Puppet MastersS


Bad Guys

Trump's Jerusalem move violates international law

John Wight
counterpunch
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 16:36 UTC
US Israeli flags
President Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital is not only a clear violation of international law, but a moral outrage when it comes to its acquiescence in apartheid, ethnic cleansing and the violation of the rights of the Palestinian people.

Delivered with the insouciance of a mafia don parcelling out territory to one of his capos, in this instance Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump's announcement did not so much signal the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital as it did provide confirmation that the US and Israel are rogue states.

Under the stewardship of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel has embraced with unfailing ardour a rejectionist stance when it comes to a Palestinian state. He knows that peace, a viable peace, cannot exist and will never exist unless justice for the Palestinians is placed at its heart. Hitherto the Israeli prime minister had stood isolated in his obduracy - even if opposition to it had been more sotto voce than meaningful on the part of a supine international community - but now in Trump his greatest dream has come true, providing him with a willing partner in his refusal to depart as much as an inch from his embrace of Israeli exceptionalism and belief that Israel's right to the land of Palestine is inviolate.


Comment: The problem is there isn't 'heart' to be found in Israel.


Comment: For more in depth analysis on this issue see: Behind the Headlines: Has Trump Gone Full Shlemiel in Planned U.S. Embassy Move to Jerusalem?

Read More...
Bullseye

Putin calls Rodchenkov appointment 'mistake', thinks FBI may be 'drugging' disgraced doctor


RT
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 17:42 UTC
Putin
© Moskva
Russian President Vladimir Putin has labelled the decision to appoint Grigory Rodchenkov as head of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory a 'mistake' and suggested the FBI may be drugging the disgraced former doctor.

Speaking at his annual end-of-year media Q&A session, Putin questioned the reliability of Rodchenkov as a witness in the investigations into state-sponsored doping allegations in Russia. Putin also highlighted the influence of American intelligence services on the now-WADA informant.

"Is [Rodchenkov] an honest person? He is also under the control of the FBI, protected by the FBI. Everything is laid out in his diaries - how do you know he is honest? He says himself that money is the main thing," said the Russian president.

"Being under the control of the FBI is not necessarily an advantage, he works under their guidance. What are they doing to him over there? [We don't know] what substances they are providing him with, for him to say what they want [him to say]."

Comment: Putin is right to call Grigory Rodchenkov's credibility into question:

Read More...
Star of David

EU ministers rebuff Netanyahu's pleas to recognize Jerusalem as Israeli capital claiming it would harm peace process

Josie Ensor
The Telegraph
Mon, 11 Dec 2017 00:00 UTC
Netanyahu and Mogherini
© GettyNetanyahu holds joint press conference with Mogherini in Brussels
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appealed to allies in Europe to join the US in recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital, but was rebuffed by foreign ministers who said it would harm the peace process.

Mr Netanyahu met with EU leaders in Brussels on Monday and told them it was time they "recognised the facts", in a first visit by an Israeli head of government to the Belgian city in 22 years.

The Israeli premier said the bloc should follow the lead of President Donald Trump, who last week announced he would move Washington's embassy from Tel Aviv to the contested city.

"It's time that the Palestinians recognise the Jewish state and also recognise the fact that it has a capital. It's called Jerusalem," he said.

Comment: The so-called peace process has been stalled for decades with the two-state solution looking increasingly improbable. Trump may have stirred up a hornets nest, but he has certainly injected some movement that may open up previously unseen possibilities:

Read More...
Dollars

China about to knock out petrodollar by trading oil futures in yuan


RT
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 15:30 UTC
John Ryder knocks out Patrick Nielsen
© Andrew Couldridge / ReutersJohn Ryder knocks out Patrick Nielsen
As one of the world's top energy importers, China has successfully completed its fifth dry run in yuan-backed oil futures contract trading. The step has been already called Beijing's challenge to the US dollar.

According to Bloomberg, which cited a statement from the exchange, 149 members of Shanghai International Energy Exchange traded 647,930 lots in the rehearsal with a total value of 268.2 billion yuan. The system met the listing requirements of crude futures after the exercise, it added.

"This contract has the potential to greatly help China's push for yuan internationalization," said Yao Wei, chief China economist at Societe Generale in Paris.

She added, however, "its success will hinge critically on the degree of freedom allowed for the capital flows related to the contract."
Read More...
Bullseye

Trey Gowdy eviscerates Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein over conflict of interest and corruption in FBI, DOJ (VIDEO)

Cristina Laila
The Gateway Pundit
Wed, 13 Dec 2017 16:46 UTC
Trey Gowdy and Rod Rosenstein
Trey Gowder (L) Rod Rosenstein (R)
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday morning.

Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Bob Goodlatte called for the hearing after recent media reports revealed the political motives of Special Counsel Mueller's staff.

Trey Gowdy (SC) went off on Rosenstein in an epic 6 minute tirade about the conflicts of interest and corruption in the DOJ and FBI.

