Puppet MastersS


Star of David

Ex-CIA chief Panetta: 'It cannot look like the US is in the pocket of Israel' nor vice versa


Sputnik
Fri, 21 Jun 2019 19:20 UTC
TrumpNetiKushner etc.
© unknownPresident Donald Trump • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu • Advisors Jared Kushner, Jason Greenblatt and US Ambassador Israel David Friedman
The Trump administration is expected to unveil a much-anticipated Mideast peace agreement this year, which will likely rule out a two-state solution. The release of the agreement was delayed until September in the wake of political uncertainty in Israel.

Leon Panetta, a former US defence secretary who was also in charge of the CIA between 2009 and 2011, has said that the backing of Israeli policies by the Trump administration has undermined the United States' credibility as a peace-broker in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Panetta told Israeli Army Radio that the United States has failed to maintain a "balanced approach" in its relations with the Israelis and the Palestinians.

"We've always tried to maintain a balanced relationship and because the United States appears to have given up that balanced approach it has created serious problems" in bringing Palestinians on board with the upcoming peace plan, Panetta told the station, as quoted by The Times of Israel.

Panetta opined that Washington and Tel Aviv appear to "go overboard" in their relations. "It cannot look like the United States is in the pocket of Israel, or Israel for that matter is in the pocket of the United States," he added.


Comment: Too little too late, Mr. Panetta. There is no doubt about the 'in the pocket' particulars of this relationship. The American people need to wake up to this fact, see the manipulations for what they truly are and do something about it!

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Snakes in Suits

2020? Biden is Trump's biggest asset!

John Wight
RT
Thu, 20 Jun 2019 16:10 UTC
TrumpBidenObama
© Reuters/Lucy NicholsonPresident Trump • former VP Biden • former president Obama
The official launch of Trump's campaign for re-election in 2020 invites us to ponder if the Democrats are, as in 2016, going to help him win.

"By seeking and blundering we learn," the renowned German thinker Johann Wolfgang von Goethe asserts is the recipe for progress. It's just a pity he isn't around now to advise the Democratic Party on how to beat Trump, because in its case the blundering hasn't stopped and the learning hasn't begun.

Putting it another way, if, as supporters of Bernie Sanders allege, the DNC (Democratic National Committee, official governing body of the Democratic Party) is intent on repeating its blunder of 2016, when it rigged its nomination process in favour of Hillary Clinton's campaign, Trump's re-election is guaranteed.

This time round, not Hillary Clinton but Joe Biden is the DNC's preferred choice. And just like Clinton before him, Biden is a product of a liberal establishment yet to wake up to the fact that the thin gruel of political centrism belongs in the trashcan of history along with its economic twin, neoliberalism.

'Honest Joe' is the latest in a long line of out-of-touch Democrats who believe that shadow rather than substance is the way to the hearts of the American voting public. However, having been fooled once by an all singing and all dancing Barack Obama, who didn't so much campaign in poetry and govern in prose, as campaign in poetry and govern in graffiti, the same voting public is yearning for a semblance of substance.
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Attention

George Galloway to US: 'Fire on Iran and US will be opening the gates of hell'


RT
Fri, 21 Jun 2019 16:52 UTC
George Galloway
© Third SectorGeorge Galloway
George Galloway has warned the US and its allies in the Gulf that if they were to start "World War III" with an attack on Iran they will live to regret it because, unlike Iraq in 2003, they are capable of fighting back.

The Scottish firebrand, who famously took US lawmakers to task over the Iraq war when he testified in front of the senate in 2005, has given his take on the recent ratcheting-up of tension in the Gulf region after Iran shot down a US drone, which, it says, had entered its airspace.

Washington maintains its UAV was shot down while patrolling over international waters in an "unprovoked attack." On Friday President Donald Trump took to Twitter to claim the US were 10 minutes away from bombing three Iranian sites, before calling off the strikes. Galloway believes that many Iranians would see it as a great "pleasure to fight the United States and its allies in the region."

In a stark warning to US allies such as Qatar, the UAE and Saudia Arabia, Galloway insisted that any country that allows "its land to be used for the launching for an American attack on Iran will itself be immediately in flames."

