Puppet MastersS


Document

Secret Brexit report: Europe alarmed at UK's 'chaos and confusion' and 'low quality politicians'


RT
Thu, 23 Nov 2017 16:13 UTC
David Davis
© Francois Lenoir / Reuters
A leaked document reveals Europe's alarm at Britain's Brexit "confusion." Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs quotes senior EU figures describing "chaos in the Conservative government" and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson as "unimpressive."

According to RTE News, which obtained the document, officials said "the biggest problem is the chaotic political situation in the UK government," with British ministers and civil servants unable to agree on a coherent Brexit policy. The report is based on an extensive round of meetings between senior Irish diplomatic figures and government officials in European capitals between 6 and 10 November.

This was some three weeks after the EU summit in Brussels, during which EU leaders told Prime Minister Theresa May that Britain needs to do more. The UK wants to move on to the second phase of negotiations, covering trade, as soon as possible. So far, the EU has said that cannot happen until Britain makes concessions on its financial liabilities, citizens' rights and the border with Ireland.
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Quenelle

Cuba & N. Korea to strengthen ties to reject 'unilateral & arbitrary' US pressure


RT
Thu, 23 Nov 2017 16:09 UTC
Cuba North Korea
© Ruptly
Havana and Pyongyang have agreed to strengthen ties to withstand Washington's "unilateral and arbitrary" demands. With tensions accelerating on the Korean peninsula, N. Korea's FM flew to Cuba to present a united front against "US imperialism."

Cuban Foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez received his Korean counterpart, Ri Yong Ho, in Havana Wednesday, where both diplomats firmly rejected Washington's approach to resolve political tensions around the world based on "coercive measures."

The two foreign ministers "strongly rejected the unilateral and arbitrary lists and designations established by the US government which serve as a basis for the implementation of coercive measures which are contrary to international law,"the Cuban Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
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Ambulance

Saudi coalition will reopen Yemeni ports for humanitarian aid traffic


Radio Free Europe
Thu, 23 Nov 2017 15:57 UTC
Jamie McGoldrick
The United Nations' humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, has described the Saudi-led coalition's announcement as "good news."
The Saudi-led military coalition that has been blockading Yemen's ports of entry said that it will reopen the main airport and a important Red Sea port to humanitarian traffic on November 23.

The airport in the capital of Sanaa will reopen to UN aircraft and the sea port of Hodeida will be able to receive urgent humanitarian aid, the coalition said in a statement.

The coalition imposed the blockade two days after Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen fired a missile at Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh on November 4.

The United Nations officials cautiously welcomed the decision and said they also expect the port of Salef to reopen.

Comment: Yemen facing 'worst cholera outbreak in the world' with 1000's of new cases each day - UN, WHO

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Snakes in Suits

Mohammad bin Salman: The new balance of power

Spengler
Asia Times
Thu, 23 Nov 2017 15:08 UTC
Saudi men chat in front of a poster of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
© AFP / Fayez Nureldine
The Crown Prince has set off a complex chain reaction of political moves that affect the region's political and economic stability.

Morbid curiosity draw attention to the real-life Game of Thrones now playing out in Saudi Arabia, but the stories of intrigue among the Bedouin clans who control the kingdom are less interesting than the changes in the regional chessboard. Some of the facts are known, while others only can be inferred. The ascent of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman - with the assistance of the United States and the approval of China - occurs in the context of an effort to restore the regional balance of power, following 15 years of instability due to America's sponsorship of Shi'ite rule in Iraq.

Saddam Hussein's Sunni government balanced Shi'ite Iran. When the George W. Bush administration overthrew him and imposed majority, that is, sectarian Shi'ite rule in Iraq, the disenfranchised Sunni minority supported non-state actors, namely al-Qaeda and its offshoot ISIS. The regional power balance shifted drastically in favor of Iran, and the Obama administration's jerry-rigged nuclear deal with the Iran gave it additional power.

Comment: More on Muhammad Bin-Salman:

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Star of David

Mueller begins probe of Jared Kushner's Israeli contacts

Ali Abunimah
Electronic Intifada
Thu, 23 Nov 2017 15:40 UTC
Jared Kushner
© Cheriss May/NurPhotoSpecial counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly probing Jared Kushner's contacts with Israeli officials in the weeks before Kushner's father-in-law, Donald Trump, took office as president.
Special counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly probing Jared Kushner's contacts with Israeli officials last year as Israel tried to derail a UN Security Council vote on its West Bank settlements.

Kushner is Donald Trump's son-in-law, a senior adviser and fixer. Former FBI director Mueller was appointed by the Department of Justice in May to lead a broad investigation sparked by allegations of ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The Wall Street Journal's revelation of the probe into Kushner's contacts with Israel comes as details emerge of an imminent Trump "peace plan" that would railroad Palestinians into surrendering their rights in exchange for a state in name only.

