Puppet MastersS


Star of David

ICC decision to investigate war crimes strikes at Israelis' deepest fear (accountability)

Jonathan Ofir
Mondoweiss
Thu, 26 Dec 2019 18:11 UTC
netanyahu gantz israel elections
© Kobi Gideon / GPO / FilePrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, rivals in the Sept. 2019 election.
ICC decision to investigate Israel is a problem for many Israelis

The recently announced decision of the International Criminal Court to investigate Israeli war crimes (pending a pre-Trial chamber decision on the "territories" at hand), has hit a raw nerve in Israel.

It is not merely that Prime Minister Netanyahu went on Hasbara overdrive with his antics, saying that ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda is ignoring "the truth when she says that the very act of Jews living in their ancestral homeland, the land of the Bible, that this is a war crime". No, it went much further than that - opposition rival Benny Gantz also went 'meshugge' [crazy; senseless] on this, calling it "a political decision, not a legal one," adding that "the Israeli army is one of the most moral militaries in the world", and that "the Israeli army and State of Israel do not commit war crimes." Simple as that! He added that "in the struggle over Israel's international legitimacy to defend itself, there is no coalition and opposition. We will all join the fight for justice and for our basic right to defend the State of Israel and its civilians."

Comment:

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Chess

Iraqi president refuses to designate new PM rejected by protesters, submits resignation letter


Sputnik
Thu, 26 Dec 2019 18:33 UTC
Iraqi President Barham Saleh
© CC0Iraqi President Barham Saleh
Thousands of people poured into the streets on 23 December as the country's political forces missed the midnight deadline to nominate a new prime minister to replace Adel Abdul Mahdi, who resigned in late October, amid ongoing protests against corruption and the country's political system, introduced after the US-led invasion in 2003.

Iraqi President Barham Saleh has submitted a letter of resignation to the parliament after refusing to nominate the city of Basra's governor to the head the government.
"I expressed to the parliament members my willingness to resign from the president's post, and they will make a decision, which they consider appropriate, as the nation's representatives", Saleh said in a statement.
The president refused to designate Iran-backed bloc's nominee Asaad al-Idani for prime minister, saying that he is willing to resign rather than appoint a prime minister that was rejected by protesters.
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Bullseye

UN Secretary General 'turns blind eye' to US visa delays for Russian diplomats - Moscow


RT
Thu, 26 Dec 2019 18:25 UTC
nato seal
© Reuters / Lucas Jackson
Washington delays issuing visas to Russian officials in a blatant attempt to force them out of their UN positions, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said, adding that the UN Secretary General simply shuts his eyes to this problem.

Russia and the US have been engaged in a heated visa dispute for several months already. Moscow says that the Russian officials scheduled to take up their posts at the UN headquarters in New York, and particularly at the UN Secretariat, can't assume their duties because Washington is delaying their application processes for an indefinite period.
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Network

Russian economy minister: Extra-territorial US sanctions on Nord Stream 2 bringing Russia & Europe closer together


RT
Thu, 26 Dec 2019 18:19 UTC
nord stream 2
© nord-stream2.com / Axel Schmidt
Cooperation between Russia and Europe is growing, and pressure from the US just gives more impetus for further development of those ties, says Russian Economic Development Minister Maksim Oreshkin.

"As you may see this year we have more extensive contacts with Europe, not only on the business side which was at the high level and is becoming even stronger but also on the political level..." Oreshkin told RT.

He explained that US sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project from Russia to Germany, as well as its other actions, have brought Russia and Europe closer.
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Bizarro Earth

Turkish parliament to draft bill allowing troop deployment to Libya


South Front
Thu, 26 Dec 2019 11:30 UTC
army sand
ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE
The Turkish parliament is drafting a bill to allow a deployment of troops to Libya to assist the Government of National Accord (GNA).

Turkish Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin confirmed the information.

"There might be a need for an authorization in line with the developments over there. The parliament is conducting work on this issue," Kalin told a news conference in Ankara.

"We will continue to support the internationally recognized Libyan government. This support may be in terms of military training, or other areas, such as political support," Kalin said.

Kalin added that Turkey would continue to provide the necessary support to Fayez al-Serraj's Tripoli-based government. Turkey has already sent military supplies to the Serraj's government despite a United Nations arms embargo, according to a report by U.N. experts.

