Puppet MastersS


Whistle

Bernie Sanders says he wouldn't prosecute government whistleblowers under Espionage Act


RT
Wed, 23 Oct 2019 20:01 UTC
Sanders
© Reuters/Yana PaskovaDemocratic 2020 US presidential candidate and US Senator Bernie Sanders.
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has said that he would not use the Espionage Act to prosecute government whistleblowers in a promise hailed by activists as crucial to maintaining press freedom.

The controversial 1917 law was rarely used in modern times until former US President Barack Obama dug it up to prosecute eight people accused of leaking to the media — more than all other US presidents combined. So far, Donald Trump has also used the law to prosecute eight whistleblowers, putting him on track to outdo Obama if he wins a second term in 2020.

"Whoa," tweeted NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in response. Snowden was himself charged under the Espionage Act for his major disclosures on mass surveillance by the US government.
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TV

Joe Rogan show with Edward Snowden: Opposing mass surveillance IS patriotic


RT
Thu, 24 Oct 2019 01:35 UTC
Joe Rogan Ed Snowden
© YouTube/PowerfulJREJoe Rogan interviews Edward Snowden
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden wants to come home, just not into the waiting arms of a fear-based system of "turnkey tyranny" that has mushroomed with the rise of smartphones, he told talk show host Joe Rogan.

Americans might believe the government cleaned up its act after Snowden revealed the NSA's unconstitutional spying in 2013, but things have actually gotten much worse, the former agent told Rogan on Wednesday in a marathon three-hour interview. The mass adoption of smartphones has made the government's job much easier, allowing for universal 24-hour surveillance.

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Arrow Up

Kurdish military chief thanks Russia and welcomes peacekeeping patrols


RT
Wed, 23 Oct 2019 22:43 UTC
SDF talk to Russia
© Russian Defense MinistrySDF Chief Mazloum Abdi and top Russian military officials
Speaking with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, SDF chief Mazloum Abdi thanked Moscow for securing a deal with Turkey and said the Kurdish militia will support Syrian troops and Russian military police patrolling the border.

Talks between the top Russian military officials and the commander-in-chief of the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were held on Wednesday, via video link. Abdi discussed the ongoing developments in northeastern Syria with Shoigu and Russia's Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov, expressing full support to the deployment of Russian military police and Syrian Army units into the region.

"Currently, units of the Russian military police and regular Syrian troops are being deployed into many locations. We are providing them with all kind of help and assistance," Abdi said.

The SDF chief also expressed gratitude to Russia and President Vladimir Putin "for ensuring safety of the Kurdish people." Abdi and Shoigu discussed the implementation of the deal reached by Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Russia's defense minister specifically stressed that there was no need for civilians to leave their homes and that their safety will be ensured.
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Wolf

'You don't get more politically connected': Securities fraud scammers boasted about links to Hunter Biden

Andrew Kerr and Chuck Ross
The Daily Caller
Sun, 20 Oct 2019 18:10 UTC
joe biden_hunter biden
© Associated Press/Nick WassJoe Biden (L) Hunter Biden (R)
Participants in a multi-million dollar scheme to defraud an American Indian tribe touted links to Hunter Biden and his business associate, Devon Archer, according to court documents the Daily Caller News Foundation reviewed.

Biden is not accused of wrongdoing in the case, which centered on a fraudulent $60 million bond offering involving the Wakpamni Lake Community Association, an affiliate of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. But the documents, reported here for the first time, shed light on how associates saw Biden during a period when his father, Joe Biden, served as vice president.

"Hunter Biden works for [Archer]. So we've got the top level politicos with us. All of my guys, is as top tier as it gets," Bevan Cooney, who a jury convicted in the Wakpamni scam, said in a secretly recorded phone call that is cited in exhibits that Archer's defense team produced during an appeal of his conviction in the case.

Comment: Strip away the political glamor around the Biden name and Hunter is just another elitist grifter. Only the scale of his criminal activities separates him from a common street hood shaking down the local businesses.

