Puppet MastersS


Phoenix

Best of the Web: The Resistance's disruptive military innovation may determine the fate of Israel

isreal iran flags war flames
Whether the U.S. and Europe likes it or not, Iran is a major regional political player.

Looking back to what I wrote in 2012, in the midst of the so-called Arab Spring and its aftermath, it is striking just how much the Region has shifted. It is now almost 180° re-orientated. Then, I argued,
"That the Arab Spring "Awakening" is taking a turn, very different to the excitement and promise with which it was hailed at the outset. Sired from an initial, broad popular impulse, it is becoming increasingly understood, and feared, as a nascent counter-revolutionary "cultural revolution" - a re-culturation of the region in the direction of a prescriptive canon that is emptying out those early high expectations ...

"That popular impulse associated with the 'awakening' has now been subsumed and absorbed into three major political projects associated with this push to reassert [Sunni primacy]: a Muslim Brotherhood project, a Saudi-Qatari-Salafist project, and a [radical jihadi] project.

"No one really knows the nature of the [first project] the Brotherhood project - whether it is that of a sect; or if it is truly mainstream ... What is clear, however, is that the Brotherhood tone everywhere is increasingly one of militant sectarian grievance. The joint Saudi-Salafist project was conceived as a direct counter to the Brotherhood project - and [the third] was the uncompromising Sunni radicalism [Wahhabism], funded and armed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, that aims, not to contain, but rather, to displace traditional Sunnism with the culture of Salafism. i.e. It sought the 'Salifisation' of traditional Sunni Islam.

"All these projects, whilst they may overlap in some parts, are in a fundamental way competitors with each other. And [were] being fired-up in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, north Africa, the Sahel, Nigeria, and the horn of Africa.

[Not surprisingly] ..."Iranians increasingly interpret Saudi Arabia's mood as a hungering for war, and Gulf statements do often have that edge of hysteria and aggression: a recent editorial in the Saudi-owned al-Hayat stated:
"The climate in the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] indicates that matters are heading towards a GCC-Iranian-Russian confrontation on Syrian soil, similar to what took place in Afghanistan during the Cold War. To be sure, the decision has been taken to overthrow the Syrian regime, seeing as it is vital to the regional influence and hegemony of the Islamic Republic of Iran".
Well, that was then. How different the landscape is today: The Muslim Brotherhood largely is a 'broken reed', compared to what it was; Saudi Arabia has effectively 'switched off the lights' on Salafist jihadism, and is focussed more on courting tourism, and the Kingdom now has a peace accord with Iran (brokered by China).

Comment: Cooke provides an interesting lens with which to view the trajectory of Middle East events. Iran and Russia have both absorbed the lesson of strategic patience and self-reliance, coupled with diplomacy. Iran has found a formula to unite Moslems just as Russia appeals to Orthodox Christians around the world. Arms mean nothing when men's souls are dedicated to a cause.


Chess

Leo Varadkar steps down as Irish prime minister in shock move

Leo Varadkar
Leo Varadkar has announced he is standing down as Ireland's prime minister and also giving up his role as leader of the Fine Gael party in the ruling coalition, in a surprise move described by pundits as a "political earthquake" for the country.

Citing "personal and political" reasons, Varadkar, 45, announced his decision at a press conference in Dublin on Wednesday, saying in an at-times emotional speech that he no longer felt he was the "best person" to lead Ireland.

Earlier this month his government suffered damaging defeats in two referendums on references to family and women in the constitution.

Varadkar, who said he was resigning as party leader with immediate effect, is expected to be replaced as taoiseach as soon as his successor as party leader is able to take office.

Putin

Putin addresses nation after election: Result proves Russia is 'one big tight-knot family'

putin
© Valery SHARIFULIN / AFP
The presidential election in Russia has shown that the country remains one big family, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday after securing his fifth term in office. He also thanked the voters for their unprecedented support and vowed to meet their expectations.

Earlier in the day, Russia's Central Election Commission (CEC) officially declared Putin president-elect, announcing that he had received over 87% of the vote. Last weekend's election recorded a record-high voter turnout that exceeded 77%. Putin is scheduled to be inaugurated on May 7 for another six years in office.

