Puppet MastersS


Attention

"A beautiful lush country with warm, friendly people": What we saw in North Korea defies everything Western media wants you to believe

free medical care north korea
© Prof. Tim AndersonA boy gets a cranial scan by a German CT scan machine. All such treatment is free, but purchase of these machines is now blocked by western sanctions.
In the current stand off between Washington and North Korea, western governments and media almost invariably present the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (North Korea) as a crazed aggressor.

Yet the recent confrontation comes 72 years after Roosevelt and Stalin divided the colonised Korean people at the 38th parallel, and 60 years after the US brought nuclear weapons to the peninsula. The US military still occupies southern Korea and, in the current climate, the reunification summits of 2000 and 2007 seem a distant memory.

Rarely do we listen to the North Korean side. Yet it should be no surprise that they have a distinct perspective on the successive Japanese and American attacks, invasions and occupations that have defined their past century. Even when UN commissioned 'human rights' reports are prepared, it is not thought necessary to get the North Korean view, or even to visit the country.

Popular western history blames North Korea for starting the Korean war (1950-53). By this story the US is said to have intervened (killing more than 4 million, according to the DPRK) to 'protect' South Korea from 'communist aggression'.

Comment: Eva Bartlett: Photos from a week in the DPRK
Please bear in mind that this country is among the most vilified on earth - along with Syria and formerly (now-destroyed) Libya, to name a few. Western media does not speak of North Korea's people, nor of the amazing infrastructure, free housing and medical care, impressive agriculture and green energy, and the many things the people of the DPRK have done so well.



Binoculars

President Putin arrives at the Zapad 2017 war games which triggered wave of hysteria in the West

President Vladimir Putin
© SputnikPresident Vladimir Putin seen while surveying the Russia and Belarus Union State armed forces activities at the main stage of the joint strategic exercises "Zapad-2017" on the Luzhsky range, September 18, 2017
Russian President Putin is touring a Leningrad region military range where Belarusian troops are being hosted for the Zapad 2017 drills - criticized by some neighboring countries despite Moscow and Minsk's transparency and invitations given to observers.


The exercises began last week at several locations in Russia and Belarus and will be conducted until Wednesday. Russia sent around 3,000 troops to neighboring Belarus, where they are training at six locations along with 7,000 soldiers and officers of the host nation. Russia welcomed Belarusian troops at three sites, including the Luzhsky range in Leningrad region.

Less than 13,000 troops are taking part in the exercise in total, according to figures from the defense ministries of Russia and Belarus. Around 70 aircraft, 680 armored vehicles, including 250 tanks, 200 artillery guns, and 10 warships have been deployed by the two nations.

The two nations are working on coordination and interoperability of its troops in joint operations. Both stressed that the drill is meant to be purely defensive. They also invited some 90 foreign observers from 60 countries to monitor the exercise.

The stage of the war games that Putin observed on Monday included a simulated cross-border incursion of insurgents who, according to the scenario, hijacked a large number of small planes and drones and tried to use them to attack targets in Russia. Russian and Belarusian troops used Pantsir-S1 and Tunguska air defense systems to take out the improvised enemy air attack. Tanks supported by artillery and aircraft launched an attack on the hundreds-strong groups of militants while a group of airdropped paratroopers prevented them from retreating.

Comment: See also: Russian MoD: Iskander-M missile system test-launched advanced rocket at maximum range


Rocket

Russian MoD: Iskander-M missile system test-launched advanced rocket at maximum range

Iskander-M
© Pavel Lisitsyn / SputnikDeployment of an Iskander-M tactical missile system
Russia's Iskander-M system has carried out a successful test-launch of its advanced missile at maxim range as part of the Zapad 2017 military exercises, the defense ministry said.

The test-launch was performed at the Kapustin Yar range in Russia's southern Astrakhan Region, the ministry said in statement.

"The increased capacity missile covered 480 kilometers and successfully hit its target at the Makat range [in Kazakhstan]," the statement read.

Comment: See also: Sweden and NATO allies launch biggest military exercise in 23 years amid 'Russian threat'


USA

How Hillary lost the Midwest: Democrats weigh in

Svaki komentar suvišan: ”Putin me nije volio zbog moje vjere u demokraciju
The 2016 presidential election is more than 10 months old, but Hillary Clinton is still in denial about how she lost it.

