Puppet MastersS


Smoking

Ireland bans menthol cigarettes, rolling tobacco and all branding as part of EU's dictatorial anti-smoking directive


Euronews
Sun, 15 Mar 2020 10:04 UTC

Comment: Just as the 'Corona Lockdown' commences too. Sneaky pathocrats!


smoker
In Ireland, menthol cigarettes and rolling tobacco, along with irregularly shaped packs such as skinny cigarettes will be banned from May 20.

Also included in the ban are click dual cigarettes that change from normal to menthol.

It's all part of the four year phasing-out period of the EU Tobacco Product Directive which entered into force in May 2014 and became applicable in all EU countries on May 20th 2016.

Branding outlawed too

Comment: People have been benefiting from smoking tobacco for thousands of years, and those who can see through the lies of the fascist anti-smoking brigade are unlikely to stop any time soon. Now, more than ever, do those people need Nicotine - The Zombie Antidote. Also check out SOTT radio's: The Health & Wellness Show: The Truth about Tobacco and the Benefits of Nicotine

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Eye 1

The enemy within: A 70-year war on 'propaganda' built by the CIA

Cynthia Chung
Strategic Culture Foundation
Sat, 14 Mar 2020 00:00 UTC
Pompeo
© Reuters/Leah MillsFormer CIA Director, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
"Hell is empty and all the devils are here"
- William Shakespeare (The Tempest Act 1 Scene 2)

War has always depended on a reliable system to spread its propaganda. The Arthashastra written by Chankya (350-283 BCE) who was chief advisor to the Emperor Chandragupta (the first ruler of the Mauryan Empire) discusses propaganda and how to disperse and apply it in warfare. It is one of the oldest accounts of the essentialism of propaganda in warfare.

Propaganda is vital in times of war because it is absolutely imperative that the people, who often need to make the greatest sacrifices and suffer the most, believe that such a war is justified and that such a war will provide them security. To the degree that they believe this to be true, the greater the degree of sacrifice and suffering they are willing to submit themselves for said "promised security".

It is crucial that when the people look at the "enemy" they see something sub-human, for if they recognise that said "enemy" has in fact humanity, the jig is up so to speak. And thus we are bombarded day after day, hour after hour of reminders as to why the "enemy" is not human like us, not compassionate like us, not patient, just and wise like us. No doubt, war has been a necessary response when tyranny has formed an army to fight for its cause, but I would put forth that most wars have been rather unnecessary and downright manipulated for the design of a small group of people.
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USA

USA's inglorious finale for the Afghan tragedy

Viktor Mikhin
New Eastern Outlook
Sun, 15 Mar 2020 00:00 UTC
US troops
© USTAF
Washington was all but overwhelmed by a tsunami wave of either euphoria or hysteria following the agreement reached between the US and the radical movement Taliban (banned in Russia). It is quite understandable. After all, against the backdrop of the Trump administration's constant failures in Iran, Syria, Iraq and other countries of the Middle East, any sort of deal with the Taliban seems like a great achievement. The American president spoke of it wherever possible — he gave several speeches on TV, gave numerous interviews to newspapers and formally wrote about his 'great victory' on Twitter.

But what, exactly, was signed in Doha, Qatar, and is it really an important document worth blabbing about at every corner? Officially, the key points of this deal are as follows:
  • The US will reduce its forces in Afghanistan from about 12,000 to 8,600 and will close five military bases by mid-July. The remaining troops will be withdrawn by May 2021.
  • The Taliban will not allow militant groups to use Afghan land to threaten the United States and its allies.
  • The Afghan government will release up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners in exchange for 1,000 Afghan security forces held by the Taliban.
  • The US will work to lift sanctions from Taliban members.
  • The Taliban and the Afghan government will begin negotiations for a comprehensive ceasefire in March.
Mike Pompeo admitted that the agreement contains some provisions that cannot be disclosed to the public, but will be available to members of the US Congress. The content of the secret part of the deal concerns the security of US military personnel.
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Headphones

'Euroleaks': Varoufakis' recordings of secret Eurogroup bailout talks


RT
Sat, 14 Mar 2020 20:48 UTC
(ECB)
© Reuters/Ralph OrlowskiThe European Central Bank (ECB) logo.
The former finance minister of Greece, Yanis Varoufakis, has released a cache of audio files, secretly recorded in 2015 during the bailout talks with the Eurogroup - a powerful group of eurozone's finance chiefs.

The recordings and their transcripts were released by Varoufakis on the website of his 'pan-European' DiEM25 party on Saturday. The files -dubbed 'Euroleaks'- were recorded between February and July 2015, when cash-strapped Athens was entangled in painful talks with its creditors.


Comment: Varoufakis was told "the Eurogroup does not exist in law", therefore he could have no objections to whatever its dominant members decreed. Of course they do not want their dealings on record. 'We rule, you comply. We pillage, you submit.'

See also:

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Gift

US to China: Drop dead and we get our jobs back. China's richest man to US: Here's 1M masks, 500K test kits

Helen Buyniski
RT
Fri, 13 Mar 2020 21:50 UTC
Jack Ma
© Reuters/Charles Platiau/Reuters/Andrew KellyAlibaba billionaire Jack Ma • MAGA wear
Chinese billionaire Jack Ma has in one fell swoop seemingly forgiven the US for its treatment of China in the dark days of its coronavirus epidemic and one-upped the capitalist system with a donation of much-needed supplies.

The Alibaba billionaire announced a donation of 1 million face masks and 500,000 coronavirus test kits on Friday, releasing a statement calling for "all humankind" to work together to fight the recently-declared pandemic. Signing off with "united we stand, divided we fall," Ma managed to make the US government, which all but congratulated itself on the increased business opportunities presented by thousands of Chinese drowning in their own phlegm, look like bumbling (and cruel) idiots.
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Star of David

NYT: Netanyahu is 'appealing to racists'; continues discounting Palestinians

James North
Mondoweiss
Fri, 13 Mar 2020 00:00 UTC
Netanyahu
© Screenshot/Twitter feedBenjamin Netanyahu shows the number of votes cast for Jewish Zionist parties, in saying that Palestinians are not part of the equation in Israel.
At first, today's New York Times article, on the role of Palestinian citizens of Israel in the endless post-election maneuvering, there looks like an improvement. But on closer inspection, the report maintains most of the paper's chronic bias.

There are some positive signs. There's a valuable quotation from Yuval Diskin, a former head of Israel's security agency, who criticizes Benjamin Netanyahu's use of anti-Arab racism against the Joint List, the political grouping that represents Arab citizens and just won 15 parliamentary seats in the latest election. Netanyahu has been trying to torpedo efforts by the centrist Blue and White alliance to form a coalition government against him with outside votes of the Joint List, the 3rd-largest political force in the country. Diskin says:
"Dismissing more than half a million citizens by rendering the 15 members of the Joint List illegitimate, coupled with incitement against anyone who engages with them, crosses a red line."
Diskin's former position gives his words greater impact; if the 15 Palestinians were truly a security threat, he would know. Times reporter David Halbfinger also quotes Dan Meridor, an old political warhorse from Netanyahu's own party, who says flatly that the prime minister is "appealing to racists." Unfortunately, on balance the Times article is still biased.

Comment: The New York Times rarely calls out its own and Israeli injustices are nuanced for impression management. Not surprising the NYT article has a certain amount of white-washing, opaque reporting and fancified BS. The real story remains in what was not said.

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Handcuffs

Afghan government delays release of Taliban prisoners


RFE/RL
Sun, 15 Mar 2020 15:38 UTC
Jawed Faisal
© Social MediaJawed Faisal, a spokesman for the Afghan National-Security Adviser's office
Afghan authorities say they have delayed the release of 1,500 Taliban prisoners, throwing a precarious peace process into deeper crisis.

