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FBI never saw CrowdStrike unredacted or final report on alleged Russian hacking because none was produced

The FBI relied on CrowdStrike’s “conclusion” to blame Russia for hacking DNC servers, though the private firm never produced a final report and the FBI never asked them to, as Ray McGovern explains. by Ray McGovern Part 3 - CrowdStrike’s Early Role In a Memorandum for the President on July 24, 2017, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity referred prominently to this instructive time sequence:  June 12, 2016: Julian Assange announces WikiLeaks is about to publish ‘emails related to Hillary Clinton.’ June 14, 2016: DNC contractor CrowdStrike, (with a dubious professional record and multiple conflicts of interest) announces that malware has been found on the DNC server and claims there is evidence it was injected by Russians. June 15, 2016: ‘Guccifer 2.0’ affirms the DNC statement; claims responsibility for the ‘hack;’ claims to be a WikiLeaks source; and posts a document that the forensics show was synthetically tainted with ‘Russian fingerprints.’ VIPS does not

Behind the Syrian Network for Human Rights: How an opposition front group became Western media’s go-to monitor

Top media outlets turn to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) for figures on deaths and detentions, never noting the group’s seamless connection to Syria’s opposition, the support it receives from states that waged war on the country, or its open lobbying for US military intervention. by Max Blumenthal Part 4 - Another chemical “red line” deception? Not only has the Syrian Network for Human Rights conjured up ridiculously slanted death toll numbers, it recently made suspicious claims of chemical weapons use by the Syrian government in an overt bid to trigger US military intervention. On March 27, as Syrian forces closed in on the province of Idlib, the home of the rebranded al-Qaeda affiliate known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), SNHR claimed that the Syrian government used a missile launcher to fire “poison gas” at an HTS position in the eastern suburbs of Latakia. The attack “caused breathing difficulty, redness of the eyes and tearing” among the targets, accordi

Putin: no way Trump can ‘steamroll’ Russia into accepting US stance on Iran & Venezuela

Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied that Donald Trump can secure concessions on key issues by dangling the prospect of a new one-to-one meeting, but reiterated that Moscow is ready for fresh talks. The US president has repeatedly insisted that he will speak face-to-face with Putin at the G20 summit in Osaka next week, and US National Security Advisor John Bolton confirmed on Sunday that Trump was “ looking forward to it. ” However, the Kremlin says that the White House has not finalized its diplomatic request, and Putin was asked on TV whether Trump is using the uncertainty as an opportunity to “ steamroll ” Russia into softening its positions on Iran and Venezuela. “ I don’t think anyone is trying to steamroll us on anything – they must understand that is a far-fetched possibility. But we do need the dialogue, ” Putin told Russian channel NTV. He nonetheless repeated Moscow’s position that it will not make the first move, particularly after Trump called off a scheduled si

Πρόγραμμα ΝΔ: το απόλυτο τίποτα της νεοφιλελεύθερης καταστροφής

του system failure Είναι πολύ εύκολο να καταλάβει κανείς το σχέδιο Μητσοτάκη για την επόμενη μέρα, με βάση αυτό που διαφημίζει ως "πρόγραμμα". Η χειρότερη δεξιά της μεταπολίτευσης, φανατικά προσηλωμένη στον καταστροφικό νεοφιλελευθερισμό, έχει ως βασικό και απ'ότι φαίνεται μοναδικό στόχο, τις επενδύσεις και την ανάπτυξη. Δηλαδή, με λίγα λόγια, ο Κυριάκος θα πατήσει ένα κουμπί και όλα τα άλλα θα τα κάνουν οι περίφημες αγορές. Θα' ρθουν επενδυτές, θα δημιουργήσουν θέσεις εργασίας, θα επιστρέψουν οι νέοι από το εξωτερικό και η νεκρή μεσαία τάξη θα αναστηθεί ως εκ θαύματος.  Μια μεσαία τάξη που, κατά τη λογική των μιντιακών γκεμπελίσκων και των δεξιών τρολ, καταστράφηκε επί ΣΥΡΙΖΑ. Λες και δεν υπήρχε χώρα πριν το 15. Λες και η γαλαζοπράσινη λαίλαπα δεν χρεοκόπησε τη χώρα, δεν πετσόκοψε μισθούς και συντάξεις, δεν ρήμαξε τα ασφαλιστικά ταμεία, δεν έσωσε τα τραπεζιτικά παράσιτα με δισεκατομμύρια στέλνοντας τον λογαριασμό στα συνήθη υποζύγια.  Η

Former Naval officer exposes flaws in US intel on Iran oil tanker attack

According to the Times of Israel , the US intelligence on Iran’s alleged role in earlier attacks on oil tankers came from the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. Other reports implied that Mossad had advanced warning of the attacks, and had passed on information to the US several weeks before the first incidents.  “ Mossad had tipped off the United States on an impending Iranian attack on American interests in the Gulf, prompting Washington to deploy an aircraft carrier strike group to the region, in a sharp escalation of US President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign, ” added the Times . “ Israeli officials conveyed information gathered largely by the Mossad on an Iranian plan to attack either a US or US-allied target, details of which were not provided to the network. ” The alleged intelligence was reportedly passed on by Israeli National Security Advisor Meir Ben Shabbat to his counterpart, John Bolton, in April — a month prior to the first attacks. According to Bolton himse