Comment: The Moriarty's, who are well informed on the situation in Libya, write in their recent article Libya's elected government demands UN's usurper regime gone:
The usurper regime (GNA) in Tripoli is losing their hold on Tripoli (their last stronghold) and they realize that they will be ousted before long, losing their "golden goose". They have attempted to stop the advance of the Libyan National Army (LNA) by signing an agreement with Turkey.

[...]The LNA in response to this agreement by the GNA and Turkey has stated that any Turkish ship or plane landing in Libya will be searched for mercenaries and weapons and will immediately be destroyed. Also, the Egyptian leader, General al Sisi, has stated that Turkey will not be allowed to invade Libya with their army as this would effect all of North Africa. He stated that Libyans are the brothers and sisters of Egypt and Egypt will not allow the Muslim Brotherhood and its terrorists to own Libya or the Sudan. ""Note: Egypt has the worlds largest army.

[...]

Greece has expelled the Libyan Ambassador. This is obviously a condition by Erdogan to continue his aid to the GNA regime.

[...]

Victory and freedom for the Libyan people is coming and we stand with them in their fight for their country.
Check out the article for more in-depth and revealing analysis on the situation.

See also: Suffering of Muslims can be stopped with cooperation and proper leadership - Erdogan

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Bullseye

Israel freezes Jordan Valley annexation bid after ICC war crimes probe decision


Press TV
Wed, 25 Dec 2019 07:03 UTC
Jordan Valley
© AFPIsraeli soldiers stand guard in an old army outpost overlooking the Jordan Valley on June 23, 2019.
Israel has reportedly halted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to annex the Jordan Valley in the wake of a decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to launch a probe into the regime's war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Tuesday that the first meeting of an inter-ministerial committee on applying the Israeli "sovereignty" over the Jordan Valley had been canceled last week, hours before it was scheduled to start.

The meeting of the panel, chaired by acting director general of the prime minister's office Ronen Peretz, was nixed after it became clear that an ICC announcement of a full investigation into Israeli war crimes was forthcoming.

"Because of the decision of the prosecutor in The Hague, the issue of annexing the Jordan Valley will enter a deep freeze," an unnamed source told the Israeli daily.

Comment: Interesting timing? Israeli military conducts new attacks on besieged Gaza after rocket cancels Netanyahu rally

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Light Saber

Syrian army regains full control over 40 towns, villages in Idlib province - 320sq/km freed

Drago Bosnic
Fort Russ News
Wed, 25 Dec 2019 12:00 UTC
Fort Russ News
© Fort Russ News
General Command of the Syrian Army announced that it has cleared up more than 320 square kilometers of land and liberated more than 40 towns and villages in the south and southeastern Idlib after pushing back Tahir al-Sham al-Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) from their positions in the region.

"Units of the Syrian Army continued their attack south and southeastern Idlib amid a state of successive collapse among the armed terrorist organizations, inflicting heavy losses and casualties on them," a statement by the army General command said on Tuesday.

The statement noted that the Syrian army managed to clean up more than 320 square kilometers of land and set free over 40 towns and villages in the south and southeastern countryside of Idlib. Um Tina, Abu Sharqi, Sha'ara, Farwan, Hraki, Abu Dafnah, Tal Haran, Jirjanaz and Tal Assayed are among the villages and towns liberated by the Syrian Army in Idlib.

Comment: See also:

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Rocket

Israeli military conducts new attacks on besieged Gaza after rocket cancels Netanyahu rally


Press TV
Thu, 26 Dec 2019 11:28 UTC

Comment: Of course it wouldn't be Christmas without Israel launching airstrikes on some hapless innocents.


attack gaza
© AFPFile photo of an explosion caused by an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on May 4, 2019
Israeli warplanes, choppers, and navy boats have conducted new attacks on the Gaza Strip, targeting several positions in the north, west and south of the besieged enclave.

The Thursday attacks were reportedly aimed at the positions of the Hamas resistance movement, including its "military complexes", as the Israeli military alleges.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from Gazan authorities as the sites were empty.

Israel claims the raids were carried out in response to an earlier rocket attack from Gaza toward the city of Ashkelon in the occupied territories on Wednesday night.

