Puppet MastersS


War Whore

As Syria cleans up Idlib, the US goes for broke against Russia

USA drones
The U.S. foreign policy establishment will not go gently into that good night in Syria. For weeks I've been keeping only half an eye on the situation there waiting for confirmation of U.S. intentions now that the bulk of the country has been returned to government control.

And with the attack on the Khmeimim air base at in Latakia we now have our answer. On January 6th the so-called moderate rebels - who have been getting routed by the Syrian Arab Army - launched a major offensive on the air base using more than a dozen drones dropping mortar shells.

The Russian air defense systems thwarted the attack with damage to a couple of planes. The Russians are convinced (and said publicly) that this attack could only have been pulled off with assistance from a technologically-advanced state.

This is the Russian way of saying that the U.S. was behind the attack. This report from Southfront has one of our Boeing P-8 Spy planes in the area during the attack.

The U.S., of course, denies this saying that the technology is available on the open market. Yes, but so what? It takes a little more than buying these drones to put them in the air and coordinate an attack with them.

In effect, this was not a denial.

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Attention

Seven revelations from Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson's senate testimony

Glenn Simpson Fusion GPS
© Youtube screen grabFusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson
One of the biggest takeaways from Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson's Senate Judiciary Committee testimony is that he has no independent proof that the allegations made in the infamous Trump dossier are accurate.

An extensive review of Simpson's 312-page Aug. 22 interview transcript shows that his strongest evidence for believing the dossier's accuracy is that he trusts Christopher Steele, the former British spy who compiled the 35-page document.

"Chris, as I say, has a sterling reputation as a person who doesn't exaggerate, doesn't make things up, doesn't sell baloney," Simpson, a former Wall Street Journal, told Senate investigators in the interview.

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Eye 2

Longest-serving Palestinian prisoner marks 36 years in Israeli custody for alleged offence

An undated photo of Karim Younis (File)
An undated photo of Karim Younis (File)
Karim Younis, the longest-serving Palestinian prisoner in Israeli custody, marked his 36th year in Israeli prison on Saturday.

Younis, a Palestinian citizen of Israel from the Palestinian town of Arara in Israel, was arrested by Israeli authorities on January 6, 1983, according to official Palestinian Authority (PA)-owned Wafa news agency.

Comment: Also See:


Question

Art of the non-deal: Finding the answer to a riddle shrouded in a mystery

Kim/China/US
© Latuff
The art of the non-deal might be the only way out of the stand-off between the US and North Korea

High-level inter-Korean talks at the border village of Panmunjeom not only represent a vital step in Winter Olympics' diplomacy but also offer a tantalizing chance of a breakthrough in stalled six-party discussions. In stark contrast with the usual tweet barrage, United States President Donald Trump even told South Korean President Moon Jae-in that the meeting could yield a positive outcome.

Among the possibilities are that Seoul and Pyongyang could resume civilian exchanges. The hotline between South and North Korea could reopen along with the joint Kaesong Industrial Region, which was closed in 2016.

The potential of reinvigorating the sidelined six-party talks, involving China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, the US and North Korea, is another possibility.

Beyond the Winter Olympics, the fierce divide between North and South, of course, will not be breached, even though North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has stressed that his country will not go nuclear unless "hostile forces" attack his regime. He appears confident that there will not be a preemptive US nuclear strike because of the North's deterrent. So, the question now is where will China position itself after the Panmunjeon talks?


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Star of David

Israel's BDS blacklist comes straight out of apartheid, UK can't condone it

Boycott
© Rebel News
Israel's "BDS blacklist", published in the Israeli media on Sunday, bans 20 charities and human rights groups from entering the country, because they support the Palestinian-led boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement - a campaign that holds Israel to account over violations of Palestinian rights and international law.

This repressive move is borrowed straight from the playbook of South Africa's apartheid regime, which had the same aim of silencing critics. Ultimately, Israel's blacklist will fail, just as South Africa's did. But first and foremost, the ban calls for a robust condemnation from people of conscience around the world - and the UK government, which continues to conduct "business as usual" with Israel.

As one of the blacklisted organisations, War on Want is in good company, alongside groups such as the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, Jewish Voice for Peace and the American Friends Service Committee - a US Quaker group awarded a Nobel peace prize in 1947 for assisting people persecuted by the Nazis.

Barring foreign advocates of human rights and international law is the latest in a string of increasingly frantic attempts to gag critics of the Israeli government's unjust and illegal policies, and to intimidate the growing global movement in defence of Palestinian rights.

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Arrow Up

US will remain in Syria many years, so says Kurdish party representative

Flag/blood hand/Daesh
© The Last American Vagabond
Sputnik Turkey met with representatives of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) amid reports of the US continuing its buildup of military and political presence in the areas controlled by the PYD in Syria.

Sputnik Turkey cited media reports suggesting that the United States is allegedly going to give political recognition to the Federation of Northern Syria, unilaterally proclaimed by the PYD, as well as create a new military structure called the Army of Northern Syria, which will include Kurdish self-defense units (YPG).

Ebdulkerim Omer, a co-chairman of the Council for Foreign Policy, which was proclaimed by the Party of the Democratic Union of the Jazira Region, told Sputnik in an interview that the Federation of Northern Syria maintains good relations with the US and intends to develop them in the future. "The official recognition of the Federation of Northern Syria by the US will take time. This is a diplomatic issue and cannot be achieved immediately. But the process that is taking place right now is inherently a recognition," Omer said.

