Puppet MastersS


Attention

Russia warns US against arms race on Earth & space after missile defense plans revealed

russia missile
© Reuters / Sergei Karpukhin
US rejection of any limitations on missile defense programs and readiness to weaponize space has drawn a blunt reaction from Moscow, with the Russian Foreign Ministry warning Washington not to restart the Cold War-era arms race.

Describing the US Missile Defense Review (MDR) published Thursday as "openly confrontational," the Russian Foreign Ministry said the document shows Washington's intent to establish military dominance and ability to conduct military operations anywhere on the planet with impunity, while rejecting any limitations on missile defense efforts.

"We would like to note that the very same logic served as the foundation of the widespread nuclear missile race that brought the world to the brink of disaster multiple times," Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Friday, adding that the US leadership has "apparently decided to step on the same rake, with predictable consequences."

Comment: The US finds itself mired in its own corruption and it's incapable of competing with Russia and China on merit, so instead it's breaking its agreements through some demented dream that it won't also be checkmated in space: Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Putin The World To Rights: Russia's New Nuclear Weapons And The End of 'Unipolarity'


Eagle

The National Security Agency is nothing less than a criminal organization

NSA in Maryland
Years before Edward Snowden provided documented proof that the National Security Agency was really a national insecurity agency as it was violating law and the US Constitution and spying indiscriminately on American citizens, William Binney, who designed and developed the NSA spy program revealed the illegal and unconstitutional spying. Binney turned whistleblower, because NSA was using the program to spy on Americans. As Binney was well known to the US Congress, he did not think he needed any NSA document to make his case. But what he found out was:
"Congress would never hear me because then they'd lose plausible deniability. That was really their key. They needed to have plausible deniability so they can continue this massive spying program because it gave them power over everybody in the world. Even the members of Congress had power against others [in Congress]; they had power on judges on the Supreme Court, the federal judges, all of them. That's why they're so afraid. Everybody's afraid because all this data that's about them, the central agencies - the intelligence agencies - they have it. And that's why Senator Schumer warned President Trump earlier, a few months ago, that he shouldn't attack the intelligence community because they've got six ways to Sunday to come at you. That's because it's like J. Edgar Hoover on super steroids. . . . it's leverage against every member of parliament and every government in the world."

Comment: The monolithic and malevolent NSA exists to count and categorize every man woman and child it can - as either someone who would follow very deep state agendas - or those who would not:

Read Texe Marrs' Project L. U. C. I. D.: The Beast 666 Universal Human Control System to get a sense of just how pervasive and long-standing their mandate is.


Document

New York Times columnist: Sheldon Adelson has 'more influence' than Pompeo in 'controlling' State Dept on Israel

Sheldon Adelson
© Flash90Casino mogul, GOP financier and AIPAC supporter Sheldon Adelson.
Timothy Egan, a New York Times contributing opinion writer, has a column today defending the tradition of rich people having an outsize role in our politics, because that's just reality. But he slipped in not one but two cracks at Sheldon Adelson.
An 85-year-old casino magnate, Sheldon Adelson, now has more influence on American foreign policy than even the secretary of state, the Koch [Brothers] tool Mike Pompeo.

But the Kochs pay for politicians in order to enrich themselves and to gut regulations affecting the polluting industries that made them billionaires. Adelson got a similar tax windfall for the millions he put into electing Republicans, with the added benefit of controlling the State Department's view of Israel.

Comment: Indeed, Sheldon Adelson's out-sized financial influence has made Trump beholden to him. Adelson, like other Israel-firsters would see their imperial project in the Middle East succeed over the death and destruction of many:


Cult

Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) disbands Syrian Free Police following militant takeover in Idlib

rebel police force Aleppo
© Agence France-PresseA rebel policeman wears the logo of the newly formed police corp created by the "Legal Committee" on his arm as he patrols the Sheikh Maqsud neighborhood in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, on May 13, 2013.
Once UK-backed and long one of the revolution's success stories, the force has been quietly dismantled

The Free Syrian Police, a symbol of the country's flagging revolution and a recipient of international support, has ceased operations following a militant takeover of Idlib province.

