Puppet MastersS


Chess

Enemies will not use Western hemisphere as 'base of operations', US ambassador to UN says


Middle East Eye
Mon, 05 Jan 2026 14:26 UTC
Mike Waltz UN Security Council
© Brendan McDermid/ReutersUS ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz speaks during a UN Security Council meeting on his government's abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in New York City, on 5 January 2026
The US ambassador to the United Nations on Monday said that enemies of his country cannot be allowed to control vast oil reserves, such as the ones in Venezuela under President Nicolas Maduro.

Mike Waltz spoke less than two hours before Maduro made his first court appearance, not far from UN headquarters in Manhattan.

Maduro is charged with narco-trafficking, among other charges, and has pleaded not guilty.

"We're not going to allow the Western Hemisphere to be used as a base of operation for our nation's adversaries," Waltz said.
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Attention

2026 may not bring peace, but it may bring clarity

Vitaly Ryumshin
RT.com
Mon, 05 Jan 2026 01:43 UTC
The old world is fracturing but the new has not yet been born.
Chess Pieces
© Dasha Zaitseva/Gazeta.Ru
The year 2025 is behind us, and it leaves behind a strange mixture of frustration and uncertainty. Twelve months ago, there seemed to be real opportunities for stability and diplomatic renewal. Instead, most of them were squandered. The world moved deeper into chaos. Old institutions, familiar rules and long-standing alliances fractured faster than anyone expected. What's more, it is still unclear what will replace them.

Even Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni summed up the international mood bluntly: last year was bad, and next year may be worse. Yet we should not give in to pessimism. Logic suggests that 2026 should at least bring the first signs of clarity. The outlines of the likely scenarios are now visible.

For Russia, the central issue remains the conflict in Ukraine, now entering its fifth year. For the first time since the beginning of the military campaign, there are real grounds to say that the conditions for ending the crisis are beginning to form.

Two decisive developments shaped this arena in 2025. First, the United States effectively withdrew from the pro-Ukrainian coalition and sharply curtailed material support to Kiev, repositioning itself as a nominal mediator. Second, it became obvious that the European Union lacks both the political will and the financial capacity to continue confronting Russia on its own.

At the December summit, EU leaders failed to agree on using €210 billion in frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, and even struggled to approve a €90 billion loan package. Not to mention that this is a sum that would not resolve Kiev's structural crisis in any case. The bloc's resources are stretched, and its internal unity is fragile.
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Russian Flag

Russia ingenuity: Shahed drones now armed with Igla-S air defense missile to shoot down Ukrainian helicopters.

Jérôme Brahy
Army Recognition
Mon, 05 Jan 2026 21:34 UTC
russia drone manpad defense
© Ukrainian MoDUkraine may now have to allocate more air defense assets and counter-UAS resources to deal with such a threat, as MANPADS-armed drones could potentially serve as a decentralized air defense layer for Russia's advancing forces.
On January 4, 2026, Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces said fighters from the Darknode Battalion of the 412th Nemesis Brigade intercepted for the first time a Shahed drone fitted with an Igla-S MANPADS missile, indicating an attempt by Russia to use these drones to threaten Ukrainian helicopters and low-flying aircraft involved in counter-drone interception.

On January 4, 2026, the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces stated that fighters from the Darknode Battalion of the 412th Nemesis Brigade intercepted a Russian Shahed-type kamikaze drone fitted with an Igla-S man-portable air defense system. This variant, observed for the first time during the war, carried a camera and a radio modem, allowing the missile to be launched remotely by an operator located on Russian territory to threaten Ukrainian helicopters and low-flying aircraft involved in counter-drone interception.
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Handcuffs

The kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro

Thierry Meyssan
Voltairenet.org
Tue, 06 Jan 2026 00:00 UTC
Delcy Rodríguez
© UnknownFollowing the abduction of Nicolás Maduro, interim president Delcy Rodríguez called Secretary of State Marco Rubio to inquire about the progress of the operation. She addressed the nation, reiterating that Maduro remained the sole, rightful president of Venezuela.
Operation "Absolute Determination" is no more an invasion of Venezuela than the Russian special military operation would be an invasion of Ukraine. It's the normal game played by powers in the face of an existential threat.

Nicolás Maduro is the president of Venezuela, even if the United States and the EU don't recognize him. His status as president didn't protect him from the indictment he faced in the United States.

