Puppet MastersS


Newspaper

Former Catalonian president threatened with arrest if he returns to Spain, says he'll work from "afar"


Time of India
Fri, 19 Jan 2018 22:35 UTC
Carles Puigdemont
Carles Puigdemont
Catalonia's former president, a fugitive sought by Spain over a foiled secession bid, will travel to Denmark next week for a university debate despite the possible risk of arrest, officials said Friday.

Carles Puigdemont plans to make the trip to Copenhagen as he tries to get his old job back and step up the pressure on Spanish authorities, which have said a fugitive abroad can't be the Catalan regional president.

The University of Copenhagen announced a debate for Monday in the Danish capital on "Catalonia and Europe at a Crossroads for Democracy." Janni Brixen, a media official with the university's Faculty of Social Science, said Puigdemont would attend it "in person."

Comment: For more on the issue of Catalonian independence check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Kurdistan and Catalonia: The Politics of Self-Determination

Also See:

Read More...
Radar

China accuses US warship of entering territorial waters without permission, violating its sovereignty


Sputnik
Sat, 20 Jan 2018 10:05 UTC
Chinese Coast Guard boat
© AP Photo/ Renato EtacChinese Coast Guard members approach Filipino fishermen as they confront them off Scarborough Shoal at South China Sea
The South China Sea area is a disputed region claimed by Brunei, China, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam, as it is believed that it has vast energy resources. Chinese authorities claim 90 percent of the area and have repeatedly said that all the country's activities in the region are China's sovereign right.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has stated that a US destroyer has entered the country's territorial waters in the South China Sea without permission, thus, violating Beijing's sovereignty.

According to a statement made by Beijing, "On January 17, a US destroyer entered the waters of China 12 nautical miles from the Huangyan island [also known as Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea] without the permission of the Chinese government. The Chinese Navy, in accordance with the law, carried out a "friend-or-foe" check against the American vessel and issued a warning to leave the corresponding waters."

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Chess

US and Turkey react as Syrian forces move to retake Idlib from Al Qaeda

Tony Cartalucci
New Eastern Outlook
Fri, 19 Jan 2018 00:00 UTC
US Troops
The Syrian government with support from its Russian, Iranian, and Lebanese allies has embarked on a major military operation to retake parts of Syria's northern governorate of Idlib. As it does so, the US and its regional allies are rushing to position themselves to ensure the permanent partition of Syria is achieved.

As Syrian forces push deeper into Idlib they have come up against a large amount of foreign-provided weaponry including US anti-tank missiles and even fleets of armored vehicles including Panthera F9 armored personnel carriers - joint-developed by the UAE and Ukraine and manufactured in Turkey.

Despite the formidable arsenal provided to militants - the majority of which fight under the banner of Al Qaeda and its affiliates - Syria and its allies maintain air superiority. The US tried - and failed - to establish what US policymakers have called a "safe haven" or "buffer zone" in northern Syria where US military might could provide shelter for militants from Syrian and Russian airpower.
Read More...
Stock Up

Gallup: Global Disapproval of U.S. Leadership Has Soared Under Trump

Eric Zuesse
Sott.net
Fri, 19 Jan 2018 21:13 UTC
trump un general assembly
Gallup surveyed 134 countries in 2017, and on January 18th reported that:
Median approval of U.S. leadership across the 134 countries surveyed in 2017 reached 30%, the lowest point since Gallup began tracking this measure annually in 2007. Disapproval of U.S. leadership increased almost as much as approval declined. The 43% median disapproval, up 15 points from the previous year, was a new record as well, not only for the U.S. but for any other major global power [there were three others - Germany, Russia, and China - that] Gallup asked [this question] about in the past decade.
The map showing country-by-country results indicates declining approval of U.S. leadership in all countries in the Western Hemisphere, except no change in Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. There was a 9% decline of approval of America's leadership in Venezuela, and declines ranging from 14% to 40% in all other countries throughout the Western Hemisphere. The biggest decline in the Hemisphere, 40%, occurred in Canada.
Read More...
Ice Cube

Putin takes icy dip to commemorate baptism of Christ, later attends memorial for siege of Leningrad where brother was killed (VIDEO)


RT
Fri, 19 Jan 2018 08:58 UTC
Putin Bathes in Icy Waters on Day Marking Baptism of Christ
© Sputnik/ Alexey Druzhinin
Thousands of people all across Russia braved freezing winter temperatures to bathe in ice-cold waters celebrating the Orthodox Christian holiday of the Epiphany - the baptism of Jesus Christ.

Vladimir Putin, known for his love of outdoor activities and commitment to Christianity, took to Lake Seliger north of Moscow on the night of January 18-19, to participate in the annual bathing in icy waters on the Epiphany Day, commemorating the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River that took place over two millennia ago.
Read More...
Pirates

US State Department dished out over $1m in Iran to exploit unrest

Nafeez Ahmed
Insurge Intelligence
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 00:00 UTC
Shah is a US puppet
© Origins (Ohio State University and Miami University, History Departments)
Documents reveal 'regime change' aspirations pursued under cover of 'democracy promotion' programs

At the end of 2017, a dozen cities across Iran, including the capital Tehran, were rocked by spontaneous protests which continued into the New Year. The protests drew attention to the country's deteriorating economic conditions, along with the regime's abysmal human rights record.

They also paved the way for President Donald Trump's announcement on January 12th that this would be a "last chance" for waiving US nuclear sanctions under the Iran nuclear deal for a further 60 days, after which the US would withdraw if its "disastrous flaws" cannot be fixed.

A range of recent official documents, from Congressional research to US foreign aid funding reports, throw new light on the Trump administration's approach. The documents reveal the US government's continued interest in triggering major political change in Iran to pull the country into the orbit of American interests. This includes the possibility of exploiting political unrest and other crises - including a worsening water crisis - to turn popular opinion against the regime.

Comment: Except for some amount of mismanagement (which may be found in any and every government), the comparison made by the author of the US and Iran - especially after making the case of all the tensions being exacerbated in Iran from without - seems without much merit; Iran and the US could not be more different from one another in how they approach the attainment of their perceived national interests.

See also:

Read More...
Eye 1

Republicans demand release of memo detailing Obama-era FISA abuses


RT
Fri, 19 Jan 2018 17:36 UTC
surveillance
© Josef Beck / Global Look Press
Republican lawmakers demand the public release of a classified memo detailing Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuses under the Obama administration. The move comes as lawmakers reauthorized government surveillance powers.

The House Intelligence Committee passed the motion introduced by Rep. Peter King (R-New York) Thursday. The measure was voted on along party lines, with all Democrats voting against the motion to make the classified report available to all House members.

"I viewed the classified report from House Intel relating to the FBI, FISA abuses, the infamous Russian dossier, and so-called 'Russian collusion.' What I saw is absolutely shocking. This report needs to be released -- now. Americans deserve the truth. #ReleaseTheMemo," Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina said Thursday night about the 4-page memo, reported New York Daily News.
Read More...
Wolf

Experts decipher Erdogan's intentions of continuing escalation in Syria

Pinar Tremblay
Al-Monitor
Fri, 19 Jan 2018 21:19 UTC
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
© REUTERS/Zoubeir SouissiTurkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a news conference with Tunisia's President Beji Caid Essebsi (not pictured) at Carthage Palace in Tunis, Tunisia, Dec. 27, 2017
Just as many parties seemed ready to bury the hatchet on the Syrian civil war, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently blasted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"It is not possible to continue with Assad in Syria," Erdogan said at a Dec. 27 press conference with Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi in Tunis. "How can we embrace the future of Syria with a president who has murdered almost 1 million of his own citizens?"

Erdogan's most striking comment came when he declared Assad a terrorist "who has carried out state terrorism."

Erdogan's words did not find much of an echo in the media, even among those outlets that favor his Justice and Development Party (AKP), yet the Syrian and Russian foreign ministries reacted promptly. Syrian authorities asked Erdogan not to meddle in their domestic policies and claimed he is "providing unlimited support to all kinds of terrorist organizations" fighting the Syrian regime. Even pro-AKP journalists such as Sabah columnist Mehmet Barlas concurred with the Syrian Foreign Ministry. On Jan. 2, Barlas wrote that Turkey has supported terrorist organizations in Syria under the pretext of providing aid to opposition groups.
Read More...
Arrow Down

Soros recommits to destroying nationalism within the framework of 'secular humanism'

Saraphim Hanisch
The Duran
Wed, 17 Jan 2018 06:25 UTC
Soros
© snippits and slappits blogspot.com
George Soros pledged that he would renew his fight against the ideology of nationalism, admitting at the same time that the experiment of the European Union is near breaking down. Reported on January 15th by Breitbart News, the billionaire currency speculator was quoted by the Financial Times as saying:
It's deja vu all over again with one big change - the dominant ideology in the world now is nationalism... It's the EU that's the institution that's on the verge of a breakdown... And Russia is the resurgent power, based on nationalism."
Mr. Soros is one of the major players in the world in terms of advancing the concept of globalization. In so doing, he has managed to help partially demonize the idea of national sovereignty, and this effort has met with quite a bit of success in many ways. So for him, the idea that the nation-state would be the primary way of governance, rather than a "global community", is repugnant enough that the 87-year-old put US $18 billion of his own wealth into the Open Society Foundations to further the crusade he thinks is so important.
Read More...
Nuke

US Defense Department paper indicates Russians have 'doomsday' weapon

Mike Eckel
RFE/RL
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 21:07 UTC
Russiansub
© Kostantin Panshev (epa)Russian submarine
Some two years ago, Western intelligence and military experts scrambled to make sense of a strange new Russian weapon whose designs were glimpsed briefly in a mysterious report on Russian state TV.

The weapon was a nuclear-capable underwater drone that would be launched from a submarine. The description accompanying a picture of the drone said such vehicles or weapons would be pilotless and capable of attacking enemies and creating "zones of extensive radioactive contamination unfit for military, economic or other activity for a long period of time."

At the time, in November 2015, a Kremlin spokesman said the document was shown mistakenly in the state TV report. But the spokesman also made no effort to dispute or deny plans for such a weapon, and analysts concluded it was an intentional signal being sent by the Kremlin.

Now, for the first time there are public indications that U.S. intelligence have not only confirmed Russian intentions for the weapon, but are also trying to figure out how to respond to it.
Read More...