Puppet MastersS


Hardhat

The Red-Dead seas canal

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The agreement for the two seas Canal connecting the Red and Dead Sea was summed up best by Israeli water minister Silvan Shalam who jubilantly described it following the December 9 signing ceremony at the World Bank headquarters as "a historic agreement that realises ... the dream of (founder of modern Zionism Theodore) Herzl."

The canal was another strategic triumph for Israel's conniving diplomacy even after the project was reduced to about one-tenth of its original size due to serious economic and environmental concerns raised by the World Bank.

The Zionist-envisioned project was repackaged and sponsored by Jordan as a must to save the Dead Sea, and building a large desalination plant providing each Israel and Jordan with eight billion to 13 billion gallons of fresh water annually.

According to Israeli and international environmentalists, Israeli government's policies of over pumping from the Sea of Galilee and Jordan River - serving Jewish only colonies - was the main cause for the loss of nearly 30 per cents of the Dead Sea's mass in the last 50 years.

Magnify

NSA collects data from undersea cables

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South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 4 (SEA-ME-WE 4) optical fiber submarine communications cable
The US National Security Agency (NSA) has collected sensitive data on key undersea optical fiber telecommunications cables between Europe, North Africa and Asia.

Citing classified documents labeled "top secret" and "not for foreigners", German news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Sunday that NSA spied on the so-called the South East Asia-Middle East-West Europe 4 also known as "Sea-Me-We 4 undersea cable system".

The German magazine said NSA specialists had hacked an internal website belonging to the operator consortium to mine documents about technical infrastructure including circuit mapping and network management information. "More operations are planned in the future to collect more information about this and other cable systems." Spiegel quoted the NSA documents, dating from February, as saying.

Bad Guys

Volgograd terrorist attacks killed 32 people - Emergency Situations Ministry

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© Live.russia.tv
The death toll from the two terrorist attacks in Volgograd has reached 32 people, Russian Deputy Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Stepanov told reporters. The Investigative Committee has announced it established a link between the explosions at the Volgograd train station and on the trolleybus.

"We currently have information that the two explosions have hurt 104 people, of which 32 were killed," he said.

Stepanov said the process of the victims' identification has not been completed yet.

"Unfortunately, this process may take more than one day. Some victims are expected to be identified with relatives' help. There are plans to use genetic tests, too," he said.

The terrorists wanted to sow panic and fear, making use of the impossibility to ensure the complete security of transportation systems, Lev Korolkov, veteran of the Vympel special task unit, told the Voice of Russia.

"It is impossible to take each and every transportation vehicle or each and every crowded place under guard. Then, all public transport would have to be halted, all shopping centers closed and all railway stations shut. It's a process aimed at destabilizing the general situation. Such high-profile terrorist attacks inflicting a large number of casualties mean that some forces are attempting to rock the boat. Those forces could be those seeking territorial secession or maximum control over the North Caucasus to create fertile ground for a future caliphate. We have seen similar things in the Middle East and North Africa over recently," the expert said.

Take 2

Saudi 'gift' to hide its terror hand

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In November 2013, at least 23 people, including Iran’s cultural attaché to Beirut Hojjatoleslam Ebrahim Ansari, were killed
Saudi largesse is throwing money again - in a bid to cover up its bloodstained hands in violence hitting the Middle East and beyond.

The latest public relations gimmick is the "donation" of $3 billion to the Lebanese army made by Saudi King Abdullah at the weekend. The Saudi cash - twice the national military budget of Lebanon - is being regaled in the Western media as a noble offer to secure Lebanon from recent terror attacks.

The announcement was made during a visit to Riyadh by French President Francois Hollande, who met the Saudi king and the latter's Lebanese proxy, Saad Hariri. The new Saudi military aid to Lebanon is tied to the condition that it must be spent on purchasing French weaponry. Already, the outlines of a sleazy deal are emerging. The above political actors have done much to destabilize Lebanon with violence, which is now being blamed on the wrong people - Shia Hezbollah - thanks to the deft finger work of billionaire Paris-exile Hariri.

Robot

New Pentagon blueprint sees bigger role for robot warfare

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© Sergio Moraes/Reuters/FileA Scout robot holds a grenade during an anti-terrorism exercise in Rio de Janeiro, Nov. 12. Rio's police organized the exercise to test out its anti-terrorism capabilities before hosting the World Cup soccer tournament next year and the 2016 Olympic Games.

The Pentagon quietly released this week a technological vision for the next 25 years - a vision including drones and robots that will be 'critical to future success' of the US military, according to its authors.

At a NASCAR racetrack in Miami earlier this month, teams from NASA, Google, and 14 other groups of engineering gurus put cutting-edge robots through some challenging paces.

The aim was to see how well the robots could tackle tasks that may sound simple, but are tricky for nonhumans - including, say, climbing a ladder, unscrewing a hose from a spigot, navigating over rubble, and steering a car.

The contest was dreamed up by the Pentagon's futuristic experimentation arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and senior defense officials were watching it carefully - well aware that the Pentagon is growing increasingly reliant on robotics.

Smoking

More anti-smoking propaganda: China's state council tells Communist Party leaders not to smoke

smoking in china
© Yahoo news
Communist Party officials must not smoke in public places or buy cigarettes using public funds, and should encourage their colleagues to quit smoking, a top Chinese government body said in a circular on Sunday evening.

