Puppet MastersS


Gold Seal

Caitlin Johnstone: Accusing someone of being a 'Russian troll' is admitting you have no argument

Caitlin Johnstone
Medium
Tue, 28 Nov 2017 20:14 UTC
Mouise Mensch John McCain
© Louise Mensch/FacebookLouise Mensch and John McCain
I shouldn't have to write this article. And yet, here we are.

I don't care who you are or how much Palmer Report you read: accusing someone who disagrees with you of conducting psyops for a foreign government is never, ever a normal or acceptable way of conducting political discourse.

I tweeted the above yesterday after noticing another uptick in the bizarre habit establishment loyalists have of labeling anyone who disagrees with them as Russian trolls. And, though I didn't address it to her and made no mention of her, Louise Mensch took it personally.
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Clipboard

Israel, US aim to head off UN database of blacklisted settlements companies


The Palestinian Information Center
Mon, 27 Nov 2017 04:52 UTC
ben&jerry's
© MondoweissIn 2014, 232 organizations across the United States and in seventeen countries worldwide signed a letter calling on Ben & Jerry's to end its commercial ties to illegal Israeli settlements. Despite what it knew and the values that defined its corporate identity, Ben & Jerry’s refused to stop the Israeli franchise from making money selling in the settlements.
Israel and the US administration are working feverishly to prevent the upcoming publication of a UN database of companies that operate in illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, fearing such blacklist could have devastating consequences.

In March 2016, the UN Human Rights Council ordered the compilation of this database, delegating its high commissioner Zeid al-Hussein to "investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on Palestinians."

Israeli officials say that about 100 local companies that operate in the West Bank and east Jerusalem have received warning letters that they will be on the list. Some 50 international companies, mostly American and European, have also been warned.

The companies have not yet been publicly identified, but an Israeli official revealed, on condition of anonymity, that the blacklist would include Israeli banks, restaurant chains, bus lines, security firms, supermarkets as well as overseas companies that work in settlements or provide equipment or services to build them.

"We will do everything we can to ensure that this list does not see the light of day," Israel's UN ambassador, Danny Danon, told the Associated Press.

Comment: Combatting the successful BDS groundswell campaign which threatens to increase if the UN blacklist becomes public.

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Dominoes

Lebanese PM Hariri reveals his incompetence in latest anti-Hezbollah remarks

Adam Garrie
The Duran
Mon, 27 Nov 2017 16:59 UTC
Hariri
© APPrime Minister Hariri
Lebanon's once and future Prime Minister Saad Hariri has been in talks with President Michel Aoun and other political leaders about re-starting his Premiership after his abrupt "resignation" that was apparently made under duress during his recent visit to Saudi Arabia which likely resulted in Hariri being held by the Saudi regime against his will, until his subsequent release to France.

Now back in Beirut, Hariri has re-assumed his role as Prime Minister, but his recent statement indicates that at best, his leadership will not result in anything beyond a personal stalemate while the status quo of the ruling coalition continues its business.

Hariri has once again come forward with awkward statements about Hezbollah, a party with two ministers in his own cabinet. He stated,

"Hezbollah does not have the ability to run the country and its strength stems from the Iranian-financed weapons. The solution for Hezbollah's arms is a regional solution and not a domestic one and we cannot do anything in this regard".

Comment: Was Hariri compromised or 'persuasively turned' while in Saudi captivity? Clearly Hezbollah is a partner with capabilities beyond Lebanon's military resources and necessary to its survival. Protecting Lebanon from neighboring chaos, destruction and foreign meddling is what is at stake.

See also:

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Binoculars

Judicial Watch: Records from EPA show Obama agency's illegal use of social media platform for covert propaganda


Judicial Watch
Mon, 27 Nov 2017 00:00 UTC
EPAthunderclap
© EPA
I don't want it to look like EPA used our own social media accounts to reach our support goal' - EPA Director of Web Communications

Judicial Watch obtained 900-pages of documents from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which reveal the agency's use of the mass-sharing Thunderclap social media platform to covertly promote its policies in violation of federal law.

