Puppet MastersS


Brain

A worried New York Times lays out conditions for Biden-Trump debate or loophole to save Joe from live sparring

Graham Dockery
RT
Wed, 08 Jul 2020 17:57 UTC
TrumpBiden
© Reuters/Carlo Allegri/Kevin LamarqueUS President Donald Trump • Former VP Joe Biden
Joe Biden is a stumbling speaker at the best of times, and Donald Trump is the insult king. With the two set to engage in three televised debates, the New York Times has decided that Biden needs an out.

"I worry about Joe Biden debating Donald Trump," New York Times opinion columnist Thomas Friedman wrote on Tuesday. Friedman is likely not the only liberal pundit sweating at the prospect. Donald Trump, for all his ineloquence, is a brutal debater, well used to ripping his opponents apart with off-the-cuff insults and jibes. Joe Biden, by contrast, mumbles and fumbles his way even through prepared statements, and often forgets where he is, what he's talking about, and confuses figures.

Thankfully for Team Joe, Friedman offered up a roadmap for Biden to worm his way out of the traditional televised debates, the first of which is scheduled for late September. First, he argued, Biden should demand Trump release his tax returns. Though Trump is not legally required to do this, his opponents have claimed that his reluctance to release his records belies some shadiness.

Secondly, Friedman reckons the Biden camp should insist that the debates be fact-checked in real time by a team approved by both candidates. Ten minutes before the conclusion of the debates, the team should report on any "misleading statements, phony numbers or outright lies either candidate had uttered."

Comment: Not even Hollywood could write this script!

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People 2

Trump shreds CDC, threatens fed funding for schools if they don't open for in-person learning

Brett Samuels, Jessie Hellmann
The Hill
Wed, 08 Jul 2020 08:49 UTC
School closed sign
© Middleweb
President Trump on Wednesday threatened to cut off federal funding for schools if they do not resume in-person learning this fall and criticized a top government health agency for being too tough with its guidelines to aid that process.

"The Dems think it would be bad for them politically if U.S. schools open before the November Election, but is important for the children & families. May cut off funding if not open!" Trump tweeted.

In a separate tweet, Trump said he disagreed with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) "on their very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools. While they want them open, they are asking schools to do very impractical things. I will be meeting with them!!!"

CDC Director Robert Redfield emphasized at a press briefing held Tuesday with Vice President Pence that the guidelines are just recommendations.


Comment: There are many aspects to be gained from a group learning environment that cannot be achieved online. Humanity is a group. Human interaction is fundamental to our school of life.



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Propaganda

NYT that headlined 'The Russians paid bounties to the Taliban to kill US troops', quietly admits zero evidence on page 19

Ben Aris
RT
Wed, 08 Jul 2020 10:16 UTC
Girl/Soldiers
© Reuters/Goran Tomasevic
Is this how journalism is supposed to work in America? That you can make - or, more accurately, make up - lurid allegations, and then keep running with them even when there's no proof at all?

What does a newspaper do when it publishes a supposed "bombshell" story and then discovers that, erm, there is actually zero evidence for it?

Well, if you are the New York Times, it appears that you quietly bury a story admitting to this on page 19 - but make it so opaque that even the most diligent reader would be unlikely to make it to the last paragraph, which is where, ever so quietly, you make your confession.

It was bad enough that their original story - alleging that US intelligence agencies believed payments were made by the Russian foreign military intelligence GRU to Afghan fighters as "bounties" for killing US soldiers in Afghanistan - was based on anonymous sources.

Then we had to endure other mainstream media outlets picking up the story, after apparently having it confirmed by other anonymous sources. As one veteran military writer in the US succinctly put it, "I'm not sure that anonymous sources confirming what other anonymous sources said actually proves anything."

Finally, seven days after its 'scoop', the NYT ran another story on the subject, entitled 'New Administration Memo Seeks to Foster Doubts About Suspected Russian Bounties', which was published on July 3 and buried in the bowels of the paper.

Comment: Not even the high-ups in US military ranking could validate the New York Times account:
The head of U.S. Central Command says he is "not convinced" that any Russian bounties paid to Taliban militants resulted in the deaths of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Marine General Frank McKenzie spoke to reporters on July 7 about the alleged bounties.

"I'm very familiar with this material and I'm a theater commander and I've had an opportunity to look at it. I found it very worrisome. I just didn't find that there was a causative link there," McKenzie told reporters, according to a transcript of McKenzie's comments released by Central Command.

