Puppet MastersS


Bad Guys

European Court of Human Rights rules Alexey Navalny was 'political prisoner'


RT
Fri, 16 Nov 2018 11:03 UTC
Alexei Navalny
© Reuters / Vincent KesslerAlexei Navalny poses with his brother Oleg after the hearing at the European court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France on November 15, 2018.
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has deemed several detentions of Russian opposition activist Alexey Navalny as "politically motivated "and ordered Moscow to pay him damages.

The court announced its ruling on Thursday, ending the case which has been dragging on for years. The Grand Chamber ruled that several arrests, detentions and administrative convictions, that the Kremlin critic Navalny endured back in 2012-2014 were politically motivated.

The Chamber upheld an earlier ruling of the ECHR, announced in February 2017, which awarded the activist €50,000 ($56,500) for "moral damage," €1,000 ($1,100) for material damage, and some €12,600 ($14,200) to cover court expenses. Back then, both the Russian government and Navalny himself asked the court to refer the case to the Chamber. While Moscow challenged the ruling as a whole, Navalny was unhappy that the court did not find a political motive in his detention.

Comment: CBC News reports on Russia's official response to this kangaroo court:
Russia's representative to the ECHR, Deputy Justice Minister Mikhail Galperin, argued during a hearing earlier this year that​ Navalny's arrests were all justified and that his unauthorized rallies put public security at risk. He suggested Navalny staged his arrests to get media attention. [...]

Russia's Justice Ministry questioned what it portrayed as the flawed and inconsistent logic of the ruling, but said it would pay the court-ordered damages and costs, the Interfax news agency reported. [...]

Navalny's legal team said Moscow could not appeal what is a final and binding ruling that is likely to strain already poor relations between Russia and the Strasbourg-based court.

Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the Russian parliament's international affairs committee, said the ruling raised questions about the court's objectivity.

"The ECHR is increasingly becoming a tool to pressure our country," Slutsky wrote on social media.


Read More...
Bad Guys

"Irritating": Pentagon fails first ever audit, "accuracy" problems in $2.7 trillion organization


RT
Fri, 16 Nov 2018 02:01 UTC
dollar burn
© Reuters / Damir Sagolj
The US Department of Defense spent over $360 million to confirm there are problems in the $2.7 trillion organization, but the Pentagon leadership considers the mere fact that this "first-ever" audit happened was a great success.

"We never thought we were going to pass an audit, right? Everyone was betting against us that we wouldn't even do the audit," Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told reporters on Thursday, announcing the end of the eleven-month process.

The actual results of the audit, along with the report by the Pentagon's inspector general, will reportedly be made public on Friday. The process began in December 2017 and involved around 1,200 auditors at the cost of some $367 million, according to what the DOD's Chief Financial Officer David Norquist told Congress in January.

Shanahan tried to put a brave face on the news, saying that the very fact an audit was done at all was "substantial," since the Pentagon is a "$2.7 trillion organization." A 1990 law required an audit of all government departments, but the DOD managed to avoid one until 2017, when the Trump administration appointed Norquist to oversee the process.

Comment: It's true that it's quite a feat that an audit was even done at all, so credit should go to the Trump administration for trying: Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Babylon, Ancient Rome and the American Empire

Read More...
NPC

SOTT Focus: The Real Problem with Nationalism, Without the Virtue Signaling

Harrison Koehli
Sott.net
Thu, 15 Nov 2018 10:56 UTC
eastern orthodox church
Depending on your political bias, U.S. President Trump is either a black hole, or a radiant orange sun. Either way, you cannot escape his influence. Every tweet and stray comment is picked up, and picked apart, by the media. As Jon Stewart recently pointed out - with a degree of insight sorely lacking in the majority of his peers - the media just can't help but take his bait:
"What he's done well is appeal to their own narcissism, to their own ego," he said. "The journalists stand up and say: 'We are noble! We are honorable! How dare you, sir!' And they take it personally."

