Puppet MastersS


War Whore

Russia isn't just mapping Ireland's internet cables - it's planning to INVADE, foams Cold-War-revivalist DC think tank

undersea internet cables in Ireland
© TeleGeographyA 'top secret' interactive map showing all undersea internet cables landing in Ireland
Russia is poised to invade Ireland and seize control of global communications, according to a crew of Cold War relics and professional Russophobes who've taken an already absurd James Bond-esque story and doubled down on it.

Ireland's status as "a vital telecommunications and logistics hub linking North America and Europe" has made it an irresistible prize to "the Putin regime," according to a bizarre paper published on Wednesday by the Center for Security Policy, a right-wing think tank. Russia isn't just lusting after Ireland's burgeoning crop of tech firms, or its forest of undersea communications cables, the group argues - it's actively plotting to invade the Emerald Isle.

Light Sabers

Another 'highly likely'-style accusation: Moscow brushes aside 'evidence-free' Georgia cyberattack

Shaakashvili
The image of Mikhail Shaakashvili used to deface Georgian websites in October 2019.
The US and its allies have claimed Russia's military intelligence defaced Georgian websites with an image of the country's former president. Moscow says the accusation is not backed by any evidence and is clearly just a PR stunt.

In late October last year, Georgia suffered what was described as the largest cyberattack in its history. Over 15,000 web pages - including those of government agencies, newspapers and banks - were defaced and later became inaccessible. The original content was replaced with a photo of former Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili, currently a fugitive from justice, with the words "I'll be back" above his head.

Many in Georgia immediately blamed the attack on Russia, and lo and behold, more than three months later the accusation is official. The Georgian foreign ministry claimed the GRU, Russia's military intelligence agency, was behind it, citing its own investigation and information from "foreign partners." The partners soon piled on Russia, with the charges repeated by the US, the UK, Canada and some others.

Stormtrooper

Hafter's conditions for Libyan peace: Complete withdrawal of mercenaries and Turkish troops

LNA haftar libya
© AFP / LNA War Information DivisionLibyan National Army (LNA) fighters advancing towards Tripoli, Libya. May 2019.
Ankara and Libya's Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) have used the truce to deploy fresh troops and mercenaries from Syria, Libyan National Army Commander Khalifa Haftar said in an interview.

Haftar told Russia's RIA Novosti news agency that his forces will halt their advance towards Tripoli if Turkish troops and mercenaries leave Libya. The Libyan National Army has been closing in on the city, which is controlled by UN-backed GNA chief Fayez al-Sarraj.

Ankara and allied GNA have been deploying reinforcements to Tripoli during the ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey, Haftar said.

Comment: Haftar has the backing of the majority of Libyan citizens, who just want to be left alone to rebuild their country after being ravaged by NATO's illegal bombing campaign almost a decade ago. His demand is neither unreasonable nor impossible, but it would require Erdogan to give up his dream of a restored Ottoman Empire. Erdogan is being forced out of Syria, so has cast his eyes further west for a cheap, secure oil supply.


Alarm Clock

Germany says security threat from far-right extremism, anti-Semitism 'very high' after Hanau attack

Seehofer
© Michael Sohn / POOL / AFPGerman Interior Minister Horst Seehofer in Berlin on February 14, 2020.
German interior minister Horst Seehofer said Friday that police presence would be increased across the country to counter the "very high" security threat from the far-right, after a gunman killed nine people in a racist attack late Wednesday.

"The security threat from right-wing extremism, anti-Semitism and racism is very high," Seehofer said at a press conference in Berlin.

He also announced an "increased police presence" and "increased surveillance" at mosques, train stations, airports and borders.

Right-wing extremism, Seehofer said, was the "biggest security threat facing Germany," and one which had left "a trail of blood" behind it in recent months.

Germany has already taken several measures to combat right-wing extremism after a string of violent incidents over the last year.

Last June, pro-migrant politician Walter Luebcke was murdered, while October brought an attack on a synagogue in the eastern city of Halle.

Suspects in both cases have ties to the far-right scene.

Seehofer said he was not calling for more police officers or further laws, but rather "a greater use of the options already available to us."

Comment: See also:


War Whore

Iraq regime needs to be changed again, argues ex-aide for Cheney and Bolton... referring to something he helped to install

An anti-government protest in Baghdad
© REUTERS / Thaier al-SudaniAn anti-government protest in Baghdad
Baghdad's ruling class is beyond saving, so it's time to scrap it in its entirety, believes a neocon pundit who served in the Bush administration. What was the saying about doing the same thing and hoping for different results?

Things are really bad in Iraq these days. There are mass protests, where young people demand democracy, an end to corruption and that Iranians go back to their country. But Iranians have been "imperially usurping the authority of Iraq's elected leaders," and now "the rot of Iranian penetration" has rendered the entire Iraqi ruling class beyond saving. They need to go, and the US has things to do.