The documents show that EPA staffers, via the Thunderclap platform, recruited outside groups to lobby in support of the Clean Water Rule or "Waters of the United States." Thunderclap shares member messages across multiple Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr accounts simultaneously.

Federal law prohibits agencies from engaging in propaganda, which is defined as covert activity intended to influence the American public. Federal law also prohibits agencies from using federal resources to conduct grassroots lobbying to prod the American public to call on Congress to act on pending legislation.

Comment: The EPA's record is spotty at best and the agency requires clean-out and restructure.

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Snakes in Suits

Despite pressure to resign over sexual misconduct accusations, Al Franken will stay on and "learn from his mistakes"

Bob Fredericks
NY Post
Mon, 27 Nov 2017 10:59 UTC
Al Franken
Disgraced Sen. Al Franken said Monday that "you have to respect women's experience" after at first disputing a radio host's version of an incident in which he groped her and forced her to kiss him.

He apologized to other women who have accused him of sexual misconduct, saying he was "tremendously sorry" and that he needed to be "careful and more sensitive" to make sure it doesn't happen again.

The Minnesota Democrat said he was going back to work and wanted to regain people's trust, and that he had to "learn from my mistakes."

Three women have alleged that Franken grabbed their buttocks while they posed for photos with him.

Broadcaster and model Leeann Tweeden was the first to publicly accuse the former "SNL" funnyman of sexual misconduct.

She charged earlier this month that Franken forcibly kissed her during a rehearsal for a skit and that he groped her breasts during a 2006 USO tour.

She produced a photo showing her asleep while he placed his hands on her breasts over the Kevlar vest she was wearing.

Comment: How does someone need to learn that it's not appropriate to grope a sleeping woman's breasts? Did Al Franken just recently become a human being and doesn't understand human behavior? No, he knew what he was doing was wrong but didn't care. Anything he says now is just PR to try and repair his image. He needs to leave public service and never come back.

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Star of David

Former Israeli Minister Ya'alon brags about killing the most Palestinians


Mint Press News
Mon, 27 Nov 2017 00:00 UTC
MosheYa'alon
© APFormer Israeli DM Moshe Ya'alon
Moshe Ya'alon, Israeli Defense Minister from 2002 to 2005, said that he is "proud" of being the official that killed the most Palestinians, according to Safa News agency.

After characterizing Palestinians and Arabs as "terrorists," according to the Middle East Monitor, Ya'alon added that he topped the list among all Israeli government officials in killings of Palestinians during a meeting held in Herzliya over the weekend.

Former Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ehud Barak also boasted about the large number of Palestinians he had killed, according to Safa News. Between 2008 and 2014, Barak and Ya'alon led three major military offensives against Palestinians in Gaza. Some 4,000 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli occupation forces and over 20,000 were wounded.

Known for his macabre statements, Ya'alon spoke to Haaretz newspaper back in August 2002 where he referred to Palestinians as harboring "cancer-like attributes." He went on to say that "there are all kinds of solutions to cancer. Some say it's necessary to amputate organs but at the moment I am applying chemotherapy."

In 2008, Ya'alon said that "Israel must consider killing former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. All options must be considered."

In respect to former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's attempts to hash out a nuclear deal with Iran, Ya'alon described the top diplomat as being "obsessive" and "messianic." He went on to remark that the "only thing that can save us is if Kerry wins the Nobel Peace Prize and leaves us alone."

Comment: A window on pathological thinking and matching action.

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Attention

House Democrat's 'drunken shenanigans' (perversions) reveal another secret 'hush fund' as taxpayers foot the bill

S.A. Miller
The Washington Times
Mon, 27 Nov 2017 00:00 UTC
Grijalva
© Arizona Daily Star
Rep. Raul M. Grijalva quietly arranged a "severance package" in 2015 for one of his top staffers who threatened a lawsuit claiming the Arizona Democrat was frequently drunk and created a hostile workplace environment, revealing yet another way that lawmakers can use taxpayer dollars to hide their misbehavior on Capitol Hill.

