Puppet MastersS


Chess

Belarus on the brink? Unloved in Moscow, a pariah again in the West & facing protests at home, Lukashenko is running out of road


RT
Mon, 10 Aug 2020 03:03 UTC
Lukashenko
© AP Photo/Sergei Grits; REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko
Alexander Lukashenko will likely ride out the gathering storm across Belarus. However, he cannot remain the president forever. Which means Russia needs to work out a realistic long term strategy toward its closest ally.

There is little that Russia's leaders like less than political instability. The 2016 Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation uses the word 'stability' no fewer than 24 times, and the term has appeared regularly in the speeches of Russia's President Vladimir Putin throughout the 21 years he has been either president or prime minister. Given a choice between revolution and the status quo, the preference of most Russians runs firmly in favor of the latter.

This may explain Putin's response to Sunday's presidential election in Belarus. According to official figures (which many disbelieve), incumbent President Lukashenko won nearly 80 percent of the vote. Following the announcement of this result, violent protests broke out in cities across Belarus, with opposition activists complaining that the results had been falsified.
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Snakes in Suits

Italian MPs received coronavirus relief payments meant for self-employed

Angela Giuffrida
The Guardian
Mon, 10 Aug 2020 14:01 UTC
Maio
© Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty ImagesThe foreign minister, Luigi Di Maio, said the five deputies should come forward and confess.
The Italian government is seeking to discover the identities of five deputies who are alleged to have received a relief payment intended to support the self-employed during the coronavirus lockdown.

A report in the newspaper La Repubblica on Sunday also revealed that 2,000 regional and local politicians applied to receive the bonus, which ranged between €600 (£540) and €1,000, from INPS, Italy's social security and pensions agency.

The revelation has provoked outrage in Italy, with leaders of all parties calling for the identities of the parliamentarians, who are protected by a privacy law, to be made public and for them to resign.

It is suspected that three of the parliamentarians are with the far-right League party, one is with the Five Star Movement (M5S), ruling nationally alongside the Democratic party, and one is a member of Italia Viva, the party set up last year by the former prime minister Matteo Renzi.

Comment: See also:

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Star of David

Flashback Best of the Web: Why an Israeli newspaper wanted to 'flatten' a city of millions - Beirut

Asa Winstanley
Global Research
Sun, 28 Feb 2016 00:00 UTC
Moshe Yaalon
© ReutersFormer Israeli DM Moshe Yaalon
Earlier this month Haaretz, Israel's influential liberal daily, published a blood-curdling article. It openly argued for war crimes on a massive scale against the civilian population of a neighbouring Arab state.

"Should Israel Flatten Beirut to Destroy Hezbollah's Missiles?" the article's headline mused. It was written by Amitai Etzioni, a professor of international relations at George Washington University. He was also a member of the Palmach, a unit in one pre-state Zionist terrorist group, a forerunner of the Israeli military. He participated in the Nakba (or Catastrophe), Israel's 1948 ethnic cleansing of some 750,000 Palestinians.

After criticism by the journalist Belén Fernández, Etzioni later got Haaretz to edit the online version of the story, so that it now has a slightly less aggressive headline (but not before copies of the original were made).

But the substance of the article is still the same: this esteemed professor advocates the use of a weapon that "flattens all buildings within a considerable range" on Beirut, a city of some 2 million people. "There are going to be civilian casualties," he threatens;

Comment: Yaalon was brash enough to spread his venom, but at the end of the day, Israel is prepared to do all he said...and more.

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Caesar

Best of the Web: Alexandr Lukashenko, a president with scruples

John Goss
OffGuardian
Sun, 09 Aug 2020 00:00 UTC
Alexandr Lukashenko
© picture-alliance/dpa/BelTA/N. PetrovBelarus President Alexandr Lukashenko
One day at the beginning of April this year I had an awakening. It dawned on me that Russia had been leaned upon to change its policy regarding COVID-19. By that time the virus had spread through the UK like wildfire and was reaching its peak whereas in Russia there had been few infections and very few deaths.

It disturbed me that Russia Today (RT), a favoured TV channel, had changed course. It had always been a safe harbour in which to dock alternative viewpoints and seek solace from the lies and dogma of our own major news broadcasters. With the exception of events of 9/11 Russia Today seemed to offer a refreshing and often incisively critical insight into world affairs, throwing new light on the Skripal affair and the alleged chemical attacks in Syria, among other worthy reporting.

