Puppet MastersS


Russian Flag

Broadcasting this evening from the Kremlin roof TNT Radio's War of the Worlds

John Helmer
Dance with Bears
Sun, 07 May 2023 00:00 UTC
War of he Worlds
To an alien from another planet, where curiosity starts with naivety, the question is being asked why earthlings calling themselves the state media of Russia report analysis of an attack on the most obvious symbol of their state from two Americans who have spent their active service careers sworn to defeat what that symbol stands for — one of them in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the other in the US Marine Corps (USMC).

Having retired years ago, and lacking access to the secret CIA and USMC intelligence which was once their stock in trade, everything they know about Russia comes - they sometimes admit - from Russia.

The naïve but curious alien might therefore be forgiven for asking the earthlings to explain why the following headlines in the Russian state news agency Sputnik could possibly be believable - at least to an alien: "Former CIA Officer Reveals Possible Motive Behind Kremlin Drone Attack"; and "Scott Ritter on Kremlin Strike: Zelensky Gov 'Now a Legitimate Target'".

How could these two retired warfighting soldiers against Russia possibly know?

Comment: See NewsReal: Russian In-fighting, Kremlin Hit With Drones: Ukraine Winning?

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Bizarro Earth

Ukraine's arrest of Gonzalo Lira for 'harbouring pro-Russian sentiments' exposes Kiev's crackdown on freedom of press - Helsinki Times


Helsinki Times
Sat, 06 May 2023 12:00 UTC
Gonzalo Lira
Screenshots of Lira's arrest.
The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) arrested Gonzalo Lira, a US-Chilean national residing in Kharkiv, on suspicions of harbouring pro-Russian sentiments. This marks the second time Lira has been apprehended by the SBU. Lira, an author and filmmaker who relocated to Kharkiv years ago and married a Ukrainian, was initially detained in April 2022 but was released after a week without charges. He was subsequently instructed not to leave the city and prohibited from discussing his arrest.
As reported by Ukrainian media, the SBU's statement accuses Lira of publicly justifying Russia's armed aggression, denying or glorifying supposed Russian war crimes, and undermining Ukraine's top military and political leadership and Defence Forces.

On May 5, the SBU website published a statement in Ukrainian titled "SBU detained a foreign blogger in Kharkiv who denied the crimes of the Russian Federation and insulted Ukrainian defenders." The statement alleges that Lira was among the first to support Russian invaders and glorify their war crimes. It also accuses him of discrediting Ukraine's military-political leadership and Defense Forces. The SBU claims that Lira filmed provocative videos featuring Ukrainian defenders and insulted them.
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Quenelle

China vows countermeasures if EU imposes sanctions on firms


PressTV
Mon, 08 May 2023 16:00 UTC
Wang Wenbin
FILE PHOTO: Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Wang Wenbin
China says it will implement countermeasures against the European Union (EU) if the bloc imposes sanctions on Chinese companies over alleged assistance to Russia in the Ukraine war, urging the EU to avoid taking the "wrong path."

Later this week, the EU member states will discuss a new package of sanctions, a copy of which was seen by the Financial Times (FT) on Sunday. It intends to levy punitive measures against seven Chinese businesses accused of helping Russia with equipment that could be used in the war.


Comment: 'Could be used'; meanwhile apparently the West thinks it should be free to service Ukraine as it pleases: 'Neutral' Switzerland's Italian-made weapons in use in Ukraine


On Monday, Beijing issued a firm response.

Comment: The US intends to use the EU in its war on China, as it has used them against Russia in Ukraine, and the EU, yet again, seems to be more than willing to destroy its economies in that effort:

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Snakes in Suits

US politician suggests blowing up Taiwan's semi-conductor manufacturer 'if China invades'


Gnewswire
Mon, 08 May 2023 22:12 UTC
Seth Moulton
Screnshot
US politicians have once again sparked debate by suggesting bombing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) in the event of cross-strait conflict. During a recent Milken Institute forum discussion on China-US strategic competition, Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton stated, "China needs to know that if you invade Taiwan, we'll blow up TSMC". While participating in the same panel discussion, US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul revealed that President Tsai Ing-wen had asked him about the status of her country's weaponry during his visit to Taiwan in April.

This is not the first time that US politicians have suggested bombing TSMC. In 2019, former Vice President Joe Biden had mentioned that the US would have to come up with new ways to counter China's cyber attacks and intellectual property theft, including striking at Chinese companies like TSMC. Republican Senator Tom Cotton also touched on the topic earlier in May this year when he stated that America's military response should include targeting Chinese critical infrastructure such as TSMC and Huawei.

Comment: China would have no need to 'invade' Taiwan - known officially as the Republic of China - if the US weren't intent on provoking it into a conflict that it has no choice but to respond to, in the same way it has done with Russia in Ukraine.