Last week, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) fighters seized control of the majority of opposition-held northern Syria after days of clashes with rebel groups.

Comment: The locals may correctly perceive the Syrian Free Police as being more moderate than the Islamic police HTS wishes to put in their place but the SFP were not angels. They were affiliated with rebel factions fighting against the legitimate government and know to cooperate with the White Helmets terrorist group.

Idlib: Al Qaeda's last stand in Syria


Penis Pump

BuzzFeed 'reports' Trump "personally instructed" Cohen to lie to Congress about Moscow project - UPDATE: Buzzfeed story completely discredited

former Trump attorney Michael Cohen
Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen
President Trump instructed his former longtime attorney Michael Cohen to lie to congress about negotiations to construct a Moscow Trump Tower, according to BuzzFeed, citing two federal law enforcement officials who leaked the information.

Trump also supported a plan hatched by Cohen to visit Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign in order to personally meet Vladimir Putin to see if it would help get the project off the ground. "Make it happen," Trump allegedly told Cohen.
And even as Trump told the public he had no business deals with Russia, the sources said Trump and his children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., received regular, detailed updates about the real estate development from Cohen, whom they put in charge of the project. - BuzzFeed

Comment: Zerohedge updates the story, or rather lack thereof. Whatever shred of credibility Buzzfeed managed to hang onto after the Steele Dossier debacle, it should lose it completely with this turkey. Buzzfeed should be laughed off the internet, or at least classed at the level of The Onion. The Onion is far more entertaining.
Mueller's Office Confirms Buzzfeed's Trump-Cohen Story Is Fake News

Update 2: In an almost unprecedented event - having rarely commented on stories related to the special counsel's investigation - Robert S. Mueller III's office put out a statement firmly disputing the reporting of the news site BuzzFeed reported that the president instructed his personal attorney to lie to Congress about his push for a Moscow real estate project
"BuzzFeed's description of specific statements to the Special Counsel's Office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen's Congressional testimony are not accurate," the special counsel's office said.
As The Hill reports, BuzzFeed had released a statement earlier Friday defending the reporters behind the story and saying that it "stands by this story 100%," and for his part, Cohen adviser Lanny Davis refused to confirm or deny the report during an interview with MSNBC on Friday afternoon.

President Trump retweeted a few social media reactions...



And then made his own views clear:



* * *

Update 1: Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani has called the BuzzFeed report that Trump directed Michael Cohen to lie "categorically false."


***

Skeptics are taking aim at a Thursday night BuzzFeed report that President Trump "personally instructed" his former attorney Michael Cohen to lie to congress about negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

Less than 12 hours after the report, its credibility has been called into question after the two journalists who wrote the story gave vastly different answers as to whether they had actually the evidence - while many have pointed to the "dubious past" of reporter Jason Leopold.
Anthony Cormier, Jason Leopold
Anthony Cormier (L) Jason Leopold (R), Buzzfeed "journalists"
Leopold came under fire for a 2006 Truthout.org article incorrectly reporting that Karl Rove had been indicted over the Valerie Plame CIA leak case - claiming that multiple anonymous sources "confirmed Rove's indictment is imminent."
As we learned last week, Rove isn't being indicted, and the supposed Truthout scoop by reporter Jason Leopold was wildly off the mark. It was but the latest installment in the tale of a troubled young reporter with a history of drug addiction whose aggressive disregard for the rules ended up embroiling me in a bizarre escapade -- and raised serious questions about journalistic ethics. -Joe Lauria, WaPo, 2006

The other journalist from the Thursday night BuzzFeed report, Anthony Cormier, admitted to CNN's "New Day" that he hasn't actually seen the evidence in the case.
Host Alisyn Camerota opened the interview by asking Cormier if he had seen the evidence to which Cormier replied: "Not personally." He then clarified that "the folks we have talked to - two officials we have spoken to are fully, 100 percent read into that aspect of the Special Counsel's investigation" -Mediaite
Except Leopold told MSNBC "We have seen the documents. We have been briefed on documents."





