Puppet MastersS


Snakes in Suits

PayPal CEO admits 'SPLC helps us' figure out who to ban

Corinne Weaver
NewsBusters
Fri, 01 Mar 2019 10:35 UTC
PayPal
Financial processors who ban websites and businesses based on political ideology practice another, more insidious form of social media censorship. If blog or account depends on donations or sales of merchandise, it is vulnerable to being starved of revenue. Unfortunately, the processors aren't necessarily reliably informed when they make such decisions.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman talked about determining what determines which users get banned from the platform. Over the past year, Paypal has banned Act For America, Gab.com, Laura Loomer, and Jihad Watch from using its processor. In fairness, the platform has also yanked several antifa groups. Schulman admitted that his staff rely on the Southern Poverty Law Center's opinion when it comes to who to remove.

He said, "Southern Poverty Law Center has brought us things ... We are very respectful with everyone coming in." Schulman then claimed that PayPal still believes in freedom of speech, even though the platform will censor based on political ideology.

Comment: Also see: The SPLC State, and its unprecedented threat to American civil liberties

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Light Sabers

UN says Israel's targeted killings at Gaza protests may amount to war crimes

Oliver Holmes
The Guardian
Thu, 28 Feb 2019 11:37 UTC
Palestinians protesting gaza
© Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/ReutersIsraeli troops fire teargas at Palestinians protesting near the Gaza border fence.
UN investigators have accused Israeli soldiers of intentionally firing on civilians and said they may have committed war crimes in their lethal response to Palestinian demonstrations in Gaza.

The independent Commission of Inquiry, set up last year by the UN's human rights council, said Israeli forces killed 189 people and shot more than 6,100 others with live ammunition near the fence that divides the two territories.

The panel said in a statement that it had found "reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli snipers shot at journalists, health workers, children and persons with disabilities, knowing they were clearly recognisable as such".

Thirty-five of those killed were children, three were clearly identifiable paramedics and two were clearly marked journalists, the report said.

Israel dismissed the report as "hostile, mendacious and slanted".

The panel acknowledged "acts of significant violence" from the demonstrators, who threw stones, molotov cocktails and in several cases explosives at the fence and Israeli troops behind it.

Comment: When taking in the totality of the brutal repession of the Palestinians by Israel, to say it 'may' amount to war crimes is skirting around the facts. They did, and have been and will continue to do so. Unsurprisingly, Israel's response is to cry foul and call it "absurd":
Tel Aviv has fired back at a UN report alleging that Israeli forces may have committed war crimes when they killed dozens of Palestinian demonstrators during Gaza border protests last year, describing the claim as "absurd."

Acting Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that the UN Human Rights Council had "produced another hostile, mendacious and slanted report against the State of Israel ... No one can deny Israel the right of self-defense and the obligation to defend its citizens and borders from violent attacks."

He dismissed the report's findings as "theatre of the absurd."

The UN inquiry, which released its findings on Thursday, concluded that Palestinian demonstrators "did not pose an imminent threat of death or serious injury to others when they were shot, nor were they directly participating in hostilities."

The commission said Israel's use of live fire during last year's protests was unlawful, while also calling on Palestinians to cease the use of incendiary kites and balloons. The findings will be forwarded to the International Criminal Court. Some 189 Palestinians were killed and 6,100 more were wounded during the "Great March of the Return," a protest movement that snowballed at the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip in March 2018.

Protesters demanded an end to the decade-long siege imposed on the Gaza Strip by Israel and Egypt.


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Rocket

Israel is playing a big role in India's escalating conflict with Pakistan

Robert Fisk
The Independant
Thu, 28 Feb 2019 09:42 UTC
Indian fighter jet wreckage
© APKashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military
When I heard the first news report, I assumed it was an Israeli air raid on Gaza. Or Syria. Airstrikes on a "terrorist camp" were the first words. A "command and control centre" destroyed, many "terrorists" killed. The military was retaliating for a "terrorist attack" on its troops, we were told.

An Islamist "jihadi" base had been eliminated. Then I heard the name Balakot and realised that it was neither in Gaza, nor in Syria - not even in Lebanon - but in Pakistan. Strange thing, that. How could anyone mix up Israel and India?

Well, don't let the idea fade away. Two thousand five hundred miles separate the Israeli ministry of defence in Tel Aviv from the Indian ministry of defence in New Delhi, but there's a reason why the usual cliche-stricken agency dispatches sound so similar.

For months, Israel has been assiduously lining itself up alongside India's nationalist BJP government in an unspoken - and politically dangerous - "anti-Islamist" coalition, an unofficial, unacknowledged alliance, while India itself has now become the largest weapons market for the Israeli arms trade.

Not by chance, therefore, has the Indian press just trumpeted the fact that Israeli-made Rafael Spice-2000 "smart bombs" were used by the Indian air force in its strike against Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) "terrorists" inside Pakistan.

Comment: See also:

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Eagle

Disarming America: "Sweeping" gun control bill passed by the House of Representatives, more on the way

Dagny Taggart
The Organic Prepper
Wed, 27 Feb 2019 00:00 UTC
House of Representatives
Today, gun-grabbers in the House of Representatives held their first major vote on gun control legislation in years.

They voted to pass H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, which would require background checks for all firearm sales, including private transactions and purchases made online and at gun shows. Currently, only federally licensed firearms dealers, importers, and manufacturers are required to conduct background checks on customers under federal law. Twenty states and D.C. have already expanded background checks to include at least some private sales. The bill was described by NPR as "sweeping."

H.R. 8 also prohibits firearms transfers by a person who is not a licensed dealer. However, it does exclude gifts to family members and transfers for hunting, target shooting, and self-defense. A temporary transfer of a gun can also take place in situations where it's "necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm."

This is just another proposed gun control measure that won't do anything to stop crime.


Comment: See: Dept of Justice study shows that gun control laws don't work because criminals obtain their guns illegally


Comment: Since "gun control" has been proven not to reduce crime, then why the big push for it that we now seeing in the US? See:

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Snakes in Suits

Alleged threats, bribes, prostitutes: Growing scandal threatens to bring down Canada's Trudeau


Breitbart
Fri, 01 Mar 2019 01:23 UTC
trudeau
© Chris Wattie / Reuters
Former Canadian Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould gave a bombshell testimony accusing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other officials of "veiled threats" to force her to drop a case for political purposes.

Ms Wilson-Raybould gave testimony before the Canadian House of Commons justice committee for several hours on Wednesday, speaking out against members of staff and Prime Minister Trudeau attempting to interfere with an investigation into the SNC-Lavalin corporation, The Globe and Mail reports.
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Propaganda

Contradiction: Syrian refugees were fleeing US proxy war, not 'Assad'

Tony Cartalucci
New Eastern Outlook
Thu, 28 Feb 2019 00:00 UTC
Syrians return
© UnknownRefugees return to Syria
A recent BBC segment titled, "The Syrians returning home after years of fleeing war," contradicted 8 years of the British state media's narratives regarding the war in Syria.

A synopsis of the short BBC video segment would read:
After years of people fleeing Syria and its civil war, there are now long queues to enter the country each day. Jordan opened its Jaber border crossing last October after Syrian government troops defeated rebels who had controlled the other side.

Now several thousand people pass through each day. They include small-scale merchants reviving cross-border trade and returning Syrian refugees who hope to rebuild their lives.
Huge numbers of Syrians have already returned to Syria - specifically to areas government forces have cleared of Western-armed and backed terrorists. This includes Aleppo, Homs, and Daraa.

The flood of returning refugees to government-held areas indicates Syrians were fleeing the US-backed proxy war against the Syrian government - not the Syrian government itself.
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Star of David

Israel's AG plans to indict Netanyahu pending hearing


Sputnik
Thu, 28 Feb 2019 20:19 UTC
Netanyahu
© AP/Sebastian ScheinerIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Earlier, Israeli media reported that the prime minister was forced to cut his visit to Russia short and return home amid allegations of bribery and media manipulation.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed corruption charges against him in a television address Thursday night, calling the attorney general's announcement of possible charges against him so close to election time "outrageous" and accusing the opposition of carrying out an "unprecedented witch hunt."

"The pressure of the left worked," Netanyahu said, adding that the attorney general's office's actions were lies and "blood libel" which have threatened democracy in Israel. The prime minister promised to squash all charges against him and prove his innocence.

Earlier, Attorney General General Avichai Mendelblit said he intended to indict Netanyahu on counts of corruption, breach of trust and fraud, Israeli television reported on Thursday, quoting the Ministry of Justice. The attorney general promised to give Netanyahu the opportunity to argue against the indictment during pretrial hearings, which may be held before or after the upcoming legislative elections.

Earlier, Mendelblit rejected a government request to postpone Netanyahu's indictment until after the April elections, where the prime minister is seeking a fourth consecutive term in office, saying it would be a "violation of the principle of equality before the law."

Comment: See also:

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Attention

Forget 2042, South Africa could go broke in the next five years says expert

Tom Head
The South African
Thu, 28 Feb 2019 08:27 UTC
SA Money
© AdobeStock
South Africa's approach towards the dreaded "fiscal cliff" has been a hot-button issue in Parliament this week. A Wits University professor told the Standing Committee on Finance that the country would run out of money by 2042. But other experts believe a disaster is much closer than that.

When could South Africa "run out of money"?

Janie Rossouw said that Mzansi has 23 years left before it all goes to hell in a hand-basket, explaining that the "exorbitant" cost of ministries is one of the most punishing features of the national budget.

The EFF is calling for the government to scrap deputy ministers in an attempt to combat this wild spending. A total of 35 people in these positions make-up a wage bill of R68 950 000 a year.

Comment: See also:

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Bad Guys

Russian, US resolutions on Venezuela fail to pass at UN Security Council


RT
Thu, 28 Feb 2019 21:27 UTC
UN Security Council
© Reuters / Lucas JacksonMembers of the UN Security Council vote against the US resolution on Venezuela
Russia and China vetoed a U.S. resolution at the the United Nations Security Council expressing concerns over interference in affairs of a sovereign state. Russian draft also failed.

Russia's envoy to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia slammed the US resolution as "the culmination of the American show of double standards regarding Venezuela."

He insisted that the US knew from the start the document had no chance of passing and was only put together to justify further complaints that the access of humanitarian aid into Venezuela is being denied.

"We have serious concerns that today's [UNSC] meeting may be used as a step in preparing an actual, not humanitarian, intervention into Venezuela," the envoy said.
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Bad Guys

Lawmaker lunacy: US politicians cross the aisle to create powerful legislation to sniff out Putin's 'secret' wealth


RT
Thu, 28 Feb 2019 21:13 UTC
Putin with sunglasses
As the US saddles up for a contentious 2020 election, lawmakers have shown they can still work together on the nation's most pressing issues... by drafting a bipartisan bill to find out how much money Vladimir Putin has.

In what may be the most perfect illustration of why Congress boasts a 20 percent approval rating, Democratic Rep. Val Demings of Florida has given birth to the Vladimir Putin Transparency Act, a piece of trailblazing legislation which would require US intelligence agencies to sniff out all assets belonging to Russia's president.

Co-sponsored by New York Republican Elise Stefanik, the bill serves as a powerful rebuke to the partisan politics that continue to paralyze the legislative branch.

Comment: Americans can rest assured their nation's leaders are focusing on the things that really matter!

via GIPHY



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