Puppet MastersS


Star of David

New report out: Israel's 'broad systemic abuse' of East Jerusalem minors

Sheren Khalel
Mondoweiss
Wed, 25 Oct 2017 00:00 UTC
Child arrest
© Photo: Salih Zeki Fazlıoğlu/Anadolu AgencyIsraeli undercover police arrest a 10-year-old Palestinian child.
A new report released by Israeli human rights groups, HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual and B'Tselem, with support from the European Union, revealed "broad, systemic abuse by Israeli authorities," against hundreds of Palestinian teens detained in occupied East Jerusalem.

The report, titled Unprotected: The detention of Palestinian Teenagers in East Jerusalem was released on Wednesday, and detailed an investigation of 60 affidavits gathered between May 2015 and October 2016.

The groups found various instances of child abuse in Israeli police custody.
"Palestinian teenagers from East Jerusalem are pulled out of bed in the middle of the night, unnecessarily handcuffed and interrogated without being given the opportunity to speak to a lawyer or their parents before the questioning begins and without being informed of their right to remain silent," the groups found.

"They are then held under harsh conditions, repeatedly remanded to custodial detention for additional period of days and even weeks, even once their interrogation has ended. In some cases, all this is attended by verbal abuse or threats and physical abuse."

Comment: Israel has written the book on dehumanization techniques and follows it word-for-word.

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Alarm Clock

Best of the Web: Jesus Campos Fled to Mexico Just After Las Vegas Massacre

Tucker Carlson Tonight
Fox News
Thu, 26 Oct 2017 19:37 UTC
Jesus Campos Ellen show
Jesus Campos on the Ellen show
A source has provided documentation showing that Jesus Campos, the only eyewitness to the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, entered the United States from Mexico at the San Ysidro border crossing in San Diego county almost exactly one week after the Las Vegas massacre. Why did Campos go to Mexico?

During his appearance on the Ellen show last week, which was three weeks after the shooting, Campos appeared subdued and reluctant to talk, with the assumption being that he was still 'traumatized' by the event and his injury. But how then was he able to go to Mexico within a few days of the shooting and drive back home to Las Vegas?

Many questions about the worst mass shooting in US history remain unanswered. Tucker Carlson explains.
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Camcorder

DOJ: US expands surveillance to include 'homegrown violent extremists'

Dustin Volz
Reuters
Wed, 25 Oct 2017 07:17 UTC
virtual internet spying
© Lawyr.it
The U.S. government has broadened an interpretation of which citizens can be subject to physical or digital surveillance to include "homegrown violent extremists," according to official documents seen by Reuters. The change last year to a Department of Defense manual on procedures governing its intelligence activities was made possible by a decades-old presidential executive order, bypassing congressional and court review.

The new manual, released in August 2016, now permits the collection of information about Americans for counterintelligence purposes "when no specific connection to foreign terrorist(s) has been established," according to training slides created last year by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI).

The slides were obtained by Human Rights Watch through a Freedom of Information Act request about the use of federal surveillance laws for counter-drug or immigration purposes and shared exclusively with Reuters. The Air Force and the Department of Defense told Reuters that the documents are authentic.

Comment: Without watchdog diligence, how many other expansions of surveillance would be set in motion with the public not the wiser? Answer: Until every person in the USA is a suspect.

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Attention

Islamic Society official was appointed by Obama to approve Uranium One sale and Gulftainer port deal

Mary Fanning, Alan Jones
Big League Politics
Wed, 25 Oct 2017 00:00 UTC
Dr Jafar/Port Canaveral
© AP Photo/Getty ImagesDr. Jafar Dhia Jafar • Port Canaveral
The Obama administration placed Aimen Nabi Mir, former two-time president of the youth wing of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), into the top advisory position to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a national security post at the Treasury Department.

Aimen Mir was the CFIUS Staff Chairperson from 2009 until 2014. During that time, Aimen Mir played a key role in the CFIUS panel's decision to approve the sale of Uranium One to Russia's Rosatom. Mir also played a key role in the Treasury Department's refusal to investigate the UAE's Gulftainer 35-year cargo container terminal lease at Port Canaveral, a critical military infrastructure facility for U.S. naval and space operations. Both decisions severely damaged United States national security.

