Puppet MastersS


Attention

Pentagon: Military transgender plan not official yet, no modifications to existing policy


RT
Fri, 28 Jul 2017 09:04 UTC
US Military
© Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters
The Pentagon has not yet received official orders from the White House on implementing a ban on transgender service members, said General Joseph Dunford (USMC), chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President Donald Trump's chief military adviser.

"There will be no modifications to the current policy until the President's direction has been received by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary has issued implementation guidance," Dunford wrote in a memo to service chiefs, commanders and senior enlisted leadership on Thursday, according to Reuters.

"In the meantime, we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect. As importantly, given the current fight and the challenges we face, we will all remain focused on accomplishing our assigned missions," he added.

Comment: Trump tweets another bombshell: 'Transgender people cannot serve in any capacity in US military'

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Mr. Potato

Mad Maxine Waters interrupts Treasury Secretary's single answer — 12 times!

Kyle Olson
The American Mirror
Thu, 27 Jul 2017 16:26 UTC
Maxine Waters
Maxine Waters was more interested in grandstanding on Thursday than actually getting answers to her questions.

While the California congresswoman was able to ask Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin questions during a Financial Services Committee hearing today, she repeatedly reclaimed her time, preventing him from providing answers.


Comment: Most two-year-olds have better manners than this Congresswoman.

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Light Sabers

China blocks out large swath of east seas for large scale military drills


RT
Fri, 28 Jul 2017 16:23 UTC
naval ships
© Reuters
Shortly after wrapping up the initial stage of the first-ever joint Russia-China drills in European waters, Beijing has reportedly blocked out a swath of ocean off the country's east coast for a fresh series of "large-scale" military drills.

"Large-scale military activities" are being held between the eastern port city of Lianyungang, in Jiangsu province, and Qingdao, in Shandong province, home to the navy's North Sea Fleet, AP reported, citing a notice from the government of Lianyungang.

Around 40,000 square kilometers (15,000 square miles) of the Yellow Sea will be off-limits for commercial shipping until Saturday, according to AP.

On Thursday, the Chinese and Russian navies concluded the first stage of joint military drills in the Baltic Sea, code-named 'Joint Sea 2017.'
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X

Another blow to Trump: Senate rejects Obamacare repeal


RT
Fri, 28 Jul 2017 16:17 UTC
Mitch McConnell
© AP
The US Senate has not supported a "skinny" repeal of the previous administration's healthcare law, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), widely known as Obamacare.

The repeal failed by a narrow margin of 49 - 51. At least three Republicans voted "no," including John McCain, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski. It was GOP Senator John McCain who cast the decisive vote, killing the repeal.

The bill's death in the Senate is seen as a blow to President Donald Trump. The US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) described the move as "a disappointing moment."

The "no" vote followed long Senate debates on the controversial Health Care Freedom Act.
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Network

Russian Security Council chairman proposes unified anti-terrorism database for BRICS nations


RT
Fri, 28 Jul 2017 16:16 UTC
Nikolai Patrushev
© Alexei Druzhinin / SputnikSecurity Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev
The chairman of Russia's Security Council has invited BRICS nations to participate in an international database for countering terrorism - a project launched by the Federal Security Service in order to target terrorists and their sponsors.

"We invite all BRICS nations to join the international data bank for countering terrorism created by the FSB in Russia. Thanks to the participation of 33 foreign special services and a number of relevant international organizations, we have created a consolidated array of information on persons complicit in terrorist activities and also on extremist and terrorist groups," Nikolai Patrushev said during a meeting of security officials from BRICS countries in Beijing.

BRICS is an international group uniting Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa - the five major emerging economies with about half of the world's population and 30 percent of global economic output.
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Bulb

Top Putin advisor: We want to stop cyber warfare, now just have to convince US and NATO


RT
Fri, 28 Jul 2017 16:11 UTC
cyber warfare
© Jaap Arriens / Global Look Press
Russia wants to "prevent the militarization of cyber space" and create international rules that could prevent a new digital arms race, one of Vladimir Putin's top communications tech advisors has said.

"When humanity realized the horror of biological weapons, it banned them. We are in the same situation right now. We should avoid the mistakes of the Atomic Age, when we first armed ourselves sufficiently to destroy each other, and then began to disarm," said Andrey Krutskikh, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for international cooperation in information security, in an interview with RT.

"In our wisdom, we should agree not to militarize cyberspace, and set some international ground rules," added Krutskikh, who was speaking on the sidelines of a Moscow forum dedicated to information tech in modern diplomacy for young Foreign Ministry civil servants.