"Now he's changed the conversation to - not that his policies are silly or not working or any of this other things - it's all about the fight," Stewart said. "He's able to tune out everything else and get everyone else just focused on the fight. And he's gonna win that fight."
But it's not just his attacks on the media (who are just as keen to attack him). Trump manages to dominate the news cycle, and even create the news cycle, by getting them to focus on issues of no real substance, simply because Trump said it. He's a master of distraction by controversy - troll level 'POTUS'. Or maybe it's unintentional and the media personalities are just that obsessed with them. Either way, I increasingly feel like this guy:

As Joe Quinn discussed in his latest SOTT Focus, Globalism Vs Nationalism in Trump's America, Trump created yet another controversy in a two-year long string of nonstop controversies: he said he is a nationalist at the post-midterm-election White House press conference and during a rally in Houston. Naturally, people were irate, because nationalism is bad. Right? Well, as Joe wrote, "Words and their exact meanings matter", so let's take a closer look at the n-word in question.
Read More...
Handcuffs

Hamas dismantles Shin Bet-organized spy cell in Gaza responsible for failed Israeli mission


Press TV
Thu, 15 Nov 2018 16:59 UTC
fighters from al-Qassam Brigades
© AFPIn this file picture, fighters from al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas resistance movement, take part in a parade in Gaza City.
Members of the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement, Hamas, have reportedly uncovered and dismantled a spying network responsible for a recent botched intelligence mission in the Gaza Strip.

Lebanon-based Arabic-language al-Manar television network reported that Hamas intelligence units launched an intensive operation to identify and arrest those who had assisted Israeli forces in carrying out an operation east of Khan Younis on Sunday.

The report added that the detainees had all confessed to have been working for Israel's internal spy agency, Shin Bet.

Informed sources, requesting not to be named, said Hamas intelligence forces made use of subtle techniques to arrest the Israeli agents, who had not aroused anyone's suspicions.

At least seven Palestinians, including 37-year-old local battalion commander of al-Qassam Brigades, the Hamas military wing, Noor Baraka, lost their lives in the failed Israeli assault on November 11. An Israeli lieutenant colonel was killed and another officer was wounded in the action as well.

Comment: Mossad's domestic counterpart, the Shin Bet, has been bribing, blackmailing and coercing Palestinians for many years.

Among other things...

Read More...
Light Saber

Hillary must answer key email questions in 30 days, US federal judge orders

Mark Tapscott
LifeZette
Thu, 15 Nov 2018 00:00 UTC
Democrat needs to come clean with the American people about secrets she's hidden for years
Hillary Clinton
© JStone / Shutterstock.com
A federal judge ordered former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to answer five questions she has avoided for years about her use of a private email server to conduct official U.S. diplomatic business.

U.S. District Court Judge Emmett Sullivan on Wednesday gave Clinton 30 days to respond under oath to five questions.

These questions were all put to her nearly four years ago in a lawsuit filed by the nonprofit government watchdog Judicial Watch.

The five questions are:

Comment:



Read More...
Quenelle - Golden

Why 13 countries prefer purchase of S-400 despite threat of US sanctions

Paul Antonopoulos
Fort Russ
Thu, 15 Nov 2018 00:00 UTC
At least 13 countries are interested in acquiring the Russian S-400 air defense systems instead of US platforms, despite the threat of US sanctions, CNBC said, citing sources close to US intelligence.
S-400
One of the channel's sources, who requested anonymity, said that among the countries that have already expressed their interest in Russian systems are Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Vietnam and Iraq. But, the article points out, Washington hopes that some countries will eventually give up under diplomatic pressure.

