Puppet MastersS


Eye 1

China's 'Smart' surveillance tech arrives in Darwin, Australia

Will Zwar
NT News
Tue, 09 Apr 2019 03:12 UTC
australia surveillance
© Glenn CampbellCity of Darwin GM for innovation , growth and development Josh Sattler as Darwin council are nearly finished installing smart street lights and smart park lights.
DARWIN council will use Chinese inspired surveillance technology to gather data on what people are doing on their phones and to put up "virtual fences" that will instantly trigger an alert if crossed.

The concept for the "Smart technology" comes from Shenzhen and has seen facial recognition surveillance to create a controversial social credit system where people earn or lose points based on the way they behave.

Council's Innovation, Growth and Development Services general manager Josh Sattler said the poles, fitted with speakers, cameras and Wi-Fi, would allow council to gain data on how many people walk on what footpaths and where they use certain websites and apps in the city.

Comment: As with most technology, the real worry lies with who's operating it and for what purposes: Also check out SOTT radio's: The Truth Perspective: How To Survive A Totalitarian Nightmare: The Psychology Of Tyranny

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Bad Guys

SOTT Focus: Craig Murray: The Violent Coup Attempt in Venezuela Forces a Binary Choice


Craig Murray
Wed, 01 May 2019 20:27 UTC
biggest oil reserves
When a CIA-backed military coup is attempted by a long term CIA puppet, roared on by John Bolton and backed with the offer of Blackwater mercenaries, in the country with the world's largest oil reserves, I have no difficulty whatsoever in knowing which side I am on.

Juan Guaido has been groomed for 15 years as a long-term CIA project. His coup attempt yesterday, which so far appears to have stalled, was the culmination of these efforts to return Venezuela's oil reserves to US hegemony.

It is strange how the urgent installation of liberal democracy by force correlates so often with oil reserves not aligned to the USA, as in Libya, Iraq or Venezuela, while countries with massive oil reserves which permit US military domination and align with the West and Israel can be as undemocratic as they wish, eg Saudi Arabia. Venezuela is an imperfect democracy but it is far, far more of a democracy than Saudi Arabia and with a much better human rights record. The hypocrisy of Western media and politicians is breathtaking.
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V

Marco Rubio experiences torrential smackdown following his Tweet storm supporting Guaido


RT
Wed, 01 May 2019 19:33 UTC
Marco Rubio
© Reuters / Edgard GarridoUS Senator Marco Rubio visits the Colombia-Venezuela border on the outskirts of Cucuta, Colombia, on February 17, 2019.
US Senator Marco Rubio has emerged as a primary backer of the ongoing attempted coup in Venezuela, as he rushed to Twitter to show his support for Washington protégé Juan Guaido - and faced much criticism from the Twitteratti.

The Florida Republican spared no effort in promoting the coup attempt, which was staged by Guaido earlier on Tuesday, as he (Rubio) wrote dozens of tweets calling on almost literally every single person in Venezuela (except probably for President Nicolas Maduro himself) to support what he called an "effort to restore democracy."


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Snakes in Suits

Pompeo: US military action possible in Venezuela 'if that's what's required'


RT
Wed, 01 May 2019 11:36 UTC
Soldiers atop car
© Reuters/Carlos Eduardo RamirezSoldiers ride on top of a car with supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido (not pictured), Caracas, Venezuela April 30, 2019.
Washington is open for "military action" in dealing with Venezuela's crisis, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced. Softening his war-mongering rhetoric, he said that a peaceful option is still more preferable.

Pompeo said in an interview on Fox News:
"If the question is, is the United States prepared to consider military action if that's what it takes to restore the democracy there in Venezuela, the [US] president's been consistent and unambiguous about that, that the option to use military force is available if that's what is ultimately called for."
Pompeo had appeared earlier on CNN and claimed that President Nicolas Maduro was about to flee from Caracas to Cuba but, at the last moment, Moscow convinced him to stay. The remarks were instantly mocked on social media.

The claims were also quickly refuted by both Venezuela and Russia. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza blasted the US official for "making up fake news," while the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Washington is waging an "information war" in hopes of sowing discord in the South American country.

Comment: See also:

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Blue Planet

Iranian FM Zarif tells CBS: Iran is a 'force for stability in the region'


Sputnik
Mon, 29 Apr 2019 01:48 UTC
Zarif
© AFP 2019/Atta KenareIranian FM Javad Zarif
Javad Zarif has noted the role that Iran plays in the Middle East region, while criticising the US, who sees itself as a "force for good" despite "aligning with the wrong people".

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif outlined Iranian foreign and military priorities in an interview with CBS Sunday.

"You see, we are operating in our own region. That's why it's called the Persian Gulf, not the Gulf of Mexico. We are operating in our own region. We are a force for stability in our region. History shows that", Zarif said.

Talking to Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan, Zarif contrasted Iranian conduct with that of the US, who operates far from its shores. "The United States is operating far from its shores, in our region", he said.