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Yellow Vest

Lebanese president ready to meet with protesters to discuss demands


Sputnik
Thu, 24 Oct 2019 16:58 UTC
lebanon protest
© AP PHOTO / HASSAN AMMARAnti-government protesters shout slogans against the Lebanese government during a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019.
Mass protests rocked Lebanon earlier in the month after the government moved to introduce a $6 monthly tax on online calls made via mobile applications. Even though the tax was scrapped, the rallies continue, with dozens of people injured in clashes between security forces and protesters.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun, in his first televised address to the nation on the eighth day of anti-government protests, announced his readiness to meet with protesters' representatives and discuss possible solutions to the situation.

"I address the demonstrators and protesters: I am ready to meet with your representatives to listen to your specific demands. And you will listen to our thoughts and concerns regarding the financial collapse of the country. We will discuss what we need to do together to meet your demands and avoid chaos and breakdown," Aoun said in a statement broadcast by Lebanese television channels.

Comment: The WhatsApp tax was just the straw that broke the camel's back. Lebanese citizens are fed up with their state representatives, the corruption, graft, and mismanagement of the economy. For some background and suggestions, watch the following interview with Nassim Taleb (click CC for captions):

See also:

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Rocket

Russia takes S-400 air defense system to Serbia for its FIRST EVER drill abroad


RT
Thu, 24 Oct 2019 17:08 UTC
s-400
© Screenshot / Russian Defence Ministry
Moscow sent its latest S-400 Triumf and Pantsir-S1 surface-to-air missile systems to the Balkans for their first ever exercise abroad.

The S-400s, along with a battery of Pantsirs, were deployed at Batajnica Air Base, 25km from Serbia's capital, Belgrade, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday. They are there to take part in the 'Slavic Shield 2019' joint military drill.

It is the first Russian-Serbian exercise of its kind, as well as the first time Moscow's state-of-the-art air defense missile systems have taken part in a drill abroad.
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Bad Guys

Propaganda alert: Top US diplomat in Ukraine says Trump linked aid to demand for Biden probe

Todd Prince
RFE/RL
Tue, 22 Oct 2019 15:41 UTC
William Taylor
Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor arrives for a deposition in the House Impeachment inquiry on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on October 22.
A top U.S. diplomat has said President Donald Trump wanted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate his political opponent before agreeing to release military aid or a White House meeting.

U.S. Charge d'Affaires to Ukraine William Taylor made the comment in opening remarks on October 22 in a closed-door session in front of three congressional panels as part of the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump's dealings with Kyiv.

The remarks by Taylor -- who served as ambassador to Ukraine in 2006-09 under then-President George W. Bush -- add more force to the impeachment inquiry that was launched a month ago to determine whether Trump pressured Zelenskiy during a July 25 phone call to investigate Joe Biden, a Democrat who is seeking to unseat the U.S. president in 2020.
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Attention

Stunning level of idiocy: US official warned Syrian Kurdish leader not to talk to Assad or Russia in heated meeting

Jared Szuba
The Defense Post
Tue, 22 Oct 2019 16:42 UTC
syrian army manbij
© Rojava Information CenterSyrian Arab Army forces outside the city of Manbij on October 14, 2019.
A State Department official told a senior Syrian Kurdish leader during a meeting in Washington that the United States would not fully withdraw its forces from northeast Syria and advised her administration not to engage with Bashar al-Assad's government or with Russia.

According to two sources familiar with the Monday, October 22 meeting, a senior member of Washington's diplomatic team is said to have become angry and told Ilham Ahmed, President of the Executive Committee of the Syrian Democratic Council, that the U.S. will not allow the SDC to arrange a deal with the Assad regime or Russia for protection against the Turkey-led attack.


Comment: This is completely insane. State Department officials don't determine foreign policy - the president does. And Trump has made clear his intentions numerous times that American troops are leaving Syria. His underlings think they know better. The result? Even more false promises (and bad advice) to their Kurdish allies. This official should be fired.