In her new book, What Happened, Clinton is unsparing in her criticism of her vanquisher, Donald Trump, and blames a host of people for her historic loss, including primary foe Bernie Sanders, former FBI Director James Comey, former Vice President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama, and even the media.

One thing Clinton doesn't blame is her own campaign strategy, particularly her campaign's approach to the Midwest. "Some critics have said that everything hinged on me not campaigning enough in the Midwest," she writes. "And I suppose it is possible that a few more trips to Saginaw or a few more ads on the air in Waukesha could have tipped a couple of thousand voters here or there."

Clinton writes that her campaign was fully aware that winning the industrial Midwest was crucial for her, and that she in fact didn't ignore those states.

I've spent the last three months living in and reporting from four crucial counties in Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania for The Race To 2020. All four counties voted for Obama and then flipped to Trump. Clinton's dismissive comments contradicted much of what I've been hearing, so I reached out to Democratic leaders in those counties to get their reactions.

Comment: Her book is little more than a written temper tantrum.


Windsock

5th time's the charm? Hamas-Fatah approach talks to dissolve Gaza government and hold elections

hamasfatah
© telesurtv.net
Hamas, which governs Gaza, says it is ready to begin talks with the Abbas administration to dissolve its administrative committee and hold an election as part of a deal brokered by Egypt. A Fatah official called the statement "positive and promising."

In a statement posted on its website, Hamas has invited rival Fatah government for talks "in response to the generous efforts of Egypt... to achieve Palestinian reconciliation and end the division."

As a step aimed at achieving national unity, the group, considered terrorist by Israel and some other states, has "invited the reconciliation government to come to the Gaza Strip to exercise its functions and carry out its duties," the statement says.

Hamas also expressed a readiness to restart dialogue with the Palestinian Authority without preconditions to form a unity government and fully implement the 2011 Cairo Agreement.

Comment: During the last talks go-round, Israel responded by bombing Gaza and killing civilians.

See also: Israel halts peace talks over Palestinian reconciliation deal


Chess

The Art of the Deal: Iran-style

Map Iran
Tehran busy signing massive infrastructure deals with China's CITIC and European partners

As President Hasan Rouhani prepares to address the UN General Assembly in New York and the Trump administration and allies relentlessly lobby for the Iran nuclear deal to be decertified, Tehran is busy clinching deal after deal with Asians and Europeans.

For the Chinese government, Iran - and Pakistan - are so geopolitically important that they are treated as Home Affairs nations in East Asia (and not the Middle East, in the case of Iran), alongside Japan and Indonesia.

And just like Pakistan via the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Iran is an essential node of the New Silk Roads, a.k.a. Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

For Tehran, Beijing is a major player in international trade/finance. At the Belt and Road forum in Beijing in May, Iran's Economic Affairs and Finance Minister Ali Tayyebnia extensively discussed deals with Chinese Finance Minister Xiao Jie. Chinese companies in construction and energy infrastructure equipment - as well as in steel and chemicals - are present all over Iran.

Enter the deal just signed between China's CITIC and a consortium of Iranian banks worth $10 billion in loans.

Comment:


Briefcase

Gab AI, Inc. files lawsuit, declares war on Google

google versus david
© webbuzz.com.au
Free speech social media site Gab AI, Inc. filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Google for violations of the Clayton Act and Sherman Act. The lawsuit stems from Google removing Gab from its Google Play Android app store on spurious grounds of "hate speech" arising from posts by users.

Google did not accuse Gab of hate speech, but used third party content as a pretext to justify its own business ends. Gab, a startup, aims to bring "folks together of all races, religions, and creeds who share in the common ideals of Western values, individual liberty and the free exchange and flow of information."

According to Gab's attorney, Marc Randazza, Google's conduct is a straightforward violation of the antitrust laws "Google Play and Android have monopoly power in the app store market, and Google's apps YouTube and Google+ compete directly against Gab. Google's intimate partnership with Twitter, which also competes against Gab, makes Google's control of all Android apps available through the Play Store a serious restraint of trade issue."

Randazza noted, "regardless of Google's pretextual justification for removing Gab, the effect is that they used their monopoly power in the app store to block an upstart competitor it in the social media app market, to the detriment of millions of consumers who value free speech."

