Puppet MastersS


Attention

The US and Israel are making a big mistake in Lebanon

tanks
© Mostafa Alkharouf/Getty ImagesMilitary mobility of tanks, armored personnel carriers, trucks and military jeeps belonging to the Israeli army • Northern border of Gaza
With the Middle East conflict spreading, a return to the pre-Gaza-war reality is now impossible.

Israel's US-backed assault on Lebanon, which began with what ex-CIA director Leon Panetta called an act of "terrorism," may have dealt a blow to Hezbollah, but it looks like the momentary paralysis has been overcome and now the Israelis are in for a reality check.

On September 17 and 18, Israel pulled off an indiscriminate attack by detonating wireless communication devices supplied to Lebanese Hezbollah members, killing dozens and injuring thousands. Described around the world as an act of terrorism and a violation of international law, the detonating devices dealt both a psychological blow to the Lebanese people and physical challenge to Hezbollah's chain of command.

What came next was a series of extreme assassinations, killing a large portion of Hezbollah's first line of political and military leaders. This culminated in the assassination of the group's Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah on September 27, using around 75 tons of explosives that pulverized an entire civilian block in southern Beirut.

This series of attacks amounted to a decapitation of Hezbollah's senior leadership and, despite the indiscriminate nature of the tactics used, the American media praised the ingenuity of the booby-trap attacks and US President Joe Biden celebrated the assassinations in the Lebanese capital.

Comment: Purposely 'overcommitted' by simultaneously taking on both Iran and Hezbollah, Israel is manipulating the US to enter its war.


Jet5

US bombers pound targets in Yemen

Aircraft
© Roy Rochlin/Getty ImagesB-2 stealth bomber and four F-22 jets over New York City
B-2 aircraft have hit Houthi weapons storage facilities, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said.

The US has used long-range bombers to strike five targets in parts of Yemen controlled by the Houthi militant group, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Houthis, who control large swathes of the war-torn country, have been targeting commercial ships passing through the Red Sea since last November. The attacks have been made on vessels that the militant group believes are associated with Israel, and are intended to put pressure on the Jewish state to stop its military action in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza. In response, US forces launched Operation Prosperity Guardian against the Houthis last December.

The latest US bombing raid, as described by Austin, involved B-2 Spirit long-range aircraft and was aimed at five underground weapons storage sites.

Briefcase

Patriot missile manufacturer fined almost $1bn

Raytheon stuff
© tipranks.com
US weapons maker Raytheon has been charged with foreign bribery and inflating federal contracts.

The US government has ordered defense contractor Raytheon to pay more than $950 million in fines for inflating federal contracts and bribing high-level foreign military officials, it was announced on Wednesday.

According to a press release on the US Justice Department's website, Raytheon - which is a subsidiary of RTX - has not disputed the allegations. It has agreed to pay the fine and enter into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in connection with the charges, which include two counts of "major fraud against the United States."

The Justice Department's statement read:
"Raytheon admitted to engaging in two separate schemes to defraud the Department of Defense (DOD) in connection with the provision of defense articles and services, including PATRIOT missile systems and a radar system."

Pistol

SOTT Focus: How Israel Killed Hundreds of Its Own People on October 7th

october 7th gaza
© Jim Hollander / UPITaking a selfie at the Tekuma “car cemetery.” Israel says that more than 1,000 vehicles were destroyed — often with Israeli captives inside — on and soon after 7 October 2023. But the evidence shows that many of these bombings were carried out by Israel itself, under its deadly “Hannibal Directive.”
One year ago today Palestinian fighters led by Hamas launched an unprecedented military offensive out of the Gaza Strip.

The immediate goal was to inflict a shattering blow against Israel's army bases and militarized settlements which have besieged Gaza's inhabitants for decades - all of which are built on land that Palestinian families were expelled from in 1948.

The bigger goal was to shatter a status quo in which Israel, the United States and their accomplices believed they had effectively sidelined the Palestinian cause, and to bring that struggle for liberation back to the forefront of world attention.

"Operation Al-Aqsa Flood," as Hamas called it, was, by any objective military measure, a stunning success.

It was said at Israel's military headquarters that day that "the Gaza Division was overpowered," a high-level source present later recalled to Israeli journalists. "These words still give me the chills."

Covered from the air by armed drones and a barrage of rockets - which opened the offensive at 6:26 am exactly - Palestinian fighters launched a lightning raid over the Gaza boundary line.

The army bases were conquered for hours. Some of the settlements still had an armed Palestinian presence two days later.

The military communications infrastructure was instantly smashed. Simultaneous attacks took place by land, air and sea.

Palestinian drones took out tanks, guard posts and watchtowers.


Comment: The above report by The Electronic Intifada's Winstanley was his last before his home in the UK was raided by 10 police officers on Thursday 17th October 2024. Several electronic devices were seized "in connection with social media posts he made that are possibly illegal under sections 1 and 2 of the Terrorism Act (2006)," although he was neither arrested nor charged with any crimes. Together with the detention of Richard Medhurst, another independent UK journalist critical of Israel's BS, the net is tightening on accurate reporting of Israel's crimes.


