Puppet MastersS


Star of David

Nikki vs. the world: Politico says Haley behind Trump's anti-Iran policies

Adam Garrie
The Duran
Sat, 14 Oct 2017 14:24 UTC
Rex Tillerson Nikki Haley
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (left) and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley
The US media outlet Politico has published claims based on internal White House leaks, which report that the controversial US Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, is the author of Trump's anti-JCPOA and broader anti-Iran policies, which were conveyed in his speech from the White House, yesterday evening.

Haley is known to be among the most hardened neo-cons in the Trump administration, with strong ties to the anti-Iranian American Israel lobby. Her role as US Ambassador has been far more public than that of most of her predecessors. Many, including myself, suspect that Haley who has no previous foreign policy experience, is using her position at the UN to promote a future entry into elected politics at a Federal level.

According to Politico, in July of this year, Trump grudgingly certified the JCPOA under advice from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James "Mad Dog" Mattis. However, at the time, Haley was said to have volunteered to author an argument which could be employed in the future, which would attempt to justify a US de-certification of the JCPOA.

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Info

'Iran deal not a bargaining chip': Moscow says Trump proved US can break agreements at any time


RT
Sat, 14 Oct 2017 14:03 UTC
Moscow
© Maksim Blinov / Sputnik
The Russian Foreign Ministry has condemned Donald Trump's refusal to adhere to the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, saying that the move poses a threat to international security and nuclear non-proliferation, and exposes the US as an unreliable partner.

"Such policy aimed at the erosion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and its credibility in fact deals a heavy blow to the global non-proliferation efforts," Mikhail Ulyanov, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department on Non-proliferation and Arms Control, told Interfax following Trump's announcement that he would not recertify the Iranian nuclear deal.

Such actions by Washington would only reinforce the belief of other countries, such as North Korea, that there is "no sense in negotiations" with the US as any international agreement, even those backed by the UN Security Council, can be "easily terminated," he added.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Duterte winds down drug war to please 'bleeding hearts and media'


RT
Sat, 14 Oct 2017 13:39 UTC
Philippine police
© Dondi Tawatao / Reuters
President Duterte says he'll no longer lead the crusade against drugs after suspending the Philippine National Police operations against narcotraffic earlier this week. The country's Drug Enforcement Agency will now single handedly lead the 'War on Drugs'.

On Tuesday, Duterte signed a memorandum, tasking the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to be the "sole agency" to battle illegal drugs. The order effectively suspended Oplan Double Barrel and Oplan Tokhang operations again drugs in the country, which were conducted by the Philippine National Police (PNP) for over a year. The National Bureau of Investigation was also ordered to halt its operations on drugs.

Since taking office in June last year, Duterte has made tackling the drug problem in the Philippines his number-one priority.
Read More...
Crusader

Moscow could send more missiles to Kaliningrad in response to 'US military buildup in Poland' - snr Russian MP


RT
Sat, 14 Oct 2017 13:44 UTC
Iskander ballistic missile
© Mikhail Voskresenskiy / SputnikThe Iskander mobile short-range ballistic missile system
Moscow could deploy more forces, including Iskander-M tactical missile systems, to its western regions in response to the US deployment of additional forces to Poland, the head of the Russian parliament's Defense Committee said.

Russia will "most certainly" respond to the ongoing military buildup at its western borders, Vladimir Shamanov, the head of the Russian State Duma's Defense Committee and a former airborne troops commander, said.

"That may result in not only an increase of the number of military personnel, but could also involve strengthening our Iskander-M group, in [Russia's western exclave of] Kaliningrad in particular," he added, as cited by TASS.

The MP once again slammed US actions in Eastern Europe by saying that Washington is building up its troops in the region without consulting with Russia, in violation of international agreements.

Such an angry reaction by the head of the Duma's Defense Committee was provoked by reports that the US recently "covertly"sent a new mechanized brigade to Poland, effectively increasing the overall strength of its military group in the Eastern European state to the level of a mechanized division.
Read More...
Laptop

Microsoft CEO believes N. Korea stole cyber tools from NSA, carried out WannaCry ransomware attack


RT
Sat, 14 Oct 2017 13:09 UTC
Microsoft building
© Matthias Balk / Global Look Press
The head of Microsoft accused North Korea of carrying out the WannaCry cyberattack which crippled 200,000 computers in 150 countries earlier in 2017. Pyongyang used "cyber tools or weapons stolen from the NSA," the company's president believes.

Microsoft President Brad Smith told ITV that he believed "with great confidence" that North Korea was behind the worldwide WannaCry cyberattack.

"I think at this point that all observers in the know have concluded that WannaCry was caused by North Korea using cyber tools or weapons that were stolen from the National Security Agency in the United States," Smith said.
Read More...
Black Cat

Americans' top fear isn't of monsters and zombies - It's the government

Sara G. Miller
Live Science
Thu, 12 Oct 2017 07:21 UTC
American fears
This year, the scariest Halloween costumes in the United States could be corrupt government officials or polluted water - at least according to a new survey ranking the top fears of Americans.

