Puppet MastersS


Bad Guys

US commander of NATO forces in Europe insists Euro-Atlantic vassals maintain hostile relations with Russia


RFE/RL
Thu, 14 Mar 2019 17:10 UTC
U.S. Army General Curtis Scaparrotti
U.S. Army General Curtis Scaparrotti
The commander of NATO forces in Europe, U.S. General Curtis Scaparrotti, has said that Russia continues to be the "primary threat" to Euro-Atlantic security and voiced concern about Moscow's military modernization program.

Speaking on March 13 at a hearing in the House of Representatives, Scaparrotti also said Russia seeks to undermine any steps toward Euro-Atlantic integration in the Balkans using disinformation and backing extremist forces throughout the region.

"Russia has continued its reemergence as strategic competitor and remains the primary threat to a stable Euro-Atlantic security environment," Scaparrotti told the House Committee on Armed Services.

Comment: Looks like the US has been putting pressure on Europe lately to try and counter the thawing of any tensions with Russia. This campaign may very well be related to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline nearing completion:

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Star of David

Israeli intelligence firm releases satellite images supposedly revealing Iranian missile plant in Syria


Sputnik
Thu, 14 Mar 2019 17:15 UTC
david's sling missile system
© AP Photo / Ministry of Defense
Earlier, Israeli media claimed that Iran, the Syrian government and Hezbollah were building a secret "precision missile factory" in western Syria.

Israeli satellite intelligence firm ImageSat International has released satellite images of what it says are "probably" indications of a missile production facility outside Safita, a Syrian town in southeast Tartous about 100 km from the Lebanese border.

According to the company, an analysis of "the construction patterns, the compound location and the activity" at the site signal "the probability that this is a missiles manufacturing site."
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Eye 1

Best of the Web: 'Influencing human behavior': UK MoD-funded psychological warfare research project leaked


RT
Thu, 14 Mar 2019 17:03 UTC
group of people
© Global Look Press / West Coast Surfer
The UK Defense Ministry is actively looking for a contractor for its new psychological research, which is allegedly aimed at boosting troops' performance and well-being. Some details of the project are quite unnerving, though.

The ministry's agency known as the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) has been seeking contributions from specialists in the fields of psychiatry, neuroscience and social sciences that would help the military shape its future strategies and policies. The University of Cambridge was particularly shortlisted by the DSTL among the four organizations it said were eligible for taking part in an almost £70 million ($92.4 million) research program known as the Human and Social Sciences Research Capability (HSSRC).

At first glance, the whole study appears to be mostly aimed at supporting the troops and improving their performance in the rapidly changing environment of the "21th century in the UK and globally." Five out of six research areas listed in the Cambridge tender bid that gives a detailed insight into what appears to be the nature of the project are dealing with typical personnel issues pretty much every country's military could face nowadays.

The list includes providing "novel approaches... to support delivery of a sufficient, capable, motivated and cost-efficient workforce," helping the military to develop necessary skills, optimizing personnel performance and improving the troops' psychological and physical health.
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Bad Guys

European Parliament votes to increase funding for task force to counter nonexistent Russian disinformation

Rikard Jozwiak
RFE/RL
Thu, 14 Mar 2019 16:51 UTC
fake news
A recommendation by the European Parliament calls Russia "the main source of disinformation in Europe" and appeals for increased funding for the European Union's antipropaganda East StratCom Task Force.

European lawmakers late last year granted the East StratCom Task Force 1.1 million euros ($1.3 million) annually from the EU budget and it is likely that the group will get a marginal increase this year.

The recommendation was passed with an overwhelming majority of votes.

Comment: In short the European Parliament wants a task force to spread disinformation under the phony guise of stopping nonexistent 'hostile propaganda' from Russia.

See also:
European Parliament bows to US masters, seeks hostile relations with Russia

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War Whore

Western aggression: Pentagon plans to start testing missiles that have been banned for 30 years

Robert Burns
Associated Press
Wed, 13 Mar 2019 16:49 UTC
trump
© AP Photo/ Evan Vucci
The Pentagon plans to begin flight tests this year of two types of missiles that have been banned for more than 30 years by a treaty from which both the United States and Russia are expected to withdraw in August, defense officials said Wednesday.

