Puppet MastersS


Arrow Down

Trump cuts all aid programs to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador


RT
Sat, 30 Mar 2019 22:07 UTC
2 migrants fence
© Reuters/Alexandre MeneghiniA migrant speaks to journalists at a shelter in Piedras Negras, Mexico, February 13, 2019.
US President Donald Trump has ordered to cut all aid programs for the so-called Northern Triangle nations over the migrant inflow into the US. Washington is often criticized for worsening the conditions that force people to flee.

"We are carrying out the President's direction and ending FY [fiscal year] 2017 and FY 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle," a State Department spokesperson told the media. "We will be engaging Congress as part of this process," she added.

Earlier, Trump himself told journalists that he "ended payments to Guatemala, to Honduras, and to El Salvador. No money goes there anymore." He also accused the Central American countries of not doing "a thing for us." The president also turned to Twitter to lambaste the three nations, along with Mexico, over their failure to stop illegal immigration into the US.

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Binoculars

Right time, right place? Ukraine's election watch with its far-right monitors


RFE/RL
Sun, 31 Mar 2019 14:31 UTC
Yuriy Petrenko
© Christopher Miller/RFE/RLYuriy Petrenko, a member of the National Militia, monitors voting at School No.14 in Podil, in Kyiv, on March 31.
At School No. 14 in the Podil district of Ukraine's capital, Yuriy Petrenko cranes his neck to peer over the shoulder of polling station chief Iryna Podlesna as she unlocks a safe, pulls out a stack of the 83-centimeter-long ballots, and hands it to a colleague.

Petrenko looks like any other monitor who's here to observe today's presidential voting. A first-time observer, he has a pen and a pad of paper to note any suspicious activities. He has access to the list of the 2,252 voters registered to vote here. And he has an identification badge stamped by the Central Election Commission that officially grants him the right to watch over four ballot boxes and the vote tally once polls close at 8 p.m. local time.

But take a closer look at the lanyard around his neck that holds that badge and it becomes clear he is no run-of-the-mill election monitor.

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Magnify

N. Korea demands probe into 'grave terrorist attack' on its Madrid mission


RT
Sun, 31 Mar 2019 08:50 UTC
NK embassyMadrid
© Sergio Perez/ReutersA police car outside the North Korea's embassy in Madrid, Spain. February 28, 2019.
North Korea called on Spain to conduct a thorough investigation into a raid on its mission in Madrid, which was said to be done by FBI-linked dissidents, now hiding in the US.

Pyongyang asked Spain to investigate the "grave terrorist attack" and "flagrant violation of international law," state-run KCNA news agency reported. "This kind of act should never be tolerated," the statement read.

It was the first time North Korean officials have commented on the mysterious break-in at its mission in Madrid on February 22. A group of intruders subdued and tied up the staff before stealing a number of electronic devices and a trove of documents from the building. They also reportedly tried to persuade a North Korean attaché to defect. A video, allegedly filmed during the break-in, shows men taking down portraits of North Korean leaders and smashing them on the ground.

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Arrow Up

With Mueller done, Trump should seize the opportunity to improve relations with Russia

Daniel R. Depetris
The American Conservative
Thu, 28 Mar 2019 00:00 UTC
trumPutin
© Unknown
Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation is over, and the results could not be more of a relief for President Donald Trump: no collusion with the Russian government and not enough evidence for an obstruction of justice charge. It was unquestionably good news for the president and for Republicans on Capitol Hill who have lashed their own political futures to Trump.

The report is also a plus for the country - not only because Washington won't be consumed with a constitutional crisis anytime soon, but also because it provides the Trump administration with its first opportunity to settle on a Russia policy without the risk of an extreme political backlash.