Despite not having seen the evidence at hand, Cormier explained his sources at length: "[Our sources] have been working the Trump Moscow tower portion of the investigation...before Mueller. So they had access to a number of different documents, 302 reports which are interview reports," he explained. "That stuff was compiled as they began to look at who the players were speaking with, how those negotiations went, who all from the Trump organization and outside the organization were involved in getting that tower set up."

Cormier was then asked about Jason Leopold's dubious past, with CNN's Alisyn Camerota asking: "He was in trouble for perhaps claiming to have sources he really didn't have. His stories didn't wash. Executive directors and editors have had to apologize after some of his big blockbuster stories," adding "How can you be certain today?"

To which Cormier said: "My sourcing on this goes beyond the two on the record," adding "It's 100 percent. I am the individual who confirmed and verified that it I am telling you our sourcing goes beyond the two I was able to put on the record. We were able to gather information from individuals who know this happened."

Cormier told NPR's "Morning Edition" that they had "managed to find ways to verify these people's stories off the record."


President Trump on Friday tweeted in response to the story:


Trump Jr. chimed in as well, tweeting "Here we go again... another CNN/Buzzfeed "bombshell" with no evidence. The usual clickbait BS... and when it fails as all the others have there will be ZERO coverage."


On Friday morning, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) said "We will do what's necessary to find out if it's true," of the BuzzFeed report, calling the allegation the "most serious to date."

"The allegation that the President of the United States may have suborned perjury before our committee in an effort to curtail the investigation and cover up his business dealings with Russia is among the most serious to date," Schiff tweeted on Friday - one day after President Trump canceled his 7-day overseas trip with Nancy Pelosi.





Propaganda

Fox News ramps up another round of Russophobia with 'photos of new Iskander base' near Ukrainian border

iskander base russia
© Imagesat International
But research into the photos and cross-checking of news reports reveals only the standard anti-Russian narrative that has gone on for years.

Fox News obtained satellite photos that claim that Russia has recently installed new Iskander missile batteries, one of them "near" to the Ukrainian border. However, what the Fox article does not say is left for the reader to discover: that in regards to Ukraine, these missiles are probably not that significant, unless the missiles are much longer range than reported:

The intelligence report provided to Fox by Imagesat International showed the new deployment in Krasnodar, 270 miles from the Ukrainian border. In the images is visible what appears to be an Iskander compound, with a few bunkers and another compound of hangars. There is a second new installation that was discovered by satellite photos, but this one is much farther to the east, in the region relatively near to Ulan-Ude, a city relatively close to the Mongolian border.

Chess

Moscow sanity will prevail: Why a Russia-Ukraine war is highly unlikely

Ukraine military parade
© Reuters / Gleb GaranichA military parade, Kiev, Ukraine, August 24, 2018
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine will not escalate beyond minor skirmishes in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

Lately, there has been an increasing number of voices suggesting the possibility of a large-scale armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Russian and Ukrainian media alike have published stories expressing this very idea. With that in mind, let us look at the likelihood of an actual war breaking out between Moscow and Kiev under present circumstances.

When assessing the probability of a conflict between the two countries, both Russian and Ukrainian military officials and analysts usually start by breaking down the balance of forces, the capabilities of both sides, the proficiency of their respective troops, and the tactical and technical characteristics of their weapons. What they tend to overlook, however, is military-political aspects, as well as strategic and tactical components.

Not to mention, some of the assessments and predictions are alarmist in nature, filled with blatant fear mongering. For example, you are sure to come across headlines such as 'The probability of full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine is estimated at 99%', 'Conflict is inevitable, as the West is preparing Ukraine for war with Russia', 'Ukraine is planning a large-scale invasion of Russia with the goal of seizing its southern regions and taking back Crimea', 'NATO troops will operate under the Ukrainian flag, posing as Ukraine's army', and similar kind of drivel and plain fabrication.

