Puppet MastersS


Rocket

Palestinians claim victory after failed Israeli operations in Gaza

Robert Inlakesh
Al-Masdar News
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 18:16 UTC
gaza fighters
Palestinians were filmed celebrating after Israeli forces suffered significant blow during their Gaza attack.

Palestinian celebrators filled the streets of Gaza, last night, after what has been considered a tremendous win for Palestinian resistance.
gazans celebrate
After an Israeli violation of a newly brokered ceasefire, a new round of hostilities broke between Gaza and Israel. Various nations, including Russia, Turkey and Jordan, spoke out in condemnation of Israel's provocations.

Israel had attempted to kidnap a leading member of Hamas's Al-Qassam brigades, but failed. The failure of their covert mission, resulted in the killing of an Israeli commander and the retreat of the special forces team, from Eastern Khan Yunis, where they had infiltrated.


Comment: Of course, the Israelis played it up as a success: Israel launches special forces raid into Gaza, kills top Hamas commander - 7 killed in total, including one IDF occupier


Comment: The IDF apparently shot and killed a Palestinian fisherman in Gaza today, despite the ceasefire. Moon of Alabama summarizes the latest developments:
The short conflict demonstrated that:
  • Israel is deterred. It does not want to launch another war on Gaza.
  • The siege of Gaza, by Israel, Egypt and by the Palestinian authority under Mahmoud Abbas, failed. The reputational cost of the siege became too high after Israel killed some 160 Palestinians during weekly protests along the demarcation fence. It had to allow diesel fuel and money from Qatar to reach Gaza.
  • The siege failed to prevent that Islamic Jihad, Hamas and other groups acquired a larger number of missiles and other new capabilities.
  • The Palestinians in Gaza are united. The resistance against the occupation is alive and well.
For decades the Zionist entity was able to attack its neighbors as it pleased. That changed. It no longer dares to step into Lebanon for fear of Hezbullah's reprisal. Syria's western airspace is closed for Israel thanks to the new S-300PMU2 air defense Russia delivered to the Syrian army. Israeli special forces botched their incursion into Gaza and the Iron Dome missile defense proved to be to faulty to protect Zionist settlements. The resistance in Gaza has new capabilities and surprises for Israel should it again attack.


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Eagle

Ex-CIA officer Bob Baer: Washington has always turned a blind eye to Saudi atrocities like Khashoggi murder


RT
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 17:15 UTC
trump mbs
© Reuters / Jonathan ErnstMohammad bin Salman and Donald Trump
The White House is far more interested in ensuring Saudi Arabia's stability than punishing it for the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, former CIA officer Bob Baer said.

"We've always turned a blind eye to what's going on in Saudi Arabia - right from the very beginning," Baer told CNN's Jake Tapper on Tuesday. He stressed that the close ties between the nations make Washington reluctant to attack the kingdom not only with regards to the Khashoggi case but also on the issues of human rights abuses and the devastating Saudi-led war in Yemen.

Washington is more interested in maintaining Saudi Arabia's stability than searching for the truth and criticizing Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, known as MBS, Bob Baer argued. The kingdom remains among the prime buyers of US-made arms and Washington's strategic ally in the region.

"Saudi Arabia is a volcano right now. We don't have players there on our side [other than MBS]," Baer, who is now an author and commentator, said. "What worries the White House is that this country could pop."

Comment: Here's how it works. Having Western values - respecting human rights - is not a condition for being a Western ally (heck, they're not even a condition for the West itself). US human rights policy is simple. If you're already an enemy or competitor of the US, your human rights record will be used against you for leverage. If you're already an ally, your human rights abuses will be ignored. It's that simple.

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Russian Flag

Finnish PM blames Russia for GPS glitches during NATO war games - UPDATE


RT
Mon, 12 Nov 2018 17:02 UTC
Trident Juncture
© AFP / Jonathan NackstrandAn officer on the USS Mount Whitney of the US Navy during the NATO-led military exercise Trident Juncture on November 2, 2018
Finland's malfunctioning GPS signal was caused by Russia, and not the 50,000 troops, 10,000 combat vehicles and 250 aircraft taking part in massive Scandinavian NATO drills - at least that's what the PM thinks probably happened.

Aside from the public pooing, prolific beer-guzzling and frigate-sinking naval mishaps, NATO's Trident Juncture drills - the largest in decades - also suffered from spotty GPS signals. Regrettably, only one of these hiccups could remotely be attributed to Russian deviancy.

