Puppet Masters

Putin: Russia will lift sanctions first if they are certain the EU will do the same

RT
Fri, 17 Jun 2016 18:46 UTC

© Mikhail Metzel / TASS
Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi (L) and Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the 2016 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, St. Petersburg, Russia, June 17, 2016.

Russia could lift the sanctions it has imposed on the EU, but to make such a concession, it would need to be certain that reciprocal measures would follow and that it wouldn't be "once again deceived" by its Western partners, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday, Putin announced that Moscow might lift the sanctions that were put in place as a counter-measure to anti-Russia restrictions.

"We must be sure that these unilateral measures taken by Russia will be followed by reciprocal steps, which won't be - as one famous classic has said - a one step forward, two steps back," he added, referring to a well-known phrase coined by Vladimir Lenin.

Putin was speaking at a press-conference following his talks with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

CIA chief: US has failed in reducing ISIS terrorist capability, reach

RT
Thu, 16 Jun 2016 17:47 UTC

Despite losing ground in Iraq and Syria, Islamic State is still able to organize terrorist attacks across the world and can draw on large numbers of Westerners in its ranks, CIA Director John Brennan warned lawmakers. Contradicting the positive messages coming from the White House and the Pentagon about the state of the fight against IS (also known as ISIS/ISIL), the CIA chief told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday that the group remained "a formidable, resilient, and largely cohesive enemy."

"Unfortunately, despite all our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the group's terrorism capability and global reach," Brennan said in his opening statement. "The resources needed for terrorism are very modest, and the group would have to suffer even heavier losses of territory, manpower, and money for its terrorist capacity to decline significantly."

As IS continues to lose ground and funding, the CIA believes the group will "intensify its global terror campaign to maintain its dominance of the global terrorism agenda," Brennan added. Of particular concern to the intelligence agency are the Western IS fighters, who can infiltrate back into their countries of origin through a variety of means, "including refugee flows, smuggling routes, and legitimate methods of travel," according to Brennan.

Even without such infiltrators, the agency is dealing with the "exceptionally challenging" issue of the so-called lone wolves such as Omar Mateen, who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida on Sunday. The CIA has not been able to uncover "any direct link" between the attacker and foreign terrorist groups. Mateen had claimed allegiance to IS in a phone call to the authorities during his rampage.

Comment: Sounds like the false flag plan missed a beat and did a quick rectification by 'phoning it in.' Fake? Pre-recorded? Posthumously generated for this presentation? Who stops a rampage midstream to make a phone call?

Comment: Dog and Pony Show. Brennan isn't saying anything everyone doesn't already know. So here it is: he wants the easy access and approved infiltration of Twitter, Telegram and Tumblr under the guise of rectifying this pesky ISIL problem (that the CIA invented), saving the reputation of the USA (already in the toilet), while protecting its citizens (usurping their liberties) from homeward-bound terrorists (since they are not dying over there). Ultimately, US citizens will have no say in the matter. It's national security!

Saudi Arabia pressures UN to disclose blacklist sources

Press TV
Thu, 16 Jun 2016 09:11 UTC

The UN says Saudi Arabia is now pressuring the world body to disclose the sources of information that landed the kingdom on a blacklist of children's rights violators. Both Saudi Arabia and the United Nations have come under criticism after UN chief Ban Ki-moon admitted last week that he had expunged Riyadh from the blacklist under "undue pressure."

On Wednesday, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the world body had brushed off Saudi demands to divulge the sources of a report holding the kingdom responsible for 60 percent of child casualties in Yemen last year. "Protecting the sources of information that are used in this report, or any other report, is paramount, especially in a conflict area," Dujarric said.

He said Saudi UN Ambassador Abdallah al-Mouallimi had written to Ban, requesting for the information of those who contributed to blacklisting the monarchy as a child rights violator. According to the Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) report, Saudi Arabia was responsible for 60 percent of the 510 children killed and 667 others injured in Yemen last year.

Comment: Suffer the children, the most horrible part of all wars. Tell them why they have to die or be maimed for life for somebody's ideology or power struggle. Someone else's child is, well, just expendable, just collateral damage. It is an insignificant human cost. Ban Ki-moon, by reversing his decision, unconscionably disrespected each and every Yemeni child affected by this conflict. In not holding Saudi Arabia's ass to the fire for its actions, compounded by the Saudi's manipulative 'pay off,' he figuratively spat on and degraded children of war everywhere.

Why is the UN giving Israel legitimacy on legal panel

Press TV
Thu, 16 Jun 2016 08:28 UTC

Press TV has interviewed Paul Larudee, co-founder of Free Palestine Movement in Berkeley, to discuss Israel's chairmanship of the United Nation's Legal Committee.