Washington had the right to stop Venezuela's aid to Hezbollah, not because it dislikes the Lebanese Resistance, but because the latter involved drug shipments to the United States and, therefore, threatened its security.

Nevertheless, this operation is a slap in the face to the Venezuelan people and will make the country's recovery difficult.
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Dominoes

Regime tweaking, not regime change, is what the US just achieved in Venezuela

Andrew Korybko
korybko.substack.com
Sun, 04 Jan 2026 00:00 UTC
MaduroTrump
© UnknownKidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro • US President Donald Trump
This refers to keeping the targeted state's power structure in place but after some (at times significant) changes that advance the meddling state's interests.

Some critics of the US' "special military operation" in Venezuela claim that it didn't succeed despite President Nicolas Maduro's capture since the "Chavismo deep state" that he presided over remains in place. This refers to the explicitly ideological elements of his country's permanent military, intelligence, and diplomatic bureaucracies but can be expanded to include governors and trade unions among other groups. The point is that removing Maduro from the political equation didn't result in regime change.

That's true, but the premise that US wanted to achieve such a goal is debatable since Trump 2.0 is comprised of figures who've criticized previous regime change operations for destabilizing their regions and leading to unpredictable consequences that ultimately harmed US interests. It's therefore plausible that they never intended to forcibly carry out regime change in Venezuela due to concerns that a civil war might follow, which could engender a large-scale migrant crisis and destroy energy infrastructure.
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Explosion

Second Nakba, Bibi's 9/11: The start of monumental destruction of the Middle East?

Peter Koenig
Global Research
Thu, 31 Dec 2026 00:00 UTC
Injured man
© Abed Rahmi Khatib/Anadolu AgencyIsraeli airstrikes continue on the 7th day in Gaza
On October 7, shortly after the Hamas attack on Israel, PM Benjamin Netanyahu declared the offensive as Israel's 9/11. He is right in more ways than one. The US 9/11 was a horrendous and deadly false flag, and so is the Israeli one, or the so-called Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, assault by Hamas.

Both 9/11's are meant to "justify" endless and crushing retributions. In the US, an endless and worldwide war on "terror" which means the entire world, as Washington sees fit, according to its "rules-based order." Misbehaving nations are simply sanctioned and crushed, forced to their knees.
Israeli intel, as well as that of Egypt, the UK, the US, Brussels - EU - knew about the impending attack, planned by Israel in coordination with Hamas. A Jewish charity leader says Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military to stand down for 7 hours during the Hamas invasion.

Comment: Author does not specifically assign 'ownership' of 9/11 to its perpetrator Israel (a likely setup for US future compliance and support). He does, however reveal Israel's 'ownership' of Hamas and Hezbollah and the purpose they serve.

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Warning

The US intervention in Venezuela and the limits of international law: Power projection and the end of strategic ambiguity in the Americas

Ricardo Martins
New Eastern Outlook
Mon, 05 Jan 2026 00:00 UTC
TrumpMaduro
© UnknownUS President Donald Trump • Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
A swift US-led operation abducted Nicolás Maduro without meaningful resistance, exposing the extent of prior strategic penetration and institutional paralysis within Venezuela. Far from improvisation, the event signals a deliberate reassertion of US hemispheric dominance with far-reaching geopolitical consequences.

In the early hours of January 3, US special forces entered Caracas and kidnapped President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, with minimal visible resistance, an outcome made possible by the striking non-reaction of Venezuela's air-defence systems. The leader of Venezuela's governing party, Nahum Fernández, said that Maduro and his wife were at their residence within the military complex of Fort Tiuna.

No interception was reported, no radar challenge made public, and no sustained engagement occurred as US helicopters accessed sensitive airspace and secured key locations.

The capture itself was executed rapidly, with Maduro taken from the capital and transferred out of the country within hours, underscoring the degree to which the Venezuelan security apparatus was either neutralised or unwilling to respond. Power disruptions and the absence of coordinated military countermeasures reinforced the impression of a state already operationally compromised.
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Pistol

US 'banditry' in Venezuela is harbinger of chaos - Moscow


RT
Mon, 05 Jan 2026 21:46 UTC
Nebenzia
© Valery Sharifulin/SputnikRussian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia
Washington's actions horrify "even the staunchest Atlanticists," Russia's envoy Vassily Nebenzia has said.

