Puppet MastersS


Evil Rays

Al Jazeera's stunning fall from grace: How a news outlet got ponerized and turned into a tool of Qatar's regional ambitions

Whitney Webb
Mint Press News
Sun, 21 May 2017 00:00 UTC
al jazeera
Though viewed by many as one of few unbiased news sources in the Middle East, Al Jazeera's stripes are showing as it expands into social media. The network's subservience to the government of Qatar has become unmistakably obvious as it tries to expand its audience.

Long a prominent voice in the Arabic-speaking world, Al Jazeera has more recently become a notable force in Western media. Despite receiving all of its funding from the government of Qatar, Al Jazeera English - in contrast to other Western media outlets - has enjoyed a reputation for unbiased and in-depth reporting with a focus on hard news, one that continues to persist in the minds of many of its English-speaking viewers.

As Middle East geopolitical analyst and former Al Jazeera contributing writer Sharmine Narwani told MintPress News:
"Al Jazeera [English] was largely successful because it was viewed as an alternative network that challenged the stale narratives of mainstream corporate media. [...] This was a huge departure from major satellite news networks that were barely differentiable from each other. And I think that altered the news industry and drew in more discerning viewers."
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Info

US changes tactics against ISIS, working on 'deconfliction' plan with 'enthusiastic' Russians


RT
Fri, 19 May 2017 21:09 UTC
James Mattis (L) and Joseph Dunford
© Yuri Gripas / Reuters
The Trump administration is giving more leeway to field commanders and focusing on annihilating Islamic State forces, top US officials said. A proposal is also in the works to "deconflict" operations in Syria with Russia.

US forces are legally precluded from coordinating with the Russians, General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon on Friday. However, the US and Russian militaries have been maintaining multiple communication channels to "deconflict" operations in Syria.

"We have a proposal that we're working on with the Russians right now," Dunford added, declining to offer any details. He did say that it would address the presence of a Syrian government pocket in Deir ez-Zor, halfway down the Euphrates River between the IS (formerly ISIS/ISIL) stronghold of Raqqa and the Iraqi border.

"The Russians are as enthusiastic as we are to deconflict operations" and focus on fighting IS, Dunford said.
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Snakes in Suits

Trouble ahead: Federal civil suit exposes Trump business practices and syndicate ties

Wayne Madsen
Intrepid Report
Fri, 19 May 2017 20:55 UTC
Trump mad
© www.politicususa.com
A civil RICO (Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organization) lawsuit exposing Donald Trump's associates' criminal business practices was filed in the U.S. Court in the Southern District of Manhattan on June 20, 2016. The suit was filed by two principals of Bayrock Group, LLC, which developed the Trump SoHo condominium-hotel complex in Manhattan.

The Kushner Companies, then run by Trump's son-in-law and current senior White House adviser Jared Kushner, developed property adjacent to the Trump SoHo complex. Alex Sapir of the Sapir Organization is linked to the development of both the Trump and Kushner properties in SoHo. However, Sapir was not named as a defendant in the suit against Bayrock.

Among those named in the civil RICO suit against Bayrock were three of Trump's close Bayrock business associates, Felix Satter (aka Felix Sater and Felix Sheferovsky), the managing director of Bayrock LLC; Julius Schwarz; and Tefvik Arif, Bayrock's principal owner and associate of the infamous mafia syndicate, the "Kazakhstan Trio," comprised of Alexander Mashkevich, Patokh Chodiev, and Alisan Ibragimov. Bayrock also developed the Trump International Hotel and Residence in Phoenix, Arizona. Sater now serves as an unofficial adviser to Trump and is a close associate of Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen.
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Network

New Tory manifesto requests sweeping powers to seize control of the internet


RT
Fri, 19 May 2017 18:34 UTC
Theresa May
© Russell Cheyne / Reuters
UK Prime Minister Theresa May wants sweeping new powers for her government to seize indiscriminate control of the internet.

Towards the bottom of the Tory manifesto published on Thursday, there is a technology section that clearly states the party's intent to control the online world through new regulations.

Some people say that it is not for government to regulate when it comes to technology and the internet," the manifesto states.

"We disagree."

Senior Tories confirmed to BuzzFeed that the phrase actually means implementing new legislation that would allow the government to have control over any material posted, shared, and published online.

Comment: See also: New Powers: British cyber spooks can spy on you in real time, no encryption necessary!

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Attention

Unprecedented corruption among Brazil's top politicians revealed in unsealed JBS plea bargain testimony

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Fri, 19 May 2017 20:46 UTC
Batista and Temer
Batista and Temer
Recall that behind the latest political scandal to grip Brazil, in which president Michel Temer was accused of paying hush money to the jailed former House speaker, Eduardo Cunha (who was responsible for the impeachment of Temer's predecessor Dilma Rouseff) to keep him from dragging Temer down as well, and which yesterday led to historic losses for the the Bovespa, was a plea bargain by the top executives of Brazil's meatpacking giant JBS, Joseley Batista and his brother Wesley, which among other things, included an alleged recording of a phone conversation in which Batista told Temer he was paying Cunha to remain silent, to which the president was recorded saying, "You need to keep that up, okay?"

Moments ago, Brazil's O Globo newspaper reported that the latest episode in Brazil's epic political corruption saga has been unveiled, and two things emerged. First, president Temer is under now officially under investigation for corruption and obstruction of justice.

Comment: With this release, expect more of this: Clashes in Brazil as hundreds descend on President Temer's HQ demanding impeachment

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Info

Rosenstein moves to shut down Congressional "Russiagate" probes after appointing Mueller special counsel

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Fri, 19 May 2017 19:58 UTC
rosenstein
Rod Rosenstein
Rosenstein warns Congress its continued probes will interfere with the Special Counsel's investigation. Republican Senators appear to agree.

Further evidence that Rod Rosenstein's decision to appoint Special Counsel to supervise the Russiagate investigation is intended at least in part to take the heat out of the affair has been provided by a private briefing Rosenstein has given to the Senate about his decision, of which the New York Times has provided a detailed account.

It seems that over the course of this briefing Rosenstein made it very clear that for the Special Counsel to conduct the investigation properly the various Congressional committees which are conducting their own probes into Russiagate will need to rein their investigations and basically shut them down
Five different Senate and House committees — including both congressional intelligence committees — are running inquiries into the Russian meddling. But the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, who was appointed on Wednesday, is widely expected to ask Congress to scale back public hearings with witnesses who might be integral to his investigation.....

Mr. Rosenstein also affirmed that the Justice Department's inquiry was focused on possible crimes, meaning that potential subjects of investigation would almost certainly refuse to testify before Congress or withhold documents from lawmakers for fear of possible prosecution.
To be clear, this should not be taken to mean that the FBI's counter-espionage investigation is now a criminal probe, an unwarranted extrapolation from Rosenstein's words that some have made, and one which flatly contradicts what Rosenstein said in his statement announcing the Special Counsel's appointment. As I have repeatedly pointed out, so far no crime has been detected despite 8 months of investigations.

Comment: More analysis of the special counsel decision:

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Arrow Down

Despite Sweden dropping rape case against Assange, his treatment remains an outrage

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Fri, 19 May 2017 00:00 UTC
Assange
© Ben Stansall / AFPWikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

Despite dropping the case Sweden refuses to clear Assange of the rape allegations, purporting to blame him instead for the failure of the case, whilst Britain is still violating his human rights as a refugee by preventing him from travelling to Ecuador.

Three weeks ago I wrote an article for The Duran in which I pointed out (1) that Julian Assange has never been charged in Sweden with rape (2) that the extradition proceedings Sweden brought against him in Britain were supposedly brought in order to compel him to come to Sweden to be questioned about the allegations of rape made against him there (3) that this purpose was fulfilled in November 2016 when Assange was questioned by the Swedish prosecutor about the rape allegations in the Ecuadorian embassy in Britain and (4) that the continued failure of the Swedish authorities in light of this either to bring charges against Assange or to drop the case against him - leaving him trapped in legal limbo - was an outrage, all the more so since the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the UN Human Rights Council had already said that his treatment violated his human rights.

Comment: See also: Sweden drops rape case against Julian Assange, revokes arrest warrant

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Vader

SOTT Focus: The War against 'Fake News': The Rise of the Orwellian Ministry of Truth

Björn Seelmann
Sott.net
Fri, 19 May 2017 22:16 UTC
New York times propaganda
The battle-lines in the information war are drawn. The mainstream media, which the people increasingly see as unreliable, believes that the free flow of ideas and information on the Internet is a threat to our well-being.

The war on 'fake news' began in earnest in November 2016. The Washington Post then released a blacklist, compiled by anonymous source PropOrNot, on which 200 sites were accused of "Russian propaganda efforts to undermine American democracy and interests."

Among those blacklisted are former Republican delegates, former presidential candidate Ron Paul, former US Assistant Secretary of Finance Paul Craig Roberts, The Corbett Report, Natural News and SOTT.
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Arrow Down

Doubling down: Soros increases losing bet on US equity markets


RT
Fri, 19 May 2017 09:46 UTC
G Soros
© Life InstituteSoros
Billionaire investor George Soros has doubled down his bets against equity markets in the United States, according to recent filings quoted by CNBC. He has been losing money so far as the markets thrived during Donald Trump's presidency.

Soros' primary plays are against large-caps via the S&P 500 and small-caps via the Russell 2000, which are run through his family's Soros Fund Management. S&P Global Market Intelligence say the bets have a potential value of $764.3 billion.

After Trump won the US presidential election, Soros started betting against US stocks. While Soros called Trump a "would-be dictator," and predicted uncertainty and sell-off after his win, the markets rallied significantly.

The S&P 500 is up 5.7 percent this year while the Russell 2000 is up 0.3 percent. Companies in the S&P 500 are seeing 16.5 percent earnings growth in the first quarter of the year, the best year-over-year growth in nearly six years, Bloomberg reported on Monday. A March poll by Investing.com says major banks forecast the S&P 500 to reach 2,425 points by year-end from the current 2,365.

In February, a report by hedge fund investor LCH Investment claimed the Hungarian-born billionaire's misplaced investments turned into a $1 billion loss for his clients. Forbes estimates George Soros's net worth at over $25 billion.

Comment: The Battle of the Billionaires. For Soros, it may come down to a 'hit' or rigging a manipulation...either is less expensive than a steadily losing bet. For Trump, it is business as usual and all the protection he can afford.

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Stock Up

Trump launches NAFTA renegotiations, upgrade deal by end of year


RT
Fri, 19 May 2017 01:10 UTC
N.A. flags NAFTA
© Upstate Business Journal/KJN
President Donald Trump's newly appointed US trade representative has formally notified Congress of the administration's intent to begin renegotiations of NAFTA, the 23-year-old trilateral trade agreement between the US, Canada and Mexico.

On Thursday, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer sent a letter to lawmakers, giving Congress a 90-day consultation period before renegotiations are initiated on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). During the required consultation period, Lighthizer said he would consult with "Congress and American stakeholders to create an agreement that advances the interests of America's workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses," according to a statement.
"The United States seeks to support higher-paying jobs in the United States and to grow the US economy by improving US opportunities under NAFTA," Lighthizer wrote. "In particular, we note that NAFTA was negotiated 25 years ago, and while our economy and businesses have changed considerably over that period, NAFTA has not. Many chapters are outdated and do not reflect modern standards."
Lighthizer said the reason for the renegotiations was to "modernize" the trade deal to address provisions on intellectual property rights, regulatory practices, rules for state-owned enterprises, customs procedures, food safety standards and labor and environmental standards. He also cited digital trade, describing it as "in its infancy when NAFTA was enacted." The negotiations could begin as early as August 16. Lighthizer told reporters that he hopes negotiations will be completed by the end of 2017, according to Reuters.


Comment: Even though the US is ready to renegotiate NAFTA, all options are still on the table. Trump is savvy enough to end a bad deal if it isn't fixable.

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