Press TV: Israel being appointed as the chairman of the UN's Legal Committee, what do you say about that? Why Israel of all countries? And we know Israel's track record is not that brilliant when it comes to human rights, its occupation of the Palestinian territories, its siege of Gaza, its breach of and total disregard for UN resolutions; now Israel is appointed as the chair of this important and strategic committee?

Larudee: I know that you are asking the questions but let me ask you a question. Do you know of any other country that has broken so many international laws other than Israel? This is presumably why it was put in charge of the Legal Committee. If you want someone who has not broken laws, maybe you should make an illegal committee because the United Nations seems determined to turn these words on their head.

Two years ago you will remember that Israel was the head of the Committee on Decolonization. This is also a mockery and Barack Obama was given the Nobel Prize and Henry Kissinger received the Nobel Prize. How are these not a mockery? If you have not killed somebody you cannot be a great humanitarian apparently.

Press TV: And what does this say about the United Nations? Recently we had the UN removing Saudi Arabia from its list of child rights violators because of pressure from Riyadh. Now we have the UN appointing Israel as the chair of this very important committee, its Legal Committee. What does it further say about the fading role of the UN?

Larudee: The role of the UN is not fading. The role of the UN is to allow the most powerful nations, the greatest committers of atrocities in the world to have a veneer of legitimacy on their atrocities and this is what is happening with Israel. That is the function of the United Nations apparently.

Comment: The bottom line for Israel (and the article, BTW) is that Israel will see the appointment as a license to finish the Palestinian genocide and the UN will look the other way. It is right where it can do the most damage...positioned in the global crosshairs of everything, with the compliant arms of the UN to protect it.

Saudi Foreign Minister meets Obama, urges 'more aggressive approach to Syria'

Tyler Durden
Zerohedge
Fri, 17 Jun 2016 18:31 UTC

Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with U.S. President Barack Obama.

Earlier today, when breaking down the "mutiny" at the State Department which as the WSJ reported saw over 50 staffers demand that military strikes be launched against Syria to eliminate president Assad "as the only way to defeat the Islamic State", we suggested that one of the untold motives behind this surprising revolt, a very disturbing one, is that this was merely a Trojan horse proposal to push the Saudi agenda.

As we hinted, the US may be merely pandering to Saudi demands, something it has clearly done very well ever since the Sep 11 attacks which covered up Saudi involvement:

The cable also echoes the growing impatience among U.S. Gulf allies with the lack of military intervention targeted at the Damascus government to force Mr. Assad to resign and make way for a transitional government. Peace talks between Syria's government and opposition collapsed in April over Mr. Assad's fate, with the regime insisting he should stay in power, while the negotiated cease-fire continued to disintegrate. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have pressed the U.S. to provide more sophisticated weapons to rebels. But Washington has resisted.

In other words, if the US does fold and proceeds with military strikes, i.e. full blown invasion and war, on Assad, it will once again be Saudi Arabia that is running US foreign policy, and pushing the US nation into what may be a state of open war with Russia.

Former PM Barak has just realized that Netanyahu policies "may" turn Israel into apartheid state

RT
Fri, 17 Jun 2016 17:57 UTC

© Ronen Zvulun / Reuters
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem June 13, 2016.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has accused Benjamin Netanyahu's government of pushing the country into becoming an "apartheid state." If the government does not "change course," people will have no choice but to "topple it," he added.

Barak, 74, who served as prime minister from 1999 to 2001, criticized Netanyahu at the annual Herzliya Conference, which addresses Israel's national agenda.

He said the current PM and his cabinet's policies are based on a "hidden agenda" designed to make a two-state solution unrealistic. The government, he said, has been lobbying an agenda which "will surely result in a 'one state solution,' which will either be an 'Apartheid State'.... or a 'bi-national state' in which the Jews will become a minority within a couple of generations, and will most likely be in a continuous civil war."

"It is the hidden agenda of the government to prefer (despite its official claims) the 'integrity of the land' over the 'integrity of the people' and continue holding all of the area between the Jordan River and the sea. It necessarily leads to a conflict with Israeli and international law, with civil society and the values of democracy," Barak said on Thursday, according to a conference press-release.

Comment: It is curious that both Barak and Ya'alon have recently to criticized policies they themselves participated in for decades. What may it be leading to?

Fallujah full liberation

FARS News Agency
Fri, 17 Jun 2016 17:19 UTC

Iraq's Police Chief on Friday declared full liberation of Fallujah after the two-year-long ISIL control over the strategic city.

Commander of Iraq's Federal Police Major General Raed Shaker Judat appeared on the country's national TV in an interview carried out at the center of Falluja minutes ago, declaring that the city has been completely purged of ISIL terrorists.

