Puppet MastersS


Heart - Black

235 children perish in 'unbearable' Syrian refugee camp controlled by US allies - Russian MoD


RT
Thu, 11 Apr 2019 20:06 UTC
al-Hol displacement camp
© Reuters/Issam AbdallahPeople gather near the fence of al-Hol displacement camp in Hasaka governorate, Syria March 8, 2019.
Up to 20 people die daily in a tent camp set up by US-backed forces in northern Syria due to an acute shortage of medicine and food, as well as an inability to escape the squalid conditions, the Russian military said.

The death toll has been skyrocketing in the makeshift Al-Hol camp since December, when it saw a massive influx of new arrivals fleeing the former Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) stronghold of Al-Baghuz Fawqani as the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) mounted a large-scale offensive on the area.

The camp, which was initially supposed to house no more than 20,000 residents, has now become home to over 74,000 people, with its capacity long overstretched.

Comment: See also:

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X

Trump believes Netanyahu's win is a boon to ME peace...fat chance!


RT
Wed, 10 Apr 2019 19:45 UTC
Neti and Trump
© Kevin Lamarque/ReutersPM Benjamin Netanyahu • President Donald Trump
Just days after the Israeli Prime Minister vowed to annex new areas of the West Bank with American help, US President Donald Trump assured reporters that the PM's electoral victory is a step towards peace.

You heard that right. Benjamin "I Want To Annex Your Land" Netanyahu, after four terms in office, will suddenly turn the tides and seek peace with his Palestinian rivals, the president suggests.

"Everybody says you can't have peace in the Middle East, with Israel and the Palestinians," Trump told reporters at the White House. "I think we have a chance. I think we have now a better chance with Bibi having won," he said, using the PM's diminutive nickname.

Netanyahu won a narrow election Tuesday on a platform of outright hostility toward the Palestinians, promising to "extend sovereignty" over West Bank settlements, which are illegal under international law. He said he would try to do that with American support.

Comment: See also:
Israeli election results indicate Netanyahu has won fifth term as dictator - UPDATE: Opponent concedes, so Bibi wins!

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Propaganda

NYT Venezuela propaganda piece concealed fact that commentator is daughter of coup plotter

Anya Parampil
The Gray Zone
Tue, 09 Apr 2019 12:00 UTC
Joanna Hausmann
After the New York Times was slammed for obscuring comedian Joanna Hausmann's family ties to the Guaido shadow regime, her coup-plotting father appeared online to defend her with a stream of insults.

When the New York Times approached me seeking permission to use video I recorded of the Washington DC "Hands Off Venezuela" protest on March 16, I hoped that somebody at the paper was seeking to atone for the Gray Lady's demonstrably one-sided coverage of the US coup attempt against the internationally recognized Maduro government. Maybe, just maybe, the editors had had a rare bout of self-reflection and decided to produce something that gave voice to the many Americans who rejected the Trump administration's brazen regime change operation against Venezuela.

But on April 1, I woke up to learn that my footage had been used to demonize the protesters as useful idiots by a YouTube comedian born to one of the family dynasties of Venezuela's opposition.

Comment: It should be no surprise to any SOTT reader that Western mainstream media outlets and their government controllers are without ethics: Also cheeck out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: US Regime Change Operation in Venezuela - This Time It's Legit?

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Dollars

Bernie Sanders explains how you too can become a millionaire by writing a best-selling book


RT
Thu, 11 Apr 2019 18:38 UTC
Bernie Sanders book
© Reuters / Carlo AllegriBernie Sanders' 'Where we go from here' on sale in a Manhattan bookstore
Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders - known for railing against the super-rich - is now a millionaire himself, and shared his moneymaking secrets with America. Sanders was flooded with accusations of hypocrisy in return.

Bernie Sanders, currently a top contender for the Democratic Party's nomination for the presidency next year, is not a man usually associated with wealth. Indeed, the Vermont Senator has lobbied for higher taxes on "millionaires and billionaires"for his near four-decade political career, and often chose to fly coach during the early days of his 2016 campaign.

Well, if you can't beat 'em, join em. Sanders told the New York Times on Tuesday that he is now a member of the two comma club, thanks to a Senator's six-figure salary and a bestselling book; 2018's 'Where We Go From Here.'
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Attention

Assange, the scapegoat and distraction for scandal-ridden Moreno and his Ecuadorian government

Pablo Vivanco
RT
Thu, 11 Apr 2019 09:32 UTC
Julian Assange
© ReutersJulian Assange
As he faces a major corruption probe, Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno has met another demand from Washington by booting WikiLeaks journalist Julian Assange out of Ecuador's embassy in London.

Times were different when the WikiLeaks founder walked into Ecuador's London embassy seeking asylum in 2012. Fearing that his native Australia wouldn't protect him from extradition to the United States, where he faces imprisonment or even execution, Assange appealed to Ecuador's then-president Rafael Correa to grant him refuge from "political persecution."

Ecuador agreed, granting him asylum on the grounds that his "life, safety or personal integrity" could be compromised at any moment. Having also kicked US troops off its soil just a few years earlier, the tiny South American nation's gesture was applauded by many, including domestically.

Fast forward seven years, and Ecuador has now handed him over for almost certain extradition. The country's former consul general in London says the move is not only unwarranted but also illegal under international law.

"This is a violation of the right and the institution of asylum," Fidel Narvaez told me. Having been delivered to British authorities, the Ecuadorian diplomat says Assange will likely be extradited to the US where "he will surely be sentenced to dozens of years of prison, at the least."

Comment: See also:

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Pirates

Moscow, Baghdad resolved to continue fight against Daesh


Sputnik
Wed, 10 Apr 2019 22:36 UTC
IS flag
© Sputnik/Andrey SteninIslamic State flag
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa Mikhail Bogdanov came to terms with Iraqi leadership about the necessity to continue joint fight against the Daesh terrorist group, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

This came within Bogdanov's working visit to Baghdad where he held a meeting with Iraqi President Barham Salih, Prime Minister Adil Abd Al-Mahdi and Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives Mohammed al-Halbusi. The ministry said in its statement:
"Moscow and Baghdad confirmed that there is no other way to resolve crisis situations other that in accordance with the norms of international law and the UN Charter. The necessity of continuing to work together to counter the terrorist threat caused by IS[Daesh] and its affiliated groups was also stated".
The parties also reaffirmed the importance of consolidating efforts to prevent the escalation of military and political tensions in the region, the statement read.
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Snakes in Suits

VP Pence evokes Hitler's Germany in UNSC debate; Russia warns against provocation


RT
Wed, 10 Apr 2019 20:59 UTC
Pence
© Reuters/Brendan McDermidUS Vice President Mike Pence addresses the UN Security Council.
US Vice President Mike Pence compared Venezuela's government with that of Nazi Germany, arguing that the failure of the international community to take the US' side could lead to genocide. Pence told a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday:
"When a brutal dictatorship arose in Europe, the world failed to respond. Millions of lives were lost in the Second World War. So the United States is calling on the United Nations to live up to its very purpose. Reject the failed leadership of Nicolas Maduro."
In a now-routine show of support for Venezuelan opposition leader and self-declared interim president Juan Guaido, Pence called on the UN Security Council to revoke UN credentials of President Nicolas Maduro's government and recognize Guaido as the country's legitimate leader.

Comment: Pompeo steps up the rhetoric. From RFE/RL:
"I don't think there is any doubt that...the Maduro regime presents a threat to the United States of America," Pompeo told a congressional hearing...on April 10, the increased involvement of Russia, Iran, and Cuba in Venezuela made Maduro's government a "true" threat to the United States.

Pompeo is scheduled on April 11 to begin a four-day trip to trip to the region to visit U.S. allies Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru.

Iran, which along with China and Russia has flown supplies into Venezuela in support of Maduro, landed a delegation in the country this week to discuss beginning direct commercial flights between the two countries.


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Document

EU, China sign Mandate of Trade Heaven

Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
Wed, 10 Apr 2019 00:00 UTC
Tusk, Juncker, Li
© AFP/Riccardo Pareggiani/NurPhotoChinese Premier Li Keqiang • President of European Commission Jean Claude Juncker • Donald Tusk, head of European Council • EU-China Summit in Brussels, April 9, 2019
Beijing promises an investment deal by next year, to curb industrial subsidies and the need for tech transfers, while the EU promises its own transport network

Sparks did fly in Brussels, but in the end the European Union and China managed to come up with an important joint statement at their summit this week, signed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and head of the European Council, Donald Tusk.

In theory, there's agreement on three quite sensitive fronts: a complex, wide-ranging EU-China investment deal to be signed "by the end of next year, or earlier", according to Li; Beijing to increasingly commit to erasing industrial subsidies and the obligation of technological transfers; and a substantial opening-up of the Chinese market to EU companies.

The EU is the largest combined market in the world and China's top partner in trade, while China is the EU's second largest trading partner. So, the EU-China summit on Tuesday was the real deal, unlike the endless Brexit soap opera.
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Arrow Down

How Libya's conflict can be resolved

Mikhail Khodarenok
RT
Wed, 10 Apr 2019 12:26 UTC
Misrata forces
© Reuters/Hani AmaraMilitary vehicles of Misrata forces, Tajura neighborhood, east of Tripoli, Libya April 6, 2019
Military interference or attempts at peacekeeping in Libya will only result in a pause in the conflict, not a resolution. The current situation in Libya is in flux, and reports we get are slow in arriving and largely unreliable.

So far, we can come to very few conclusions about what's going on, and very preliminary ones at that. It seems that at this point the military struggle in Libya isn't ruled by a strategy of fighting until victorious and without retreat. This is based on relatively small losses of personnel and military hardware. It would appear that, for now, parties to the conflict are busy not so much with continuously conducting offensive or defensive military operations, but rather with demonstrating their capabilities and intentions.

There is no accurate data on Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) in terms of troops or military capabilities. They are armed mainly with the leftovers from Muammar Gaddafi's army, though lately some weapons have allegedly been coming through Egypt. There is no doubt that LNA has been getting weapons through any channel available.

At the same time, there is no accurate information on the troops commanded by the Government of National Accord (GNA) operating from Libya's capital Tripoli. Led by Fayez al-Sarraj, the government that was formed with the support of the UN and EU.
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Eye 2

Powers That Be relieved at Assange eviction: Arrest of Julian Assange met with cheers from UK lawmakers in parliament


RT
Thu, 11 Apr 2019 19:07 UTC
Theresa May
© Press AssociationTheresa May
UK parliamentarians have reacted to the news of WikiLeaks whistleblower Julian Assange's arrest with hearty cheers, as PM Theresa May and her ministers heaped praise on the Ecuadorian govt, for bringing the case to a conclusion.

May delivered a statement on Assange's arrest to the House of Commons on Thursday, outlining the charges against the 47 year-old Australian, thanking the Metropolitan Police, and claiming the case showed that "in the United Kingdom, no one is above the law."
I'm sure that the whole House will welcome the news this morning that the Metropolitan Police have arrested Julian Assange [cheers]

Comment:

Updates: President Trump disavows Wikileaks and Assange:
US President Donald Trump, who said he loved WikiLeaks during his election campaign, tried to distance himself from the arrest of Julian Assange, which was carried out by Britain on the request of the US.

Speaking to journalists in the Oval Office on Thursday, hours after the arrest of Assange in London, Trump said:
I know nothing about WikiLeaks. It's not my thing.
Trump was far less reluctant to speak about the transparency site in 2016, when it played a major role in the US presidential election after it published a number of documents leaked from the Hillary Clinton campaign.

