Puppet MastersS


Snakes in Suits

Yellow Vests: Macron's 'grand national debate' is akin to 'sleeping gas'


RT
Tue, 15 Jan 2019 12:36 UTC
Yellow vest protester
© Reuters/Jean-Paul PelissierA man participates in a Yellow Vests rally in Marseille, France.
French President Emmanuel Macron hopes to use nationwide debates, set to kick off on Tuesday, to tackle anger emanating from the Yellow Vests, but protesters and the opposition remain skeptical that he seeks genuine change.

By launching "grand national debates," the president has promised to reach out to citizens and listen to everyone. "For me there is no banned issue," Macron wrote in an open letter to the nation, published on Monday. "We won't agree on everything, which is normal in a democracy. But at least, we will show that we are a people who are not afraid of talking, exchanging, debating."

The first round of the debates is set to kick off in the northern town of Grand Bourgtheroulde on Tuesday, with the president expected to attend. He is scheduled to hold a meeting with 600 mayors and local officials there.

Macron hopes that a frank nationwide discussion will lead to reconciliation with the Yellow Vest protesters whose massive rallies have been rocking Paris and other towns across France since November. Started as a grassroots movement against planned fuel tax hikes, the Yellow Vests evolved into broader voice to vent the anger towards the government. Their demands grew to include the resignation of President Macron.


Comment: Macron's elitism will preclude any real dialog or solutions. The YVs have good reason for their skepticism and disgust. See also:
Niall Bradley to PressTV: 'Yellow Vests Movement a Result of Sclerotic, Totalitarian Politics in Western Europe'

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Bad Guys

UK's new "unexplained wealth" law begins by seizing assets from wife of former boss of Azerbaijan bank

Danyal Hussain
Daily Mail
Tue, 15 Jan 2019 00:33 UTC
Zamira Hajiyeva
Zamira Hajiyeva, 55, who used 35 credit cards issued by her husband's bank to splash out £1.6 million on shopping every year at Harrods, had the ring confiscated from her
The wife of a disgraced former boss of Azerbaijan's biggest bank, who was subject to the UK's first Unexplained Wealth Order when she spent £16million in Harrod's, has had a £1.1million diamond ring seized by the National Crime Agency.

The 8.9-carat Cartier piece, originally bought by banker Jahangir Hajiyev, has been confiscated by investigators as they work to establish how it was paid for.

Zamira Hajiyeva, 55, used 35 credit cards issued by her husband's bank to splash out £1.6 million on shopping every year for a decade at Britain's most extravagant department store, located just a stone's-throw from her lavish London home.

Two UWOs were granted against her concerning properties worth a total of £22 million under so-called McMafia laws.

Comment: In an ideal world a law like this is reasonable, however it will likely become apparent soon enough that it's only ever used to target small fry and 'enemies of the state', and those involved in corruption at the highest levels and in ways that benefit the UK will never need to fear investigation. It's notable that it has taken so long for a law like this to come into effect, and it comes at a time when the UK establishment is overseeing an undeniably dying economy.

Also in the news recently was that Italy enforced a similar law raiding a notorious Gypsy-Mafia crime family and evicting then from their plush villas.

See also: And check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: Yellow Vest Protests, Brexit Farce - Revolutionary Climate in Western Europe?

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Arrow Down

May faces worst government defeat in 95 years over Brexit vote as last minute pleas for support fall on deaf ears

Thomas Penny and Robert Hutton
Bloomberg
Tue, 15 Jan 2019 08:51 UTC
Theresa May
Prime Minister Theresa May is set to see her Brexit deal rejected in the biggest Parliamentary defeat for a British government in 95 years after her last minute pleas for support appeared to fall on deaf ears. The battle now is over not whether May loses, but how badly.

At least 70 of her Conservative Party, as well as sometime allies in the Democratic Unionist Party, are publicly pledged to join opposition Members of Parliament in voting against her agreement Tuesday. That would translate into a defeat by a margin of 150 or more, the largest in over a century. Even if some abstain, a defeat by more than 100 would be the worst since 1924.

May postponed a vote before Christmas in the hope of winning over Parliament with new concessions from Brussels over the so-called backstop intended to ensure the post-Brexit Irish border stays open, but EU leaders' letters of reassurance were treated with scorn in the House of Commons Monday.

Comment:

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Bulb

Total sanity: American Conservative points out Russia behaving strangely for country bent on world conquest

Ted Galen Carpenter
The American Conservative
Tue, 15 Jan 2019 20:37 UTC
Kremlin, Moscú
© Sputnik / Natalia Seliverstova
It is commonplace for Americans to portray Russia as a dangerous country with nearly unlimited territorial ambitions. But the facts simply do not support such an alarmist view. Instead, Russia's behavior is more consistent with that of a beleaguered regional power trying to fend off hostile intrusions from an American-led NATO.

The self-serving myth of a malignantly aggressive Russia, however, continues to grow - with potentially dangerous consequences for European and global peace.

Assertions that Moscow's behavior pose a serious, even an existential, threat to Europe and the entire democratic West surfaced even before Donald Trump became president. They flared up in 2008 when fighting erupted between Russia and neighboring Georgia - even though the latter country had initiated the aggression. Senator John McCain asserted that "it's very clear that Russian ambitions are to restore the old Russian Empire."

Such allegations became more pervasive when Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula in 2014 following the Western-assisted Maidan revolution that overthrew Ukraine's elected, pro-Russian government. Ultra-hawkish writer and media talking head Ralph Peters asserted that Putin had a detailed plan for reclaiming the Russian empire. "Make no mistake," Peters warned, "Putin truly believes he's entitled to reclaim Ukraine and a great deal more. In his view, independent capitals from Warsaw (yes, Warsaw) to Bishkek [the Kyrgyz Republic's capital] are integral and natural parts of the Russian imperium. He regards them as property stolen from its rightful owner: Moscow." Hillary Clinton's rhetoric was even more apocalyptic: Putin's actions, she contended, were "what Germany did back in the '30s."

Comment: Every once in a while a mainstream or at least semi-mainstream source from the West comes out with an article that introduces something entirely lacking in the current discourse: actual common sense. Kudos to Mr. Carpenter for actually using his brain, unlike virtually all of his peers.

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Propaganda

'Perfect accuracy'? WikiLeaks hits back at 'neocon' fake-news app NewsGuard, which labeled it untrustworthy


RT
Tue, 15 Jan 2019 20:31 UTC
NewsGuard
© WikiLeaks / NewsGuard
WikiLeaks has blasted news-rating app NewsGuard after it gave the whistleblower site a 'red' rating, warning users it "fails to maintain basic standards of accuracy" despite its perfect record of posting authentic information.

NewsGuard claims to help combat fake news online and defend against "disinformation" but its links to the US government have caused some to call its objectivity into question.

In a tweet responding to the news that Microsoft has partnered with NewsGuard to add it as an extension to its Edge web browser by default, WikiLeaks claimed the news-rating app was "pushing US security state news imperialism across the world" and reminded users that WikiLeaks has a "perfect" record on accuracy. Since its beginnings, no documents published by WikiLeaks were ever found to be inauthentic.


Comment: See also:

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Piggy Bank

Britain's economic future is dependent on Brexit

Salvatore Babones
The National Interest
Tue, 15 Jan 2019 18:16 UTC
May, Juncker
© ReutersBritish PM Theresa May • President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker
Brexit fear mongering tends to focus on the old economy of planes, trains, and automobiles. But London's future hinges on the twenty-first century's "innovation" economy.

The British political establishment can't seem to make up its collective mind about Brexit. Meanwhile the European Union's Jean-Claude Juncker says that he will offer "clarifications" to help British prime minister Theresa May push her Brexit deal through Parliament - but no "renegotiation." It seems unlikely that "clarifications" will do the trick.

The British economy may be on go-slow in advance of Brexit, but with the Eurozone descending into recession for the third time since 2008, it's hard to understand why the British are so worried about their economic future outside the European Union. Looking beyond the quarterly results calendar, the EU has big structural problems too. Not least among them: an addiction to the old-economy manufacturing industries of the twentieth century.

Comment: Is the UK better off freeing itself of the constraints and mind-set of the EU? Is its strengths enough to progress its economy and fortify its existence beyond Europe? It has to pick a future; limbo is atrophy.
See also:

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Jet5

The US wants to keep its presence in Syrian airspace after troop pullout


Sputnik
Tue, 15 Jan 2019 19:43 UTC
US Jet
© APSenior Airman Matthew Bruch, US Air Force
The United States intends to maintain its presence in the Syrian airspace after the withdrawal of its troops from the country, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Tuesday, citing an unofficial US action plan proposal.

