Puppet MastersS


Snakes in Suits

EU states block putting Saudi Arabia & U.S. territories on dirty-money list


RT
Sat, 02 Mar 2019 16:46 UTC
EU HQ
© maxpixel.netEuropean Union Commission headquarters in Brussels
European Union member states unanimously rejected on Friday a proposal to blacklist Saudi Arabia and four U.S. territories for lax controls on terrorism financing and money laundering, sources told Reuters.

Saudi Arabia, a major importer of EU weapons and goods, had lobbied against being branded a "high-risk" country, as had been proposed by the bloc's executive European Commission.

Representatives of EU states meeting in Brussels on Friday agreed a statement on the matter, which was seen by Reuters and is expected to be formally adopted by justice and home affairs ministers meeting on Thursday.

Comment: It would be a bit hypocritical for the EU to blacklist other nations for 'terrorism financing and money laundering', when they're just as bad, if not worse - although that's not to say they shouldn't: Also check out SOTT radio's:

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Info

Taliban and Afghan army can crush ISIS and any terrorist group IF they team up


RT
Sat, 02 Mar 2019 17:10 UTC
Afghan and Taliban army
© Reuters / Omar Sobhani
The Taliban can be instrumental in defeating Islamic State in Afghanistan if it stops being a threat to the Kabul government and joins forces with the Afghan army, Russia's special envoy to the country told RT.

The Western-backed Afghan government is seeking to make peace with the Taliban following 18 years of deadly animosity, but a deal between the bitter rivals could actually go far beyond a ceasefire, according to Zamir Kabulov, Russia's long-serving presidential envoy for Afghanistan. The common enemy - namely Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) - is a factor that may put them on the same side.

"If the Taliban... joins hands with the Afghan army and police, they will eliminate [Islamic State] on Afghan soil."
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Bad Guys

'Dictatorships come to an end': Abrams says there will be no military intervention in Venezuela, just 'appropriate actions'


RT
Sat, 02 Mar 2019 10:38 UTC
elliott abrams
© Reuters / Rhona WiseElliott Abrams speaks to reporters in front of a cargo plane of humanitarian aid, bound for Venezuela
US envoy to Venezuela and regime change enthusiast Elliott Abrams offered no specifics on the US's further plans to oust President Nicolas Maduro, but warned that "dictatorships come to an end."

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Abrams - the regime change engineer behind Iran/Contra - dismissed warnings from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that the US might intervene militarily in crisis-stricken Venezuela.

"I don't think he actually believes we're attempting to do that," Abrams said. Abrams did state the oft-repeated line that "all options are on the table," but that the US would stick to economic, diplomatic, and other "appropriate actions" for the meantime.

Dictatorships come to an end," Abrams shrugged when asked about "loosing momentum" and comparisons between Libya and Venezuela."Some last for a very long time, others a much shorter time. This one in Venezuela will also come to an end. We hope that it comes to an end quickly and peacefully."

Comment: See also:

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Star of David

Best of the Web: How a private ex-Mossad Israeli intelligence firm spied on pro-Palestinian activists in the US

Adam Entous
The New Yorker
Thu, 28 Feb 2019 16:00 UTC
Hatem Bazian muslims palestine
© Mike Segar / ReutersHatem Bazian, the chairman of American Muslims for Palestine.
Hatem Bazian, a veteran pro-Palestinian activist in his fifties, lives with his family on a quiet street in North Berkeley, near the campus of the University of California, where he lectures. Early on the morning of May 10, 2017, as Bazian was about to drive his teen-age daughter to school, he noticed fliers on the windshields of cars parked on his block. At first, Bazian assumed that they were advertisements for a new movie or restaurant. When he looked more closely at the flier that had been left on his BMW sedan, he realized that it featured a photograph of his face, below a tagline that read, "He supports terror." Bazian quickly folded up the flier so his daughter wouldn't see it.

Born in Jordan to a father from the West Bank city of Nablus and a mother from Jerusalem, Bazian has long been an outspoken champion of Palestinian causes. For decades, staunch supporters of Israel have criticized Bazian's activism. The incident with the fliers, though, was particularly unnerving, he told me. He rented his house and did not publicize the address. His opponents, he thought, must be following him. Later that day, Bazian, who describes himself as a proponent of nonviolent protest, reported what happened to the Berkeley police. He said that officers told him they could do nothing about the harassment.
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Clipboard

OPCW's final report states Chlorine was 'likely' used in alleged Douma chemical attack - no nerve agent as Western media reported


RT
Fri, 01 Mar 2019 21:30 UTC
Labels of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
© Reuters / Ali HashishoLabels of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) are seen inside a damaged house in Douma
Chlorine was likely used in a chemical attack in Syria's Douma last April, the OPCW said. The chemical arms watchdog refrained from identifying the party responsible for the incident, despite earlier being granted such powers.

There are "reasonable grounds" to believe that "the use of a toxic chemical as a weapon [took] place on 7 April 2018," the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said.

"This toxic chemical contained reactive chlorine. The toxic chemical was likely molecular chlorine," according to the report.

The FMM also stated that it "did not observe any major key precursors for the synthesis of chemical weapons agents, particularly for nerve agents such as sarin, or vesicants such as sulphur or nitrogen mustard."
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Bandaid

Senator Wyden: Big Pharma is 'morally repugnant'

Wayne Drash
CNN
Tue, 26 Feb 2019 05:48 UTC
doctor cash bribery corruption
Seven executives of top pharmaceutical companies were grilled before a congressional panel Tuesday about the nation's skyrocketing drug prices, with one senator accusing Big Pharma of blaming everyone but themselves and another saying the execs were "stonewalling" in their answers.

The drama unfolded during a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, the largest gathering in decades of pharmaceutical executives before a congressional panel.

Sen. Ron Wyden, the ranking member of the committee, blasted Big Pharma as "morally repugnant" and accused the companies of operating in an "unacceptable" way. He grew testy when he believed the executives weren't being forthcoming about reducing list prices.

Comment: Remember that when you're buying your pharmaceutical drugs, you're helping to pay for the bribing of doctors, lobbying, innumerable lawsuits and the massive salaries of the apex Big Pharma executives. None of that stuff comes cheap, so suck it up.

See also:

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Briefcase

Forbes retracts attack on paper showing link between glyphosate and cancer

Jonathan Matthews
gmwatch.org
Fri, 22 Feb 2019 10:29 UTC
censored
Forbes has pulled an article by Geoffrey Kabat attacking the new meta-analysis confirming a link between glyphosate and a type of cancer called non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).

The American business magazine, most famous for its Forbes 400 rich list, has long been the platform of choice for defending Monsanto's products and attacking the company's critics. It was on Forbes that article after article appeared attacking Prof Gilles-Eric Séralini's study, which found harmful effects from Monsanto's GMO maize and Roundup herbicide, shortly after its publication in 2012.

The authors of most of those hatchet jobs had links to Monsanto. Jon Entine's PR firm, for instance, consulted for the company. Bruce Chassy made the front page of the New York Times, along with Kevin Folta, because of his remarkably close ties to Monsanto. And Henry Miller, who, along with Chassy, accused Séralini of fraud, subsequently had all his articles for Forbes pulled by the magazine after it emerged that at least one of them had been ghostwritten by Monsanto.
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NPC

Ocasio-Cortez lashes out at moderate Democrats, threatens to put them 'on a list' to be unseated

Katelyn Caralle
Washington Examiner
Sat, 02 Mar 2019 11:12 UTC
ocasio cortez
© Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., threatened Thursday to put Democratic colleagues that vote Republican "on a list" for primary challenges.

The progressive freshman representative suggested in a closed-door meeting of House Democrats that she would help liberal activists unseat moderate Democrats skirting the party line, a spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez said according to the Washington Post.

"She said that when activists ask her why she had to vote for a gun safety bill that also further empowers an agency that forcibly injects kids with psychotropic drugs, they're going to want a list of names and she's going to give it to them," spokesperson Corbin Trent said, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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Bad Guys

Pompeo: World must remain 'vigilant' about Chinese tech risks


Reuters
Sat, 02 Mar 2019 11:12 UTC
Mike Pompeo
© Reuters / Kacper Pempel
U.S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday that the world should be "eyes wide open" about the risks of using Chinese technology, and that there could be problems for American firms operating in certain places where Huawei equipment was deployed.

Pompeo was asked during a visit to Manila about the prospect of the Philippines using Huawei 5G technology in future as it seeks to modernize outdated telecoms infrastructure.

"Our task has been to share with the world the risks associated with that technology: the risks to the Philippine people, the risk to Philippine security, the risk that America may not be able to operate in certain environments if there is Huawei technology adjacent to that," he told a news conference.

Comment: Also see: Huawei, Tech War and Geopolitics

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Bad Guys

Trump administration sanctions six Venezuelan security officials over aid block

Seleha Mohsin
Bloomberg
Sat, 02 Mar 2019 11:12 UTC
pro-opposition demonstrator Venezuela
© Carlos Becerra/BloombergA pro-opposition demonstrator stands on top of a container set up as a barricade during a protest on the Simon Bolivar International Bridge in San Antonio del Tachira, Tachira state, Venezuela on Feb. 25, 2019.
The Trump administration sanctioned six Venezuelan security officials for alleged involvement in stopping humanitarian aid convoys from entering the country.

"We are sanctioning members of Maduro's security forces in response to the reprehensible violence, tragic deaths, and unconscionable torching of food and medicine destined for sick and starving Venezuelans," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

The Treasury Department issued a notice Friday sanctioning Richard Jesus Lopez Vargas, identified as the commanding general of the Venezuelan National Guard; Jesus Maria Mantilla Oliveros, identified as the commander of Strategic Integral Defense for the Guayana region, Alberto Mirtiliano Bermudez Valderrey, identified as the division general for the Integral Defense Zone in Bolivar state; and Jose Leonardo Norono Torres, identified as the commander for the Integral Defense Zone in Tachira state;

Comment: Also see: Burning Aid: A US Warmongering False-flag on Colombia-Venezuela Bridge?

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