Jawed Faisal, a spokesman for the Afghan National-Security Adviser's office, said on March 14 that the government needed more time to review the list of the prisoners. "We have received the lists of the prisoners to be released. We are checking and verifying the lists, this will take time," Faisal said. He also said the authorities "want guarantees that they will not return to fighting."

There was no immediate response from the militant group to the delayed prisoner release.

The announcement came despite President Ashraf Ghani's decree on March 11 promising the start of the releases on March 14 as a "goodwill gesture" to get intra-Afghan talks started.
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Arrow Up

Trump 'strongly considering' Michael Flynn pardon, points at FBI 'conveniently losing' his records


RT
Sun, 15 Mar 2020 17:41 UTC
Flynn and Trump
© REUTERS/Mike Segar/File PhotoDonald Trump and Michael Flynn walk through Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC
President Donald Trump said on Twitter that he is "strongly considering" pardoning former adviser Michael Flynn after the FBI and Justice Department "destroyed" his life, seemingly confirming the long-standing rumors.

The Mueller investigation may be in the past for many, but Trump put the two-plus year probe back into the spotlight on Sunday by directly answering reports he would pardon Flynn, one of a handful of advisers to face criminal charges from Robert Mueller.

After saying the FBI and Justice Department were "destroying" the lives of Flynn and his "wonderful" family, the president claimed the departments "lost" the former general's records.

"How convenient," he tweeted, adding, "I am strongly considering a full pardon!"
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Star of David

Convenient: Gantz now ready to partner with indicted Israeli PM Netanyahu for unity government to fight COVID-19 outbreak

Tim Korsor
Sputnik
Sun, 15 Mar 2020 17:40 UTC
gantz netanyahu campaign poster
© Associated Press / Oded Balilty
The Blue and White alliance along with Yisrael Beiteinu previously dismissed the idea of forming a unity government with Netanyahu citing accusations against him for breach of trust, bribery and fraud, but didn't rule out an alliance with Likud with another leader.

Leader of the Israeli opposition Blue and White alliance, Benny Gantz has expressed readiness to negotiate a unity government with Likud even if its head, Benjamin Netanyahu, will lead the first rotation of the government as prime minister. Gantz explained that his new position on coalition talks was due to the necessity to cope with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
"The scenario whereby we join a unity government where Netanyahu starts [as prime minister], is on the table. We will see what happens with the negotiations", he said.

Comment: Sputnik also reports Bibi is getting a virus screen:
Benjamin Netanyahu has been tested for coronavirus, but showed no symptoms before the check, which was precautionary, according to an official statement. There is no mention of the results.

The statement comes after the prime minister stated that Israel would use counter-terrorism technology to detect coronavirus patients and those who skip mandatory quarantine.

All foreigners entering the country have been required to self-isolate for 14 days, while all schools, restaurants, cafes, gyms, and most of businesses have been shut.


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Chess

Oil Price War: Putin unleashes strategic hell on the U.S.

Tom Luongo
Strategic Culture Foundation
Sun, 15 Mar 2020 00:00 UTC
Putin Judo
© Kremlin.ru
I am an avid board game player. I'm not much for the classics like chess or go, preferring the more modern ones. But, regardless, as a person who appreciates the delicate balance between strategy and tactics, I have to say I am impressed with Russian President Vladimir Putin's sense of timing.

Because if there was ever a moment where Putin and Russia could inflict maximum pain on the United States via its Achilles' heel, the financial markets and its unquenchable thirst for debt, it was this month just as the coronavirus was reaching its shores.

Like I said, I'm a huge game player and I especially love games where there is a delicate balance between player power that has to be maintained while it's not one's turn. Attacks have to be thwarted just enough to stop the person from advancing but not so much that they can't help you defend on the next player's turn.

Comment: See also:

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