Kalin told reporters in Ankara:
"Last week, the US delegation led by [National Security Advisor John] Bolton conveyed to us an unofficial five-point document in which the United States confirms the withdrawal of its troops from Syria, the determination to continue the fight against the Islamic State terrorist group and Washington's intention to maintain its presence in Syrian airspace as part of the coalition."
This comes as earlier on Tuesday, President Erdogan said that he had reached a "historic understanding" with Trump in a phone talk, stressing that Ankara was set to create a 32-kilometre safe zone in Northern Syria, which could be expanded.

The zone will act as a buffer area in Syria that would ensure the safety of the US' Kurdish allies and prevent terrorists from attacking Turkey.

Comment: See also:
Trump, Erdogan discuss creating security zone in North Syria

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Footprints

New migrant caravan sets out from Honduras for the US border

Megan Trimble
US News
Tue, 15 Jan 2019 00:00 UTC
Migrants Honduras
© AP/Delmer MartinezMigrants begin journey towards the United States from San Pedro Sula, Honduras
Another caravan of Central American migrants has reportedly left Honduras en route to the U.S. border.

The Associated Press reports the group of about 600 migrants is following the same route through Guatemala and Mexico used last year by thousands of migrants in at least three caravans. One woman told the AP she would ask U.S. authorities for asylum or refugee status once she arrived "because it's not possible to live in Honduras anymore."

The departure came hours before their planned Tuesday exit, but the AP reports the caravan's numbers are likely to grow Tuesday as people continued to arrive at the departure spot.

The newest caravan is expected to add to tensions already present between President Donald Trump and Congress over immigration reform and his demands for funding for his promised border wall. Trump has vowed not to reopen the government until he receives $5.7 billion he says is needed to construct the barrier. Some 800,000 federal employees are furloughed or working without pay as the shutdown continues.


Comment: More leverage for Trump's wall?
See also:

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Biohazard

Russian source claims terrorists are preparing for new chemical attacks in Syria

Hazem Sabbagh
Syrian Arab News Agency
Tue, 15 Jan 2019 19:45 UTC
chemical weapons
A Russian source said that terrorist organizations are preparing to carry out new attacks using chemical weapons and toxic materials against civilians and army units in Idleb.

Interfax news agency on Tuesday quoted the source as saying that terrorists are preparing a new chemical attack in Ma'aret al-Nu'man area in Idleb province, and they are storing toxic chemicals in several warehouses in Idleb province and the far northern countryside of Lattakia.

The source said that the terror organizations of "Ajnad al-Caucasus" and "Jaish al-Izza" and "Turkistani Party" are preparing for a series of synchronized attacks with chemical weapons in the provinces of Lattakia, Idleb, Aleppo, and Hama, using shells and mines loaded with toxic materials as well as drones.

The source said the terrorists have shipped 500 liters of chemicals to Abu al-Duhour area in Idleb and Helfaya north of Hama.

The source also pointed out that in late December 2018, 30 terrorists arrived at Ariha area in Idleb with the assistance of a foreign intelligence agency to make shells loaded with toxic chemicals, and they were tasked with carrying out attacks against civilians to frame the Syrian Arab Army in mass media and social networking sites.
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Russian Flag

Putin orders creation of national waste-collection system after protests


RFE/RL
Tue, 15 Jan 2019 18:00 UTC
russian protesters
© Artyom Geodakyan / TASSProtesters who demonstrated against a leaky landfill near Volokolamsk, Russia, surprised authorities with the strength of their demonstrations
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the creation of a national system of municipal waste disposal, a move the follows unusually strident protests over a leaky Moscow region landfill.

The order signed by Putin, and published on the government register on January 14, calls for establishing a "Russian Ecological Operator" that will serve as a national overseeing agency to coordinate waste disposal companies nationwide.

The order gives few details except to say the agency should be set up before the end of 2019.

However, it follows a series of angry protests staged in early 2018 over poorly managed landfills and household waste disposal. The largest, and more frequent, protests occurred in the Moscow regional town of Volokolamsk.

Residents there demonstrated against a nearby landfill after dozens of children were rushed to hospitals with symptoms of gas poisoning. Residents blamed gases leaking from the landfill.

At one point, protesters blocked a highway to keep trash trucks from traveling to the landfill to dump household trash and garbage.

Comment: Contrary to his image in the West, Putin is fairly moderate and open to reforms - even so called liberal or 'democratic' reforms. That is, he listens to his people, and he's no supporter of totalitarianism - though order and stability come first. And while Western observers will say Russia's civil society is nonexistent or under-developed, they aren't entirely without a voice, as this story shows.

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