Comment: According to the Putin (in Oliver Stone's Putin Interviews), this is precisely what he proposed years ago. The U.S. didn't even give an answer. This is also what Putin and Trump discussed. And the idea was immediately ridiculed and shot down by U.S. politicians. The reason? The U.S. is number-one in cyberwarfare, targeting not only enemies but friends as well. Agreeing to any basic "ground rules" would mean scaling back American cyberwarfare programs, and playing nice. The American empire doesn't play nice.

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Chess

Republicans call on Sessions to set up second special counsel to investigate Obama and Killary actions during '16 election


RT
Fri, 28 Jul 2017 16:04 UTC
capitol building
© Alex Edelman / Global Look Press
US House Judiciary Committee Republicans have called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to set up a second special counsel to address actions taken by Obama administration officials as well as Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign.

"We call on you to appoint a second special counsel to investigate a plethora of matters connected to the 2016 election and its aftermath, including actions taken by previously public figures like Attorney General Loretta Lynch, FBI Director James Comey, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton," the lawmakers stated.

A group of 20 Republicans led by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia) requested the appointment of a second prosecutor "to investigate unaddressed matters" of the 2016 elections. The plea was made in a letter sent Thursday to Attorney General Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
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Attention

Countdown to civil war on Venezuela


Moon Of Alabama
Fri, 28 Jul 2017 15:33 UTC
Nicolas Maduro
On Sunday Venezuela will hold a general election of participants of a constitutional assembly. Half of the representatives will be elected from regular electoral districts. The other half will be elected from and by eight special constituencies like "workers", "farmers", "employers", etc. The second part may be unusual but is no less democratic than the U.S. system which gives voters in rural states more weight than city dwellers.

The new assembly will formulate changes to the current constitution. Those changes will be decided on in another general vote. It is likely that the outcome will reinforce the favorite policies of a great majority of the people and of the social-democratic government under President Maduro.

The more wealthy part of the population as well as the foreign lobbies and governments have tried to prevent or sabotage the upcoming election. The U.S. has used various economic pressure points against the Venezuelan government including economic warfare with ever increasing sanctions. The opposition has held violent street rallies, attacked government institutions and supporters and called for general strikes.
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Network

Best of the Web: Journalist Diane Johnstone on the New Cold War, the insanity of the War Party, and Macron's geopolitical maneuvers

Dennis J. Bernstein
Consortium News
Wed, 26 Jul 2017 15:43 UTC
putin macron
French President Emmanuel Macron has positioned himself as a possible go-between in facilitating a reduction of tensions between the U.S. and Russia, a move that makes sense for France but may anger Official Washington's hawks who want to escalate the New Cold War.

I interviewed Paris-based journalist and historian Diana Johnstone about Trump's recent visit to Paris. Johnstone is the author of From Mad to Madness: Inside the Pentagon's Nuclear War Planning Machine, recounting the experiences of her father, Paul Johnstone, as a senior analyst in the Pentagon's Strategic Weapons Evaluation Group and a co-author of the Pentagon Papers. I spoke to her by telephone in France on July 19.

Dennis Bernstein: Diana, please give us your response to the recent Trump visit to Paris to meet with Emmanuel Macron.

Diana Johnstone: Well, first of all, it is clear that Emmanuel Macron has seen an advantage in being the only friend of the friendless Trump. It is clear that this can strengthen Macron's hand in dealing with Germany, the main part of his mandate being to influence Germany in changing EU policy.

Also, Macron is in a position to be an intermediary in this rapprochement between Trump and Putin, which of course the War Party in Washington is doing everything to obstruct. So Macron has situated himself in an interesting position.
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Snakes in Suits

Moment of clarity: Newt Gingrich says Republicans do not investigate Hillary Clinton out of FEAR (Video)

Alex Christoforou
The Duran
Fri, 28 Jul 2017 15:34 UTC
Newt Gingrich
© Associated Press
Wherever they go the Clinton's have a strange habit of leaving a very large body count behind them.

This perhaps explains why after deleting 33,000 emails, running an obvious pay-to-play money laundering scheme, working with Ukraine to meddle in the elections, cheating Bernie Sanders in the primary elections, and illegally pushing the US into conflicts that run counter to national interest...no one in Washington will dare investigate the Clinton mafia for crimes that are as clear as daylight.

Newt Gingrich explained to Sean Hannity, that Republicans have not pressed the Clinton crime issue because they are simply "afraid."

Gingrich said that there is real corruption in DC that should be investigated but he believes Republicans are afraid of the Clinton's influence.
"There are a lot of Republicans that are afraid of the Clintons."

Comment: Trey Gowdy: Hillary Clinton's crimes are much worse than we first thought

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