Puppet MastersS


Chess

Western elite shudder over China's development because they only think in terms of confrontation

China Panda Dragon
© Liu Rui/GT
The world has been keeping an eye on China for the past 40 years, with adulation and anxiety. Last month, Western mainstream media outlets including the US' TIME, France's Le Monde and Germany's Der Spiegel chose Chinese characters or pinyin for their cover headlines, showing the world that "China won;" China, a rising power; and "China: The Awakening Giant."

Der Spiegel used "xing lai" (wake up in English) as its cover headline to echo its article "The Awakening Giant." On the one hand, it declared that China had become an awakening giant and US President Donald Trump's visit to the country this month was a "kowtow" to China, or even a farewell tour to hand over the leadership of the world.

On the other hand, Der Spiegel urged the West to wake up as soon as possible and unitedly respond to a rising China. Unlike in the past, the German magazine admitted that China had made noticeable achievements on many fronts. However, these achievements were interpreted as threats of value and system to the West, another version of the "China threat" theory.

Butterfly

'Auf Wiedersehen Frau Merkel': Open-door migrant policy sends coalition running for the exits

German Chancellor Angela Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing an unprecedented political crisis that could upend her image as the "new leader of the west" after the Free Democrats (FDP) abruptly pulled out of negotiations with Merkel's conservative bloc and the Greens.

Responses to the failed negotiations were immediate. The euro plunged to a 2-month low against the yen, and a planned meeting between Merkel and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was cancelled "in view of the political development last night," according to German government spokesman Steffen Seibert.

Merkel won a fourth term as chancellor in September's national Bundestag election, but her own party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and its Bavarian ally the Christian Social Union (CSU), lost 65 seats between them - their worst showing in decades.

With her own conservative bloc unable to command a majority in parliament, Merkel attempted to forge a so-called 'Jamaica' coalition with the pro-business FDP and the progressive Green Party.

Comment: See also: Merkel's misery deepens as German elections deliver refugee rebuff


Wolf

Western allies actively hunt down their own foreign fighters but 'Canada does not engage in death squads'

Kurdish soldiers prisoner
© Hussein Malla/Associated PressKurdish soldiers from the anti-terrorism units escort a blindfolded Indonesian man suspected of ISIS membership, at a security centre in Kobani, Syria, in June. The Canadian government does not have a policy of targeted assassination for its foreign fighters.
Government estimates more than 200 Canadians have been 'terrorist travellers'

Even the interviewer seemed surprised at the answer Rory Stewart, the U.K. minister of international development, gave about how Britain should deal with citizens who chose to leave the country to join ISIS.

"I'm afraid we have to be serious about the fact these people are a serious danger to us, and unfortunately the only way of dealing with them will be, in almost every case, to kill them," Stewart told BBC Radio's John Pienaar last month.

Stewart, a former diplomat, continued: "These are people who are executing people ... who have held women and children hostage, who are torturing and murdering, trying, by violence, to impose their will. Our response has to be, when somebody does that, I'm afraid, to deal with that."

Those words may sound chilling, but they reflect a country that's suffered several brutal jihadi attacks in recent years, and sees jihadi returnees as a threat. Other countries have come to the same conclusion.

But Canadians who join the militant group have so far had little to fear from their own government, either at home or abroad.

Comment: One might make a case for reintegration as Assad has done with militants in Syria. But Syria's situation is different. Assad's policy is one of national reconciliation between warring parties, and those who accept usually pledge to fight ISIS alongside government troops. Russia too reintegrates its citizens, usually wives and children of Russian terrorists.

The Canadians in question abandoned their upbringing to join a murderous, fanatical terrorist organization. Should they be reintegrated? Can they? As stated in the article, Canada doesn't currently doesn't even have a reintegration program. So the feasible options seem to be jail or loss of citizenship, and Canada has shown itself unwilling to exercise either one proactively. Perhaps a program similar to Russia's could be instituted, but allowing the terrorists to return without consequences should not be an option.


Георгиевская ленточка

Russian-led UN resolution on combating glorification of Nazism passes with only US and Ukraine voting against

lviv nazi march
© Stringer / SputnikA march in Lviv devoted to an anniversary of creation of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army
The UNGA Third Committee overwhelmingly passed a Russian-introduced resolution on combating the glorification of Nazism. The US did not break with its annual tradition of saying 'no' during the symbolic vote. Ukraine also voted against.

The Moscow-drafted resolution against whitewashing and attempting to glorify Nazi ideology was approved by a majority in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) human right committee on November 16. The resolution, introduced each year, was supported by 125 delegations, 51 states abstained, and the only countries opposed were the US and Ukraine.

Introducing the resolution, Russian representative Anatoly Viktorov said that neo-Nazis events "clearly resembling similar rallies in Nazi Germany" still occur in some countries. The authors of the draft also condemned the whitewashing of former members of the SS and Waffen SS, and attempts to grant individuals who supported or collaborated with the Nazis the status of national hero, which has been seen in recent years in some former Soviet states.

"Although Nazism was defeated over 70 years ago, and although the verdict of the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal once and for all answered the question as to who represented the forces of good and the forces of evil during World War II, some people continue to doubt those great gains," Viktorov said.