In his address to the nation, Putin stressed the crucial role of the presidential race in charting the country's course for the future, as it remains locked in the Ukraine conflict and a stand-off with the West.

Chess

Here's why NATO warmongers are hyping up Russia's imaginary attack plans

Polish soldiers
© Wojtek Radwanski / AFPFILE PHOTO.
NATO's peddling of a "Russian threat" is reaching telethon levels of relentlessness - worse than a house alarm salesman in TV advertisements talking up the scary burglar.

Poland's top general, Wieslaw Kukula, said recently that "Russia is preparing for a conflict with NATO, aware that the alliance is a defensive structure." For French President Emmanuel Macron, playing "defense" apparently involves sending a bunch of players deep into the other guy's end-zone to score. Macron has been overtly talking about sending troops to fight Russia while giving the impression that he's personally training to take on Russian President Vladimir Putin by posing for black and white glamour shots complete with boxing gloves and flexed biceps that may or may not have been the result of having Monsieur Photoshoppe as his personal trainer. Estonia's foreign intelligence chief conveniently describes Russia's strategy as "long-term confrontation." The European Union's internal markets commissioner, Thierry Breton, has said "we need to change the paradigm and move into war economy mode." Andre Berghegger, head of the association of German city councils, is talking about reviving the bomb shelter business. "During the Cold War, Germany had more than 2,000 public shelters. Only 600 of these still exist, providing protection for around 500,000 people. There is an urgent need to put decommissioned bunkers back into operation. And we need to build new, modern shelters. In urban centers, underground car parks and subway shafts can certainly be used," the official said.

Sure, why not? If the military industrial complex is going to try convincing taxpayers to let the government take all their money to make weapons, then why shouldn't the bomb shelter business also get in on the action? Not a bad time to resurrect the bunker industry, actually. With energy costs and interest rates becoming a problem for Europeans, maybe everyone can just save some money and move into government-funded bunkers and hang out while waiting for Putin to show up.

Bad Guys

West wants war with Russia - Dutch journalist to RT

NATO, armored vehicles, Noble Blueprint 23
© Nikolay DOYCHINOV / AFPFILE PHOTO. Servicemen drive armored vehicles as they take part in the NATO "Noble Blueprint 23" joint military exercise at the Novo Selo military ground, northwestern Bulgaria, on September 26, 2023.
The West wants "a war with Russia" and is actively preparing for this, Dutch independent journalist Sonja van den Ende claimed to RT on Thursday.

Senior civilian and military officials from several NATO member states have recently alleged that Moscow could attack the bloc in the coming years. Speaking to CNBC on Monday, Polish President Andrzej Duda, citing unspecified German research, claimed that Russia could invade NATO in 2026 or 2027.

Duda urged fellow member states to ramp up their defense spending, with a view to creating "such a deterrent that ensures we are not attacked."

Van den Ende, who is a contributor at the Tehran Times, Insider Paper.com, and Oneworld.press media outlets, told RT that Western states are the "ones who are aggressive, they are the ones actually preparing themselves to go to war."

Comment: Increasing stockpiles of weapons and manpower under the cover of strategic defense is intended to allow the Western forces to build themselves up in a way that conceals the true intention from Western populations. But with leaders like Macron giving the game away, the charade isn't very effective.


Crusader

Russia now in 'state of war' due to West's entry into Ukraine conflict - Peskov

Dmitry Peskov
© Sergei Bobylev, Reuters via SputnikFILE: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in Moscow, Russia December 7, 2023. Dmitry Peskov also warned against comparing his use of the word "war" with what the participants in the protests against the special operation meant by it.
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that his words about the special military operation being turned into war do not mean a state of war de jure.

Asked to clarify whether his previous statement about the special military operation being turned into a war changed the status of this conflict, the Kremlin spokesman said: "Essentially, the moment the collective West entered [the conflict], it turned into a war for us. This does not imply any legal changes. It is [still] a special military operation de jure."


Comment: 'de jure':
'by right'

De jure is the Latin expression for "by law" or "by right" and is used to describe a practice that exists by right or according to law.

[...] de facto is considered something that acquires validity based on the fact of its existence and tradition.