The general said whether the Russians are paying the Taliban or not, the Taliban has "done their level best to carry out operations against us" over the past several years, and that has meant there has been little change in terms of force protection.

U.S. officials stressed that the intelligence was not conclusive.
The Pentagon has said it had "no corroborating evidence" to validate the allegations.

McKenzie noted that the Russians were "not our friends in Afghanistan and they do not wish us well." He said it's important to remember that Russia suffered a humiliating defeat in Afghanistan a few decades ago, and "that weighs on the Russian psyche," and there are therefore a "variety of competing sort of impulses that are active there when the Russians think about Afghanistan."

Russia has a genuine concern about the spread of Islamic extremism from Afghanistan toward the north.
See also:

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TV

Trump campaign says Univision is 'Leftist propaganda'

J. Edward Moreno
The Hill
Wed, 08 Jul 2020 15:59 UTC
Univision Trump
President Trump's campaign on Wednesday called the Spanish-language news network Univision "a Leftist Propaganda Machine."

"Univision is not a news network; it is a leftist propaganda machine and a mouthpiece of the Democrat Party," a statement from the campaign reads. "We will treat them accordingly."

The campaign has previously accused the Spanish-language TV network of "trashing" Mount Rushmore by describing his speech there last weekend as divisive.

The renewed attack comes after Univision hosted a forum where panelists recommended books on Latin American history, which included "Open Veins of Latin America," a book written by Eduardo Galeano that describes the economic exploitation of Latin America by Europe and the U.S.
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Brick Wall

UK 'complicit' in devastating 'unlawful' Saudi led blockade of Yemen


Middle East Monitor
Tue, 07 Jul 2020 14:14 UTC
Human rights campaigners protest against the UK arms sale to Saudi Arabia
© Campaign Against Arms Trade/FlickrHuman rights campaigners protest against the UK arms sale to Saudi Arabia in London, UK on 11 July 2016
Britain has been "complicit" in the devastating Saudi led sea blockade of Yemen, a new investigation by Declassified UK has concluded in a new damning report, "Paralysing a nation". The Saudi-led coalition received British training on naval tactics that are said to have been used to blockade Yemen, an embargo which UN experts have described as "unlawful".

The Royal Navy's role in the world's worst humanitarian disaster since the Second World War and the full extent of the training provided by the UK to the Saudis and their allies, came to light following freedom of information requests by Declassified. The website, which monitors British military influence around the world, found extensive evidence of UK support for the Saudi-led sea blockade of Yemen.

Since the beginning of the Saudi-led offensive in Yemen in March 2015, the UK has licensed £5.3 billion ($6.6 billion) worth of arms to the kingdom. Shamefully, the Conservative government has continued the sale of arm and admitted to multiple breaches of a 2019 ban on new licences issued by the Court of Appeal.

Comment: "Disgraceful," "morally bankrupt" and we'll add one more descriptor to the UK's assistance of Saudi Arabia's carnage in Yemen: psychopathic.

See also:

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Black Magic

Tyranny Without a Tyrant: The Deep State's Divide-and-Conquer Strategy Is Working

John W. Whitehead
The Rutherford Institute
Tue, 07 Jul 2020 00:00 UTC
fractured US flag
"In a fully developed bureaucracy there is nobody left with whom one can argue, to whom one can present grievances, on whom the pressures of power can be exerted. Bureaucracy is the form of government in which everybody is deprived of political freedom, of the power to act; for the rule by Nobody is not no-rule, and where all are equally powerless, we have a tyranny without a tyrant." ― Hannah Arendt, On Violence
What exactly is going on?

Is this revolution? Is this anarchy? Is this a spectacle engineered to distract us from the machinations of the police state? Is this a sociological means of re-setting our national equilibrium? Is this a Machiavellian scheme designed to further polarize the populace and undermine our efforts to stand unified against government tyranny? Is this so-called populist uprising actually a manufactured race war and election-year referendum on who should occupy the White House?

Whatever it is, this — the racial hypersensitivity without racial justice, the kowtowing to politically correct bullies with no regard for anyone else's free speech rights, the violent blowback after years of government-sanctioned brutality, the mob mindset that is overwhelming the rights of the individual, the oppressive glowering of the Nanny State, the seemingly righteous indignation full of sound and fury that in the end signifies nothing, the partisan divide that grows more impassable with every passing day — is not leading us anywhere good.

Certainly it's not leading to more freedom.

This draconian exercise in how to divide, conquer and subdue a nation is succeeding.
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Chess

Soros set to double 2016 spending, pouring $40 Million into super PAC to help oust Trump and support Dems

Joe Schoffstall
The Washington Freebeacon
Sun, 05 Jul 2020 12:00 UTC
George Soros
© Getty Images
Liberal billionaire George Soros is on pace to double his 2016 election spending as he works to oust President Donald Trump, public records show.

Soros's big investments in the 2020 race have gone into the coffers of the Democracy PAC, a super PAC that passes money to other liberal PACs working to defeat Trump and congressional Republicans. The super PAC has received $40 million — double the $20 million Soros spent on Democratic efforts during the 2016 election cycle — from both Soros and a nonprofit in his sprawling network.

The megadonor's torrent of spending highlights the extent to which liberal donors are committed to getting Trump out of office. Many groups financially backed by Soros have launched multimillion-dollar attack ad campaigns in swing states to reach moderate voters who backed Trump in 2016. A network of liberal donors, including Soros, has pledged hundreds of millions on 2020 election efforts.

Comment: Not surprisingly we see that Soros is once again trying to alter the US political landscape for the absolute worst. See also:

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Eye 1

Censorship: Lithuania bans RT claiming it is led by EU sanctioned journalist - who actually heads different news org


RT
Wed, 08 Jul 2020 15:24 UTC
RT screens
© Reuters / Gonzalo Fuentes
Lithuania has followed its neighbor Latvia's lead to ban five RT channels based on "recommendations" from the country's Foreign Ministry, but offered the same bogus and bizarre excuse for the decision.

Indeed, officials in Vilnius were no more creative with their reasoning for the ban than those in Riga last month, as they came up with the same faulty logic to justify their censorship. Announcing the ban, the regulator said it was being handed down because RT is headed by Russian journalist Dmitry Kiselyov, who is under EU sanctions.

In actual fact, Kiselyov has nothing to do with RT and heads an entirely different news organization called Rossiya Segodnya.
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Star of David

AIPAC opposes Democrat amendment barring Israel using US aid for annexation of West Bank

Deborah Danan
Breitbart
Tue, 07 Jul 2020 00:00 UTC
Van Hollen
© Screenshot MSNBCUS Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
The AIPAC pro-Israel lobby on Monday announced its opposition to a Democratic-endorsed legislation amendment that would see the U.S. barring Israel from using aid money towards its plans to apply sovereignty over parts of the West Bank, citing a politicization of Israel's security needs that would hinder peace efforts.

Last week, 13 Senate Democrats led by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) filed an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would ensure no U.S. funds are expended on Israel's annexation. In a statement, AIPAC said:
"This amendment contradicts the Obama-Biden MOU and goes far beyond current law in ways that damage American interests, risk Israel's security, and make peace less likely."
The Memorandum of Understanding forged by president Obama outlined the provision of $3.3 billion in annual foreign military funding for Israel.

The Washington-based lobby noted the amendment went beyond ensuring U.S. aid was not spent on annexation, and instructed Israel on various matters including where it was permitted to set up lifesaving defense systems like the Iron Dome.

Comment: AIPAC has held a grip on Congress for many years - like a club you have to sign into and onto for proper indoctrination and marching orders regarding Israel. It is almost surprising that an amendment such as this is being considered. And no, it doesn't go far enough. How are they going to enforce it?

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Putin

Putin's vision for an anti-fascist/open system future and you

Matthew Ehret
Strategic Culture Foundation
Tue, 07 Jul 2020 19:27 UTC
putin and xi
During the course of President Putin's June 24 opening speech during the Moscow Parade celebrating the 75th anniversary of WWII, the following call to action was made:
"We understand how important it is to strengthen friendship and trust between nations, and are open to dialogue and cooperation on the most pressing issues on the international agenda. Among them is the creation of a common reliable security system, something the complex and rapidly changing modern world needs. Only together can we protect the world from new dangerous threats."
This call echoed the President's powerful June 19 article published in the National Interest where he outlined in stark terms the powerful financier and aristocratic forces behind the rise of Hitler in the wake of WWI, and the vital need to honor those millions who died to ensure freedom and survival for future generations. In his article, Putin laid out the call for an emergency meeting among the five veto-carrying members of the U.N. Security Council which he first publicized during his January 15, 2020 State of the Union.
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