Under Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), the US can punish countries that purchase Russian armaments, especially the S-300 and S-400 systems. However, these countries have concerns that the U.S may eventually want to bomb them, and the hostile threat of sanctions are believed to be a tell-tale sign that a military campaign may shortly follow the economic warfare.
Read More...
Propaganda

'Total witch hunt': Trump bashes 'disgraceful' Russia probe


RT
Thu, 15 Nov 2018 00:00 UTC
US President Donald Trump
© Reuters / Kevin LamarqueUS President Donald Trump talks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, November 9, 2018.
As midterm-bolstered Democrats double down on special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into alleged 2016 'Russian collusion', President Donald Trump is lashing out, calling the probe a "disgrace" and "total witch hunt."

Last week's midterm results mean Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives in January, and the party has already said it will use a "subpoena cannon" to target Trump and everyone around him. Trump fired back by denouncing the Mueller probe once again.

"The inner workings of the Mueller investigation are a total mess. They have found no collusion and have gone absolutely nuts," Trump tweeted on Thursday morning.

Comment: Mueller report PSA: Be prepared for disappointment

Read More...
Quenelle

'Unconstitutional': Austria wants no part of European army proposed by Macron, Merkel


RT
Thu, 15 Nov 2018 14:10 UTC
Austrian army
© Reuters / Heinz-Peter BaderAn Austrian army soldier poses with a Steyr AUG A2 Commando assault rifle.
If Germany and France get their wish of developing a European army, Austria wants no part of it. The defense minister's office said it would opt out, as it would conflict with Vienna's constitution and neutrality.

Defense Minister Mario Kunasek's office told Kurier newspaper that while Austria has no details on the army proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, it would still walk away from it because it is "contrary to the Austrian constitutional position" since Austria is neutral.

The idea of a unified European army was proposed by Macron earlier this month, with the French president insisting it is necessary in order to protect the continent from the likes of China, Russia, and "even the United States of America."

Comment: It's an eerie prospect that the EU, which has become synonymous with bureaucrats and opaque democracy, could be trusted with an army. Although it's no surprise Merkel, who's on her way out, and the ever unpopular and duplicitous Macron are chomping at the bit, but they would be hard pressed to find support from a number of other member countries, such as Italy and Hungary. Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: 'Quitaly' Highlights EU's Democratic Crisis

Read More...
Russian Flag

Russian State Duma works to amend controversial anti-extremism law


RT
Thu, 15 Nov 2018 21:13 UTC
Russian Duma
© Global Look Press / State Duma Russia
The Russian State Duma has approved the first reading of amendments to the controversial anti-extremism law, decriminalizing first-time offenses. Some legislators argue, however, that the whole law should be scrapped.


Comment: From 2014: New Russian anti-extremist law comes into force


The main purpose of the amendments, according to legislators, is to make Russian penal code more "humane" and fix Article 282, which proved to be used "arbitrarily" in some cases. Under this legislation, an individual who incites hatred, discord and degrades human dignity in public speeches, in mass media and also in internet publications can end up behind bars for up to six years.

Over the past few years the number of Article 282 cases grew exponentially, with people getting into trouble over simple reposts on social media.
Read More...
Star of David

Lieberman's resignation not a "victory" for Gaza but a warning that the worst is to come

Whitney Webb
MintPress News
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 18:10 UTC
Avigdor Lieberman
© Ariel Schalit / Associated PressIsraeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman delivers a statement at the Knesset, Israel's Parliament in Jerusalem, Nov. 14, 2018.
In the wake of Lieberman's resignation the high probability of a Naftali Bennett-led Defense Ministry would unleash a new, even more brutal wave of extrajudicial murders of unarmed Palestinians, one that would deliberately target children.

A wave of instability now threatens Israel's government following the sudden resignation of Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday. Lieberman announced that he was resigning in protest of a recently brokered ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, which has governed the Gaza Strip since winning elections in 2007. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will serve as interim Defense Minister until an official replacement is appointed. Netanyahu also currently serves as Israel's Foreign Minister and Health Minister.

Comment: Naftali Bennett as Defense Minister is a frightening possibility.

Read More...