Puppet MastersS


Better Earth

If US politics were real, a massive Blue Wave would be 100% certain

Caitlin Johnstone
caitlinjohnstone.com
Mon, 05 Nov 2018 00:01 UTC
trump wrestling
I haven't been writing about the US midterms much, because I don't care about that nonsense anymore. The whole thing's a fake pro wrestling performance staged every couple of years to give a heavily armed populace the illusory sense that they have some degree of control over the things their government does.

By this I do not mean that the votes aren't real or that the outcomes are predetermined, I simply mean that both mainstream parties are controlled by plutocrats who benefit from the status quo and are only interested in their own power and profit. No matter who wins on Tuesday, the wars are guaranteed to continue, the oligarchs are guaranteed to keep siphoning more and more money out of the pockets of ordinary Americans, opaque and unaccountable intelligence agencies are guaranteed to continue expanding intrusive surveillance practices and narrative control psyops in collaboration with powerful Silicon Valley corporations, and we're guaranteed to keep hurtling toward climate catastrophe on the back of an economic system which requires infinite growth on a finite planet. The only thing that might change a tiny bit is America maybe temporarily having a government which pretends to care about oppressed minorities sometimes.

Comment: See also:

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Light Saber

Turkey vows to make 'sea bandits' tapping disputed gas reserves off Cyprus pay, like the 'terrorists in Syria'


RT
Mon, 05 Nov 2018 10:45 UTC
Turkish Navy frigate Gaziantep
© Reuters / Can SezerTurkish Navy frigate Gaziantep escorts drilling vessel Fatih October 30, 2018
Ankara will not allow any "sea bandits" to roam free and tap the disputed natural gas reserves off Cyprus, Turkey's president has vowed, while commissioning a new warship to challenge competitors militarily, should the need arise.

"We will not accept attempts to seize natural resources in the Eastern Mediterranean through the exclusion of Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)," Erdogan said Sunday, according to Daily Sabah. While claiming that Turkey has no ambitions to annex any "territories," Ankara promised to protect "the rights of our country and of our brothers."

"Those who thought that they could take steps in the Eastern Mediterranean or the Aegean despite [this] have begun to understand the magnitude of their mistake. We will not allow bandits in the seas to roam free just like we made the terrorists in Syria pay," Erdogan said at a ceremony transferring the TCG Burgazada corvette to the Turkish Navy.

The exploration of hydrocarbon resources off the coast of the Republic of Cyprus has become a sensitive issue for the international community, ever since the first gas deposit discoveries were made off the coast in 2011. While the Republic of Cyprus belongs to the EU community and is recognized by the UN, TRNC, the northern third of the island, has been occupied by Turkey since 1974. As a result, Ankara continues to claim jurisdiction for offshore research in the East Mediterranean, an area thought to be rich with natural resources.
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Dollar

Not so good intentions: In 2016, Soros boasted of spending $500 million on migrants

Luke Rosiak
The Daily Caller
Sun, 04 Nov 2018 11:05 UTC
Georg Soros - Životno djelo i ciljevi genija zla
Democratic donor George Soros earmarked half a billion dollars in 2016 to support migrants, writing that "harnessing the power of the private sector" is critical to support the "tens of millions of people [who] are on the move, fleeing their home countries in search of a better life abroad."

"I have decided to earmark $500 million for investments that specifically address the needs of migrants, refugees and host communities," Soros wrote in The Wall Street Journal. "I will invest in startups, established companies, social-impact initiatives and businesses founded by migrants and refugees themselves. Although my main concern is to help migrants and refugees arriving in Europe, I will be looking for good investment ideas that will benefit migrants all over the world."

"We will also work closely with organizations such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Rescue Committee to establish principles to guide our investments," he added.

Comment: Coming from a conscienceless psychopath, that is a rather frightening thought. What he calls "conscience" is a very different thing from the actual meaning of the word. So far the only thing he has brought to the world continues to be chaos and disorder.See also:

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Dollar

De-dollarization Explained: World dumping US debt & hoarding Gold


You Tube
Mon, 05 Nov 2018 12:10 UTC
In a special extended segment, Anya Parampil is joined by In Question producer Kei Pritsker, who explains why Russia, China, India, Japan, Turkey, Venezuela, and Iran have all made moves away from the dollar, including dumping their holdings of US debt and increasing their respective gold reserves.

Comment: See also:

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Propaganda

Ridiculous! NYT exaggerates 'Russian influence in 2016 election' by factor of hundreds of millions

Gareth Porter
Consortium News
Mon, 05 Nov 2018 11:13 UTC
Fake News
© Getty images
Even more damning evidence has come to light undermining The New York Times' assertion in September that Russia used social media to steal the 2016 election for Donald Trump.

The Times' claim last month that Russian Facebook posts reached nearly as many Americans as actually voted in the 2016 election exaggerated the significance of those numbers by a factor of hundreds of millions, as revealed by further evidence from Facebook's own Congressional testimony.

Th further research into an earlier Consortium News article shows that a relatively paltry 80,000 posts from the private Russian company Internet Research Agency (IRA) were engulfed in literally trillions of posts on Facebook over a two-year period before and after the 2016 vote.
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Jet3

NATO's "interception" of Russian planes is fake news

Valentin Vasilescu
Voltaire Network
Mon, 05 Nov 2018 10:34 UTC
royal air force
Almost every month, NATO announces that its interception at air protocols have been activated by a Russian airplane getting too close to the border of a NATO member state. These alarm bells constantly sirening in our ears, create the impression we are under a perpetual threat of war. Yet these Russian airplanes never actually violate NATO airspace. What is actually going on?

For several years, the Western media, NATO officials and an army of "analysts" have been contaminated with Russiaphobia. Their hearts seem to be heavy with a mortal fear of "aggression" by the Russian Air Force in the proximity of NATO territorial waters in the Baltic and the Black Sea. Let us examine the reasons for this fear, which you are sure to conclude are trivial.

In the three Baltic states and Romania, NATO has established a mechanism called "Quick Reaction Alert" (QRA). QRA is a system of rotation involving 150 soldiers, 6 pilots and four fighter planes which respond to a simple mandate imposed on the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy and other NATO countries to undertake air policing, every four months.

Comment: See also: NATO takes Russian paranoia to the next level with air exercises at civilian airports in eastern Europe

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Better Earth

Two Koreas raise yellow flags at guard posts along fortified border


Sputnik
Mon, 05 Nov 2018 01:13 UTC
North South Korea demilitarised zone
© REUTERS / Kim Hong-Ji
South Korea and North Korea have raised yellow flags at 22 guard posts near their heavily fortified border as a first step to commence their dismantlement, local media reported on Sunday citing South Korean Defense Ministry officials.

The flags were hoisted to show that the guard posts are to be dismantled in accordance with an agreement reached at a third inter-Korean summit in September, according to the Yonhap news agency.

"This is aimed at enabling each side to observe the progress in dismantlement work so that it can be carried out in a transparent manner," a defense ministry official was quoted as saying by the agency.

Comment: And the reunion of the Koreas continues apace: Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Trump Wags the Iran Riot Dog, Kim Talks Korean Peace

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Chess

Pepe Escobar: Under the Pakistani Volcano

Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
Sat, 03 Nov 2018 00:00 UTC
While Khan plays on a complex geopolitical chessboard, Chinese aid could be a financial lifeline as Islamabad faces off against deadly religious extremism
Pakistan
© iStockImran Khan's Pakistan is a central player of a new Great Game, but faces violent religious challenges domestically.
It has been a breathless week, huddled in the shadow of the simmering, bubbling, politico-religious volcano that is Imran Khan's Pakistan.

And this week's multi-faceted developments may just signal seismic shifts in Pakistan's internal and external relations for the foreseeable future.

Before moving on to bloodier matters, let's start with the "Mr. Khan Goes to China" episode - essential for reviewing all aspects of what is enthusiastically described by both sides as the "all-weather strategic cooperative partnership".
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Star of David

Fmr US ambassador to Saudi Arabia says King Salman once told him that 9/11 was an Israeli plot

John Haltiwanger
Business Insider
Tue, 16 Oct 2018 22:57 UTC
Robert Jordan saudi official
Robert Jordan is a former US ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Robert Jordan on Monday urged President Donald Trump against trusting the Saudi Arabian government as it denies having any involvement in the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Jordan said that King Salman, the kingdom's current monarch, once told him the September 11, 2001, terror attacks were an Israeli plot, a seeming effort to downplay that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals.

"Let's remember, this is the same King Salman who told me after 9/11 that the 9/11 attacks were an Israeli plot," Jordan told CNN. "He said that firmly. Did I believe that? Of course not. I don't think you can go in with wide-eyed acceptance of anything some of these world leaders say."


Comment: The good Mr. Jordan, should perhaps do some more research before dismissing a head of state in a position to know something about the matter. A majority of the "hijackers" were Saudi nationals.

60 Minutes, 28 pages and the limited hangout: The truth about the Saudi connection to 9/11


Jordan said he believes there is reason to "worry" Trump may be giving a "pass" to the Saudis regarding Khashoggi's fate.

Comment: A case can be made that likely both countries were in on it. Israel reaped immediate and lasting benefits, but exactly how Saudi Arabia has gained is not clear.A back deal with the neocons in power at the time for continued support and increased weapons sales may be one answer

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Brick Wall

US troops laying down razor wire at Texas border bridge

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Sun, 04 Nov 2018 22:08 UTC
troops razor wire mexican border
© John Moore/TwitterSoldiers spread out barbed wire along the Rio Grande in south Texas.
US troops at the US-Mexico border are laying down approximately 1,000 feet of razor wire fending along the Texas side of the Rio Grande river underneath the McAllen-Hidalgo International Bridge, as three separate caravans of Central Americans make their way north in the hopes of claiming asylum.

Soldiers participating in Operation Faithful Patriot are working with US Customs and Border Patrol officers to install the fending, according to the Department of Defense.
McAllen-Hidalgo International Bridge border razor wire
© Google EarthMcAllen-Hidalgo International Bridge

Comment: The Pentagon seems to take several different views of the matter: But now having second thoughts?

Migrant caravan: Pentagon refuses Trump request for US troops deployment to the border
The DHS had been tasked by the Trump White House with requesting US Army reserve forces to serve as "crowd and traffic control" for Customs and Border Protection (CMP) personnel at the Mexican border, in the event that a group of asylum-seeking Central American migrants - referred to as a 'migrant caravan' - approached the US border.

Although the Pentagon rejected the request, the DoD did agree to provide air surveillance and logistical support to the CPB, as well as medical personnel and engineers, according to CNN.

The DHS demand for troops equipped with live-fire weapons was rejected by the DoD, however, as the Pentagon noted that active-duty soldiers did not have the authority to conduct a mission of that nature without first receiving additional stipulations from the president.

While DHS has discussed the need for potential assistance with force protection of CBP personnel, calling this line of support 'law enforcement activities' would be factually inaccurate," an anonymous DHS official close to the situation said, cited by ABC News affiliate Kitv.com.

US troops on active duty are not allowed to participate in domestic law enforcement, except in times of emergency. Trump has consistently threatened to send soldiers to the Mexico border, declaring that a rapidly-escalating immigration danger exists as lawmakers stump for candidates ahead of the upcoming US 2018 midterm elections, according to CNN.


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