Puppet MastersS


Propaganda

Nothing new: Washington autopsy files reveal RT founder Lesin sustained broken bone in neck

Mikhail Lesin
© Alexander Natruskin / ReutersMikhail Lesin was the mass media expert credited with inspiring the creation of Russia Today (now RT)
Mikhail Lesin, the former Russian press minister who turned up dead in a Washington hotel room in 2015, sustained a fracture to a neck bone just below the jaw line "at or near the time" of his death, according to documents released by the city's medical examiner that provide new details about his final days.

The finding does not provide clear-cut evidence of foul play in Lesin's death; another statement in the documents suggests the bone could have been damaged "after death" -- possibly during the autopsy.

Bomb

12 Huge bombshells in one week - but, "nothing's happening?"

corrupt capital
Twelve HUGE, damning bombshells dropped this week, spinning this storm into high gear. From the Lisa Page transcripts to McCain's connection to the dossier, a grand jury investigation into Facebook, massive NXIVM updates, Jeffrey Epstein back on the chopping block, and Andrew Weisman leaving special counsel. And, while Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was preparing her audition for her role as a congresswoman for New York, Paul Ryan was sabotaging democrat subpoenas. Meanwhile, Hollywood's being sliced and diced for paying off colleges and Ivy League Schools to get their children admitted. Of course, this is only the beginning of investigations into nefarious actions taking place in the upper echelons of colleges, and it's safe to say, politicians will surely make the list.

Who could forget the terrorist training camp discovered in New Mexico last year, where they had loads of guns and ammunition, along with a deceased child? The court dismissed three of the five, creating one hell of a stir in this country. Now, there is a superseding indictment charging all five with conspiracy to attack and kill officers and employees of the United States, along with multiple other charges.

While Congressman Jim Jordan was busy calling out Adam Schiff in a twitter frenzy this week, the Democrats, along with 12 Republicans voted to block the President's emergency at the southern border, which Trump immediately vetoed the following day, in his first veto as President.

But, "nothing's happening," right? Buckle up - this party is just getting started.

Quenelle - Golden

Best of the Web: Macron goes SKIING as Paris burns (again) during EIGHTEENTH straight weekend of Yellow Vest uprising

macron skiing
© DDM, Laurent DardEmmanuel Macron on the slopes of La Mongie ski resort in the Pyrenees this weekend
The art of timing, as demonstrated by Emmanuel Macron: With violence raging on the streets, the President of the Republic and his wife Brigitte decided to spend the weekend at the station of La Mongie (Haute-Pyrenees), reported La Depeche and France 3.

But according to BFMTV, the head of state will return sooner to face the crisis, as criticism mounts against Macron for insensitive to the ongoing protests.

The presidential couple has just returned from a trip to Kenya. But they were seen on Friday, March 15, by skiers, on the slopes and lifts. The press was kept away from the couple by the security services.

The president skied all morning, before stopping at l'Etape du Berger meeting one of his childhood friends, Eric Abadie. "I will spend two or three days here to recharge my batteries, to find landscapes and friendly faces," he told La Depeche. "You have to know where you come from. I am happy to see the Pyrenees like that, radiant, although I know it was difficult at Christmas. But there are people here, and Eric is an example, people who want to make things happen," he continued before returning to the slopes.

Bad Guys

Trump's muddled Middle East tactics pushing Assad and Erdogan into an alliance

Trump Erdogan
© Official White House Photo by Shealah CraigheadPresident Donald J. Trump and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey at the United Nations General Assembly
Trump's foreign policy gambles in the Middle East just continue to shake the region up, causing confusion, betrayal and, more recently, a new arms race which is all heading towards more bloodshed there, as ISIS appears to be in decline and Russia, Iran and Turkey continue to look like stronger players.

Despite Iran sanctions, Tehran continues to show its strength in its sheer resilience and its brash cavalier attitude towards other countries in the region; barely days after if foreign minister resigns - but then withdraws it - Iran's President Hassan Rouhani takes a trip to Iraq, to remind the Americans that Tehran still wields considerable power and influence there, as well as Syria, Lebanon and also Qatar and Turkey.

Comment: War does indeed make strange and ever-shifting bedfellows.


Russian Flag

Analyzing the current vectors of Russian military strategy development

Valery Gerasimov
Originally appeared at Red Star; Translated by J.Hawk exclusively for SouthFront

Army General Valeriy Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, spoke at the general assembly of the Academy of Military Sciences

The assembly had the format of a military science conference dealing with the development of military strategy in current conditions. The conference was opened by Army General Makhmut Gareev, the Academy's president. Participants included Academy members, leadership of the Ministry of Defense (MoD), representatives from the Presidential Administration, State Duma, and Federation Council, as well as the leading scientists from the Russian Academy of Science, universities, research institutes working for the MoD. They all discussed the nature of future wars, armed conflicts, and the most pressing defense problems.

The General Staff Chief and First Deputy Minister of Defense, Army General Gennadiy Gerasimov, presented a report on the main trends in the evolution of military strategy and the tasks facing military science. We are presenting this report for our readers.

We are currently seeing the development of the concept of conducting war through a coordinated application of military and non-military instruments, with the decisive role played by the Armed Forces.

