Puppet MastersS


USA

Mark of the Beast: The United States is a country that tortures people

Charles P. Pierce
Esquire
Wed, 09 May 2018 12:36 UTC
waterboarding
© Getty Images
The children of the Senate Intelligence Committee certainly were treated to some ripping yarns on Wednesday, when Gina Haspel came to tell them the scary bedtime stories that qualify her to run the CIA. We had shadow warriors, and far-flung outposts, brush passes, dead drops, and dusty alleys, and dark moonless nights. If the hearing had gone on 10 minutes longer, John le Carré's attorneys might have dropped in with an intellectual property action. Then, of course, they all went into executive session, where they could all talk about the really cool, really super-secret spy stuff that the rest of us can't know about, but are obligated to pay for. And, ultimately, there was one basic message to come out of this hearing to the world.

The United States is a country that tortures people. It is also a country that arranges for other countries to torture people. We did in back in the Bush administration and we'll do it again, if you scare us deeply enough and there are enough hack lawyers in the Department of Justice and the White House Counsel's office to draft memos to cover our asses. The United States is a country that tortures people, and we'll do it again, under the right circumstances. We'd just rather it not make the papers, is all.

Comment: Haspel, the psychopathic monster, has been confirmed as the new CIA director.

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Attention

Conflict of interest? Mueller and the Russian oligarch

John Solomon
The Hill
Mon, 14 May 2018 03:30 UTC
Oleg Deripaska
© Getty ImagesOligarch Oleg Deripaska
Special counsel Robert Mueller has withstood relentless political attacks, many distorting his record of distinguished government service. But there's one episode even Mueller's former law enforcement comrades - and independent ethicists - acknowledge raises legitimate legal issues and a possible conflict of interest in his overseeing the Russia election probe.

In 2009, when Mueller ran the FBI, the bureau asked Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska to spend millions of his own dollars funding an FBI-supervised operation to rescue a retired FBI agent, Robert Levinson, captured in Iran while working for the CIA in 2007. Yes, that's the same Deripaska who has surfaced in Mueller's current investigation and who was recently sanctioned by the Trump administration.

The Levinson mission is confirmed by more than a dozen participants inside and outside the FBI, including Deripaska, his lawyer, the Levinson family and a retired agent who supervised the case. Mueller was kept apprised of the operation, officials told me.

Some aspects of Deripaska's help were chronicled in a 2016 book by reporter Barry Meier, but sources provide extensive new information about his role.

Comment: Mueller may be investigating himself into a mess.
See also: Picking up where The Hill left off, more to this story from RT, May 16, 2018:
Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the man leading the probe into alleged collusion between US President Donald Trump's election campaign and Russia, has himself fallen under suspicion of having ties to a Russian oligarch.
...

The Russian businessman [Oleg Deripaska] then brushed off the idea of any collusion between Trump and Moscow by calling it "false,"the Hill reported. However, the media [The Hill ] apparently missed the fact that this alleged meeting between Deripaska and the FBI agents took place some three years after Mueller vacated the office of the FBI head and was succeeded by James Comey.

John Solomon, the Hill's executive vice president for video, who authored the piece [above], then assumed that Mueller might be reluctant to include Deripaska in the probe precisely because of the businessman's previous ties to the FBI, which could in particular cast a shadow on the activities of the former FBI director himself. Mueller was apparently legally barred from asking for Deripaska's help in the 2009 operation and his actions might lead as far as to him being accused of impropriety, Solomon boldly states, citing legal experts.

However, the information about the alleged ties between Deripaska and the FBI (and eventually Mueller), which is presented as a set of facts, might not be as unambiguous as it seems. Solomon based his report about the Russian businessman's involvement in the 2009 operation on accounts which were mostly provided by allegedly well-informed sources both "inside and outside the FBI." The only person identified by name is the Levinson family lawyer, David McGee. Solomon also goes on to claim that Deripaska himself as well as his lawyers also confirmed his role in the mission.

