Puppet MastersS


Chess

India not bowing to US pressure, will continue doing business with Russia, Iran, Venezuela despite sanctions

Frank Sellers
The Duran
Tue, 29 May 2018 18:03 UTC
Russia India
Washington has taken up the perspective that it's not going to do business with any country that they aren't fond of, regardless of whatever agreements that it has made, and neither will it allow any of its friends or trade partners do it either, regardless of whatever that means for the hundreds of millions of people that America is directly and indirectly impacting in so doing.

While communism can't be used anymore as an excuse for an anti Russian posture, Washington isn't letting that hold them back. It has managed to make use of lots of pretexts, never backed up by any evidence other than imaginary, in order to justify these actions.

Often, words like 'human rights', 'freedom', 'democracy', or other nice sounding words and phrases are thrown around as good things that these countries are allegedly deficient of. So America gets away with artificially inflicting economic hardship on entire populations through economic sanctions, leading to rank financial inequality in these places, and lots of unnecessary suffering; oh, how humanitarian of them.
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Heart - Black

Best of the Web: Celebrity atheist Sam Harris shills for Israel - and he's wrong on every point

Marcus Ranum
FreethoughtBlogs.com
Fri, 25 May 2018 14:44 UTC
sam harris jerusalem
© TelegraphHarris illustrates his audio file with this picture of a Hamas M75 rocket that hit Jerusalem in July 2014
WARNING: War, Death, Sam Harris
WARNING: LONG
(0:0) Sam Harris: The question I have now received in many forms goes something like this: "Why is it that you never criticize Israel? Why is it that you never criticize Judaism? Why is it that you always take the side of the Israelis over the Palestinians?" Now, this is an incredibly boring and depressing question, for a variety of reasons.
This is not an auspicious start. Harris begins by framing the (alleged) question he receives "in many forms" in the most severe characterization possible: "never." Doubtless, people have asked Harris variations of that question, but by framing it in terms of "Why is it that you never criticize Israel" Harris deals from the bottom of the deck a bit - he's making it easier for himself. He can just say, "Well, OK, here's some criticism? Are we done?"

Following that, we have what is - unfortunately - a very typical Sam Harris ploy: deriding a straw-man version of a prospective opponent's argument. I had a philosophy professor in college who did this incessantly, and it was infuriating: "surely nobody in their right mind would accept this argument." Basically, putting a rhetorical thumb on the scales against anyone who'd argue the opposite position. Harris uses these rhetorical flourishes often; no doubt he's trying to help feed the stereotype of atheist thinkers as smug and arrogant.
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People 2

Syria recognizes independence of Abkhazia, S Ossetia - will establish diplomatic relations


Sputnik
Tue, 29 May 2018 17:47 UTC
South Ossetia
© Sputnik / Ruslan VakhaevBorder between Georgia and South Ossetia
Syria has recognized the independence of Abkhazia and decided to establish diplomatic relations with the republic, Abkhazia's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

"The Republic of Abkhazia and the Syrian Arab Republic declare mutual recognition and establishment of the diplomatic relations between the two countries at the level of embassies, which reflects their mutual desire to develop relations in all areas," the ministry's statement read.

South Ossetia's Foreign Ministry, also on Tuesday released a statement, announcing that Syria and South Ossetia had also declared mutual recognition and agreed to establish diplomatic relations at the level of embassies, "seeking comprehensive political, economic and cultural cooperation and interaction between the two countries for the benefit of their people."

Comment:

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People 2

'Italy won't be bullied': Italian president's govt rejection slammed by both conservatives and leftists


RT
Tue, 29 May 2018 19:06 UTC
The Italian and EU flags fly at the Quirinal Palace in Rome
© Alessandro Bianchi / ReutersThe Italian and EU flags fly at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, Italy, on April 4, 2018
The Italian president's rejection of the Euroskeptic coalition's choice of economy minister, which led to the appointment of a former IMF official as interim PM, has ruffled the feathers of both conservatives and leftists.

Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who was at the forefront of the Brexit campaign, had some words for his old foe Brussels while speaking in front of the European Parliament on Tuesday, particularly in regards to Italy's political crisis.

"They [Italians] question what the euro has done to their economy, they feel they are a victim of the European Union's immigration policies and as a result of all this they voted in a new government, only to find that bullying, hectoring from the European Commission has been listened to by the Italian president and in the last 48 hours their democracy has been traduced," he said.


Comment: See also:

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Info

Lebanon starts offshore oil and gas exploration, defying Israel


PressTV
Tue, 29 May 2018 18:35 UTC
The photo shows a ceremony in the Lebanese capital city of Beirut
© AFPThe photo shows a ceremony in the Lebanese capital city of Beirut on February 9, 2018, for signing an agreement between Lebanon and an international consortium to start exploratory offshore drilling
Lebanon has started exploration of oil and gas at its offshore energy reserves in the Mediterranean waters disputed by the Israeli regime.

Lebanon's Energy and Water Minister Cesar Abi Khalil said in a televised statement that the exploration project for the country's first oil and gas reserves began on Tuesday after Lebanese officials approved a plan submitted by a consortium of France's Total, Italy's Eni and Russia's Novatek.

Khalil expressed hope that Lebanon would launch the second phase of offshore licensing by the end of 2018 or early 2019.

Comment: See also: Oil interest heats up maritime dispute between Israel and Lebanon

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Eye 2

The purpose and mission of the Deep State: Keeping #Russiagate alive

Seraphim Hanisch
The Duran
Tue, 29 May 2018 15:48 UTC
Comey
© Brian Snyder/ReutersFormer FBI Director James Comey at a news conference in 2014.
To say that the game was rigged is probably the biggest understatement in the history of American politics - and the game remains rigged

The media narrative on the pro-Trump side of things is that the RussiaGate investigation is on its last legs and that it is falling apart. The anti-Trump side of this matter says quite the opposite, and keeps promising that the damning evidence is 'just around the corner' and that the media sources involved are committed to 'bringing the truth to the American people', and so on.

The fact remains that the investigation and its counter-investigations are not over, and moreover, there is probably no REAL indication that they will ever actually end. This may sound like an incredibly bleak perspective but it really isn't. It is probably much more realistic to understand the nature of this activity for what it is, and also to understand that it is precisely BY that nature that this now 16 month long "witch hunt" is not going to end with the demise of RussiaGate, if even that investigation is ever put into the grave where it belongs.
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Light Saber

Hungarian deputy PM warns 'Islamic invasion' will reduce Europeans to 'minority in our own continent'


Breitbart News
Sat, 26 May 2018 15:27 UTC
illegal migrants hungary
© Attila Kisbenedek/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesMigrants headed to Hungary
Hungarian deputy prime minister Zsolt Semjen has warned that an "Islamic invasion" is bringing about a demographic transformation which will reduce Europeans to a "minority in our own continent".

Earlier this week, Breitbart London reported a speech by the Deputy Prime Minister - made to hundreds of thousands of ethnic Hungarians at a pilgrimage gathering in Transylvania, Romania - which touched on this theme. The bureau has now seen an expanded statement on the subject.

"European civilization is now in extreme danger, for two reasons," Semjen observes in previously unseen remarks, naming the first of these reasons as "the Islamic invasion".

Comment: Hungary is acting in its own best interests, following Russia's example. It's an attitude that seems to be spreading.

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Mr. Potato

Trump's frequent use of the term 'witch hunt' is a 'Russian tactic', claims Maxine Waters


RT
Mon, 28 May 2018 14:49 UTC
Maxine Waters
© Danny Moloshok / ReutersU.S. Rep (D-CA) Maxine Waters at the 2017 MTV Movie and TV Awards
If you've ever used the term "witch hunt," you may have unknowingly fallen victim to special Kremlin tactics designed to fool the public, according to Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California).

In an interview on MSNBC with fellow Russiagate hero Joy Reid, Waters told viewers that Trump's repeated use of the term "witch hunt" was actually a special "Russian tactic" and not a genuine belief that the investigation into alleged collusion with Russia is, well, a witch hunt.

"You notice he says 'witch hunt' over and over again. He has learned some of the Russian tactics about how, you know, you deal with getting people to believe you," Waters told Reid, without offering an explanation as to where she got the idea that using the term "witch hunt" was a Russian tactic.

"This lesson that he's learned - and I think it is from the Russian tactics that he's learned over the years that if he says it enough, he can get people to believe it," Waters continued.

Comment: If repeating something over and over is a Russian tactic, then Waters is well versed in Russian propaganda and is therefore a Russian agent. Congratulations Maxine on unintentionally outing yourself as a Kremlin stooge.

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Chess

Pompeo held secret meeting with Palestinian Authority weeks before US Embassy opening in Jerusalem


Sputnik
Tue, 29 May 2018 14:24 UTC
Palestinian protests
© Reuters / Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
A few weeks before the US Embassy's grand opening in Jerusalem, the newly appointed Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, held a meeting with Majid Faraj, head of the Palestinian Authority's (PA) security and intelligence services, amid the PA's boycott of the Trump administration for his Jerusalem speech, Haaretz has reported.

According to the media outlet, citing a Palestinian official, the secret meeting was held in Washington between "official security ranks," stressing that it took place shortly before Pompeo was sworn in as Secretary of State.

While the talks come as a surprise since the Palestinian Authority had decided to boycott the Trump administration after the president recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the same source told Haaretz that the two parties are proceeding with all-encompassing security negotiations.
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Attention

Europe's democracy crisis: The pro-establishment coup in Italy is just a symptom of a larger problem

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Mon, 28 May 2018 14:30 UTC
mattarella
Italian President Mattarella
Before analysing what has just happened in Italy and discussing its likely consequences, it is necessary to say something about the fact of what has just happened.

Italy is supposed to be a parliamentary republic with the Prime Minister and the government accountable to the parliament.

As in other parliamentary republics the Italian President is supposed to be a figure above politics, whose primary function is to safeguard the constitution, which he is sworn to uphold. He is not supposed to meddle in day to day politics or to take on himself the leadership of the country.

Italy recently had parliamentary elections, which parties which can be broadly defined as 'anti-EU' decisively won.

Italy's most prominent pro-EU party, the Democratic Party, saw its vote fall to 19% of the vote. By contrast the leftist but anti-EU Five Star Movement won 32% of the vote, whilst the right wing but even more anti-EU Northern League won 17.7% of the vote.

After complex and protracted discussions of a sort which are by no means unusual in Italy, the Five Star Movement and the Northern League agreed to form a coalition government together.

That coalition government would have represented the two anti-EU parties which together won almost 50% of the vote in the parliamentary elections, and which have a majority in the lower house of the Italian Parliament the Chamber of Deputies.

There was no obvious constitutional or legal reason why that government, which represents the parties which won the parliamentary elections, should not have been allowed to take office.

In the event that is not what was permitted to happen.

Comment: See also:

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