By moving forward with these missile projects, the Pentagon is not excluding the possibility that the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty could still survive, although it likely will be terminated in August. At that point, Washington and Moscow would no longer face legal constraints on deploying land-based cruise or ballistic missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers (310 to 3,410 miles). The INF treaty has been in effect since 1987.

The INF treaty was an arms control landmark in the final years of the Cold War, but it began unraveling several years ago when Washington accused Russia of developing, testing and, more recently, deploying a cruise missile that U.S. officials say violates the treaty. Russia denies the violation and contends the U.S. accusation is a ploy to destroy the treaty.


Comment: Where is the proof that Russia is doing any of these things? The US accuses Russia of something, provides no proof, then announces it's doing the very thing it is accusing Russia of doing. The US is basically the kindergarten version of diplomacy at this stage.


Intermediate-range weapons are regarded as particularly destabilizing because of the short time they take to reach a target.
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Chess

EU Parliament wants to suspend negotiations with Turkey over membership


European Parliament
Thu, 14 Mar 2019 16:22 UTC
European Union Parliament
The European Union Parliament
Following years of severe political and democratic backsliding, the European Parliament recommended suspending EU accession negotiations with Turkey.

The European Parliament remains seriously concerned about Turkey's poor track record in upholding human rights, the rule of law, media freedom and the fight against corruption, as well as its all-powerful presidential system.

In a resolution adopted on Wednesday by 370 votes in favour, 109 against with 143 abstentions, MEPs welcome Turkey's decision, last year, to lift the state of emergency introduced after the failed coup attempt in 2016. However, they regret that many of the powers granted to the President and executive following the coup attempt remain in place, and continue to limit freedom and basic human rights in the country. MEPs express great concern about the shrinking space for civil society in the country, as a large number of activists, journalists and human rights defenders are currently in jail.

Taking into account the human rights situation and the new Turkish constitution, the European Parliament recommends that the current EU accession negotiations with Turkey be formally suspended.

Comment: The possibility of EU membership has been used both as a carrot and a stick to try to control Turkey's behavior. Perhaps the prize is not so valuable any more, as Russia is offering a more equal relationship? The West is having quiet conniption fits over a potential major geopolitical realignment in Asia Minor. Military alliances seem to be on the table too:

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Bad Guys

Best of the Web: We are being lied into war again

Lee Camp
truthdig
Wed, 13 Mar 2019 18:08 UTC
Mike Pompeo
© CNN screen shotSecretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared on CNN's "State of the Union" to give host Jake Tapper the Trump administration's take on Venezuela.
I was 23 when we invaded Iraq, and I wasn't sure it was based on lies, but something deep down in me told me it was based on lies. Kinda like if your blind date shows up and you notice he has a 2004 flip phone.

It seems vaguely worrisome, and no explanation he can haltingly supply will put you at ease. Plus, anyone else who acts like it's normal also becomes suspect.

The invasion of Iraq just felt like it was a lie to me. And it turned out that I was right, that it was a lie, and that the entirety of the mainstream media and our government were either wrong or lying and, most of the time, both.

Now our government and our media are trying their damnedest to lie us into another war, this one with Venezuela. They tell us the Venezuelan people are desperate for necessities like toothpaste, while independent journalists show piles of affordable toothpaste in Caracas.

Comment: WW1 too. The Lusitania was lured into a trap by British and American spooks. "Live bait," Churchill called it.

Check out The American Trajectory: Divine or Demonic by David Ray Griffin for the full history of US false-flag attacks to justify America's aggressive wars.

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Question

Will Trudeau follow Washington's lead on Cuba?

Pablo Vivanco
RT
Thu, 14 Mar 2019 15:48 UTC
trudeau
© AFP / POOL / ENRIQUE DE LA OSA
The Liberal government's hostility toward Venezuela is leading to tensions between Canada and its primary tourist destination.

"Viva Prime Minister Fidel Castro! Viva the Cuban-Canadian friendship," Trudeau belted to applause and enthusiastic retorts of 'viva!' from the thousands of Cubans that came to hear him speak on his first visit to the island.