Attention

Rejected, dejected and under deadline, May's pitch: Vote her deal or Brexit could take months, 'if ever'

EU Parliament
© Reuters/Vincent KesslerEU Parliament
Theresa May urged MPs "to do a patriotic thing" and vote for her Brexit deal unless they want leaving the EU to take months, "if ever." The last-ditch appeal comes as the Corbynites vow another confidence vote if the deal fails.

The UK prime minister didn't sit idle this weekend, trying to win the hearts and minds of stubborn MPs who last week rejected the Brexit deal she agreed on with the EU. If her plan is backed before Thursday's EU summit, she would seek "a short technical extension" beyond the March 29 deadline to leave the bloc, May wrote in the Sunday Telegraph.

Admitting that it will not be "an ideal outcome," May argued that "it is something the British people would accept if it led swiftly to delivering Brexit." Otherwise, "we will not leave the EU for many months, if ever."

That aside, the British people face the prospect of going to the polls to elect members of the European Parliament in May - an obligation which comes with the UK's extended membership in the EU.

"There could be no more potent symbol of Parliament's collective political failure," the Prime Minister wrote.

Comment: See also:


Stock Down

Trump's trade war cost US economy $7.8B in 2018

US shipping
© Getty Images
America's trade war resulted in $7.8 billion in losses for the nation's economy, while the subsequent higher costs of imports took more than $68 billion from consumers and producers, economists at leading US universities found.

Imports from targeted countries declined 31.5 percent, while targeted US exports fell by 11 percent, the evaluation of the short-term impact of trade conflicts with partners across the globe has shown.

The findings were presented in a study titled 'The Return to Protectionism', written by researchers from Yale, Columbia, UCLA, and the University of California, Berkeley. The paper was published by the National Bureau of Economic Research earlier in March.

While $7.8 billion is a relatively small figure for the country's whole economy, amounting to 0.04 percent of GDP, the authors note that American "consumers bear the incidence of the tariff." Annual consumer and producer losses from the higher costs of imports totaled $68.8 billion, or 0.37 percent of GDP.

'Republican counties bore the largest cost of the full war'

While "all but 30 counties experience a reduction in tradeable real income," Trump's actions surprisingly brought the largest losses to GOP counties, according to the research.

Light Saber

Turkey and Russia prepare to reopen M5 highway in northern Syria - connect Aleppo to Gaziantep, Turkey

Turkish soldiers syria
© Agence France-Presse /Ilyas AkenginTurkish army soldiers stand guard as Kurdish people wait in a hope to enter Cizre, a town subject to a curfew as part of a controversial operation against Kurdish rebels, on March 22, 2016 in Mardin, for Newroz celebration.
Turkey and Russia are in the process of reopening an imperative highway that links the cities of Aleppo, Syria and Gaziantep, Turkey.

According to a government source that spoke on the condition of anonymity, the Russian and Turkish armed forces are working to restore access to the Aleppo-Gaziantep Highway as the situation along the border begins to calm down.

The source said Turkish and Russian armed forces met earlier this week to discuss logistics and map out a plan to install checkpoints from Kilis to Aleppo city.

Comment: Another step in Russia's plan to restore normality to Syrian life. Opening the highway will restore and support economic activity in the area for returning refugees.


NPC

Russiagate forger Chris Steele admits he used unverified internet post to create Trump dossier

Trump
© Reuters / Jonathan Ernst
Donald Trump has once again lashed out at his political opponents after the ex-spy responsible for the infamous 'Steele dossier' admitted that he used an unverified internet post as a source while compiling the dubious document.

Christopher Steele, the ex-British spy who fueled Russiagate hysteria with his DNC-commissioned opposition research on Donald Trump, admitted during a lawsuit deposition that he relied on unverified information contained in a report published by CNN iReport - a now-defunct "user-generated" news site. Stories featured on iReport were submitted by citizen journalists and were not edited, fact-checked, or screened before being published.

Steele acknowledged under questioning that he had used a July 28, 2009 report published on iReport to substantiate claims he made about internet hosting company Webzilla and its alleged Kremlin ties. However, the former British intel officer insisted that he thought iReport boasted the same thorough journalistic standards as CNN.

When asked if he understood that content on the site was not generated by CNN reporters, he said, "I do not." He was then asked: "Do you understand that they have no connection to any CNN reporters?" Steele replied, "I do not."

Video

Best of the Web: Hollywood's 'Captain Marvel' blockbuster is the latest US military propaganda push

captain marvel military propaganda
© US Department of DefenseScreenshot from the US Department of Defense website
The Pentagon was deeply involved in the production of the hit Hollywood film Captain Marvel, and is using the movie to spread recruitment propaganda.

The superhero blockbuster Captain Marvel is a perfect case study for how the United States military uses Hollywood to spread propaganda.

The US military is at the center of the plot of Captain Marvel. The film's protagonist, Carol Danvers, is a former US Air Force pilot who becomes a superhero after absorbing the powers of an advanced technology created by another US military scientist. (That scientist happens to be a member of the advanced alien race known as the Kree, who for unexplained reasons decided to do groundbreaking military research for, of all the myriad places in the universe, the US of A).

As soon as the film opens, it bombards viewers with two hours of non-stop US military propaganda. And it is not even subtle; at the plot's climax, Captain Marvel changes the colors of her suit to match those of the American flag.

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