Puppet MastersS


Binoculars

Take a peek, terrorists and spies! Belgium to sue Google for refusing to blur military sites


RT
Fri, 28 Sep 2018 13:33 UTC
Belgian army Special Forces
© Yves Herman / ReutersFILE PHOTO Belgian army Special Forces during the Black Blade military exercise at Florennes airbase
Wanna take a peek at jets stationed at Belgian airbases and learn how many US nukes are stored there? Just google it! It's all there on the maps. But Brussels now plans to sue Google for not blurring its military sites.

The Belgian Defense Ministry had already asked the tech giant to blur the sensitive data from Google Maps, but the American company apparently ignored the demand. Now the military has decided to take action.

"The Defense [Ministry] had made a request to Google to blur [Belgian military] sites. After it found out that this [request] wasn't satisfied, it [the ministry] will sue Google," an official from the defense ministry's press service told Sudinfo newspaper.
Read More...
Arrow Up

South Korea to inspect site of inter-Korean road connection next month


Sputnik
Fri, 28 Sep 2018 09:18 UTC
korea seoul
© CC0
Seoul plans in mid-October to conduct an inspection at the site of the planned cross-border connection of the railways and highways of the two Koreas, South Korea's presidential spokesman said on Friday.

"If we are going to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the Donghae and Seohae lines of roads and railways, we have to begin on-site inspections sometime next month... We will hold discussions with the United Nations Command about the South and the North conducting joint inspections," Kim Eui-kyeom said at a briefing, as quoted by Yonhap News Agency.

In addition, in mid-October, the sides will hold negotiations mediated by the Red Cross, to discuss initiatives on the organization of meetings of separated families and exchanging video messages between them.

Kim Eui-kyeom added that Seoul and Pyongyang plan to hold consultations on forming unified teams of athletes to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Comment: Despite continued rhetoric and sanctions (Pompeo returns to fiery rhetoric against North Korea, says sanctions must 'continue vigorously'), the North-South Korean thaw is continuing apace. Some good news for a change...

Read More...
2 + 2 = 4

If US is all for sovereignty, it should stop meddling in other countries' affairs - Lavrov


RT
Sat, 29 Sep 2018 09:14 UTC
lavrov
© Eduardo Munoz / Reuters
If the US cares as much about the concept of sovereignty as President Donald Trump claims, it should stop interfering in the affairs of other countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says.

Statements by top US officials clearly show which country is actually interfering in the affairs of other nations, Lavrov said during a press conference on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Friday.

The foreign minister cited Kurt Volker, the US special representative for Ukraine, as an example.

"It would be fine if Volker talked about reconciliation in Ukraine. All he talks about is how Russia is to blame for everything," Lavrov said.

"And then he takes the liberty of saying things like 'Russian people deserve freedom' - that's the US special representative for Ukraine speaking - 'And the Ukrainian experience should inspire Russian people.'"

"You can probably figure out from this who is calling for meddling and who isn't."

Comment: Can't argue with that.

Read More...
Dollars

Unregistered foreign agent Israel lobbying for $900mln in US financial aid


Sputnik
Sat, 29 Sep 2018 09:12 UTC
us israeli flags
© CC BY 2.0 / zeevveez / Unites States of Israel
The Israeli government is lobbying in Washington, DC for $900 million in US financial aid, a lobbying registration form revealed.

"We will lobby the United States federal government, including the White House, the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, the United States Department of State, the United States Department of the Treasury, the United States Department of Commerce and the USAID to provide more than $900 million in financial aid to Israel," the registration form by the Israeli government said on Friday.

The Israeli government said it has hired the American Federal Lobbying Firm to lobby on its behalf and protect its interests in Washington DC, according to the form.

US President Donald Trump during his address to the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday said the United States will be reviewing all of its foreign assistance programs and will only be contributing aid to countries that are respectful and friendly.

Comment: The biggest welfare queen of them all: Israel.

Read More...
Control Panel

The limits of 'Nuts and Sluts': The conservative moral disgust circuit just gets unleashed after the Dem's treatment of Kavanaugh

Tom Luongo
Gold, Goats 'n Guns
Fri, 28 Sep 2018 00:00 UTC
Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Graham
The Ragin' Cajun, I believe, coined the phrase "Nuts and Sluts" to succinctly describe the tactic used by the elites I call The Davos Crowd to smear and destroy someone they've targeted.

Brett Kavanaugh is the latest victim of this technique. But, there have been dozens of victims I can list from Gary Hart in the 1980's to former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn to Donald Trump.

"Nuts and Sluts" is easy to understand. Simply accuse the person you want to destroy of being either crazy (the definition of which shifts with whatever is the political trigger issue of the day) or a sexual deviant.

This technique works because it triggers most people's Disgust Circuit, a term created by Mark Schaller as part of what he calls the Behavioral Immune System and popularized by Johnathan Haidt.


Comment: For more on this, listen in to: The Truth Perspective: Morality in Politics: Why We All Don't Just Get Along


The disgust circuit is also easy to understand.

It is the limit at which behavior in others triggers our gut-level outrage and we recoil with disgust.

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Bomb

Pictionary diplomacy: Netanyahu's passion for propaganda presentations


RT
Fri, 28 Sep 2018 12:06 UTC
Netanyahu printouts
© REUTERS/CaitlinIt was not the first, and probably won't be the last time Netanyahu resorts to printouts to prove a point.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 'Bibi' Netanyahu has once displayed his passion for presentations, showcasing some funky flashcards at the United Nations to (yet again) drive home his fears of Iran's nuclear ambitions.

The Israeli leader simultaneously lambasted Iran for its alleged disregard for the nuclear deal and its regional aggression across various proxy wars, using his preferred weapon of choice - cardboard printouts. To ward off any negative feedback to said printouts, he also stated that any criticism or skepticism aimed at Israel is simply anti-Semitic.


Comment: And let's not forget about Netanyahu's infamous death stare:



Read More...
Gear

House Intelligence Committee votes to release 'Russiagate' transcripts


RT
Fri, 28 Sep 2018 15:21 UTC
Anti-Trump protesters
© Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
The House Intelligence Committee has voted to release transcripts from its own investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The transcripts include testimony from key Trump campaign figures.

The committee voted Friday to release the 53 documents, which will first go to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) for review and classification. Among the documents are testimonies from Steve Bannon, Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and Roger Stone.

In addition, the documents include transcripts of interviews with a host of Obama administration officials, such as former DNI James Clapper and former deputy Attorney General Sally Yates. Certain transcripts, like those of interviews conducted with former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan, will not be released.
Read More...
USA

Flashback Best of the Web: James Steele: America's director of death squads in Iraq


UK Guardian
Wed, 20 Mar 2013 08:27 UTC
james steele
James Steele, CIA butcher of Latin America and Iraq
The following 50 minute documentary provides clear evidence that, in the aftermath of the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003, the US government, military and CIA organised death squads of up to 10,000 men for the purpose of sowing terror among the Iraqi population, in an effort to defeat the Iraqi resistance. Did they leave when most US troops left in 2011? Not likely...

Read More...
Rocket

Jordanian FM unaware of US plans to pull Patriot systems from the country


Sputnik
Thu, 27 Sep 2018 00:00 UTC
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safad and Lavrov
© Sputnik / Ekaterina Chesnokova
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi told Sputnik on Thursday that he was unaware of the reported plans by the United States to withdraw Patriot missile systems from the country.

On Wednesday, US media, citing American defense officials, reported that the Pentagon plans to remove four Patriot missile systems from the Middle East next month.

"I am not aware of that, so I can't speak on this," Safadi said when asked to confirm the reports.

Comment: See: US Missile systems to be pulled out of the ME, says WSJ report

Read More...
Eye 1

Facebook admits to using phone numbers submitted for security purposes to target ads


RT
Fri, 28 Sep 2018 17:43 UTC
facebook
© Regis Duvignau / Reuters
Facebook has confirmed it uses phone numbers, provided to them by security-conscious users for two-factor authentication on their accounts, to target the same individuals with advertising.

The tech giant's confession follows a report in Gizmodo based on research carried out at Northeastern and Princeton universities which uncovered the deceptive practice.

"We use the information people provide to offer a better, more personalised experience on Facebook, including ads," a Facebook spokesperson explained, adding that users can opt out of this by not using phone-number-based two-factor authentication.
Read More...