Puppet MastersS


Star of David

Sanders says US complicit in Israel's illegal West Bank occupation


Middle East Monitor
Thu, 05 Oct 2017 21:06 UTC
Bernie Sanders
© Gage Skidmore/Flickr
US Senator and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has said that "the US is complicit" in Israel's occupation of the West Bank, but also added that Israel is not "the only party at fault", in an interview with the Intercept last month.

Sanders, who has been criticised by pro-Palestinian activists for largely dismissing the Israeli issue, opened up on US foreign policy in the region, stating that the Trump administration had a responsibility to be balanced in addressing the conflict: "In terms of Israeli-Palestinian relations the United States has got to play a much more even-handed role. Clearly that is not the case right now."

He also expressed his support for decreasing the $3 billion worth of annual US aid granted to Israel, but emphasised that it was the use of funding that was the more important element in fostering relations.

Comment: Sanders gets press for his supposed support for Palestinians, but when the rubber meets the road, Israel gets his vote.

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Propaganda

Facebook and US government have no business creating 'Ministry of Truth'


RT
Wed, 11 Oct 2017 13:54 UTC
facebook
© Jaap Arriens / Global Look Press
We should abandon the idea Facebook or similar companies should be guarding what counts as news and what does not, David Swanson, author and activist, told RT. Dave Lindorff, founding editor of the news site 'This Can't Be Happening,' joins the conversation.

On Saturday, Facebook's Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos defended the company's record regarding allegations the social media giant did not make enough effort to combat the spread of fake news during the US 2016 election cycle.


Responding to tweets from the Washington Post contributor Quinta Jurecic, who condemned Facebook's algorithm, which she said was "designed poorly and irresponsibly and which could have been designed better," Stamos said it is very challenging to single out fake news using computer programs.
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People 2

McCarthyism old & new: Do average Americans really fear Russia and China?

Caleb Maupin
New Eastern Outlook
Wed, 11 Oct 2017 20:39 UTC
Joe McCarthy
© United Pres International / Hulton ArchiveSenator Joseph R. McCarthy, laughing for the camera, displays a newspaper advertisement that proclaims "McCarthyism is Treason to America."
It has become almost cliche to compare the current atmosphere of Russo-Phobia in US politics to the 1950s "Mccarthyism." The sometimes open and sometimes subtle demonization of alleged Chinese influence in Hollywood has drawn similar parallels. While the anti-Russia, anti-China atmospheres of the 1950s and today are very different, in some ways they are quite similar. The commonalities between the two episodes point to certain truths about the psyche of the American people, especially certain demographics, and what those demonizing the two Eurasian superpowers are really afraid of.

An Inner-Party Purge

The opening of Mccarthyism in the USA, much like the current "Russia Investigation" was a fight within a major US political party. Though Mccarthyism eventually moved toward Republicans calling Democrats "soft on Communism," the period opened with the Democratic Party purging its own ranks of a distrusted element.

Prior to the Second World War, Franklin Delano Roosevelt had often stood up to his own party in order to transform the United States. Democrats who opposed him had formed the "American Liberty League" in the 1936 Presidential election. Prominent Democratic leader Al Smith urged opposition to Roosevelt saying that the USA "can have only one capital, Washington or Moscow!" This was, of course, a not so subtle recognition of the fact that Roosevelt's mass movement of supporters had many outspoken Communists and Socialists in its ranks. Though Roosevelt died 1945, after the war, the leftist political army that had backed him remained intact.
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Jet1

Beijing sends fighter jets and harsh words to US following antagonistic 'freedom of navigation' mission


RT
Wed, 11 Oct 2017 20:37 UTC
CNS Huangshan (FFG-570)
© WikipediaCNS Huangshan (FFG-570)
China sent a guided-missile frigate, two fighter jets and a helicopter to warn off the USS 'Chafee' near disputed islands in the South China Sea, accusing the US of damaging the country's sovereignty and security interests in the region.

Beijing condemned the mission of the guided-missile destroyer USS 'Chafee,' which on Tuesday sailed within 16 nautical miles of the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, within the framework of a so-called "freedom of navigation"operation.

"In the face of repeated provocation by the US forces, the Chinese military will further strengthen preparation for combat at sea and in the air and improve the defenses to resolutely defend national sovereignty and security interests," China's Defense Ministry said in a statement, quoted by the South China Morning Post newspaper.
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Evil Rays

CNN on Russian media watchdog's 'monitor list' after it 'committed violations'


Sputnik
Tue, 10 Oct 2017 20:22 UTC
CNN building
© red, white, and black eyes forever / CNN Center RussiaCNN's head office in Russia
The Russian communications watchdog Roskomnadzor gave green light to CNN broadcasting in the country after the news channel has rectified its own errors that have violated Russian media legislation.

The Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) said that CNN had informed the Russian authorities that it had corrected its own errors after the agency found them to be in violation of the regulations.

Roskomnadzor is monitoring the CNN news channel, studying its compliance with Russian registration rules and contractual documents, the agency's head, Alexander Zharov, told Sputnik on Tuesday.

