Puppet MastersS


Eye 1

Google backs off (for now): Assures Russia media watchdog it won't change search algorithm to 're-rank' RT, Sputnik


RT
Tue, 28 Nov 2017 02:22 UTC
google
© Jonathan Alcorn / Global Look Press
Google has written a letter to Russia's media watchdog saying despite Eric Schmidt's recent comments about "de-ranking" RT and Sputnik, he referred only to "efforts to improve search quality." The company claimed it doesn't "re-rank" individual websites.

On November 18, when asked during a Q&A session at the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada about whether Google facilitates "Russian propaganda," the executive chairman of Google's parent company, Alphabet, said that the global tech giant is planning to change its algorithm and "de-rank" RT and Sputnik to make their articles harder to find. Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor demanded explanations from Google, asking it to clarify its understanding of the term "ranking" regarding the media outlets.

Comment: Pfft. Of course Google rigs search results and worse. Lunblanda was making a soothing PR move. The facts speak otherwise.

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Smiley

Russia's Trump: Zhirinovsky's party calls for registering U.S. fast food chains as "foreign agents"


Russia Insider
Mon, 27 Nov 2017 02:02 UTC
putin macdonald's
Zhirinovsky's jester nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia may not be good at winning elections but they sure make up for it by keeping the Russians entertained. In their latest stand-up routine they ask since Moscow is bent on forcing malign foreign organizations to register as "foreign agents" why not start with American junk food chains:
State Duma (lower house of parliament) Deputy Boris Chernyshov, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) apparently wants to spice the propaganda war by adding a food fight.

Chernyshov suggested that food chains like McDonalds, KFC, and other American fast food restaurant chains operating in Russia should also be designated as foreign agents. Chernyshov didn't specify whether the receipts and food wrappers should have printed a "served to you by a foreign agent" label.

Comment: Chernyshov is giving Zhirinovsky a run for his money. But given how ridiculous American policy towards Russia has been lately, who can blame him? And all joking aside, he's right about American fast-food's effects on health. This man deserves a medal, and an English Twitter account.

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Propaganda

The Guardian foams at the mouth because random pop-star doesn't publicly condemn Trump

Adam Garrie
The Duran
Tue, 28 Nov 2017 00:46 UTC
Taylor Swift
Britain's Guardian newspaper, a media outlet that has consistently supported Takfiri sectarianism in Syria and Lebanon, the occupation of Palestine, the fascist regime in Kiev and Hillary Clinton's losing but nevertheless continuous campaign to become US President, has hit a new and peculiar low.

This time they are not slamming RT, the government of Iran, Syria or China, but Taylor Swift, the American pop star whose music is popular among teenagers and young adults.

What is Taylor Swift's crime? Her crime is staying out of politics.

Comment: Wow! This is getting scary, folks. This is the type of thinking (or non-thinking) that can be traced back to the West's information war on Russia and the identity politics of the new liberals. People are being attacked not just for what they say, but also for what they don't say or have no interest in. Rational argument in the media has been replaced by incoherent rants that have nothing to do with reality. Such a chaotic and trigger-happy state is not only miserable, it is dangerous.

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Arrow Down

US blocks 50,000 Syrian refugees from receiving humanitarian aid


Sputnik
Tue, 28 Nov 2017 00:32 UTC
Rukban camp
© AP Photo
The humanitarian situation in Syria's At Tanf is extremely difficult, as refugees in the neighboring Rukban camp cannot get access to humanitarian and medical aid due to the US' actions, according to the Russian military.

The US has banned anyone from coming within 55 kilometers of its military base in At Tanf, Syria, on the nation's border with Iraq, depriving more than 50,000 refugees in the Rukban camp, which is located in close proximity to the base, from getting humanitarian assistance, Head of the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation Sergei Kuralenko said during a news briefing.

Kuralenko added that "despite the consultations held earlier, the American side has still not provided access to the Rukban camp for humanitarian agencies."

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Question

How Russia and friends might respond to a continued US presence in Syria


South Front
Mon, 27 Nov 2017 21:24 UTC
US Army Syria
The end of the Syrian war was announced during the meeting between Russia, Iran, and Turkey in Sochi, and the beginning of the post-war regulation process to decide Syria's future took place. Following these events, the US media began reporting on the fact that the US plans to stay in Syria despite the collapse of ISIS, and will also use the Kurds to pressure al-Assad's government.
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Bizarro Earth

U.S. now looking to unleash its ISIS hordes on Thailand and Southeast Asia

Tony Cartalucci
New Eastern Outlook
Mon, 27 Nov 2017 00:00 UTC
soldiers in Thailand
Western think tanks have been increasingly busy cultivating a narrative to explain the sudden and spreading presence of militants linked or fighting under the banner of the self-proclaimed "Islamic State" (ISIS) across Southeast Asia.

This narrative - these think tanks would have audiences believe - entails militants fleeing Syria and Iraq, and entrenching themselves amid supposedly sectarian conflicts in Southeast Asia. The think tanks conveniently never mention how tens of thousands of militants are funding the logistical feat required to move them to Southeast Asia or sustain their militant operations in the region once they arrive.

Among these think tanks is the so-called International Crisis Group (ICG). In its report, "Jihadism in southern Thailand - A phantom menace," it claims:
The decline of the Islamic State (ISIS) and the advent of ISIS-linked violence in South East Asia evince the possibility of a new era of transnational jihadist terrorism in the region.

Recurring, albeit unsubstantiated, reports about ISIS activity in Thailand have prompted questions about the vulnerability of the country's Muslim-majority deep south and, in particular, its longstanding Malay-Muslim insurgency to jihadist influence.
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Heart - Black

Court documents: Another Roy Moore accuser has 'violent nature,' history of criminal fraud against own family

Aaron Klein
Breitbart News
Sun, 26 Nov 2017 23:37 UTC
Roy Moore
© Jonathan Bachman/Getty ImagesRoy More
Court documents related to Tina Johnson, an Alabama woman who claims that Republican senatorial candidate Roy Moore groped her in his office decades ago, may raise questions about Johnson's motives in making the accusation.

The documents, reviewed by Breitbart News, show that Moore represented Johnson's mother in a nasty custody case for Johnson's then 12-year-old son, Daniel Sitz. In the case, Johnson was repeatedly painted by Moore's client as an unfit, absent, and unstable mother and was accused of taking her son from his elementary school against his will. Johnson's mother was ultimately awarded custody in the case.

One affidavit signed by Johnson's mother while she was represented by Moore accused Johnson of having a "violent nature" and noted that she "has been treated by a psychiatrist when she was approximately 15 years of age." Johnson was a teenage mother.

Separate criminal documents show that, as late as 2010, Johnson was arrested and pled guilty to felony fraud charges related to checks belonging to a family member. She also entered a court drug program.

Comment:

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Attention

Congress ready to jam through reauthorization of mass surveillance

Jason Pye, Sean Vitka
The Hill
Mon, 27 Nov 2017 06:20 UTC
Clapper
© CBS News
Congress doesn't have much time left on the legislative calendar for the year, but there's still a lot on the agenda to get across the finish line. In the few remaining days, Republicans hope to pass a tax reform bill and either another short-term continuing resolution or an omnibus to fund the government.

Another item on the agenda is the reauthorization of Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), including the controversial Section 702.

The current authorization for Section 702 expires on December 31, and it's the first time Congress has faced this reauthorization since Edward Snowden's earth-shattering disclosures about the National Security Agency's mass surveillance apparatus. Committees in the Senate and House have competing proposals to reauthorize the program. But with the clock running out, Congress once again appears to be poised to jam through reauthorization.

Passed in 1978, FISA allows federal intelligence agencies to collect the electronic communications of foreign persons to surveil for certain illicit activities, including terrorism. But not all of the electronic communications collected by the National Security Agency (NSA) are those of foreign persons.

According to a 2014 Washington Post report, 90 percent of account holders whose communications were collected were not the intended targets. "Many of them were Americans," the Post explained. "Nearly half of the surveillance files, a strikingly high proportion, contained names, e-mail addresses or other details that the NSA marked as belonging to U.S. citizens or residents."

Comment: See also:

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Brain

FBI forgot to notify 'hacked' officials that the 'Russians did it' because there wasn't actually anything to notify them of


The Daily Mail
Sun, 26 Nov 2017 13:05 UTC
james comey christopher wray
James Comey (left), held the FBI Director position at the time. Christopher Wray (right) is now serving as director
The FBI failed to notify scores of US officials that Russian hackers were trying to break into their personal Gmail accounts despite having evidence for at least a year that the targets were in the Kremlin's crosshairs, it has been revealed.


Comment: What evidence exactly? People are trying to hack accounts all the time, and being an official of any state, would make you a better target for any hacker, anywhere.


Nearly 80 interviews with Americans targeted by Fancy Bear, a Russian government-aligned cyberespionage group, turned up only two cases in which the FBI had provided a heads-up, according to The Associated Press.


Comment: Oh boy, not again! The Russian bear behind the keyboard: Russian hack claims are absurd


Even senior policymakers discovered they were targets only when the AP told them, a situation some described as bizarre and dispiriting.

'It's utterly confounding,' said Philip Reiner, a former senior director at the National Security Council, who was notified by the AP that he was targeted in 2015.

'You've got to tell your people. You've got to protect your people.'

cybersecurity
Working off a list supplied by cybersecurity firm, Secureworks (pictured), The Associated Press found that scores of US diplomatic, military and government figures were not told about attempts to hack into their emails
The FBI declined to answer most questions from AP about how it had responded to the spying campaign. The bureau provided a statement that said in part: 'The FBI routinely notifies individuals and organizations of potential threat information.'

Comment: See also:

The Ridiculous Farce Of The US Intelligence Report On Russia Hacking The US Election
New "Russian hacking" intel report: Still no evidence
Chain of Guesses: FBI Director Comey admits US cannot confirm Russia provided DNC/Podesta emails to Wikileaks
Can't fool me twice: Of Crowdstrike's two claims of "Russian Hacking" - one proven wrong (so far)

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Star of David

Israel steps up ethnic cleansing in the Jordan Valley


International Solidarity Movement
Sun, 26 Nov 2017 21:46 UTC
ethnic cleansing Israel
The village Al Maleh is situated close to a Israeli military base.
Israeli forces have sent out demolition orders to two villages in the northern Jordan Valley, where they plan to demolish the homes of around 300 Palestinians. This is part of the Israeli military's ongoing efforts to ethnically cleanse the Jordan Valley and annex it to Israel.The Jordan Valley Solidarity group has already reported residents overhearing drones gliding over the area and Israeli soldiers frequently halting residents for ID checks.

The Ein El Hilwe and Al Maleh families' stories are a perfect example of what life in Jordan Valley can mean. None of the two families have been directly informed by the Israeli military forces about the plans to demolish of their homes. On the 1st of November, the demolition orders were left in the form of a note under a rock close to their homes. The notes weren't noticed until the 9th, which meant that they had an even shorter period of time to find a solution. Despite the frustration and the difficulties of the last weeks, the residents of both the villages are determined to stay on their land and to face the harassment of the Israeli occupation forces. "My grandfather and my father both lived here before me and before the Israeli occupation. My family has owned this land for so long", says Qadri Daram from Ein El Hill village, descrbing the constant harassment his family has had to face for decades. "They have been using the same strategy for years to get the Palestinians out of here. But before the Oslo agreement there were more military bases here and soldiers. Then the soldiers went away and the Israeli settlers arrived."Qadri and his family have lived on this land for generations. Now he and his wife and children have to face many difficulties. They are not allowed to build anything on their own land and are forced to live without water and electricity, while the illegal Israeli settlement nearby is equipped with all the comfortabilities they need. The water for the settlement is taken from a local spring standing near to Ein El Hilwe, while Qadri and his family have to buy water.
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