Stop

Just go away, PLEASE!! Most Americans agree with Trump, it's time for Hillary to move on

hillary and trump
© AFP 2017/ JEFF KOWALSKY JEWEL SAMAD
Today on Twitter, President Donald J. Trump called Hillary Clinton the "worst" and the "biggest loser" of all time. He encouraged her to move on with her life after the 2016 election. America's reaction to her recent book tour proves that most Americans, including Democrats, would agree with the commander-in-chief.

Critics are sure to pounce on President Trump for this tweet, highlighting the fact that the election was over a year ago. But President Trump, once again, is only voicing the thoughts so many Americans seem to have. A recent September Rasmussen poll shows that a majority of Americans want Hillary Clinton to go away.

Comment: There is some speculation that Trump's latest tweet was in response to Clinton's recent interview with Mother Jones where she suggested that Russian government interference undermined the "legitimacy" of Trump's win:
"There are lots of questions about its legitimacy," the 2016 Democratic nominee said in the interview, published this week. "And we don't have a method for contesting that in our system. That's why I've long advocated for an independent commission to get to the bottom of what happened."

She added: "Because, look, this is the first time we've ever been attacked by a foreign adversary, and then they suffer no real consequences."
See also:

Hillary PBS interview live-streamed on Facebook, immediately shut down after avalanche of negative comments
Democrats distancing themselves from Hillary as her crimes keep piling up


Handcuffs

Trump spars with father of UCLA player over arrests in China, says "I should have left them in jail!"

LiAngelo Ball UCLA players press conference
© Lucy Nicholson / ReutersUCLA basketball players LiAngelo Ball (center), Cody Riley (left), and Jalen Hill (right) speak at a press conference at UCLA after flying back from China where they were detained on suspicion of shoplifting.
US President Donald Trump has launched a war of words with the notoriously outspoken basketball parent LaVar Ball, saying he should have left UCLA players, including Ball's son LiAngelo in a Chinese prison.

The origin of this feud goes back to LiAngelo and two of his University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) teammates getting arrested on suspicion of shoplifting sunglasses while on a team trip to China.

The players allegedly stole the glasses from a store in Hangzhou. The players were confined to the team hotel while the incident was being investigated. They returned to the US on Tuesday and were indefinitely suspended by UCLA's basketball program.

Chess

Merkel prefers new elections over minority govt - AfD leader urges Chancellor to resign

Angela Merke
© Fabian Bimmer / ReutersGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she would prefer new elections over leading a minority government, following failed coalition talks between parties.

"My point of view is that new elections would be the better path," Merkel told Germany's ARD television, as quoted by Reuters. She said her plans did not include being chancellor in a minority government.

Merkel said that she would run again as a candidate in the event of a new election, and said that her conservative bloc is more united than ever.

Comment: According to the head of Alternative for Germany (AfD) Alexander Gauland, the "time has come" for Angela Merkel to leave the post of the German chancellor, as she "failed" to form a new German coalition government.
This comes as earlier on Monday the German Free Democratic Party (FDP) announced its withdrawal from the coalition talks with the union of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU), led by Merkel, and the Greens (prospective 'Jamaica coalition'). The latest set of talks broke up at 4 am local time on Friday, November 17, but the preliminary negotiations on forming a coalition started on October 18. However, disagreements over such issues as migration and climate change have prevented parties from reaching a deal.

The CDU/CSU bloc could agree to form a minority government with the Greens. If no government is formed, a new parliamentary election will have to be scheduled.

See also: Germany is having trouble forming government after coalition talks fail


Dominoes

Second woman accuses Al Franken of inappropriately touching her

lindsay menz al franken
© lindsay menz
Texas woman Lindsay Menz‏ has accused Sen. Al Franken of grabbing her inappropriately from behind during a 2010 photo with the senator at the Minnesota State Fair.

"In August 2010, Al Franken grabbed me while taking a photo together at the Minnesota State Fair," Menz wrote on Twitter. "I felt violated & embarassed."

Menz spoke with CNN about her story, calling the incident "uncomfortable."

The Democrat senator "pulled me in really close, like awkward close, and as my husband took the picture, he put his hand full-fledged on my rear," Menz said. "It was wrapped tightly around my butt cheek. It wasn't around my waist. It wasn't around my hip or side. It was definitely on my butt."

Eye 2

Bill Clinton facing fresh allegations of sexual assault from four women

bill clinton
Former President Bill Clinton is reportedly facing a new round of charges of sexual assault from four women, who claim the incidents occurred after Clinton left the White House in 2001.

Author and journalist Ed Klein reports in the Daily Mail that attorneys have notified Clinton that they are preparing to file four separate lawsuits against him. Klein says a member of Clinton's legal team has confirmed the existence of the allegations to him.

Clinton's history of sexual misconduct both before and during his presidency returned to the spotlight in 2016 and again in 2017 during his wife Hillary's failed presidential bid and more recently amid new allegations of sexual misconduct against a plethora of politicians, journalists, and Hollywood celebrities.

Stock Down

Euro takes a nosedive following news of German government instability

German Chancellor Angela Merkel
© Dario Pignatelli / ReutersGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel
The European currency plunged to a two-month low against the yen on news that in Germany the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) have pulled out of four-week negotiations with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc and the ecologist Greens.

With the failure to form a new coalition, Merkel's fourth term as Germany's chancellor is now in doubt. Her party has tried for four weeks to enlist the two smaller parties for her coalition.

"It's better not to govern than to govern badly," FDP head Christian Lindner told reporters in Berlin.