Puppet MastersS


Hourglass

Let the leaking begin: FISA memo officially names James Comey, Andrew McCabe & Rod Rosenstein

Joshua Caplan
The Gateway Pundit
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 17:33 UTC
McCabe Comey Rosenstein
Andrew McCabe, James Comey, Rod Rosenstein
Former FBI Director James Comey, bureau Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein are officially named in the "shocking" FISA abuse memo, reports the Daily Beast.

The Daily Beast reports:
A controversial Republican memo alleging surveillance abuse specifically names FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein along with former FBI Director James Comey.

Capitol Hill sources on both sides of the aisle say the memo's release is only a matter of time. And when it comes out, these current and former officials - all GOP bêtes noires - are likely to face even more criticism from the right over their involvement in FBI counterintelligence work.

Republicans, including Trump himself, have spent months attacking McCabe and Comey while special counsel Robert Mueller has been investigating Team Trump's connections to the Kremlin. Rosenstein put that probe in place-a move Trump has derided as a witch hunt. [...]

Rep. Chris Collins, a New York Republican, told The Daily Beast that Nunes has told Republicans his staff spent months putting the memo together.
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Vader

Kurds coming to understand they were once again used and discarded by the Empire

Paul Antonopoulos
Fort Russ News
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 17:22 UTC
Kurdish military convoy
© ReutersA convoy of Peshmerga vehicles is escorted by Turkish Kurds on their way to the Turkish-Syrian border in Kiziltepe
Residents of the Kurdish-majority city of Kobane in Syria's north took to the streets on Wednesday to protest against the ongoing Turkish operation dubbed as "Olive Branch" in the northwest canton of Afrin. "The US is using the Kurds to combat IS [ISIS]. We fought IS in Syrian and Iraqi Kurdistan, it was the largest terrorist organization in the world, and we did that to the World, Adnan Buzan, a protestor said.

"When we got rid of IS, the US started supporting our adversary to the Kurdish people under weak pretexts, so it is a shameful stance by the Americans," he continued.

The Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) has been indirectly supported by the United States, despite the YPG being the Syrian branch of the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that Washington recognizes as a terrorist organization.

The YPG, and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) umbrella organization it leads, has been extremely resistant to diplomatically resolve its differences with Damascus so that it can pursue partition from the Syrian state, thinking it had the full-backing of the United States to do so.

Comment:

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USA

Trump makes grand entrance in Davos - Wows WEF Summit with 'America First' platform (VIDEOS)

Seraphim Hanisch
The Duran
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 17:00 UTC
Trump Davos
© Agence France-Presse
The American President's straight talk charms many at Davos and creates an air of optimism amidst the storm of negative rhetoric

President Donald Trump flew to Davos for the World Economic Forum, and completely electrified it, according to reports.

Although the "America First" slogan had raised concern in the global economic community that this meant the United States would disregard the needs and concerns of other world economic powers, the President dispelled this worry handily. Members of his cabinet had been in Davos a bit before his arrival, and were involved in interview and panels already, and when he arrived, he and his assistants were able to explain more what this philosophy actually means.

"America first is not America alone", said Gary Cohn, the president's economic adviser. The point of this idea is not for the United States to dominate and control the world, but in Trump's view, to make better deals and better trade agreements around the world, and to also cement and strengthen the diplomatic relations between the USA and her allies, most notably England and Israel.


Comment: The article's conclusion is in line with Putin's assessment of Trump.

Putin: Trump different than on TV, we can restore relations with US
"As for personal relations, I think that they are established," Putin said of his Friday meeting with Trump.

"The Trump we see on TV is very much different from the real person."

"I think that if we continue building our relations like during our conversation yesterday, there are grounds to believe that we'll be able to - at least partially - restore the level of cooperation that we need," Putin said.


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Pirates

Syrian forces battle militants armed with modern EU-made weapons exiting US-patrolled area


RT
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 16:52 UTC
syrian militants
© Reuters
Two off-road vehicles carrying European-made electronic weaponry were destroyed by Syrian forces near the US base at Al-Tanf, the Russian MoD said. Five militants died and IS propaganda material was found at the scene.

Three off-road vehicles with heavy weaponry mounted on them were spotted by a Syrian militia unit patrolling the boundary of the US-controlled area in Al-Tanf, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday in a press release.

The Syrians opened fire, destroying two vehicles and killing five militants. The third vehicle managed to return to Al-Tanf, the ministry said. While checking the skirmish site, militia forces found Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) propaganda materials, European-made electronic warfare equipment as well as large amounts of small arms ammunition.

The slain militants could belong to a US-trained armed opposition group, according to the ministry. "Flags bearing insignia of the 'Forces of Martyr Ahmad al-Abdo' were found inside the vehicles,"the statement said, referring to a name of a militant group trained by American Special Forces in Al-Tanf.

The Russian military believes US forces have effectively turned their military base near the town of Al-Tanf in south-eastern Syria into a terrorist training camp.

Comment: Hmmm, militants with ISIS propaganda and US-militia insignia coming out of a US-controlled area... Nothing to see here!

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Target

Propaganda Alert: US counter-terror 'expert' accuses Hezbollah of engaging in illicit drug trade in UK


RT
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 17:01 UTC
hezbollah
© Stephen Gerard Kelly
A US counter-terrorism expert has accused Lebanese group Hezbollah for "engaging in criminal conduct" in the UK. Dr Matthew Levitt has said that London "has a Hezbollah problem" and the group's partial ban was not working.

