Puppet MastersS


Post-It Note

Russia demands Israel cease its 'air aggression' against Syria


Zerohedge
Tue, 05 Jul 2022 18:40 UTC
Israel strikes in Syria
Israel carried out yet another strike on the Syrian coast this weekend, which reportedly wounded two civilians. Russia has been getting more forceful in its denunciations of these strikes which have occurred on an almost weekly basis across various parts of Syria, especially around Damascus over the past few years.

Russia on Monday condemned the latest and other recent attacks as "categorically unacceptable" and demanded they cease immediately. During the early years of Israeli attacks which almost always claimed to be targeting "Iranian assets", Russia remained relatively quiet.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, "We strongly condemn such irresponsible actions that violate the sovereignty of Syria and the basic norms of international law, and we demand their unconditional cessation." Also, the Syrian government denounced what it called Israel's "air aggression".

Despite literally hundreds of such strikes, Israeli media reports acknowledged Saturday's attack as rare:
The relatively rare daytime strike on Saturday targeted an area near the Syrian town of al-Hamidiyah, south of Tartus, which is home to Russia's main naval base in the region. Two civilians were injured and serious damage was caused to civilian infrastructure, Moscow said.
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Bad Guys

Switzerland to host international conference on rebuilding Ukraine

Mark Armstrong
Euro News
Sun, 03 Jul 2022 00:01 UTC
ukraine recovery conference
Security preparations are underway at Lugano in southern Switzerland ahead of the Ukraine Recovery Conference that starts on Monday.

Leaders from dozens of countries and international organisations will discuss the post-war reconstruction of the war-torn country.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Friday that EU membership is "within reach" for Ukraine.

Comment: The grand PR campaign continues...

See also:

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Black Magic

Germany gives Ukraine advice on Nazi-collaborator national 'hero' - media


RT
Tue, 05 Jul 2022 06:59 UTC
The monument to Stepan Bandera in Lviv.
© Pavlo Palamarchuk / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty ImagesThe monument to Stepan Bandera in Lviv.
Kiev should join a Holocaust remembrance group to discuss Bandera's role in ethnic cleansing, an anti-Semitism official has said.

Germany has tacitly criticized Ukraine for the apologism of Nazi-collaborator Stepan Bandera advocated by Kiev's ambassador. The country should join the Berlin-based International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), where Bandera's role in ethnic cleansings can be discussed, German anti-Semitism commissioner Felix Klein said on Monday.

The IHRA is an "appropriate forum" for discussing the issue on the international level, Klein told Funke Mediengruppe. This suggestion was in response to claims by Ukrainian Ambassador Andrey Melnik, who said there was no evidence that Nazi collaborator Bandera was responsible for the persecution of Poles and Jews in Ukraine during World War II.

Bandera is considered a national hero in Ukraine due to his role as a nationalist leader. Forces loyal to him were involved in mass killings and expulsions of non-Ukrainians, and sided with the invading Nazi German forces, hoping that Adolf Hitler would allow a Ukrainian state to exist under Berlin's protectorate.

Comment: See also:

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Eye 1

French minister leaves Macron's government after rape allegation, fourth minister accused since 2017

Anna Pujol-Mazzini
Open Democracy
Tue, 05 Jul 2022 18:22 UTC
Damien Abad
© Raphael Lafargue/ABACAPRESS.COM | AlamyDamien Abad during "Dimanche en politique" on France 3 channel in Paris on October 25, 2020.

Damien Abad denies allegations but steps down saying he wants to 'defend himself without hindering government'
French minister Damien Abad has left Emmanuel Macron's government after being accused of sexual harassment and rape.

Abad, the former minister for solidarity and disabled people, had been under fire for weeks after four women accused him of sexual misconduct. He denies wrongdoing.

Abad was replaced in a reshuffle today, making him the first serving minister to step down in connection with sexual misconduct accusations.

"It seemed preferable, in the face of the despicable slanders of which I am the target, orchestrated according to a well-chosen timetable, for me to be able to defend myself without hindering the functioning of the government," he told the press on Monday.
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Attention

The Empire is not done torturing Afghanistan

Pepe Escobar
The Cradle
Tue, 05 Jul 2022 21:36 UTC
Despite its resounding defeat, NATO is not quite done with inflicting misery on the land of the Afghans.

Bringing Demoncracy
© The Cradle
Once upon a time, in a galaxy not far away, the Empire of Chaos launched the so-called "War on Terror" against an impoverished cemetery of empires at the crossroads of Central and South Asia.

In the name of national security, the land of the Afghans was bombed until the Pentagon ran out of targets, as their chief Donald Rumsfeld, addicted to "known unknowns," complained at the time.

Operation 'Enduring Captivity'

Civilian targets, also knows as "collateral damage," was the norm for years. Multitudes had to flee to neighboring nations to find shelter, while tens of thousands were incarcerated for unknown reasons, some even dispatched to an illegal imperial gulag on a tropical island in the Caribbean.

War crimes were duly perpetrated - some of them denounced by an organization led by a sterling journalist who was subsequently subjected to years of psychological torture by the same Empire, obsessed with extraditing him into its own prison dystopia.

