Puppet MastersS


Better Earth

Trump hails 'historic' Korean peace agreement


RT
Fri, 27 Apr 2018 15:46 UTC
Korea
© Jorge Silva / Reuters
President Donald Trump hailed a peace declaration on Friday between North and South Korea as "historic," ahead of his own talks with Kim Jong-un this summer.

"After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place. Good things are happening, but only time will tell!" read a tweet from the US president Friday morning.
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Vader

The American Empire cannot be sustained

Patrick J. Buchanan
AntiWar.com
Tue, 24 Apr 2018 15:08 UTC
Kim Jong-Un Trump north korea
© New Eastern Outlook
Before President Trump trashes the Iran nuclear deal, he might consider: If he could negotiate an identical deal with Kim Jong Un, it would astonish the world and win him the Nobel Peace Prize.

For Iran has no nuclear bomb or ICBM and has never tested either. It has never enriched uranium to bomb grade. It has shipped 98 percent of its uranium out of the country. It has cameras inside and inspectors crawling all over its nuclear facilities.

And North Korea? It has atom bombs and has tested an H-bomb. It has intermediate range-ballistic missiles that can hit Guam and an ICBM that, fully operational, could hit the West Coast. It has shorter-range missiles that could put nukes on South Korea and Japan.

Hard to believe Kim Jong Un will surrender these weapons, his ticket of admission to the table of great powers.

Comment: Trump's assessment of the US commitments around the world appear to be in line with Lippmann's. But the Deep State has no intentions of pulling back from its current (shaky) position of dominance.

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Heart - Black

Appointing "Bloody Gina" Haspel to head CIA will delight torturers around the globe

Sonya Sceats
The Guardian
Mon, 23 Apr 2018 12:54 UTC
gina haspel
© Associated Press"Bloody Gina" Haspel is ‘accused of running a CIA facility in Thailand when a Saudi terrorist suspect was subjected to waterboarding’.
Trump's support for torture and Haspel's reputation for allegedly overseeing it can cause untold human damage

Donald Trump's nominee to become the next director of the CIA has ignited great moral anguish in the US, but from Bangkok to London and beyond we should all be alarmed.

Gina Haspel, who has worked at the CIA since the 1980s, stands accused of running a notorious CIA facility in Thailand where a Saudi terrorist suspect, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, was subjected to waterboarding and other forms of "enhanced interrogation techniques" - which our experts at Freedom from Torture would have no trouble recognising as torture. She then reportedly ordered the destruction of videotapes of these torture sessions, which smacks of a cover-up.
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Chess

Iranian official warns Qatar it will be a mistake if they send troops to Syria


Sputnik
Wed, 25 Apr 2018 14:37 UTC
qatari soldiers
© AFP 2018 / KARIM JAAFAR/AL-WATAN DOHA
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's adviser, Hussein Sheikholeslam, has commented in an interview with Sputnik on the possible cancellation of the nuclear deal signed with the P5+1 countries in 2015 as well as the situation in Syria in light of US statements about the possible deployment of Arab states' forces there.

Deployment of Arab Forces in Syria

Sheikholeslam said that Qatar will make a mistake if sends its contingent to Syria as such a deployment would worsen the situation in Syria.

"We categorically oppose the deployment of any troops to Syria, because their goal will be the same as that of the US servicemen in Syria - to complicate the crisis," the official said.

The interview comes in the wake of the Tuesday meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron with US President Donald Trump in Washington, where the Iran nuclear deal among other issues was discussed.
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Arrow Down

Macron rebukes Trump's "America First' Agenda


Liberty Headlines
Wed, 25 Apr 2018 00:00 UTC
Macron Congress
© Daily Express
France's President Emmanuel Macron urged the United States to embrace multilateralism and warned of the perils of trade war, in an address to Congress pushing back against Donald Trump's "America First" agenda.

The French leader's speech to lawmakers was a dramatic twist at the end of a three-day visit that had showcased his warm personal relationship with Trump, despite the gulf between their visions of world affairs.The two presidents had literally embraced each other, repeatedly talking up their much-vaunted friendship during the trip, but in his speech to Congress Macron pushed back against Trump's trade, climate and non-proliferation policies.

"We can build the 21st century world order based on a new breed of multilateralism, based on a more effective, accountable, and result oriented multilateralism," Macron said, defending the rules-based world order.

Trump has threatened to tear up international trade deals, scorns the United Nations, accuses US allies of not pulling their weight, walked away from Paris climate accord and hates dealing with transnational bodies like the European Union. But Macron, who one day earlier had appeared hand-in-hand with Trump at the White House, received applause from the US leader's domestic Democratic opponents by calling for a "strong multilateralism."

He declared that France would not pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, warned against imposing trade tariffs on allies and stressed that global action on climate change is vital because there is no "Planet B."

Comment: Trump may want 'a friend in the storm' but Macron, dubbed the 'Trump Whisperer' is at best an opportunistic bit player looking for a shortcut to the top. As for multilateralism, the US has 'exceptional' difficulty following 'the rules of the many'.

See also:

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Snakes in Suits

Secret recording reveals Dem party boss Steny Hoyer order candidate to 'quit race'


Zero Hedge
Fri, 27 Apr 2018 13:58 UTC
Steny Hoyer
In the latest striking example of how the Democratic Party resorts to cronyism (and perhaps corruption) to ensure that its favored candidates beat back progressive challengers in local races, a candidate for Colorado's 6th Congressional District has leaked a recording of a conversation with Minority Leader Steny Hoyer to The Intercept which published it overnight. In it, Hoyer can be heard essentially lecturing the candidate about why he should step aside and let the Democratic Party bosses - who of course have a better idea about which candidate will prevail over a popular Republican in the general election - continue pulling the strings.

