Puppet MastersS


Bulb

Best of the Web: What Trump is really about

Sylvain Laforest
Oriental Review
Fri, 15 Nov 2019 00:00 UTC
Trump
The timing is right for everyone to understand what Donald Trump is doing, and try to decrypt the ambiguity of how he is doing it. The controversial President has a much clearer agenda than anyone can imagine on both foreign policy and internal affairs, but since he has to stay in power or even stay alive to achieve his objectives, his strategy is so refined and subtle that next to no one can see it. His overall objective is so ambitious that he has to follow random elliptic courses to get from point A to point B, using patterns that throw people off on their comprehension of the man. That includes most independent journalists and so-called alternative analysts, as much as Western mainstream fake-news publishers and a large majority of the population.

About his strategy, I could make a quick and accurate analogy with medication: most pills are designed to cure a problem, but come with an array of secondary after-effects. Well, Trump is using medication solely for their after-effects, while the first intent of the pill is what's keeping him in power and alive. By the end of this article, you'll see that this metaphor applies for just about every decision, move or declaration he's made. Once you understand what Trump is about, you'll be able to appreciate the extraordinary presidency he's conducting, like no predecessor ever came close to match.

Comment: In case you missed it: Revelations in the bubble: Trump's presidency brings to light 7 undeniable facts about the swamp

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Wall Street

The crash party: A brief history of economic crashes and those in power

Sven Henrich
Northman Trader
Mon, 10 Feb 2020 00:00 UTC
The crash party
Since 1900 markets have had their fair share of crashes. Mind you crashes don't happen that often, in fact crashes are very rare. You know what's also very rare? A particular party being in power preceding crashes. Every single time, making them the crash party.

Oh don't start hating on me. This is not a political post, but I know how tribal politics are these days and you say one thing about anyone or party you get hammered. For the record: I'm not a Republican and I'm not a Democrat. Tribalism, parties, clubs, it's just not in my DNA. I'm an independent or outsider or whatever label fits.

I analyze charts, trends, macro data. And people who have followed me for a long time know I've been ranting about the Fed during the Obama administration as much as I am now. So this post has nothing to do with party, but with history and the data is surprising.

First off, what were the big crashes since 1900?

Comment: Interesting historical review, but for the purposes of the regular working class individual, the important thing to note is that the conditions for a crash seem quite possible for this period - now. But if one does want to drill down, these conditions got a lot of help in being put into place under Democratic leadership.

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Chess

US promises 'enormous pressure' on Tehran over... failed satellite launch?


RT
Tue, 11 Feb 2020 19:31 UTC
Pompeo says missile development behind Iran space program
Mike Pompeo
© Reuters / Kevin LamarqueUS Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Iran's latest attempt to launch a scientific satellite has apparently unnerved Washington, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lashing out at Tehran and vowing that the US would not let it continue the launches.

Washington used the occasion to once again slam Iran and the 2015 deal on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, from which the US itself unilaterally withdrew back in 2018.

Since then, America has been hell-bent on stopping the Iranian missile program, seemingly at any cost, introducing several tranches of heavy restrictions on Tehran and threatening other nations - including some of America's allies - with secondary sanctions if they don't toe the US line on dealing with Iran.

Comment: On the brink of war with Iran: US claimed it had 'intelligence' to blame Iran (Iraqi PMUs) for attack on K1 base

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Arrow Up

Inside track: National security mandarins groomed Pete Buttigieg, managed his future

Max Blumenthal
The Grayzone
Thu, 17 Dec 2020 00:00 UTC
Buttigieg
© ForbesDemocratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg
Pledging to "end endless wars," Pete Buttigieg claims he has "never been part of the Washington establishment." But years before he was known as Mayor Pete, an influential DC network of military interventionists placed him on an inside track to power.

In his quest for front-runner status in the 2020 presidential campaign, Pete Buttigieg has crafted an image for himself as a maverick running against a broken establishment.

On the trail, he has invoked his distinction as the openly gay mayor of a de-industrialized Rust Belt town, as well as his experience as a Naval reserve intelligence officer who now claims to oppose "endless wars". He insists that "there's energy for an outsider like me," promoting himself as "an unconventional candidate."

When former Secretary of State John Kerry endorsed Joe Biden this December, Buttigieg went full maverick. "I have never been part of the Washington establishment," he proclaimed, "and I recognize that there are relationships among senators who have been together on Capitol Hill as long as I've been alive and that is what it is."

But a testy exchange between the South Bend mayor and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard during a November 20 Democratic primary debate had already complicated Buttigieg's branding campaign.

Comment: This candidate is packed, programmed and loaded! Buyer beware!

See also:

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Padlock

Feds seek 7 to 9-year prison sentence for Trump ally Roger Stone

Michael Balsamo
AP
Tue, 11 Feb 2020 00:00 UTC
Roger Stone
© AP/Jose Luis MaganaRoger Stone and wife Nydia leave federal court in Washington, November 15, 2019.
Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to sentence President Donald Trump's confidant Roger Stone to serve between 7 and 9 years in prison after his conviction on witness tampering and obstruction charges.

Stone, who is scheduled to be sentenced next week, was convicted in November of a seven-count indictment that accused him of lying to Congress, tampering with a witness and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to tip the 2016 election.

He was the sixth Trump aide or adviser to be convicted of charges brought as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

In a sentencing memorandum filed Monday evening, prosecutors asked for Stone to serve between 87 and 108 months in federal prison, in accordance with federal sentencing guidelines. Such a sentence would send a message to deter others who might consider lying or obstructing a congressional probe or tampering with witnesses.

