Puppet MastersS


Eye 1

EU proposes new law giving social media companies 1hr to remove extremist content


RT
Wed, 12 Sep 2018 17:32 UTC
eu officials
© Vincent Kessler / Reuters
The European Union chief executive has proposed a new law which would require Google, Facebook, Twitter and other online platforms to remove extremist content within one hour or face a fine.

"One hour is the decisive time window the greatest damage takes place," said Jean-Claude Juncker in his annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament.

Those who fail to remove extremist content within the one hour limit could face a fine of up to 4 percent of their annual global turnover, which could equal $4billion for Google alone.
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Cowboy Hat

Trump signs executive order to sanction countries who interfere in US elections


RT
Wed, 12 Sep 2018 17:21 UTC
trump
© Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that will slap sanctions on foreign companies or people who interfere in US elections.

The sanctions will target anyone attacking election infrastructure or distributing propaganda or misinformation, national security adviser John Bolton claimed. The order, Bolton said, will "protect the United States from foreign interference in our elections and really our political process more broadly."

The order will allow the Director of National Intelligence to identify foreign meddlers and direct the Treasury Department to apply sanctions. In making that assessment, the DNI will consult with all of the US' multifarious intelligence agencies.
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Hourglass

'Something big is coming': French NGO founder in Aleppo says Syrians bracing for US attack - Jaish al-Islam denies preparing for new battle


RT
Wed, 12 Sep 2018 18:48 UTC
US soldier
© Ali A-Saadi / AFP
A major US military escalation in Syria would be "based on lies" and will have "terrible" consequences for Syrians, a French aid worker in Aleppo told RT, adding that Washington seems determined to prolong the war at any cost.

Pierre Le Corf, the founder of the NGO 'We Are Superheroes', has lived for nearly three years in Aleppo - but he said that Western governments, including his home country of France, have provided a distorted picture of the reality on the ground.

"In Aleppo, people are trying to rebuild their lives, and they need to believe that [the war] is over. But we know that something big is coming," he told RT when asked about Washington's repeated threats of military action if the Syrian Army attempts to recapture Idlib province, the last Al-Qaeda stronghold in the country.

Comment: Jaish Al-Islam rebel group denied it is preparing for a new battle in northern Syria as the Syrian Army mulls full-scale offensive.
"The reports released by SOHR about going for a new battle in Aleppo are groundless", Jaish al-Islam spokesman, Hamza Bayraqdar, said.

Bayraqdar added that the monitor group didn't cited an official source from Jaish al-Islam, rather its reports were merely speculations.

"We just released footage for the group's general commander, Issam Bwaidani, while touring our fighters' positions in northern countryside of Aleppo", he commented.


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Megaphone

Turkey calls for Idlib ceasefire at UN Security Council


RFE/RL
Wed, 12 Sep 2018 18:22 UTC
Residents of Idlib Province flee
© Omar Haj Kadour / AFPResidents of Idlib Province flee toward the Syrian-Turkish border on September 10
Turkey has called for international backing for a cease-fire in the last rebel stronghold in Syria, telling the UN Security Council that an all-out assault on Idlib Province will result in a "major humanitarian catastrophe."

Air strikes and bombings will trigger a "massive wave of refugees and tremendous security risks for Turkey, the rest of Europe, and beyond," Turkish Ambassador Feridun Sinirlioglu told council members on September 11.

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said Syrian forces, backed by Russia and Iran, had already launched 100 air strikes on Idlib this month and that their sole aim was "a bloody military conquest" of the region.

Comment: See also: Idlib offensive - Why is Turkey freaking out?

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Die

America's $20 trillion debt makes US dollar a risky asset - Putin


RT
Wed, 12 Sep 2018 16:17 UTC
Uncle Sam balloon
© Eric Thayer / Reuters
There is a global trend among countries reducing the share of the dollar in international settlements, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.

"Given what we are facing when paying in dollars, more and more countries have the desire to trade in their national currencies," Putin said Wednesday.

"Moreover, it is right for financial sustainability to develop bilateral trade in national currencies. We will move towards this gradually," he added.

Comment:

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Bad Guys

Liberal darling Kamala Harris is rapidly gaining a reputation as the most dishonest senator in Washington

Becket Adams
Washington Examiner
Wed, 12 Sep 2018 15:46 UTC
Kamala Harris
© Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesSen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.)
Sen. Kamala Harris', D-Calif., attempts last week to upend Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearings with outright fabrications would make even former Nevada senator and noted smear artist Harry Reid blush.

In fact, if we were to gauge who is the biggest liar right now in the U.S. Senate, Harris has jumped into the lead and seems to be consolidating her position. You don't need to take conservatives' word for that either.

On Sept. 7, Harris' office tweeted the following: "Kavanaugh chooses his words very carefully, and this is a dog whistle for going after birth control. He was nominated for the purpose of taking away a woman's constitutionally protected right to make her own health care decisions. Make no mistake - this is about punishing women." Her office then said in a follow-up tweet one day later: "There's no question that he uncritically used the term 'abortion-inducing drugs,' which is a dog whistle term used by extreme anti-choice groups to describe birth control."

Comment: It's kind of sad to watch Kammy trying to burnish her political cred for a presidential run in 2020.

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Star of David

Israel's influence within the U.S. government threatens anti-corruption probe in Guatemala

James North
Mondoweiss
Tue, 11 Sep 2018 16:09 UTC
Jimmy Morales
President of Guatemala Jimmy Morales
There's a tantalizing hint about Israel's influence within the U.S. government buried in a long article in today's New York Times - about corruption in Guatemala. Here's what happened; three years ago, hundreds of thousands of Guatemalan protesters forced their government to agree to an independent investigative agency to root out widespread corruption. The new International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (Cicig), backed by the United Nations, with U.S. financial support, was headed by a Colombian, and it immediately produced results, including the jailing of a former president.

But after the anti-corruption commission started striking close to the current president, Jimmy Morales, he abolished it, and prevented its head from even coming back into Guatemala. The Trump administration has remained mysteriously silent about Morales's move - even though the U.S. had previously warmly endorsed its investigations.

Why? There's a hint deep in the Times's story today. It turns out that:
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Megaphone

UN chief Guterres concerned that assault on Idlib will 'unleash humanitarian nightmare'


Sputnik
Tue, 11 Sep 2018 00:00 UTC
Idlib
© AFP 2018 / Anas AL-DYAB
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters Tuesday at UN headquarters that an all-out assault on Idlib "would unleash a humanitarian nightmare unlike any seen in the blood-soaked Syrian conflict."

Antonio Guterres also appealed Tuesday to Russia, Iran and Turkey to "spare no effort to find solutions that protect civilians" in Syria's Idlib and said it was "absolutely essential" a full-scale battle was avoided.

In late August, Russia warned that terrorists operating in Idlib were staging a false-flag chemical attack set to provoke Western states' intervention. On Monday, US National Security Adviser John Bolton announced that Washington, London and Paris would give a "strong and united" response in case of chemical weapons' use by the Syrian government.

Antonio Guterres said that the Syrian ceasefire guarantors, Russia, Iran and Turkey, should continue working in the Astana format to prevent escalation of the situation in Idlib.

Comment: Interesting that such concerns weren't voiced prior to the US coalition's bloodbaths in Raqqa, Mosul or Fallujah...but since the UN is heavily influenced by the empire, such criticisms are verboten.

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Chess

About 50 Tory MPs met to discuss how & when they could oust PM May - media


RT
Wed, 12 Sep 2018 16:03 UTC
Theresa May
© ReutersBritain's Prime Minister Theresa May
Around 50 Tory hardline Brexit supporters have met to discuss how and when they could force Theresa May to stand down as British PM, media reported citing sources.

Representatives from the European Research Group (ERG) discussed "how best you game the leadership election rules," a source said as cited by the BBC.

One of those who reportedly attended the meeting said that "everyone I know says she [May] has to go,""she's a disaster," and "this can't go on."
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Vader

US warns Iran not to launch attacks on its gov't facilities in Iraq


Sputnik
Wed, 12 Sep 2018 15:58 UTC
white house
© CC BY 2.0 / Jeff Turner / The Mall - Washington DC
The United States warned Iran not to launch attacks on US government facilities in Iraq and pledged to hold Tehran responsible for any such incidents, the White House said in a press release Tuesday afternoon.

"[W]e have seen life-threatening attacks in Iraq, including on the United States consulate in Basra and against the American embassy compound in Baghdad," the release said. "The United States will hold the regime in Tehran accountable for any attack that results in injury to our personnel or damage to United States government facilities."

Iranian forces last week launched a missile attack on bases belonging to the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) as well as adjacent refugee camps located in Iraq that reportedly killed at least 16 people and wounded 38 others.
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