Then-candidate Trump called the work of the site "amazing" and said he "loved" what it was being doing.


Ironically, those statements were used against Trump by proponents of the now-debunked Russiagate conspiracy theory, which said his campaign colluded with the Russian government to steal the election. Russia was accused of hacking into DNC computer networks and releasing stolen documents via WikiLeaks - an allegation that both Moscow and the website deny.

Trump officials at one point were accused by the US media of having foreknowledge of the contents of one of the batches of documents published by WikiLeaks. The story soon flopped after it turned out that several outlets, which claimed to be reporting separately, based their reporting on a mis-read date of a tweet, which was actually sent by a random person to the Trump campaign to draw attention to a fresh release of leaked materials.
Former Ecuadorian president Correa slams Lenin Moreno as a traitor:
Former Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa explained to RT why he calls his successor Lenin Moreno the "worst traitor" in the country's history for handing over WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to British authorities.


Correa spoke to RT Spanish to explain why he publicly branded Moreno the "greatest traitor in Ecuadorian history." The former president says his successor is no better than the disciple Judas Iscariot or Ephialtes of Trachis, the man accused of betraying Greek forces defending the pass of Thermopylae from invading Persians.

Unconstitutional deal with the US

"It was not Rafael Correa, who gave asylum to Julian Assange. It was the state of Ecuador. And the state of Ecuador had to protect the person it pledged to protect according to international law and its national pride. Instead they gave him up, allowed the British police to enter our embassy," he said.

He added that the move also violated the constitution of Ecuador, since Assange is now a citizen of the Latin American country and is owed protection accordingly. "This is unheard of. These actions cannot leave one not outraged," he said.

Correa said Moreno basically sold "Assange's head" to the Americans. The US wants to prosecute Assange for allegedly conspiring with former US Army soldier Chelsea Manning in her leaking of classified US documents to WikiLeaks.

Revenge for allegedly publishing documents incriminating Moreno

Moreno's decision was partially motivated by various benefits Ecuador and the president personally got in return, Correa believes. But another motive was revenge on WikiLeaks, he told RT. Moreno believes that the site was responsible for publication of explosive documents, which implicate him and his family members in corruption.

"Paul Manafort, the head of the Trump presidential campaign, visited Ecuador on May 30, 2017, weeks after Moreno took the office of the president. And even then Moreno offered to hand out Assange in exchange for financial enrichment from the US," Correa said.

"In 2018, [US Vice President] Mike Pence visited Ecuador, and he and Moreno agreed on three things. Isolate Venezuela, which Moreno did with great enthusiasm. Drop a case against Chevron, which he gladly did as well. And hand over Assange," the ex-president said. "WikiLeaks publishing documents about [Moreno's] blatant corruption was the latest straw."

The corruption case Correa referred to is dubbed "INA Papers" after the name of an offshore company, which was allegedly used by the incumbent president for corrupt dealings. Materials exposing the link between the firm owned by the president's brother and various shady operations were leaked in February and triggered a congressional probe in Ecuador. WikiLeaks denies being behind the leak, but Moreno insists otherwise.


"Moreno knows that he and his family will go to prison for corruption and money laundering. So before he leaves, he wants to harm as many people as possible, including Julian Assange," Correa alleged. "He decided to ruin another person before going to prison. He is moved by pathological hatred and in his desire to take revenge, that's why he gave out Assange to the British police."

Moreno tried to break Assange and make him leave

Correa added that Moreno's government previously tried and failed to break Assange, hoping to get rid of him in a less explicit way.

"They tried to make him leave the embassy voluntarily with this ruthless isolation and harsh rules. They couldn't make him. They hope he would get ill and require treatment at a hospital so that he could be arrested there. And again they failed," he said.


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