Puppet MastersS


Quenelle

Swedish deputy prime minister calls for public burqa and niqab ban: 'Islam must adapt to Sweden'

islam sweden street scene
© Stefan Jansson/flickrA woman dressed in a burqa crossing Poseidon's Square during the street protest before The Swedish Democrat's rally
Sweden's Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch has called for a nationwide ban on burqas and niqabs in all public places, saying the country must "wake up from its naivety" about Islamism and act decisively to protect Swedish values and social cohesion.

The Christian Democrats (KD) leader told Aftonbladet that she wants legislation prohibiting the full-face coverings in streets, squares, shops, healthcare facilities, and other public settings — a step beyond previous local attempts to ban them in schools and public workplaces that were struck down under current law.

"You should be able to meet for real if you are on the street, if you are shopping in the square, or taking the children to the health center. Then I don't want to meet someone who has covered their entire face," Busch said.

Comment: Finally. When one moves to another country, one is a guest, and even becoming a citizen of that country is at the sufferance of that country's government. It is not for the newly-arrived guest to dictate the house rules.


Vader

Zelensky strips prominent political opponents of citizenship - media

zelensky
Vladimir Zelensky has stripped several prominent public figures of their Ukrainian citizenship. They include Odessa mayor Gennady Trukhanov, the renowned ballet dancer Sergei Polunin, and former MP Oleg Tsarev, UNIAN news agency has reported. All of them had criticized Kiev's policies in the past.

Zelensky confirmed signing a decree stripping "certain individuals" of their Ukrainian citizenship on Telegram on Tuesday, accusing them of holding Russian passports. According to media reports, Polunin, Trykhanov and Tsarev were in the list.

Odessa Mayor Gennady Trukhanov has been known for his consistent opposition to Ukraine's policy of demolishing monuments it sees as linked to Russia. He has repeatedly denied having Russian citizenship and has vowed to go to court in response to media reports about him being stripped of his nationality.


Comment: Now Odessa is under military rule: Zelensky announces military rule in key port city
In a video address later on Tuesday, Zelensky said that "Odessa deserves greater protection and support. This can be achieved through a military administration."

"Too many security issues in Odessa have gone unresolved for too long. All effective decisions will be made. I will appoint the head of the military administration in the near future," he said.



Comment: This is what dictators do, eliminate the competition of alternative voices.


Handcuffs

FSB prevents terrorist attack against high-ranking Defense Ministry official in Moscow

Russian Federal Security Service
© Russian Federal Security Service/TASS
Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers have foiled a terrorist attack in Moscow targeting a high-ranking Russian Defense Ministry official that was allegedly being organized under the direction of Ukrainian special services, the FSB press service told TASS.

According to the agency, four suspects connected to the plot have been detained, including a native of a Central Asian country.

"The FSB has prevented a sabotage and terrorist act against one of the senior officers of the Russian Defense Ministry, organized by Ukrainian special services in coordination with leaders of the international terrorist organization Islamic State (banned as a terrorist organization in Russia)," the press service said.

Broom

'You're fired': White House preparing next round of layoffs as shutdown drags on

mike johnson government shut down
© Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty ImagesSpeaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks during a press conference on the 13th day of the government shutdown, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on October 13, 2025
The White House is readying another round of layoffs, or "Reductions in Force" - as President Trump tries to pressure Democrats into signing the GOP's continuing resolution to end the government shutdown.

"OMB is making every preparation to batten down the hatches and ride out the Democrats' intransigence," the White House Office of Management and Budget wrote Tuesday on X. "Pay the troops, pay law enforcement, continue the RIFs, and wait."

Shutdown-related layoffs began last Friday, with Republicans calling the RIFs 'financially prudent,' while blaming Democrats for forcing the Trump administration's hand. Last Thursday, Trump said that his administration would only cut "Democrat programs," adding "We will give them a little taste of their own medicine."

Comment: Mike Johnson on the latest Democrat offer to vote to open the government: "How about . . . no."




Briefcase

Flashback SOTT Focus: The Not-so-Secret History of Netanyahu's Support For Hamas

From sabotaging Oslo to funneling Qatari cash into Gaza, Bibi has spent his career bolstering Hamas to help perpetuate the conflict. Even after Oct. 7, argues historian Adam Raz, he's still advancing the same strategy.
netanyahu
© Shir Torem/Flash90Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits an army base near the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, July 4, 2023.
When Israeli historian and human rights activist Adam Raz set out to write "The Road to October 7: Benjamin Netanyahu, the Production of the Endless Conflict and Israel's Moral Degradation," he knew he was tackling a blind spot in Israeli public discourse. The vast majority of Israelis, Raz believes, fail to grasp the full extent of Netanyahu's involvement in bolstering Hamas before the current war, and in perpetuating an unending state of conflict.

Raz's book, released in May of this year, sheds light on a controversial policy whereby Netanyahu's governments for years routinely approved and encouraged the transfer of Qatari funds into Gaza to prop up Hamas. While noting that the Israeli media has devoted more attention to this policy in the aftermath of October 7, Raz told +972 that this is "just a sliver of the bigger picture," which is rooted in Netanyahu's broader opposition to a just resolution to the conflict. "People need to understand the full scope of Netanyahu's strategy," he said.

According to Raz, who also works as a researcher at the Akevot Institute for Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Research, Netanyahu's priority is not maintaining Israel's security but rather preventing any real chance of resolving the conflict through the division of land, ending the occupation, or a two-state solution. Keeping the cash flowing to Hamas served this objective by ensuring the Palestinian national movement remained splintered between Hamas in Gaza and the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank, thus allowing Israel to maintain its dominance over the whole of the land. Even after the devastating events of October 7, Raz warns that Netanyahu's playbook remains unchanged.

Bizarro Earth

Idle boasts and blatant lies: Debunking the egregious distortions in Trump's Knesset speech

collage trump knesset speech gaza peace deal
© PressTV
US President Donald Trump basked in adulation on Monday at the Israeli Knesset, where he was hailed as "the president of peace," even as regime lawmakers laughed at his jokes, applauded his idle boasts, and rose for more standing ovations than one could count.

Behind the theatrics, Trump's address was marked by wilful distortion and obfuscation of facts. We identified a series of false or misleading claims on topics ranging from October 7 to the Iranian nuclear program, Hezbollah, US politics, Israel and the self-fashioned mythology he sought to project

Israeli lawmaker Ofer Cassif, who was brutally manhandled and whisked out of the hall for interrupting the speech, captured the day's irony with biting precision. Writing on Facebook, he remarked:

"During the speech of lies by the war criminal Netanyahu — I preferred to read about the truth."

Airplane

Trump proposes barring Chinese airlines from flying over Russia on US routes

China Eastern Arilines jet
© REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
The Trump administration on Thursday proposed banning Chinese airlines from flying over Russia on routes to and from the United States, saying the reduced flight time this practice enables puts American carriers at a disadvantage.

The proposal is another escalation of the trade war between the world's two largest economies and was announced after Beijing on Thursday tightened controls for rare earths exports crucial for some U.S. industries.

U.S. airlines have long criticized the decision to allow Chinese carriers to use Russian airspace on U.S. routes because it gives them the advantage of decreased flying time and burns less fuel, lowering costs.

Russia has barred U.S. airlines and many other foreign carriers from flying over its airspace in retaliation for Washington banning Russian flights over the U.S. in March 2022 after the country invaded Ukraine.

Chinese airlines were not banned and have been using this advantage to increase market share compared to non-Chinese carriers on international routes.

Broom

Anti-establishment influencer launches new right-wing party in EU state

Alvise Perez right wing party spain
© Carlos Lujan/Europa Press via Getty ImagesThe MEP and leader of Se Acabo La Fiesta (SALF), Luis 'Alvise' Perez
During the inaugural ceremony, Alvise Perez called for a mass deportation campaign in Spain targeting illegal migrants

A new right-wing, anti-establishment party has entered Spain's political landscape, with prominent MEP and influencer at its helm. The outspoken Alvise Perez has previously criticized the EU's support for Ukraine, describing its conflict with Russia as being of little importance to his country.

The launch ceremony for 'Se Acabó la Fiesta' (The Party is Over) took place in Madrid on Sunday, marking the official transformation of what had been an electoral group into a party.

According to the organizers, some 5,000 people turned up for the inaugural rally, with Perez outlining the party's goal to take part in the 2027 general elections and end the "corrupt party system" in Spain.

Comment: Will Spain begin to slip away from the stranglehold of the Brussels bloc? Hungary has shown the way.

Rise of the conservatives: 'The EU's worst nightmare has never looked so real'


Footprints

Palestinians freed from Israeli prison denied reunion with families as Trump claims a 'forever' peace

Palestinians
© Omar Ashtawy/APA ImagesPalestinians released by Israel under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement arrive at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis for medical check-ups • October 13, 2025
Palestinians gathered in the West Bank to reunite with loved ones set to be released as part of the prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas. But many were devastated to learn that Israel had deported them instead.

Palestinians in Gaza lived another day without bombs dropping over their heads as the first phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas continued into Monday, which saw the release of Israeli captives from Gaza and the release of 1,718 out of 10,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

At around 8:00 a.m. local time, Hamas's armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, handed the first group of seven Israeli captives to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza, without any ceremonies or media exposure. The second group of 13 Israeli captives came an hour later. Meanwhile, the Israeli prison services moved hundreds of Palestinians out of its detention centers.

In the decimated city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, thousands of Palestinians gathered to receive the hundreds of Palestinians released from Israeli prison, including 25 West Bank Palestinians whom the Israeli internal intelligence service, the Shabak (Shin Bet), recommended to be deported to Gaza.

A total of 1,718 Palestinians were released into the Gaza Strip, all of whom were abducted by Israeli forces from within Gaza during the past two years. In addition, Israel released 250 Palestinians who had been serving high or life sentences in Israeli prisons, 88 of whom were released in the West Bank, while the rest were deported to Gaza and Egypt.

Comment: On the rhetorical tightrope, Trump performed a balancing act: All for none, something for everyone.


Airplane

The £1m man: Why did Boris Johnson take his donor to Ukraine?

Harborne/Johnson
© LNP/Getty Images/Guardian DesignChristopher Harborne donated £1m to a private company Boris Johnson set up after resigning as prime minister
Leaked files offer a glimpse of the ex-prime minister's relationship with Christopher Harborne.

As he boarded the night train to Ukraine, Boris Johnson had the usual entourage of aides and bodyguards - plus the man who had given him £1m.

Less than a year had passed since Johnson accepted what is thought to be the largest donation ever to an individual MP. It was from Christopher Harborne, one of the UK's biggest and most private political donors.

Harborne, whose millions helped bankroll Brexit, made the payment to a private company Johnson set up after resigning as prime minister. Now leaked files show that Johnson, a champion of Ukraine in office and since, was accompanied in September 2023 by his benefactor on a two-day visit that included meetings with top officials.

What the files do not explain is why. And neither the former prime minister nor his backer will say.

Comment: Boris opened doors to drone manufacturing for Ukraine. £1m bought Harborne a seat at the table and a potential fortune via continuation of the war.