Puppet MastersS


Penis Pump

'Demented pantomime': UK govt stages no-deal Brexit 'fake traffic jam' involving 100 lorries

fake lorry brexit
© Reuters / Toby MelvilleLorries leave disused Manston Airport for the port of Dover during a "no-deal" Brexit test operation, Kent
The UK government staged a "fake traffic jam" in Kent on Monday morning, with lorries queuing all the way to Dover, to establish the implications of Britain leaving the EU without a deal, leading to ridicule on social media.

In the first significant test for border disruption, the UK Department for Transport's (DfT) experiment, named 'Operation Brock', saw nearly 100 lorries from the disused Manston Airport, in Kent, on a 20-mile journey to Dover - Europe's busiest roll-on roll-off ferry port - at around 8am, the Evening Standard reports.

The rehearsal has led to journalists and pundits pouring scorn on the exercise. The Independent's sketch writer, Tom Peck, updated his Twitter followers with a rather comical running commentary on the "fake traffic jam" operation.

Comment: This is the stuff of Dad's Army!


This inane stunt perfectly reflects the mindset of UK politicians. Hopefully British tax payers will take note: Brexit: A Political Farce Based on a Public Lie

See also: And check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: California Wildfires, Climate Change, And The Impossible Brexit


Stock Up

Russia's quiet revolution continues, jumps another 4 places in 'ease of doing business' report

russian business
The World Bank recently announced that Russia jumped from 35th to 31st place in its annual 'Doing Business Report' evaluating the ease of doing business in 190 countries based on parameters such as ease in starting a business, registering property, getting loans, paying taxes, and enforcing contracts. Russia's rank in the 2018 report puts it ahead of several Western countries, including Belgium and Italy. Russia has steadily risen in the overall "Doing Business" rankings since 2011 when it ranked 120th. Upon returning to the Kremlin in 2012 Putin signed a decree setting the goal of reaching 20th place by 2018 ("Russia falls short of Putin's top 20 Doing Business goal," Intellinews.com, 31 October 2018 and "Russia climbed to 31st place in Doing Business-2019 rating," TASS, 31 October 2018).

As I wrote last year:
The World Bank announced that Russia jumped from 40th to 35th place in its annual 'Doing Business Report' evaluating the ease of doing business in 190 countries based on parameters such as ease in starting a business, registering property, getting loans, paying taxes, and enforcing contracts. Russia's rank in the 2018 report puts it ahead of several Western countries, including Belgium and Italy. Russia has steadily risen in the overall "Doing Business" rankings since 2011 when it ranked 120th. Upon returning to the Kremlin in 2012 Putin signed a decree setting the goal of reaching 20th place by 2018.

Light Saber

Salvini backs Yellow Vest protests, lashes out at Macron as a 'president against his people'

salvini Macron
© Reuters/Alessandro Bianchi Reuters/Benoit TessierMatteo Salvini (L) Emmanuel Macron (R)
In an extraordinary public EU feud, Italy's Matteo Salvini and his coalition partner have thrown their support behind France's Yellow Vest movement, while Salvini also accused President Emmanuel Macron of being against his people.

"I support honest citizens who protest against a governing president [who is] against his people," said the Italian deputy prime minister.

However, the leader of the Northern League added that he "firmly" condemns the recent violence that has marred the protests.

Vice-President of the Council of Ministers of Italy Luigi Di Maio, who is the leader of the Five-Star Movement (M5S), urged the demonstrators on his party's blog "not to weaken."

Comment: It's interesting there are no equivalent "Gilet Giallo" protests in Italy. The people there are satisfied that Salvini is working to address the concerns of the Italian citizenry. Macron should take note.


Syringe

Former WADA president Dick Pound pounds response to Russia's missed deadline - 'lynch mob'

Dick Pound
© Reuters / Michael DalderFormer WADA president Dick Pound
Ex-WADA president Dick Pound has criticized the reaction to Russian anti-doping authorities missing their deadline to hand over data from a Moscow laboratory, likening it to that of a lynch mob.

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) was given a deadline of December 31, 2018, to provide the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) with access to data from the Moscow laboratory at the center of allegations of state-sponsored doping, as part of the deal to reinstate the Russian organization back in September after a three-year ban.

But when WADA officials arrived in December they were denied access as their equipment was not certified under Russian law.

The response to Russia's missed deadline has seen 16 national anti-doping organizations call for RUSADA to be suspended again.

That response has been criticized by Pound, who told Inside The Games: "Many of those making up the mob know or should know that they are out of line.

"Many others are not familiar enough with the issues to have such strident views and still more have not bothered to inform themselves."

Comment: See also:


Arrow Down

IMF chief warns we are 'dangerously unprepared' for the upcoming global recession

David Lipton
IMF Deputy Managing Director David Lipton
In the starkest warning yet about the upcoming global recession, which some believe will hit in late 2019 or 2020 at the latest, the IMF warned that the leaders of the world's largest countries are "dangerously unprepared" for the consequences of a serious global slowdown. The IMF's chief concern: much of the ammunition to fight a slowdown has been exhausted and governments will find it hard to use fiscal or monetary measures to offset the next recession, while the system of cross-border support mechanisms - such as central bank swap lines - has been undermined, warned David Lipton, first deputy managing director of the IMF.

"The next recession is somewhere over the horizon, and we are less prepared to deal with that than we should be . . . [and] less prepared than in the last [crisis in 2008]," Lipton told the Financial Times during the annual meeting of the American Economic Association. "Given this, countries should be paying attention to keeping their economy on a level trajectory, building buffers and not fighting with each other."

While the IMF projected solid, 3.7% growth in the global economy in 2019 in its most recent, October, forecasts, with the IMF set to release updated forecasts later this month, Lipton admitted that the growth outlook is being undermined by trade tensions, policy flaws and weakness in Asia.

"China is clearly slowing down - we think China's growth has to slow, but keeping it from slowing in a dangerous way is an important objective," he said, noting that a downshift would be "material very broadly, not just in Asia."

Better Earth

Putin invites India's PM Modi to be "main guest" at Vladivostok economic forum

Putin Modi
© Mikhail Metzel / TASS / SputnikVladimir Putin and Narendra Modi. October 2018.
Praising strategic partnership between the two nations, President Vladimir Putin invited India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to become the "main guest" at an economic forum in Russia.

Putin and Modi talked over the phone on Monday, the Kremlin said. The Russian leader invited the Indian PM to attend the Eastern Economic Forum in September. The event is held annually in Vladivostok in Russia's Far East, and is aimed at fostering the nation's trade and joint projects with Asia-Pacific. In 2017, Modi paid a visit to a high-profile economic-themed event in Russia's St Petersburg.

The leaders also agreed to work together on fighting terrorism and solving "other relevant world problems." Putin wished Modi luck in the upcoming general elections, scheduled for spring.

Comment: See also:


Birthday Cake

Putin and Trump: A stark contrast between two New Year addresses

fireworks
Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an intelligent, heartfelt and generous address to all Russians for the New Year. His words contained wisdom and original inspiration, spoken eloquently and at length, seemingly without cue cards.

By contrast, US President Donald Trump gave a churlish, selfish and shallow greeting to "some" of his citizens, a partisan address that was replete with divisiveness, militaristic jingoism and a few token words of cheer thrown in.

The two contrasting styles, and substance, say everything about the two political cultures. Russia's is mature and intelligent. America's, especially under Trump, has become openly self-centered, superficial and aggressive.

For starters, Putin gave a nationwide televised address in which he spoke from the Kremlin fluently for nearly four minutes without a single word misplaced. He was speaking from outdoors as could be seen from his exhaled breath touching the frigid air.

For his part, Trump didn't actually give a nationwide New Year speech. The nearest thing was a 20-second soundbite from the White House lawn in which he wished everyone to have a "good party" while, in self-pitying tone, he added that he would be working in the Oval Office.

Comment: See also: Russia 'never had helpers & never will,' says Putin in New Year's address - calls for Russia people to stand together


Bizarro Earth

Shameless: Israel to demand $250 billion for Jews expelled from Arab States

israel flag
© AFP 2018 / Ahmad Gharabli
In 2014, Israel passed a law making every 30 November a day commemorating the deportation of Jews from Arab and Iranian lands, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin calling for financial reparations over the matter.

Israel will demand compensation from seven Arab states (Morocco, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, and Libya) and Iran for the property abandoned by Jews who were forced to flee those countries after the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948 and the subsequent Arab-Israeli war.

"The time has come to correct the historic injustice of the pogroms (against Jews) in seven Arab countries and Iran, and to restore, to hundreds of thousands of Jews who lost their property, what is rightfully theirs", Israel's minister for social equality, Gila Gamliel, who is coordinating the Israeli government's handling of the issue, said on Saturday.

Comment: According to Wikipedia, from the years 1948 to 2000, Israel is responsible for the displacement of over 5 million Palestinians.


Bad Guys

Bolton and Netayahu meet to discuss staying in Syria, Iran and the occupied Golan heights

Bolton Netanyahu
© FILE PHOTO. Reuters / Sebastian Scheiner
While Washington boasts about an unprecedented strength of relations with Tel Aviv, Israel is reportedly seeking to seize the moment to secure recognition for its sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

"We now have the best US-Israeli relationship in our history," US National Security Advisor John Bolton said during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He also said that Washington is "determined" to keep it that way because the two nations need a "strong bond" and "strong leadership" in increasingly tumultuous times for security.

Washington will do its best to provide security for Israel and its other "friends in the region," Bolton told Netanyahu. "I would just say to any nation whether in this region or not in this region that has any doubt about America's support for Israel's self-defense: You'd better think about it again," he said.

Comment: Just as Trump was claiming to be pulling the US out of Syria, Israel seems to be aiming to keep them entangled with the usual unfounded claims of Iranian aggression - Sputnik reports:
Netanyahu Says Israel to Continue Withstanding 'Iran's Aggression' in Syria

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel would continue to confront Iran's military activities in Syria.

"Our position is clear. We will continue to act against the Iranian military entrenchment in Syria, including at present, and we will act against any element that undermines, or attempts to undermine, the security of Israel", Netanyahu said a government meeting, as quoted on his Twitter.

The prime minister added that he intended to discuss a number of important issues with US National Security Adviser John Bolton later in the day.

"This evening I will meet with US National Security Adviser John Bolton. I will discuss with him the efforts to block the Iranian aggression in our region, the situation in Syria in continuation of both [US] President [Donald] Trump's decision and the conversation I had with [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin last Friday, and the deepening of intelligence and operational cooperation between Israel and the US, which is becoming closer all the time", Netanyahu said.
And it's not only the US Israel has deep ties with: Colluding in war crimes: Britain's unreported military alliance with Israel

Also from Sputnik:
Bolton Reassures Netanyahu of US Support for Israeli Right to Self-Defense

[...]

"For the US, a sovereign nation's ability to defend itself is the ultimate mark of sovereignty. President Trump has said repeatedly that he backs Israel's right to self-defense", Bolton told reporters.

He said the United States would make sure that the Daesh terror group is "defeated and is not able to revive itself and become a threat again" before pulling troops from Syria.

In a show of support for Syrian Kurdish militia in the country's northeast, who were taken aback by Trump's surprise decision to withdraw all 2,000 personnel, Bolton said they would be taken care of.

He promised that Washington would "make sure that defense of Israel and our other friends in the region is absolutely assured and to take care of those who have fought with us against ISIS[Daesh]".

In turn, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Trump for reimposing sanctions on Iran and moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He said he planned to take Bolton on Monday to the Golan Heights - a strip of Syrian land occupied by Israel - to show why it meant a lot for Israeli security.



Eye 1

US Senators admit Ukraine is an 'uncontrollable problem' for US and EU

Ukraine nazi
The undated photo shows government-endorsed extremist fighters posing with neo-Nazi and NATO flags in an undisclosed location in eastern Ukraine.
In the US there was a meeting between Republican senators and representatives of various Ukrainian civil organizations, after lawmakers strongly criticized Ukraine's policy, according to International Policy Digest.

Above all, the senators said that Ukraine has become an uncontrollable country for the US and the European Union, according to the issue.

US politicians have pointed out that the Ukrainian authorities follow an extremely unproductive economic policy.

According to them, international financial institutions contribute billions of dollars to Ukraine, however, the frenzied corruption and sterile expenditures for the internal conflict in Donbass, make international efforts redundant. This also leads to the gradual reduction of the country's GDP, recorded in recent years, as well as the massive emigration of Ukrainians.

Comment: The US is to blame for the chaos in Ukraine, they backed the coup and they're using Ukraine to antagonize Russia: Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: Donbass Leader Assassinated as Russia Exposes Chemical Plot in Syria