When the viral spread of SARS-COV-2 hit the west, forcing lockdowns and facial masks, RT was praising Russia's efforts in controlling the spread and keeping deaths to a minimum. By all measures it looked like Russia had bucked the trend and everything was under control. Suddenly all that changed. News readers, regular anchors and reporters were pushing a totally different message. In essence the coronavirus rhetoric had gone east. Accompanying footage suddenly contained repetitive images of people wearing masks and RT's UK viewers were being advised to follow the guidelines on lockdown for our own safety and the safety of others. I might just as well have been watching the BBC.

Comment: It did appear that Russia changed Covid horses in mid-stream and questions arose regarding its abrupt turn. With its a-typical response to Covid-19 indoctrination and protocols, Belarus increased our understanding of the 'pandemic' along with the nature and agenda of the forces behind it.

See also:

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Clipboard

China slaps sanctions on 11 US lawmakers, citizens, in retaliation against the Trump administration

Tim Pearce
The Daily Wire
Mon, 10 Aug 2020 00:00 UTC
Lijian
© ReutersChina's FM spokesman Zhao Lijian,
China is imposing new sanctions on 11 U.S. citizens, including a handful of lawmakers, in retaliation for the action the U.S. took against Hong Kong officials last week.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian announced the new sanctions on Monday during a daily press briefing, according to The Wall Street Journal. The new sanctions will hit five GOP lawmakers who are considered hawks on China and have been critical of Beijing's actions in Hong Kong: Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Ted Cruz of Texas, Marco Rubio of Florida, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, and Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey.

Also included in the list of sanctioned Americans are Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth, National Endowment for Democracy President Carl Gershman, and Freedom House President Michael Abramowitz.

"In response to the erroneous actions of the U.S., China has decided to impose sanctions today on those individuals who behaved badly on Hong Kong-related issues," Lijian said at the press briefing. He did not specify the actions that would be taken. No Trump administration officials are being targeted.

China has previously issued sanctions on Cruz and Rubio for calling attention to Beijing's oppression of Uyghers and other ethnic minorities in the country's Xinjiang region.

On Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on at least 11 Hong Kong officials that have been working closely with Beijing to reform and restructure Hong Kong's government and laws.

Comment: Sanctions are OK for the US to do, but not China.

See also:

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Attention

New Iran envoy Elliott Abrams raises the risk that Israel will provoke Trump into conflict with Tehran

James North
Mondoweiss
Fri, 07 Aug 2020 00:00 UTC
Elliot Abrams
© UnknownSpecial Envoy to Iran Elliott Abrams
The danger that Benjamin Netanyahu will provoke Donald Trump into attacking Iran is not over. In fact, the risk of conflict just increased — because the new U.S. special envoy for Iran is none other than Elliott Abrams, the defender of mass murder in the1980s in Central America who is also fanatically pro-Israel.

But you won't learn about this risk in today's New York Times. It appears that Times reporters David Sanger and Michael Crowley are secretly moonlighting for Brian Hook, the outgoing U.S. Iran diplomat. Their article only mentions Abrams once, and goes on to whitewash Hook's career and give a distorted view of U.S. policy toward Iran.

Let's turn to Eric Alterman for a recent, thorough look at Elliott Abrams and his criminal dishonesty about U.S.-sponsored crimes in Central America in the 1980s. Alterman provides facts to substantiate his view that Abrams was a
"cheerleader for murderous dictators, and the new Iran envoy's career was literally built on the defense of mass murder and genocide and his willingness to lie on behalf of those who carried it out and smear the reputations of anyone who sought to try and stop or expose it."

Comment: See also:

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Better Earth

Agreement on Taliban prisoner release brings Afghan peace talks a step closer


RFE/RL
Mon, 10 Aug 2020 17:42 UTC
Afghan Mohammad Ashraf Ghani
© ARG (RFE/RL)Afghan president Mohammad Ashraf Ghani
The Afghan government and the Taliban are on the verge of starting peace talks aimed at ending almost two decades of war in Afghanistan after President Ashraf Ghani said that he will approve the release of 400 Taliban militants.

Ghani announced his intention to sign a decree to release the militants on August 9, shortly after the move was recommended by 3,400 prominent Afghans at a three-day Loya Jirga in Kabul.

Afghan government sources have suggested that Ghani is likely to sign the release order on August 10.

The decision came more than five months after Washington and the Taliban made the release of prisoners by both sides a condition for the talks between the militant group and Kabul.

The talks will start in Doha, Qatar, after the completion of the prisoner release, expected in the next few days, the U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, said on Twitter.