According to Zarif, Iran's military goal is fighting terrorism in the region. "We have been helpful everywhere. We have fought terrorism in Syria. We have fought terrorism in Iraq", he said.
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Russian Flag

Russia's fast track to citizenship is offered to more Ukrainians, despite escalating passport row


RT
Wed, 01 May 2019 12:03 UTC
PutinPassportZelenskiy
© Chronical Herald/Moscow Times/Daily MailRussian President Vladimir Putin • Ukranian President-elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy
More Ukrainian citizens will be eligible to apply for Russian citizenship under a fast-track procedure starting Wednesday. Moscow and Kiev have been verbally sparring over the issue for a week now.

Last Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree, which allowed people living in rebel-held parts of eastern Ukraine to apply for Russian citizenship under a simplified procedure. The move was justified by humanitarian reasons, Moscow explained, but Kiev denounced it as an act of aggression. The situation even ignited a verbal duel through the media between Putin and Ukrainian President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Russian leader upped the ante by saying the same fast-track option may be offered to all Ukrainian citizens and now seems to have partially delivered on the promise by signing a new decree, which made more Ukrainian citizens eligible for the program.

Comment: See also:

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Pirates

Trump lambastes European nations for refusing return of their ISIS fighters

Nikki Schwab
New York Post
Tue, 30 Apr 2019 02:13 UTC
Trump/ISIS
© Your News WirePresident Donald Trump
President Trump slammed America's European allies for not taking back their ISIS fighters.

"We have 1,800 ISIS Prisoners taken hostage in our final battles to destroy 100% of the Caliphate in Syria. Decisions are now being made as to what to do with these dangerous prisoners," Trump tweeted Tuesday.

"European countries are not helping at all, even though this was very much done for their benefit. They are refusing to take back prisoners from their specific countries," Trump continued. "Not good!"

Officials in a handful of European countries have called for stripping ISIS members of their passports, including Denmark, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. But in January, France agreed to take 130 of its citizens who had been fighting in Syria for the Islamic State.
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Bad Guys

Meet Leopoldo Lopez, co-author of Venezuela's failed coup


teleSUR
Wed, 01 May 2019 19:11 UTC
Leopoldo Lopez
Using a variety of tactics to undermine his opponents, the savvy businessman spent several years attempting to cement his family's presence in the Venezuelan political scene.

In the history of U.S.-backed failed coup attempts in Latin America, the so-called "Operation Freedom" will be remembered as a military operation which had only one real achievement: moving opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez from his house arrest to the streets of Caracas.

This politician was a leading figure in the 2014 far-right violent demonstrations against President Nicolas Maduro. Due to his participation in criminal incitement activities, he was initially sentenced to 14-years in prison but was later released to house arrest in 2017.
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Piggy Bank

EU chastises Poland over lack of 'contribution' to Europe, its use as a cash cow


RT
Wed, 01 May 2019 14:30 UTC
EU/PoleFlags
© Global Look Press/Omar Marques
The EU Commission berated Poland for its approach to the union, accusing it of using the bloc as a "money machine" to improve its economy, while doing very little to contribute to the "future of Europe."

"The EU is not just a money machine, a cow that you can milk," European Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen said Wednesday. "We are expecting a more substantial contribution from Poland for the future of Europe." EU membership has helped Poland greatly and its "economic development has been remarkable," he added.

While the "future of Europe" part is rather vague, Katainen's description of the bloc as Poland's "cash cow" might not be that far-fetched. For example, the EU spent nearly €12 billion (US$13.49bn) on Poland in 2017, while Poland only contributed €3 billion to the EU. Since it became an EU member in 2004, Warsaw has received over €100 billion from the bloc.

Katainen also complained that the EU's pressure on Poland to change its behavior has been very ineffective and has yielded virtually nothing so far.
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Star of David

Caught on video: Israeli rabbis praise Hitler at military prep school

Jonathan Ofir
Mondoweiss
Tue, 30 Apr 2019 00:00 UTC
Bnei David academy
© YouTubeStudents at the Bnei David pre-army academy
Yesterday, Israeli Channel 13 aired video recordings by rabbi educators at the state-sponsored military prep-academy Bnei David in the West Bank settlement of Eli. The rabbis hail Hitler's Nazi racist ideology as "100% correct", only criticizing it for not being applied to the right people - that is, the Jews should be the master-race, and non-Jews the 'untermenschen'.

The statements are jaw-droppers. The full coverage with subtitles can be seen in a video prepared by journalist David Sheen. (below)

These educators send young men to the army, and have been advocating these ideas for years. They have close ties to lawmakers, specifically to Rabbi Rafi Peretz, now head of the Union of Right Wing Parties, the notorious merger with the Kahanist party Jewish Power, who is now the leading candidate for Minister of Education. The academy is also tied to a Yeshiva, to which many students come after their military service.

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