Puppet MastersS


Black Cat

Just go away already! Former president Obama keeps stirring the political pot

W. James Antle III
Washington Examiner
Mon, 11 Sep 2017 16:54 UTC
Obama
© Washington Examiner
The Obama rapid response team quickly swung into action against the latest Republican move on immigration last week. The new policy was "wrong." It was "self-defeating." It was "cruel." It wasn't "required legally," but was "a political decision."

Only two things were unusual about this strong Democratic pushback: Barack Obama was no longer in office at the time - and yet all the above responses came from the former president himself.

If the 2016 presidential election seems like a never-ending contest, with vanquished Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton constantly relitigating the campaign and criticizing the man who ultimately bested her, the tug-of-war between President Trump and his immediate predecessor has been just as intense.

"He is like our president-in-exile," joked a Democratic operative who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the former president. "His profile makes sense, because while we Democrats and really the whole country owe President Obama a lot, he does have some things to answer for in terms of our current situation" with Republicans controlling both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.
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Eye 1

Mass surveillance advocate Adam I. Klein quietly nominated to "protect" your privacy rights

Carey Wedler
Mint Press News
Mon, 04 Sep 2017 16:08 UTC
man holds up his iPhone during a rally in support of data privacy
© AP/Eric RisbergA man holds up his iPhone during a rally in support of data privacy outside the Apple store in San Francisco.
The president recently nominated a staunch advocate of mass surveillance to chair one of the few barriers standing between intrusive government spying and the American people's privacy.

Though outrage over mass surveillance swept the United States after Edward Snowden's revelations in 2013, there is little discussion of these invasive practices just four years later.This apathy comes despite former President Barack Obama's move to expand to information sharing between agencies just days before Trump took office and after the Trump administration signaled its desire to continue widespread surveillance.

Amid this lack of attention toward the NSA, the president recently nominated a staunch advocate of mass surveillance to chair one of the few barriers standing between intrusive government spying and the American people's privacy. The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) was created in 2004 at the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission and was intended "to help the executive branch balance national security priorities with individual rights," the Intercept reported earlier this year.
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Gear

Rebuilding: Damascus to buy Iranian power generators for devastated Aleppo


RT
Tue, 12 Sep 2017 15:54 UTC
People walk along a damaged neighbourhood in the northern Syrian town of al-Bab, Syria
© Khalil Ashawi / ReutersPeople walk along a damaged neighborhood in the northern Syrian town of al-Bab, Syria March 6, 2017.
Syria has signed a contract to buy Iranian power generation equipment for the country's war-torn city of Aleppo, according to Syrian state news agency.

The agreement was reportedly signed by Iran's state-run Mabna company during a visit to Tehran by the Syrian Electricity Minister Zuhair Kharboutli.

The deal is valued at €130 million and aims to provide 125 megawatts of electricity to the biggest city in Syria.

The minister also signed memorandums of understanding to import five generators for the coastal region of Latakia and restore the electrical infrastructure nationwide.

The new plant will reportedly generate 540 megawatts.

Earlier this week, the ministry said Syria and Iran would cooperate in renewable solar and wind energy.
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Arrow Down

This is why America's word means nothing

James ONeill
New Eastern Outlook
Sat, 09 Sep 2017 15:38 UTC
United States Russia flag
Recent events confirm the long held view of many that adherence to international law is, for the Americans, at best an optional extra rather than being an essential component of conduct between States.

The first example relates to the current standoff between the US and North Korea. Article 2 (3) of the UN Charter, a document the US was instrumental in formulating, requires that:
"All members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means...."
Article 2 (4) further provides that:
"All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity .....of any State....."
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Rocket

Russia successfully fires Yars ICBM at test target 6,000 km away


RT
Tue, 12 Sep 2017 15:38 UTC
RS-24 Yars system
© Global Look Press
Russia has successfully completed a test launch of a new-generation RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from a silo at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia.

"The main purpose of the launch is to confirm the reliability of rockets of the same class. The warheads successfully reached their target - the Kura testing range in Kamchatka. All aims of the test were achieved," said a statement from Russia's Defense Ministry.

The RS-24 Yars, which is equipped with three to six warheads, is capable of hitting different targets up to 12,000km away. It was first tested a decade ago, and has been in use by Russia's strategic forces for the past seven years.

The solid-fuel rocket is an upgraded version of the Topol-M missile, and can be launched both from the ground and from a vehicle.
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Bad Guys

Arrogant Killary so sure of election win she bought a house for her White House staff

Cortney O'Brien
TownHall
Mon, 11 Sep 2017 15:27 UTC
hillary arrogance
© Associated Press
We heard that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had already popped champagne on Nov. 8, 2016 in full confidence that she had won the election. Yet, the champagne lost its fizz and the victory balloons were packed back into their boxes as it became abundantly clear she had lost to Donald Trump.

