Puppet MastersS


Better Earth

US seeks emergency UN meeting on Iran protests - Russia reminds them about Ferguson and Occupy

ferguson protest
© Lucas Jackson / ReutersSt Louis County police officers hold an anti-police demonstrator in Ferguson, Missouri August 10, 2015.
The US has said it will call an emergency UNSC meeting to discuss the unrest in Iran, citing the need to support the protesters. Moscow says the move is hypocritical, given Washington's own history of cracking down on protests.

America's UN envoy, Nikki Haley, said Washington would call for an "urgent" UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Iran Monday, but there's been no word yet from the UN on such a meeting being scheduled. Kairat Umarov, Kazakhstan's envoy to the UN, who is now holding the rotating presidency of the UNSC, said Tuesday the council has not yet added Iran to its agenda and no decision has yet been taken on the issue.

Haley was emphatic in her support of Iran's anti-government protesters, praising their "great bravery" and calling on the international community to support them. "The people of Iran are crying out for freedom," Haley told journalists at a news conference. "All freedom-loving people must stand with their cause," she added, while promising to also seek an emergency session of the UN Human Rights Commission.


Comment: Haley's display (and that of all the other Western pundits and hacks echoing her words) really is shameless. The Iranians aren't crying out for (American style) "freedom and democracy". They are protesting against conditions common to both Iran and Western-style democracies (e.g. Spain), like unemployment and food prices. Many of the protesters would prefer a hardliner like Ahmedinejad. And the majority of Iranians hate America (with good reason). See:


Washington's latest attempt at masquerading as a global human rights defender was met with ridicule in Moscow, which reminded the US about its own approach when dealing with protests whenever they occur on American soil. "There is no doubt that the US delegation to the UN has something to tell the world," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova said on Facebook.

"Haley can, for example, share the US experience of putting down protests, tell [the Security Council] about the mass arrests and crackdown against the Occupy Wall Street movement or about the "clean-up operation" in Ferguson," she sarcastically added.

Comment: Russian Deputy FM Ryabkov told Sputnik:
"We do not see any UNSC role in this issue... [In Iran] there are certain domestic processes, the UNSC is a certain body, which is responsible under the UN Charter for maintaining international peace and security, Iran's internal issues have nothing to do to this UNSC function," Ryabkov said.

"Of course we cannot predict the developments of the situation as for a call of this hypothetical session, but I am sure that in contrast with this harmful and destructive US idea, we will set out our position, which is very consistent and is fully based on the adherence to the norms of international law," Ryabkov said.

Possible Sanctions

The Russian deputy foreign minister has also touched upon the issue of possible sanctions against Iran over the social unrest in the country.

"Our position is well known, unilateral sanctions, as a way to resolve problems relating to foreign policy, are unacceptable, they are illegitimate. The problem is that the oversimplification of the US foreign policy has gone too far. [The United States], in my opinion, has no other tools apart from sanctions in their arsenal of doing business with other members of the international community that are not ready to stand in line and follow the United States," Ryabkov said.

"We will counter Washington's sanctions pressuring as we used to. And our position fully applies to the situation in the US-Iranian relations. We categorically reject such tricks and insist that the threats to impose sanctions are also illegitimate," Ryabkov added.
Ryabkov also told TASS that there are additional motivations for the U.S.'s recent stance:
"The current situation, when Washington falls to temptation to use the moment to raise new issues regarding to the JCPOA, shows the deliberate attempt to undermine and shatter the international community's commitment the JCPOA," Ryabkov told TASS on Thursday. The diplomat also stressed that what is going on in the Islamic republic is a domestic issue, and urged the US to refrain from meddling.

The deputy foreign minister also reminded the US that the P5+1 initiative was no bilateral agreement, but the result of difficult and lengthy negotiations, which cannot be unilaterally amended.

"It is a destructive approach to arbitrarily snatch out of the total package only what suits the Americans and demand to change those provisions that Americans are not satisfied with for unknown reasons," Ryabkov stated. He also warned that such an approach could undermine the whole deal, which took years of hard work to finalize.
Iran's Ambassador to the UN Gholamali Khoshroo is similarly peeved:
Tehran has continued to fire back at the US stance. Khoshroo condemned the American administration's "acts of intervention in a grotesque way in Iran's internal affairs." The ambassador said that Washington had meddled in Iranian domestic affairs under the pretext of support for the rallies, "which in several instances were hijacked by infiltrators to include acts of senseless homicide."

