Puppet MastersS


Eye 2

Danger lurks: Washington might torpedo Korea talks

Finian Cunningham
Strategic Culture Foundation
Thu, 11 Jan 2018 15:19 UTC
Korea border
There was near-unanimous welcoming of the surprise peace talks this week between North and South Korean delegations. Even the bellicose US President Donald Trump put aside his fiery rhetoric to endorse the diplomatic engagement between the two divided Koreas, saying he "hoped something good would result".

The two Korean sides met for 11 hours of discussions in the "peace village" of Panmunjom near the Demilitarized Zone that has separated the states since the Korean War (1950-53). The cordial handshakes and friendly words exchanged raised hopes that a major breakthrough was underway - this after a year of mounting tensions and fears of an all-out war breaking out on the Korean Peninsula.

Russia and China lauded the opening of talks this week - the first in nearly two years of impasse - saying it was exactly what they had been prescribing for the past several months in order to calm escalating tensions. The United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres also praised the new commitment to dial down conflict.

Perhaps surprising was the apparent welcome given by Washington to the talks. President Trump said he was "100 per cent" behind South Korean President Moon Jae-in's initiative to invite the North to dialogue.
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Info

Trump cancels London visit... so much for the 'special relationship'

Finian Cunningham
RT
Fri, 12 Jan 2018 13:59 UTC
Donald Trump with Minister Theresa May
© Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
Hardly anyone will buy President Donald Trump's explanation for his abruptly canceled visit to London next month. The real reason, no doubt, was to avoid embarrassing scenes of mass street protests marring his official welcome.

Whatever has become of the so-called "special relationship"?

Nigel Farage, the former UKIP leader and one of the few British politicians who has openly befriended Trump, expressed embarrassment: "It's disappointing. He's been to countries all over the world and yet he's not been to the one with whom he's closest. I think it's disappointing," Farage told the BBC on the back of news over Trump's cancellation.

The United States and Britain have long flattered each other with declarations of having a "special relationship" - a phrase first coined by Winston Churchill during his postwar trip to the US in 1946.

Given that Britain is America's supposedly closest international ally, what does it say about Washington's present standing in the world when the president is obliged to call off his visit - out of concerns that he's not welcome by the British public?
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Russian Flag

US meddling, Kim's win & cryptocurrencies: Top 5 Putin quotes from his meeting with press


RT
Thu, 11 Jan 2018 14:11 UTC
Vladimir Putin
© Grigoriy Sisoev / SputnikRussian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with heads of Russian mass media on January 11, 2017
From US interference into other countries' affairs to the cryptocurrency craze, Russian President Vladimir Putin managed to cover a wide range of topics while speaking at his latest major media briefing.

Putin sat down with the heads of major Russian media outlets on Thursday. While he mostly commented on international politics, issues such as cryptocurrencies and the digital economy did not go unnoticed by the Russian leader.

On who was behind recent attacks on Russia's airbase in Syria:
We know who they are. We know whom and how much they paid for these provocations ... aimed at wrecking the agreements that have been reached earlier. It is also an attempt to destroy our relations ... with our partners - Turkey and Iran. We understand it perfectly well and we will act united.

Comment: More of Putin's cryptocurrency comments:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has weighed in on the bitcoin debate. Although there will eventually be a need to legislate cryptocurrencies, he said any risks taken by investors now are their own responsibility.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, President Putin said the Central Bank of Russia's (CBR) cautious approach to cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin is because there is nothing to guarantee their value.

"In general, of course, in the future there will certainly need to be legislative regulation. The Central Bank has already repeatedly formulated its attitude to this case, just as the government has.

"The CBR behaves conservatively, but, in my opinion, there are grounds for this conservatism, because it is known that there is nothing behind cryptocurrency, it cannot be a means of accumulation, it has no material value behind it and it is in no way secured," he said.

"In certain situations it can be a way of paying that can be done quickly and efficiently. You can pay, but there are no savings and no guarantee, so the Central Bank approaches this very carefully. The fluctuations are colossal: today you invested everything, and tomorrow everything is lost.

