Puppet MastersS


Cult

EU urges candidate states not to celebrate WW2 victory in Moscow


RT
Tue, 15 Apr 2025 11:52 UTC
Victory parade in Moscow
Countries aspiring to join the EU should not take part in the 80th anniversary celebrations of Russia's victory in World War II, the bloc's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, has said.

Victory Day, one of Russia's most important public holidays, is marked by a large military parade on Red Square and a moment of silence to honor the estimated 26.6 million Soviet lives lost during the war against Nazi Germany and its allies.

Some EU officials have argued that attending the celebrations in Moscow would be inappropriate given the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

"Any participation in the May 9th parades - or celebrations - in Moscow will not [be] taken lightly on the European side, considering that Russia is waging a full-scale war in Europe," Kallas said following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday.

Comment: It follows recent ban by Germany of Russian participation in Victory day celebrations in Germany. See also: The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized Germany's ban on Russians' participation in Victory Day celebrations.
"The very fact that the ideological heirs and direct descendants of Nazi criminals are going to expel Russians from Victory celebrations looks like an outright insult. And even in this, (German Foreign Minister Annalena) Burbok and her team do not show originality — they actually repeat the actions of their predecessors. If the German security forces really start expelling Russians, Belarusians, and former Soviet citizens, including Jews, from commemorative events, it can only be called a revival of Nazism," Zakharova wrote.
This year, the diplomats of the Russian Embassy were not invited to the ceremony in honor of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp on January 27. In Moscow, this was seen as a blasphemous step and part of a broader anti-Russian campaign to distort the history of the Second World War.
It was after all, the Soviet Union which liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp.

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Bad Guys

Ukraine targets Russian energy infrastructure in continued violation of partial ceasefire


RT
Mon, 14 Apr 2025 13:22 UTC
Russian energy facilities
© Sputnik/Taisiya Liskovets
The Ukrainian military has targeted two energy facilities in Russia's Belgorod Region over the past 24 hours, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted a proposal by his US counterpart Donald Trump to adhere to a 30-day pause on targeting energy facilities operated by Kiev and Moscow during their phone call on March 18.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky also said that his country would abide by the truce. However, the Russian military has since accused Kiev's forces of breaching the partial ceasefire on an almost daily basis.
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Arrow Down

Who owns the oceans? The UN wants to tax ships to reduce carbon emissions — a $40b windfall for unaccountable global bureaucrats

Jo Nova
joannenova.com.au
Tue, 15 Apr 2025 02:50 UTC
Shipping Containers
© Image by Peter Lindenau from Pixabay
What looks, acts, and taxes like One World Government?

The UN is has succeeded in getting a global shipping tax approved supposedly to control the weather. It will be formally adopted in October, and start in 2027, applying to ships of more than 5,000 tons. I don't remember our parliamentarians debating it, do you? Somehow a tariff is terrible but a global trade tax paid to unaccountable bureaucrats will save the world?

It sets a very dangerous new precedent. For the first time the United Nations would be able to tax the world directly, without twisting the arm of national governments. Who owns the oceans? The UN apparently...

By 2030 the UN is projected to collect $40 billion in total from this tax. Supposedly they will hand this on to "supporting developing countries" (like China, eh?). Obviously this give the UN bureaucrats another $40 billion in power. It's more money for them to fly to conferences in the Amazon, more money to reward their "friends", and more money to buy the right votes at the right moment. It will feed more committees to write more press releases to shake down even more money from the hapless taxpayers of the West.

And why would it stop there? Once the UN can collect the cash from ships, why not planes too, and surely satellites and rockets? (Has anyone told Elon?)

Whatever happened to "No taxation without political representation?" Killed by a thousands cuts.
Global breakthrough to tackle shipping emissions

Esme Stallard, BBC

Countries have agreed a global deal to tackle shipping emissions, after nearly ten years of negotiations. The agreement covers the vast majority of the world's commercial shipping and means that starting in 2028, ship owners will have to use increasingly cleaner fuels or face fines. The deal was nearly derailed after Saudi Arabia forced a last minute vote and the US pulled out of talks in London - but it eventually passed on Friday. Small island states and environmental groups were angry that a blanket tax was not agreed to and called the deal "unfit for purpose".
The United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO) will be able to take $380 per ton of "carbon" emitted.
It will require owners of large international vessels to increase their use of less carbon intensive fuels or face a penalty of up to $380 per tonne of carbon dioxide emissions they emit from burning fuel.