U.S.-Russia relations were already in the tank before Trump was sworn into office. Russian President Vladimir Putin's return to the Kremlin after a four-year hiatus as prime minister was like a wet blanket over the fire of an otherwise productive detente between the two former Cold War adversaries. Putin took what had been a relatively productive period with the Americans (deals had been struck on a variety of issues, including New START, the use of Russian air routes into Afghanistan, counterterrorism cooperation, ever-stronger U.N. Security Council sanctions on Iran) into a deep freeze in less than a year. Russia's annexation of Crimea, military support to separatists in Eastern Ukraine, campaign on behalf of the Assad regime in Syria, and interference in European politics all contributed to the unhealthy discourse. Putin's active measures operation during the 2016 U.S. presidential election reaffirmed what so many officials in Washington already believed: Putin is out to attack American democracy and challenge the U.S. in multiple theaters.


Comment: This only shows how successful the Western propaganda campaign has been on even those Americans who retain a bit of common sense. Yes, all of these actions of Putin have 'contributed' to the bad relations, but only because they were responses to American decisions in the first place: for 'democracy promotion' in Ukraine, leading to an illegal coup; and supporting terrorists in Syria to remove Assad from power and destabilize the region. And there is no evidence of 'active measures' against the 2016 elections. No, Putin isn't out to attack American democracy, though he is more than willing to challenge the U.S. when it engages in imperial escapades the world over.


Comment: Should Trump explore collaboration with Russia? A 'yes' answer would not only vindicate the insanity of the Left, it would likely reenergize the Trump Puppet accusations and continue the political circus. If answered 'no', Trump betrays his original instincts and bows to the neocon/Israeli agenda - to the detriment of the USA and all its global victims.

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Arrow Up

What did CIA-linked Nellie tell DOJ hubby Bruce? All her anti-Trump research!

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Thu, 28 Mar 2019 17:25 UTC
NelliGlennBruce
© Getty Images; AP; The Epoch TimesNellie Ohr • Glenn Simpson • Bruce Ohr
The wife of former Justice Department #4 official Bruce Ohr conducted extensive opposition research on Trump family members and campaign aides while working for Fusion GPS - the firm paid by the Clinton campaign to produce a 'salacious and unverified' Russian-sourced dossier which would later be used against Trump and his campaign.

According to a newly released transcript of Nellie Ohr's closed-door Congressional testimony, Ohr - who speaks fluent Russian, explored relationships between then-candidate Donald Trump and Russian organized crime, according to Fox News.

"I was asked to research Trump's family broadly in connection with any--any Russian connections," Ohr stated, adding that she "did some research on all of them, but not in much depth."

Ohr explained that she researched Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, specifically their "travels."

She added that she was looking "to see whether they were involved in dealings and transactions with people who had suspicious pasts, or suspicious types of dealings."

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Oscar

Exit poll predicts actor-comedian Zelenskyy to win first round of Ukrainian presidential election


RFE/RL
Sun, 31 Mar 2019 19:09 UTC
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
© Valentyn Ogirenko / ReutersVolodymyr Zelenskyy
An initial joint national exit poll predicts comic actor Volodymyr Zelenskyy will win the first round of Ukraine's presidential election with 30.4 percent of the vote, ahead of the incumbent Petro Poroshenko with 17.8 percent.

The poll puts former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko third with 14.2 percent.

If the polling data are confirmed by official results, Zelenskyy and Poroshenko will advance to a runoff on April 21.

Zelenskyy, who stars on a TV comedy series about a teacher who becomes president after a video of him denouncing corruption goes viral, has tapped into public frustration in Ukraine over the pace of reforms and fighting corruption.

Poroshenko has fought to integrate the country with the European Union and NATO, while strengthening the military which is fighting Russia-backed separatists in the east of the country.

Comment: A comic actor? Sounds like Poroshenko! On the bright side, Zelenskyy probably can't do much worse than Poroshenko, if he can overcome the election rigging.

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Jet5

Israel may have used F-35 jets to bomb Aleppo


Al Masdar News
Sat, 30 Mar 2019 18:37 UTC
Erdogan planira kupiti 120 američkih zrakoplova F-35
For the first time this year, the Israeli Air Force has bombed the northern region of Syria, but the attack itself remains rather mysterious.

