Puppet Masters
Vladimir Putin and Bashar Assad held a phone conversation on Wednesday and "discussed various aspects of the Syrian crisis in the light of realization of the Russian-American declaration on cessation of hostilities in Syria beginning February 27," the Kremlin's press service said in a statement.
A ceasefire in Syria was announced Monday by the Russian and US presidents aimed at seeking an armistice in the country, which has been devastated by a five-year-long civil war.
The National Security Agency (NSA) listened in on high-level meetings on climate change, global economics, and even "how to deal with [US President Barack] Obama," according to the new documents released by WikiLeaks.
"Today we showed that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon's private meetings over how to save the planet from climate change were bugged by a country intent on protecting its largest oil companies," said WikiLeaks founder and editor Julian Assange about NSA activities.
Assange added that the UN will most likely react to these leaks.
"We previously published Hillary Clinton's orders that US diplomats were to steal the secretary general's DNA. The US government has signed agreements with the UN that it will not engage in such conduct against the UN — let alone its secretary general.
"It will be interesting to see the UN's reaction, because if the secretary general can be targeted without consequence, then everyone from world leader to street sweeper is at risk."

Franklin Lamb, well-known progressive international lawyer and researcher with the University of Beirut.
The CIA report predicts "an inexorable movement away from a two-state to a one-state solution, as the most viable model based on democratic principles of full equality that sheds the looming specter of colonial Apartheid while allowing for the return of the 1947/1948 and 1967 refugees. The latter being the precondition for sustainable peace in the region."
The study, which has been made available only to a certain number of individuals, further forecasts the return of all Palestinian refugees to the occupied territories, and the exodus of two million Israeli - who would move to the US in the next fifteen years.
"There is over 500,000 Israelis with American passports and more than 300,000 living in the area of just California," International lawyer Franklin Lamb said in an interview with Press TV on Friday, adding that those who do not have American or western passport, have already applied for them.
Apple's concerns that creating a backdoor for the FBI will lead to similar requests are growing increasingly founded. For three months, the US government has been fighting Cupertino over making a master key to gain access to locked iPhones. In response to concerns about privacy and security, the FBI has painted the demand for Apple's assistance as a small action needed in response to an unusual request.
However, the Department of Justice is now demanding Apple's help for cases in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, and San Francisco, the New York Times reports. Although the FBI insists that the key is necessary to fight terrorism, the Department of Justice's cases seem to be related to drug trafficking and pornography.
Comment: Once the precedent is set and Apple gives in to the government to open one phone, then the floodgates open and the government will never stop asking to unlock phones.
The FGM-148 Javelin is a portable anti-tank missile, which was developed by the United States. It is able to lock on to potential targets using infrared imaging, which makes it a lot more effective than the TOW missile system, which militias fighting against IS had been using, as the TOW is heavier and requires a portable power supply. "Assuming he's not firing from the side of a mountain or on top of a compound, it's definitely a Javelin," Corporal Thomas Gray, a former Marine Javelin gunner who watched the video told the Washington Post. However John Kirby, a State Department spokesman, said that he was unable to confirm whether the image was authentic and that "nothing has changed about our policy of not providing the YPG with weapons."
The US has denied it is directly sending weapons to the Kurdish YPG forces in Syria, but has admitted it has handed over arms to the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is made up of both Kurds and Arabs.
Comment: It's arguably better and simpler for both the US and Turkey if Turkey just stays out of Syria. Don't expect Turkey to toe the line, though. Erdogan and Davutoglu seem hell-bent on tantruming their way into the fight, against the US' and their own military experts' advice and any excuse will do.
I just had a telephone conversation with President of the United States of America Barack Obama. The phone call was initiated by the Russian side, but the interest was certainly mutual.
During our conversation, we approved joint statements of Russia and the US, as co-chairs of the ISSG, on the cessation of hostilities in Syria. Adoption of the statement was preceded by intensive work by Russian and American experts. We also made use of the positive experience we accumulated over the course of cooperation in eliminating chemical weapons in Syria.
