Puppet MastersS


Dominoes

Follow China, follow Russia, follow America - The politics of COVID-19 alternatives without choice

John Helmer
Dances With Bears
Mon, 30 Mar 2020 20:49 UTC
putin xi trump
"The immediate priority is to prevent the quick spread of this disease", President Vladimir Putin (lead image, top left) declared in his state speech on the corona virus last week.

This is the point on which there is no disagreement, not now at least. But how restrictive for the economy the anti-contagion measures should be, and at what cost compared to the cost of the virus impact on life and death, is a point of considerable debate, inside Russia as everywhere else. That is the point which Putin avoided. He is not alone among the heads of state or government in the rest of the world. What is the difference then between Putin and all of them?

"Our most crucial task is to ensure stability in the labour market and to prevent a surge in unemployment", Putin added in his March 25 speech, announcing a combination of small social welfare and employment compensation measures, with tax relief and loan deferment for businesses, and Central Bank support for "stable lending to the real economy, including through state guarantees and subsidies."
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Arrow Up

SouthCom ups US military presence in Latin America due to China, Russia 'threats'; Brazil bows and obeys

Ben Norton
The Grayzone
Mon, 30 Mar 2020 00:00 UTC
Bolsonaro
© UnknownUS Southern Command and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro
Southern Command is ramping up the US military presence in Latin America to counter China, Russia, and Venezuela, after signing a historic military agreement incorporating Bolsonaro's Brazil into its imperial orbit.

The Donald Trump administration has ramped up US interventionism in Latin America, overseeing a far-right military coup in Bolivia and backing coup attempts against the leftist governments of Venezuela and Nicaragua.

Against the backdrop of regime-change operations, the United States Southern Command has announced a massive expansion of its military presence in the region.

Brazil will play an anchoring role in the new arrangement, embracing its new role as an extension of Pax Americana under the far-right government of Jair Bolsonaro. In recent months, Brazil has been designated a "major non-NATO ally" and signed a historic agreement incorporating its domestic defense industry into a Pentagon funding and research program.
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Pirates

Syria: US supports terrorists holding hostages at Rukban Camp

Steven Sahiounie
Mideast Discourse
Mon, 30 Mar 2020 00:00 UTC
Terrorists
© Unknown
While the COVID-19 pandemic has taken center stage of the global media, there is little attention paid to a tragedy playing out in southeastern Syria. Far away from the western media coverage of the "Islamic State of Idlib", the scene is set in a desolate area on the border between Syria and Iraq, adjacent to the illegal US military base of 'Al Tanf'. The 'Rukban Camp' holds 13,500 Syrian civilians, who are displaced, and 6,000 armed Radical Islamic terrorists of Maghawir Al-Thawra and their families.

On March 28 the Russian-Syrian Coordination Committee released a statement in Damascus, in which they exposed the US support of the terrorists who control the camp. Under the guise of humanitarian aid, the US has coerced the UN into complicity, as the UN aid trucks are used to deliver not only food and supplies to the suffering civilians but also arms and ammunition to Maghawir Al-Thawra who administer the camp. The US uses the residents of the camp as a reason to remain in illegal occupation of the area, claiming the US troops are protecting the displaced civilians who live at the camp.

Comment: See also:

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Calendar

Washington renews 4 restrictions on Iran's nuclear program for 60 days


Business Standard
Tue, 31 Mar 2020 12:34 UTC
Iran mapthing
© WordPress.com/Sabbah Report
The restrictions related to non-proliferation work on the Middle East country are designed to make the Iranian nuclear program less capable of producing weapons.

The Trump administration on Monday (local time) decided to renew four restrictions on Iran's nuclear program for the next 60 days making it harder for Tehran to develop further nuclear weapons. Morgan Ortagus, US State Department spokesperson said in a statement:
"US is renewing four nuclear restrictions on Iran for an additional 60 days. We'll closely monitor developments in Iran's nuclear program and can adjust these restrictions at any time. As President Trump said, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon."
These restrictions are based on Iran's continued nuclear program which "is unacceptable", she added.
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Pirates

Tunisia, Libya: Mercenaries from Syria recruited to create terrorist enclaves

Vladimir Platov
New Eastern Outlook
Tue, 31 Mar 2020 00:00 UTC
Terrorists
© UnknownTerrorists in Tunisia
Terrorists who have fled Idlib (in Syria), in part due to actions taken by Turkey, are dispersing throughout Africa thus posing a security threat to the entire North African region.

Their numbers are especially high in Libya and Tunisia today. According to many commentators, Turkey, in its desire not to sacrifice its military personnel to protect its own geopolitical interests by providing military assistance to Fayez al-Sarraj's Government of National Accord (GNC), has shown its willingness to transform Libya and Tunisia into breeding grounds for terrorism by actively directing mercenaries to these two countries.

The reason Ankara has chosen Tunisia as one of the destinations for militants from Syria is that after Ennahda, a moderate Islamist party, won in Tunisia's parliamentary elections in October 2019, Islamists began to consolidate their position in this nation. In addition, it is worth pointing out that Ennahda's ideology has been, in many ways, inspired by that of the Muslim Brotherhood (a terrorist organization banned in Russia), which Turkey and Qatar actively support. It is important not to forget that Turkey is a nation whose leadership includes players from moderate Islamist ranks or more precisely, the Muslim Brotherhood in Turkey. Hence, it is no secret that armed units supporting Fayez al-Sarraj's GNC and Turkey's leaders share an ideology to a certain extent (although, of course, there are also some differences).

Comment: See also: Joanne Moriarty: Turkey proceeds with invasion of Libya, tribes respond

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Life Preserver

Iran receives medical goods from European states in first INSTEX transaction


Sputnik
Tue, 31 Mar 2020 08:26 UTC
Iran woman mask
© West Asia News/ReutersCoronavirus in Iran
The INSTEX trading mechanism was previously created by European countries to bypass unilateral restrictions, imposed against the Islamic Republic by Washington, as the US threatened to hit those trading with Tehran via secondary sanctions. Iran, however, has repeatedly criticised INSTEX for not functioning properly.

France, Germany, and the United Kingdom have officially confirmed concluding their first INSTEX transaction with Iran, exporting medical goods to the Middle Eastern country. According to the German Foreign Ministry, Berlin hopes to enhance the mechanism and carry out more transaction with Tehran.

The news comes several months after Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands joined the mechanism, allowing the countries to circumvent US sanctions against Iran.

The medical goods are being sent to the country amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has severely affected Iran, making it the worst-hit Asian country outside China.

Comment: See also:

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Arrow Up

'A huge, timely BDS victory': Microsoft dumps AnyVision, Israeli tech firm spying on Palestinians

Michael Arria
Mondoweiss
Mon, 30 Mar 2020 00:00 UTC
Truck sign
© JVP/Twitter
Microsoft has announced that its divesting its shareholding in the Israeli facial recognition company AnyVision. The move follows an audit which was forced by a BDS campaign targeting the company. Activists say that AnyVision's facial recognition technology is used to spy on Palestinians in the West Bank.

After Microsoft invested in the company last June, NBC News reported that AnyVision "powers a secret military surveillance project" in Palestine. ACLU's Shankar Narayan at the time said:
"Face recognition is possibly the most perfect tool for complete government control in public spaces, so we need to treat it with extreme caution."
When NBC reached out to AnyVision CEO Eylon Etshtein for the story, he denied knowledge of the project, insisted that the West Bank wasn't occupied, and implied that the report was being funded by a Palestinian activist group.
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Briefcase

Venezuela: Guaido subpoenaed 'among main perpetrators' for attempted coup, assassinations


RT
Tue, 31 Mar 2020 16:40 UTC
Guaido
© Reuters/Manaure QuinteroPretender Juan Guaido
Venezuela's prosecutors have summoned Juan Guaido over his role in the "attempted coup d'etat," as well as in alleged assassination attempts. Guaido is the main figure in US-backed efforts to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

The move was announced by Attorney General Tarek William Saab on Tuesday in a televised speech. The official described Guaido as "one of the main perpetrators" of a "new" attempted coup.

The move comes after a cache of weaponry, said to be smuggled into Venezuela, was seized in neighboring Colombia last week. Saab stated:
"As part of last week's initial investigation into an attempted coup and assassination, following the unveiling of an arsenal of war, we have issued a summons for one of those responsible to appear next Thursday in the Prosecutor's Office."
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Brain

'A voice of clarity'? Biden's podcast shadowed by sex assault charge, mental state, weird interviews


RT
Mon, 30 Mar 2020 18:00 UTC
Joe Biden
© Scott Olsen/Getty ImagesFormer VP and Democratic candidate for President Joe Biden
Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden has launched a podcast, attempting to reassure voters by channeling FDR's WW2-era Fireside Chats but failing to distract from sexual assault allegations and concerns about his mental state.

The show, called Here's the Deal, debuted on Monday with a sit-down with Obama administration "Ebola czar" and venture capitalist Ron Klain, whom Biden (jokingly?) called an "old friend of the show." Perhaps tellingly for the candidate, who has staunchly refused to participate in a final primary debate with Democratic Socialist challenger Bernie Sanders, the pre-recorded, heavily-edited podcast clocked in at under 22 minutes.

Comment: At best, Biden is one of the side-shows to keep us distracted while nefarious things go on in the US. There is no evident logic to his promotion to presidential candidate except as a test to assess how indoctrinated and gullible we have become. Pushover politics happen for a reason and nothing happens in Washington by accident.

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Wolf

Putchists lurk in the shadow of coronavirus

Thierry Meyssan
Voltaire Network
Tue, 31 Mar 2020 16:22 UTC
General Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy
On February 1, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper instructed General Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy to stand by. On February 13, O'Shaughnessy testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee that he was preparing for the worst-case scenario. In the event of a health disaster, the "Continuity of Government" plan would make him the next dictator (in the ancient sense) of the United States.
While the public's eyes are riveted on the progression of coronavirus numbers, a profound reorganization of the executive is taking place, giving primacy to senior health officials over policy. In the shadows, bankers and soldiers are agitating in the hope of confiscating power for their own benefit.

The primacy of administrative logic over political logic

Many governments in industrialized countries decided to respond to the Covid-19 epidemic by confining their populations. This strategy does not stem from medicine, which has never practised isolation of healthy people, but from good management of medical resources to prevent a massive influx of sick people so as not to clog hospitals. Few industrialized countries, such as Sweden, have rejected this administrative approach to the epidemic. They have opted for a medical approach and therefore do not practise generalised containment.

The first lesson of the current period is therefore that in developed countries, administrative logic is now superior to medical experience.
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