The vote was requested by Saudi Arabia, who did not support the agreement, and this position was shared by a dozen other oil-producing nations, including Russia.

Although they opposed the proposal, they will be bound to implement it because they are members of the IMO.
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Question

US and Iran talk again. Is war really off the table?

Farhad Ibragimov
RT
Sun, 13 Apr 2025 16:05 UTC
newspaper
© Fatemeh Bahram/Getty ImagesCatching up on the news • talks between Iran and the US • Tehran, Iran • April 12, 2025
The United States and Iran have reopened high-level diplomatic talks over Tehran's nuclear program, holding their first indirect negotiations in years. The meeting took place in Muscat, Oman, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi leading Tehran's delegation and US Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witcoff representing Washington. This marks the highest level of engagement between the two nations since 2018.

The talks were conducted via shuttle diplomacy: the two delegations were housed in separate rooms, with Oman's Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad al-Busaidi acting as the go-between.

Following the session, Araghchi described the meeting as a constructive first step. In an interview with Iranian state television, he said:
"For a first round, the discussions were positive. They were held in a calm, respectful environment, free from inflammatory language. Both sides seemed committed to moving the process forward toward a workable agreement."
The White House echoed this sentiment in a brief statement, describing the talks as "very positive and constructive." It emphasized that Witcoff had been instructed to pursue diplomacy wherever possible and work toward resolving disagreements through dialogue.

President Donald Trump, when asked about the talks by reporters, offered a guarded endorsement:
"I think they're going well. But nothing matters until it's done. I don't like talking about it too much. Still, it's moving along."

Comment: Tricky negotiations: Sounds like tip-toe diplomacy has the floor.

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Newspaper

UK deeply involved in Ukraine conflict - The Times


RT
Sat, 12 Apr 2025 04:23 UTC
cruise missile
© Storm Shadow/SCALP-EGA Russian specialist inspects fragments of a Franco-British long-range cruise missile
Kiev allegedly refers to Britain's military chiefs as the "brains" of the "anti-Putin" coalition, according to the exposé.

Britain's military leadership has played a far more extensive and covert role in the Ukraine conflict than previously known, not only designing battle plans and supplying intelligence, but also authorizing secret troop deployments inside the country to provide weapons training and technical support, according to a report by The Times.

While London's political and military backing for Kiev has been public since the 2014 Western-backed coup, the extent of its involvement after the escalation in February 2022 "remained largely hidden... until now," the British newspaper wrote on Friday, citing unnamed Ukrainian and British military officers.

Comment: There is no secret as to what is occurring. So far Russia has maintained restraint.

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Propaganda

Trump's Kiev envoy clarifies proposed 'zones of responsibility' in Ukraine


RT
Fri, 11 Apr 2025 23:56 UTC
Kellogg
© XGeneral Keith Kellogg
Keith Kellogg has accused The Times of misrepresenting his words about post-ceasefire security.

US President Donald Trump's special envoy to Ukraine, General Keith Kellogg, has rejected the notion that he proposed partitioning Ukraine like post-WWII Germany, accusing The Times of misrepresenting his remarks about a Cold War-style post-ceasefire security arrangement.

Kellogg told The Times in an interview published on Friday that British and French (but not American) troops could lead a Western military force positioned west of the Dnepr River, while Ukrainian forces would hold territory further east. He also suggested establishing a demilitarized zone (DMZ) roughly 18 miles (30 kilometers) wide along the current lines of control to prevent direct clashes with Russian forces.

Kellogg, a retired US Army lieutenant general who was appointed by Trump to deal directly with Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky, stated:
"You could almost make it look like what happened with Berlin after World War Two, when you had a Russian zone, a French zone, a British zone, and a US zone."

Comment: Nothing implies 'expanded war' like a 'Ukraine Multi-nation Ceasefire Resiliency Force'!

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Bad Guys

Lavrov: 'European aggression' is the root of current global tragedies


RT
Wed, 09 Apr 2025 14:29 UTC
Sergey Lavrov
© Getty Images / Mert Gokhan Koc/ dia imagesRussian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Western European countries have once again "taken up arms" against Russia, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said, commenting on the increasingly hostile stance of many governments toward Moscow.