Ahmed is currently in Washington to appeal to the Trump administration and Congress to stop the Turkish incursion, which has displaced more than 176,000 people and killed scores of others. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is also investigating the possible use of banned weapons after accusations Turkish forces employed white phosphorous against civilians in the border town of Ras al-Ayn.

Ahmed and two other SDC representatives declined to comment on the meeting. State Department representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

Comment: According to the National Interest, the State Department official got so angry they screamed at the Kurdish delegation and broke a pencil. Just get a load at the level of their idiocy:
The State Department repeatedly pushed for the SDC to work with Turkish-backed Islamist rebels while berating Syrian Kurdish officials and refusing to listen to their concerns, according to multiple sources.
The PKK work with the Islamist rebels? What are these people smoking?
One source with firsthand knowledge of the screaming session told the National Interest that Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Joel Rayburn, who is a special envoy for Syria, yelled at SDC officials and broke a pencil in a translator's face. Two sources with secondhand knowledge confirmed this version of events.

"[Rayburn] loves the Syrian Islamist groups," one of the three sources said. "He thinks they can counter Iran. He is dreaming."

"He is pushing [the SDC] to meet with jihadists," the source added.
James Jeffrey reportedly even blocked a statement condemning the brutal murder of Kurdish-Syrian politician Hevrin Khalaf. He also wants to use the Arab component of the SDF to create a "counter-Iran force".

Moon of Alabama quotes a pertinent point from Aymenn Al-Tamimi:
When [Trump in December 2018] told his advisers that he wanted to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria, he meant it. The message should have been clear: devise an orderly withdrawal plan.

But that is not what happened. Instead, efforts and attention were geared towards U.S. forces remaining indefinitely in Syria.


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Bad Guys

Outrageous: UK court blocks Spanish judge from questioning Julian Assange as a witness over spying allegations

José María Irujo Twitter
El Pais
Wed, 23 Oct 2019 16:21 UTC
assange arrest Embassy
© ReutersAssange in transfer after being detained in London.
The magistrate has requested to interview the WikiLeaks founder by videoconference as a witness, and says the refusal by British judicial authorities is unprecedented

The British justice system is blocking a Spanish judge's request to question Julian Assange in London as a witness in a case exploring allegations that the Spanish security firm Undercover Global S.L. spied on the WikiLeaks founder while he was living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
"Julian Assange is a witness, not an accused party" - Judge José de la Mata
The British position, unprecedented in these types of requests for judicial collaboration, is being viewed by Spanish judicial bodies as a show of resistance against the consequences that the case could have on the process to extradite the Australian cyberactivist to the United States.

Comment:

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Chess

Car Bombs Rock Northern Syria After "Hundreds" of ISIS Prisoners Escape

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Thu, 24 Oct 2019 16:40 UTC
Qamishli
© The IndependentFires rage in the northern Syrian town of Qamishli city following Turkey's military incursion
On Thursday a car bomb detonated in the town of Tal Abyad, wounding several Turkish-backed Syrian fighters outside their militia headquarters, following at least three other similar blasts this week, which targeted various groups fighting in northeast Syria.

The AP reports "There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing" and confirmed that "Similar bombings have taken place in the past in another enclave held for several years by Turkey and its Syrian allies on the northwest part of the border." Multiple civilian casualties have been reported in each case.

This sudden spate of mystery bomb attacks in heavily trafficked civilian areas suggests a resurgent ISIS could already be at work, after this month's Turkish invasion of Syrian Kurdish areas has resulted in mass ISIS prison breaks in the region.

On Wednesday President Trump's Special Representative for Syria Engagement, James Jeffrey, revealed in Congressional testimony that over 100 Islamic State terrorists previously held in Kurdish prisons are now on the loose.

Comment: There's a certain country, with a vested interest in destabilizing the Syria/Turkey border, that has a history of using car bombs to terrify groups and kill innocent civilians: How the Israeli military censor killed a story about a Mossad 'terrorist' bombing campaign in Lebanon in 1980s

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