Comment:

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Bad Guys

Senate Judicial Committee makes complete fools of themselves arguing over Steele dossier

Mark Hosenball and Jonathan Landay
Reuters
Wed, 11 Oct 2017 18:59 UTC
Charles Grassley
Republican Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee
Three congressional committees are scuffling over a former British spy's reports that are central to investigations into U.S. allegations that Russia tried to help Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, people involved in the inquiries said.

The dossier assembled by former MI6 officer Christopher Steele outlined Russian financial and personal links to Trump's campaign and associates. The Senate Intelligence Committee and special counsel Robert Mueller are looking into possible collusion between Russia and Trump's campaign and Mueller's investigators have met with Steele.
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Георгиевская ленточка

According to UN report West's anti-Russian sanctions have failed

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Wed, 11 Oct 2017 19:52 UTC
EU Russia sanctions
UN report says Western sanctions have had limited economic impact; questions their legality

Though it has gone almost entirely unreported in the Western media, a report provided by a UN Special Rapporteur to the UN Human Rights Council appears to the first serious attempt by an international authority to assess the effectiveness of the sanctions the Western powers have imposed on Russia.

The report's conclusions are that the sanctions have been ineffective in that they have done only marginal damage to the Russian economy and have been significantly more costly to the EU's economy than to Russia's, though they have caused real hardship to many individuals both in the EU and in Russia.

Most controversial of all, the report casts doubt on the legality of the whole sanctions regime imposed by the West on Russia.

Comment: Russia's calm adjustment to the West's illegal actions show what is possible when sane people are in charge of a country.

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Target

Washington Post creates more anti-Russia Fake News by publishing false history of Soviet Union


Sputnik
Wed, 11 Oct 2017 19:37 UTC
russian troops
© AFP 2017/ KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV
Fake news appears to have lost its luster for the Washington Post, which has gone a step further and decided to stretch to some fake history; a recent op-ed presenting a distorted account of the Soviet Union has caused much discussion and criticism on social media.

Hot on the heels of claiming that "Russian operatives" aimed to spread disinformation on the internet during last year's presidential campaign, the Washington Post has sought to bolster its argument with an article about the USSR that has baffled commentators with its complete lack of historical accuracy.

Alleging that Russia has tried to "gin up racial discord" in America, the op-ed piece tries to link this to the history of the Soviet Union. According to author Terrell Jermaine Starr, "none of us should be surprised that Russia exploited American racism to achieve its own foreign policy objectives."
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Heart

Putin lovingly receives pet Turkmen shepherd dog from president of Turkmenistan


RT
Wed, 11 Oct 2017 19:29 UTC
putin shephard dog
© Maxim Shemetov / Reuters
The president of Turkmenistan has presented Vladimir Putin with a belated birthday gift following their summit Wednesday - a home-bred Turkmen shepherd dog.

The Russian president, who celebrated his 65th birthday Saturday, had been meeting his Turkmen counterpart Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov in Sochi to discuss energy markets when he was presented with the breed known as an 'alabai.'

Native to Central Asia, the dog is officially listed as part of Turkmenistan's national heritage and is traditionally used by shepherds to protect their flocks.

The alabai becomes the third pet in the Putin household, and another in a series of gifts presented by foreign leaders.

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Attention

Bloomberg audaciously smears Saudi campaign to contain radical clerics as 'attack on free speech'

Vivian Nereim and Glen Carey
Bloomberg
Wed, 11 Oct 2017 18:14 UTC
Mohammed bin Salman
© Reuters / Charles PlatiauSaudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Comment: The mainstream media has a long history of being silent over Saudi Arabia's infamously atrocious behavior. The kingdom starts to crackdown on radical Wahhabi clerics going irate over woman being allowed to drive, and suddenly Bloomberg is up-in-arms over the 'Repressive Kingdom of Fear'! Best of luck with that.


Few would describe Mohammed Al-Arefe as a defender of women's rights. In one infamous video, the Saudi cleric explains exactly how a man should beat his wife.

But when the government decided to allow women to drive cars, up popped Al-Arefe on state TV to say what a good idea that was. "A modest woman will remain modest whether she drives or not," he told the nation. Other religious leaders, once hostile to any departure from traditional ways, joined the chorus of approval.

The kingdom's powerful preachers were getting with the program. A couple of weeks earlier, they'd seen what happens to those who don't. More than a dozen prominent clerics, activists and businessmen were arrested and accused of "pushing an extremist agenda."

Comment: Bloomberg is conflating a number of different issues, which is understandable given their very limited grasp on reality. They do however finally touch on the real reason the West is unhappy with Saudi Arabia, which is because the kingdom is exploring economic relations with Russia.

For more detailed analyses over this issue see:

Saudi Arabia's 'women drivers' may signal a great shift in geopolitics, but a dangerous shadow looms
Pepe Escobar: The House of Saud bows to the new sheriff in town - Putin

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