"The capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by the US threatens to throw the world back into an era of "chaos and injustice."

Washington's attack on the Latin American nation has demonstrated the world order the US wants to build, the diplomat told an emergency session of the UN Security Council on Monday, adding that it "horrifies even the staunchest Atlanticists."

The world must stand united in rejecting Washington's belligerent foreign policy, Nebenzia said, warning that "the bell is already tolling" for each UN member state and the future of the organization itself. Ignoring the threat posed by the US to the system of international relations would mean condoning the violation of international law, as well as disregard for "civilized" conduct on the international stage.

Nebenzia condemned the US actions as "international banditry." The US' open pursuit of "hegemonistic ambitions in Latin America" and its desire to gain "unlimited control over natural resources" only contribute to a resurgence of neo-colonialism and imperialism, he said.
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Snowflake Cold

Best of the Web: Intelligence operation? Berlin power outage is another in long list of 'mystery' attacks against Germany's critical infrastructure

Oliver Towfigh Nia
aa.com.tr
Tue, 06 Jan 2026 20:05 UTC

Comment: This is 'darker' than the German government, and the media, is letting on...


Around 50,000 households, 2,000 businesses were left without electricity after high-voltage power lines damaged by fire
berlin power outage
Berlin is currently freezing in the dark due to a 'left-wing terror attack', but who did it exactly?
Thousands of people in southwest Berlin continue without heating or electricity despite freezing temperatures after a major power outage caused by an arson attack on Saturday.

The fire damaged electricity cables, cutting power to about 50,000 households and 2,000 commercial businesses, affecting more than 100,000 people.

Authorities in Berlin declared a state of emergency, requesting support from the military and the federal police.

According to utility operator Stromnetz Berlin, the damage to the power grid is severe, and repairs are complicated; full power cannot be restored before Thursday.

The far-left Vulkan Group, known for similar attacks in the past, claimed responsibility for the sabotage in a letter titled: "Cutting off power to those in power."

Comment: We've looked into this, and found that not a single arrest has ever been made for ANY of these 7-8 major terror/sabotage acts over the past decade.

And this in Germany, the country where you risk being incarcerated for 'insulting political leaders online', and where hundreds of people have been arrested in dawn raids for 'plots' the government alleges may have resulted in acts of sabotage and political destabilization.

And yet, here we have an actual, organized group that has been acting, with impunity, and admittedly to 'cause political destabilization' for many years... yet there are no arrests, no loud condemnations from the government, and no follow-up investigative reporting from the media.

Clearly, this network's 'leftist' credentials, vaguely alluded to by the authorities, are a thin cover-story for something much more sinister. We're reminded of the leftist Baader-Meinhof Gang, a.k.a. Red Army Faction, which operated with impunity in West Germany in the 1970s and 1980s, all the while being handled by German and American intelligence agents, thereby justifying security and political measures to keep the Soviets out, the Americans in, and the general population controlled through a 'strategy of tension.

Berliners are literally being subject to 'gaslighting' in their own homes.

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Wolf

Jack Smith hid names of GOP lawmakers from judges who granted access to their phone records

Josh Christenson
New York Post
Wed, 31 Dec 2025 19:18 UTC
jack smith hearing arctic frost spy congress phone records
© Getty ImagesJack Smith admitted in a closed-door congressional deposition December 17, 2025, that judges weren’t made aware his team was seizing Republicans’ phone records when asked to sign off on non-disclosure orders for associated subpoenas.
Jack Smith admitted that judges weren't made aware his team was seizing Republicans' phone records when asked to sign off on non-disclosure orders for associated subpoenas, according to a transcript of the ex-special counsel's deposition released Wednesday.

Smith claimed to members of the House Judiciary Committee in the Dec. 17 sitdown that keeping the subpoenas — which were part of the FBI's sprawling Arctic Frost probe into 2020 election interference — hidden was necessary to avoid a "grave risk of obstruction of justice."

Asked by an unidentified Judiciary Committee questioner whether judges who approved the subpoenas knew they were demanding that phone carriers AT&T and Verizon hand over lawmakers' call logs, Smith said: "I don't think we identified that, because I don't think that was Department policy at the time."

Comment: A small sample of Smith's underhanded lawfare tactics:

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