"If we regulate, but not efficiently enough, then the government will be responsible for the difficult situations that people can get into. Right now it is the responsibility of the person himself and the government can only say 'you can do this but you can't do that,' and if it's still not clear then there will be some problems that need to be solved."

Opinion on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies remains divided, with some financial experts believing it is a worthy investment, as the price fluctuations and its meteoric rise in value will eventually even out, while others consider it a bubble that will burst sooner or later.

The Russian government is currently mulling over how to best regulate cryptocurrencies, with Deputy Finance Minister Aleksey Moiseev suggesting in December that mining bitcoin and other forms of online money would be illegal, but buying them or trading them would remain within the law.


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Newspaper

Putin can count on 81% of Russians planning to vote in 2018 election


TASS
Sat, 13 Jan 2018 14:28 UTC
Putin is followed by the Communist Party's candidate, Pavel Grudinin, who would have support of 7.6% of the polled

Putin
© Alexei Druzhinin/TASS
More than 81% of Russians who plan to cast their votes at presidential elections would support Russia's incumbent president, Vladimir Putin, should the voting be held this coming Sunday, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center said on Friday citing the results of a recent poll.

Thus, as many as 81.1% of respondents, or by 2.7% less than on December 17, said they would cast their votes for Putin. The Communist Party's (CPRF) candidate, Pavel Grudinin, would have support of 7.6% of the polled. Notably, the rating of CPRF leader Gennady Zyuganov was mere 3.3% a month ago.
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Bizarro Earth

'Fighting season': Pentagon to send '1,000 new troops and drones' to Afghanistan


RT
Sat, 13 Jan 2018 13:46 UTC
U.S. troops and Afghan National Army
© Omar Sobhani / ReutersU.S. troops and Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers are seen onboard a helicopter in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan July 7, 2017.
The Pentagon intends to deploy an estimated 1,000 new combat advisers to Afghanistan as part of the Trump administration's planned troop surge, according to reports.

As early as February, members of an Army security-force assistance brigade from Fort Benning, Georgia, will be sent to work as combat advisers to Afghan National Security Forces. Their deployment will bring the number of American personnel in the country to about 14,000.

US military officials told the Wall Street Journal the Pentagon hopes to dramatically increase the American military presence in Afghanistan in time for spring, when the "fighting season" begins.

With operations against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) winding down in Syria and Iraq, the US military also plans to send more helicopters, ground vehicles, artillery and other equipment to Afghanistan.

Comment: So we can expect more "drive by shootings" and bombed weddings as the US steps up its aggression in Afghanistan. The US policy has not changed and will only continue the 17 year war for many more years until the tables are turned against the US. The decision made with Pakistan may be a tipping point:

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Propaganda

Ridiculously fake news: Putin hatches duplicitous plot to attack global internet cables that would harm Russia more than rivals

Mision Verdad, translated by J. Flores
Fort Russ
Sat, 13 Jan 2018 13:11 UTC
Putin sunglasses
The anti-Russian hysteria created in the American and global public opinion by Western means, is increasing.

This time it is not a new "revelation" about the alleged interference in the US presidential elections of 2016, but a macabre plan by Putin to attack the fiber optic cables that allow for the operation of the global Internet.

The American medium Wired, published an extensive article on January 5th of this year where it projects Russia as a threat to the operation of the transoceanic cables of the Internet, the text also tries to frighten public opinion with the supposed danger that would run the communications services such as Facebook and Skype. The text is written in an apocalyptic language that attempts to describe a certain imminence or desperation of the attack against the Internet, homologous to Russia with a terrorist and criminal organization.
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Chart Pie

Maduro urges Latin American states to join oil and gold-backed cryptocurrency project


RT
Sat, 13 Jan 2018 13:30 UTC
Nicolas Maduro
© Miraflores Palace / Reuters
Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro has invited members of the regional ALBA-TCP bloc to join him in launching a new cryptocurrency. Named petro, the cryptocurrency will be backed by the country's oil, gas, gold and diamond riches.

"I have a proposal for the economic teams of the ALBA: to assume jointly the creation of an oil-backed petro cryptocurrency, which will be supported with Venezuelan oil and that very soon we will sustain with the wealth of Venezuela's gold and diamonds," Maduro told the delegates of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) on Friday.

Meeting the high-ranking officials from Antigua & Barbuda, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vicente and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua, the President of Venezuela invited them to join him in overcoming what he had previously called a "financial blockade" imposed by the United States

Comment: This cryptocurrency push by Maduro will be something to keep an eye on: CEO of JP Morgan Chase says 'all cryptocurrency' will be under government control

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Eye 1

Nancy Pelosi supports House passing Trump administration's bill to spy on Americans

Alex Emmons
The Intercept
Thu, 11 Jan 2018 21:34 UTC
Nancy Pelosi
© Zach Gibson/Getty ImagesHouse Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during a weekly press conference on Capitol Hill on Jan. 11, 2018, in Washington, D.C.
With bipartisan backing, the House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would renew one of the government's most sweeping surveillance authorities for six years with minimal changes.

The measure, which passed 256-164, reauthorized Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which was set to expire later this month.

The law was first passed in 2008 to legalize President George W. Bush's warrantless wiretapping program. It allows the National Security Agency to collect Americans' communications with people overseas, as long as the NSA is "targeting" the foreigners involved.

The vote followed a morning of confusion, as President Donald Trump tweeted in opposition to the bill, referencing a conspiracy theory about then-President Barack Obama spying on the Trump campaign. He walked himself back two hours later, tweeting, "We need it! Get Smart!"

Comment: So not all Democrats are opposed to everything that Trump does - when it comes to spying on Americans, they're happy to oblige. See also:

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Megaphone

Is US ceding Middle East diplomatic leadership to Russia a bad idea?

Paul R. Pillar
The National Interest
Wed, 10 Jan 2018 00:01 UTC
Vladimir Putin honour guard
© REUTERS/Alexander Nemenov/PoolRussian President Vladimir Putin walks past an honour guard as he attends a meeting of the State Council at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia December 27, 2017.
Late this month Russia will host and broker a new round of Syrian peace talks in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi. The Sochi talks will be an extension of talks that had earlier taken place in Astana, Kazakhstan, under the joint sponsorship of Russia, Turkey, and Iran. If there is to be any diplomatic momentum in the weeks ahead regarding the Syrian conflict, that momentum most likely will be found in Sochi and Russia. Although some Syrian opposition elements are still hoping the United States will snatch diplomatic leadership on the issue away from Moscow, other relevant players regard Sochi as the place to be rather than a place to avoid. This evidently includes Saudi Arabia, a principal bankroller of the Syrian opposition, and United Nations special envoy Staffan de Mistura, who has had his own intermittent Syrian negotiations in Geneva. Russian officials describe their efforts as complementing rather than replacing the U.N. talks in Geneva, and they have expressed hope there will be another Geneva round before the Sochi meeting.

Comment: Sez who? The interests of the US are completely irrelevant to peace negotiations in the Middle East and it's fairly obtuse to assume Russia couldn't do a better job without the US injecting its "interests" into the negotiation. It really comes down to who is best for the job, and given that the US is completely in bed with Israel, there is simply no way they could be considered impartial. Moscow, it would seem, really is the best choice, without US 'cooperation'.

See also:

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X

Pakistan 'betrayed' by Washington, will not seek any more military aid


RT
Sat, 13 Jan 2018 12:06 UTC
Pakistani cadets
© RIZWAN TABASSUM / AFPPakistani cadets parade in Karachi, December 25, 2017
Pakistan's army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa spoke with US Central Command General Joseph Votel on the phone and said he feels "betrayed" after recent actions by the US to cut military aid. He will not seek further funding.

Bajwa made the comments to Votel earlier this week during a phone call, a spokesman for Pakistan's military said in a statement on Friday. Bajwa also said Pakistan is being treated badly by the US "despite decades of cooperation,"Sputnik News reports.

The comment comes after President Donald Trump's administration withheld almost $2 billion in security aid from Pakistan for allegedly failing to take "decisive action" against Taliban militants targeting US personnel in neighboring Afghanistan, according to the Associated Press.
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