This was of course Pierre Elliott Trudeau, father of current Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, on his 1976 tour.

Trudeau Sr. charted a foreign policy for Canada that earned him few fans in Washington, establishing relations with Mao's China but also bolstering ties with Cuba.

After his visit, the first by a Western leader to revolutionary Cuba, the late Canadian politician maintained a close friendship with Fidel Castro, and the iconic Cuban leader even travelled to Ottawa in 2000 to be one of Trudeau's pallbearers.
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Snakes in Suits

Report: Mueller may be wrapping up as "Pitbull" Weissmann to step down

Sara Carter
SaraACarter.com
Thu, 14 Mar 2019 15:41 UTC
Andrew Weissmann
Andrew Weissmann
Special Counsel Robert Mueller's top prosecutor Andrew Weissmann will by leaving his role at the special counsel's office and Justice Department soon, to the Special Counsel's office.

Special Counsel spokesman Peter Carr told SaraACarter.com that "Andrew Weissmann will be concluding his detail to the Special Counsel's Office in the near future." Carr did not elaborate on whether or not Mueller's Special Counsel will be wrapping up.

Weissmann, described by The New York Times as Mueller's "Pitbull" for his style and tactics of prosecuting cases. In 2015 Weissmann was selected to run the Department of Justice's criminal fraud section and was later handpicked by Mueller to join the ongoing Special Counsel's Office investigation into the alleged obstruction and alleged collusion between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.

Comment: So far the Mueller prosecutions have yielded weak-sauce results. It has only managed to convict minor players of process crimes that had nothing to do with "Russian collusion". Weismann may have a fearsome reputation as a prosecutor, but his methods are almost certainly unethical. So are his political affiliations considering the position he held.

From American Thinker:
  • In 1997 Andrew Weissmann was officially reprimanded by a judge in the Eastern District of New York for withholding evidence.
  • Weissmann was reported to the Department of Justice Inspector General and Senate Judiciary Committee for alleged "corrupt legal practices."
  • A formal letter from U.S. Attorney Eastern District of New York Zachary Carter requested the judge to remove Weissman's name, according to documents.
  • Civil rights and Criminal Defense Attorney David Schoen said Weissmann needs to be investigated for alleged past misconduct in court cases.
Weissmann has this history of not turning over exculpatory evidence to the extent that he has been blasted by other judges, even though the law tells him to do so. There's also Weissmann's willing to take down whole companies to get a collar as well. And according to the Daily Beast, there is Weissmann's crony closeness to Obama's lieutenants such as Obama Attorney General Loretta Lynch from his Brooklyn prosecutor days. Does this sound like someone who's fit for his job as dispassionate prosecutor in the nominally non-partisan Special Counsel's office?


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Star of David

More Bibi bluster: Netanyahu warns Hezbollah cell exposed in Syria 'just tip of iceberg'


Source
Thu, 14 Mar 2019 15:31 UTC
netanyahu
© Reuters/Atef SafadiIsrael's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
The IDF has found that the so-called "Golan File," a Hezbollah plot, comprises collecting intel and recruiting agents, as well includes weaponry, namely explosives, light arms, etc.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Iran and Hezbollah that Israel is fully aware of "what you're doing," adding " Israel knows where you're doing it," hours after Israel announced it had revealed a terror cell in the Syrian Golan Heights.

Netahyahu, who serves both as the country's prime minister and as Israel's defence chief, stated that the Hezbollah cell is "just the tip of the iceberg."

In a video statement aired Wednesday, he announced that Israel had "exposed a Hezbollah terror network on the Golan Heights," going on to reiterate that "Hezbollah is a terror organization and a proxy of Iran."

Comment: Bibi's grasping at straws to justify Israel's illegal 40-year occupation of the Golan Heights, which is recognized internationally as Syrian territory. Both Iran and Hezbollah are operating in Syria at the invitation of the legitimate government. Whatever their activities may be in the Golan, by international law, it's legal. Israel has other reasons besides its illusory "security" to fight so hard against giving up the Golan.

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