Puppet MastersS


Snakes in Suits

SOTT Focus: In Siding With Fascism, Western Ideologues Pose a Greater Threat to The West's Security Than ISIS

Far right Activists
© Reuters/Gleb GaranichActivists of far-right parties in front of the presidential administration headquarters in Kiev, Ukraine November 26, 2018 .
A Western ideologue unravelling is no pretty sight. It's like watching a lobster boiling in a pot. And like that lobster he or she eventually pops.

'Popping' recently over Russia have been key figures of the Western geopolitical and ideological firmament - people for whom the world is made of a Western bloc of nations divinely ordained to command, and the rest of the world condemned to obey.

A prime example of what I mean concerns the Atlantic Council in Washington, one of the more notorious of an ever expanding network of neocon think tanks in our world, within whose Washington offices you will find gathered cranks of inordinate dimension.

For such people Russia is not a country of 146 million people whose contribution to the world in the fields of art, science, culture and so on has been profound throughout its history and remains so today, but instead is a cancer that needs to be removed - preferably by force.

Comment: See also: US Congress stops funding for Ukraine's war-criminal, neo-Nazi Azov Battalion


Star of David

CNN fires Marc Lamont Hill for pro-Palestine remarks, but gives a platform to Israeli gov't spokespeople

Mark Lamont Hill
Yesterday, CNN fired grassroots activist, professor, and occasional commentator Marc Lamont Hill after his passionate remarks at the United Nations defending freedom in Palestine and supporting the use of grassroots resistance against Israeli policies. In particular, Hill's critics slammed his call for freedom in the holy land "from the river to the sea," alleging that this long-standing, unambiguous Palestinian slogan of liberation amounted to calling for the "destruction" of Israel or otherwise contains some sort of anti-Jewish or anti-Israeli sentiment. Hill denies any secret meanings, and it prompts the question of what it says about Israel as an ethnocracy that freedom for Palestinians is perceived as "destruction".

CNN's decision to fire Hill, nonetheless, is not surprising. Though Zionist groups regularly allege anti-Israel bias on CNN, the record, detailed below in chronological order, shows almost the exact opposite. While CNN had no shame in firing a prominent black professor for little more than defending Palestinian rights at a United Nations panel, CNN has a long history of hiring Israeli government personnel and lobbyists, and even Netanyahu speechwriters, to freely spout war propaganda designed to dehumanize the Palestinian people and sanitize Israeli government abuses.

Brick Wall

And... it worked again: Every meeting between Trump and Putin has been obstructed by sabotage

Putru
© The Daily Beast/KJN
US President Donald Trump has canceled a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit, citing an incident with Ukraine, the latest in a series of attempts to block all talks between Moscow and Washington.

After consulting with his hawkish national security adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Trump backed out of the scheduled meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina. It was the first known instance of the US president bowing to those seeking to stop him from talks with Putin - but not the first time they tried.

On the eve of the Trump-Putin summit in Helsinki, Finland in July, special counsel Robert Mueller indicted twelve Russian nationals on charges of hacking the Democrats during the 2016 US presidential election. Mueller is investigating Hillary Clinton's claim that Trump "colluded" with Russia to steal an election that was rightfully hers.

The Russian Foreign Ministry reacted to the indictment by saying it seemed calculated to spoil the meeting. Moscow wasn't alone in coming to that conclusion: The top Democrat in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, argued along the same lines, saying that "Glad-handing with Vladimir Putin on the heels of these indictments would be an insult to our democracy."


Umbrella

Trump: Wouldn't rule out pardoning former aide targeted in Russia probe

Manafort
© Jonathan Ernst/ReutersPaul Manafort
U.S. President Donald Trump says he will not rule out pardoning his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, who this week became the renewed target of a special investigation into ties between Russia and his 2016 campaign.

Trump told the New York Post in an interview published on November 28 that he had not "discussed" pardoning Manafort, "but I wouldn't take it off the table. Why would I take it off the table?"

Manafort was convicted of bank and tax fraud this summer, and in September he pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy charges leveled by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading an investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Manafort, 69, faces years -- even decades -- in jail, particularly since a cooperation agreement he signed with prosecutors fell apart this week. Manafort had been cooperating with Mueller since September in hopes of a lighter sentence. But Mueller informed a U.S. court on November 26 that Manafort had violated the cooperation deal by lying repeatedly to prosecutors.

