Puppet MastersS


Map

The U.S. occupation of northeastern Syria is unsustainable, not to mention illegal


Moon of Alabama
Thu, 23 Nov 2017 19:36 UTC
The U.S. is now occupying north-east Syria. It wants to blackmail the Syrian government into "regime change". The occupation is unsustainable, its aim is unattainable. The generals who devised these plans lack strategic insight. They listen to the wrong people.

The Islamic State no longer holds any significant ground in Syria and Iraq. What is left of it in a few towns of the Euphrates valley will soon be gone. Its remnants will be some of several terror gangs in the region. Local forces can and will hold those under adequate control. The Islamic State is finished. This is why the Lebanese Hizbullah announced to pull back all its advisors and units from Iraq. It is the reason why Russia began to repatriate some of its units from Syria. Foreign forces are no longer needed to eliminate the remains of ISIS.
syria map
In its UN Security Council resolutions 2249 (2015) for the fight against ISIS the UNSC was:
"Reaffirming its respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence and unity of all States in accordance with purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter,
...
Calls upon Member States that have the capacity to do so to take all necessary measures, in compliance with international law, in particular with the United Nations Charter, ... on the territory under the control of ISIL also known as Da'esh, in Syria and Iraq, to redouble and coordinate their efforts to prevent and suppress terrorist acts committed specifically by ISIL ... and entities associated with Al-Qaida ... and to eradicate the safe haven they have established over significant parts of Iraq and Syria;
There is no longer any "territory under the control of ISIL". Its "safe havens" have been "eradicated". The task laid out and legitimized in the UNSC resolution is finished. It is over. There is no longer any justification, under UNSC Res 2249, for U.S. troops in Syria or Iraq.
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Briefcase

Dep. AG Rosenstein is supervising the Mueller probe, but he's also a witness

Carrie Johnson
NPR
Wed, 22 Nov 2017 18:13 UTC
mueller and rosenstein
© Getty Images
To the many mysteries swirling around the investigation of Russian election interference and the dismissal of FBI Director James Comey, add this one: Why is Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein continuing to supervise the investigation?

Rosenstein is the Justice Department official who pulled the trigger and named special counsel Robert Mueller to lead the probe in May, only days after President Trump fired Comey under questionable circumstances.

But Rosenstein also wrote a memo advocating the dismissal of Comey. The deputy attorney general testified he was put off by Comey's public remarks about the criminal investigation of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's email practices. "I wrote it. I believe it. I stand by it," Rosenstein told Congress of his memo criticizing Comey.

The president went on to tell a television interviewer that he had actually dismissed the FBI director over "the Russia thing," leading Comey and others to suggest he had been fired in a possible attempt to obstruct justice. Mueller's investigators are gathering information about the matter.

Comment: This is beginning to sound very "Gonna find those WMDs any day now", eh?

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Eye 1

Facebook creates 'Russia portal' to cover news from Russia that would threaten nonexistent US democracy


RT
Thu, 23 Nov 2017 18:38 UTC
facebook
© Jaap Arriens / Global Look Press
Panicked about your feed getting hijacked by 'Russian trolls'? Facebook's got you covered, with a new tool that will allow users to check if the Kremlin messed with their minds during last year's US presidential election.

The move is part of the social media giant's "continuing transparency of Russian activity" and efforts to protect users from "bad actors who try to undermine our democracy," the company said in a statement Wednesday.

Last month, Facebook General Counsel Colin Stretch pledged to the Senate Intelligence Committee that Facebook would "up our game" to counter the "threat of foreign interference in elections." Committee members grilled Stretch, along with representatives from Twitter and Google, about how platforms were used for "Russian meddling" and shared a sample of the ads it classified as "Russian-linked."
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Cult

Soros organization's 'secretive' push for Liberal prosecutors in 2018, and to potentially take away the people's right to elect judges

Aly Nielsen
News Busters
Tue, 21 Nov 2017 19:43 UTC
George Soros

A "secretive" network of liberal donors co-founded by George Soros is pushing to elect liberal prosecutors in 2018, according to a document obtained by the Free Beacon. But further behind the scenes, Soros is funding even-more-radical plans -- to potentially take away the people's right to elect judges.

Democracy Alliance, the "largest network of donors dedicated to building the progressive movement in the United States," hosted a conference at the La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, CA, last week focused on "reclaiming our progressive future." The conference mirrored a similar one hosted in November, 2016, to address the "cataclysm" of President Donald Trump's election. Democracy Alliance was co-founded by Soros, LGBTQ activist Tim Gill and the late insurance giant Peter Lewis in 2005.

One of the November 2017 sessions focused on "Winning Big" in 30 "hot" prosecutor races in the 2018 election. As Free Beacon writer Joe Schoffstall noted, "Soros has quietly flooded prosecutor races with large sums of money as part of his efforts to "overhaul" the U.S. justice system." Other media outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post ignored the event.
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Radar

Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi says Iranian warships to head for Gulf of Mexico


RT
Thu, 23 Nov 2017 19:21 UTC
Iranian warship
© ReutersAn Iranian warship and speed boats take part in a naval war game in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, southern Iran
The Iranian Navy will soon be sending a force to visit Latin America and the Gulf of Mexico, a newly-appointed naval commander has said. The move will be a demonstration of the country's ability to project power far beyond its shores.

In his first press conference in Tehran since being appointed, Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi said that Iranian naval forces will cross the Atlantic and stop over at friendly South American countries before flying the Iranian flag in the Gulf of Mexico, local media reported on Wednesday.

"Our fleet of warships will be sent to the Atlantic Ocean in the near future and will visit one of the friendly states in South America and the Gulf of Mexico," Fars news agency quoted him as saying.

Comment: The United States uses the same exact tactics as a provocative 'show of force' to counties it would like to intimidate. We'll see how the Washington likes the same exercises near its own borders. The US likes to have their 'freedom of navigation' missions, and Iran can have their 'peace and friendship' missions as well!

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Quenelle

Second phase of the Chinese peace plan for Bangladesh and Myanmar

ADAM GARRIE
The Duran
Thu, 23 Nov 2017 19:01 UTC
Rohingya refugees
Rohingya refugees
While the US barks, Chinese diplomacy has accomplished something substantial in a very short period of time and all with little fanfare.

Today, both Myanmar and Bangladesh confirmed they have signed an agreement which will allow both countries to begin the implementation of a Chinese peace plan for the repatriation Rohingya refugees to Myanmar's Rakhine State.

The sift and quiet implementation of a Chinese plan, officially announced only this week, is a clear demonstration of several things:
  • The businesslike nature of Chinese diplomacy
  • The clout China has in the wider Asian world
  • The effectiveness of a peace plan that seeks to address concerns from all parties
  • The attraction of a plan that promises enhanced economic stimuli in exchange for multilateral efforts to resolve a long burning civil and now bi-national crisis
The first element of the peace plan called for an intensification of the existing ceasefire, while phase two called for the orderly return of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar. These refugees had fled to neighbouring Bangladesh in the midst of a local conflict between Buddhists in Rakhine and Rohingya Muslims.

Comment: See also: The Rohingya Of Myanmar: Pawns in an Anglo-Saudi proxy war against China

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Snowflake

Israeli deputy FM snowflake says U.S. Jews have "convenient lives" far away from Palestinian "rocket attacks"


RT
Thu, 23 Nov 2017 18:02 UTC
hotovely
"Because God gave it to me."
Israeli deputy foreign minister has accused American Jews of living "convenient lives" and not understanding how it feels to be "attacked by rockets." It prompted a rebuke from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the statement is not Israel's stance.

Tzipi Hotovely appeared on Israeli news channel i24 on Wednesday to address increased tensions between Israel and US Jews. Those tensions include disputes over restrictions on non-Orthodox prayer at the Western (Wailing) Wall and over the Israeli government's policies on Israeli Arabs and Palestinians.

In her comments, Hotovely said that one of her goals is to "bring American Jews closer to Israel...everyone is welcome to come here to influence Israeli politics." She also stated that US Jews are too far away from the reality of Israeli Jewish life.

"The other issue is not understanding the complexity of the region," she said. "People that never send their children to fight for their country, most of the Jews don't have children serving as soldiers, going to the Marines, going to Afghanistan, or to Iraq. Most of them are having quite convenient lives. They don't feel how it feels to be attacked by rockets, and I think part of it is to actually experience what Israel is dealing with on a daily basis."

Comment: Hotovely is just saying what the rest of her colleagues are thinking. They don't care about American Jews any more than they care for Israeli Jews. They're perfectly fine with the glorified fireworks Palestinians manage to lob at them - rarely if ever causing any injury to Israelis - because it gives them the excuse to wail about how evil Palestinians are for defending themselves, with endless streams of crocodile tears for the poor, completely innocent and maligned Israelis. Maybe reptiles like Hotovely should imagine what it feels like to be a Palestinian, whose houses you demolish, olive trees to destroy, children you arrest and torture, family members you kill with precision weapons, land you steal and occupy.