Comment: See also:

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Life Preserver

Keiser Report: Trade deficit Trump wants to eliminate is a lifeline for US dollar


RT
Tue, 11 Feb 2020 13:48 UTC
FloatDollar
© Getty Images/philhol
The trade deficit with China may have cost US jobs, but it could be one of the few things keeping the greenback afloat, RT's Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert have found. Stacy Herbert, discussing what is causing job losses and the recent study from the Economic Policy Institute, commented:
"It's trade deficit which maintains the US dollar as that global unit of account. Without that trade deficit, the US dollar could not be the world's reserve currency. So that trade deficit harms American workers, but it helps Wall Street bankers."
Max Keiser explained that bringing China into the global economy was based "on people's conception of what a trade policy should be," with no global standard for money. Thus, instead of creating one, US tariffs and trade policies:
"replaced having a yardstick for the global economy like a gold standard. You need to have a standard unit of money in the globe to have to have global trade. Once you get rid of that, as now we have no global standard of money in the world, you will open yourself to fraud and gaming the system and hopeless collapse."

Comment: It's an election year and no matter what Trump does or doesn't do with the economy, it will be perceived as self-serving.

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Folder

AG Barr: Giuliani has been giving Ukraine data to the Justice Department

Chris Storm, Billy House
Bloomberg
Mon, 10 Feb 2020 11:06 UTC
BarrGiuliani
© Reuters/Aaron P. Bernstein, Mark Reinstein/Shutterstock/KJNAG William Barr • Trump Attorney Rudy Giuliani
Attorney General William Barr acknowledged for the first time Monday that President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has been giving the Justice Department information he collected in Ukraine, essentially bringing what was a stealth campaign into official government channels.

Barr said, however, that information coming from Ukraine must be carefully vetted to ensure it is accurate and authentic. Barr told reporters during a news conference in Washington:
"The DOJ has the obligation to have an open door to anybody who wishes to provide us information that they think is relevant. We have to be very careful with respect to any information coming from Ukraine. There are a lot of agendas in the Ukraine, there are a lot of cross-currents and we can't take anything we receive from the Ukraine at face value."
But House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler quickly objected to the Justice Department's arrangement with Giuliani, saying that it "raises serious questions about conflicts of interest -- both for the department, generally, and for you, specifically."

Comment: One more time...Trump didn't pressure the Ukrainian government. He didn't seek investigations to help his re-election. Some rumors die hard. Others never do. Bloomberg is owned by Michael Bloomberg, Democratic candidate for president.

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X

'A total racist!' Trump helps 'cancel' Bloomberg on Twitter whose audio blames minorities for '95% of murders'


RT
Tue, 11 Feb 2020 15:55 UTC
Bloomberg
© Global Look/Kristin CallahanDemocratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg
Leaked audio of Democratic presidential hopeful Mike Bloomberg calling for targeted police harassment of minorities, because 'that's where the real crime is,' has gone viral with a boost from Trump. "95 percent of your murderers — murderers and murder victims — fit one MO," Bloomberg appears to say in audio leaked from an Aspen Institute speech in 2015.

"You can just take the description, xerox it and pass it out to all the cops. They are male, minorities, sixteen to twenty-five. That's where the real crime is."
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Pocket Knife

Philippines shreds key military treaty with US


RT
Tue, 11 Feb 2020 06:20 UTC
Troops
© Reuters/Romeo RanocoUS troops patrol near a Philippine army camp in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija, 2012.
Relations between two traditional allies have reached a new low after Manila warned the US that it is ending an agreement that allows American troops to set foot on the Philippines soil.

Manila sent formal notice to the US embassy on Tuesday that it is terminating the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesperson Salvador Panelo said it was done in order to be independent from Washington in military affairs. "It's about time we rely on ourselves, we will strengthen our own defenses and not rely on any other country." Panelo told reporters that the nation is open to signing VFAs with other countries as long as they are "mutually beneficial, not one-sided."

Comment: One more country shouts 'Yankee go home!" Gotta give Duterte credit for speaking his mind and following through on his edict.

See also: Duterte counter-sanctions by 'terminating' US military's immunity from prosecution in the Philippines

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Cheese

Abbas urges UNSC to reject 'deal of the century' peace plan: It's 'like Swiss cheese!'


RT
Tue, 11 Feb 2020 18:57 UTC
Abbas map
© Reuters/Shannon StapletonPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks at the UNSC meeting in New York, US on February 11, 2020.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has appeared before the UNSC, criticizing the Trump administration's peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and urging the Security Council to firmly reject it.

The UNSC gathered in New York on Tuesday to discuss the decades-long conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, and the much-hyped 'deal of the century' plan unveiled by the US President Donald Trump and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu late in January.

Speaking before the Council, Abbas once again rejected Trump's peace plan, blasting the project as a gift to Israel. "This plan should not be considered an international reference for negotiations. It is an Israeli-American preemptive plan to put an end to the question of Palestine," Abbas stated.
He then produced a map of the "independent" Palestinian state envisioned by Trump, arguing that the proposed disarray of Palestinian enclaves within Israeli territory is meant only to "legitimize what was illegal" and reinforce "the apartheid regime." Such a "state" will not actually have any real sovereignty and will lack any control over its "land, sea and air," Abbas argued. "Here's the plan they gave us. It looks like Swiss cheese."
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