Read More...
Light Sabers

N. Korea responds to US naval blockade by calling actions 'extremely dangerous, big step towards nuclear war'


RT
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 16:41 UTC
uss ronald reagan
© U.S. Navy / ReutersThe aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Stethem are underway alongside ships from the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy in the waters east of the Korean Peninsula on October 18, 2017
US President Donald Trump is taking an "extremely dangerous" and "big step" towards nuclear war by seeking a naval blockade, North Korea has stated, according to the official KCNA news agency.

Pyonyang also said it will take "merciless self-defensive" measures against any blockade, as it would consider such a move an "act of war." The North Korean government also believes any blockade would be a "wanton violation" of its sovereignty and dignity, KCNA reported, citing a foreign ministry spokesman.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson previously mentioned the "right to interdict maritime traffic transporting goods" to and from the North, following Pyongyang's latest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test on November 29.

Pyongyang also lashed out at the possible US move in a commentary on Sunday in the communist party newspaper Rodong Sinmun.
Read More...
Red Flag

Something to hide? Last-minute Alabama court ruling allowed destruction of digital voting records for Senate election

Joshua Caplan
The Gateway Pundit
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 00:00 UTC
Justice Roy Moore
© Wes Frazer/ Getty
In what is being described as a "spurious," ruling, an Alabama court says officials can destroy all digital voting records for the state's special Senate election between Republican Judge Roy Moore and Democrat Doug Jones.

Comment: More details from AL.com:
Digital ballot images are essentially digitized versions of the paper ballots Alabamians fill out in the voting booth. In Alabama, these digital images are destroyed once an election has passed, according to Duncan.

"People think that when they mark the ballots and they go into the machine that that's what counted," she said. "But it's not, the paper ballot is not what's counted. That ballot is scanned and they destroy [the ballots] after the election ... If there's ever an election challenge you need to have what was actually counted."

The destruction of the images allegedly opens the door to potential hacking because there are no hard copies of the ballots, according to Duncan.


Read More...
Stock Up

EU's economy can't bear anti-Russian sanctions, both agree to lifting 'trade barriers'


Sputnik
Wed, 13 Dec 2017 12:00 UTC
Russian sanctions Brussels EU
Russian Economy Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin said after the meeting with EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom on the sidelines of the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial conference that Russia and the European Union have agreed to discuss the mutual lifting of trade restrictions.

"We had a short meeting with EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom. We have discussed the fact that we need to gradually move forward to the reduction of trade barriers," Oreshkin told reporters on Tuesday on the sidelines of the WTO conference.


Comment: Economic sanctions against Russia flop: First comprehensive study shows they hit EU much harder

Read More...
Sherlock

Nothing new: The global retreat from human rights in the Trump administration

Timothy M. Gill
Counterpunch
Wed, 13 Dec 2017 00:01 UTC
american flag
Under the Trump Administration, we are witnessing an unprecedented U.S. retreat from the promotion of human rights. The U.S. has, of course, never fully championed human rights above all over policy preferences, namely economic and security interests. The new administration, however, has severely downgraded the importance of human rights, and in doing so has openly embraced a multiplicity of authoritarian governments, all the while rejecting U.S. commitments to multilateral human rights institutions.

Following World War II, global leaders recognized the need to establish multilateral institutions that championed human rights. As a result, they created the United Nations in 1945, constructed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, established the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1948, and wrote the American Convention on Human Rights in 1969. Thereafter, leaders have signed and ratified several international, human rights agreements. In the U.S., the record looks significantly different.

In the immediate post-WWII period, conservative senators blocked the U.S. from adopting many treaties, fearing that the international community might use them to overturn states' rights and end segregation. Some conservative legislators have continued to voice concern for U.S. national sovereignty and states' rights in the face of international treaties. Indeed, this was the reason that several Republican senators gave for refusing to support the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, even though the treaty was modeled after domestic legislation.

Comment: The above article seems ridiculously naive in terms of America's historic stance on human rights. Human rights are an impediment to the Deep State, who maintain control across multiple administrations. The idea that the Trump administration is any more negligent in the human rights department compared to previous administrations is nothing less than confirmation bias. What about Guantanamo? Or the US' continued support of Israel over the plight of the Palestinians? Or their continued alliance with Saudi Arabia? What about Abu Ghraib? Or the CIA torture facilities around the world, in operation over several administrations? In short, when has the US ever been bothered about human rights?

Read More...
Blackbox

Ron Paul & Daniel McAdams: Russia is pulling out of Syria, why can't we?

Daniel McAdams
Ron Paul Institute
Tue, 12 Dec 2017 11:41 UTC
us army syria
Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a surprise visit to Russian troops fighting ISIS in Syria. He announced that since the battle against the extremists was essentially won, he was ordering the bulk of Russian military forces to return to Russia.

The US, on the other hand, is claiming that its troops would continue to occupy some 14 military bases on Syrian territory "as long as ISIS wants to fight," in the words of US Defense Secretary James Mattis.

So the Russians, who were invited there, are leaving, while the Americans, who occupy Syrian territory illegally, are staying.

Comment: See also:

Read More...