfer
Air Force Times
Mon, 13 May 2019 16:41 UTC
Airmen from the 20th Bomb Squadron
© Airman Jacob B. Wrightsman/Air Force
Airmen from the 20th Bomb Squadron prepare to board a B-52H Stratofortress before a Bomber Task Force deployment from Barksdale Air Force Base, La., May 7
The Air Force began flying deterrence missions in the Middle East Saturday, aimed at what the Pentagon has called threats from Iran.

B-52H Stratofortress bombers from the 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, touched down at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Thursday, according to Air Force Central Command.

Air Force F-15C Eagles also flew deterrence missions on Saturday and were refueled by a KC-135 Stratotanker from the 28th Expeditionary Aerial Refueling Squadron at an undisclosed location. The 28th EARS maintains a presence across AFCENT's area of responsibility, including in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.

The F-15Cs deployed to an undisclosed location in the Middle East on Wednesday. F-35A Lightning IIs are also in theater.

"We will not discuss mission specifics," said Air Force Maj. Holly Brauer, an AFCENT spokesperson. "They have begun flying deterrence missions in the region, including over the Arabian Gulf."
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Chess

Pompeo meets Lavrov: Says Trump wants to improve relations with Russia


RT
Tue, 14 May 2019 12:53 UTC
Mike Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
© Reuters / Pool / Pavel Golovkin
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have sat down to talks in Sochi, Russia. Although both officials welcomed the chance to thaw Russia-US relations, they have much to discuss first.

Speaking before the meeting on Tuesday, Lavrov stated that "it is time to build a new, more constructive and responsible" relationship between Washington and Moscow. "It's not destiny that we're adversaries on every issue," Pompeo added, touting the cooperation between both nations on counterterrorism issues.

"I'm here today because President [Donald] Trump is committed to improving this relationship," Pompeo said. "I hope that we can find places where we have a set of overlapping interests, and can truly begin to build out strong relationships."


Comment: Poor Lavrov. He has to continue extending his hand for rational reasonable discussion knowing full well that, even if Trump's attempts at detente are sincere, the larger body of the insane and power-mad in Washington will continue to push for US aggression towards Russia and her national interests. And there's nothing Russia can do about it but prepare as well as it can.

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Snakes in Suits

Pompeo: Iran is active threat but we're willing to talk

Everett Rosenfeld
CNBC
Sat, 11 May 2019 09:30 UTC
Pompeo
© Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Iran is an active threat to American interests as it sows chaos in the Middle East, but the White House would "of course" welcome the opportunity to negotiate with Tehran, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Saturday.

Speaking with CNBC's Hadley Gamble, America's top diplomat said he's seeing increased threats from Iran, and that President Donald Trump's administration is reinforcing its capacity to respond to any offensive action from Iran. That's why, according to Pompeo, the U.S. deployed a carrier strike group and other weaponry to the region:
"We've done all the right things to increase our security posture to the best of our ability, but we also want to make sure that we had deterrent forces in place, so in the event that Iran decided to come after an American interest - whether that be in Iraq, or Afghanistan, or Yemen, or any place in the Middle East - we were prepared to respond to them in an appropriate way. "
Despite the greater military presence in the region, the secretary of state stressed that the U.S. isn't looking for a fight - and it wouldn't stumble into one either.


Comment: There is nothing genuine about Pompeo's posturing except his desire to provide enough provocation to cause a reaction from Iran. The 'token phone call' is merely window dressing. Perhaps Iran should 'call the bluff'.

See also:

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Bad Guys

Iranian FM warns of US false flag plotting in region


FARS News Agency
Tue, 14 May 2019 16:15 UTC
Zarif
© AFP 2019/Atta Kenare
Iranian FM Javad Zarif
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned of plots by a number of radical officials in the US administration to launch false-flag operations in the region, apparently alluding to the recent ship attacks in the UAE that Washington and its Persian Gulf allies are attempting to blame on Tehran.

"We discussed the regional issues and dangers that the policies of extremist individuals in the US administration are trying to impose on the region as well as concerns about the suspicious and sabotage acts that happen in our region, and we had earlier predicted that they will adopt such measures to provoke tensions," Zarif told reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday after a meeting with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj.

The Iranian top diplomat also added that he and Swaraj conferred on issues related to energy, Chabahar port, good relations and trade between the two countries, developments in Afghanistan and fight against terrorism.
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