Khalilzad welcomed Ghani's decision and the declaration of the Loya Jirga, a traditional meeting of Afghan tribal elders and other stakeholders convened to decide on controversial national issues.
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Propaganda

Zero self-awareness: Stelter claims left-wing media not dedicated to 'tearing down Trump'

Nicholas Fondacaro
mrcNewsBusters
Mon, 10 Aug 2020 17:26 UTC
brian stelter CNN
© Reuters/Andrew KellyBrian Stelter at a Media Literacy Week panel in Manhattan, New York
CNN chief medial reporter Brian Stelter beclowned himself yet again during Sunday's no-so Reliable Sources. Between raging at right-wing media and talk radio for questioning Joe Biden's mental lucidity, and claiming left-wing hacks like himself weren't dedicated to "tearing down" President Trump, Stelter was out to prove that he was willing to lie with impunity. And at one point, a guest floated the idea of weaponizing the Federal Communication Commission to target and presumably shut down right-wing talk radio.

Gaslighting his viewers from the get-go, Stelter hoped they wouldn't remember how he was among the first in the liberal media to demand the press start questioning Trump's mental health, as he railed against right-wing media for now questioning Biden's.

Suggesting his opponents lived in "a totally alternative universe," he warned CNN's gullible, lefty viewers: "What you are about to hear them say is mind-boggling. Look, whether you like Biden or not, this stuff is offensive and other-worldly."

After acting like it was some great mystery as to why right-wing figures were switching over to discussing the election instead of coronavirus (it's not like two conventions are coming up later this month and debates in September), Stelter argued that what we're seeing was hyper "negative partisanship" coming from right-wing media:
You know what this is? This is negative partisanship in action. So, what's negative partisanship? Well, these researchers from Emory University define it as a pretty simple content. They say in this article for Politico magazine that, "over the past few decades American politics has become like a bitter sports rivalry, in which the parties hang together mainly out of sheer hatred of the other team, rather than a shared sense of purpose."

The researchers showed that partisans, meaning strong supporters of a specific party, have grown to dislike the opposing party, quote, "more than they like their own party."

So, when the President, for example, says that Biden is against God, that's negative partisanship. It is so hateful.

Comment:



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MIB

SOTT Focus: The Cambridge Four: Spies Who Hijacked America

Steven P. Schrage, PhD
taibbi.substack.com
Sun, 09 Aug 2020 16:34 UTC
General Mike Flynn
© Saul Loeb / Getty ImagesGeneral Mike Flynn
As a doctoral candidate at Cambridge working under "FBI Informant" Stefan Halper, I had a front-row seat for Russiagate

Global scandals now labeled Russiagate, Spygate, and what President Trump calls "Obamagate" shook the political world, but hit me closer to home. I'm the reason the so-called FBI "spy" at the center of Spygate, Stefan Halper, met Carter Page, the alleged "Russian Asset" in Russiagate's Crossfire Hurricane investigation.

On May 19, 2018, this realization blindsided me in London as I was about to fly out for my wedding. The New York Times, NBC News and other sources had outed my PhD supervisor, Stefan Halper, as a spy known to the UK's MI6 intelligence service as "The Walrus."

It didn't seem real. Could a former professor I once trusted as a mentor have betrayed his word, profession, and country to start these disasters? I had moved to England to pursue an academic career and leave DC's politics behind, only to have my PhD supervisor throw me back into the most outrageous political firestorms I could imagine. Just my luck. Then an even worse question began nagging at me. Did I unintentionally light the match that started it all?

Comment: Fox News reports:



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X

Iran shutters newspaper after expert claims real number of Covid-19 cases is 95% higher


Associated Press
Mon, 10 Aug 2020 17:10 UTC
iranian woman mask covid
© EPA-EFE
Iran shut down a newspaper on Monday after it published remarks by an expert who said the official figures on coronavirus cases and deaths in the country account for only 5% of the real toll, allegations rejected by the Health Ministry.

Mohammad Reza Sadi, the editor-in-chief of Jahane Sanat, told the official IRNA news agency that authorities closed his newspaper, which began publishing in 2004 and was mainly focused on business news.

On Sunday, the daily quoted Mohammad Reza Mahboobfar, an epidemiologist the paper said had worked on the government's anti-coronavirus campaign, as saying the true number of cases and deaths in Iran could be 20 times the number reported by the Health Ministry.

He also said the virus was detected in Iran a month earlier than Feb. 19, when authorities announced the first confirmed case. He said they held up the announcement until after the commemorations of the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and parliamentary elections earlier that month.

"The administration resorted to secrecy for political and security reasons," he said, and only provided "engineered statistics" to the public.

Comment: Here are the official death statistics from Iran. Either way, like most governments today, it looks like they're up to something with their data:
iran deaths
Back in March reports made it appear as if the country would fall to pieces, politicians were dying on a semi-regular basis, and along with Italy it looked as if Iran was one of the hardest hit countries on the planet. If the above graph were true, Iran would have been in an even worse position for all of July.

As for the above account, this criticism seems more believable:

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