Right on cue, Finnish Prime Minster Juha Sipila has stated that "it is possible" that Russia was the "disrupting party" (referring to the GPS problems, not the pooping near Norwegian kindergartens).


Comment: It's also possible Russia is responsible for literally everything that goes wrong everywhere on the planet. Possible, but not likely.


"We will investigate, and then we will respond," he added. "This is not a joke, it threatened the air security of ordinary people."

Too impatient to wait for an actual investigation, the Finnish PM went on to speculate that Russia jammed up Finland's GPS in order to "demonstrate the capabilities for such actions." Case closed?

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Sipila's accusations "groundless," adding that Russia is regularly accused of "all mortal sins."

Comment: Norway has now joined the fray, accusing Russia (also without evidence) of jamming the nation's GPS during the war games:
Now the Norwegian Defense Ministry tells AP in an email that it "was aware that jamming has been recorded between Oct. 16 and Nov. 7 from the Russian forces," claiming that the interference came all the way from the Kola peninsula.

No accidents are known to have happened because of the patchy coverage.
The Russian Defense Ministry has not yet commented on Norway's claim, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had no knowledge of Russia possibly having any role in GPS malfunction. , adding 'there is an obvious trend to blame Russia for all mortal sins and then some. As a rule, these accusations are baseless.'

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Ambulance

Cuba withdraws More Doctors program from Brazil after criticism from president-elect Jair Bolsonaro


teleSUR
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 17:33 UTC
Cuban Doctors in Brazil
The decision comes after Brazil's far-right president-elect Jair Bolsonaro criticized the program and the Cuban government.

Cuba's Ministry of Public Health announced Wednesday it is withdrawing from the Mais Medicos (More Doctors) cooperation program with Brazil, which functioned since August 2013 and ensured health coverage for over a hundred million Brazilians who had no prior access to healthcare.

Cuban health authorities also announced they had notified the Pan-American Health Organization and its Brazilian counterparts of the decision to end its participation in the program.
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Tornado2

Post-bromance spat: Trump taunts Macron for country's losses to Germany in both World Wars, low approval ratings and wine policy


RT
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 08:48 UTC
Trump and Macron
© (L) Global Look Press / CNP/AdMedia / Ron Sachs; (R) Global Look Press / ZUMAPRESS.com / Artur Widak
President Trump continued his verbal spat with French leader Emmanuel Macron, taunting the French leader for his country's losses to Germany in two world wars, and suggesting that Europe needs the US as a saviour.

After returning from Armistice Day commemorations in Paris over the weekend, Trump took to Twitter on Monday to savage the US' European allies for failing to meet their defense spending targets and leaving America to foot much of NATO's bill. On Tuesday, the president vented his frustrations again.

"Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia," Trump tweeted.
But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two - How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!
In a radio interview a week before the commemorations in Paris, Macron called for the establishment of an EU army that can defend the continent "without relying only on the United States."

While Macron once enjoyed a close bond with president Trump, the leaders' relationship has soured as of late. In a speech on Sunday, Macron emphatically denounced Trump's brand of nationalism, comparing it to the forces that plunged Europe into conflict in the 20th Century.

Comment: Trump is on a roll, now attacking Macron's approval ratings, disdain for nationalism and wine policy:


Trump then attacked Macron's plummeting approval ratings - likely a result of France's lagging economic performance, ten percent unemployment rate and a series of scandals that have plagued the Élysée Palace. Trump however, decided to get in some jibes by blaming Macrons' distaste for nationalism:

Macron's office has refused to make any comment in response to Trump's tweet salvo...

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X

Czech Republic joins list of countries rejecting UN migration accord


teleSUR
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 17:10 UTC
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis
© ReutersCzech Prime Minister Andrej Babis
Several other European Union countries have already rejected or are reconsidering the pact. Both Hungary and Austria have said they will not sign the agreement at an upcoming ceremony, in Morocco, in December.

Early Wednesday, Czech Republic voted to not to sign the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration accord, according to Reuters.