He further said that the US will be staying in the region for some time. "The US will remain in the north of Syria for many years. The fact is that they will assist in the restoration of the destroyed territories and in the issues related to the return of refugees." According to the co-chairman, the US will also help in the matter of ensuring security along the border. "We want the US to stay in the region. Our relations and cooperation with the United States will continue," he said.

Comment: The US has inserted itself, confused issues, taken advantages and betrayed trust on many fronts regarding Syria and the players involved. Nothing is for sure with nothing as it seems.


Hiliter

That Pakistan is no longer US ally is a much bigger deal than you think

Pakistan protest
© Geopolitical Futures
Donald Trump's decision to ring in the New Year by simultaneously demonizing both Iran and Pakistan on Twitter has already backfired tremendously. Following threats that the U.S. would withhold aid to Pakistan, the U.S. confirmed it would withhold $255 million in aid (which has now become $900 million) and is now reportedly threatening a roughly $2 billion more, as well.

"We're hoping that Pakistan will see this as an incentive, not a punishment," a State Department official told reporters.


Comment: Surely the US would see it that way (not) if roles were reversed!!!


According to the Wall Street Journal, this recent animosity towards Pakistan has not gone over well. Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said in an interview that the U.S. has failed to behave as an ally, and as a result, Pakistan no longer views it as one.

Comment: Trump's "Stick and Carrot" schtick needs work. Losing Pakistan to China and Russia IS a big deal - for China and Russia.

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Star of David

Basking in Trump's support, Israel closes door on refugees - and disagreeable Jews

African refugees
© AP/Oded BaliltyAfrican refugees protest outside of the Holot detention center near Ktsiot in the Negev Desert.
Many Jews are now banned from entering Israel solely because of their ideological differences with the Israeli government. Ironically included among banned groups is the American Friends Service Committee, recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize for aiding Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany.

Though the Israeli government is enjoying a time of nearly unprecedented cooperation with the current U.S. president and his administration, several recent stories have derailed its carefully honed image of a homeland for the Jewish people regardless of race, national origin or political persuasion.

Israel has long been a country that prides itself on welcoming all Jews and offering support to all refugees in conscience of the Jews' own plight during the Second World War. But a series of damaging stories have shown the current government taking a hard turn against Israel's heritage as such a haven.

First, Israel ordered the deportation last Tuesday of thousands of African migrants who have been termed "infiltrators," not immigrants, by Israel's Population and Immigration Authority. Based on concerns repeatedly voiced by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, a major motivator for the edict was the fear that the unchecked influx of African migrants could present a threat to Israel's social fabric and Jewish character. Seemingly ignored is the fact that such an influx is now all but impossible, given the massive border wall Israel has constructed along its border with Egypt.

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Bizarro Earth

Flashback 10 false flags operations that shaped the world

false flag wtc world trade center
© REUTERS/Sara K. Schwittek
From Nero to 9/11, via Pearl Harbour and the Gulf of Tonkin incident... Joe Crubaugh provides an "all time greatest hits" of false flag operations, whereby one scenario is repeated... as the world keeps falling for the same lie.

The most commonly known false flag operations consist of a government agency staging a terror attack, whereby an uninvolved entity gets blamed for the carnage. As at least two millennia have proven, false flag operations, with healthy doses of propaganda and ignorance, provided a great recipe for endless war. In "War is a Racket", Two-time Medal of Honor recipient Major General Smedley Butler wrote:
"I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested."
You may not have heard of these operations, but perhaps you have heard of these?

Comment: False flag operations are so common in this day that it's become standard operating procedure for imperialist powers. See also:


Info

Bill Browder: Criminal, con-man, liar, Magnitsky Act agitator and the man who made Russiagate possible

William Browder  Magnitsky act
© Yuri Gripas / ReutersWilliam Browder
[Editor's note: One of the key but still little known figures in the ongoing hysteria concerning alleged Russian influence and meddling in the U.S. is William Browder, an American-born oligarch who renounced his U.S. citizenship to become British, apparently for tax purposes. Browder got rich in Moscow running a hedge fund and was friendly towards Vladimir Putin's government until he was accused of defrauding it of significant tax revenues.

Browder, who has spoken extensively about Russia in the media and also testified before congress, is not exactly an impartial observer. But he has received tremendously favorable coverage in the mainstream press, where the consensus narrative is that he is a selflessly seeking to expose corruption and Russian influence in America. Indeed, various journalists I've spoken to have said it's been all but impossible to write critically about Browder because of the smothering consensus that has formed around him.

To get a fuller portrait of Browder, I'm publishing this piece by Lucy Komisar, a longtime financial reporter. It originally ran last fall at 100 Reporters and at Lucy's website, thekomisarscoop.com, but the story it tells is generally unavailable to an American public being bombarded with a flow of news about Russian meddling, much of it badly informed.]

The controversial New York meeting in June 2016 between Donald Trump's campaign team and a group of Russians, initiated as a talk about finding dirt on Hillary Clinton, is drawing new scrutiny of US economic sanctions against targeted Russians.

Comment: For the full scoop on Browder, don't miss our interview with hedge fund manager Alex Krainer: