Puppet MastersS


Arrow Down

Jared Kushner loses access to top-secret intelligence

Eliana Johnson, Andrew Restuccia
Politico
Tue, 27 Feb 2018 03:39 UTC
Kushner
© PoliticoJared Kushner
Presidential son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner has had his security clearance downgraded - a move that will prevent him from viewing many of the sensitive documents to which he once had unfettered access.

Kushner is not alone. All White House aides working on the highest-level interim clearances - at the Top Secret/SCI-level - were informed in a memo sent Friday that their clearances would be downgraded to the Secret level, according to three people with knowledge of the situation.

The SCI acronym stands for sensitive compartmented information, a category of information that comes from sensitive intelligence sources and must be walled off.

The memo was not signed by chief of staff John Kelly, but it comes as the retired Marine general and other top White House aides are grappling with the fallout of a scandal involving former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, which revealed that dozens of White House aides had yet to receive permanent clearances but nonetheless had access to some of the country's deepest secrets.

The president has the ability to grant Kushner a permanent clearance, but Trump said Friday - the same day the memo was sent - that he was leaving the decision to his chief of staff. "I will let General Kelly make that decision," Trump told reporters. "I have no doubt he'll make the right decision."

Comment: While some might think the restrictions are for show, it is more likely they are prudent and proactive, considering the climate of animosity surrounding this administration and the quick-to-judgement adversaries hoping for something to exploit.

Read More...
Snakes in Suits

Supreme Court requires Trump maintain 'dreamers' protections

Lawrence Hurley, Andrew Chung
Reuters
Mon, 26 Feb 2018 09:37 UTC
SupremeCourt
© Raw Story
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday dealt a setback to President Donald Trump, requiring his administration to maintain protections he has sought to end for hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought illegally into the United States as children.

The justices refused to hear the administration's appeal of a federal judge's Jan. 9 nationwide injunction that halted Trump's move to rescind a program that benefits immigrants known as "Dreamers" implemented in 2012 by his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama.

The protections were due to start phasing out in March under the Republican president's action, announced in September.

Under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, roughly 700,000 young adult, mostly Hispanics, are protected from deportation and given work permits for two-year periods, after which they must re-apply. Congress so far has failed to pass legislation to address the fate of the "Dreamers," including a potential path to citizenship.

San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled last month that the government must continue to process renewals of existing DACA applications while litigation over the legality of Trump's action is resolved, prompting the administration's unusual move to bypass a federal appeals court and take the matter directly to the Supreme Court.

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Propaganda

Propaganda Alert: US uses pictures from Gaza and Mosul to elicit outrage over jihadist-held Ghouta

Translated by Tom Winter
Fort Russ News / Français.RT
Wed, 28 Feb 2018 20:10 UTC
Propaganda
L: Gaza. R: Mosul
The photos of an American's Twitter account showing bombings in Syria, and a father carrying his screaming child in devastated Ghouta, caused emotion and have been retweeted 128,000 times. These images were actually taken in Gaza and Mosul.

Syrian-born American Sami Sharbek wanted to educate the world about the fate of Ghouta by posting terrible images of war on his Twitter account. He achieved his goal: over 128,000 people retweeted his photos. Omitting this little detail: these photographs were taken in Gaza and Mosul.

Sami Sharbek
We note: Not a movie, and not Syria, either!
Read More...
Info

Russian MoD: Terrorists continue offensive in Aleppo, Latakia and Daraa - Syrian army foils rebel attempt to smuggle heavy weapons into East Ghouta


Sputnik
Wed, 28 Feb 2018 19:50 UTC
Damaged buildings
© REUTERS/ Bassam KhabiehDamaged buildings are seen in the besieged town of Douma, Eastern Ghouta, Damascus, Syria, February 25, 2018
The Russian Center for the Syrian Reconciliation reported Wednesday that militants from illegal armed groups controlling the Eastern Ghouta suburb of Damascus fired 13 mortar rounds at residential areas of the Syrian capital over the past 24 hours.

"Our regular monitoring of the ceasefire regime shows that armed groups continue hostilities in the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia and Daraa. We are particularly concerned over the tense situation in Eastern Ghouta," the center's spokesman Major-General Yury Yevtushenko said at a daily briefing.

The militants are blocking residents of Eastern Ghouta from leaving the danger zone, threatening to kill them for any attempt, Maj. Gen. Yuri Yevtushenko, the head of the Center for Syrian Reconciliation reported.

Comment: The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) foiled an attempt by militants on Wednesday to smuggle weapons from the eastern Qalamoun to the East Ghouta.
According to a military report, the Syrian Army caught a group of militants attempting to move a large amount of weapons from the eastern Qalamoun in a bid to aid their allies in the East Ghouta.

See also: Russian MoD spokesman: Syrian civilians suffer most in areas controlled by US allies

Read More...
Che Guevara

Duterte announces intention to retire as Filipino leader by 2020


RT
Wed, 28 Feb 2018 18:34 UTC
duterte
© Romeo Ranoco / Reuters
Rodrigo Duterte, leader of the Philippines, has said that he no longer has the energy to run the country and will seek to retire early instead of completing his term as president. "I will not wait until 2022," he claimed.