Former FBI agent, Levitt believes that the partial ban, which prohibits the military wing of the group while allowing the political entity, is failing. He calls for the UK and EU to adopt the US' prohibition of the group in its entirety, labelling it an organisation with ties to terrorism.

In his in article for the Study of Radicalisation at King's College London, Levitt stated that the situation has led to Hezbollah carrying out illegal activities including fundraising for military campaigns, money laundering and drug trafficking in the UK as well as other European countries. While the group's presence in the UK, according to Levitt, is undermining British interests abroad.

Comment: Perhaps this "expert" ought to turn his attention to all the illegal activities engaged in by Western intelligence agencies like the CIA and MI5. Surely anything Hezbollah is doing is absolutely dwarfed by CIA involvement in the illegal drug and arms trade.

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Chess

US expands Russian sanctions against 21 individuals and 9 companies


RT
Thu, 25 Jan 2018 18:40 UTC
white house
© Global Look Press
The US expanded sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis on Friday, adding more individuals onto the blacklist, including a deputy energy minister and energy companies, the Treasury Department said.

The list contains 21 individuals, all of whom are Russian or Ukrainian nationals, and nine companies, most of which are power or energy firms.

Russian Deputy Energy Minister Andrey Cherezov and energy company Technopromexport are among those who were hit with sanctions, according to the list published on the website of the US Treasury Department on Friday.

The newly imposed sanctions target Gaz-Alyans and Kaliningradnefteprodukt energy companies, as well as the Power Machines group.
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Star of David

Israeli diplomat goes full conspiracytard over Tamimi family - mercilessly mocked for probe on 'paid actors' theory


RT
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 16:50 UTC
Tamimi family
© Abbas Momani / Agence France-PressePalestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas (C-back) receives at his headquarters in Ramallah on September 2, 2015, the Tamimi family.
The Israeli parliament investigated a conspiracy theory claiming the family of jailed activist Ahed Tamimi were a group of actors hired to promote the Palestinian cause, a new interview has revealed.

The probe was initiated two years ago by Michael Oren, deputy minister for diplomacy and former ambassador to the United States, who was mocked online after revealing the secret investigation to Israeli media.

The Tamimi family came into the international spotlight last year, after Ahed, 16, was arrested by Israeli authorities following a confrontation with soldiers in her home village of Nebi Saleh. The teenage activist's defiant stance and striking image garnered support, while Israel has faced outrage over how her case is being handled. Ahed is facing up to 10 years in prison.
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Cell Phone

FBI texts show Comey's chief of staff "very clearly" thought McCabe should be recused from Clinton investigation


GotNews.com
Thu, 25 Jan 2018 16:29 UTC
mccabe clinton
On October 28th, 2016 - the day that FBI Director James Comey announced he would be reopening the criminal investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails - Comey's Chief of Staff, Jim Rybicki, told FBI employees that he strongly believed McCabe should be recused from the case after his wife's deep ties to top Clinton ally Terry McAuliffe became known, according to documents released by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

At 10:27 PM, a message between anti-Trump FBI agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page from Page read "Rybicki just called to check in. He very clearly 100% believes that Andy should be recused because of the 'perception.'":
fbi strzok texts
© SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
This message, just one of many questionable texts sent between Page and Strzok, who were having an affair, solicited just a one-word reply from Strzok: "God."

Comment: See also:

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Clipboard

Fake science: Twitter dismisses university study 'proving' Russian interference in Brexit referendum


RT
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 11:08 UTC
Twitter
© Jaap Arriens/Global Look Press
A university study that 'proved' Russia's influence over the 2016 EU referendum has been thrown out by Twitter. The social media giant said one percent of the bots used during the lead up to the Brexit vote were actually Russian.

The data compiled in a City University study, published in October last year, claimed that some 13,000 bots were tweeting about Brexit before and after the referendum, has now been put into question.

In a letter to UK legislators trying to ascertain the extent of Russian interference - if any - in the Brexit referendum, Twitter largely dismissed the study.

Head of policy for Twitter in the UK Nick Pickles said the bots weren't evidence of direct Russian meddling in the referendum.

In his letter to the Commons digital culture, media, and sport committee, Pickles said: "In reviewing the accounts identified by City University, we found that 1 percent of the accounts in the dataset were registered in Russia."
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Igloo

Polar Silk Road coming soon! China unveils plans for OBOR expansion into the arctic


RT
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 16:19 UTC
Kong Xuanyou
© Shen Hong / Global Look PressChinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou shows a white paper on China's Arctic policy during a press conference in Beijing, Jan. 26, 2018.
Beijing has announced plans to extend the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative to the Arctic by developing shipping routes.

In a white paper released on Friday, the country said it expects to have a "major role in expanding the network of shipping routes" and noted that "as a result of global warming, the Arctic shipping routes are likely to become important transport routes for international trade."

It added that it would encourage enterprises to build infrastructure and conduct commercial trial voyages, paving the way for Arctic shipping routes that would form a "Polar Silk Road."

Land territories in the Arctic cover an area of around 8 million square km, with sovereignty belonging to Russia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Canada and the United States. The Arctic Ocean is more than 12 million square km, where coastal and other countries share maritime rights and interests according to international law.

Despite being a non-Arctic state, China is increasingly active in the polar region. It became an observer member of the Arctic Council in 2013. The country has a major stake in the Russian Yamal liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, which is expected to supply China with 4 million tons of LNG per year.

Comment: See also: China's Silk Roads - From the Caucasus to the Balkans, the Belt and Road Initiative is challenging the West's global domination

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