The candidate, Levi Tillemann, is hardly a party outsider. Tillemann had grandparents on both sides of his family who were elected Democratic representatives, and his family is essentially Democratic Party royalty.

Still, the party's campaign arm - the notorious Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (better known as the DCCC, or D-trip) - refused to provide Tillemann with access to party campaign data or any of the other resources he requested.
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Attention

Someone scarier than John Bolton? Think Nikki Haley for president

Philip Giraldi
The Unz Review
Tue, 24 Apr 2018 00:00 UTC
Nikki Haley
© UnknownUS Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley
The musical chairs playing out among the senior officials that make up the President Donald Trump White House team would be amusing to watch but for the genuine damage that it is doing to the United States. The lack of any coherence in policy means that the State Department now has diplomats that do not believe in diplomacy and environment agency heads that do not believe in protecting the environment. It also means that well-funded and disciplined lobbies and pressure groups are having a field day, befuddling ignorant administrators with their "fact sheets" and successfully promoting policies that benefit no one but themselves.

In the Trumpean world of all-the-time-stupid, there is, however, one individual who stands out for her complete inability to perceive anything beyond threats of unrelenting violence combined with adherence to policies that have already proven to be catastrophic. That person is our own Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who surfaced in the news lately after she unilaterally and evidently prematurely announced sanctions on Russia. When the White House suggested that she might have been "confused" she responded that "With all due respect, I don't get confused." This ignited a firestorm among the Trump haters, lauding Haley as a strong and self-confident woman for standing up to the White House male bullies while also suggesting that the hapless Administration had not bothered to inform one of its senior diplomats of a policy change. It also produced a flurry of Haley for higher office tweets based on what was described as her "brilliant riposte" to the president.

One over-the-top bit of effusion from a former Haley aide even suggested that her "deft rebuttal" emphasizes her qualities, enthusing that "What distinguishes her from the star-struck sycophants in the White House is that she understands the intersection of strong leadership and public service, where great things happen" and placing her on what is being promoted as the short list of future presidential candidates.

Comment: Regarding the neocon dream of Haley for president: Heaven help us - there aren't enough barf bags to go around.

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Eiffel Tower

Sycophant Macron in Washington, the fall of France

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Thu, 26 Apr 2018 17:20 UTC
TrumpMacronWives
© Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty ImagesBrigitte and Emmanuel Macron • Donald Trump and Melania
French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to the US does not deserve the attention the news media is giving it.

Macron has nothing to offer Trump. France is only a bit player in the Syrian war. France's military contribution to the Syrian raid was token. France does not lead Europe, Germany does, and does not decide EU policy, which is decided not in Paris but in Berlin.

Macron has ideas about the Iranian nuclear deal and climate change, which are completely different from Trump's. However he is not going to change Trump's views on either matter. On the contrary it is Macron who is being forced to change his ideas to adapt them to Trump's.

The body language between the two men said it all very clearly. Trump is the overwhelmingly dominant partner. It is Macron who is being pulled along.

This is a tragedy for France.

Comment: Manny and Donny: Macron - the adoring lackey; Trump - the ticket to the top.

See also:

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Ambulance

Sen. Ted Cruz tweets plea for Alfie Evans and warns against 'socialized medicine'

Dr. Susan Berry
Breitbart
Thu, 26 Apr 2018 00:01 UTC
Ted Cruz Alfie Evans
© AP/Getty Images
Sen. Ted Cruz took to Twitter to explain the plight of U.K. toddler Alfie Evans and to warn Americans about the dangers of "socialized medicine."

In a tweetstorm Wednesday, the Republican senator from Texas described Alfie's situation from his birth and subsequent illness, to the refusal of both the U.K. and European courts to allow Alfie's parents to pursue treatment for him at a Vatican hospital:


Comment: What right does the NHS have to forcibly keep Alfie in the hospital and prevent the parents from seeking alternative treatments? Is Alfie a prisoner under a mandatory death sentence? With the Pope and other leaders from around the world condemning the actions of the NHS, it's just pure stubbornness that's preventing them from doing the right thing at this point. Beyond cold-blooded.

For more on the story, see also:

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Mr. Potato

Flea climbing an elephant's backside: Ukraine threatens Russia with war if gas transit stops


RT
Thu, 26 Apr 2018 21:29 UTC
kiev march euromaidan
© SputnikA march in Kiev to mark the anniversary of the beginning of Euromaidan
Kiev has warned Moscow of 'geopolitical consequences' if Gazprom ceases gas transits through the territory of Ukraine.

"If there is no transit through the territory of Ukraine, then the likelihood of a full-scale conflict between Russia and Ukraine is also increasing. European politicians need to understand not only the economic consequences for Ukraine, but also geopolitical consequences for the whole world," the commercial director at Ukraine's main gas company Naftogaz Yuri Vitrenko told the 112 Ukraine TV channel.

The gas-transit contract between Kiev and Moscow expires in 2019. Gazprom said on Tuesday that the contract will not be extended under any circumstances. The company added that the gas transit may remain, but only if Ukraine provides the necessary conditions for it.
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