Addressing the constant calls to prepare for a presumed Russian attack - a notion which Moscow has dismissed as baseless - Lavrov said all previous global conflicts were sparked by similar aggressive actions from Europe.

"We are witnessing another wave in which Europe is taking up arms against Russia, and by the looks on some faces, even growling at Russia. After all... all global tragedies began with aggressive actions by Europeans: The Napoleonic Wars, World War I, and World War II," he said in an interview for the TASS Children project released on Wednesday.
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Star of David

Israel intensifies air strikes across Gaza on Palm Sunday, hitting a hospital in the north

Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy
Associated Press
Sun, 13 Apr 2025 19:39 UTC
Al-Ahli hospital gaza city destroyed bombed
© Jordan News Agency (Petra)-English News/XIsrael bombed Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, destroying its surgical wing and oxygen station, and putting Gaza's last operational hospital entirely out of service amid a systematic policy of genocide.
A wave of Israeli strikes across Gaza on Sunday hit a hospital and other sites, killing at least 21 people, including children, as Israel vowed to expand its security presence in the small coastal strip.

The predawn strike on Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City was the latest of several attacks on northern Gaza's last major hospital providing critical health care.

Hospital director Dr. Fadel Naim said the emergency room, pharmacy and surrounding buildings were severely damaged, affecting over 100 patients and dozens of staff.

One patient, a girl, died during the evacuation following an Israeli warning because staff were unable to provide urgent care, Gaza's Health Ministry said. Israel said it struck a Hamas command and control center at the hospital, without providing evidence. Hamas denied the allegations.

Comment: Israel continues its massacre unimpeded:





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Bad Guys

Newly declassified Crossfire Hurricane docs shine light on roles of Steele, Clinton, and others in Russian Collusion hoax

Jerry Dunleavy
Just the News
Sun, 13 Apr 2025 18:20 UTC
crossfire hurricane
© Reuters / Jim Bourg
Newly-declassified FBI documents shine new light on the FBI's mishandling of its relationship with anti-Trump dossier author Christopher Steele, on the FBI's double standards on defensive briefings given to Trump and Hillary Clinton, and other key elements of the debunked collusion saga.

Just the News already revealed on Thursday that declassified documents show that Stefan Halper, a key FBI informant in the widely-debunked Russia collusion case, was paid nearly $1.2 million over three decades and was motivated in part by "monetary compensation" — and that he continued snitching for the bureau even after agents concluded he told them an inaccurate story about future Trump National Security Advisor Mike Flynn.

And Just the News also revealed on Friday that the newly-released documents showed that then-NSA director Mike Rogers shot down a Pultizer Prize award-winning Washington Post article about the baseless Russian collusion investigation.
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Arrow Up

Trump's Iran talks can succeed if the administration embraces reality rather than myth

Mitchell Plitnick
Mondoweiss
Sat, 12 Apr 2025 00:00 UTC
BenjDonald
© FLICKR/WHITE HOUSEIsraeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu • US President Donald Trump • White House • April 7, 2025
The talks between Iran and the U.S. set to begin today have a chance to succeed if the Trump administration grounds its policy in the realities of Iran's nuclear program, not fearmongering promoted by Israel and its allies.

Iran and the United States are set to meet indirectly today in Oman, in the hopes of finding a way to resolve their confrontations over Iran's nuclear program without resorting to an "Israeli-led" attack on Iran.

There are a lot of details to parse if these discussions are to bear fruit. It will be important to see whether each side — though most of the concern here really lays with the American side — is willing, at least in the context of these talks, to deal with realities over propaganda and pragmatism over sloganeering.

These talks are different from earlier ones. High-level officials from Donald Trump's administration are leading these talks. Trump's schizophrenic approach to policy makes negotiations volatile but also leaves open possibilities for breakthroughs.

Netanyahu sidelined

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington earlier this week clearly indicated the potential here. Netanyahu came with the proper fealty to Trump, kissing the proverbial ring. He desperately needed a boost from Trump as protests and scandals swirled around him in Israel. He also needed Trump to back his aggressive stance against Iran, a crucial point in ensuring the perpetual state of active war that Netanyahu needs to forestall elections next year and to continue to delay his trials in court and investigations of his administration's failures.

He got none of it.

Comment: It won't take long to see if Trump's thumb on Netanyahu's jugular slows the pulse for all-out war engagement with Iran...give it a day or two.

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