Puppet MastersS


Brick Wall

Media reports EU members oppose fast-tracking Ukraine's accession


RT
Fri, 27 May 2022 17:33 UTC
european union ukraine nazi flag
© Widak / NurPhoto via Getty Images
Anonymous diplomats told journalists that Greece and Cyprus, however, do support granting Kiev candidate status in principle

Greece and Cyprus would object to any proposal suggesting fast-tracking Ukraine's accession to the EU, Euractiv reported on Friday, citing anonymous diplomats.

A source from the Greek Foreign Ministry told the outlet that Athens would insist on all the procedures stipulated under Article 49 of the EU Treaty being adhered to should Ukraine be granted candidate status next month. Greece reportedly had no issue in principle with giving Kiev such status but would want to acquaint itself with the European Commission's proposal first.

Nicosia, which traditionally maintains very close relations with Greece, also wished to see the Commission's proposal before being able to answer definitively, unnamed Cypriot government officials told Euractiv. Just like Greece, however, Cyprus would be opposed to giving Ukraine any shortcuts to EU membership, the sources indicated.

Comment: It's far more likely there will be no recognizable 'Ukraine' by the time its bid is approved. Perhaps there will even be no EU to join. That agreement appears to be quietly fracturing, as the cost of obeying US sanctions on Russia begin to bite.

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Stormtrooper

Flashback Japan apologizes for adding Azov to the list of terrorist organizations


Al-Mayadeen
Sat, 09 Apr 2022 15:33 UTC
Azov group
© Social MediaAzov Battalion – regiment of the Natl. Guard of Ukraine, with NATO flag, Azov flag, Nazi flag
Japan has revoked the terrorist designation of the Azov battalion, which has been notorious for the crimes it committed in Ukraine against civilians and Russian soldiers.

Tokyo's Public Security Intelligence Agency (PSAI) removed Saturday the neo-Nazi designation of the far-right nationalist Ukrainian Azov battalion from Japan's 2021 handbook on international terrorism.

"Recently, there have been cases of misinformation published as though the PSIA recognized the Azov battalion as a neo-Nazi organization. We regret the occurrence of this situation," the Japanese agency said, apologizing for the designation of a neo-Nazi organization as neo-Nazi.
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Corona

China in rumored conflict over economic damage caused by covid response

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Thu, 26 May 2022 14:16 UTC
Li Keqiang
© Yan Yan/Xinhua/Getty ImagesLi Keqiang during a teleconference on May 25.
For the past several months there had been rumors that a quiet feud had erupted within Beijing's top echelons, the result of disagreement within the communist party whether Xi Jinping's "zero covid" policy was the proper solution for the country of 1.4 billion and which two and a half years ago unleashed the coronavirus plague on the world. Well, now it's official because as Bloomberg reported this morning, China finds itself gripped by "discord" at the very top level, with president Xi and premier Li on opposite sides of the the "zero covid" ring.

As Bloomberg notes, shortly after Premier Li Keqiang held the previously discussed "rare" video call with thousands of Chinese officials across the nation to warn of an even worse economic crisis than two years ago, and calling on them to better balance Covid controls and economic growth, those same government officials charged with implementing policy at the ground level found themselves stumped and unsure whether they should still listen to: supreme leader Xi - who continues to emphasize the need for officials to push for zero Covid-19 cases - or Li, who continuously urges them to bolster the economy and hit preordained growth targets.

Comment: Great, now let's see the coverage about the looming economic disaster from the even greater shutdown controls in the US that isn't even being discussed.

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Pistol

White House sidesteps question about police response to Texas school shooting

Haisten Willis
Washington Examiner
Thu, 26 May 2022 17:21 UTC
cops outside school shooting
The White House refused to call for an investigation into the police response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, saying President Joe Biden "has the utmost respect for the men and women of law enforcement."

Police have been criticized for their slow response to the massacre, with parents reportedly attempting to enter the school themselves before a Border Patrol team finally rushed in.

"I know that right now, authorities are working to piece together more details of what happened in Uvalde, so we won't prejudge the result from here at this time," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre answered a reporter. "It is always a good idea to look back and try to find any lessons we can learn, especially from tragedies like this, so that we can prevent them moving forward, including the law enforcement response."

Comment:

See also: Texas terror: 18-year-old shoots own grandmother, slaughters 19 children and two teachers in elementary school

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Brick Wall

Chuck Schumer BLOCKS school safety bill—says 'gun legislation' is the answer

James Anthony
The Post Millennial
Thu, 26 May 2022 19:38 UTC
johnson schumer
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) on Wednesday, in the wake of a mass shooting at an elementary school in southern Texas, has just used his powers to kill a new proposed school safety bill.

The bill would have charged the Department of Homeland Security with establishing standards for best practices in the area of school safety, and to "collect clearinghouse data analytics, user feedback on the implementation of best practices and recommendations identified by the clearinghouse, and any evaluations conducted on these best practices and recommendations."

According to Fox News, "after the horrific mass shooting at a Uvalde, Tex., elementary school that killed 19 children and two teachers, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) asked for the Luke and Alex School Safety Act to be passed by unanimous consent."

Comment: See also:

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Pistol

Biden says Second Amendment 'not absolute' at police executive order signing

Naomi Lim
Washington Examiner
Wed, 25 May 2022 16:50 UTC
biden executive order policing
President Joe Biden opened his remarks announcing a police reform executive order by remembering the victims of the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting and calling on the Senate to confirm his nominee to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

"To state the obvious: I'm sick and tired of what's going on," Biden said. He said the Senate could help ensure existing federal gun laws are enforced by confirming Steve Dettelbach as ATF director. Biden's previous nominee, David Chipman, was withdrawn last year amid Senate opposition.

"Enough is enough," said Vice President Kamala Harris in her introductory remarks touching on the mass shooting, reiterating Biden's comments about having "the courage" to take on "the gun lobby."

Comment: See also:

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X

EU suspends Russia's access to vital crime data sharing program

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Fri, 27 May 2022 08:45 UTC
drug bust
© dpa via AP
Amid the unprecedented waves of EU and US sanctions imposed on Russia in the wake of its Ukraine invasion, and as tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions continue between Moscow and European capitals, among the last frontiers of Russia-Europe cooperation remains in the area of crime monitoring and data sharing.

But that too appears to be winding down, as Russian state media has announced the European Union has suspended its drug traffic data sharing program with Russian law enforcement agencies. "The EU has suspended contacts and data sharing with Russia as part of the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction, a senior Russian Foreign Ministry official said," TASS reports.

"The European Union has unilaterally suspended expert contacts and data sharing with us" as part of the EMCDDA, Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov confirmed. "The annual OSCE-wide Anti-Drug Conference has been postponed indefinitely," he added.

Comment: The West continues to shoot themselves in the foot out of nothing but spite. They're bringing on their own destruction.

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Vader

Madeleine Albright's funeral buried her legacy of war-making and extraordinary deceit

Sam Husseini
The Gray Zone
Wed, 27 Apr 2022 06:46 UTC
Madeleine Albright legacy
Top: Former presidents mourn Madeleine Albright at the National Cathedral, April 27, 2022 Bottom: A Yugoslav soldier and a rescue worker search search for survivors after NATO's attack on the Serbian media outlet RTS in April 1999
The word "Iraq" was not uttered once during the three hour funeral of Madeleine Albright, who laid the groundwork for the US invasion of the country and helped set the stage for the current war in Ukraine.

It's fitting that Joe Biden and Bill and Hillary Clinton should eulogize Madeleine Albright at the mammoth Episcopalian institution calling itself the "National Cathedral". After all, just last year, Albright eulogized fellow war maker, "trailblazer" and fellow Episcopalian Colin Powell there for his "honesty, dignity, loyalty and an unshakable commitment to his calling and word."

Albright, Biden and the Clintons covered for each other's criminal war making - and ultimately, they all enabled and covered for Republican criminality as well. All showed they were capable of murderous deceits.

It sparked some measure of attention during the 2020 election, but it's largely been forgotten that the current sitting president, who with great hypocrisy calls Vladimir Putin a war criminal, Joe Biden, won't tell the truth about his Iraq war record - and he hasn't for years.

Indeed, the death of Albright on March 23 seemed to almost be a case of Providence attempting to interject history into the current geopolitical situation, most obviously through the war in Ukraine. But one should not expect reckoning to be heard from the podium at the National Cathedral at her funeral on April 27. The war planners have had time to prepare their convoluted case.

Comment: See also:

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Mr. Potato

Poland wants Norway to partially subsidize its de facto confederation with Ukraine

Andrew Korybko
One World
Thu, 26 May 2022 12:00 UTC
poland norway
Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki, who infamously boasted in late March about how his country set the global standard for the Russophobic form of fascism, is enraged that Poland has had to pay more for gas from nearby Norway. He demanded that Oslo share its so-called "excess profits" with Warsaw and Kiev but was rebuked. This comes shortly after Poland decided not to comply with President Putin's geo-economic judo move to pay for Russian gas in rubles and will thus become disproportionately dependent on Scandinavian supplies upon the completion of the "Baltic Pipe" to the North Sea this fall.

It also follows Poland and Ukraine merging into a de facto confederation as evidenced by the details shared by Presidents Duda and Zelensky during the former's address to the Rada last weekend. Even though the Polish leader suggested that some of Russia's $300 billion in stolen foreign assets be redirected towards that former Soviet Republic's reconstruction, it seems as though those who seized these funds aren't interested in sharing all that much otherwise Morawiecki wouldn't have demanded that Norway partially foot the bill.
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Arrow Up

Oklahoma GOP governor signs bill into law requiring students to use bathroom of sex assigned at birth

Andy Rose
CNN
Thu, 26 May 2022 12:00 UTC
Kevin Stitt
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Wednesday signed into law a bill that requires students at public schools and public charter schools to use restrooms and locker rooms that match the sex listed on their birth certificates.

The law specifically applies to students in pre-K through 12th grade at public and public charter schools in the state. Transgender students who decline to use the restroom required under the measure would have to use "a single-occupancy restroom or changing room" provided by the school.

The measure, which cleared the state Legislature last week, will take effect immediately because it was passed with an emergency clause. School districts that fail to comply can have a portion of their state funding cut, and could be sued by school parents.
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