Puppet MastersS


Dollar

Trump releases 2019 budget plan slated to boost spending on infrastructure, military and Mexican border wall


RT
Mon, 12 Feb 2018 17:40 UTC
Trump
© Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
President Donald Trump on Monday released his second budget plan, which is slated to boost spending on military, infrastructure and a wall along the Mexican border. Members of both parties have voiced objections to its proposals.

The proposal, which is likely to be criticized by lawmakers, includes $200 billion for infrastructure spending, more than $23 billion for border security and $716 billion in spending on military programs and for maintaining the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

The Congress will review the $4.4 trillion budget proposal, but is expected to make considerable changes to the plan. It's likely to be criticized by conservatives for deficit spending, even though it plans to lower the federal budget deficit by $3 trillion over 10 years by cutting non-military spending.

On Friday, Trump signed a bill that increased federal spending on both military and civilian programs as part of a compromise to avoid government shutdowns through 2019.

Comment: See also: 'Hire the best and fire the worst': Trump plans to overhaul the civil service

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Mail

Envelope with 'white powder' sent to Trump Jr's residence, wife hospitalized in NY


RT
Mon, 12 Feb 2018 18:40 UTC
Donald Jr. and Vanessa Trump.
© Jonathan Ernst / ReutersDonald Jr. and Vanessa Trump.
The wife of Donald Trump Jr. has been taken to hospital in New York after she opened an envelope containing an unknown white powder.

According to ABC news, Vanessa Trump opened the letter after it was addressed to Donald Trump Jr and was sent to the couple's apartment on East 54th street in Manhattan.
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Russian Flag

Netanyahu's deputy minister: We're counting on Russia, not US, to defuse tensions between Israel and Iran


Sutnik
Mon, 12 Feb 2018 00:00 UTC
Israel occupied Golan Heights
© Jalaa Marey
Tensions have been running high in the Middle East since the Israeli military intercepted an Iranian drone launched from Syrian territory, and Tel Aviv "enjoyed" the right to self-defense, launching an attack on "Iranian targets" in Syria, prompting reprisal strikes from Syrian air defense systems.

In the wake of the worst military crisis between the Middle Eastern countries since the 1982 Lebanon war, Michael Oren, Benjamin Netanyahu's deputy minister for public diplomacy, said that he believed that Israel was more counting on Russia than the United States, with President Trump watching from the sidelines.

"The American part of the equation is to back us up, but the US currently has almost no leverage on the ground. America did not ante up in Syria. It's not in the game. The expectations are that the Russians will stop it because I don't think anyone is interested right now in a war," Bloomberg cited him as saying.

Oren also added that the Israeli government assumed that Russia had the ability to restrain Iran and Syria.

Comment: As can be expected, the facts on the ground are a bit different than what the Israeli's have reported:

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X

Cruz warns Texas GOP about mid-terms: 'The left is going to show up'

Rebecca Savransky
The Hill
Mon, 12 Feb 2018 18:24 UTC
ted Cruz
© Associated Press/Nati Harnik
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is warning his party that the "left is going to show up" in the 2018 midterm elections.

During a speech Friday addressing the Fort Bend County GOP, Cruz talked about an "incredible volatility in politics right now," according to the Texas Tribune.

"Let me tell you right now: The left is going to show up," Cruz said during his keynote address at the party's Lincoln Reagan Dinner.

"They will crawl over broken glass in November to vote."
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Info

Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu: Ankara-Washington ties at very critical point - Turkey will close Incirlik airbase if needed


PressTV
Mon, 12 Feb 2018 19:14 UTC
Syrian village of Atme
© AFPA picture taken on February 10, 2018 from the Syrian village of Atme in the northwestern province of Idlib shows smoke plumes rising in the village of Deir Ballut in the Afrin region, where Turkish forces and allied militant groups are conducting an offensive against the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militants
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says Ankara's ties with Washington will either be mended or severed, as relations between the two North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies have suffered serious damage in the wake of Ankara's ongoing cross-border offensive in Syria's northwestern region of Afrin against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).
"Our relations are at a very critical point. They will either be fixed or these ties will be completely damaged," Cavusoglu told reporters in Istanbul on the sidelines of a Turkish-African meeting.
He also elaborated on Ankara's expectations, and condemned continuous US support for the YPG.

Comment: On February 11, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Fikri Işık didn't rule out the possibility of closing the NATO's Incirlik airbase in southern Turkey. According to the Turkish Ahval newspaper, Işık said that Ankara would not hesitate to close the airbase, if its long-term interests require it.
"If Turkey's medium and long-term interests require to take a step [to close the base] Turkey certainly would not refrain from taking this step," Işık said during a press conference, according to the Türkiye newspaper.
When asked by journalists if Turkey is currently considering closing the Incirlik airbase, the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister didn't confirm or deny but he said that the decision-making mechanisms in Turkey "always hold each and every subject in an evaluation."


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Oscar

North Korean leader's sister Kim Yo-jong charmed media at Winter Olympics - but Guardian thinks it won't last

Benjamin Haas
Guardian
Mon, 12 Feb 2018 15:55 UTC
Kim Yo-jong North Korea
© Grigory Dukor/ReutersKim Yo-jong applauds the womens Korean ice hockey team during her ‘charm offensive’ in South Korea


With her 'deadly side-eye' and 'nimble' ways, the sister of North Korean leader has been the centre of attention since she arrived at the Winter Games

Amid a sea of television cameras and journalists, Kim Yo-jong worked her way through the crowd surrounded by a horde of bodyguards. As she made her way through the room she was silent and always smiling.

The younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been the centre of attention since she landed in South Korea for an historic three-day visit as part of attending the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.

As her brother's envoy, she has been deployed to show a softer side of the North Korean regime, which is better known for perpetrating a host of human rights violations and threatening nuclear war.


Comment: The only reason North Korea has threatened nuclear war is because it knows itself threatened with war from the US, and it learned the lessons of Iraq, Libya and Syria - you can't reason with the US once you have been targeted. Can you blame them for trying to retain their country intact by any means possible? Isn't it obvious that the least thing North Koreans want is nuclear war, since that would guarantee their immediate destruction? But we can't expect the writer of this article to understand this. After all, he writes for the Guardian.


The strategy as so far worked on the South Korean media, with the horrors carried out by her brother, father and grandfather north of the border largely left out of the wall-to-wall coverage in Seoul and internationally.

Comment: This was actually a clever move on the part of the North Korean government. In a time in which the US military machine is threatening to destroy it, hints at friendship and reunification with South Korea, sweetened by Kim Yo-Jong's 'charm offensive' at the Winter Olympics may very well pay off.

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Bullseye

'Execute me by firing squad': Duterte defiant despite ICC investigation into war on drugs


RT
Mon, 12 Feb 2018 14:31 UTC
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte
© ReutersPhilippine President Rodrigo Duterte, wearing a military uniform.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to continue his bloody war on drugs despite the threat of an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Duterte was responding an announcement by the ICC that it plans to open a preliminary probe into the deaths of thousands of alleged drug dealers and drug users in the country since the beginning of July last year.

Speaking at a press conference Monday, Duterte said his war on drugs will not stop until his last day in office. "Drugs - I like to address myself to the International Court of Justice and to the prosecutors coming here to investigate. The war, or the drive against drugs, will not stop. And it will last until the day I step out," the president said, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

"If I go to prison, I go to prison. If you want to execute me, look for a country that allows prisoners to be executed by firing squad. Doon ako (I'll be there)," he added.

Comment: See also: Duterte defends his behavior: 'If I don't act like a dictator, nothing will happen to this country'

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Chess

Vladimir Putin warns Netanyahu against Syria attacks that thwart fight against jihadists

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Mon, 12 Feb 2018 15:53 UTC
netanyahu putin
Russian President warns Israeli leader against 'steps that could lead to a new round of confrontation'

In the aftermath of the shooting down by Syria of an Israeli F-16 fighter bomber, President Putin of Russia and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel had a telephone conversation with each other.

The Kremlin's summary of the conversation is even by its standards extremely short.
The discussion focused on the actions of the Israeli Air Force, which has carried out missile strikes in Syria.

The President of Russia spoke out in favour of avoiding any steps that could lead to a new round of confrontation, which would be dangerous for everyone in the region.
This pithy report of the conversation between the Russian and Israeli leaders matches the scant information the Russians have provided of the talks between Putin and Netanyahu in January.

Comment: See also:

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Eiffel Tower

New name bigger plans: France's Le Pen announces plan to 'rebrand' National Front Party


Sputnik
Mon, 12 Feb 2018 14:04 UTC
Marine Le Pen
© REUTERS/ Pascal Rossignol
Marine Le Pen, the leader of the National Front, intends to change the party's name as she sets sights on the country's next election.

Marine Le Pen announced the plan to "rebrand" during an interview on the "Le Grand Rendez-vous" program on the radio channel Europe 1. She said that this will help gain more votes during the next presidential election in 2022.

Le Pen plans to propose a new name to members of the party for a vote at the party's congress next month, but there's still a possibility it might be rejected and the current title will be kept.

Despite the proposed change, the party is "absolutely" not changing its line on immigration, borders and security, Le Pen insisted. "We are not renouncing anything, we are starting a new chapter in our history," she added.

Comment: For more on Le Pen and National Front, see:

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Bad Guys

Antifa "the new Nazi" handbook: A primer on violent illiberalism

Zachary Yost
the American Conservative
Thu, 08 Feb 2018 00:00 UTC

Anitfa fires
© Michael Candelori/Shutterstock
The group's manifesto openly rejects free speech and defends assassinations

Keith Ellison, the deputy director of the Democratic National Committee and congressman from Minnesota, recently ignited a Twitter firestorm when he tweeted out a picture of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, a book, he declared, that would "strike fear in the heart of" Donald Trump. Upon reading Antifa, it's easy to see why the tweet generated so much controversy.

Since its release last August, the handbook, by Dartmouth lecturer Mark Bray, has garnered attention as one of the few windows available into the mind of the newly prominent Antifa movement. Bray makes clear from the beginning that the book isn't an attempt at a neutral rehashing of facts, but rather "is an unabashedly partisan call to arms" for the purpose of equipping activists "with the history and theory necessary to defeat the resurgent Far Right." He articulates clearly the revolutionary ideology of the far left and defends using violence in its service, from street brawls to kidnappings to assassinations. For those who do not desire to see the world reborn in the flames of global anti-capitalist revolution, the popularity of The Anti-Fascist Handbook should prove alarming.

Comment: Are we in for a rerun of Nazi atrocities?. If we don't wake up to the reality and see the truth as it is, we may be facing a similar situation (or which much much worse) that average Ukrainians had faced since 2014 New-Nazi Coup. See also:

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