Chapman University released its annual Survey of American Fears yesterday (Oct. 11), and fears about the government and the environment dominated the top 10.

As in 2015 and 2016, this year, corrupt government officials topped the list, with 75 percent of survey respondents reporting that they were either scared or very scared of corrupt officials in the government.

Americans are more afraid of corrupt government officials and "Trumpcare" than they are of zombies this year.
Read More...
Stormtrooper

Continuing revelations of evidence of US military support to terrorists in Syria


Sputnik
Sat, 14 Oct 2017 09:25 UTC
Armed men in uniform
© AFP 2017/ DELIL SOULEIMANArmed men in uniform identified by Syrian Democratic forces as US special operations forces walk in the village of Fatisah in the northern Syrian province of Raqa on May 25, 2016
Evidence continues to emerge that the US military forces in Syria and Iraq are cooperating with the Daesh terrorist group, Iranian political analyst Seyyed Hadi Afghahi told Sputnik. According to Iranian, Syrian and Russian military officials, the US support to terrorists undermine the efforts to end the war in Syria and Iraq.

There is a high probability that the US military forces are cooperating with Daesh (ISIS/ISIL) on the ground in Syria and Iraq, former Iranian diplomat and political analyst Seyyed Hadi Afghahi told Sputnik.

"The documents and videos available on the Internet, as well as the actions of American helicopters aimed at evacuating injured [terrorists] and the relocation of Daesh commanders, prove [this collaboration]," Afghahi told Sputnik Persian. "The US has even gone further and instructs other countries how to act in order not to harm Daesh: Otherwise, they themselves may become the target of American aircraft."

In mid-September, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh reported that having infiltrated American military command and control centers the IRGC obtained evidence of the US support for Daesh terrorist group: "We have documents showing the behavior of the Americans in Iraq and Syria; we know what the Americans did there; what they neglected and how they supported Daesh."
Read More...
Arrow Down

Canada follows the U.S. lead with new sanctions against Russia in its own 'Magnitsky Act'

Roger Annis
New Cold War
Tue, 10 Oct 2017 00:00 UTC
william browder magnitsky widow
Financier William Browder (right) with Magnitsky’s widow and son, along with European parliamentarians.
The Canadian Parliament has approved a 'Magnitsky Act' for Canada. Bill S-226 increases existing threats against the Russian people and government, specifically increasing sanctions against certain leaders of the Russian government.

Bill S-226 was approved unanimously on October 4, 2017. Two hundred and seventy seven members of Parliament voted in favour. Several dozen MPs were not present for the vote, including eight members from the New Democratic Party. But no MP has voiced any opposition to the bill, which has taken some months to wind its way through the House of Commons.
Read More...
Black Cat

Hillary Clinton in talks with Columbia University to take on professor role

Nancy Dillon
New York Daily News
Thu, 12 Oct 2017 09:19 UTC
hillary_clinton
© DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGESThe former U.S. Secretary of State and presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, and a former law professor, is in talks with Columbia University and might take on a professor role.
Hillary Clinton is testing the waters on a return to academia.

The former U.S. Secretary of State and presidential nominee is in talks with Columbia University to take on a formal role at the Ivy League - and potentially house her archives there, multiple sources told the Daily News.

One option under discussion is an esteemed "University Professor" role that would allow Clinton to lecture across a range of schools and departments without the requirement of a strict course load, one source said.

A former law professor, Clinton could maintain the vaunted but vague role indefinitely or decide at a later date she wants to settle at Columbia's celebrated law school or maybe the School of International and Public Affairs, the source said.

Comment: "What Happened" to being a spiritual adviser?

Get your sick bag ready! Rebranded Hillary Clinton sets her sights on the pulpit

Read More...
Fire

Echoes of the Spanish Civil War?

Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
Sat, 14 Oct 2017 02:23 UTC
Spain Catalonia Puigdemont
© Reuters/Albert GeaCatalan President Carles Puigdemont signs a declaration of independence at the Catalan regional parliament in Barcelona, on October 10, 2017.
Puigdemont's political twist could invoke a lethal response from Madrid: suspension of Catalonia's government

Call it theatre of the absurd - with a lethal subtext. Under pressure from all corners - even Donald Tusk, president of the EU Council - in his fateful date with destiny Carles Puigdemont, President of Catalonia, came up with some last-minute judo dialectics. He issued a non-denial denial Unilateral Declaration of Independence from Spain. What was declared was immediately suspended; the Republic of Catalonia lasted for six seconds.

The deft political gambit left Madrid predictably bewildered. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, a.k.a. nano-Franco, issued an ultimatum; you have five days to say if you declared independence or not.

Independent of the answer, Madrid's nuclear option remains on the cards; infamous article 155 of the Constitution, which calls for the suspension of Catalonia's government and parliament from six to 12 months.

Comment: The situation is indeed complex, possible to see from many angles

Read More...