The former Labour MP concludes his passionate message to the world by declaring: No more war. No more war in the Gulf. No war on Iran.

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Attention

Tbilisi protests blasted by Kremlin as 'Russophobic provocation'


RT
Fri, 21 Jun 2019 16:45 UTC
Tbilisi rally
© AFPPeople rally outside the parliament in Tbilisi on June 20, 2019.
Violent protests in Tbilisi are a 'Russophobic provocation' which raises serious concerns in Moscow due to Georgia being a popular destination for Russian tourists, the Kremlin has said.

Tensions between Tbilisi and Moscow spiked after the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO), which took place at the Georgian Parliament in the capital on Thursday.

IAO President and head of the Russian delegation, Sergei Gavrilov, delivered an opening speech at the summit, but several Georgian opposition MPs were offended with Gavrilov doing so from the parliament speaker's seat. During a break those MPs occupied the speaker's podium and prevented the session from continuing.

The opposition then called on people to take to the streets and by nightfall some 5,000 people had gathered outside the parliament building to chant anti-Russian slogans and denounce Gavrilov's behavior as offensive. There were also calls for local officials, who allowed the visit, to resign.

In a matter of hours, the demonstration turned into a full-scale anti-government rally, with police in full riot gear deployed to site. Latest reports state that some 240 people were injured in the clashes that followed, as police resorted to tear gas and rubber bullets to prevent the rioters from storming the parliament.

"What happened in Georgia yesterday is nothing, but a Russophobic provocation," Dmitri Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson said, adding that "aggressive manifestations against the Russian nationals" is a source for serious concern.

Comment: See also:

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Stop

Cautionary protocol: Putin bans Russian flights of its citizens to Georgia, starting July 8


RT
Fri, 21 Jun 2019 18:38 UTC
Putin Georgia crisis
President Putin issues ban on tourist flights to Georgia
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree prohibiting Russian airlines from transporting Russian citizens to Georgia from July 8. The decision comes after anti-government and anti-Russian protests in Tbilisi.

"Starting from July 8, Russian carriers are temporarily forbidden from undertaking air transportation of citizens from the territory of Russia to Georgia," the decree reads.

It also advised tour operators and travel agents to refrain from sending Russian tourists to the neighboring state while the ban is place. The restrictions were introduced in order to "ensure the national security of Russia [and] to protect Russian citizens from criminal and other unlawful actions."

The Russian government was also tasked with assuring the safe return of Russian citizens. Earlier on Friday, Russia's Foreign Ministry also issued a warning urging Russian citizens to refrain from traveling to Georgia "for their own security."

Comment: See also: Tbilisi protests come under Kremlin blast as 'Russophobic provocation'

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Igloo

US lawmakers want Arctic port locations, access to natural resources and thwart Russia/China presence


RT
Sat, 22 Jun 2019 10:12 UTC
Arctic ship
© AFP
US lawmakers want its military to challenge Russia and China on the high seas by finding one or more locations for a port that would help feed Washington's growing appetite for Arctic oil and other natural riches.

The National Defense Authorization Act 2020 (NDAA) suggests that the Coast Guard and other branches of the US military should identify and designate a new strategic port in the Arctic. It openly states that the move is meant to counter Russia's presence in the polar region.

Naturally, the bill - which will be voted on next week - stokes fears of Russia's military expansion at the world's northernmost region. Moscow, it points out, has around 40 icebreakers (whereas the US has just one) and "has made significant investments" in the creation of a new Arctic Command. It is also building or renovating 19 deep-water ports and 14 airfields in the region.

Another section of the bill warns that Russia has teamed up with China in exploring gas reserves in the Arctic, and here is where the proposal gets to the point. "The economic significance of the Arctic continues to grow as countries around the globe begin to understand the potential for maritime transportation through, and economic and trade development in, the region."

Comment: A look at Russia's Arctic military base 'Northern Clover':



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Better Earth

Duterte warning to China: Claiming S. China Sea may inspire an ocean-grabbing free-for-all


RT
Fri, 21 Jun 2019 16:52 UTC
Duterte
© UnknownPhilippines President Rodrigo Duterte
Ahead of this weekend's ASEAN summit, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte warned China that it should be wary over claiming contested waters for fear it would inspire others, including the US.

