Puppet MastersS


Apple Green

Apple's chief executive Tim Cook now only uses private jets to travel & gets hefty pay increase


RT
Fri, 29 Dec 2017 14:39 UTC
Tim Cook
© Justin Sullivan / Getty Images / AFP
The current fiscal year has brought Apple's chief executive Tim Cook a hefty pay increase as well as a new corporate perk, allowing him to move by personal transport for "all business and personal travel."

"This policy was implemented in 2017 in the interests of security and efficiency based on our global profile and the highly visible nature of Mr. Cook's role as CEO," the US technology giant wrote in the filing to with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The mandatory perk cost the company $93,109 for this year only. The filing noted that the value of the private flights is calculated as "imputed taxable income" which is not reimbursed by Apple. The personal travel costs are added to Cook's overall taxable income for the year. His personal security expenses came to $224,216, according to the paper.

Comment: See also: Woman sues Apple for nearly a trillion dollars for deliberately slowing down older iPhones

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Brick Wall

London Tribunal dismisses la Repubblica's appeal for access to Julian Assange's complete file

Stefania Maurizi
la Repubblica
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 14:16 UTC
Julian Assange at the Ecuador Embassy in London
© RTWikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is seen on the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in May, 2017.
According to the Tribunal, the media has no right to obtain copies of the entire set of documents on the case of WikiLeaks' founder. Our newspaper will consider whether to appeal the Tribunal's verdict

The press has no right to access the full set of documents on the Julian Assange case, because the need for the British authorities to protect the confidentiality of the extradition process outweighs the public interest of the press to know.

Thousands of pages of documents on the Assange case will therefore remain secret, without the media being able to learn their contents or obtain any copies of them. This is what the London First-tier Tribunal, chaired by Mr. Andrew Bartlett QC, established in response to an appeal filed by la Repubblica.

Last November, our newspaper appeared before the First-tier Tribunal in London to defend the right of the press to access the full file on a case which is anomalous to say the least. Regardless of what you think about the founder of WikiLeaks, whether you like him and his work or not, Julian Assange is the only Western publisher to have been found by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to be arbitrarily detained in the heart of Europe since December 2010. Yet in the course of these last 7 years, no media has tried to access the full file on Julian Assange.
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Jet1

Russia responds to Open Skies blockade by denying US planes overnight stays at 3 airfields starting January


RT
Thu, 28 Dec 2017 15:31 UTC
A USAF Boeing OC-135B Open Skies.
© Mikhail Glazyrin / WikipediaA USAF Boeing OC-135B Open Skies.
Moscow is set to cancel several agreements with Washington under the Open Skies Treaty, in response to the US creating obstacles for Russian observation activities, the Foreign Ministry said.

Russia will cancel overnight stops at three airfields for US observation planes, as well as scrap a number of bilateral agreements that were made to facilitate observation flights, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday. The measures will take effect on January 1.

"Following the general political course to further worsen the relationship with Russia, Washington has entirely groundlessly accused Russia of violating the Open Skies Treaty and undertaken unilateral steps to create maximum obstacles for Russian Open Skies missions conducted over US territory," Zakharova said.


Comment: U.S. set to curb Open Skies treaty with Russia, Russians say stick to the deal - UPDATE


Comment: Yet another pathetic manoeuvre by the failing US to attack Russia:

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Snakes in Suits

Obama takes jab at Trump over 'irresponsible social media use'

Amy Moreno
Truthfeed
Thu, 28 Dec 2017 13:05 UTC
obama attacks
Obama has been attacking President Trump since the beginning.

He's still at it, back over seas, again slamming our Commander in Chief, this time over "social media."

From BBC:

Comment: Thanks Mr.O-bomber, for explaining exactly what your liberal left are doing with social media.

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Mr. Potato

Sen. Cory Booker calls for President Trump to resign, circulates petition

Seth McLaughlin
The Washington Times
Wed, 27 Dec 2017 00:01 UTC
Sen. Cory Booker
© AP Photo/Andrew HarnikSen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., left, accompanied by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., right (File).
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey is circulating an online petition calling on President Trump to resign over allegations of sexual harassment.

Mr. Booker is among a growing list of possible contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 who have demanded Mr. Trump leave the White House.

"The number of women who have brought sexual harassment, misconduct, or assault allegations against him has grown to 20 individuals - and I believe them. We all should believe them," Mr. Booker said in the email. "We must hold members of both parties to the same standard, and that standard should apply all the way to the top.


Comment: So apparently the number of allegations are somehow related to their veracity. But "we all should believe them," because a senator says we should. He's right that "we must hold members of both parties to the same standard," but that standard should be based on evidence, not smears and partisan interests, or 'because the numbers'.


Comment: Funny how many people calling for Trump to resign, or for impeachment, also have rumored presidential aspirations.

See also:

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Star of David

Awkward: Palestinian official reveals Trump 'thought he could seal Israel-Palestine deal in a year'

Mustafa Abu Sneineh
Middle East Eye
Thu, 28 Dec 2017 12:53 UTC
Jared Kushner Mahmoud Abbas
© PA press officeUS presidential adviser Jared Kushner meets with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on 21 June 21 2017


Palestinian officials say US team admitted they did not know details of past peace process but believed business skills could break deadlock

US President Donald Trump believed he would be able to secure a peace deal between the Palestinians and Israel in less than a year and was surprised by his predecessors' failure to resolve the issue, a Palestinian official involved in talks with the White House has told Turkey's Anadolu news agency.

"At the beginning, the American president was telling us that he was surprised how previous American presidents were unable to solve the conflict and said he would be able to find an agreement within nine months to a year maximum," the unnamed official was quoted as saying, adding that "We told him this is what we want".

Trump has met three times with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since taking office in January 2017, and has made frequent references to an "ultimate deal" which he has said will bring peace to the region.

Comment: If Trump really thought he could reach the 'ultimate deal' within a year simply using business negotiating techniques as in the 'Art of the Deal', then it is clear that he understands nothing of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The proof is that so far he has only managed to ignite clashes on the streets and to provoke the Palestinian party into no longer recognizing the US as a broker.

The reason that historically there has not been any solution to the conflict is that the Israelis want the whole land for themselves. They do not want two states, and they do not want to share a single state with the Arabs. Furthermore, they are in no hurry to reach a deal, because they have the money, the weapons, and they largely control the narrative in the Western media.

Until Trump understands that and moves Kushner out of the picture there will be no deal of any sort.

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Propaganda

Russia coordinating peaceful Libyan resolution while Western meddling is 'frustrating progress'


Middle East Monitor
Thu, 28 Dec 2017 10:49 UTC
Libya's eastern-based government's Foreign Minister, Mohamed Dayri
Libya's eastern-based government's Foreign Minister, Mohamed Dayri
Foreign intervention is "frustrating progress" towards a political solution in Libya, according to the eastern Beida government's Foreign Minister, Mohamed Dayri.

The official was speaking during his third public visit to Moscow yesterday, where he held talks with Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, in whom he confided that Libya's political, security and economic crisis was being prolonged due primarily to external intervention in the country's affairs.

Comment: The nightmare we see in Libya today is thanks to yet another of the West's disastrous 'humanitarian interventions' that resulted in the brutal murder of the country's leader and the complete breakdown of order, so it should be no surprise that the West continues to meddle in the country's affairs to its own benefit:

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Info

AG Sessions should 'step up and fire Robert Mueller'; Rep. Gaetz repeats


Fox News
Thu, 28 Dec 2017 09:30 UTC
Rep. Matt Gaetz
Rep. Matt Gaetz
Rep. Matt Gaetz has repeated his call for Special Counsel Robert Mueller to be removed and for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to get involved in the Russia investigation.

Speaking to Ed Henry on "Fox News @ Night" Tuesday, the first-term Florida Republican said Sessions is a "spectator" at this point after recusing himself from all matters related to the Russia probe.

Sessions' deputy, Rod Rosenstein, appointed Mueller to look into Russian interference in the presidential election after the firing of FBI Director James Comey.

"If Bob Mueller were any more biased, we'd have to give him credentials for the mainstream media. ... I've been calling for Mueller to be fired for months now," Gaetz said.

Comment: Gaetz has indeed been calling out Mueller and the FBI's unfair positive treatment of Hillary and the Dems for months. See also:

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Blackbox

Guilt by association? Devin Nunes' campaign donor was original funder of dodgy dossier

Scott Dworkin
Daily KOS
Fri, 29 Dec 2017 00:23 UTC
Devin Nunes (R-CA)
Devin Nunes (R-CA)
Republican Congressman Devin Nunes received a $5,400 contribution to his campaign committee from the owner of the Washington Free Beacon, the original funder of the Trump-Russia Dossier. The contribution was made on April 7th, 2015. It was reported in the NY Times in late October that Paul Singer's conservative website originally funded the research for what became known as the Dossier: www.nytimes.com/...

One thing is certain: it's time for Nunes to be removed from the House Intelligence Committee. #RemoveNunes

Comment: Something doesn't quite wash in this. Devin Nunes has been the most adamant in holding the FBI/DOJ responsible for their clear bias against Trump and behind the scenes helping of Hillary and the Dems, even going to far as moving to hold them in contempt of Congress for their refusal to produce requested documents. Receiving funding from the same people who funded the dossier is only guilt by association and doesn't necessarily mean Nunes had anything to do with the dossier itself. And given Daily KOS' left-leaning bias, it's not surprising they're calling for Nunes' head, given that he's going after the Dems pretty hard right now. See also:

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Snow Globe

Putin foresaw death of US global power

Finian Cunningham
Strategic Culture Foundation
Fri, 29 Dec 2017 11:56 UTC
Putin
Like a good wine, Russian President Vladimir Putin's famous speech delivered in Munich 10 years ago regarding global security has been rewarded with time. A decade on, the many facets contained in that address have only become all the more enhanced and tangible.

Speaking to a senior international audience at the annual Munich Security Conference, on February 10, 2007, the Russian leader opened by saying he was going to speak about world relations forthrightly and not in "empty diplomatic terms". In what followed, Putin did not disappoint. With candor and incisiveness, he completely leveled the arrogance of American unilateral power.
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