"But de facto - in fact - it has turned into a war for us as the collective West increasingly and more directly enhances its involvement in the conflict," Peskov added.

Comment:

Continued:
The Kiev mongrel set up is doomed. "We haven't even started" starts now.



MIB

How the Democrats plan to steal the election

Biden and Trump
Biden and Trump have clinched the nominations of their parties for President. Everybody is gearing up for a battle between them for the election in November.

It's obvious that Biden is "cognitively impaired." In blunter language, "brain-dead".

Partisans of Trump are gearing up for a decisive victory.

But what if this battle is a sham?

What if Biden's elite gang of neo-con controllers won't let Biden lose?

How can they stop him from losing? Simple. If it looks like he's losing, the elite forces will create enough fake ballots to ensure victory.

Comment: And then there are all those millions of illegal migrants strategically flown to, and placed in, various US cities around the country; who have been paid-off and are now beholden to - the Biden administration.

See also:


Pirates

Bill and Hillary Clinton Airport exec shot in head during raid by ATF agents, 'many unanswered questions' remain

Bryan Malinowski
© Clinton National Airport / FacebookBryan Malinowski has died after being shot by ATF agents during a raid of his home.
The Arkansas airport executive director who was shot by federal agents during a raid at his home this week has died from his injuries, his brother said.

Bryan Malinowski, 53, died two days after a gunfire exchange with agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) at his Little Rock residence. He was pronounced dead Thursday, Matthew Malinowski told Fox News Digital.

Bill Walker, the new executive director of the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, also announced the death of Malinowski in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Comment: Another name to add to the unfathomably long, and yet largely unreported, Clinton casualty list? Complete list of Clinton associates who allegedly (and conveniently) died mysteriously or committed suicide before testimony - including Jeffrey Epstein


Vader

US troops are one mile from the Chinese border

U.S. Troops Chinese Border
The U.S. cannot afford a war with China. The size of our military has been shrinking, and our resources are stretched way too thin. Today, the U.S. has military bases in 80 different countries, and we have troops stationed in 178 different countries. That is insane. No empire in the entire history of humanity has had forces spread all over the planet like this. Our ammunition levels are extremely low due to major conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, and every war game that our leaders have conducted has shown us losing a war to protect Taiwan. So we should be trying to avoid sparking a war with China, because we are holding a losing hand.


Comment: Not to mention that such behavior is aggressive in the extreme, and wrong-headed in its very inception; "We can't allow you to grow your economic power and political influence, so we'll just have to intimidate you and/or subjugate you by force!".


But our politicians seem determined to provoke one anyway. It is being reported that officials in Taiwan have confirmed that U.S. forces are now permanently stationed "on its islands in the Taiwan Strait"...

Penis Pump

Emmanuel Macron might be a clown, but he's a dangerous clown

Emanuel Macron
© AP Photo / Stepanie Lecocq
French elites are traumatised by the decline of their country, and their leader is throwing his toys out of the pram.

France's position on the world stage today is in a rather strange state of affairs: a country with a solid nuclear arsenal but which has lost all ability to influence its environment. Over the last few decades, Paris has lost what remains of its former greatness on the world stage, ceded its leading position within the European Union to Germany, and completely abandoned the principles needed for its internal development. In other words, the protracted crisis of the Fifth Republic has reached a stage where the lack of solutions to the many problems that have long been overdue is turning into a full-blown identity crisis.

The reasons for this situation are clear, but the outcome is difficult to predict. And the clownish behaviour of President Emmanuel Macron is only a consequence of the general deadlock in French politics, as is the very appearance of this figure at the head of the state, which used to be led by grandees of world politics such as Charles de Gaulle or François Mitterrand.

The last time Paris demonstrated an ability to act on its own in a really important decision was in 2002-2003. At the time, it opposed US plans to illegally invade Iraq. French diplomacy, then led by the aristocrat Dominique de Villepin, was able to form a coalition with Germany and Russia and deprive the American attack of any international legitimacy. The US attempt to unite in its person dominant power capabilities and decisive influence on the right to use them in world politics, i.e. to establish a unipolar world order, failed. This was denied them at the energetic instigation of France, and such an important step in the creation of a democratic world order will be credited to Paris by future historians.

Comment: See also: