Puppet MastersS


Bad Guys

Iraqi lawmakers condemn Trump visit as blow to sovereignty


Reuters
Thu, 27 Dec 2018 21:25 UTC
trump iraq
© Andrew Harnik/APPresident Donald Trump speaks at a hanger rally at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2018.
Iraqi political and militia leaders condemned U.S. President Donald Trump's surprise visit to U.S. troops in Iraq on Wednesday as a violation of Iraq's sovereignty, and lawmakers said a meeting between Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi was canceled due to a disagreement over venue.

Sabah al Saadi, the leader of the Islah parliamentary bloc, called for an emergency session of parliament "to discuss this blatant violation of Iraq's sovereignty and to stop these aggressive actions by Trump who should know his limits: The U.S. occupation of Iraq is over."

The Bina bloc, Islah's rival in parliament and led by Iran-backed militia leader Hadi al-Amiri, also objected to Trump's trip to Iraq.
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Handcuffs

Venezuela's top court sentences nine military officers for 'Operation Jericho' coup plot to overthrow Maduro


RT
Thu, 27 Dec 2018 09:27 UTC
Nicolas Maduro
© AFPVenezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (C) attends a ceremony to celebrate the 81st anniversary of the establishment of the National Guard, in Caracas, Venezuela, on August 4, 2018.
Nine members of the Venezuelan armed forces have been imprisoned for taking part in a plot to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro five years ago, after courts rejected their final appeal.

The military men were sentenced to a minimum of five years in jail for "preparing in 2014 an insurrectional and destabilizing movement, called Operation Jericho, against the government," according to a statement from the Venezuelan court. Their sentence was handed down after multiple appeals were rejected and dismissed by lower courts and a court-martial.

The convicted officers are all reportedly linked to prominent opposition politicians as well as the US government. Those sentenced include General Oswaldo Hernandez, retired Colonel Jose Delgado, Andres Thomas Martinez, and Captain Acacio Moreno Mora. Over 30 military officials were arrested in connection with Operation Jericho during March and April 2014.

The plot envisaged military detachments arresting Maduro and other high-ranking government officials, with the hope of inciting a "citizens' revolt." Reportedly planned over the course of two years, it was foiled in March 2014 after uninvolved military officers tipped off authorities.

Comment: Maduro is now taking the bull by the horns:

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Bad Guys

CNN attacks US troops for Trump support

Amber Athey
The Daily Caller
Thu, 27 Dec 2018 21:09 UTC
Trump US troops
CNN is accusing U.S. troops stationed in Iraq of breaching protocol by having President Donald Trump sign "Make America Great Again" hats during the president's official visit.

Trump and first lady Melania departed late Christmas evening on a surprise visit to Al Asad Air Base in Iraq.

Prior to the trip, Trump had been criticized repeatedly by the media for not visiting a war zone during his time in office. NBC News prematurely accused the president of skipping the presidential tradition of meeting with troops around Christmas time, writing shortly before the president's unannounced visit to Iraq, "Trump becomes first president since 2002 not to visit troops at Christmas time."

Being unable to criticize Trump for visiting the troops, some news outlets turned their focus to the service members who received him.
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Chess

More sanctions please: Trade between Russia and EU grows by 22% for 2018


RT
Thu, 27 Dec 2018 21:09 UTC
Christmas gifts
© pexels.com
The volume of trade between Russia and the European Union (EU) has been steadily growing since the beginning of 2017 despite mutual sanctions introduced almost five years ago, said Russian ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov.

"Since the beginning of 2017, mutual trade between Russia and the European Union's countries showed a tendency towards dynamic growth, which consolidated this year," the envoy told Izvestia newspaper.

He cited statistics that in the first three quarters of 2018, trade turnover between Russia and the EU increased by 21.5 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.
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Bad Guys

Israel sets sights on 2,000 additional illegal settlement homes in West Bank


Sputnik
Thu, 27 Dec 2018 21:09 UTC
Israel settlements
© Reuters/ Baz Ratner
Authorities in Israel have advanced plans to have nearly 2,200 settlement homes illegally constructed in the occupied West Bank.

A committee within Israel's Defense Ministry charged with handling such projects approved the plans on Tuesday and Wednesday.

A total of 2,191 settlement homes were advanced this week, with 1,038 clearing their final hurdle in the approval process before construction can begin. The remaining homes are still being processed.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law. Members of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement seek to pressure international governments and companies into dropping business with entities that profit off of illegal Israeli settlements.
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Arrow Down

Peter Townsend - The Politics of Contempt

Peter Townsend
Peter Townsend Info
Mon, 10 Dec 2018 21:39 UTC
Politics of Contempt
© Peter Townsend Info
Most people outside the Netherlands are probably only vaguely aware that it used be ruled by Spain. For Dutch people however this experience is seared into their collective memory. Especially since it took a war, lasting 80 years (1568-1648), to get rid of the Spanish yoke.

A key event in the run-up to this conflict took place in 1566 when a Dutch delegation came to see the Spanish Regent, Margaret of Parma (ruling on behalf of Phillip II) with a list of requests. One of her advisors would have been right at home in 21st century politics. He counselled the Duchess not to pay any attention to them since 'they are only beggars' (geuzen). This high-handed dismissal of the legitimate concerns of the Dutch people led directly to a war that Spain could ill afford, with massive loss of life on both sides.

Let's fast forward to today. It seems our global elites are not keen students of history. The weapon of choice when it comes to the concerns of the 'common person' is still to sneer at them.
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Eiffel Tower

Why 'Jupiter' Macron went missing for a week


Sputnik
Wed, 26 Dec 2018 20:11 UTC
macron
© Agence France-Presse/Ludiovic MarinFrench president Emmanuel Macron addresses troops of the Barkhane force at the Barkhane tactical command center in N'Djamena on December 22, 2018
French media have been worrying about the absence of President Emmanuel Macron from the public spotlight. A news channel said that Macron's entourage recommended him to avoid increased attention in light of the Benalla affair and the Yellow Vests mayhem.

According to Le Figaro, the latest official event on Macron's agenda was his two-day visit to Chad late last week, where he met with French soldiers deployed as part of Operation Barkhane, an anti-insurgent mission in the country.

Last time the president appeared on TV was France 2's Tuesday broadcast, which was recorded on Saturday, during his visit to Africa.

Comment: A little PR jaunt by Macron to ingratiate himself with the military rank-and-file as the Yellow Vest protests show no sign of slowing down? The generals are already at odds with him for signing the Marrakesh migration agreement.

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Padlock

Ukraine: Martial law is over, so how did it change the country?

Translators: Ollie Richardson, Angelina Siard
Stalker Zone
Wed, 26 Dec 2018 17:15 UTC
Poroshenko
© AFPUkraine President Petro Poroshenko
On December 26th at 14:00, i.e. at the time of writing, the action of martial law (ML) in Ukraine, which was introduced in ten regions of Ukraine for a month, came to the end. "Strana" analysed how these 30 days passed and how the measures were reflected in the lives of Ukrainians.

An interesting summary of ML was sounded by the People's Deputies who themselves voted for it at the last coordination council of the Verkhovna Rada. It was passed on December 17th. During their speeches, politicians were many times asked what in general is the sense of martial law, but they couldn't answer. People's deputies immediately initiated the introduction of some new measures, but they corrected themselves - as if saying that there were only ten days left, thus it's already too late.

In other words, the legislators actually recognised, by and large, that martial law, which was eerily announced on all the country's TV channels, turned out to be a soap bubble. And all of the last 30 days eloquently confirm this.

Comment: The obvious reality of declaring Martial Law in a country that has no concept, nor ability to effect it, suggests it was a pushed button for the US and Western attention. Ukrainians have seen through the ploy as 'a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.'

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Light Sabers

After Bibi complains about US troops pulling out of Syria, Trump reminds Israel about the billion$ it gets in free money each year

Philip Weiss
Mondoweiss
Thu, 27 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
NetiTrump
© Kevin Lamarque/Reuters"Slap my hand if $4.5B is enough."
President Trump complained about how much the U.S. gives Israel, during a briefing with reporters in Iraq last night:
Q. About the criticism that, by leaving Syria, you might increase jeopardy for Israel, how do you respond?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I don't see it. And I spoke with Bibi. I told Bibi. And, you know, we give Israel $4.5 billion a year. And they're doing very well defending themselves, if you take a look.

But we'll be there for Israel. We'll always be there for Israel. I'm the one that moved the embassy to Jerusalem. You know, nobody was willing to do that. All these Presidents came and went. They all said they will do it. They never did it. Many, many Presidents said they were going to move the embassy to Jerusalem. They never did it; I did it. Big difference.

So that's the way it is. We're going to take good care of Israel. Israel is going to be good. But we give Israel $4.5 billion a year. And we give them, frankly, a lot more money than that, if you look at the books - a lot more money than that. And they've been doing a very good job for themselves.
It appears Trump is confused about the number. The U.S. gives Israel $3.8 billion a year in military aid. Though Israel had sought $4.5 billion a year, per the Times.

Comment: Israel is 'doing more than well' in raking in US monetary support for its military arena - to the point it utilizes US funding to support its own production of money-making war equipment (such as its drone industry) obviously sold at a profit to other countries. And, $3.8B represents only 'the military part' of its US subsidies. Israel, by all standards, is neither poor nor defenseless.

More from Sputnik:
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he is not worried that withdrawing troops from Syria could endanger Israel, claiming the US' military partner is capable of defending itself.

Trump commented on the issue during his surprise visit to the Ayn al-Asad Airbase in Iraq while defending his decision to pull troops out of Syria, where they had been leading a coalition fighting the Daesh terrorist group, the Times of Israel reported.

The United States currently allocates $3.8 billion to Israel every year as part of a defence aid package which was previously agreed during Barack Obama's administration. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) provides Israel with $38 billion over a 10-year period, including funding for the development of Israel's missile interception programs.
See also:

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Jet3

Russia: Israel's provocative strike in Syria directly jeopardized two civilian flights

Noa Landau
Haaretz
Wed, 26 Dec 2018 04:32 UTC
4 Israeli F-161 fighter jets
© File Photo IDF Spokesperson's Unit4 Israeli F-161 fighter jets
Russia's Defense Ministry said Wednesday that the airstrike in Syria attributed to Israel "directly endangered" two civilian flights.

The ministry did not specify which flights had been threatened but said one of the flights was landing in Beirut and the other in Damascus. It added that Syrian air defences had destroyed 14 of 16 Israeli missiles launched against unspecified targets near Damascus by six Israeli F-16s on Tuesday.

A Defense Ministry spokesman said the Syrian military didn't fully engage its air defense assets to avoid accidentally hitting the passenger jets. He added that Syrian air traffic controllers redirected the Damascus-bound plane to the Russian air base in Hemeimeem.

Comment: See also:
As millions of Syrian Christians celebrate first Christmas without ISIS terror since 2011, Jewish state bombs Syria

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