Manafort denied lying or breaching the agreement, but he agreed to face immediate sentencing for his crimes. Without a pardon, former prosecutors say he could spend the rest of his life in jail.

Comment: It doesn't sound like Mueller is investigating as much as he is trying to bully his suspects into the shape of what he wants to see. Is that his job?


Star of David

Saudi Arabia and Egypt urge Arab nations to create ties with Israel

Al-Sisi/MbS
© REUTERS/Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal CourtSaudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman • Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
Although Saudi Arabia is officially at a state of war with Israel, reports indicate that the two countries covertly maintain ties, especially with respect to military and intelligence issues. Egypt, in turn, signed a peace treaty with Israel 39 years ago and has since maintained official diplomatic ties with the Jewish state.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are seeking to encourage other Arab nations to establish trade ties with Israel and resolve political differences with the Jewish state, according to Al-Arabi Al-Jadid.

The newspaper reported that the two leaders discussed the issue during Bin Salman's visit to Cairo on Monday, when they also focused on US President Donald Trump's peace plan for the Middle East settlement, which is expected to be unveiled in December.

Government officials in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel have yet to comment on the Al-Arabi report.

Comment: With enemies for friends the ME should be one truly happy place.


Question

An anti-war shift or Riyadh regime change? Analysts question motive for US Senate's Yemen resolution

MbS  Bahrain
© ReutersSaudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud in Manama, Bahrain, November 26, 2018.
A Senate resolution that would end US support for the Saudi-led invasion of Yemen may be using humanitarian concerns as a pretext to dethrone Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, analysts say.

A bipartisan proposal to block any further US military assistance to the Saudi-led coalition waging war in Yemen is one step closer to being adopted, after the Senate voted 63-37 on Wednesday to allow a floor vote on the resolution.

The legislation's early successes have been interpreted as a kick in the teeth to US President Donald Trump's unapologetic support for Riyadh, but some have questioned the timing of the proposal - and whether it will have any long-term effect on Washington's deep-rooted ties to the Kingdom.

Long overdue?

The horrific war in Yemen has been raging for three years, so why is it only now that lawmakers are sharing heartbreaking photographs of starving Yemeni children on the Senate floor?

Comment: That the US legislative bodies are lagging in responsibility for US war activities, care not about international laws and are late (by just a few years) to the horrific Yemeni humanitarian crisis, shows the sad state of awareness and lack of information-gathering taking place. The Senate's focus for the resolution is closer to home. It wants to trim Trump's wings regarding war decisions. The better question: So what didn't Israel like about MBS?
See also:
5 Republican senators, voting against the Yemen war resolution, received funding from Saudi lobbyists


Airplane

Angela Merkel's plane to G20 forced to make unscheduled landing

Merkel disembarks
© Jorg Blank/AFP/Getty ImagesAngela Merkel disembarks at Cologne's airport after an emergency landing.
The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, will likely miss the opening of the G20 summit in Argentina after her plane was forced to make an unscheduled landing after developing technical problems.

The plane, which was en route to Buenos Aires, turned back when it was over the Netherlands and landed in the German city of Cologne because it was the only base with a replacement aircraft, the German news agency DPA reported.

The Airbus A340 was met on the tarmac by fire engines, DPA said, adding that the captain told the passengers the plane had to turn back as a technical problem was disrupting several electrical systems. According to German military blog Augengeradeaus.net, the aircraft was transmitting a 7600 transponder code, indicating a radio failure.

"We will not be proceeding today," Merkel's spokeswoman told the news agency AFP.

Dollars

5 Republican senators, voting against the Yemen war resolution, received funding from Saudi lobbyists

5 senators
© Wikipedia/magazine.wfu.edu/arktimes/cdapress/KJNSenators: Burr • Scott • Blunt • Boozman • Crapo
On Wednesday, senators delivered a historic blow to the country's relationship with ally Saudi Arabia, a country whose leadership has committed notable human rights violations, by voting to move forward a resolution that would end all U.S. military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

But at least five of the Republican Senators who voted against the bill have received funding from lobbyists working for Saudi Arabia, a fact that illustrates how the kingdom uses its vast wealth to influence U.S. foreign policy.