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Attention

Sudan's President meets Putin: 'We need protection from US aggressive actions'


Sputnik
Thu, 23 Nov 2017 16:57 UTC
Putin amd Omar Bashir
© Sputnik/ Michael Klimentyev
Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a meeting with his Sudanese counterpart, discussing bilateral cooperation and regional security.

"In the end, it turned out that our country split into two parts, which resulted in a worsening of the situation, and as a result, we need protection from the aggressive actions of the United States," Sudanese President Omar Bashir said Thursday at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking about the situation in the Red Sea, the president has stated that the US interference is a problem, while it is necessary to discuss the issue from the viewpoint of using bases in the region.
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Red Flag

Demise of Dissent: How the web is being systematically stripped of independent voices of skepticism

Charles Hugh Smith
Of Two Minds
Fri, 17 Nov 2017 17:14 UTC
google facebook web dominance
In other words, we'll be left with officially generated and sanctioned fake news and "approved" dissent.

We've all heard that the problem with the web is fake news, i.e. unsubstantiated or erroneous content that's designed to mislead or sow confusion.

The problem isn't just fake news--it's the homogenization of the web, that is, the elimination or marginalization of independent voices of skepticism and dissent.

There are four drivers of this homogenization:
1. The suppression of dissent under the guise of ridding the web of propaganda and fake news--in other words, dissent is labeled fake news as a cover for silencing critics and skeptics.

2. The sharp decline of advertising revenues flowing to web publishers, both major outlets and small independent publishers like Of Two Minds.

3. The majority of advert revenues now flow into the coffers of the quasi-monopolies Facebook and Google.

4. Publishers are increasingly dependent on these quasi-monopolies for readers and visibility: any publisher who runs afoul of Facebook and Google and is sent to Digital Siberia effectively vanishes.

Comment: The Deep State has shown its desperation by having bared its claws in pursuit of total control of all sources of information. It's more important than ever for those who value independent thought and critical analysis to support those who are fighting the daily battle against the mainstream purveyors of fake news.

The War Party's ban of RT - Outlawing opposition and making dissent the equivalent of treason
The attack on alternative media is being done under cover of an attack on "fake news"

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Network

FCC plans to end net neutrality, telecoms will throttle select websites, charge more for services

Cecelia Kang
New York Times
Tue, 21 Nov 2017 16:03 UTC
internet neutrality
The Federal Communications Commission released a plan on Tuesday to dismantle landmark regulations that ensure equal access to the internet, clearing the way for internet service companies to charge users more to see certain content and to curb access to some websites.

The proposal, made by the F.C.C. chairman, Ajit Pai, is a sweeping repeal of rules put in place by the Obama administration. The rules prohibit high-speed internet service providers, or I.S.P.s, from stopping or slowing down the delivery of websites. They also prevent the companies from charging customers extra fees for high-quality streaming and other services.

The announcement set off a fight over free speech and the control of the internet, pitting telecom titans like AT&T and Verizon against internet giants like Google and Amazon. The internet companies warned that rolling back the rules could make the telecom companies powerful gatekeepers to information and entertainment. The telecom companies say that the existing rules prevent them from offering customers a wider selection of services at higher and lower price points.

"Under my proposal, the federal government will stop micromanaging the internet," Mr. Pai said in a statement. "Instead, the F.C.C. would simply require internet service providers to be transparent about their practices so that consumers can buy the service plan that's best for them."

Comment: You don't need an official censor when the media and corporations do it for you. Rather than overtly censoring speech by limiting what people can actually say, it seems the Deep State is employing a more deceptive form of censorship with social media. You can say what you want, but they'll prevent anyone from actually hearing it. In addition to the bit internet companies, many others are speaking out against this policy, including Canadian PM Justin Trudeau:
Speaking at an affordable housing strategy in Toronto, Canadian PM Trudeau was pushed on his net neutrality stance. "I am very concerned about the attacks on net neutrality," he told reporters.

"Net neutrality is something that is essential for small businesses [and] for consumers. It's essential to keep the freedom associated with the internet alive.

"The idea of throttling certain sites or charging extra for certain services just does not make sense if we are going to continue to ensure that technology, particularly digital technology, is the lever to create economic growth and opportunities for citizens right across this country. We need to continue to defend net neutrality and I will."

Asked whether he would try to influence US counterpart Donald Trump on the matter, Trudeau sidestepped the question by expressing his concern at developments in Canada's neighbor.

"Like many people we are just absorbing the position the president has taken and looking at the impacts it's going to have on the US and in Canada. I know there are an awful lot of people concerned about this and you can count me as one of them," he said.
See also:

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