Puppet Masters
Petraeus, a US Army general and director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2011-November 9, 2012), is a Dutch citizen by law because his father, Sixtus Petraeus from Friesland, was a junior officer in the Dutch merchant marine at the outbreak of World War II. David Petraeus was awarded a Dutch knighthood in 2010 and is celebrated by the Dutch as "the most visible Dutch American personality on the national and international scene".
Roelofs, Dutch by birth in Zeeland, became the wife of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili (left) in 1993, and she has remained his collaborator in open political as well as clandestine operations in Georgia, Ukraine, and the US since then.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, the military chief said US intentions to monitor the advance of insurgents from afar indicated that Washington still has plans for the Central Asian nation long after all its troops leave the country later this summer. "Why are you coming out if you're still trying to watch what's going on from over the fence?" he asked.
Shoigu went on to say that American officials are engaged in "pesky" negotiations with nations across the region to set up and maintain logistics centers and hubs for military equipment to be moved through. These could also serve to help extract Afghans who cooperated with US forces, and now fear retribution as Islamist forces gain ground. The Taliban, a prohibited terrorist organization in Russia, now claim to have occupied the majority of the country, and forces loyal to the government in Kabul have sought refuge from fighting in nearby Tajikistan.
She behaves more like a Mafia don waging a gang war than a dignified, fair and honest presiding officer, which is what the speaker's role requires.
Pelosi abuses her power in ways that once were unthinkable. Her speakership has been the antithesis of Lincoln's entreaty to "the better angels of our nature." Everyone in Congress — and, by extension, the nation — has been sullied by the spite and vitriol she has injected into the political sphere. There is no grace or Christian charity, just the barren wasteland of the zero-sum game, power for power's sake.
It's made all the worse by her increasingly frantic claims to be a "devout Catholic."
The fact that all this venom is packaged in the shape of a small, elderly, expensively shod woman has bestowed upon her an element of deference her actions do not deserve. But last week there were a couple of signs that she's finally worn out her welcome.
The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) has primarily focused on videos and images released by terrorist groups identified by the United Nations, including the Taliban.
The group will be expanding the scope of material they target in the coming months, according to a report from Reuters. New material flagged will include "attacker manifestos" often linked to white supremacism, as well as right-wing and neo-Nazi militia groups allegedly posing a threat. Right-wing groups that have grown in popularity in the last few years, like the Proud Boys and Three Percenters, have already been identified in the system.
Included in this Big Tech group are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and others. The sharing of information between companies allows them to see what content is being banned and, in turn, they can ban similar content on their platform.
Comment: The public voice is now at the mercy of an elite non-government power structure to point, accuse and censor. What are its connections to private data? Access? Provider?
The strikes, following several conducted last week, indicate stepped up U.S. support after weeks of battlefield gains by the Taliban as U.S. troops complete their withdrawal. The aircraft are being flown from bases outside of Afghanistan because the U.S. military has pulled all of its combat planes out of the country.
"A number of strikes have occurred over the last several days from both manned and unmanned strike platforms," Maj. Robert Lodewick, a Pentagon spokesman, said. He did not provide further details. Other officials had said last week's airstrikes targeted Taliban positions in combat as well as military equipment that had been captured by the Taliban.
Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, who is overseeing the U.S. military withdrawal and making decisions on air support for Afghan troops, said on Sunday that airstrikes had been increasing. "We're prepared to continue this heightened level of support in the coming weeks if the Taliban continue their attacks," McKenzie said.
He also said the U.S. was providing "contract logistics support both here in Kabul and over-the-horizon in the region, funding for them, intelligence sharing, and advising and assisting through security consultations at the strategic level."
Zelensky was speaking on the 1,033rd anniversary of the Baptism of Kievan Rus, when Vladimir the Great converted to Christianity. This society was a loose federation of peoples in modern-day Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, all united under a monarchy - the Rurik dynasty.
Comment: Putin is correct. Ukraine in its current form, as a nation state, was not created due to centuries of homogenous cultural development.
The history of Ukraine as an artificial state