According to the newspaper, Mueller's "investigators have asked witnesses questions" about the involvement of Kushner "in a controversy over a UN resolution" passed before Trump took office that condemned Israel's settlements, all of which are illegal under international law.
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Snakes in Suits

Ex-British PM Gordon Brown's new book: My life, my excuses over Iraq War

Finian Cunningham
Strategic Culture Foundation
Thu, 23 Nov 2017 15:05 UTC
Gordon Brown
Brown's political legacy is a rather dull affair, more in the shadows of the times that surrounded his time in government. With so little to acclaim, it's not surprising that Brown should now seek to whitewash Britain's - and his own personal - responsibility in the illegal war on Iraq.

Gordon Brown, the former British prime minister who took over from Tony Blair in 2007, made headlines earlier this month when he claimed that Britain had been hoodwinked by the Americans about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and thus duped into joining the war on that country.

The Independent, for example, ran the headline: 'US hid intelligence from Britain about Saddam Hussein's WMDs before Iraq War, Gordon Brown claims'.

Several other British news outlets ran similar headlines along the line that "Britain had been deceived" into joining the American war plan on Iraq, which the George W Bush administration launched in March 2003.

Brown's claim comes out of the publication this month of his autobiography which is grandly titled: My Life, Our Times.
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Snakes in Suits

Snake in a Suit: Five of Obama's biggest & most outlandish lies (VIDEO)

Jim Hoft
The Gateway Pundit
Thu, 23 Nov 2017 15:07 UTC
obama
© Reuters
Barack Obama was likely the most dishonest president in US history.

After eight years of Obama we put together a list of his five biggest and most outlandish lies.

1.) If you like your insurance plan, you can keep your insurance plan

Number of mentions: 37 times
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Light Sabers

State Dept officials accuse Rex Tillerson of breaching Child Soldiers Prevention Act


Times of India
Thu, 23 Nov 2017 15:07 UTC
Tillerson
© Yuri Gripas / ReutersU.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
A group of about a dozen US state department officials have taken the unusual step of formally accusing secretary of state Rex Tillerson of violating a federal law designed to stop foreign militaries from enlisting child soldiers, according to internal government documents reviewed by Reuters.

A confidential state department "dissent" memo not previously reported said Tillerson breached the Child Soldiers Prevention Act when he decided in June to exclude Iraq, Myanmar, and Afghanistan from a US list of offenders in the use of child soldiers. This was despite the department publicly acknowledging that children were being conscripted in those countries.

Keeping the countries off the annual list makes it easier to provide them with US military assistance. Iraq and Afghanistan are close allies in the fight against Islamist militants, while Myanmar is an emerging ally to offset China's influence in southeast Asia. Documents reviewed by Reuters also show Tillerson's decision was at odds with a unanimous recommendation by the heads of the state department's regional bureaus overseeing embassies in the Middle East and Asia, the US envoy on Afghanistan and Pakistan, the department's human rights office and its own in-house lawyers.
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Arrow Down

'Biased & inexperienced': Chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards slams Macron for provocative statements


RT
Thu, 23 Nov 2017 15:29 UTC
French President Emmanuel Macron
© Francois Mori / ReutersFrench President Emmanuel Macron
The chief of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps has slammed French President Emmanuel Macron as being "young and inexperienced," claiming those characteristics were behind the leader's recent remarks on Tehran's ballistic missile program.

Mohammad Ali Jafari took aim at the French president on Thursday, Reuters reported, citing state TV. It followed comments that Macron made during a visit to Dubai on November 9, when he suggested amending the JCPOA, the key agreement on Tehran's nuclear program, despite eight International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports confirming that Iran has fully complied with the deal. The French leader said that the "ballistic activity of Iran" should be renegotiated - though it is not covered under the accord - "with sanctions if necessary."

Later that day, Macron made a surprise visit to Saudi Arabia where he said that he was "very concerned" by Iran's ballistic-missile program. He argued that the missile used in a failed attack on Riyadh from Yemen earlier this month was "obviously" an Iranian missile.
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Wall Street

US sanctions boost Russian business in Latin America

Justin Huebner
Russia Insider
Thu, 23 Nov 2017 15:07 UTC
Maduro Putin
"US sanctions only motivated Russia to search for new markets and mechanisms. And Latin America, discouraged by Trump's policy, is again looking for new footholds."

The largely ineffective sanctions policies of the EU and Europe have only succeeded in impeding business with those countries, while stimulating Russian economic contact with developing and third world economies.

The legacy of the Soviet era is still a meaningful advantage for Russia around the world, and Latin America is no exception.
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