Meantime, Fallujah Liberation Operation Commander Abdol-Wahhab Saedi told the state-run TV that his forces are in control of the entire city and state buildings now.

Iraqi government troops continued their advances in the city of Fallujah on Friday by winning back new strategic regions. The police and security forces seized back al-Arsan and al-Nazal regions as well as the governor's building of Fallujah city earlier today. The ISIL terrorists had planted bombs in Fallujah governor's building.

The government forces also purged terrorists from the entire Western bank of the Euphrates River.

You're so vain: Diva Bibi Netanyahu spent $3350 on hair and makeup for UN trip - total was $1.7 million of taxpayer money

Sputnik
Fri, 17 Jun 2016 17:14 UTC

The expenses of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trip to New York for the UN General Assembly last fall totaled more than $1.7 million, including hairstyling that cost Israel $1,600, and make-up $1,750, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Thursday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under pressure after revelations that Israeli taxpayers footed a bill of over 6.7 million shekels ($1.73 million) after his trip to the 70 Session of the UN General Assembly in New York last fall, including $1,600 spent on hairstyling.

The information came to light following a lengthy legal challenge to the Prime Minister's Office and Foreign Office from lawyer Shahar Ben-Meir, who petitioned the Jerusalem District Court under the Freedom of Information Law, the Haaretz newspaper reported.

Netanyahu and his wife visited New York between September 29 and October 4 2015, and the bills were paid by the Israeli consulate and the Israeli mission to the UN.

Three US officials expelled from Nicaragua for anti-terrorism activities

PressTV
Fri, 17 Jun 2016 17:07 UTC

© week.watch
"No they walk around in socks...of course they wear boots and walk on the ground, but they are not boots on the ground!"

The United States says three of its officials operating in Nicaragua have been expelled from the country, warning that the move could harm trade relations between Washington and Managua.

US State Department spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that the American officials, who had only recently arrived in Nicaragua, were kicked out of the Central American country on Tuesday.

Kirby told reporters that the action was "unwarranted and inconsistent with the positive and constructive agenda" it seeks with Managua.

"Such treatment has the potential to negatively impact US and Nicaraguan bilateral relations, particularly trade," Kirby said.

Comment: Trade relations means control by big US corporations.

"We've conveyed our strong displeasure," Kirby said, referring specifically to Francisco Campbell, Nicaragua's ambassador to the United States.

"We believe it was unwarranted and inconsistent with the positive and constructive agenda that we seek with the government of Nicaragua," he said of the expulsion.

Turkey has failed to meet EU's conditions for visa-free travel

Jennifer Rankin
The Guardian
Wed, 15 Jun 2016 16:28 UTC

European commission says Turkey has not met conditions of possible deal including border security and human rights issues

Turkey has missed an EU deadline that would have allowed its citizens visa-free travel through most of Europe, amid ongoing tensions over a controversial migration deal.

EU leaders promised the Turkish government that 79 million Turks could have access to Europe's 26-country border-free Schengen travel zone by June, as part of a hotly disputed bargain on migration. But this was always conditional on Turkey meeting 72 EU conditions on border security and fundamental rights. The European commission announced on Wednesday that Turkey had still failed to meet some of the conditions, including changes to its counter-terrorism legislation.

In a separate decision, EU ambassadors are expected to approve the opening of negotiations on one part of Turkish membership talks later on Wednesday. The decision to open talks on budget is a symbolic gesture that was promised under the migration deal.

The prospect of Turkey's membership of the EU has inflamed the UK EU referendum debate even though Turkey is unlikely to join for decades, if ever. The visa deal does not apply to the UK or Ireland, which are outside the EU's Schengen area.

Comment: Unfortunately, despite the diplomatic posturing, Erdogan holds the high cards in this game. All he has to do is threaten to re-open Turkey's borders and send another flood of refugees into Europe.

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Puppet Masters

Putin: Russia will lift sanctions first if they are certain the EU will do the same

CIA chief: US has failed in reducing ISIS terrorist capability, reach

Saudi Arabia pressures UN to disclose blacklist sources

Why is the UN giving Israel legitimacy on legal panel

Saudi Foreign Minister meets Obama, urges 'more aggressive approach to Syria'

Former PM Barak has just realized that Netanyahu policies "may" turn Israel into apartheid state

Fallujah full liberation

You're so vain: Diva Bibi Netanyahu spent $3350 on hair and makeup for UN trip - total was $1.7 million of taxpayer money

Three US officials expelled from Nicaragua for anti-terrorism activities

Turkey has failed to meet EU's conditions for visa-free travel

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