"The current US administration has crossed every limit in flouting rules and principles of international law governing the civilized conduct of international relations," Khoshroo said in a letter to the UN, cited by Tasnim news agency on Thursday.
...
On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that hostile statements on the ongoing protests in Iran by the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia could lead to a war. He also urged all parties to maintain balance in relations with the Islamic Republic, while seeking ways to "increase international pressure" on it.
...
Speaking to RT, some Iranians pointed to the unfair treatment of their country. Despite some praising American support, others said that demonstrations on the same issues could occur anywhere.

"In any country, people can protest against high prices. But whenever such demonstrations happen in our country, opponents of the establishment come out and support them," a woman told RT. Another local resident said that authorities' opponents use the riots "for their own purposes" each time demonstrations take place.
See also:
Denied! United Nations Security Council rebuffs absurd US request for emergency session on Iran protests


Vader

Deep State agent claims Obama didn't give support to Iranian protesters in 2009

Mike Mullen
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen admitted that Obama didn't give as much support to anti-Iranian protesters in 2009 as compared to Trump in 2017-18.

Watch below, his comments come towards the end:


What's interesting again is the framing by the host. Martha Raddatz says that the protest didn't work in 2009 and asks him why it might work today - as if Obama did everything that Trump did, so there's no reason to believe anything will be different. Mullen shoots down her implication by drawing the opposite observation - Obama just didn't do anything to support the uprising.

Another interesting comment is that Mullen says the protesters are angry because they were told that they would benefit from the Iran Deal as the money "trickled down" society to them. But that didn't happen.

So Obama's "trickle down" attempt to help the Iranians failed, even as critics of Republicans praise the Iran Deal, and whine about our economic policies. Weird, huh?!

Comment: It failed in 2009 because the Iranians defeated the operation created by Western intel agencies. It had nothing to do with a lack of support from Obama administration.


Christmas Tree

Outrage online over CNN's cannabis themed New Year segment

Outrage grows over CNN's pot-infused New Year's segment
Outrage continues to mount two days after CNN put the "J" in journalism with a marijuana-themed New Year's Eve segment that some are already using as an excuse to smoke the Hippie Lettuce in states where it's not currently legal.

During the liberal cable news network's year-end broadcast from Times Square, reporter Randi Kaye did several, um, "hits" from Denver, where marijuana is legal. At various points, she held a joint, lit a bong, marveled over a special gas mask used by stoners and wondered where she was. Kaye didn't partake herself while on the air, but the bit was enough to appall some viewers and confuse people who might be locked up for doing the same thing.

Comment: The mainstream media demonized cannabis for decades and in doing so supported the the incarceration of hundreds of thousands of poor people. While these laws are being repealed in some places, many states across the US (and countries all over the world which followed America's diktats) still suffer from a legacy of injustice thanks to their propaganda; it did this all the while discrediting cannabis' proven therapeutic benefits, so the outrage is understandable:


Attention

At China's military parade Xi Jinping tells army not to fear death

Xi Jinping tells army not to fear death in show of China's military might
Xi Jinping tells army not to fear death in show of China's military might
Xi Jinping has reaffirmed his status as China's most dominant leader since Chairman Mao with another tub-thumping display of military brawn involving thousands of heavily armed troops.

Speaking at a military assembly in the northern province of Hebei, Xi told about 7,000 service men and women they should fear "neither hardship nor death" as they implemented the Communist party's orders.


Comment: The 'communist party orders' are no different to those of most other armies in the world - well, except the US and EU armies which are primarily used to further western imperialism and continue their war of terror in the Middle East.


Comment: Trump will be the darling of the deep state in no time what with all his aggressive declarations against other nations, contrary to his campaign promises:


Bullseye

CIA whistleblower says Pentagon report connecting Iran to al-Qaeda is "simply a lie"

iran military
© AP Photo/ Rustam Nazaro
A new Pentagon report claiming that Iran supports terrorist groups such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda has been disseminated through American media outlets - but has come under fire for wishy-washy claims about the said connections.

For instance, one supposed link came when Saad bin Laden, one of Osama bin Laden's sons, fled to Iran after the September 11, 2001, attacks in the US. But what isn't mentioned is that Saad and his family were detained upon arrival and placed under house arrest. Khalid bin Laden, another of Osama's sons who was killed alongside him during the 2011 US Navy SEAL raid, accused the Iranians in 2010 of subjecting his family members to beatings and severe mistreatment.

Garland Nixon and Lee Stranahan of Radio Sputnik's Fault Lines spoke to John Kiriakou, a CIA agent-turned-whistleblower who helped reveal the CIA's torture program to the American public in 2007.


Comment: Anyone who has even the most basic knowledge of Iran and al-Qaeda understands that the Pentagon's report is absurd. For one, al-Qaeda is based on a Salafist doctrine founded by Sunni militants that targets Shia Muslims as a matter of its existence. Iran is the greatest Shia power in the region so the two are naturally completely at odds. Fact is, Iran is the greatest Middle Eastern threat to al-Qaeda. The Pentagon's report claiming links between them is plainly absurd.


Mr. Potato

McFaul denies endorsing call to kill Russian intel officers and apologizes for reposting fake video

Michael McFaul
© ambmcfaul / Instagram
Former US ambassador to Russia and ardent Kremlin critic Michael McFaul has apologized after sharing on Facebook a fake video post which called for the killing of Russian intel officers. He denied having endorsed the comment.

McFaul, who served as America's Ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014, shared a post from the "Russian Regions" anti-government group, which have called for mass protests against the Kremlin, using Iran as an example.

"300,000 Iranians are marching to lynch local Chekists [intelligence officers] - and what have you done for Russia?" the message by online user Yana Sizikova said in Russian, along with video footage of a massive crowd of protesters. The word Chekists derives from Cheka, which was the Soviet domestic intelligence service from 1917 to 1922.

Windsock

Welcome to #Resistance? Steve Bannon, liberals' new hero

Steve Bannon
© Kevin Lamarque / ReutersSteve Bannon
Anti-Trump liberals are giddy over former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon's attacks on the administration, details of which are to be revealed in an upcoming book describing the chaos in Trump's White House.

The book, titled 'Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,' was given in advance to The Guardian. It is said to detail the tumult inside the Trump presidency and features scathing attacks on President Donald Trump by his former chief strategist, along with allegations of collusion with Russians.

Author Michael Wolff writes that Bannon described the July 2016 meeting between Donald Trump Junior and a Russian Lawyer at the Trump Tower as "treasonous, or unpatriotic, or bad shit."

If true, Bannon's comments are an about-face from his September 2017 appearance on 60 Minutes, when he called the Russia investigation a "farce" and a "waste of time."

Comment:


Propaganda

French President Macron proposes new law to control news outlets

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the press at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on January 3, 2018
© Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty ImagesFrench President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the press at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on January 3, 2018
French President Emmanuel Macron will propose new rules cracking down on fake news during elections this year, he said in an annual speech to the press today.

"When fake news are spread, it will be possible to go to a judge ... and if appropriate have content taken down, user accounts deleted and ultimately websites blocked," Macron said.


Cowboy Hat

No more sexual allegation stories about Judge Roy Moore means the stories were only important as political fodder

Roy Moore
In an earlier article, dated December 14th, 2007, this author made four predictions regarding the fate of Judge Roy Moore's candidacy:

In short, here are those predictions:

(1) The "allegations" against Judge Roy Moore will seem to vanish.

(2) NEW allegations with much greater ferocity will be brought against President Trump and selected GOP individuals, all of whom show greatly conservative leanings.

(3) The Democrats will get very bold about 2018, and the Dems will act like they are completely in control.

(4) This will lead to some very interesting public drama, but it will also cloud the picture.

So, how are we scoring?

Jet3

Tribunal tells British govt drone strikes cannot be hidden in total secrecy

Drone
© Josh Smith / Reuters
UK drone strikes, 'kill lists,' and the legal justification for targeted assassinations cannot be shrouded in complete secrecy, a tribunal has ruled. Disclosure, it said, should be balanced against the public interest.

Attempts to uncover details of legal advice on Royal Air Force (RAF) drone strikes targeting jihadists in Syria in 2015 had been blocked by ministers. They claimed the disclosure would jeopardize national security. The tribunal, however, has ruled that there cannot be a blanket ban on publishing such critical information.

Shortly before Christmas, the Upper Tribunal Administrative Appeals Chamber ruled that Freedom of Information (FoI) requests concerning such sensitive policy areas should instead be subject to qualified exemption. The order therefore implies that any disclosure should be balanced against the public interest.