Puppet MastersS


Question

US coalition retracts its announced ceasefire between Iraq and Kurds still in talks


RT
Fri, 27 Oct 2017 13:01 UTC
kurdistanmap
© unknown
US-led coalition has retracted its previous statement on a ceasefire agreement between Bagdad and the Kurd, clarifying that there was no "official ceasefire" yet and that the two parties only "talk with each other". The news of the ceasefire came on Friday from coalition spokesman in Baghdad Col. Ryan Dillon, who eventually retracted his comments on Twitter.

Brokering of the agreement was however confirmed by the Kurdistan region's spokesperson, who, according to Reuters, said that the ceasefire "is holding."

While no proper ceasefire agreement was apparently brokered, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered a 24-hour suspension to military operations against Kurdish forces in northern Iraq. The move was made in order to "prevent clashes and bloodshed between the sons of one nation," according to the minister, as quoted by AP.

Dillon earlier told the Kurdish Rudaw news channel that the coalition knew "that there is a ceasefire" and wanted it "to extend, to not be just a ceasefire for a short period of time, but that it extends and there is no more fighting."

Comment: A ceasefire and end to hostilities by opposing factions should be good news to all. Not quite, see below:

From Fort Russ News October 27, 2017:
A group of Kurdish Islamic clerics have declared jihad against the Iraqi Federal Forces, calling them "Shias", to defend Kurdistan.

Earlier today, the Iraqi Federal Forces and Kurdish Peshmerga, the military force of the ruling regime of the autonomous Iraqi province of Kurdistan agreed to a ceasefire and withdrawal of Peshmerga units from the Assyrian town of Faysh Khabour.

According to the agreement, all of the Nineveh Plains will now be in control of Iraqi Forces and the Assyrian groups.

In the past, some of Kurdistan's clerics have already been expressing hostilities towards religious minorities living in the province.


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Stop

John Kelly: Between zero and one refugee should enter US each year

Diana Stancy Correll
Washington Examiner
Thu, 26 Oct 2017 12:52 UTC
Johnkelly
© Washington PostJohn Kelly sums it up.
White House chief of staff John Kelly reportedly said, if it were up to him, the number of refugees that should enter the U.S. each year should be between zero and one.

Kelly's comment was made during a discussion regarding lowering annual caps on the amount of refugees entering the U.S., the New York Times reported Wednesday.

Last month, it was revealed the administration intended to lower the annual cap on admissions of refugees to 45,000. This is the lowest number seen since 1980, when the caps were first established through the U.S. Refugee Act. Under the Obama administration, the cap had been set at 110,000.

Trump has in the past called for the Department of Homeland Security to execute "extreme vetting" of refugees.

Prior to accepting his position in the White House, Kelly was DHS secretary.

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Clipboard

Dozens of Russian defense companies on list of potential new US sanction targets


RT
Fri, 27 Oct 2017 00:28 UTC
Wreckingball
© KatehonThe intent of sanctions.
The US is edging towards the eventual implementation of a new round of sanctions against Russia after the State Department provided Congress with a list of Russian defense and intelligence entities, missing the deadline by almost a month.

"Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has authorized the department to issue guidance to the public specifying the persons or entities that are part of or operating on behalf of the defense or intelligence sectors of the government of the Russian Federation," State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said. "What that means is that Secretary Tillerson has signed off on this and it is now being held on Capitol Hill."

The State Department is "currently informing Congress, key US industries stakeholders and our allies and partners" of the directive, she added.


Comment: See also: Tillerson eliminates State Dept. sanctions office, Russia deadline missed

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No Entry

Head of Cambridge Analytica tried to team up with Julian Assange over Clinton missing emails

Betsy Woodruff
Daily Beast
Wed, 25 Oct 2017 10:30 UTC
Alexander Nix
© YouTubeAlexander Nix
The head of Cambridge Analytica said he asked the WikiLeaks founder for help finding Hillary Clinton's 33,000 deleted emails.