Comment: Russia has said from the very beginning that it had no wish for a conflict with Ukraine, nor do they wish to annex Donbass or Lughansk. They look upon Ukraine as a 'little brother'. That being said, it will not tolerate the persecution of Russians in the eastern provinces, and has/will provide them with aid, until Kiev comes to its senses, and gives Donbass and Lughansk the autonomy that is naturally theirs. That does not look to be anytime soon.


USA

Nancy denied! President Trump seizes Pelosi's aircraft, cancels 'foreign trip' over shutdown

PelosiTrump
© J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo/Evan VucciHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi • President Donald Trump
President Trump abruptly "postponed" Speaker Nancy Pelosi's planned foreign trip Thursday; saying he was "sorry to inform" the left-wing leader that her overseas excursion would be "rescheduled" over the government shutdown.

"President Trump on Thursday appeared to deny military aircraft to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for a foreign trip just minutes before the congressional delegation was set to depart, in a stunning response to her call to delay the State of the Union address amid the government shutdown," writes Fox News.

"Due to the Shutdown, I am sorry to inform you that your trip to Brussels, Egypt, and Afghanistan has been postponed. We will reschedule this seven-day excursion when the Shutdown is over. In light of the 800,000 great American workers not receiving pay, I am sure you would agree that postponing this public relations event is totally appropriate," Trump wrote in a letter to Pelosi.

"I also feel that, during this period, it would be better if you were in Washington negotiating with me and joining the Strong Border Security movement to end the Shutdown. Obviously, if you would like to make your journey by flying commercial, that would certainly be your prerogative," he added.

Magnify

SOTT Focus: War Whores Scramble to Say Syria Attack Means U.S. Troops Must Remain

lindsey graham
A suicide bombing in Manbij, Syria has reportedly killed 19 people including four Americans, two of whom were US soldiers and two of whom worked with the US military. ISIS, which has an extensive history of falsely claiming responsibility for attacks it had nothing to do with, has claimed responsibility for the attack. Despite the fact that ISIS would claim responsibility for a housewife stepping on a Lego block, and despite the complete absence of evidence that it had anything to do with the deadly explosion, all the usual cheerleaders of endless war are pointing to the Manbij suicide bombing and shrieking "See?? Trump said ISIS is defeated and it's not!"

"ISIS is still a very real threat here," CNN international corespondent Clarissa Ward told Jake Tapper from northern Syria. "And the real concern that we are hearing over and over again on the ground, Jake, is that when US troops withdraw, a power vacuum is created, and that only gives them more strength."

Virulent Syria war pundit Charles Lister, who is notorious for praising Al Qaeda and is a senior fellow at the Gulf state-funded neoconservative think tank Middle East Institute, told AFP that this attack invalidates Donald Trump's order last month to withdraw troops from Syria.

Light Sabers

Trump/Pelosi Battle Royale - "A boundary worth fighting for..."

trump vs pelosi
The effrontery of Ms. Pelosi, Speaker of the House, in cancelling Mr. Trump's State of the Union address in the chamber she controls is perhaps the worst insult to institutional protocol since the spring day in 1856 when Congressman Preston Brooks (D-SC) skulked into the senate chamber and smashed Senator Charles Sumner (R-Mass) about the head within an inch of his life with a gold-headed walking stick. Brooks's attack was launched after Sen. Sumner gave his "Bleeding Kansas" speech, arguing that the territory be let into the union as a "free" state, and denouncing "the harlot slavery," whom he imputed was Rep. Brooks's dearest consort.

Many of us - except perhaps students immersed in intersectional gender studies - know how that worked out: a little dust-up in the meadows and cornfields known as the Civil War. We're about at that level of animosity today in the two federal houses of legislature, though it is very hard to imagine how Civil War Two might play out on the ground. Perhaps opposing mobs (not even armies) meet in the Walmart parking lots of Pennsylvania and go at it demolition derby style, with monster trucks bashing their enemies' Teslas and Beemers. Throw in clown suits instead of blue and gray uniforms and we'll really capture the spirit of the age.