However, when the story was earlier reported by the Western media, a spokesperson of Deripaska's Basic Element diversified industrial group actually dismissed the reports by saying that information related to the businessman in this case is "absolute nonsense that has nothing to do with reality."

The information about Deripaska's alleged 2016 meeting with FBI agents was reportedly received by Solomon from Adam Waldman, a US lobbyist, who is best known for acting on behalf of Russian businessman Deripaska. However, Waldman is not known to have ever made any similar statements before.

These facts apparently have no importance for the US media, however, which have already made a habit of accusing various US officials of having hidden links to Moscow. Notably, it is not the first time when the former FBI director has been accused of having some potentially suspicious ties. Earlier, it was reported that Mueller met with another perceived 'pro-Moscow' high-profile figure - the former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.


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Hearts

EU Chief Tusk: With friends like Trump, who needs enemies?


Liberty Headlines
Wed, 16 May 2018 20:06 UTC
Donald Tusk
© Ints Kalnins / Reuters
The European Union's top official launched a stinging attack Wednesday on President Donald Trump, slamming his "capricious assertiveness" and saying the US leader acted more like an enemy than a friend.

EU president Donald Tusk urged leaders meeting in Bulgaria to form a "united European front" against Trump's withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal and his move to impose trade tariffs on Europe.

Tusk even compared the US administration to Europe's traditional foes Moscow and Beijing as he launched his broadside hours before a dinner of the 28 leaders in Sofia where they will discuss the issue.

"Looking at the latest decisions of President Trump, someone could even think with friends like that who needs enemies," Tusk told reporters.

"But frankly speaking, Europe should be grateful to President Trump, because thanks to him we have got rid of all illusions. He has made us realise that if you need a helping hand you will find one at the end of your arm."


Comment: The EU is only now coming to that conclusion? They were happy enough being US vassals for years... as long as they were getting something in return.


The transatlantic rift has hijacked the agenda of a summit on Thursday at which the EU leaders will meet their Balkan counterparts in a bid to foster closer ties and keep Russia out of their backyard.

Comment: Maybe Europe should thank Trump for seemingly bringing them to their senses. The only question now is if they can follow through. See also:

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Nuke

Question: Was there ever an Iranian nuclear weapons program?

Gareth Porter
The American Conservative
Mon, 14 May 2018 00:00 UTC
Guy and nuke
© Washington Times/KJNThreat and Proof
A review of the evidence points to Israeli and MEK disinformation, not an open-and-shut case.

Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which has set the stage for another Iran crisis, has opened a new round of domestic political struggle, as Democrats in Congress, the anti-Trump television networks, and the tattered remains of the old anti-war movement try to push back.

But that effort has a fatal weakness at its core. It concedes to Trump and opponents of the Iran deal an effective argument: that the Iranians have been lying when they say they've never had a covert nuclear weapons program. The theme of Iran's duplicity has been the emotional core of the assault on the JCPOA. It is no accident that the title and consistent theme of Benjamin Netanyahu's melodramatic YouTube slideshow was "Iran lied."

As I detail in my investigative history of the Iran nuclear issue, the Obama administration itself fell for a false narrative about a secret Iranian nuclear weapons program allegedly in operation from 2001 to 2003. After Netanyahu's April 30 show, former secretary of state John Kerry tweeted:
"Every detail PM Netanyahu presented yesterday was every reason the world came together to apply years of sanctions and negotiate the Iran nuclear agreement-because the threat was real and had to be stopped."
But a far more effective counter would have been the truth - that the long-accepted accusation about Iran's covert nuclear weapons program is the product of an elaborate disinformation operation based on documents forged by Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence agency.

Comment: The US is a long-cultivated echo chamber and Israel is the noise - reverberating a continuous message until all vassals absorb it so completely, it resembles 'truth'.
See also:

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Dominoes

Brennan's denial of reliance on dossier contradicted, IC report implies Clapper was leak source

Paul Sperry
RealClear Investigations
Tue, 15 May 2018 00:00 UTC
Brennan
© The Moscow TimesFormer CIA Director John Brennan
Former CIA Director John Brennan's insistence that the salacious and unverified Steele dossier was not part of the official Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian interference in the 2016 election is being contradicted by two top former officials.

Recently retired National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers stated in a classified letter to Congress that the Clinton campaign-funded memos did factor into the ICA. And James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence under President Obama, conceded in a recent CNN interview that the assessment was based on "some of the substantive content of the dossier." Without elaborating, he maintained that "we were able to corroborate" certain allegations.

These accounts are at odds with Brennan's May 2017 testimony before the House Intelligence Committee that the Steele dossier was "not in any way used as the basis for the intelligence community's assessment" that Russia interfered in the election to help elect Donald Trump. Brennan has repeated this claim numerous times, including in February on Meet the Press.

In a March 5, 2018, letter to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, Adm. Rogers informed the committee that a two-page summary of the dossier - described as "the Christopher Steele information" - was "added" as an "appendix to the ICA draft," and that consideration of that appendix was "part of the overall ICA review/approval process."

Comment: In regards to scale, impact, persons of importance, persons of interest, betrayals, crimes, plots, set-ups, collusion, international intrigue, spies, victims...it's all there. And, it's unraveling.

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X

Giuliani: 'They can't indict Trump'; 'Mueller knows' he can't charge a sitting president


RT
Wed, 16 May 2018 23:00 UTC
Rudy&Don
© Mike Segar/ReutersLegal Counsel Rudy Giuliani and President Donald Trump
Special counsel Robert Mueller has acknowledged to President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani that a sitting president can't be indicted under current rules, meaning that the year-long Russia probe is unlikely to unseat Trump.
"The Justice Department memos going back to before Nixon say that you cannot indict a sitting president, you have to impeach him," Giuliani told CNN on Wednesday. "They acknowledged to us orally that they understand that they can't violate the Justice Department rules. So, what does that leave them with? That leaves them with writing a report." said the former New York City mayor, who recently took over representing Trump in the special counsel probe. "They can't indict. At least they acknowledged that to us after some battling."
The former New York City mayor, who recently took over representing Trump in the special counsel probe stated "They can't indict. At least they acknowledged that to us after some battling." Mueller's team has declined to comment on Giuliani's statements to CNN.

The news comes ahead of the anniversary of Mueller's appointment as special counsel, which followed Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey in May 2017.

Comment: Question: Is it that Mueller's team 'can't indict' or are 'not looking to indict'. If it is the latter, it suggests they can.

In another interview with NBC News:
...on Thursday, Giuliani revealed that the acknowledgement from Mueller's team that they do not plan to indict Trump came from Jim Quarles, a member of the special counsel team. Giuliani said that Quarles had informed Jay Sekulow, another member of Trump's personal legal team, that they are not looking to indict the president.
From CNN:
A lack of an indictment would not necessarily mean the President is in the clear. Mueller could issue a report making referrals or recommendations to the House of Representatives.The inability to indict a sitting president has been the position of the Office of Legal Counsel in the Justice Department since the Nixon administration and reaffirmed in the Clinton administration, but it has never been tested in court.
And from TIME:
The argument that the President is immune from the criminal laws is just that - an argument.

First is the question of whether an obstruction of justice charge can be brought in this case. The President's supporters argue that key elements of any such indictment could not support a conviction. If everything the President did was legal, they say, he could not possibly be convicted of a crime.

The second question is not whether, but when. Can the President avoid indictment while in office? But again, there is no language in the Constitution saying he enjoys any such protection.


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Arrow Down

Lavrov slams Israeli statement regarding Gaza protesters


Press TV
Wed, 16 May 2018 05:58 UTC
Lavrov
© AFPRussian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has criticized Israel for its propaganda against the people of the Gaza Strip who have been protesting against Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Lavrov said at a news conference in Moscow on Wednesday that Israel's statement about dozens of "peaceful" protesters killed on the Gaza border by Israeli forces on Monday was an act of blasphemy.
"I cannot agree with the fact that dozens of peaceful civilians, including children and infants, who were killed in these incidents were terrorists. This is a blasphemous statement," Lavrov said.
Israeli forces killed at least 62 Palestinians during protests near the Gaza fence on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe), which coincided this year with the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to the occupied city of Jerusalem al-Quds.

More than 2,700 Palestinians were also wounded as the Israeli forces used snipers, airstrikes, tank fire and tear gas to target the demonstrators.

Palestinian authorities on Wednesday urged United Nations to condemn the killings of the protesters at the Gaza border was war crimes.

Comment: See also:

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Star of David

Israeli ex-intel chief: The whole ME will be under Israeli surveillance by 2025


Sputnik
Thu, 17 May 2018 11:53 UTC
IDF with guns
© CC by 2.0IDF Brother's Keeper Operation Judea and Samaria
Aharon Zeevi Farkas, a former intelligence head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), has admitted that the intelligence capabilities of the country's ground troops have yet to be developed.

Speaking at a conference in Tel Aviv, a former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intelligence chief, Aharon Zeevi Farkas, said that at least 10,000 satellites would help the country provide constant video surveillance of the Middle East by 2025, according to the Jerusalem Post.

It will allow the Israeli army to conduct targeted killings of terrorists "at any time and any place," Farkas stressed.

Touting the swift upgrade to Israel's intelligence capabilities, he at the same time acknowledged that the country's ground forces have yet to be developed in this aspect. Farkas said that while Israel "has supremacy in the air, it lacks supremacy in ground warfare."

"We will not be able to stop rockets against us until we gain ground warfare supremacy," he added, emphasizing the importance of intelligence data during military operations.

Comment: One thing about Israel...it isn't subtle when it comes to bravado and threats. That's because it has made certain the US has its back, front and sides. Looking at this dynamic, we see who is occupying the core and who is expendable on the surface. And, the core is rotten.

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Pirates

Kuzmin to UN: Russia fears Daesh resurgence in US-held areas after US leaves


Sputnik
Wed, 16 May 2018 20:13 UTC
Russian attack
© Sputnik / Mikhail VoskresenskiyRussia Aerospace Forces attack Daesh positions near Deir ez-Zor.
Russia is concerned that the Daesh terrorist group may reappear in the areas currently controlled by the United States after the American troops leave these territories, Russia's First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Gennady Kuzmin told the UN Security Council on Wednesday.
"The territories under your control have morphed into gray areas where extremists feel very comfortable and terrorists also feel comfortable," Kuzmin said. "We have fears that there may be a reincarnation of Daesh in those regions when the US withdraws from those regions. And they will have to, sooner or later, withdraw from those regions."
Kuzmin directly addressed the US representative to the United Nations, asking her to explain what the United States was doing in the areas it controls in the country and on what basis.
"What specifically is taking place with several hundred members of Daesh who are helped by forces loyal to you with your oversight?" he asked. "There has been no investigation carried out with respect to those individuals. The countries of origin of terrorists are also not receiving those terrorists. You are not extraditing them to their countries of origin."

Comment: Ambassador-bot Nikki Haley will find some way of skewering the questioner with one of her 'piss-off, kiss-me-Israel' answers. From this source, it's the best Kuzmin will get.

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Chess

Trump lawyer Giuliani on Mueller team: "We're ready to rip them apart if that's what they want!"

Joe Hoft
joehoft.com
Thu, 17 May 2018 18:35 UTC
giuliani
© Fox News
Former Federal Prosecutor and New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was on Laura Ingraham's The Ingraham Angle on FOX News last night. Rudy and all of America know there is no collusion between President Trump and Russia and so Rudy encouraged the corrupt Mueller team to wrap it up.

Rudy discussed the corrupt Mueller investigation that has now been going on for a year. At the beginning of the below segment of the interview Rudy stated that the guys on the Mueller team are taking so long because maybe "these guys, you know, figure they can't get a good job".

Comment:

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