Further, remember when a number of US representatives casually discussed 'stopping' Nord Stream II, which was then bombed in a terrorist attack? The following potentially suspect incidents occurred on April 24th: Fires at Taiwan's counter-hacking unit, construction site of semi-conductor factory

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Chess

What can China do in response to NATO's foray into Asia?

Timur Fomenko
RT
Mon, 08 May 2023 19:12 UTC
biden with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio
© Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty ImagesBiden with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio
Japan is reportedly planning to open a NATO liaison office in Tokyo. The office will be the first of its kind in Asia, and is designated to "coordinate" with the alliance on security matters, and on the issue of China.

It is no secret that the US seeks to expand and institutionalize the military bloc into Asia and place its footprint on a global scale, a notion that has been encouraged by the conflict in Ukraine, and called for by many senior Western figures. This shows that the organization has long discarded its original purpose, and has become a tool of hegemony and domination, far from the so-called 'defensive' alliance that it once claimed to be, over one specific geographic area of the globe.

The administration of US President Joe Biden is arguably the most militarily aggressive US presidency in decades, even more so than the George W. Bush presidency given the circumstances. Biden has ramped up tensions with larger powers, as opposed to merely conducting smaller regime change operations after the horrors of 9/11. In doing so, Biden has aggressively sought to expand alliances such as NATO, creating new mechanisms such as AUKUS, brought Europe to the brink of war with Russia, and is going to place new nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula. While the previous president, Donald Trump, sought to downsize NATO and make it more financially self-reliant, the Biden administration is unapologetically attempting to 'globalize' it.
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Bad Guys

Replacing one horror with another: Biden picks failed OMB nominee Neera Tanden to succeed Susan Rice as policy advisor

Chris Pandolfo
Fox News
Fri, 05 May 2023 19:48 UTC
neera tanden biden
© Alex Wong/Getty ImagesBiden initially appointed Tanden to be director of the Office and Management and Budget (OMB), but her nomination was withdrawn after lack of congressional support amid controversy over her past tweets criticizing Republicans.
'I am pleased to announce that Neera Tanden will continue to drive the formulation and implementation of my domestic policy,' Biden says

President Biden on Friday announced that White House staff secretary Neera Tanden will be promoted to serve as the president's new domestic policy adviser, following former Ambassador Susan Rice's exit from that role.

The White House also said that Stefanie Feldman will be the new White House staff secretary and Zayn Siddique will be promoted to Principal Deputy of the Domestic Policy Council.

Tanden was initially nominated by Biden to head the Office of Management and Budget. The nomination was withdrawn earlier this year over a lack of congressional support for her nomination, and following criticism over some of her past posts on Twitter.

After her nomination was withdrawn, the president vowed to find a place for Tanden in his administration - one without the requirement of Senate approval.

Comment: So Biden turfs a warmonger only to replace her with a Killary minion. Fantastic . . . .

Neera figures largely in Clinton events:

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MIB

CIA 'involved' in JFK's murder - Robert Kennedy Jr


RT
Mon, 08 May 2023 17:52 UTC
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
© AP Photo/Hans PenninkRobert F. Kennedy, Jr.
US presidential candidate said the agency's culpability in his uncle's murder was "beyond a reasonable doubt"

Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has alleged that the CIA was behind the assassination of his uncle, US President John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1963, and likely involved in the murder of his father, US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, who was shot dead in 1968.

Speaking during an interview with WABC radio host John Catsimatidis on Sunday, Kennedy Jr. said "There is overwhelming evidence that the CIA was involved in [JFK's] murder," describing it as "beyond a reasonable doubt at this point."

Comment:

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Arrow Up

Syria's return to Arab League is a big deal

M.K. Bhadrakumar
Indian Punchline
Mon, 08 May 2023 18:50 UTC
Arab League Meeting
© Indian PunchlineEmergency meeting of Arab League foreign ministers agreed to readmit Syria, Cairo, May 7, 2023.
When a mere subplot overnight assumes habitation and a name, it becomes more fascinating than the main plot itself. Syria's return to the Arab League after its decade-long exclusion can be regarded as a sub-plot of the China-brokered rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran. But then, China and Iran are not per se party to the process.

Syria's return to the Arab League is seen as an Arab initiative, but it is quintessentially a project Riyadh steered through in close consultation and coordination with Damascus, ignoring some murmur by a clutch of Arab States and patently in defiance of Washington's trenchant opposition.

Against the backdrop of the epochal struggle for a new world order characterised by multipolarity and resistance to Western hegemony, Russia and China quietly encouraged Riyadh to move in such a direction.

A riveting thing about the decision taken by the foreign ministers of the seven Arab League nations at the meeting in Cairo on Sunday is its sweet timing. For, this is the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Ba'ath Party in Damascus in 1943, which espoused an ideology of Arab nationalist and anti-imperialist interests that have lately re-appeared in the geopolitics of West Asia.

Syria has a tradition of strategic autonomy. Through the past decade, it was preoccupied with fighting off the US-sponsored regime change project, with help from Russia and Iran. As it turns the corner and is stabilising, Syria's strategic autonomy will be increasingly in evidence. This is one thing.

However, the strategic relations with Russia and Iran will continue to remain special and there should be no misconceptions on that score. But Syria is capable of ingenuity and diplomatic acumen to create space for itself to manoeuvre, as geopolitics takes a back seat and Assad prioritises stabilisation and reconstruction of the economy, which requires regional cooperation.
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People 2

Brotherhood: Arab League reinstates Syria


RT
Mon, 08 May 2023 17:36 UTC
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bashir al assad syria UAE
© United Arab Emirates Presidential Court /EPA, via ShutterstockPresident Bashar al-Assad of Syria, left, and the Emirati ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, last month.
The Arab League agreed on Sunday to reinstate Syria's membership of the organization. The move comes ahead of a summit of the League scheduled to take place in Riyadh on May 19.

The decision was adopted at a closed-door meeting of the group's top diplomats in Cairo, with representatives of 13 out of the 22 member states in attendance. All of them endorsed the move.

Syria was suspended from the Arab League in 2011 in the wake of the civil unrest in the country, part of the broader Arab Spring turmoil in the region, which ultimately sparked civil war. Most Arab nations severed diplomatic ties with Damascus at the time, with some of them openly backing various opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Comment: China watches Russia's back in the Middle East while it deals with Ukraine.

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Handcuffs

Suspect in car bombing of Russian writer admits working for Ukraine


RT
Mon, 08 May 2023 17:13 UTC
suspect arrested Prilepin car bombing.
© Russia’s Investigative Committee / TelegramAlexander Permyakov, the suspect in the Zakhar Prilepin car bombing.
A man detained nearby shortly after the blast claims he had been recruited by Kiev long ago

The chief suspect in the bombing of the car carrying Zakhar Prilepin has admitted to being linked to the Ukrainian intelligence services, Russia's Investigative Committee revealed on Saturday.

Prilepin, a prominent Russian writer and political activist, was targeted by a roadside bomb earlier in the day in the village of Pionersky, some 70km from the eponymous city, located some 400km to the east of Moscow. The blast killed Prilepin's associate, who was driving the car, and left the writer critically injured.

The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Ukrainian-born Alexander Permyakov, was apprehended shortly after the attack while trying to escape the scene on foot. Locals alerted the police to the fleeing man, who was eventually captured in a nearby village.

Comment: On the mastermind behind the murders:
General Kirill Budanov
General Kirill Budanov, Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense -
Spy chief Kirill Budanov suggested that his military intelligence unit was responsible for the murder of Darya Dugina in Moscow

Ukrainian intelligence chief General Kirill Budanov has told Yahoo News that his organization, the GUR, will continue its campaign of terrorism against Russians "anywhere on the face of this world." The Kremlin has vowed that such attacks will "not be left unanswered."

Budanov - who heads the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense - was charged with terrorism offenses by a Moscow court last month, and Russian authorities have linked him with a string of sabotage and assassination operations, most recently a foiled plot to murder top Russian officials in Crimea.

In an interview with Yahoo News, held last month but published earlier this week, Budanov declared that what Russia calls "terrorism, we call liberation." Asked whether the GUR was responsible for the murder of Russian journalist and political activist Darya Dugina in Moscow last year, he gave a cryptic answer.

"Don't continue with that topic," he said. "All I will comment on is that we've been killing Russians and we will keep killing Russians anywhere on the face of this world until the complete victory of Ukraine."

Despite Budanov's boasting, Washington apparently has the GUR on a short leash. Recently leaked Pentagon documents suggested that when Budanov ordered his subordinates to "get ready for mass strikes" on Russian cities in February, American spies, who had been monitoring his communications, intervened to call off the operation.

Since Budanov spoke to Yahoo, two explosives-laden drones were downed over the Kremlin and a car bomb seriously injured Russian reporter and activist Zakhar Prilepin. A suspect in the bombing attack on Prilepin admitted to Russian law enforcement that he had been hired by an unspecified Ukrainian intelligence service, while Moscow has said that the US bears ultimate responsibility for both incidents.

"We know full well that decisions to carry out such terrorist actions are made not in Kiev, but in Washington," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the attack on President Vladimir Putin's office. "Such crimes will not be left unanswered," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that the "Kiev regime" will face "a stern and inevitable punishment."


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