Aimen Mir helped set the table for Vladimir Putin to seize control of over 20 percent of U.S. uranium and was part of the decision that awarded control of Port Canaveral's cargo container terminal to Saddam Hussein's rogue nuclear weapons scientist and designated Iraq War enemy combatant, Dr. Jafar Dhia Jafar. Dr. Jafar's brother and business partner, Gulftainer co-owner Hamid Jafar, was under investigation by the Treasury Department and four congressional committees for his 'Oil For Superweapons' scheme in concert with Saddam Hussein.

For starters, Aimen Mir's ISNA connections are troubling. ISNA is one of the largest Muslim Brotherhood front groups in the U.S. and was named by the Department of Justice as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2008 Holy Land Foundation HAMAS terror funding trial.

Comment: See also: This too is a nothing-burger, although it's understandable why US conservatives have hung their hat on it: their Democratic opposition, with the backing of the Deep State establishment, have used 'ties with Russia' as a vehicle with which to bash Trump and keep him in line, thus keeping the US Empire on course (towards its total destruction, but they don't know that).

Putin explained - in plain, simple, non-hysterical language - what this uranium deal is actually about in his recent speech at Valdai 2017 (where leaders from around the world in the fields of politics, media and business met to discuss future global governance without the US, which has apparently lost its mind).

The US and Russia made arrangements in the early 90s to 'civilize' their nuclear warheads by selling it to each other for use in nuclear power plants. This way, the process could be openly monitored. The only Clinton connection to this overarching deal is that Slick Willy happened to be president at the time. There's no scandal here. It's being 'scandalized' now because all things Russia are 'bad'.

The vast majority of political news coming out of the US these days is - to again borrow a phrase from Putin - paranoid political schizophrenia.

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Arrow Down

Useless eaters: 10% of Lords claim $1000s in expenses, don't do any work


RT
Wed, 25 Oct 2017 19:09 UTC
house of lords
© David Wimsett / Global Look PressHM the Queen speaking at the State Opening of Parliament this morning at the House of Lords in London, England.
The House of Lords is at the center of yet another expenses scandal. One in 10 peers has been found to be claiming hundreds of thousands of pounds in taxpayer-funded expenses for doing absolutely nothing.

Peers have been accused of 'gaming the system' after analysis by the Electoral Reform Society (ERS) revealed that of the 799 Lords warming the red-leather benches, as many as 73 failed to submit any questions or take part in any debates during the year 2016-2017. A total of 16 'silent peers' then claimed up to £400,000 ($530,000) in expenses and daily allowances.

"The fact that nearly one in ten peers are failing to contribute to the work of the House is bad enough. But it leaves a nasty taste when a significant chunk of those are claiming more than the average worker takes home in a year," said Darren Hughes, chief executive of ERS.
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Camcorder

Interview with war correspondent Ali Musawi: The Kurdish referendum, the defeat of ISIS and the future of Iraq

Sarah Abed
MintPress News
Thu, 26 Oct 2017 19:53 UTC
Kurdish flags
© Azad Lashkari/ReutersKurds carry Israeli and Kurdish flags to show their support for the September 25th independence referendum in Erbil, Iraq, September 22, 2017
Acquiring leverage for expansion and not independence had always been the purpose of the referendum. The KDP et al had calculated that they needed ownership of Kirkuk's oil for any prospect of independence, so expansion was the first priority.

For the past three years, Ali Musawi has been reporting for Press TV on updates, agreements, and clashes involving Daesh (ISIS), Kurdish factions, and the Iraqi armed forces. In an October 17, 2017 interview with Musawi, I was able to obtain on-the-ground insight from a war correspondent living in Erbil into the KRG referendum, the defeat of ISIS, and future of Iraq.

On September 25, despite what seemed to be a near-universal objection, a referendum took place in Northern Iraq, led by the Kurdish Regional Government's (KRG) self-proclaimed president, Massoud Barzani. Nations worldwide - including; the U.S., U.K., France, UN, Iran, and the Iraqi government - all expressed their objection and dissent and were calling for its suspension.

Israel stands alone in support for KRG referendum

Israel was the only vocal supporter of the referendum, which many analysts believe was more to bolster the opportunistic Barzani's legitimacy than it was about independence for Iraqi Kurds. Both Israeli and Kurdish flags were waved in demonstrations around the world, promoting and raising awareness for the Kurdish referendum. The Israelis and Kurds have mutually benefited from a long-standing relationship, which at times was concealed or downplayed in order to not draw attention and critical speculation.
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Vader

Another lie? Killary claims she didn't know about Trump dossier until after its publication

OLIVIA BEAVERS
The Hill
Wed, 25 Oct 2017 18:09 UTC
killary
Hillary Clinton reportedly learned about the existence of a dossier containing unverified allegations about collusion between President Trump and Russia only after after BuzzFeed News published the document, despite recent reports tying her campaign to funding it.

The former secretary of State was reportedly annoyed that the controversial report had not been shared with the public until the final days of last year's heated presidential contest, The New York Times reported Wednesday, citing two Clinton associates who discussed the matter with her.

The then-Democratic presidential candidate was also reportedly disappointed that the FBI's investigation into ties between Trump campaign associates and Russia was not announced during the election.

The Clinton campaign as well as the Democratic National Committee have denied knowledge about the opposition research despite the news that Marc Elias, a lawyer representing both groups, helped fund the report, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Comment: So she says. Hillary Clinton lied about what happened in Benghazi, lied about her emails, and lied about her own Russia connections. Why would anyone believe she is telling the truth now? Unfortunately for her, the Powers That Be have decided to throw her and the then-DNC chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz under the bus and put them squarely in the firing line as far as being responsible for the Trump dossier. It couldn't have happened to two better people!

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Stock Up

Social Security spending has topped $1 trillion for the first time

Terence P. Jeffrey
CNSNews.com
Wed, 25 Oct 2017 18:05 UTC
In fiscal 2017, real Social Security Administration spending topped $1 trillion for the first time, according data published in the Monthly Treasury Statement.

The Social Security Administration spent a total $1,000,812,000,000 in fiscal 2017, according to the Treasury.

That was about 37 times as much as the Department of State spent during the year ($27,061,000,000), 32 times as much as the Department of Justice ($30,977,000,000), and 20 times as much as the Department of Homeland Security ($50,502,000,000).

The $1,000,812,000,000 spent by the Social Security Administration in fiscal 2017 was also about 76 percent more than the federal government spent on Department of Defense and Military Programs ($568,905,000,000) during the year.
social security spending chart
According to the Monthly Treasury Statement, the only major spending category that absorbed more money than the Social Security Administration in fiscal 2017 was the Department of Health and Human Services, which spent $1,116,764,000,000.
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2 + 2 = 4

Failed Kurdish independence gamble brings Turkey and Iraq closer together - leaders pledge strengthened cooperation to end regional conflicts and instability


RFE/RL
Thu, 26 Oct 2017 17:59 UTC
abadi erdogan
© ReutersTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi at the Presidential Palace in Ankara on October 25.
The leaders of Iraq and Turkey say they are ready to strengthen cooperation to end conflicts and instability in the region.

"We are part of a region suffering from conflict and instability, and it is time to cooperate to end these conflicts," Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi told a news conference on October 25 during a visit to Ankara.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it was his country's wish was that "Iraq will rise again from the ashes and destruction. We will lend our support for this and take the steps necessary for the peace and security of the region."

The leaders have had tense relations in the past but appear to have found common ground recently in their mutual opposition to moves by Kurdish leaders in Iraq to push for independence from Baghdad.

Turkey fears that independence moves by Iraqi Kurds could further ignite similar aspirations among its own large Kurdish population.

Comment: More "unintended" consequences from the joke that is American foreign policy. Ironically, Turkey and Iraq are both ostensibly U.S. allies, but in this case what has brought them together is their opposition to U.S. policy and destabilization campaigns in the region. It's quite remarkable the U.S. seemingly did not see any of this coming.

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Network

Russia to partner with Saudi Arabia to build 'Neom megacity' project, 33 times the size of NYC


RT
Thu, 26 Oct 2017 17:53 UTC
Neom Saudi city
© Faisal Al Nasser / Reuters3D presentation during an exhibition on 'Neom', a new business and industrial city, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Russia wants to be an investor in Saudi Arabia's project to build the Neom megacity, which will be 33 times bigger than New York City. The project will be financed by the Saudi government and private investors and powered entirely by wind and solar energy.

"The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) wants to be a co-investor with other international funds. The Fund will attract leading Russian companies to invest in the creation of the city of Neom, thereby contributing to their high-tech expansion in the promising markets of Saudi Arabia and the entire Middle East," RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev told reporters on Thursday.

"We are talking about investments worth several billion dollars," he said. The day before, Dmitriev met the Saudi crown prince to discuss further investment cooperation between Russia and Saudi Arabia.
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