That's the premise of an op-ed published by Foreign Policy magazine under the title 'Iraq Needs Regime Change Again'. The author is John Hannah, a neoconservative pundit with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. During the George W Bush era, Hannah worked as an aide to mustached arch-hawk John Bolton before moving to the team of Vice President Dick Cheney. A few years ago, he was part of Donald Trump's transition team.

Handcuffs

Roger Stone sentenced to 40 months, Trump doesn't signal pardon will come soon

roger stone
© Chip Somodevilla / Getty ImagesRoger Stone leaves court in Washington after being sentenced Thursday.
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced President Donald Trump's long-time adviser Roger Stone to three years and four months in prison and said his lies to lawmakers investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election posed a threat to American democracy.


Comment: We suppose all the anti-Trump liars' lies didn't pose a threat to American democracy, which is why none of them went to prison. Trump actually has a point here:



After U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced the veteran Republican operative in Washington, Trump indicated he has no immediate plans to pardon Stone and would let the legal process play out, while adding that "at some point I'll make a determination."

"I personally think he was treated very unfairly," Trump said in Las Vegas.

In a stern lecture during a 2-1/2-hour sentencing hearing, Jackson delivered an implicit rebuke to Trump, who has attacked her along with the jury and prosecutors in the high-profile case.

"There was nothing unfair, phony or disgraceful about the investigation or the prosecution," Jackson said, citing words that the Republican president has used.

Stone's lawyer had asked that he get no prison time. The 67-year-old Stone, who has been a friend and adviser to Trump for decades, was convicted on Nov. 15 on all seven counts of lying to Congress, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.

Comment: See also:


Pumpkin 2

The return of Russiagate: MSM & #Resistance ecstatically embrace evidence-free NYT claim Moscow 'helping Trump in 2020'

trump protest springsteen russia
© Reuters / Eduardo Munoz
The same media that flogged the insane 'Russiagate' conspiracy theory for years are resurrecting that particular dead horse, in what appears to be an effort to stop the White House from cleaning up the US intelligence community.

"Russia is aiding President Trump in the 2020 election, intelligence officials told lawmakers," the New York Times blared on Thursday, adding that President Donald Trump berated the acting Director of National Intelligence after last week's briefing to that effect, about how "Democrats might exploit the news."

Георгиевская ленточка

Russia and Ukraine together would be a powerhouse, competitors will do anything to tear us apart - Putin

Putin zelensky
© Sputnik/Aleksey Nikolskyi ; Reuters/Charles PlatiauVladimir Putin (L) Volodymyr Zelensky (R)
Efforts by some foreign actors to drive a wedge between Russia and Ukraine make sense, since the synergies coming from both countries working together would be of great mutual benefit, Vladimir Putin has said.

Russia and Ukraine have common historic roots and great potential for benefiting each other from joint efforts, so it's no surprise that hostile players put so much energy into preventing any rapprochement, the Russian president said in an interview.

"Since any integration of Russia and Ukraine, along with their capacities and competitive advantages would spell the emergence of a rival, a global rival for both Europe and the world, no one wants this. That's why they'll do anything to tear us apart," he told the news agency TASS.


Comment: Putin is speaking the truth however the crazed ultra-nationalists may hate it. His analysis lines up with reality. How much better ordinary Ukrainians would be if they embraced it.


TV

Bloomberg takes a beating from ALL the Democrats at Nevada debate, but it's still Sanders' race to lose

bloomber sanders
© Reuters / David Becker / MSNBCDemocratic candidate Michael Bloomberg (L) Bernie Sanders (R)
Mike Bloomberg walked onto the debate stage in Nevada expecting, after weeks of controversy, that the knives would be out and pointed in his direction - but he probably didn't expect to walk away as bloody and bruised as he did.

With Bernie Sanders opening a double-digit lead in the national polls, Joe Biden receding into irrelevance, and centrists like Amy Klobuchar starting to lose their shine, moderate Democrats and media pundits were hoping Bloomberg could swoop in and offer a 'realistic' alternative to Sanders' scary socialism.

They were sorely disappointed.

Dollars

Bloomberg to pay hundreds of people $2,500 a month to praise him on their personal social media feeds: Report

michael bloomberg
© Mark Wilson/GettyDemocratic presidential candidate, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks about affordable housing during a campaign event where he received an endorsement from District of Columbia Mayor, Muriel Bowser, on January 30, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Michael Bloomberg's presidential campaign will reportedly pay hundreds of people $2,500 a month to promote the candidate via text message and their personal social media feeds.

The billionaire's team is now hiring more than 500 "deputy digital organizers" to work up to 30 hours a week and promote his talking points to online friends and phone contact lists, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a staffer in California and internal documents.

The outreach is limited to California, which holds its presidential primary election on March 3, but could expand nationwide, The Journal reported.

Comment: See also: