Puppet Masters
In an interview with Fox News' Tucker Carlson, the host asked Trump for his views on UFOs in light of a recent briefing about Navy pilots saying they've witnessing strange inexplicable objects traveling at incredible speeds.
"Personally, I tend to doubt it," Trump replied, "I'm not a believer, but you know, I guess anything is possible."
In a potential blow to true believers, the president went on to dismiss claims that the US government has actually gotten its hands on UFO wreckage.

Democratic 2020 US presidential candidate and former VP Joe Biden at Independence Day parade.
Risking an own goal against fellow politicians and the 'intelligence community', which accuse Russia of meddling in the 2016 US election to sow discord and help Donald Trump ascend to the presidency, Biden told CNN on Friday that no election interference happened on his watch, as he unloaded on both Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"While Putin's trying to undo our elections, he's actually undoing elections in Europe. Look at what's happening in Hungary, look what's happening in Poland, look what's happening! You think that would happen on my watch or Barack's watch? You can't answer that, but I promise it wouldn't have, and it didn't," Biden told host Chris Cuomo.
Comment: See also:
- Russia is behind the 'creepy' Joe Biden scandal, latest conspiracy claims
- Biden allegations wrong: Italian intel finds no evidence of Russian meddling in Italian polls
- Psychopathic Biden sez: 'Moscow should return Crimea to Ukraine'
- Russia is behind the 'creepy' Joe Biden scandal, latest conspiracy claims
- Wrong! Biden claims Russia is in 'enormous decline'
- Biden flies to Brussels to tell European vassal states that he finds them expressing their own thoughts on Russian sanctions to be 'inappropriate and annoying'
"We believe that [the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges, or INSTEX] will be no good unless there is enough credit," Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran Seyyed Abbas Araghchi said, as cited by Irna.
Apart from credits, if the trade mechanism functioned it would also create revenues for Iran by facilitating purchases of its crude, but none of the elements is working, the diplomat pointed out.
The high-ranking diplomat's statement came on Sunday, just after Tehran announced that it will increase uranium enrichment above the limit set under the 2015 nuclear agreement, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Araghchi also warned that Iran may further reduce its commitments if its European colleagues fail to fulfill theirs.
Comment: See also:
- INSTEX: Europe's new sanctions workaround for trade with Iran
- Like a car without fuel: Iranian ambassador to UN criticizes INSTEX payment mechanism
- EU announces special trade channel, INSTEX operational; will allow firms to bypass US sanctions on Iran
- Europe launches SWIFT alternative to fund Iran in collision course with Trump
- Iran says alternative sanctions-busting payment system with EU is operational

Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, Revolutionary Guard's aerospace division, looks at US drone debris.
General Gholam Reza Jalali, head of Iran's Civil Defence Organisation, said that Iran received a warning from the US about an upcoming limited strike, after the military shot down a US Navy surveillance drone.
"After the downing of its intruding drone, the United States told us through diplomatic intermediaries that it wanted to carry out a limited operation," Gen. Jalali was quoted by Reuters as saying.
He added that Tehran responded to the warning by saying that it sees any operation as "the start of the war".
Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps shot down the an American UAV on 20 June. In a letter to the UN chief Antonio Guterres, Tehran said the drone was flying in stealth mode and was being "engaged in a clear spying operation".
Chomsky said that the allegations of anti-Semitism against party leader Jeremy Corbyn and MP Chris Williamson are a "disgrace" and an "insult to the memory" of Holocaust victims.
The Guardian has in the past reported on many of Chomsky's comments, but has chosen to ignore his latest take on a current issue, leaving many wondering if it is conveniently selective about which of his comments it deems newsworthy.
Independent journalist Matt Kennard noted that RT, the Morning Star, and the Canary were the only news organizations to cover the esteemed intellectual's remarks. "The mainstream media is running a campaign where contradictory information is just erased from record. The Guardian is at the forefront of this campaign," he said.

Anti-extradition bill protesters stand next to a colonial flag of Hong Kong after protesters broke into the Legislative Council building during the anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China in Hong Kong, China July 1, 2019.
Beijing denounced British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt as "shameless," after Hunt declared that the UK would "stand behind the people of Hong Kong in defense of [their] freedoms" amid protests over a controversial extradition law with China.
The British haven't always been so concerned about "protecting democracy" in Hong Kong, however. Before the city was handed over to China in 1997, Hong Kong was a British colony and administered by an unelected, and always British, governor.
The glaring double-standard is clearly hypocritical, former US diplomat Jim Jatras told RT:
"I'm sad to say that not only the British but the American and most other Western governments - 'hypocrisy' should be part of the official title of how they conduct their affairs, how they deal with human rights issues at home, and then how they will use any pretext to support things like color revolutions."
Comment: See also:
- Hong Kong: Protesters smash council building windows, police respond to the riot
- Democrazis: Western extremists storm Hong Kong parliament, vandalize and occupy building
- China demands UK gov't drop inquiry into Hong Kong democratic reforms
- No longer your concern: China warns Britain to stop interfering in Hong Kong's affairs
- Beijing slams Britain and US over 'gross interference' in Hong Kong protests
Comment: We're re-running this because the FT has (finally) published the full video interview with English captions.
Anyway, here it is, the moment Putin, among other things, declared the end of 'peak liberal ascendancy'...
We got this from the Kremlin's website, although the FT also published a transcript here.
The long-form interview was conducted last week in the Kremlin, on the eve of Putin's departure for the 2019 G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan.
We're not sure what's more surprising; the frankness and range of Putin's answers on everything from liberalism and religion to trade and household incomes, or the fact that the FT 'stooped' so low as to conduct a reasonably respectful interview with the great man...
The full 90-minute video of the interview is available here, but it has not yet been translated into English. In the meantime, here's a 15-minute clip from Russia Insight:

The oil supertanker Grace 1, that's on suspicion of carrying Iranian crude oil to Syria, sits anchored in waters of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, historically claimed by Spain, July 4, 2019.
Deputy Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday that the Iranian supertanker was travelling in international waters near Gibraltar because its large cargo -- two million barrels of oil -- prevented the ship from using the Suez Canal.
Comment: Iran has signalled the possibility of tit-for-tat seizures. As a US vassal, is Britain willing to go that far?
- UK marines seize (steal) ship allegedly carrying Iranian crude for Syria - Iran summons UK ambassador
- Iran's 'duty' to seize British tanker if UK fails to release captured ship - senior official at IRGC
While the 448-page Mueller report found no conspiracy between Donald Trump's campaign and Russia, it offered voluminous details to support the sweeping conclusion that the Kremlin worked to secure Trump's victory. The report claims that the interference operation occurred "principally" on two fronts: Russian military intelligence officers hacked and leaked embarrassing Democratic Party documents, and a government-linked troll farm orchestrated a sophisticated and far-reaching social media campaign that denigrated Hillary Clinton and promoted Trump.
To alleviate this dereliction by the executive branch for not presenting a clear strategy in Syria, as the former ambassador asserts, the Congress took it upon itself to identify American strategic interests in Syria and make recommendations to Trump. However, it is legitimate to ask: what do American congressmen know about Syria to qualify them to determine American strategic interests in the country? It is very unlikely for American congressmen to know much about Syria; they are dictated by the Israeli narrative and that is all they need to know.











Comment: Carlson's interview also includes reaction and analysis from journalist Nick Pope, who once investigated UFO sightings for the British Ministry of Defense on this topic.