Toys

Kamala Harris roundly booed for snubbing Al Smith Memorial Foundation dinner

kamala harris
Kamala Harris melting down during interview with Fox News' Bret Baier
Kamala Harris on Thursday night was booed at the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York City because she decided not to show up.

Harris is the first presidential candidate to skip the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation dinner since Democrat Walter Mondale in 1984 and Mondale went on to lose to Republican Ronald Reagan in a historic landslide.

President Trump appeared in person to the dinner on Thursday night, but Kamala Harris snubbed the invite from the Catholic charity and agreed to appear in a pre-recorded video.

Kamala Harris was loudly booed for snubbing the charity dinner.

Comment: Newsweek provides a roundup of Trump jokes at the dinner:
Former President Donald Trump went for the laughs last night.

Appearing at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York Thursday night, the former president shifted all his might behind a chosen few jokes — some of which appeared to fall flat.

The white-tie Catholic charity event is one of the last opportunities for the presidential candidates to appear together before election day and is an outlet for them to light-heartedly roast one another.

Vice President Kamala Harris did not attend in person, choosing instead to stay on the campaign trail in the battleground states. But she sent a prerecorded video of herself alongside comedian Molly Shannon starring as her former Saturday Night Live character Mary Katherine Gallagher.

Here's a rundown of all the jokes Trump cracked last night.

Trump's Legal Troubles

Referring to his own run-ins with the law, Trump told the dinner: "It's really a pleasure (to be) anywhere in New York without a subpoena for my appearance."

Kamala's No-show

Harris chose not to attend the event in favor of remaining on the campaign trail and the Republican presidential nominee was not going to let her absence slide.

"It's been a long tradition for both Democrat and Republican candidates for president in the United States to attend this dinner. Always, it's a rule. You got to go to the dinner, you got to do it. Otherwise, bad things are going to happen to you from up there," Trump said as he pointed to the heavens.

Taking pains to criticize Harris for not attending the event in person, Trump compared it to Walter Mondale's defeat to Ronald Reagan in the 1984 election.

"The last Democrat not to attend this important event was Walter Mondale. And it did not go very well for him. He lost 49 states and he won one: Minnesota. So I said there's no way I'm missing it."

Predicting Mayor Adams's indictment

Trump also took time to tear into New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Referring to Adams' indictment on charges of bribery, conspiracy, wire fraud, and campaign finance offenses, the former president said: "Mayor Adams, good luck with everything."

He added: "They went after you, they went after you mayor."

Trump said that he had predicted the indictment, saying: "Nine-and-a-half months ago, I said, you know, he just said something bad about the administration. He's going to be indicted any moment. And guess what happened, but you're going to win."

"I think you're going to win. I know you're going to win, so good luck. I don't like what they do."

Referring to the accusations against Adams of soliciting foreign bribes, Trump joked: "But I've got to say I've never met a person who's a vegan who liked Turkey so much."

Children in the White House

Insulting the mental ability of President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in one fell swoop, Trump said: "We have someone in the White House who can barely talk, barely put together two coherent sentences, who seems to have the mental faculties of a child. It's a person that has nothing going, no intelligence whatsoever. But enough about Kamala Harris."


A two-fer! Efficiency on display. That bodes well for regulatory reform.


Governor Walz

Referring to Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz's past misstatements, including his false claim that he was in Hong Kong during the Tianamen Square protests in 1989, Trump joked: "Unfortunately, Governor Walz isn't here himself. But don't worry, he'll say that he was."

Trump laid into Walz for his backing of a state law that would make feminine hygiene products available to students in Minnesota.

"I used to think the Democrats were crazy for saying men have periods. But then I met Tim Walz," said Trump.

Self-deprecation? "I've Got Nothing"

Referring to his self-confidence, Trump told the crowd: "Tradition holds that I'm supposed to tell a few self-deprecating jokes this evening. So here it goes. Nope. I've got nothing. There's nothing to say."

Assassination Attempts

Making light of the repeated attempts on his life, Trump said: "I guess I just don't see the point of taking shots at myself when other people have been shooting at me for a long time."

Doug Emhoff's Affair

Attacking Kamala Harris's husband Doug Emhoff for the extramarital affair he said he had in his first marriage, Trump said: "The only piece of advice I would have for her [Harris] in the event that she wins is not to let her husband Doug anywhere near the nannies."

After many of the audience attendees audibly groaned, Trump added: "That's a nasty one. I told these idiots that gave me this stuff, that's too tough."

Chuck Schumer

Poking fun at Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Trump said: "Chuck Schumer is here looking very glum. But look on the bright side Chuck, considering how woke your party has become, if Kamala loses you still have the chance to become the first woman president."

White Dudes for Harris

Referring to the group White Dudes for Harris, Trump joked: "There's a group, White Dudes for Harris. But I'm not worried about it because their wives and their wives' lovers are all voting for me."

Newsweek has emailed the Trump campaign for comment.



HAL9000

Google still stacking deck: Buries right-leaning news on presidential coverage 3 weeks from election

google censorship graphic
© MRC
With only three weeks remaining before the election, Google continues to heavily push leftist media coverage of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in search results.