State Sen. Patty Ritchie (R-Oswegatchie) introduced a bill Wednesday that would place additional restrictions on purchases made through the state's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Ritchie, like the woman in a satirical article on The Onion, doesn't believe government benefits should be used on sugary snacks or certain costly items.
"At a time when our state and nation are struggling with an obesity epidemic, it is critically important that taxpayer-funded programs help low-income consumers make wise and healthy food choices," Ritchie says in the bill memo.
She specifies a few items — lobster, some cuts of steak, decorated cakes and energy drinks — that she believes are too decadent to be purchased with food stamps.
Comment: Telling food stamp recipients that they're not worthy or deserving of a steak every now and then does nothing but increase the social stigmas against them. Instead, how about we empower them with knowledge concerning the dangers of high fructose corn syrup, GMOs, additives, preservatives, etc., and let them make their own informed decisions about how to budget for groceries?
The letter, to be published this week, is being organized by Downing Street and will cite the threat from the terrorist group Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and "increasing Russian aggression" as the reasons why Britain should remain part of the European Union, the British newspaper said. Those likely to sign the letter include Admiral Lord Boyce, General Lord Stirrup and Field Marshal Lord Bramall, three former Chiefs of the Defence Staff, and General Sir Peter Wall, a former Chief of General Staff. Others are reluctant to endorse the message, the Telegraph said.
"Yes there is a security dimension to the EU, but in my mind it is more of a policing and judicial matter rather than a military matter. The military dimension is provided by NATO," one of them, General Sir Mike Jackson, a former head of the British Army, told the newspaper.
The UK is to hold a referendum on "Brexit" on June 23, PM David Cameron announced last week, after securing a deal ensuring special treatment for the UK within the union. His cabinet largely backs remaining part of the EU and national security is one of the arguments it uses to support the position.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said in an article for the Sunday Telegraph that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Britain to leave the European Union. "It is not scaremongering to ask which result Putin would favor. If we left, the European Union for the first time in its history would be smaller and weaker. That's obviously in Russia's interests," he argued.
Minister Gilad Erdan has organized a secret conference in Jerusalem, with 150 top supporters of Israel. American right wing pollster Frank Luntz [who has earlier stated that Zionism is becoming a dirty word for US elites] presented statistics:
- The Ministry of Tourism's attempt to market Israel as a cool destination (girls and bikinis) has failed.The new, or not so new, agenda put forward by Luntz and co: Israel's supporters should say that they are in favour of a dialogue and peace-building through diplomacy, and accuse BDS supporters of obstructing dialogue, and spreading hate.
- Jewish American students have an increasingly negative image of Israel:-Just 42% believe Israel wants peace.- No less than 21% believe the US should side with the Palestinians.
-Just 38% believe "Israel is civilized and Western".
-Just 31% believe Israel is a democracy.
Comment: Discussion, engagement and peace paving translates to colonization, occupation and murder. It doesn't look like Israel will be saving themselves with slogans in the near future; they are losing their grip on young minds.
See also: Pro-Israel lobby's McCarthyism and extreme measures to slime BDS human rights activists
US broadcaster MSNBC is facing criticism for cutting away from live coverage of a Sanders press conference, just as he was condemning the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.
Media critics point out that the network's owner Comcast stands to benefit greatly from the trade deal - and has largely been silencing any negative coverage.
Comment: The secretive nature of the TTIP negotiations highlights the fact that this agreement is set to provide a huge source of profits to multi-national corporations, but could well be devastating to those individuals forced to live under its yoke.
- How the TTIP will violate your human rights
- The TTP and TTIP trade agreements: "A dystopian future in which corporations rather than elected governments call the shots"
- Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will destroy jobs, not create new ones
- TTIP is boring, but very sinister















Comment: For the sake of the Palestinians, we can only hope for sooner.