Puppet MastersS


USA

US executed 23 people in 2017, most with mental disabilities, some were innocent, support for the practise is waning

Amanda Holpuch
The Guardian
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 05:01 UTC
Execution table
© Jenevieve Robbins/Reuters‘At least five of those executed this year had received glaringly deficient legal representation or were denied substantial judicial review,’ the report said.
Twenty-three people were executed and 39 sentenced to death in 2017 in the US, one of the few developed countries to still use the death penalty.

But executions and death sentences in the US remained at historic lows this year, with only a few counties and states supporting capital punishment, according to an annual report released on Thursday by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC).

"In the long term, it looks as though death sentences and executions are going to remain low; certainly they are going to remain low compared to the levels a generation ago," said Robert Dunham, the organization's executive director.

DPIC provides analysis and tracks data on the death penalty, but does not take a position for or against capital punishment.
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TV

UK government's hysterical claim that Russia swayed Brexit by spending a meagre 97 cents on 3 unrelated Facebook ads

Kate Holton
Reuters
Wed, 13 Dec 2017 17:40 UTC
Facebook
Russian-based operatives placed three adverts on Facebook in the run-up to Britain's 2016 referendum on EU membership, spending just 97 cents to raise the issue of immigration, the social media platform said on Wednesday.

People stand in front of a logo at Facebook's headquarters in London, Britain, December 4, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Some British lawmakers have called for an inquiry into whether Russia meddled in Britain's vote to leave the EU after social media platforms said Russian operatives sought to interfere in the U.S. election of Donald Trump.


Comment: Behind the Headlines: The Russia Collusion Ruse: Why the US Deep State Hates Russia, Not Trump


Comment: Also See:

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Megaphone

Julian Assange calls out establishment coup to install Mike Pence as President

Jay Syrmopoulos
The Free Thought Project
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 00:01 UTC
Trump Pence Assange
In a tweet this morning, WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, made a prescient observation that the ongoing deep state coup against President Trump is an operation by establishment forces to unseat Trump and replace him with Vice President Mike Pence. Assange noted that Trump's political capital has "been openly looted for months now by GOP, CIA, Netanyahu, Goldman Sachs, etc."

Essentially, Assange is saying is that the aforementioned stakeholders who want to see Trump gone have played a long-game, whereby they have worked "to extract as many unpopular positions as possible (e.g tax cuts for the super rich), push the resulting political corpse to Mueller & install Mike Pence."

This, of course, was done as means of severing Trump from his political base, which largely opposes CIA interventionism, Zionism, and globalist banking cartels. The idea behind it being that when Mueller moves to recommend impeachment, Trump will have strayed so far from the positions that got him elected that there will be a minimal public outcry in his defense.

Comment: This isn't the first time talk of a Pence coup has surfaced. As stated in the previous comment, back in March Assange came forward with similar accusations. For more on Pence's possible Presidential aspirations, see:

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SOTT Logo S

SOTT Focus: Putin Schools Journalists and Western Politicians in Annual Q&A Marathon


Sott.net
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 16:07 UTC
putin marathon
© Alexander NEMENOV / AFP
Russian President Vladimir Putin held his annual marathon press conference today. Over 1,600 journalists were accredited for the event, which ended up lasting just under four hours.

The entire ritual just demonstrates how far Russia still has to go before it becomes a full-fledged Western democracy. In a real democracy, leaders only take pre-approved soft-ball questions from a select group of hand-picked journalists and then read their answers from teleprompters. Tough or unexpected questions are either ignored or given a pat answer devoid of any real information. After 20 minutes or so, that's a wrap. Under no circumstances are leaders to field countless questions from a range of sources, and extemporaneously provide detailed answers on a wide range of subjects. Sound about right?

Actually, the reason Western leaders don't do such things is because they're simply incapable of it. They don't have a command of all the facts and figures. They know their 'policy positions' are just slogans and sound bites made up for public consumption, so their answers are never in-depth or backed up by anything of substance. And they know the justification for the 'party line' is based on a foundation of deceit and lies, so they can't give adequate space for facts or other points of view. When you're following a script, you can't be spontaneous. Putin, on the other hand, can do so because he's something all his Western 'colleagues' are not: a real leader.

What follows are some of the highlights of today's Q&A. Check back for updates as they come. Here's the full video, if you have 4 hours to spare:

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Snakes in Suits

Judicial Watch: 'Forget Mueller, the real question is do we need to shut down the FBI?'

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 11:41 UTC
FBI headquarters in Washington
Echoing the thoughts that are undoubtedly running through the minds of many Americans following startling revelations of an "insurance policy" crafted by FBI agents Andrew McCabe and Peter Strzok to prevent a Trump presidency at all costs (something we covered here: FBI Texts Reveal "Insurance Policy" To Prevent Trump Presidency), Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton appeared on Fox News last night to say it's time to move beyond discussing whether or not it's appropriate to shut down Special Counsel Mueller's investigation and move on to consider whether it's now time to consider shutting down the entire FBI after "it was turned into a KGB-type operation by the Obama administration?"
"Fusion GPS was a Hillary Clinton campaign vendor and the DOJ was working hand and glove with it...perhaps paying them money...the suspicion is they were paying them money...top DOJ official's wife was working with them. There was no distinction between the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Department of Justice and the FBI."

"Forget about the FBI investigation into Clinton and Trump being compromised by these conflicts. I think the FBI's been compromised. Forget about shutting down Mr. Mueller...do we need to shut down the FBI because it was turned into a KGB-type operation by the Obama administration?"
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Mr. Potato

McCain eyes exit from Senate amid 'stress' from growing Trump dossier scandal


True Pundit
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 19:31 UTC
mccain
John McCain is reportedly preparing to pull back from the U.S. Senate, according to Beltway insiders who say new demands to answer for his role in either underwriting or promoting the Trump phony dossier are stressing the Arizona senator's fragile health.

It is not clear whether McCain plans to outright retire from the Senate or simply focus on his Stage IV cancer treatments away from Washington, D.C. but many GOP insiders believe McCain's last days in the Senate are close.

Likely, McCain will not return after the Christmas break, many folks have privately confided.

McCain has been away for the Senate all week, missing votes and debate about a number of topics including tax cuts.

This is not the fist time McCain has sought medical treatment after his role in recent anti-Trump scandals have heated up.
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Blackbox

What are the details on Mueller's conflict-of-interest waiver from DOJ? They won't say

Josh Gerstein
Politico
Tue, 12 Dec 2017 02:02 UTC
Mueller
The face of a lying sack of spuds in thrall to the US 'deep state'.
The Justice Department is refusing to reveal details of the process that led up to former FBI Director Robert Mueller being granted an ethics waiver to serve as special counsel investigating the Trump campaign's alleged collusion with Russia during the 2016 presidential election.

In response to a POLITICO Freedom of Information Act request, the agency released a one-sentence memo Friday confirming that Mueller was granted a conflict-of-interest waiver in order to assume the politically sensitive post.

The waiver is believed to relate to Mueller's work in recent years as a partner at the WilmerHale law firm, which also represented former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and White House adviser Jared Kushner, who is also President Donald Trump's son-in-law.

However, the document signed by Justice's top career official, Associate Deputy Attorney General Scott Schools, provides no detail at all of the grounds for the waiver. In fact, it's so vague that it doesn't even convey why anyone would think Mueller needed such a release.

"Pursuant to 5 CFR 2635.502(d), I hereby authorize Robert Mueller's participation in the investigation into Russia's role in the presidential campaign of 2016 and all matters arising from the investigation," Schools wrote in the "authorization" signed on May 18, one day after Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein formally appointed Mueller to the position.

Comment: More on the latest Collusiongate news:

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Mr. Potato

Paris hosts climate summit, attendants pat each other on the back and bash Trump

Thomas Adamson and Philippe Sotto
ABC News
Tue, 12 Dec 2017 18:28 UTC
Arnold Schwarzenegger
© AP Photo/Francois MoriArnold Schwarzenegger gestures as he arrives at the Elysee Palace prior to a meeting on climate change in Paris, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017. More than 50 world leaders are gathering in Paris for a summit that Macron hopes will give new momentum to the fight against global warming, despite U.S. President Donald Trump's rejection of the Paris climate accord
The global climate summit in Paris was designed to bypass Donald Trump, but the U.S. president ended up playing a starring role.

Trump became the unwitting villain as world leaders, investors and other Americans assailed him Tuesday for rejecting the Paris climate accord.

To emphasize their point - and prevent others from following his lead - they announced more than $1 billion in investments to make it easier for countries and industries to give up oil and coal.

Comment: The Paris agreement is a sham used by politicians and businessmen to virtue signal how much they care about the world and its peoples. Pass the sick bag!

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Binoculars

Peter Strzok's wife was promoted to SEC director hours after FBI found Hillary emails on Weiner's laptop


True Pundit
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 23:19 UTC
strzok clinton mccabe
Hours after the FBI found classified Hillary Clinton emails on Anthony Weiner's laptop, the wife of the FBI agent running the high-profile probe was promoted to a powerful position in the Securities and Exchange Commission, FBI sources said.

This case keeps getting worse for the FBI and embattled agent Peter Strzok, the lead investigator on the Clinton probe. His wife Melissa Hodgman was promoted to deputy director of SEC's Enforcement Division literally hours after Strzok and FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe were debriefed about the Clinton emails found on Weiner's computer.

The FBI's original warrant for Weiner's laptop was issued in late September 2016 and a subsequent warrant was issued on Oct. 30, 2016 so that the FBI could use Huma Abedin's & Hillary's classified emails as evidence in the re-opened Clinton probe.

Hodgman was promoted Oct. 14, 2016, literally hours after investigators started to examine the laptop's contents for Clinton emails and assorted files, federal sources confirm.

Federal sources said the FBI field office in New York, who handled the original Weiner warrant for then-US Attorney Preet Bharara, reported to Strzok and McCabe that they had found evidence pertaining to the Hillary Clinton email case on Oct. 12, 2016, federal sources said.

About 36 hours later, Hodgman was promoted in the SEC.

Comment: As the article says, it could just be coincidence. But it still smells awfully funny... Right after Strzok gets new Hillary evidence, his wife is put in a position where she could possibly influence which financial crimes get forwarded to FBI/DOJ for prosecution. Something tells us we haven't heard the last of Mr. Strzok:

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Star of David

Condemning Trump's Jerusalem decision is too little, too late

Grahame Morris
Middle East Eye
Tue, 12 Dec 2017 20:18 UTC
Israeli soldier Palestinian
© AFPPalestinians scuffle with Israeli occupation army at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City on 8 December 2017
US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has rightly been met with condemnation across the world.

Indeed, it is difficult to recall a US foreign policy intervention being received with such uniform antipathy from the international community.

Illegal gains

Much of this condemnation has focused on the potential of this move to inflame tensions in the region and on President Trump's political ineptitude. True though these points are, they fail to address the root causes of the conflict and therefore constitute little more than cosmetic concern.
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