On Oct. 15, MRC researchers once again used AllSides "right" and "left" bias ratings and found that Google Search results for "kamala harris presidential race 2024" and "donald trump presidential race 2024" were dominated by a deluge of legacy media and far-left outlets. The results prominently featured CNN and The New York Times, and publications owned by leftist billionaires, such as Jeff Bezos's The Washington Post and Marc Benioff's Time. Not a single right-leaning outlet appeared in Google search results until Fox News was displayed on page eight for the Harris prompt and on page seven for the Trump prompt.

Tellingly, when searching for the aforementioned Harris prompt, Google did not display a single media outlet that AllSides rated as "lean-right" or "right" until a Fox News video appeared as the fourth result on page eight of the search results. For an actual "lean right" or "right" article, users had to go all the way to the fifth result of page 14 to find a New York Post piece.

Comment: Google is an old hand at this by now, having perfected its methodology in both the 2016 and 2020 election cycles:


Star of David

More on Israeli atrocities

Unifil
© UnknownUNIFIL
Attacking UN peacekeepers is a dangerous policy!

That Israel is now attacking United Nations peacekeepers in south Lebanon might well be decisive in turning its few remaining "friends" against it. Spain, France, Ireland and Italy, all of which contribute to the peacekeepers force (UNIFIL), and which continued to look the other way when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his band of war criminals committed atrocity after atrocity against Arabs, are now finding themselves mortified when European soldiers are being attacked and wounded by cannon fire from snipers and Israeli tanks. In one incident, Israeli armored vehicles smashed their way through the gate of a UNIFIL base, allegedly using chemical weapons that injured 15 UN soldiers. The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is urging Europeans to cut off all trade and especially weapons sales with Israel. French President Emmanuel Macron declared an embargo on selling weapons to Israel and called for an immediate cease fire while several prime ministers have all expressed their "outrage" at the Israeli actions. Even the occupied-by-Israel UK declared itself to be "appalled." Giorgia Meloni of Italy observed that two bases manned by Italians soldiers had been hit. Her Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto called the attack on the UNIFIL bases "totally unacceptable," elaborating:
"This was not a mistake and not an accident. It could constitute a war crime and represents a very serious violation of international military law."
He might have also added that since it was a gross violation of the UN Charter, countries including permanent Security Council members China and Russia are demanding a full investigation of what took place.

Comment: If truth be told, Giraldi has clearly and expertly done it.


Warning

'Unspeakable anger' in US over Ukraine aid - prominent Republican

Greene
© Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesU.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speaks before Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump during a campaign rally • Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre • October 15, 2024 • Atlanta, Georgia
There is no money to help Americans but always billions for Kiev, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has said.

Americans are furious with the current administration because it has sent billions to Ukraine while treating its own citizens worse than dirt, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has said.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Atlanta on Wednesday evening, the Georgia Republican contrasted the response by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to disasters affecting Americans with their eagerness to funnel cash to Kiev.

"Lahaina. East Palestine. Western North Carolina," Greene named the locations of catastrophic wildfires, a toxic train derailment, and flooding caused by Hurricane Helene.
"There is anger in this country that is unspeakable, over how the Biden-Harris administration has thrown away these Americans as if their lives do not matter. As if their tax dollars never mattered. And treated them so that they're only worth 750 measly bucks. Oh, but Congress will write that check for $60 billion over and over again for Ukraine. Won't they?"
Greene added. US lawmakers have approved almost $180 billion in Ukraine aid since 2022. Greene has repeatedly voted against these spending packages.

Comment: Greene is on target. Today's Americans are last in line and will stay there as mainstream media continuously dupes the public, and politicians are bought and paid for by outside interests.


Robot

Zelensky explains 'non-nuclear deterrence' request

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© Jean Catuffe/Getty ImagesVladimir Zelensky
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has called on Western backers to deploy their missiles in the country as part of a "deterrence package" designed to threaten Russian military targets.

On Thursday, Zelensky presented to the European Council his so-called "victory plan." A day earlier in the Ukrainian parliament he unveiled the plan, calling it a "comprehensive non-nuclear strategic deterrence package," without giving specifics.
"We propose placing on Ukrainian soil a deterrence package that would either force Russia to participate in real peace negotiations or allow for the destruction of their military targets."

"It's the peace through threats approach... it's about an appropriate missile package. Kiev has provided details of the plan to all partners who can 'make this happen', including the US, France, Germany, Britain and Italy."
He also reiterated his demands for more military support from the West and the lifting of restrictions on the use of Western long-range weapons, and demanded that Kiev's foreign backers "saturate Ukraine with air defense as soon as possible."

Comment: Lesser-known outcome of Bidenomics: If you feed the failure, you own the disaster at 10X the cost.


X

Election interference: Meta admits Facebook censors anti-Kamala posts

Meta loop
© APMeta sign • Company Headquarters • Menlo Park, California
Meta's senior software engineer recently admitted to an undercover journalist at O'Keeffe Media Group that Facebook censors conservatives.

Jeevan Gyawali added that those who oppose Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in their posts would see their accounts shadowbanned and their posts demoted.

Comment: Billionaire leopards do not change their spots!