It appears Clinton jumped the gun on a piece of real estate as well. In an interview with CBS News's Jane Pauley this weekend, the two chatted about a $1.16 million three-bedroom, ranch-style home next to the Clintons' house in Chappaqua, NY. It was initially believed to be for their family, but we now learn it was supposed to be occupied by Clinton's eventual White House staff.
"Well, I know a lot about what it takes to move a president, and I thought I was going to win," Clinton said.

"The Clintons had acquired the house next door to accommodate White House staff and security during a second Clinton administration," Pauley narrated.

Pauley asked Clinton if that decision haunted her.

"No, I'm very happy we did it," Clinton said.
A little embarrassing, but according to her she has no regrets.
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Bacon

AfD co-chair called Merkel 'pig & puppet,' stirs pre-election scandal


RT
Mon, 11 Sep 2017 15:14 UTC
Alice Weidel, German Chancellor Angela Merkel
© ReutersAfD top candidate for the upcoming general election Alice Weidel, German Chancellor Angela Merkel
The co-chair of the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is under fire after the publication of an allegedly leaked email, in which she reportedly calls the Chancellor a "pig tasked with keeping Germany down." The politician dismissed the letter as a fake.

Just weeks before the German parliamentary elections, Alice Weidel, who is also one of the two leading candidates from her party, found herself at the center of a high-profile political storm after the Die Welt daily published the email, in which she allegedly cynically questioned German sovereignty and accused the German government of deliberately instigating a civil war.
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Star of David

Strange bedfellows? Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman makes historic "secret" visit to Israel

Tyler Durden
Zerohedge
Mon, 11 Sep 2017 21:28 UTC
Netanyahu and Mohammed bin Salman
Left: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Right: Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
Clearly the war in Syria and the international push for regime change against Assad has created strange alliances in the Middle East over the past few years. Among the strangest bedfellows are the Israelis and Saudis. It's no secret that common cause in Syria of late has led the historic bitter enemies down a pragmatic path of unspoken cooperation as both seem to have placed the break up of the so-called "Shia crescent" as their primary policy goal in the region. But that's perhaps why few pundits seemed overly shocked when Israeli media late last week began reporting that a Saudi prince made a secret visit to Israel, in spite of the fact that the kingdom does not recognize the Jewish state, and the two sides do not have diplomatic relations.

Last Wednesday (9/6) Israel's state funded Kol Yisrael radio service made cryptic reference to the "secret" yet historic visit while withholding names and specifics. "An emir of the Saudi royal court visited the country secretly in recent days and discussed with senior Israeli officials the idea of advancing regional peace," the station reported. It added further that, "Both the Prime Minister's Office and the Foreign Ministry refused to comment on the issue."

Comment: More on the cozy relationship between Saudi Arabia and Israel:

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Attention

Federal Police accuse Brazilian President Temer of corruption

Paul Antonopoulos
Fort Russ News
Tue, 12 Sep 2017 15:27 UTC
Michel Temer
Federal Police in Brazil have said that President Michel Temer and other members of his Brazilian Democratic Party Movement Party, PMDB, constituted as a "criminal organization" because of the level of their corruption.

Temer and those involved have "directly or indirectly to obtain improper advantages in areas of the public administration directly or indirectly" according to a report submitted by the Federal Police to the Supreme Court.

The report found that Temer along with the Minister of the Secretariat Moreira Franco, Chief Minister Eliseu Padilha and former Minister Geddel Vieira Lima raised funds from private businesses while ex-President of the Lower House Eduardo Cunha and former Minister Henrique Alves were also identified as members of PMDB's "illicit organization," TeleSUR reported.
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Info

Germany freezes arms exports to Turkey while Ankara says it weakens anti-terrorism fight


RT
Tue, 12 Sep 2017 15:07 UTC
German automatic weapon
© Hannibal Hanschke / Reuters
Germany has put all big arms exports requests from Turkey on hold, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said, amid the bitter dispute with Ankara. Turkey said the decision weakens Turkey's fight against terrorism.

Gabriel's comments came after German media revealed that Berlin still sells sophisticated weapons and ammunition worth millions of euros to its long-standing NATO ally.

"We have put on hold all big requests [for arms exports] that Turkey has sent to us, and these are really not a few," Gabriel said during a panel discussion organized by Handelsblatt newspaper, as cited by Reuters.

Berlin is aware of its obligation to send arms to its NATO ally if requested, Gabriel said. However, he added, this was currently not possible, with some exceptions such as exports of vehicles.
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