Opposition figures and international human rights organizations have long decried Duterte's supposed dictatorial tendencies, which included leading a brutal drugs war that has left thousands dead. It now appears his term will end sooner than expected with Duterte insisting he "will step down by 2020."

"I am old. I have no more ambition. I really would like to rest," the 72-year-old strongman added. The remarks are an apparent move to allay domestic fears that Duterte seeks to emulate former Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Marcos ruled the island nation from 1965 until he was ousted by the "people's power" revolution in 1986, and was notoriously corrupt. The dictator himself was characterized by his extravagance and brutality.
Read More...
Vader

Pentagon admits no proof of E. Ghouta chem attack - blames Russia anyway


RT
Wed, 28 Feb 2018 16:57 UTC
east ghouta syria bombing
© Bassam Khabieh / ReutersSmoke rises from East Ghouta neighborhood in Damascus, Syria, on February 27, 2018.
The Pentagon admits it used NGO reports on alleged recent chemical attacks in Syria and cannot confirm if they even took place. The lack of evidence, however, did not get in the way of the latest Russia blame game galore.

Russia was predictably the target of a barrage of accusations from the West after reports claimed that several people in the Damascus suburb of East Ghouta, which is controlled by militant groups, suffered symptoms consistent with exposure to chlorine gas on Sunday. The western media immediately took the opportunity to put the blame for what it called a suspected "chemical weapons attack" on the Syrian government and Moscow, which has been backing Bashar Assad's forces in their fight against terrorist groups.

Western officials were quick to accuse Damascus of being behind the incident. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said that the West should not "stand idly by" if it is proven that the Syrian government launched this attack.

Comment: Psychopaths have no imagination. They keep dragging out the same story, only to have it refuted. Fact don't bother them though, they just plow on with their own version of reality.

Read More...
Handcuffs

The screws tighten around Netanyahu as he's named by state prosecutor in new bribery scandal


RT
Wed, 28 Feb 2018 18:26 UTC
Netanyahu
© Nir Elias / ReutersIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli MP Benjamin Netanyahu, already under investigation for two instances of corruption, may complete a hat-trick. A state prosecutor has named Netanyahu as the beneficiary of a PR scheme worth "up to a billion shekels."

Earlier this month, police recommended Netanyahu be indicted for allegations of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. These are being addressed in two separate investigations, known as Case 1000 and Case 2000.

However, the Israeli leader now risks being dragged into another scandal-ridden investigation - Case 4000 - that revolves around his former media adviser striking a deal with communications giant Bezeq for positive coverage in return for business favors. Alongside his ongoing tenure as Prime Minister, Netanyahu also served as the country's communications minister from 2014 to 2017. As such he directly benefited from the alleged deal, state prosecutor Yehudit Tirosh said in a hearing on Tuesday.
Read More...
Info

Lavrov: US training EU armies to nuke Russia


PressTV
Wed, 28 Feb 2018 19:10 UTC
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
© Photo by AFPRussian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R), flanked by Russia's newly-appointed UN Ambassador Gennady Gatilov, addresses the UN disarmament conference in Geneva, February 28, 2018
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the United States of hurdling international nuclear disarmament efforts by training European armies to use tactical nuclear weapons against Russia.

Addressing the United Nations Conference on Disarmament on Wednesday, Lavrov said the US military had deployed strategic and non-strategic weapons across Europe and was using them in joint military exercises with other European countries, including the NATO military alliance's non-nuclear members.

"As we all know, these nuclear missions violate the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and non-nuclear states plan and take part in the US exercises and learn how to use the nuclear weapons," he said.
Read More...
Mr. Potato

Russia is laughing at Mueller's indictment of 13 Russian nationals

Leah Barkoukis
Townhall.com
Mon, 26 Feb 2018 18:07 UTC
Maria Zakharova
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova
The Justice Department's charges filed against 13 Russian nationals for interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election have not been taken seriously by Russian officials.

In fact, some, including Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for Russia's Foreign Ministry, have considered the indictment so absurd that it could be the work of a professional comedian.

"I sometimes get the impression that ... behind these statements that are made in the U.S. are some of their most popular comedians, maybe Jim Carrey," she said, reports state news agency Tass.
Read More...
Chess

Putin: Moscow will not forever tolerate the shelling in eastern Ghouta that hit Russian embassy


RT
Wed, 28 Feb 2018 17:44 UTC
Kurz Putin
© Alexei Druzhinin / SputnikRussian President Vladimir Putin and Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz, in Moscow on February 28,2017.
Moscow is not going to keep tolerating the daily shelling of Damascus by eastern Ghouta militants that recently hit the Russian embassy in Syria, President Vladimir Putin said after meeting Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

The current hotspot of the Syrian crisis - Eastern Ghouta on the outskirts of Damascus - is being used by numerous terrorist groups as a base, from which they launch attacks on the capital and other areas in the country, Putin said, responding to a Russian media journalist's question on the situation there. Damascus is being shelled up to 80 times a day from the besieged area.

Putin particularly stressed that the Russian embassy in Damascus has come under mortar fire. The building has been shelled and suffered damage on numerous occasions during the Syrian conflict. On February 6, the Russian trade mission in the Syrian capital was also targeted. Luckily, the building was unoccupied, but civilians were injured in the attack.
Read More...