Speaking to media in Manilla on Friday, Duterte said he planned to talk "lengthily" about the issue of disputed waters in the South China Sea during the summit which will see southeast Asian economies descend on the Thai capital of Bangkok. However, before leaving, he said China should be careful about claiming entire bodies of water.

"My question to China, we're friends, but... is it correct for China to declare ownership of an ocean?" Duterte asked. He said that if this was the case, Manilla would happily do the same to other nearby seas and there was nothing to stop others from doing so. "Now I'm thinking of claiming the Sulu Sea as ours and you can't pass by there without permission from me."

"That is the danger," Duterte added, noting that the US could claim half the Pacific Ocean and other nations could equally claim various waters for their own.

Comment: See also:

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Bullseye

Exercising common sense: Trump makes a completely different US policy move - NOT to attack

Seraphim Hanisch
The Duran
Sat, 22 Jun 2019 19:07 UTC
Iran and US flags
President Trump called off a planned retaliatory strike against Iranian forces about ten minutes before it was supposed to begin. The reason ought to make everyone following this story pay attention. The American President thought that it was wrong to kill 150 people over the loss of an unmanned drone.

Fox News ran a piece on this, as did CNN, who oddly enough, reported this accurately. In fact, CNN's piece actually hit it out of the park, at least with this section of their piece:
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Alarm Clock

Elijah Magnier: Trump and Iran on edge of the abyss

Elijah J. Magnier
ejmagnier.com
Fri, 21 Jun 2019 18:45 UTC
Trump rouhani
Iran is pushing US President Donald Trump to the edge of the abyss, raising the level of tensions to new heights in the Middle East. After the sabotage of four tankers at al-Fujairah and the attack on the Aramco pipeline a month ago, and last week's attack on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC - now categorized by the USA as a terrorist body) yesterday shot down a US Navy drone, sending two clear messages. The first message is that Iran is ready for an all-out war, no matter what the consequences. The second message is that Iran is aware that the US President has cornered himself; the embarrassing attack came a week after Trump launched his electoral campaign.

According to well-informed sources, Iran rejected a proposal by US intelligence - made via a third party - that Trump be allowed to bomb one, two or three clear objectives, to be chosen by Iran, so that both countries could appear to come out as winners and Trump could save face. Iran categorically rejected the offer and sent its reply: even an attack against an empty sandy beach in Iran would trigger a missile launch against US objectives in the Gulf.

Iran is not inclined to help Trump come down from the tree he has climbed and would rather keep him confused and cornered. Furthermore, Iran would love to see Trump fail to win a second term, and will do everything to help oust him from the White House at the end of his mandate in 2020.
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Cult

June madness taking hold in Washington. Iranians, Russians and Britons beware!

Philip Giraldi
The Strategic Culture Foundation
Thu, 20 Jun 2019 18:09 UTC
white house lightning strike
© Flickr / amanjeev
It has been a lively June so far in light of Washington's apparent zeal to remake the world in its own image. There is considerable buzz among those networking in ex- or current government circles that the White House is preparing to "do something" about Iran. The recent incidents involving alleged attacks on Norwegian and Japanese tankers in the Gulf of Oman were immediately attributed to Iran by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with so little regard for evidence that even the compliant American media was left gasping. In its initial coverage of the story The New York Times inevitably echoed the administration's claims, but if one went to the readers' comments on the story fully 90% of those bothering to express an opinion decided that the tale was not credible for any number of reasons.

Several commenters brought up the completely phony Gulf of Tonkin incident of 1964 that led to the escalation of American involvement in Vietnam, a view that was expressed frequently in readers' comments both in the mainstream and alternative media. Others recalled instead the fake intelligence linking Iraq's Saddam Hussein with the 9/11 conspirators as well as the bogus reports of an Iraqi secret nuclear program and huge gliders capable to delivering biological weapons across the Atlantic Ocean.

Comment: Washington's Dr. Strangeloves: Is plunging Russia into darkness really a good idea?

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