"The Czech Republic has long favored the principle of separating legal and illegal migration," Deputy Prime Minister Richard Brabec stated in a news conference. "That is what the Czech Republic's and other European countries' suggestions aimed for. The final text does not reflect those proposals."
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Bad Guys

May strong-arms cabinet in emergency meeting, this is the deal - now back me on Brexit

Dan Sabbagh, Daniel Boffey and Jessica Elgot
The Guardian
Tue, 13 Nov 2018 16:53 UTC
Theresa may cabinet
© VariousLiam Fox, the trade secretary; the chancellor, Philip Hammond; Matt Hancock, the health secretary; and Andrea Leadsom, leader of the House of Commons, pictured in Downing Street
Theresa May summoned her cabinet to an emergency meeting on Wednesday afternoon to sign off her long awaited final Brexit deal, prompting hard-Brexit Tories to call for senior ministers to stand up and block it.

The critical meeting is the culmination of months of negotiations and will see May's senior ministers consider whether they can personally endorse the agreement that the prime minister has been able to reach.

Ministers were summoned to No 10 in the early evening and some met individually with May or her chief of staff, Gavin Barwell. They were given the chance to read the key documents, although they were not trusted to take any papers home. Further one-on-one meetings were expected to take place on Wednesday.

Comment: Theresa doing some pretty fancy footwork trying to give the appearance of listening to the will of the people while de facto maintaining the status quo with Europe.

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Bad Guys

Pence ready for all-out Cold War on China if Beijing refuses to bow to all US demands


RT
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 16:42 UTC
Chinese frontier soldiers
© Whitehotpix/Global Look PressFrontier soldiers practice sabreplay in Heihe, Heilongjiang province of China.
Washington expects Beijing to undertake a dramatic change in all of its policies to accommodate US demands and is prepared for prolonged hostilities if it does not, Vice President Mike Pence reportedly said.

The confrontational stance of the Trump administration was described by journalist Josh Rogin in a Washington Post opinion piece. He said Pence outlined it to him during a flight aboard Air Force Two on the VP's Asian trip.

The US wants China to offer concessions on a wide range of grievances, from intellectual property protection to territorial claims in the South China Sea.


Comment: In decades past, the US has been more or less successful in maintaining influence over many Asian countries, but the benefits of such 'relationships' were based in power rather than productivity. China is changing the dynamics in Asia by bringing actual value with the vast projects included under their One Belt One Road initiative. China will not concede to US demands because the US has not and cannot provide any similar value to the East. Beijing understands how the US will respond, and it has created a strong safety net to maintain their course. The US, however, has nothing to fall on for when their influence fails.

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USA

Best of the Web: Illusion of democracy? If US elections could change anything they wouldn't be held

Neil Clark
RT
Mon, 12 Nov 2018 15:20 UTC
us election vote sign
© Getty Images
Last week's US midterm elections received saturated media coverage. Why? The reality is that elections in the US don't change much, if anything, because America has a regime and is not a genuine democracy.

The US midterms - and you'd have to have been locked in a wardrobe all week to have avoided hearing about them - reminded me of a great song by the 1980s indie-rock band The Smiths. No, not 'This Charming Man', in reference to Donald Trump, but 'What Difference Does it Make?' Remember that one? It should be played on a loop every time America goes to vote.

Because every couple of years, whenever 'big' elections come along in the US of A, we are treated to the same spectacle. Ordinarily intelligent people making fools of themselves in the belief that the elections are 'tremendously important'. When will they ever learn that the best thing to do on a US election night is to go to bed early with a nice hot water bottle and a good book.

Let's take presidential contests first.
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Bad Guys

Why the Saudi-led 'Golden Victory' siege of Yemen's Hodeida is taking so long


RT
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 15:48 UTC
Houthis
© Reuters / Abduljabbar ZeyadHouthi fighters in Hodeida, Yemen
Saudi ground forces are too weak to stand up to the Houthis in Yemen, and their allies and proxies all have their own goals in mind - making the capture of the key port of Hodeida a strategic snarl, experts say.

The coalition offensive on Hodeida - a key port and a lifeline for Houthis and civilians alike - is codenamed 'Operation Golden Victory'. Rather telling, considering the vast amounts of money Saudi Arabia bundles into its military. Ironic, too: it would seem that with such massively superior military resources, the coalition should have stamped the Houthi rebels down within days.

Instead, the operation has been dragging on for months. It started in mid-June, then was paused until September for peace talks. Those eventually collapsed, and the fighting resumed. Now, coalition-backed ground forces are moving inside the city after a tense 11-day battle at the approaches. There are running battles in the streets and local hospitals are overflowing with civilians and militants alike; just one day of fighting claimed some 150 lives.

We asked several Middle East experts how, despite the enormous differences in military resources, the battle for Hodeida has become such a mess.
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