Alexander Nix, who heads a controversial data-analytics firm that worked for President Donald Trump's campaign, wrote in an email last year that he reached out to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange about Hillary Clinton's missing 33,000 emails.

On Wednesday, Assange confirmed that such an exchange took place.

Nix, who heads Cambridge Analytica, told a third party that he reached out to Assange about his firm somehow helping the WikiLeaks editor release Clinton's missing emails, according to two sources familiar with a congressional investigation into interactions between Trump associates and the Kremlin. (CNN later reported Cambridge backer Rebekah Mercer was one of the email's recipients.) Those sources also relayed that, according to Nix's email, Assange told the Cambridge Analytica CEO that he didn't want his help, and preferred to do the work on his own.

Comment: See also: Trump campaign argues WikiLeaks posting hacked DNC emails was legal

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X

Tillerson eliminates State Dept. sanctions office, Russia deadline missed


RT
Fri, 27 Oct 2017 11:30 UTC
Dept of State
© RT.com
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has reportedly scrapped an office within the State Department that coordinated foreign sanctions policy. Sanctions have long served as a pillar of Washington's foreign policy toward Iran, North Korea and Russia.

The sanctions office was shuttered after the Trump administration missed an October 1 deadline to apply new penalties against Russia, adopted by Congress in August, Foreign Policy reported. The Policy Planning Office, which did not supervise programs or initiatives at the State Department in the past, will now be responsible for the work done by the Coordinator of Sanctions Policy Office, the magazine reported, citing sources.

The "elimination of the sanctions coordinator appears to be part of the larger reorganization debacle underway at the State Department," Sean Bartlett, spokesman for Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Foreign Policy.

The elimination of the office, created under former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has driven a wedge among former officials and experts.

Comment: See also:

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Chess

NATO aggression on Russian borders forcing Moscow to beef up defense measures


RT
Fri, 27 Oct 2017 19:23 UTC
American Chinook transport helicopter
© Corporal Jasper Verolme / Mediacentrum DefensieDutch marines board American Chinook transport helicopters to conduct an air assault during Noble Jump 2017
Moscow must undertake measures to neutralize emerging threats on its western borders as NATO forces steadily intensify training and boost their presence in the region, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.

"The military and political situation at our western borders remains tense and shows a tendency to escalation," Shoigu said Friday at a session of Russia's Defense Ministry Board.

The defense minister pointed out that NATO has been steadily gathering additional forces on Russia's borders, namely beefing up anti-missile defenses and forming new multi-national brigades in Poland and the Baltic countries. NATO troops are not only getting closer to Russia, but constantly participate in various exercises.
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Pistol

Spain to bring charges of rebellion against Catalan leaders - could face 30 years in jail

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Fri, 27 Oct 2017 19:15 UTC
catalonia
© Rex/ Agence France PressJose Manuel Maza (L) has said that Carles Puigdemont could face 30 years in prison
Earlier in the week, The Express reported that Spain's 'attorney general' gave a blunt message that if he declares independence for Catalonia he will be charged with "rebellion" and could face 30 years in prison, to the President of the north east region and said he would call on the Catalan police - Mossos d'Esquadra - to detain Mr Puigdemont, who has been the focal figures in the region's push to break away from the rest of Spain. Mr Maza, speaking at an event on cybersecurity in Madrid, said:
"I am surprised that this is surprising. This is normal and natural in a state of law and, therefore, it is logical to pursue.

The rebellion crime is punishable by 30 years in prison if it is a crime of considerable gravity, of course."
And now that Independence has been proclaimed, The Independent reports that Spain's top prosecutor will seek rebellion charges for those responsible for a vote in favor of declaring an independent Catalan republic, an official spokesman said.