For one, a source from the Syrian military said they had no idea that an Israeli aircraft was anywhere near the Aleppo Governorate, let alone, inside of Syria.

Two, Israel has not officially taken responsibility for the attack on Syria's Aleppo Governorate, despite some hints by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Iran is constantly trying to place in Syria precision long-range missile [sic] that are very advanced and highly lethal missiles. We are not prepared to accept this. Our activity against Iran's attempt to establish military bases in Syria and to place advanced weapons there continues all the time", he said, as quoted by the Reuters News Agency.

However, a few days after the attack, some photos were released showing the aftermath of the Israeli bombing on the Sheikh Najjar District of Aleppo city.

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Gold Seal

Best of the Web: Maria Zakharova Places Russiagate Blame Squarely on American Presstitutes

Seraphim Hanisch
The Duran
Sat, 30 Mar 2019 18:06 UTC
Maria Zakharova Russiagate
© Vesti NewsMinistry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova
Zakharova: "When you say the right rests with those who are strong, you imply that the strong is also smart."

During this last week, most of the reaction from Russian news media to the conclusion of the Russiagate (hoax) investigation was rather factually based, simply with reports on what happened, and the reactions of people within the United States.

However, there certainly is a reaction to this mess from the halls of power in Russia, and on March 27, Maria Zakharova, the Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, gave hers on Russia One's Vesti News' program 60 Minutes. She had a lot to say:
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Question

Indian missile fired before Mi17 V5 chopper crash in Budgam

Manu Pubby
The Economic Times
Sun, 31 Mar 2019 17:49 UTC
Mi 17 V 5 helicopter shot down india
A slow moving target like the Mi 17 V 5 helicopter could potentially be mistaken for a low flying armed UAV homing into an air base, according to these sources.
Investigators have found that an Indian air defence missile was fired shortly before the crash of a Mi17 V5 helicopter at Budgam, near Srinagar on February 27, which resulted in the deaths of six air force personnel and a citizen on ground. The investigators are examining the sequence of events which preceded the crash.

The final moments preceding the crash, including if the IFF (Identity, Friend or Foe) systems were switched on or not, are being carefully looked at to determine what went wrong. The air force brass, highly placed sources told ET, has made it clear that it would not shy away from initiating court martial proceedings against personnel if they are found blameworthy in the inquiry.

Comment: Relations between India and Pakistan are still jittery after last month's confrontation near Kashmir.

Surgical Strikes 2.0? India bombs Pakistan, saying it targeted terrorist camps in cross-border air raid - UPDATES

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Fire

The Democrats are self-destructing over the Mueller Report

Paul Craig Roberts
The Institute for Political Economy
Thu, 28 Mar 2019 16:56 UTC
TrumpBarr
© wikimediaPresident Donald Trump • Attorney General William Barr
The Democrats cannot stop making fools of themselves. Thom Hartmann is an example. He writes for Common Dreams and has a progressive talk radio program. During the George W. Bush regime I was a frequent guest on his program. It was OK to tell the truth about the Bush regime's deceits and illegal wars of aggression. But telling the truth about the Obama regime's deceits and illegal wars of aggression left me unqualified for his program.

Hartmann, like the rest of them, will never escape from Democratic partisanship. He asserts that Attorney General William Barr, who he calls "cover-up general" covered up Mueller's Russiagate report. Hartmann seems to think that Mueller found all sorts of damning evidence against Trump, but we will never know because Barr, "without showing us even a single complete sentence from the Mueller report decided that there are no crimes here." He accuses Barr of "burying Mueller's report and cherry-picking fragments of sentences from it to justify Trump's behavior." He tells his readers that "Barr's history of doing just this sort of thing to help Republican presidents in legal crises explains why Trump brought him back in to head the Justice Department."
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