Comment: Google has become a despicable interface for the PTB, too big and powerful to be touched.


Bad Guys

Myanmar: Diplomatic solutions needed - not another western backed jihad

saudi arabia yemen
Myanmar needs a diplomatic solution - not another western backed jihad.

Ever since the 26th of March, 2015, Saudi Arabia has been committing genocide in Yemen. The innocent people of Yemen have caused a man made cholera epidemic and death from starvation is now a common phenomenon for the children of Yemen, virtually all of whom are Muslim.

Where then are the voices of the so-called global Muslim community, the Ummah, when it comes to speaking up for Yemen who are not being killed by Buddhists but by self-proclaimed fellow Muslims? I mention Bhuddists because many are calling for the Saudis to come to the aid of Muslim Rohingya people of Myanmar. Perhaps such 'Muslim' voices have forgotten that the Saudis are the primary exporter of terrorism to other Muslim countries, including Syria.

Furthermore, Turkey which is saying a lot about Myanmar hasn't lifted a finger for Yemen either.

Frankly, your religion is just a fake cover when you lose your humanity. Humanity is the real essence of religion and those who have no compassion for the people of Yemen have betrayed their own so-called brothers and have revealed their own hypocrisy.

In many respects, the issues in Myanmar are just another way for Israel and the west to distract Muslims from the plight of Palestine, the group of mostly Muslim and some Christian peoples who have suffered the longest under oppression, starvation and ethnic cleansing.

Comment:


Jet3

US coalition admits Deir ez-Zor airstrike, promises to investigate 12 civilian casualties

Mayadin Syria
© iraqinews.com
The US-led coalition has admitted to carrying out an airstrike in Deir ez-Zor province, which reportedly killed at least 12 Syrian civilians. While the coalition did not acknowledge the casualties among locals, it promised to launch an investigation into the incident.

The airstrike near the Syrian city of Mayadin, one of the last Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) strongholds, located 40 kilometers southeast of the Deir ez-Zor provincial capital, was reported on Syrian media on Saturday. The airstrike reportedly killed at least 12 civilians, most of them women and children, and caused significant damage to local properties and residents' homes.

A video, purportedly showing the aftermath of the incident, has been posted online. It shows destroyed and badly damaged buildings, as well as the bodies of women and children. RT was not able to independently verify the authenticity of the footage.

When reached for comment by RT, the US-led coalition stated that the airstrike did take place, but it targeted a terrorist unit in the area. "Coalition military forces conducted one strike near Mayadin, Syria that engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS watercraft," a coalition spokesperson told RT in an emailed statement.

Comment: Lack of intelligence, faulty intelligence, equipment malfunction...these are excuses unrectified. The US skirts accountability while civilians are paying the price.


Propaganda

Russiagate on empty, New York Times drafts an 'unpatriotic act' against Sputnik and RT

NYT/RT/Sput
© New York Times/Sputnik/RT
The New York Times has come out with another lengthy piece about RT and Sputnik, this time under the guise that the subject is once again interesting due to the Russiagate 'scandal' turning from the political sector and veering towards the journalistic sector, having found no pertinent information in the former.

The NYT story is there for all to see and far from hiding the story, many RT and Sputnik employees, guests and listeners/viewers have been sharing it. In this sense the New York Times has made a strong argument in favour of the self-policing nature of the new online methods of consuming media and analysing journalism.

The RT/Sputnik 'sphere' are sharing the NYT piece for the following reasons:
-It conflates opinion with fact

-It fails to highlight the difference between factual reporting and an editorial line which in the context created by the NYT are highly relevant phenomena to differentiate.

-It does not accuse RT or Sputnik of any specific wrongdoing in spite of melodramatic tone

-The style of insults is both unoriginal and by objective standards, emotionally unmoving.
By contrast, the New York Times and their 'sphere' have rarely if never actually shared an entire television program, radio show or written piece by RT or Sputnik, even under the guise of saying 'this is what we do not believe in'. I would personally welcome that, as frankly the biggest scandal in the MSM versus alt-media 'war', is that it is not a war at all.

Comment: The scenario between RT, Sputnik and MSM news outlets, such as the NYT, will continue as long as the public, by habit or ignorance or blind loyalty, neglects its right to legitimate and free press where news, perspective and observation differ with the approved narrative.