All the time, the smug, civilized 'international community' - shorthand for the collective west - was virtually deaf, dumb and blind. Afghanistan was occupied by over 40 nations - while repeatedly bombed and droned by the Empire, which suffered no condemnation for its aggression; no package after package of sanctions; no confiscation of hundreds of billions of dollars; no punishment at all.
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Arrow Down

UK to combat Russia's 'hostile online warfare' by forcing internet firms to remove disinformation

Paul Sawers
TechCrunch
Tue, 05 Jul 2022 09:08 UTC
London
© Robin Angelo Photography/Getty ImagesLondon Parliament
The U.K. government is pushing to make "foreign interference" such as disinformation a priority offence under its proposed Online Safety Bill, forcing technology firms to remove contravening content shared by foreign state actors.

The move follows recent legislation announced by the U.K. that is designed to deter foreign state actors seeking to "undermine U.K. interests," which includes targeting attempts at foreign interference in elections with heftier maximum penalties. The proposed legislation comes shortly after MI5 warned that a Chinese agent with links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had infiltrated Parliament, while subsequently the U.K. has also been ramping up its efforts to counter Russian disinformation and "troll factories" seeking to spread disinformation around the war in Ukraine. And then there was the prank call to Ben Wallace, the U.K.'s Secretary of State for Defence, from Russian hoaxers pretending to be Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

It's also worth noting that the U.K. is no stranger to disinformation controversy, perhaps most notably around Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum vote which saw the U.K. exit the European Union. A subsequent report found that the British government and intelligence agencies didn't conduct any real assessment of Russia's attempts to interfere with the referendum, despite the evidence on hand.
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Boat

Moscow suspects UK of seeking to 'infiltrate' Black Sea


RT
Sun, 03 Jul 2022 15:14 UTC
lavrovship
© Getty Images/bfk92/AP/Vahid Saleimi/KJNRussian FM Sergey Lavrov • Cargo Ship
The UK is looking for a "pretext" which would allow the Royal Navy to "infiltrate" the Black Sea and to take charge of the release of grain stocks from Ukrainian ports, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed on Sunday.

Kiev and Western nations have accused Russia of blocking food exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports, allegedly contributing to surging global food prices. Moscow denies the allegation, saying it has been offering safe passage to freighters but that Ukraine is preventing civilian ships from leaving the ports, including Odessa. Russia also says Kiev's deployment of sea mines has created a threat to shipping in the area.

In an interview for Rossiya 24 news channel, Lavrov noted that some countries are trying to use the food security issue "in the worst possible way" by accusing Moscow "of something it is not involved in" and by "whitewashing" Ukraine.

In this context, the Russian minister pointed to the statements of the Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Minister Liz Truss. From Lavrov's point of view:
"They are clearly trying to create conditions, to find pretexts for the Royal Navy to infiltrate the Black Sea and become almost in charge of all the processes of releasing grain from those ports that have been mined by Ukrainians and which Ukrainians must clear."
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Hammer

Global Gangsters: British regime wants to 'rebuild Ukraine' with stolen Russian money


RT
Mon, 04 Jul 2022 11:35 UTC
Truss
© Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesUK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss
The UK will host a conference on Ukraine's recovery next year, as the nation's conflict with Moscow continues, the British Foreign Office has announced.

This year's Ukraine Recovery Conference opens on Monday in Lugano, Switzerland. Britain plans to take a place on next year's supervisory board and coordinate efforts between Kiev and other countries to rebuild the nation, with an office expected to be set up in London. UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss' statement prepared for the Lugano conference says:
"We have led on support for Ukraine during the war and will continue to lead in supporting the Ukrainian Government's Reconstruction and Development Plan."
Meanwhile, the UK intends to follow Canada's lead and seize Russian assets in the country, and use them to support Kiev, according to Truss.

Comment: Add international robbery to the West's rap sheet.

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Arrow Down

Euro falls to 20-year low against the dollar


DW
Tue, 05 Jul 2022 00:00 UTC
money
© Panther media/Imago Images
The euro has slumped to its lowest since 2002 against the dollar amid fears that a recession in the eurozone could be looming. The currency fell as low as $1.0281, threatening a push towards dollar parity.

The eurozone's shared currency dropped to its lowest value against the dollar in two decades on Tuesday, as a new surge in European gas prices deepened fears of a recession.

Economic growth in the eurozone has floundered, with prices soaring amid the economic impact of the war in Ukraine.

How severe is the drop?

The euro fell by as much as 1.3% against the dollar to $1.0281 — its weakest rate since December 2002.

The dip is part of a longer-term trend, with the euro weakening 8% against the dollar this year. It brings the euro closer to dollar parity — something unseen since the euro's creation in 1999.

Euro-related currencies such as the Hungarian forint, Polish zloty and Romanian leu have also weakened considerably against the US currency.
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Bug

Let them eat crickets

Martin Armstrong
Armstrong Economics
Tue, 05 Jul 2022 18:08 UTC
Cooked Crickets
© Medium/Alex L Lane
Bill Gates' dream of a meatless Utopia is coming to fruition one insect at a time. Aspire Food Group of Canada announced that it has created an "alternative protein manufacturing facility." They are not referring to soy or plant-based alternatives but are encouraging the consumption of crickets.

The facility will produce 9,000 metric tons of crickets annually for both pets and humans. I personally would not even allow my dog to eat this pest. So, the plan is to distribute two billion bugs across the US and Canada. Crickets were previously sold to fish bait and pet shops (reptiles) for around $12 for 250 crickets, according to some estimates. The average female lays up to 10 eggs per day for the duration of her short lifespan. One square feet can hold an estimated 1,000 crickets, making this a much easier alternative to raising traditional livestock. Crickets require less space than cattle and allegedly produce less CO2 despite the fact that livestock is not the main culprit.
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