Tapes of Spaniards’ attempt to extort Julian Assange: “This material is worth €3m”

“ Do you work for free? This material is worth €3 million. We have to put food on our tables too, you know. ” Thanks to assistance from the police, there is recorded evidence of a meeting at Madrid’s Reina Victoria Hotel in which a Spanish reporter named José Martín Santos and two computer experts attempted to sell WikiLeaks sensitive material in connection with an alleged case of spying against Julian Assange while he was living at the Ecuadorean embassy in London. In the recorded conversation, to which EL PAÍS has had access, the alleged extortionists said that there were microphones at the embassy, and that all recorded material involving the WikiLeaks founder was being handed over to the ambassador for review. Martín and one of his associates in Alicante offered WikiLeaks the opportunity to spy on their spies, for a price. Two of the three alleged extortionists have since been arrested and are now being investigated by the courts. The Madrid meeting took place on April

Masks fall at last: Bernie officially declares war on corporate Dems who seek to survive around Warren

globinfo freexchange On early June, Politico published an article which actually unfolded, in plain sight, the plans of the corporate branch of the Democratic party to stop Bernie Sanders. As we wrote back then: This is an amazingly straight admission by the establishment apparatus, concerning a certain strategy as part of the whole anti-Sanders operation. And it is also clear that Elizabeth Warren is establishment's key player around this strategy. Perhaps it's not accidental that this article was published right after Elizabeth Warren signaled to the establishment that she will 'play by the rules' at least on some issues, through her neocon-style statement on Julian Assange. Only a couple of weeks later, Politico revealed Warren's upgraded role in the anti-Sanders operation. According to a new article , " Centrists who once said the senator would lead the party to ruin are coming around to her as an alternative to Bernie Sanders. "

From coup leaders to con artists: Juan Guaidó’s gang exposed for massive humanitarian aid fraud

An explosive new report reveals how Guaidó representatives in Colombia embezzled $125,000 meant for humanitarian aid, suckering deserting soldiers and blowing the aid money on luxury goods. by Dan Cohen  Part 1 A new investigation has exposed members of Venezuelan coup leader Juan Guaidó’s inner circle for embezzling tens of thousands of dollars designated for humanitarian aid and spending it on luxury goods and lavish accommodations for themselves. Guaidó had been aware of the fraud for weeks and stubbornly defended his cohorts until a leak from Colombian intelligence forced him to acknowledge the scandal. The scandal unfolded this February, when Venezuelan opposition figures and their supporters descended upon the border town of Cúcuta, Colombia for what was billed as a Live Aid concert to raise millions of dollars for humanitarian aid for Venezuelans suffering the effects of an economic crisis.  The operation was supposed to have climaxed with a Live Aid concert ho

China could challenge US dollar’s dominance by globalizing the yuan

The “ only way that can ever change ” the supremacy of the US dollar as a global reserve currency is if there’s a genuine, “ long-term alternative, ” former chairman of Goldman Sachs Jim O’Neill said. He told CNBC that China could consider expanding the role of its currency. “ Some people would say, of course, the ultimate weapon would be for China to start selling very large numbers of US bonds… but it would probably hurt, of course, the value of Chinese investments, ” O’Neill said. According to him, a weak yuan will also reduce investor confidence. “ I don’t think a renminbi [yuan – Ed.] ... devaluation makes a lot of sense at all, ” he said. China could also focus on the growing power of its consumers to strengthen its global position, O’Neill added. He noted that currently, domestic consumption makes up only 40 percent of Chinese GDP, compared to 70 percent in the United States. “ Over the next decade to 20 years, there’s no way the US consumer can continue to be the

FBI never saw CrowdStrike unredacted or final report on alleged Russian hacking because none was produced

The FBI relied on CrowdStrike’s “conclusion” to blame Russia for hacking DNC servers, though the private firm never produced a final report and the FBI never asked them to, as Ray McGovern explains. by Ray McGovern Part 2 - Comey Can’t Say Why At a time of high tension in the 2016 presidential campaign, when the late Sen. John McCain and others were calling Russian “hacking” an “act of war,” the FBI settled for three redacted “draft reports” from CrowdStrike rather than investigate the alleged hacking itself, the court document shows. Then FBI Director James Comey admitted in congressional testimony that he chose not to take control of the DNC’s “hacked” computers, and did not dispatch FBI computer experts to inspect them, but has had trouble explaining why.  In his testimony, he conceded that “best practices” would have dictated that forensic experts gain physical access to the computers. Nevertheless, the FBI decided to rely on forensics performed by a firm being pa