Republican Senators Roy Blunt of Missouri, John Boozman of Arkansas, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Mike Crapo of Idaho, and Tim Scott of South Carolina received financial contributions from lobbying firms that worked for Saudi Arabia, according to a report by the Center for International Policy released last month.


Comment: Any 'payment for a particular response' is a form of bribery. Not much different than Israel's and various Jewish lobbies' pressure and financial influence on Congress.

More from Al Jazeera:
"It's a major rebuke of the Trump administration and of Secretary Pompeo in particular, who this morning made his case about why the US support for the Saudi operations in Yemen were so critical," he told Al Jazeera.

"Clearly Senators were not convinced. What we're seeing are several issue play out. The Trump administration for the first part of the term has been able to ride roughshod over congressional oversight.

"What we're seeing now is both Democrats and Republicans saying: 'We want to look at these issues. We want to look at the direction that you're heading on whether it's on Saudi Arabia, Iran or North Korea'."

Pressure has been mounting for the US to end its support for the conflict. According to a recent YouGov poll, 89 percent of liberals Americans and 54 percent of conservatives expressed an opinion opposing continued arms sales to the Saudi-UAE alliance fighting in Yemen.

"The Saudis, lobbyists, the Secretary of Defense, none of them have been able to stop this anger which is brewing."
See also: An anti-war shift or Riyadh regime change? Analysts question motive for US Senate's Yemen resolution


Gold Bar

No worries? Germany's finance minister unconcerned its gold reserves are stuck in the US Federal Reserve

German gold bars
© Global Look Press/Christian Ohde
For decades, the Bundesbank, Germany's central bank and custodian of the country's gold, has been storing over 1,200 tons of the precious metal worth nearly €50 billion in the New York vaults of the US Federal Reserve.

After a public outcry in Germany in 2013, authorities started the repatriation program, aimed at returning the country's gold reserves, which have been stored outside of the country since the Cold War. Berlin intended to get at least half of the country's gold from the US and France by 2020. The government had initially planned to complete the program within a five-year period, but the US Federal Reserve renegotiated the process to a seven-year timeline.

The country reportedly managed to ship only five tons of its gold in 2013 due to logistical difficulties. The following year, Germany repatriated 120 tons of the precious metal - 35 tons from Paris and 85 tons from New York. Some 110.5 tons were brought back from Paris and 99.5 tons from New York in 2015. Two years ago, the country repatriated total of 200 tons.

So far, the Fed has denied the German financial regulator access to the vast deposits that are literally being held hostage overseas. Thus, the Bundesbank has had no opportunity to audit the reserves that belong to Germany.

Comment: No raised eyebrows? Perhaps the German finance minister would benefit from extra research by reading the articles listed below. See also:


Eye 2

US Labor Secretary and the prosecuting attorney softened charges against billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his powerful friends

Jeffrey Epstein
© Neil Rasmus/Patrick McMullan via Getty ImagesBillionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein attendingLaunch of RADAR MAGAZINE at Hotel QT on May 18, 2005
Ahead of a trial slated for December 4 over a lawsuit filed against billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who is accused of enslaving dozens of underage girls for sex, a new report details US Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta's role in covering up the full scale of Epstein's crimes.

Epstein's teen sex trafficking ring worked like a pyramid scheme, according to victims, who say they were paid to give massages to Epstein, paid extra for sex acts and paid even more to recruit more girls between the ages of 13 and 16 into the ring. The girls were also, at times, allegedly offered up to Epstein's powerful friends.

"We had victims who didn't know each other, never met each other and they all basically independently told the same story," Michael Reiter told the Miami Herald. Reiter was police chief in Palm Beach, Florida - where Epstein resided - during the investigation. Two police officers also said that they were pressured by then-Palm Beach State Attorney Barry Krischer to discontinue their investigation or downgrade the case to a misdemeanor.

In 2008, Epstein was convicted of soliciting an underage girl for prostitution and served 13 months in prison following a plea agreement. His conviction followed a series of dismissals of other, similar lawsuits that same year.

Comment: You can check out the full article from the Miami Herald here.

Pedophiles in positions of power have been in the headlines constantly in recent years: