Welcome to Sott.net
Sat, 16 Oct 2021
The World for People who Think

Puppet Masters
Map

Star of David

Israel behind 'dozens' of attacks on Iranian ships which have cost Tehran 'billions'

Oil tanker
© Jon Nazca
Oil tanker 'Adrian Daria'
Already hostile relations between Tehran and Tel Aviv took a turn for the worse in recent weeks amid back-and-forth claims about attacks on one another's commercial vessels. Last week, US media reported that at least a dozen Iranian cargo ships, most of them carrying oil supplies to Syria, were targeted by Israel over a two-year period.

The cumulative losses suffered by Iran as a result of the suspected Israeli campaign of attacks against the Islamic Republic's commercial shipping runs into the "billions of dollars," Haaretz reports, extrapolating on estimates of losses which would be sustained in a single attack.

Reflecting on last week's media reports that at least a dozen Iranian cargo ships headed for Syria have been targeted since 2019, Haaretz claims that in actuality, the number of attacks may have numbered in the "dozens," with the sabotage carried out as part of an "all-out effort" by the Israeli Navy and its subs, missile boats, and commandos on the basis of "comprehensive" intelligence. The newspaper attributes the large number of awards recently handed out to Israeli naval personnel as one possible indication about the scale of anti-Iran naval operations.

Eye 2

Toronto lockdown czar's husband has 'financial ties' to Pfizer, AstraZeneca

Eileen de Villa
© TEDx Talks / YouTube
Eileen de Villa
Eileen de Villa has kept Torontonians locked down at home and crushed businesses but won't say if she and her husband have investments in COVID vaccines.

The woman who has kept a city of nearly three million people in one of the strictest government "lockdowns" of North America — Eileen de Villa — is married to a doctor with financial ties to two of the leading COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers.

The Medical Officer of Health for the City of Toronto where many businesses have been shuttered since Oct. 9, and citizens have been confined by a stay-at-home order since Jan. 13, is married to a Toronto cardiologist who listed COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers Pfizer and Astra-Zeneca among his "financial interests" at an online medical panel discussion on Jun. 12, 2020.

Comment: The high-ranking opportunists that hijacked important positions of power like Eileen de Villa and her husband are predatory creatures that will use every possibility to gain more power, money, and control even if that requires a thousand or even millions of innocent human lives to be tragically lost or destroyed.

Many of them are part of Big-Pharma, police, military, government. The inhuman tyrannical measures, lockdowns, potentially dangerous experimental vaccines are just tools in their hands to break the normal human population and impose total control and enslavement over humanity.

See also:


Hotdog

Netherlands election result: Mark Rutte retains premiership as Dutch apparently vote overwhelmingly in favor of Covid-19 restriction measures


Comment: This astonishing result comes on the heels of major mass rioting against the curfew imposed on the Dutch electorate in late January 'because Covid'. Something doesn't add up here...


mark rutte klaus schwab
The process of forming a new Dutch governing coalition began Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Mark Rutte's conservative party powered to a fourth consecutive victory in a vote held during a nationwide lockdown and dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The feat put Rutte in position to lead coalition talks, most likely with another big winner — the centrist, pro-European D66 party led by former diplomat Sigrid Kaag, who danced on a table Wednesday night when an exit poll showed her party capturing one of its biggest-ever victories.

However those two parties will likely need at least two more partners to form a majority coalition. According to the national news agency ANP, based on 88% of votes counted, Rutte's party, known by its Dutch acronym VVD, won 35 of the 150 seats in the lower house of parliament while D66 garnered 24.

Rutte wants to move quickly to hammer out a coronavirus recovery plan before getting into a government blueprint for the new coalition's four-year term.

"We must have plans in place to unlock the country," Rutte told his lawmakers in a virtual meeting Thursday.

Comment: So there we have it. The first general election result in western Europe since The Rona was unleashed, and the VAST MAJORITY of the population believes in it and supports their government telling them what to think and do...

Or do they?

Are election and referendum results in the 'Western democratic system' reliable indicators of what populations think and feel about their governments?


Bad Guys

The secret talks that could have saved Libya

Gaddafi

The famously erratic Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was refusing to leave the country, with negotiations around whether he could remain in the country but leave politics
Two months had passed since Libyans first took to the streets. Hundreds were dead as government forces and Nato-backed rebels fought a brutal conflict, but in a hotel room 2,000 miles away the warring sides agreed a secret deal to end the war.