Vodka Nan had Rep. Banks deep-sixed from the Jan 6 "investigation" for calling out her security failures as head of the Capitol Police
"It's more clear than ever that Nancy Pelosi is not interested in investigation. She's only interested in a narrative. She claims the reason that she booted me from the committee was because of antics on the part of Jim Jordan and I. In hindsight, what I realize what she means by that now is that we were prepared to ask questions that no one else has asked and demand answers as to why the Capital was vulnerable to an attack on January 6th? Why was there a systemic breakdown of security at the Capitol on January 6th? If you're going to investigate January 6th, why not ask those questions? That's all that this comes down to. She has already predetermined a narrative about Donald Trump, about Republicans. She doesn't want to talk about what happened at the Capitol that day to make sure something like that never happens again."
Comment: It's not looking good for Vodka Nan. Will the 'I hold the gavel' martinet be able to pull this off, or will her underlings finally have enough?
- So this could be the reason why Pelosi kicked Jim Banks off the committee investigating the Capitol riot
- WaPo using debunked reporting to issue false pro-Pelosi 'fact-check' on Capitol riots actions
- "Incitement" timeline debunked as ex-Capitol police Chief says Pelosi & McConnell's Sergeants-at-Arms refused security measures
- Why was Capitol police chief's request for National Guard denied ahead of riot? Republicans ask Nancy Pelosi
- 20 questions for Nancy Pelosi about January 6
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have been exploring ways to improve strained ties by exchanging multiple letters since April, the sources said on condition of anonymity due to diplomatic sensitivity.
The discussions signal an improvement in ties that have deteriorated in the past year after three leaders' summits in 2018 promised peace and reconciliation.
Inter-Korean talks could also help restart stalled negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes in return for sanctions relief.
The US is constantly accusing countries like Russia and China of carrying out cyberattacks, and comments from President Biden on Tuesday suggest he could use these claims as a pretext for military intervention. He warned that if Washington ended up in a "real shooting war with a major power," it could be the result of a cyberattack on the US.
"You know, we've seen how cyber threats, including ransomware attacks, increasingly are able to cause damage and disruption to the real world," Biden said in a speech during a visit to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. "I think it's more likely we're going to end up — well, if we end up in a war, a real shooting war with a major power, it's going to be as a consequence of a cyber breach of great consequence."
Comment: How many times now has the US political/security/media establishment accused Russia and/or China of cyberattacks or hacking with ZERO credible evidence?! More times than we care to list here - that's for sure! But here are just a few:
- Kremlin: Russia had absolutely nothing to do with Colonial Pipeline cyberattack, despite Biden's claims to contrary
- White House contacts Russia after hack of world's largest meatpacking company
- How the DNC hired CrowdStrike to frame Russia for the hack
- Washington Post claims RUSSIA behind SolarWinds hack, citing same 'sources' as it did for Russiagate
- 100% DNC server hack not Russia: DWS refused FBI forensics; Comey refused to subpoena servers for analysis
- Convenient timing with G20: MSM blames Russia for nuclear power plant hack
- The times are changing: Assange goes on FOX News and destroys the Russia hack conspiracy theory
- Bonkers! Trump Administration prepares its best hackers for 'swift and severe' cyberattack against Russia - in case of election meddling

The Taliban delegation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Tianjin on Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the remarks during talks with a nine-member delegation led by the Taliban's chief negotiator and co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in the northern city of Tianjin on Wednesday.
It was the first time a senior member of the organisation had visited China since the Taliban's capture of several key districts in Badakhshan and Kandahar provinces. Taliban fighters have taken control of around half the country up to its border with the Chinese region of Xinjiang, and US air strikes continue to support Afghan security forces.
Comment: China realized it was in its best interest to engage the Taliban as early as 2016:
- Will China step in to fix Afghanistan? Taliban delegation visits China for talks
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and US meet to plan Taliban peace talks
- China-Pakistan Economic Corridor seeks inclusion of Afghanistan trade
- The new peace brokers: Russia pushes for Afghanistan talks, inclusion of Taliban
- European mindset will not strike bargain with the Taliban - Russian envoy to Afghanistan
- 3 geopolitical conflicts which show U.S. goals vs. those of China and Russia's: Venezuela, Afghanistan and North Korea













Comment: When it comes to Saakashvili, where does one really begin and end:
Ukraine returns citizenship to eccentric fugitive former Georgian president Saakashvili
And then there is Poroshenko:
Ex-president Poroshenko ducks questioning by Ukraine's State Bureau Of Investigations
Behind the mask of these two characters (with others in the mix), stands the sad fate of all those aboard MH17. This is a tragedy of cold blooded murder, all hidden behind western political and media narratives, with a kangaroo court exhibiting a peculiar form of justice that just does not let up:
- Who shot down Malaysian Airlines Flight 17? New Cold War, same old propaganda
- One year later: All evidence still suggests MH17 shot down by a jet fighter
- The UN's MH17 tribunal is a desperate attempt to cover tracks - Dutch journalist
- Dutch investigators retrieve MH17 debris after RT doc - a tad late, no?
- Closing the BUK on MH17? Dutch final report is clearly biased
- MH17: Trial by media is failing under weight of facts
- Bombshell ruling in MH17 trial: Dutch prosecutors ordered to produce US satellite data allegedly showing BUK missile being fired
This would not be rounded off without mentioning Bellingcat:- MH17 crash report: Bellingcat author was an employee of the Stasi
- Tim Hayward: On Bellingcat, Truth, and War (revised)
- Anatomy of a NATO troll: Eliot Higgins of Bellingcat
Of course, there is much more on this shadowy stumbling group called Bellingcat, from MH17 to Syrian slander, all with allegations of deep-state intelligence ties and funding.