Comment: The sticking point in Spain's plans is that Article 155 does not explicitly allow for the Madrid government to take control of an autonomous region and rule it directly, but instead specifies that 'the [Madrid] government can take the necessary steps to oblige the autonomous region to comply with orders from the government'. By dissolving the Catalan government and, effectively, ruling directly until new elections in December, the Madrid government is breaking its own laws.

What kind of elections does Madrid think it can organize in December whereby there will be a majority of anti-independence members of the Catalan parliament, unlike the current parliament configuration? Are mass arrests of pro-independence MPs in Cataluña coming? Will pro-independence parties be banned? How else can Madrid prevent the MPs it has just 'fired' from running again for election?

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Attention

Fusion GPS scandal: Clinton mum, Dem's dossier denials pile up

Judson Berger, Brooke Singman
Fox News
Thu, 26 Oct 2017 00:00 UTC
fusionGPS
© YouTube
The Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee paid more than $9 million to a law firm that, in turn, retained the political consultants who commissioned the now-infamous Trump dossier. But nobody at the top is copping to knowing a thing about it.

Hillary Clinton is conspicuously silent on the new revelations, while Clinton World gives mixed messages about her knowledge. Her top campaign spokesman says "she may have known," while an anonymous source is telling reporters she only learned about the dossier after BuzzFeed News published it early this year.

'[Clinton] may have known, but the degree of exactly what she knew is beyond my knowledge.' - Ex-Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon

"I don't know what she knew or did not know," House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., told Fox & Friends on Thursday, adding: "I would find it pretty interesting if her campaign was making decisions at that level that she didn't know about."

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said he can't believe Clinton or a top official like then-campaign chairman John Podesta was not aware. "You don't lay out that kind of money in a campaign unless you know" how and why it's being spent, he told Fox News' America's Newsroom.


Comment: See also: Clinton and McCain, the 'Bonnie and Clyde' of US politics

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Magnify

Clinton and McCain, the 'Bonnie and Clyde' of US politics

Publius Tacitus
Sic Semper Tyrannis
Wed, 25 Oct 2017 01:12 UTC
McCainClinton
© thehilly.com
Appears that Clinton Campaign Colluded with Ukraine and McCain in Bid to Destroy Donald Trump.

When the story of foreign interference in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election is finally told it will have little to do with Russia and a lot to do with how Democrats, some Republicans and critical parts of the intelligence and law enforcement community colluded in an effort to discredit Donald Trump and undermine his ability to function as President. What puzzles me is why the media is acting surprised with the latest news confirming that Hillary Clinton's campaign financed the infamous Trump Dossier. Thank you Captain Obvious. Who else would have commissioned such an effort once the Republican primary battle was settled?

Comment: See also:

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Attention

Catalonia independence: Spain PM dissolves Catalan parliament


BBC News
Fri, 27 Oct 2017 19:16 UTC
Mariano Rajoy
Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy says he is dissolving the Catalan parliament and calling regional elections over its push for independence.

The prime minister said the unprecedented imposition of direct rule on Catalonia was essential to "recover normality" in the region.

He is also firing Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont and his cabinet.


Comment: Article 155 does not explicitly allow for the Madrid government to take control of an autonomous region and rule it directly, but instead it specifies that 'the [Madrid] government can take the necessary steps to oblige the autonomous region to comply with orders from the government'. By dissolving the Catalan government and, effectively, ruling directly until new elections in December, the Madrid government is breaking its own laws.

What kind of elections does Madrid think it can organize in December whereby there will be a majority of anti-independence members of the Catalan parliament, unlike the current parliament configuration? Are mass arrests of pro-independence MPs in Cataluña coming? Will pro-independence parties be banned? How else can Madrid prevent the MPs it has just 'fired' from running again for election?


Earlier, the Catalan parliament unilaterally voted to declare independence.

Comment: Spain is also seeking rebellion charges against the Catalan leaders responsible for the independence vote, which could be brought as early as Monday.

Thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the Catalan parliament. When independence from Spain was announced, the crowd went wild with excitement.





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