While the Office of Compliance has been the focus of outrage on Capitol Hill for hush-money payouts in sexual harassment cases, the Grijalva payout points to another office that lawmakers can use to sweep accusations under the rug with taxpayer-funded settlements negotiated by the House Employment Counsel, which acts as the attorney for all House offices.

The employment counsel negotiated a deal for taxpayers to give $48,395 - five additional months' salary - to the female aide, who left her job after three months. She didn't pursue the hostile workplace complaint further.

Comment: "House" cleaning wish list: A complete and public list of perps and payoffs, a sweep, trials and convictions, and a whopping taxpayer refund.

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Butterfly

Changing with the tide of public opinion: Pelosi backtracks on defense of Conyers in sexual harassment allegations

Cameron Cawthorne
The Washington Free Beacon
Tue, 28 Nov 2017 01:30 UTC
Pelosi and Conyers
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) on Monday evening backtracked from her previous defense of Rep. John Conyers (D., Mich.), describing his behavior against Melanie Sloan in the 1990s as "unacceptable and disappointing."

Pelosi released a statement after meeting with Sloan, a prominent Washington, D.C. lawyer who previously worked with Conyers as the minority counsel to the House Judiciary Committee from 1995 until 1998. Sloan alleged last week that Conyers harassed and verbally abused her when they worked together.

"This afternoon, I spoke with Melanie Sloan who worked for Congressman Conyers on the Judiciary Committee in the mid-1990s," Pelosi said. "Ms. Sloan told me that she had publicly discussed distressing experiences while on his staff. I find the behavior Ms. Sloan described unacceptable and disappointing. I believe what Ms. Sloan has told me."

Comment: Pelosi has history of changing her tune to match public opinion, but it won't be that easy for her long-term support of sexual predators to be so easily forgotten.

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Biohazard

EU votes to extend license for Monsanto's cancer linked toxin glyphosate, France pledges to ban it within three years


RT
Tue, 28 Nov 2017 18:35 UTC
French President Emmanuel Macron
© Thibault Camus / ReutersFrench President Emmanuel Macron
The EU has managed to prolong the license for Monsanto's controversial glyphosate weed killer for five years with Germany's unexpected support, but the French president vowed to ban it in France within three years.

"I have asked the government to take the necessary measures for the use of glyphosate to be banned in France as soon as alternatives are found, and at the latest in three years," Macron said on Twitter, supplementing the statement with the hashtag #MakeOurPlanetGreatAgain.

Macron made his announcement following the tight vote in Brussels, when the EU prolonged the license for the controversial substance for five years. Monday's vote ended months of indecisiveness, as 18 out of 28 European countries approved the extension of the chemical's usage. The European Commission could, in theory, extend the license by itself, but it said it wanted the member states themselves to decide the controversial issue.

Comment: There's a mountain of evidence showing the destructive effects of glyphosate. Here's just a few articles detailing its toxicity:

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Attention

Rohrabacher and Vargas tried to get Obama to pardon Israel spy last year

Grant Smith
Antiwar.com
Mon, 27 Nov 2017 19:05 UTC
lawrence frankling spy
Franklin (L)
On December 14, 2016 two California congressmen, Republican Dana Rohrabacher and Democrat Juan Vargas, secretly pressed President Obama to pardon convicted spy Lawrence Franklin.
lawrence franklin letter
December 14, 2016 Redacted Letter Urging Presidential Pardon for Lawrence Franklin
Colonel Franklin, an employee at the Department of Defense, pled guilty to charges of espionage for passing classified information to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as well as directly to Israeli officials. At the time, Franklin, two indicted AIPAC officials, the Israeli government and other Israel lobby figures were waging an intense battle to sabotage warming US relations with Iran.

Comment: Israel has hacked American elections for years. It has spied on America for years. It has blackmailed for years. And American politicians have colluded with Israelis for years, putting Israel first, America second. Everything they say about Russia is actually true for Israel. But there will never be an "Israelgate", because that would be anti-Semitic.

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