Puppet MastersS


Star of David

Farm warfare: Israel spraying herbicides along Gaza border ruining Palestinian crops

Palestinian farmer
© Reuters / Ibraheem Abu MustafaPalestinian farmer throws wheat seeds during a tour by ICRC, near the border with Israel, in the southern Gaza Strip
Human rights groups have called on Israel to stop spraying herbicides along the Gaza border - a practice that is blamed for destroying Palestinian crops and causing health problems. RT spoke with a farmer affected by the policy.

Dubbed "farm warfare" by critics, Israeli authorities insist that they only spray Israeli crops with herbicides, but Palestinian farmers dispute this claim. Others have suggested that winds carry the dangerous chemicals, including glyphosate (which has been banned in many countries due to fears that it causes cancer), across the Gaza border into Palestinian territory. The latest case of "farm warfare" reportedly took place in December.

Ahmed Badawi, a Palestinian farmer, told RT that his crops have been repeatedly contaminated and ruined by the uninvited herbicide sprayings.

Comment: No matter what the Israeli's claim, it's difficult not to assume the destruction of Palestinian crops isn't deliberate in light of the following:


Cheeseburger

Burgernomics: Big Mac index shows Russian ruble still deeply undervalued

Big Mac
© Global Look Press
The Russian national currency is one of the most underrated against the greenback, according to the January 2019 Big Mac Index which provides an assessment of the purchasing power of currencies against each other.

The index is a lighthearted guide showing how world currencies perform against the US dollar. It is based on price comparisons of McDonald's Big Macs across the world, annually carried out by The Economist.

TV

BBC's Neil goes apoplectic as journalist Owen Jones accuses his Spectator mag of defending neo-Nazis

Greek ultra nationalist party Golden Dawn
© ELEFTHERIOS ELIS / AFP; (top left) Guardian Journalist Owen Jones Reuters / Simon Dawson; (bottom left) BBC Presenter Andrew Neil Reuters / Eddie KeoghSupporters of Greek ultra nationalist party Golden Dawn
A debate between the BBC's Andrew Neil and left-wing journalist Owen Jones descended into chaos on Thursday, after the Guardian writer accused the presenter's Spectator magazine of defending neo-Nazis and fomenting Islamophobia.

Jones had made a video for the BBC's This Week programme, a late night political chat show hosted by Neil, about the rise of the far-right in Britain and was invited to talk about the issue.

The feud erupted between the pair after the left-wing activist accused the mainstream media of fueling Islamophobia. Jones claimed that the Spectator magazine, the right-wing weekly publication, and which Neil is chairman of, is the "classic example" of a media outlet of inciting Islamophobia in society.

Cut

As 85yo Ruth Bader Ginsberg goes missing from Supreme Court, it may be time to end lifetime tenure

Supreme Court
© Reuters / Jim Young
Speculation is rife over the health of Justice Ginsburg, who has missed her third straight day of hearings following cancer surgery. Now it seems Washington needs to consider term limits for the Supreme Court.

With much of the country distracted by the government shutdown over the Mexican border wall, another issue of potentially far greater importance is lurking in the background - the health of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, or 'RBG' as she is popularly known.

Ginsburg, 85, has been absent from the Court ever since she underwent surgery to remove two malignant tumors from her left lung on Dec. 21. The absence marks the first time in 25 years that RBG has missed oral arguments. Naturally, this news has put Washington, hyperactive on the calmest of days, into hysterical crazy mode. That's because Donald Trump may find himself in a position to fill a third Supreme Court vacancy, a feat last accomplished by Ronald Reagan.

Better Earth

US tries to isolate Venezuela but it only pushes Maduro closer to Putin

Maduro Putin
The inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro's second term was surrounded by negative statements from neighboring countries. Roberto Santana, professor of History and International Relations of UERJ, spoke on the subject. He explained how looking beyond the West can help Venezuela to bypass the crisis and regional isolation.

For Professor Roberto Santana the current crisis in Venezuela may have its beginning located in Maduro's first electoral victory for the presidency in 2013. He points out that currently the opposition political forces in Venezuela do not recognize the electoral results that gave the victory to the Chavista as early as 2018. Opposition groups to Maduro say that the elections that guaranteed the second term to the Chavista were rigged.

"This right-wing position is unfounded, because the Venezuelan Electoral Court also made the 2015 legislative election, in which the opposition was largely victorious. So there is an impression that the right-wing opposition recognizes when it wins and does not recognize when it loses," said Santana.

Comment: Knowing full well how the economic and political war is being waged by the US, and the fact that Venezuela's sovereignty has been under attack for many years much like Russia, both countries understand they have something to gain by standing together against the world's biggest bully.


Dig

Border Wall: Senator takes apart 'manufactured crisis' narrative sold by media and Democrats

Trump border meeting
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) slammed Democrats during President Donald Trump's visit to the border on Thursday, calling out their false claims that what is going on at the border is somehow a "manufactured crisis."

"Before you, you see heroin and methamphetamine that's been seized, you see bulk cash $362,000," Cornyn said. "When the drugs are sold in the United States they have to get the cash back across the border through the cartels."

"And you see the sorts of weapons that are used by the drug cartels and others and you can imagine the violence that goes along with that," Cornyn continued. "And so, when people like Ted and I hear our colleagues in Washington say this is a manufactured crisis, we kind of wonder what planet they've been living on because this is not just about economic migrants, this about people that exploit the vulnerabilities in our border, this is about the 70,000 people who died of drug overdoses in America just last year."


Comment: As if to confirm Coryn's assertions, we see this recent story: 21 bodies found on US-Mexico border after a drug-gang shootout, Trump was to visit nearby town


Comment: See also:


Evil Rays

Russian watchdog says BBC programming may violate Russia's anti-extremism laws

BBC sign
© Reuters/Toby Melville
Some BBC online reports may violate a Russian law which bans spreading the ideologies of terrorist organizations, the country's media watchdog found in a probe launched in response to the British regulator's ruling against RT.

The content in question contained the quotes of Al-Baghdadi, the head of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), according to the statement from Roskomnadzor. The broadcaster's websites, including the BBC Russian Service, are under investigation.

"The probe is underway to check if these materials violate Russian anti-extremism law," the statement said. The watchdog is also monitoring programs from BBC World News in Russia.

Comment:


Cross

Duterte urges Vatican to allow its 'useless' priests to have boyfriends

Duterte
© AFPPhilippine President Rodrigo Duterte
The Catholic Church must embrace homosexual kinship among the clergy, Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte has said in his latest attack on the Vatican... just after calling on the population to rob and even kill "useless" bishops.

Duterte, who has in the past openly revealed that he was sexually molested by a priest, once again criticized the Catholic Church on Thursday, this time for allegedly suppressing the widespread homosexual tendencies of its clergymen - and dared the "sons of b****es" in the Vatican to abolish celibacy. "Most of them are gay... They should come out in the open, cancel celibacy and allow them to have boyfriends."

The Holy See had functioned just fine for over one thousand years before the Church adopted a policy of clerical celibacy at the Second Lateran Council in 1139. Duterte is an open supporter of same-sex unions who has even acknowledged fiddling with the notion of becoming a bisexual. He has repeatedly called on the Church to abolish the centuries-old canon law, suggesting that it only fuels homosexual tendencies among clergymen. Last month, Duterte boldly estimated that "almost 90 percent" of Catholic priests were homosexuals.

Attention

Will the EU survive its many problems in 2019?

Translated by Ollie Richardson and Angelina Siard

EU Flag
© CC0, Pixabay
The European Union enters 2019 with a mass of unresolved problems, in addition to being torn apart by the most severe contradictions...

The first and main problem is that the EU was created as one of the mechanisms of the US' control over Western Europe. Without the American Marshall Plan, without opening American markets for European goods, without American troops on the European continent, without NATO, eventually, the European Union wouldn't be possible.

When it is said that the EU was conceived, among other things, as a way of removing German-French contradictions, for the purpose of preventing future conflicts that led to the First and Second World Wars, it is the truth. But it must be kept in mind that the German-French unity was necessary and favourable exclusively for the US. Great Britain, on the contrary, during all its history fought to split Europe and to prevent a situation where one state or a union of states could dominate on the continent.

The US was separated from Europe not by a strait, but by an ocean. In addition, they were much stronger than Great Britain was at the peak of its power. A strong and united Europe was needed by the US as an ally in the fight against the USSR. This approach ensured trade preferences and military protection for Europe. I.e., the US allowed the EU to earn money on their market, shared out bonuses from it neocolonial policy, and in addition it also bore the main weight of the armed protection of the EU, exempting Europe from a considerable part of military expenses. In exchange, Europe was becoming a theatre of military operations of the nuclear Armageddon being prepared, allowing the US to remain once again on the sidelines. At least, that's what Washington thought.

Comment: See also:


Handcuffs

Iran confirms detention of US citizen, denies allegations of abuse

Iran Tehran prison
© REUTERS/Morteza NikoubazlPrison guard stands along corridor in Tehran's prison
Iran has confirmed the July detention of US citizen and Navy veteran Michael White, but denies claims that the prisoner is being abused, describing the allegations as "psychological warfare."

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassem spoke out against allegations leveled by the New York Times on Monday, which said that the former Navy SEAL is being held in an Iranian prison under "suboptimal conditions."

CBS news joined in the media-dogpile the next day, upping the ante with claims that White "was suffering psychologically and was being held in a ward with dangerous criminals." Their source is former Iranian prisoner and 'cyber activist' Ivar Farhadi who first broke the news of the veteran's arrest on his Twitter account in October. Farhadi claims he met the American prisoner while "playing volleyball" in Vakilabad Prison which is in Mashhad, the city where White was arrested last summer. The circumstances which led to the arrest are not exactly clear, and no official charges have been leveled.