China is the world's largest tobacco consumer. Smoking is deeply entrenched in Chinese social life, particularly for men, and luxury cigarettes are frequently given as gifts.

Beijing pledged in 2008 to ban smoking in most public venues, including government offices, but enforcement has remained lax and no-smoking signs are frequently ignored.

"The phenomenon of smoking in public places remains prevalent, especially for a small number of leading cadres, who not only endanger the public health and environment, but also harm the image of the Communist Party and the government," says the circular issued by the State Council, China's cabinet.

Party cadres must not buy tobacco using public funds, and those who break rules on cigarettes should be "criticized and educated about their evil influence," the circular says. Leaders at all levels should deal with rule-breakers severely, it added, without detailing specific punishments.

Comment: For more history on smoking bans see:

'World No Tobacco Day'? Let's All Light Up!


Red Flag

Security is being tightened Russia-wide on Putin's orders - FSB chief

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© RIAAlexander Bortnikov
Tighter security measures are being introduced in Volgograd and across Russia on President Putin's orders, chief of the Federal Security Service (FSB) Alexander Bortnikov told reporters on Monday.

"This concerns the Interior Ministry and other key departments both in Volgograd and other regions," he said.

The National Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAC), meeting earlier in the day, discussed additional measures to ensure citizens' safety during the New Year and Christmas holidays.

Bomb

Why is Putin silent on pre-Sochi bombings?

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© Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
Hours after a bomb struck a bus in the city of Volgograd this morning, adding at least 14 deaths to the toll of 17 people killed in an attack the previous night, Russia's official alert level remained yellow, not red. President Vladimir Putin had yet to address the nation.

Putin has a history of responding slowly and coldly to public tragedies, but Volgograd -- once known as Stalingrad -- is about half way from Moscow to the site of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, which begin in less than 6 weeks. One would have expected a swifter response from the top.

A spokesman for investigators on the case said this morning's attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, using the identical TNT explosives to the night before. Some Kremlin loyalists are indeed drawing the connection to the Olympics, and Putin today called for increased security nationwide and a special regime for Volgograd.

"The explosions are preparation for terrorist attacks on the Olympics and an attempt to provoke other countries to refuse to take part of the Sochi Olympic Games," Political scientist Sergei Markov wrote on the pro-Kremlin site Vzglyad.ru. He added that U.S. Senator John McCain, "the Russian terrorists and radical opposition have found themselves in the same camp. That is no accident, they are all united by Russo phobia."

Rocket

FAA announces locations for future drone testing sites

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© Northrop Grumman / Chad Slattery / Handout via Reuters

Drones are coming to America - the Federal Aviation Administration announced on Monday the six states chosen to develop test sites for unmanned aerial vehicles.

Alaska, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Texas and Virginia were chosen by the FAA as the agency moves towards integrating commercial drones into American skies.

The goal is to have drones operated by businesses, farmers and government agencies sharing the same space as commercial airplanes by the year 2015, though it's possible it may take longer to draft the proper rules and regulations.

"These test sites will give us valuable information about how best to ensure the safe introduction of this advanced technology into our nation's skies," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx told the Associated Press.

Comment: Domestic drones and their unique dangers
Florida sheriff wants drones to monitor civilians
Domestic drone nightmare, the unseen threat
Where Is The Outrage? US government to deploy thousands of drones over US cities
PETA plans to fly drones that would 'stalk hunters'
Drones coming to US airspace despite abysmal safety record. Feel safer now?
Corralling the herd: Border Patrol set to weaponize drones
One Nation Under The Drone: The Rising Number Of UAVs In American Skies
Attack of the Drones
'Embedded journalism': Wired.com's propaganda instrumental in preparing Americans for domestic drones
Terminator Obama-2013: The Rise of Domestic Killer Drones


Megaphone

British MP George Galloway: 'The U.S. is a knuckle-dragging, low-grade moronic culture'

The US is a knuckle-dragging, low grade moronic culture – George Galloway
© RIA Novosti

Comment: Link to Audio of this interview (transcript below)

The high point of the American Empire has passed and mercifully we have emerged intact from the 20 very dangerous years during which the United States was the sole superpower in the world. We must never allow ourselves to endure that trial again. Power in the world is now passing to the East, to China, to Russia and to other rising nations as the United States is an aging tiger whose teeth are falling out. This was stated in an interview which outspoken and brutally honest British MP George Galloway granted to the Voice of Russia's John Robles. With regard to US surrogate NATO which is circling both Russia and China with bases and nuclear weapons, he labeled it an "imperial war machine" and called it "the greatest danger to peace and security in the world." Mr. Galloway was also candid on his assessment of Saudi Arabia which he called a "gangster state" with Prince Bandar acting as chief capo who delivers severed horse's heads into the bed of whomsoever they wish to intimidate. As for Ukraine Mr. Galloway put the situation into stark perspective by saying: "Can you imagine what would happen if President Putin went to the streets of Toronto on street demonstrations whipping up anti-American feeling, in neighboring country. And yet this is precisely what is happening on the front line in Kiev now," he added; again President Putin has again played a masterful diplomatic game. As for declining US hegemony he stated: "... they are losing and losing and losing. ... they are losing because their power is waning, because hard power is waning, their financial power is defunct and their soft power, their cultural power is virtually non-existent. Anyone who takes a look at John McCain and thinks that that is a cultural soft power icon to desire, to head towards, would need their head examined. This is knuckle-dragging, low grade moronic culture," he stated.