This has reportedly cut short a rally by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who was campaigning for the upcoming Likud leadership primary there.
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Propaganda

Reuters' 1,500 Iran protest deaths reflects their bloodlust, not reality

Ramin Mazaheri
Press TV
Wed, 25 Dec 2019 11:02 UTC
It's certainly not worth the paper it is printed on — any allegedly ground-breaking story which relies solely on anonymous sources.
iran american flag
© AFPIranian pro-government demonstrators burn makeshift US flags as they gather in the capital Tehran's central Enghelab Square on November 25, 2019, to condemn days of "rioting" that Iran blames on its foreign foes.
There was a time in Western journalism when this was the accepted moral standard; there was a time when Western readers were smart enough to demand it.

In order to launch Persian Gulf War II, The New York Times resorted to anonymous sources to fabricate war sentiment. Had they relied on actual facts to prove Iraqi's famously never found "weapons of mass destruction," then Washington politicians would have never had the a mainstream media fig leaf to hide their naked lies. The instigating author, Judith Miller, was never punished — she merely switched from the (fake-) leftist New York Times to the (very real) neo-fascist Fox News and a steady position at a neoconservative think tank.

In 2019, Iraq's poverty, endemic corruption and debilitated physical and human capital is being falsely presented entirely as the result of Iranian machinations, as opposed to Persian Gulf War I, the interim decade of inhuman Western sanctions, Gulf War II and the subsequent era of American colonialism in Iraq. No high-class Western journalists will be punished for their warmongering — there will only be more revolving door hires.

Iraq's four decades of hell are what the West has planned for Iran, and Reuters has repeatedly shown that they are all too happy to provide the propaganda.

Reuters knows very little about Iran, but they know enough to be dangerous.

Comment: Iran seizes haul of US-made weapons meant to be used for riots
The Iranian Judiciary says the country's intelligence forces have seized a haul of American-made weapons in the central city of Isfahan, smuggled into Iran from Western borders in order to be used in the November riots.

According to the public prosecutor of Isfahan, the consignment consists of over 126 riot (pellet) guns, firearms, and AK-47 as well as 900 live rounds.

"The weapons had been imported to Iran from Western borders, and were confiscated by members of the Intelligence Ministry in Isfahan province," said Ali Esfahani.

The Judiciary official said five people have been arrested on charge of smuggling the weapons, and will face trial.
Iran Slams Reuters For 'Fake News' About Unrest
Iranian Ambassador to London Hamid Baeidinejad vehemently dismissed a report by the Reuters news agency on the death toll of the recent unrest in Iran, describing it as "fake news".

"Based on an old-fashioned policy, some media outlets make a lie colossal to make it believable," Baeidinejad said on his Twitter account on Tuesday night.

"The Reuters report that claims 1,500 people were killed in recent events and attributes the violence to the leadership of the Establishment is an example of such reports," he added.

"Even Amnesty International, which has sought to exaggerate the unconfirmed death toll, said about 300 people were killed," the envoy wrote.

"...In its fake news, Reuters points to the killing of hundreds of women in the recent incidents while the presence of women in the demonstrations was low," Baeidinejad went on to say.

It is very questionable when a foreign media outlet with no correspondents or office in Iran claims to know the exact number of people killed in recent protests in the country, the envoy added.


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Attention

SOTT Focus: Impeachment: What Lies Beneath And What Might Come

Jim Kavanagh
CounterPunch
Wed, 18 Dec 2019 00:00 UTC
Impeach sign crowd
© Phil Roeder/CC BY 2.0
The Raw

The Democrats have now revealed the hand they're going to play for impeachment. I have been vehemently arguing against playing this game and pointing out how futile it is, but, seeing the two cards actually laid out on the table, even I am gobsmacked at what a loser of a hand they've got.

Of course, we have to recognize Gerald Ford's correct point that "An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history," and accept that the Democratic majority in the House at the present moment will determine that their two charges against Trump are impeachable offenses.

But it's equally true that an acquitable charge is whatever more than a third of the Senate considers it to be, and the issue will finally be decided by the political support the charges can muster from Republican senators and their constituents.

Given the ideological disposition of those senators and constituents, as well as the widespread reluctance of Americans generally to impeach a president — an act that does annul an election — over any but the most serious offenses, it is hard to believe the Democrats think they will sway anybody with the thin gruel they are serving up.

Comment: Trump's impeachment: Is it a travesty of justice, a connecting of dots, merely inconvenient truth or a springboard to ultimate disaster? Kavanagh explores various hidden motives, agendas and outcomes - including those we hope to never see. Is the future open or has it been decided?

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