The confidential Norwegian-brokered talks - full details of which are being revealed exclusively by The Independent on the tenth anniversary of the Nato bombing campaign - were the closest the world came to a peaceful end to Libya's 2011 civil war.

The two sides agreed to a draft text stating that Muammar Gaddafi, who had ruled Libya for 42 years, would step down and leave politics, but keep the institutions of state in place.

Comment: For an overview of the aftermath, see the following Twitter thread:


See also: And check out SOTT radio shows documenting what really happened in Libya:


Eye 1

'The unblinking eye': Boris Johnson confirms British citizens are 24/7 targets of government military & intelligence cyber ops

UK cyber
© Getty Images / gorodenkoff
Boris Johnson has unveiled some eyebrow-raising upgrades to Britain's defence and foreign policies, which include propaganda campaigns aimed at its own people to 'deliver cognitive impacts' - i.e. making them think 'correctly'.


Comment: The lockdown fearmongering propaganda has been noted even by psychologists: Psychologists accuse UK government of using 'unethical' fear tactics on people to enforce lockdown


The UK government's long-awaited 'Integrated Review' has finally been released. Officially billed as "a comprehensive articulation" of London's "national security and international policy," it intends to "[shape] the open international order of the future."

An audacious ambition indeed, and the Review's pledges are certainly bold - among other things, Whitehall is now committed to increasing the total number of nuclear warheads at its disposal to 260, reversing a 2010 decision to reduce the stockpile to 180. The volte face is attributed to an allegedly "evolving security environment," seemingly a veiled reference to China's growing economic and military might.

Comment: See also:


Marijuana

White House asks younger staffers to resign over past marijuana use, is Kamala next?

biden marijuana staff resign white house
© Sarah Rogers/The Daily Beast/ Photos Getty
Dozens of young White House staffers have been suspended, asked to resign, or placed in a remote work program due to past marijuana use, frustrating staffers who were pleased by initial indications from the Biden administration that recreational use of cannabis would not be immediately disqualifying for would-be personnel, according to three people familiar with the situation.

The policy has even affected staffers whose marijuana use was exclusive to one of the 14 states — and the District of Columbia — where cannabis is legal. Sources familiar with the matter also said a number of young staffers were either put on probation or canned because they revealed past marijuana use in an official document they filled out as part of the lengthy background check for a position in the Biden White House.

In some cases, staffers were informally told by transition higher-ups ahead of formally joining the administration that they would likely overlook some past marijuana use, only to be asked later to resign.

Comment: In light of the above, will Kamala Harris be asked to resign? From CNN:

Harris says she has smoked pot and supports marijuana legalization

Devan Cole, Updated 1821 GMT (0221 HKT) February 11, 2019

Sen. Kamala Harris, a former California attorney general, said Monday she has smoked marijuana and supports the legalization of the drug.

In the interview, given to the New York-based radio show "The Breakfast Club," co-host Charlamagne Tha God asks Harris if she has ever smoked.

"I have. And I inhaled -- I did inhale. It was a long time ago. But, yes," the California Democrat replied, invoking former President Bill Clinton's famous "didn't inhale" remark he made during his 1992 presidential run.

Harris, laughing as she realized the attention that her admission might draw, said that she tried pot in college and noted that it was in the form of a joint.

"I just broke news," she said.

The 2020 presidential contender dodged Charlamagne Tha God's question about whether or not she would try it again if it were legalized "all throughout the country," but said that she thinks "that it gives a lot of people joy and we need more joy."

As for marijuana legalization, Harris told Charlamagne Tha God that she supports it. "They say you oppose legalizing weed," he said. "That's not true. And look I joke about it, half joking -- half my family's from Jamaica, are you kidding me," Harris replies, laughing. "No, I do not -- no, no. I have had concerns, the full record, I have had concerns, which I think -- first of all, let me just make this statement very clear, I believe we need to legalize marijuana," she said. "Now, that being said -- and this is not a 'but,' it is an 'and' -- and we need to research, which is one of the reasons we need to legalize it. We need to move it on the schedule so that we can research the impact of weed on a developing brain. You know, that part of the brain that develops judgment, actually begins its growth at age 18 through age 24." "But I am absolutely in favor of legalizing marijuana. We've got to do it," she said later in the interview. "We have incarcerated so many, and particularly young men and young men of color, in a way that we have not for the same level of use (among) other young men."Harris' stance, which aligns herself with a growing movement in the Democratic Party and even among some Republicans, appears to be at odds with where she stood in 2014 when she was running for re-election as California attorney general. In an interview with KCRA-TV in August 2014, Harris is asked to respond to her opponent's stance on the issue. "Your opponent, Ron Gold, has said that he is for the legislation of marijuana recreationally. Your thoughts on that?" the station asks her. "Um, I -- that he is entitled to his opinion," Harris replied.


Eye 2

'Leaders' of lockdown: The long and wasted year

Trudeau
Last night I heard you talking in your sleep

Saying things you shouldn't say.

Oh baby, you just might have to go to jail someday.

— Bob Dylan, The Long and Wasted Years
I have invented a parlour game called Go, Chieftain!, which, though tricky to play, has a contemporary political edge. The difficulty arises from the fact that it requires the actual presence of the Prime Minister of Canada, the President of France and the Taoiseach of Ireland to be present in the same room, whereupon the player is blindfolded and let loose among them. You can also play the game with female leaders, like Nicola Sturgeon, Jacinda Ardern, or even a mixed doubles version if you feel so inclined.

The idea is that there is absolutely no political or human distinction to be made between these people. In my version, designed with Emmanuel Macron, Justin Trudeau and Leo Varadkar in mind, the first leader with whom the player makes physical contact might be despatched to Dublin, the second to Ottawa, and the third to Paris (this is alphabetical order version, though I have several other formats), without undue aftershocks. Obviously, no below-the-waist touching is permitted. The house then bets that, regardless of the outcome, since the three leaders are ideologically, morally, culturally and spiritually indistinguishable, there will be no change in anything. Since I invented the game, rather inconveniently, there has been a change at the 'top' in Ireland, with Micheál Martin replacing Varadkar, but happily this makes no difference either.

No Entry

White House shuts down Putin invite to public video chat, says Biden is 'quite busy'

Vladimir Putin
© Donat Sorokin/TASS via Getty Images
The White House will not hold a public video conference between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin.
The White House shut down a request by Russia's Vladimir Putin to hold a public conversation - perhaps on Zoom - with President Biden, saying the commander-in-chief is "quite busy."

Putin went on state-TV after Biden referred to him as a "killer" in an interview Wednesday and said he was ready to hold talks with Biden on the relationship between the two countries and other regional conflicts.

He said said he would have his foreign ministry set something up for Friday or Monday.

But White House press secretary Jen Psaki quickly rebuffed the invitation and the tiff over the "killer" comments, saying Putin and Biden have "different perspectives on their respective countries."

"We are confident that we can continue to look for ways where there's a mutual interest - mutual national interest,​"​ Psaki said. ​"​But the president is not going to hold back, clearly, when he has concerns, whether it is with words or actions."

Comment: Wow. The article above sure got it wrong on the Ukraine and the 2016 election.

Ont the main substance of the story however, The Kremlin had more to say on this new level of belligerence:
The Kremlin said on Friday that Moscow always hoped for the best but prepared for the worst when it was asked about the possibility of a new Cold War between the United States and Russia.

Diplomatic ties sank to a new low this week after U.S. President Joe Biden said he thought President Vladimir Putin was "a killer" in an interview that prompted Russia to recall its ambassador to the United States. Putin later offered Biden live online talks in the coming days.

On Friday, the Kremlin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Putin's offer of talks remained open and that Putin could do any time that was convenient for Biden, though the offer would not stay on the table indefinitely.

Putin said that despite everything there's no point in playing at megaphone diplomacy and trading barbs. There is a point in continuing relations," Peskov told reporters on a conference call.

He was asked about a new Cold War between the two countries.

"We, of course, always hope for the best, but are always ready for the worst. As far as Russia is concerned, President Putin has clearly stated his desire to continue ties...," he said.

"But of course, we can't not take into account Biden's comments," he said, in a reference to Biden's interview with ABC News broadcast on Wednesday.

In it, Biden said "I do" when asked if he believed Putin was a killer, prompting Putin to cite a Russian children's playground chant in response saying "he who said it, did it".

Biden also described Putin as having no soul in the interview, and said the Russian leader would pay a price for alleged meddling in the November 2020 U.S. presidential election, something the Kremlin denies.
And the Kremlin's actions speak louder with words with this:
Russia was the only nation that refused to send its top UN representative to talks with US President Joe Biden on Thursday, electing instead to dispatch a junior envoy, as a diplomatic row between Moscow and Washington worsens.

President Biden had invited permanent representatives from the United Nations Security Council, on which Moscow has continuous representation, to discuss his country's "commitment to values-based global leadership." In addition, the president called for action on crises in regions across the world, including Myanmar, Ethiopia, Syria, and Yemen.

However, Dmitry Polyanskiy, second-in-command to Russia's permanent representative, Vassily Nebenzia, confirmed on Friday that neither had attended the meeting. Instead, he revealed, Anna Evstigneeva, one of three more junior deputies, had joined the talks with Biden in their place. She reportedly made no remarks.

RIA Novosti reports that Russia's diplomatic mission was the only one that did not send its top figure to greet the American president.

The decision comes amid a week in which Biden and his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin, have traded barbs in the press. In an explosive interview with ABC earlier this week, Biden was asked whether he thought Putin was a killer. "Mmm hmm, I do," Biden replied.

On Thursday, the Russian leader responded, arguing that judging other countries is often "like looking in a mirror."

"When I was a kid, when we were arguing with each other in the playground, we used to say, 'Whatever you say [about others] is what you are yourself,'" Putin said.

The US is expected to unveil new sanctions on Russia as early as next week in response to claims that Moscow attempted to influence the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. A joint report by US intelligence agencies argued that a network of Russian proxies had worked with the aim of "denigrating President Biden's candidacy and the Democratic Party, supporting former President Trump, undermining public confidence in the electoral process, and exacerbating sociopolitical divisions in the US."

On Wednesday, Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, denied the claims, insisting that "Russia has nothing to do with any campaigns against any of the candidates. In this regard, we consider this report to be incorrect." Instead, he argued, the allegations were being used as an excuse to introduce new sanctions.



Mail

Paul Craig Roberts: An open letter to President Putin

Putin
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to Biden's unacceptable characterization of Russia's president as a killer by stating that Biden had made it clear that "he doesn't want to normalize relations." In the Kremlin does hope burn eternal? It has been obvious to me for many years that Washington does not want normal relations with Russia or any country. Washington wants a hegemonic relationship with Washington as the hegemon and Russia as the obedient puppet as Russia was during the Yeltsin decade.

Just consider the past four years of Trump's presidency. Trump declared his intention of normalizing relations with Russia and for this reason his presidency was destroyed by the American Establishment.

There is no prospect of Russia having normal relations with the US and its Empire. The destruction of Trump's presidency and the theft of his reelection is proof that the American Establishment will not tolerate a president who intends a normal diplomatic relationship with a sovereign Russia. This one intention was all it took to destroy Trump's presidency. Trump was immediately confronted with three years of orchestrated "Russiagate," followed by two attempted impeachments of Trump on false grounds, and his reelection was stolen. The American judiciary refused to even look at the overwhelming evidence of the stolen election. Did the Kremlim really believe that Biden was going to repeat Trump's self-destruction and make friends with Russia?

Comment: Actually we quite like Putin's high road response to Biden - wishing Biden good health! But we do understand the embarrassment, shame and frustration of the author who knows well, and is mightily angered by, the war-crazed bipeds now in full control of foreign policy.


Pirates

US loots Syria's oil resources like pirates, controls 90% of crude reserves: Syrian oil minister

Mask-clad US soldiers
© AFP
Mask-clad US soldiers walk during a patrol near an oil production facility in the countryside near al-Malikiyah (Derik), in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah Province, on October 27, 2020.
The Syrian oil minister says the US and its allied Takfiri terrorist groups are plundering oil resources in the war-stricken Arab country, revealing that Washington controls 90 percent of crude reserves in oil-rich northeastern Syria.

"Americans and their allies are targeting the Syrian oil wealth and its tankers just like pirates," Syrian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Bassam Tomeh, told state-run and Arabic-language al-Ikhbariyah Syria television on Thursday evening.

He noted that the cost of direct and indirect damage to the Syrian oil sector stands at more than $92 billion.
"What has happened all through Syria war has not happened in any country, in terms of preventing us from tapping our wealth resources and at the same time stopping basic commodities from reaching our country," Tomeh said.

Comment: See also: