Puppet MastersS


Star of David

Netanyahu claims he didn't inform Gantz re: UAE negotiations due to security considerations


Sputnik
Mon, 17 Aug 2020 13:41 UTC
Gantz/Netanyahu
© Reuters/PoolAlt. PM/DM Benny Gantz • PM Benjamin Netanyahu
Last week, US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and the United Arab Emirates had reached a historic agreement to establish diplomatic relations. The UAE is the first Arab-majority nation in the Persian Gulf, and the third in the Middle East, to normalize ties with Tel Aviv after Egypt and Jordan did so in 1979 and 1994, respectively.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he did not inform Defence Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz about peace negotiations with the UAE because he feared that the Blue and White Party might accidentally leak the information to the press, sparking an Iranian response.

"Let them know? I've been dealing with this for years," Netanyahu said, speaking to Israel Hayom, when asked why he didn't tell Gantz about the talks.
"They've been here all of two months. That was the [coalition] agreement - maintain discretion, to prevent Iran and others from torpedoing it."

Comment: What else has Neti not informed Gantz about...! The only way to stay in charge is to withhold vital information, remain indispensable and take all credit.

See also:

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Bullseye

What America can learn from the fall of the Roman Republic - a conversation with Edward Watts

Sean Illing
Vox
Sat, 15 Aug 2020 09:01 UTC
Rome
© shutterstockSunset on the empire.
The Roman Republic destroyed itself. Are we on a similar path?

If you were a Roman citizen around, say, 200 BC, you probably would have assumed Rome was going to last forever.

At the time, Rome was the greatest republic in human history, and its institutions had proven resilient through invasions and all kinds of disasters. But the foundations of Rome started to weaken less than a century later, and by 27 BC the republic had collapsed entirely.

The story of Rome's fall is both complicated and relatively straightforward: The state became too big and chaotic; the influence of money and private interests corrupted public institutions; and social and economic inequalities became so large that citizens lost faith in the system altogether and gradually fell into the arms of tyrants and demagogues.

If all of that sounds familiar, well, that's because the parallels to our current political moment are striking. Edward Watts, a historian at the University of California San Diego, published a 2018 book titled Mortal Republic that carefully lays out what went wrong in ancient Rome — and how the lessons of its decline might help save fledgling republics like the United States today.

Comment: A lot has happened since January, 2019 to suggest America is much farther along in political, economic, societal and moral degradation than anyone wants to consider. Certainly Washington hasn't cleaned up its mess, nor has the public put the brakes on the current social insanity and the Covid nightmare. The topic of a Rome/US comparison is worth exploring beyond academics. At the least, with informed thinking, we might pay attention and read the signs. And, we will be the few.

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Clipboard

US blacklists 38 Huawei affiliates. Pompeo calls on allies to take similar measures for 'international stability'


RT
Mon, 17 Aug 2020 13:45 UTC
Pompeo/Huawei
© Reuters/Lisi Niesner/Gonzalo FuentesBig head meets tall building: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo • Huawei
Washington has added dozens of companies to a list that bars the firms from gaining access to certain US technologies, as part of its ongoing battle against Huawei. Mike Pompeo has urged US allies to adopt similar restrictions.

The secretary of state released a press statement on Monday applauding the Commerce Department's decision to expand regulations designed to restrict US exports to Huawei, claiming that the Chinese company has "continuously tried to evade" rules first implemented in May. The new restrictions will prevent the telecommunications giant from obtaining chips made by third parties using US software or technology.

The Commerce Department will also add 38 Huawei affiliates to the government's Entity List, which identifies foreign firms barred from utilizing US technologies.

Comment: With so many sanctions and bans floating from the US, it will be a sad day when The Pomp cries 'wolf' one time too many. It's possible that day has dawned.

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Briefcase

The show trial of Julian Assange: A cruel and pseudolegal farce

Thomas Scripps, Kevin Reed
WSWS.org
Sat, 15 Aug 2020 00:00 UTC
Julian Assange
© World Press Freedom Day/KJNJulian Assange
Yesterday's hearing in London made clear, if any further proof was needed, that the prosecution of Julian Assange is a shameful and degrading show trial, intended to railroad an innocent man to prison or death for revealing the crimes of US imperialism.

In a botched proceeding, Assange was initially not brought to the video room to join the proceedings, the US prosecutors failed to show up after getting the hearing time wrong, and, with only five observers allowed in the courtroom, every journalist and legal observer who tried to listen to the hearing remotely was not admitted.

Assange, the world's most famous political prisoner, has been denied access to his attorneys since March, and he has not seen his family or young children since then.

In the most egregious move of all, just two days before the hearing, the US Justice Department, under the right-wing authoritarian ideologue William Barr, issued a completely new indictment against Assange, which the accused had not been able even to read before the hearing.

"The US government seems to want to change the indictment every time the court meets, but without the defense or Julian himself seeing the relevant documents," said WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson.

Less than 24 hours before the start of the final procedural hearing and less than four weeks before the resumption of the extradition trial, Barr signed a new 33-page request to have Assange sent to the US from the UK.

Comment: The US swaps out one indictment for another - to the shock and admonishment of the Assange legal team:
Florence Iveson, a barrister acting for Julian Assange at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday said the decision by the US government to serve a second superseding indictment at "the eleventh hour" was "astonishing" and "potentially abuse of conduct". The court should ignore the new fact pattern now associated with the conspiracy charge on the superseding indictment and simply decide the case based on the prior indictment.

The defence also argued that there is no justification for the claim by US prosecutors that these latest charges are the product of ongoing investigations because all the claims stem from allegations made in public in 2010 and 2011.

She also pointed out that "Mr Assange has not had the opportunity to consider that document at all". But the idea that the judge should ignore the fact pattern in the second superseding indictment was opposed by Clair Dobbin, who spoke for the US government. Ms Dobbin argued that such a decision would need to be supported by a legal authority and is outside the jurisdiction of the court.

John Shipton, Julian Assange's father, told Sputnik that he believed the prosecution was doing everything it could to ensure the proceedings are delayed until after the US presidential elections, due to be held in November.

As has happened in prior hearings both lawyers and journalists were unable to participate or follow proceedings via telephone link and only six members of the press (including a representative from Sputnik) were allowed in court due to social distancing rules.

Over forty human rights and journalism organisations including Reporters Without Borders and the National Union of Journalists have all expressed their opposition to the extradition of the WikiLeaks founder and their concern over the precedent set by prosecuting a journalist for publishing state secrets which revealed, among other things, war crimes committed by US-led forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
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X

South Dakota declined unemployment aid from Trump executive orders

Tal Axelrod
The Hill
Sat, 15 Aug 2020 04:15 UTC
Gov. Kristi Noem
© J. Scott Applewhite/APSouth Dakota Governor Kristi Noem
South Dakota appeared to become the first state to decline boosted federal unemployment aid that was designated under an executive order signed by President Trump this month amid the continuing pandemic.

Gov. Kristi Noem (R), a vocal ally of the White House, said South Dakota did not need the additional funds because workers in her state have been rehired and that its economy is rebounding after suffering economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. She said in a statement:
"My administration is very grateful for the additional flexibility that this effort would have provided, but South Dakota is in the fortunate position of not needing to accept it. South Dakota's economy, having never been shut down, has recovered nearly 80% of our job losses. South Dakota is the only state in the nation that didn't have extended benefits kick in because our insured unemployment rate has been the lowest in the nation."
Trump signed an executive order earlier this month allowing the federal government to use money already allocated for disaster assistance to help unemployed Americans, adding at least $300 more to their weekly benefit amounts, with state governments expected to provide an additional $100, for a total of $400.

Comment: With a population less than some cities, South Dakota has survived exceptionally well, with its labor market almost fully recovered. There is something to be said for a leader that knows her turf and how its resources and constituency will factor during a crisis, be it real or projected.
No shut down, quick bounce back!




See also: South Dakota Governor leads the lockdown rebellion: Kristi Noems vows to keep her state open

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Penis Pump

US Democratic Presidential candidate finally gives media interview... to vapid celebrity 'Cardi B'

Jessica Napoli
Fox News
Mon, 17 Aug 2020 18:03 UTC
cardi b rapper joe biden
© REUTERS/Carlos Barria; Getty Images via AFP / Theo Wargo / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICAJoe Biden and Cardi B
Cardi B can add journalist to her long list of talents.

The rapper, 27, recently spoke with the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for Elle magazine's September 2020 issue. Their wide-ranging conversation covered topics such as healthcare, racism in America, free education, and tax breaks.

The "WAP" singer first tackled her dislike and distrust of President Donald Trump. She called him "confusing" and explained how she constantly feels lied to by the government.

"Tell me the truth, the hard-core truth," she said regarding the status of the coronavirus pandemic in America.

Biden, 77, noted the importance of voting, especially getting young people to do so, so Trump becomes a one-term president.

Comment: Biden was slammed on social media for patently pandering to the black vote:
Netizens were less interested in the details of the discussion, however, and more stunned that Biden had decided to grant an interview to a celebrity instead of an actual journalist, particularly with the Democratic convention set to kick off this week.

Biden has limited his media presence amid the coronavirus crisis, but critics say he is using the pandemic to stay out of the public eye to avoid prompting further concern over his mental fitness.

Some online commentators have dubbed the candidate "Hidin' Biden" for his back-seat approach to running for president - and Trump himself has played up those allegations, at one stage suggesting the Democrat "doesn't know he's alive."






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Bomb

Ex-Mossad, IDF intel, think tank try to predict Lebanon's future

Yonah Jeremy Bob
The Jerusalem Post
Sun, 16 Aug 2020 18:06 UTC
lebanon protest flag
© GORAN TOMASEVIC/REUTERSA demonstrator waves the Lebanese flag in front of riot police during a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, August 8, 2020
The recent Beirut Port explosion and the resignation of the Lebanese government could mean that Israel will be faced with new and crucial political and defense policy choices, according to Boaz Ganor, the director of IDC Herzliya's International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT).

Ganor said that reality has gotten to a point where several simulated scenarios that a counterterrorism group considered could play out in the real world in months, or even weeks.


Comment: Were those predictions, or plans, i.e. intended results?


For background, in April, two former top Mossad officials, two former ambassadors and a variety of think tank officials connected with the ICT and started an unprecedented three-month-long "open poker" simulation of developments in Lebanon.


Comment: One wonders if those simulations - or more classified versions - involved a giant explosion in the port of Beirut...


From day one, The Jerusalem Post was given exclusive access to follow the developments, which were shared in real time on a group Google document, as well as concluding interviews and summaries.

Also observed by IDF intelligence officials - though for obvious reasons they could not directly participate - the exercise involved 12 different parties operating in the Lebanese sphere, parties who were "played" by the former intelligence and diplomatic officials.
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Binoculars

SOTT Focus: Journalist Millie Weaver Arrested, Charged With 'Burglary', Just as She Releases ShadowGate Documentary Exposing Deep State Activities - UPDATE


RT
Sun, 16 Aug 2020 13:35 UTC
millie weaver shadowgate
Investigative reporter Millie Weaver and her husband have reportedly been arrested at the same time her documentary on the US "shadow government" was being screened on YouTube, sending Conservative Twitter into theory overdrive.

Weaver's "arrest" at the couple's home - which has yet to be confirmed by authorities - was initially reported by Infowars on Friday, shortly after the YouTube premiere of her documentary film ShadowGate. The film purports to expose the secrets of the massive 'Deep State' intelligence apparatus manipulating politics within the US and beyond its borders, based on the reports of two private intelligence whistleblowers.

Video of the couple's apparent arrest, shot by Weaver herself, was posted to Twitter by her Infowars colleague Adan Salazar, opening on Weaver asking in disbelief if "a grand jury indicted [her]."


Comment: While we're wondering if this is possibly some kind of stunt to generate publicity for Ms. Weaver's documentary, we've watched the documentary and find that the two 'intelligence sources' she interviews seem to be legitimate. Here it is:


For those with limited time, here's the opening tweet of a Twitter thread that is a handy guide/analysis of its contents with timestamps for skipping to the relevant parts:


In case Google/YouTube takes it down, here it is on BitChute, and on UGETube.

UPDATE 17/08/2020: #ShadowGate has apparently been shadowbanned:
YouTube has pulled a controversial investigation by Millie Weaver from its platform, days after the InfoWars correspondent was arrested as she tried to screen the video report. The video has also been censored on Twitter.

The ShadowGate film, uploaded by Weaver's associate following her arrest, has been scrubbed from YouTube for violating the site's "policy on hate speech." The documentary, based on the reports of two private intelligence whistleblowers, purports to expose a far-reaching 'Deep State' security apparatus involved in manipulating US politics.

Conservative commentator Mark Dice said that the link to the YouTube video had also been banned on Twitter, which warns of "harmful content" when a user tries to post it.
shadowgate film banned
© Mark Dice/Twitter
A search for the hashtag #ShadowGate does not seem to show any tweets in recent days, fueling speculation it could have been 'shadowbanned'.


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Eye 1

Spy games: Moscow outraged after bug found in Russian military attache car in The Hague, summons Dutch Charge d'Affaires


DutchNews.nl
Mon, 17 Aug 2020 17:09 UTC
Hague session
© Reuters/Yves HermanSpecial Session of the Hague, Netherlands
Moscow has ordered the Netherlands' acting ambassador to Russia to explain why a tracking device was apparently found in the car of a Russian diplomat in The Hague. The device was found in the car of the assistant to the Russian military attache, according to an embassy statement.

The Netherlands, Russia said, had been told to take comprehensive measures to prevent such incidents happening in the future. 'Unfriendly actions complicate the already difficult bilateral relations between the two countries,' the statement said.

It is unclear from the statement if Moscow thinks the Dutch placed the device in the car, or if the ambassador was summoned because the incident took place in the Netherlands.

Prime minister Mark Rutte declined to comment on the claim and the foreign ministry said it is now investigating.

Comment: Some potentially relevant context:

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Bullseye

Hitchens: My suspicion is that the wrecking of the UK's economy and the state-sponsored panic has killed more people than Covid ever did

Peter Hitchens
Daily Mail
Sat, 15 Aug 2020 17:01 UTC
Passengers are seen returning from France to St Pancras Station
Passengers are seen returning from France to St Pancras Station, London after quarantine restrictions were introduced. These figures of so-called ‘cases’ mean nothing except that the authorities have been looking harder for such cases, and finding them, even though the people involved are usually not ill
Actually, I have had enough. So should you have had enough. The time has come for real discontent, or there will be no end to our mistreatment and humiliation by this Government.

To call these people incompetent would be to pay them an over-generous compliment. We shall see in a minute what might be a better word.

This is not personal grievance. By great good fortune, I managed a swift holiday a few weeks ago, and was not caught by any sudden Government panic measure, though the holiday itself, in places I love, was a sad shadow of what it would once have been.

So my anger about the crazy quarantining of travellers to France is not self-interested.

This heartless smashing of the simple pleasures of thousands is a futile act of spite. Do you know how many people officially died of Covid-19 in France during the past week? Fewer than 80.

In April, official deaths in that country peaked at more than 1,400 in a single day.

These figures of so-called 'cases' mean nothing except that the authorities have been looking harder for such cases, and finding them, even though the people involved are usually not ill.
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