Puppet MastersS


Sheriff

Oklahoma State Senator arrested for soliciting sex with a minor

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Thu, 16 Mar 2017 23:16 UTC
Senator Shortey arrested
© Sue Ogrocki / APOklahoma state Senator Ralph Shortey, speaks during a Senate committee meeting in Oklahoma City on Feb. 22, 2017.
Moments ago, the Cleveland County District Attorney's Office announced three felony charges against State Sen. Ralph Shortey, including engaging in child prostitution. The charges come after Shortey was caught in a motel room last week with an underage boy.

According to the DA's office, Shortey has been charged with three felony counts, including,
  • Engaging in child prostitution
  • Engaging in prostitution within 1,000 feet of a church.
  • Transporting minor for prostitution/lewdness.
The investigation was launched when the teen boy's parents called police after finding disturbing text messages between him and their son. When police began their investigation into the texts, they found Senator Ralph Shortey in a motel room with the boy.

According to KOCO 5, on Thursday they obtained a search warrant that was served during the investigation. In the search warrant, police said they found the juvenile's Kindle Fire tablet that contained conversation between him and Shortey pertaining to sexual activities in exchange for money. The tablet was seized as evidence.
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Dollar

AIPAC funded $60K to architect of Trump's Muslim ban

Eli Clifton
LobeLog
Wed, 15 Mar 2017 00:00 UTC
Frank Gaffney
© YouTubeFrank Gaffney, founder and president of the Center for Security Policy
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has been noticeably quiet about the Trump administration's slowness to denounce the spike in anti-Semitic attacks and bomb threats, its nomination of an ambassador to Israel who described J Street as "worse than kapos," and its ties to ethno-nationalists like White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon and senior adviser Stephen Miller. But AIPAC has done more than just tolerate the U.S. tilt toward extreme and often xenophobic views. Newly released tax filings show that the country's biggest pro-Israel group financially contributed to the Center for Security Policy, the think-tank that played a pivotal role in engineering the Trump administration's efforts to impose a ban on Muslim immigration.

Comment: It is reasonable to suspect AIPAC of funding anti-Muslim bigotry. The more charged the issue becomes, the quicker and stronger the default occurs within the US to support Israel. Pavlovian conditioning to specific stimuli all round. AIPAC hired. Gaffney obliged. US hamstrung.

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Document

Republicans introduce bills authorizing new military force against ISIS


RT
Thu, 16 Mar 2017 20:45 UTC
fighter jet
© Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters
A new House bill was introduced that would create a new Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Islamic State and repeal AUMFs passed after September 11, 2001. A companion bill was introduced in the Senate last week.

"The Constitution grants Congress the power of declaring war, and we need to take that obligation seriously," House Representative Jim Banks said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Rather than continuing to fight ISIS under an authorization passed by Congress in 2001 to fight Al-Qaeda, it is time to pass a new authorization for the use of military force against ISIS. Congress should take a fresh look at the scourge of ISIS and evaluate the best strategy to defeat these radical extremists."
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Evil Rays

Former CIA officer: All CIA agents taught to lie - primary mission is to protect the agency

Alex Thomas
Intellihub
Tue, 14 Mar 2017 22:44 UTC
John Kiriakou
Former CIA counterterrorism officer John Kiriakou tells it the way it is.
CIA officials have loyalty to the agency above the Constitution?

Since the election of Donald Trump we have witnessed an unprecedented attack on his presidency carried out by forces within the intelligence community that have collectively become known as the "deep state".

For months intelligence operatives have continually leaked classified material to establishment media outlets who have then ran with the anonymously sourced information in attack piece after attack piece against the new president.

Laughably, some in the mainstream media have even insinuated that the deep state may not actually be real, a truly absurd notion especially when you consider that these same media outlets are openly getting information from the very operatives they are now claiming may not be real.

The existence of an entrenched "deep state" within the United States has long been known and now, with the Trump Administration under unprecedented attack by these forces, many patriots within the intelligence community are coming forward with even more confirmation that the deep state does indeed exist.

Comment: See also:

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Quenelle

French parliament's Defense Committee member says EU should boost military role in Syria, work with Russia


Sputnik
Thu, 16 Mar 2017 20:41 UTC
Jacques Lamblin, a member of the French parliament's Defense Committee
© AFP 2017/ JACQUES DEMARTHONJacques Lamblin, a member of the French parliament's Defense Committee
Europe should enhance its military engagement in the fight against terrorist organizations in Syria, while coordinating its efforts with Russia, Jacques Lamblin, a member of the French parliament's Defense Committee, told Sputnik on Thursday.

"I belong to the defense committee, I believe that Europe, before the Russian intervention, has been too lightly engaged in Syria. The West should be more involved militarily in Syria cooperating with Russia," Lamblin said.

The French lawmaker, who is currently on a visit in Moscow along with his colleagues, noted a positive role Russia played in Syria, especially in the joint fight with the Syrian army against the Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh) jihadist group, outlawed in Russia.

"Russia was right to support the Syrian government and the Syrian Army in this fight... IS had been enlarging and expanding its influence, but after Russia got involved in Syria, Islamic State started to lose ground," Lamblin said.

Comment: See also: Putin: Foreign diplomats should 'reject chaos' & join Russia in creating a fair world

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Bomb

Taiwan wants advanced arms, produces military budget to counter 'China threat'


RT
Thu, 16 Mar 2017 18:48 UTC
Chinese Flags, military
© beforeitsnews.com
Taiwan plans to upgrade its military with cutting-edge weapons in the face of a growing Chinese "threat," the island's Defense Ministry said on Thursday, AP reports. It has also announced a boost to its military budget. To counter the Chinese military buildup, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry wants to upgrade its F-16 fighter jets and revamp its navy with submarines and fast attack craft. It is also seeking to acquire more surface-to-air missiles as well as cutting-edge stealth aircraft from the US.

Speaking to lawmakers in Taipei, Defense Minister Feng Shih-kuan also mentioned that his ministry is examining possibilities for "asymmetric warfare" for air and sea combat, including the use of drones.

Comment: Well, things don't quite add up. Taiwan wants to militarize against China - the difference of an island against a country the size of a small continent; $11.4B versus $151B military spending - no worries there; the USA in a double binder: 'One China' policy versus obliged to defend Taiwan - even if it is against China?; China wants to keep Taiwan due to "fraternal bonding" - unrequited by the Taiwanese. Divorce mediation? Something in the egg rolls?

If China were to relinquish Taiwan, it would greatly affect its claim to the South China Sea islands. The uptick in sea and air strength is to reinforce this claim - more towards the pesky US than the Taiwanese. So far, just between C and T, the US has been almost neutral and abiding by status quo. But throw in an arms deal...now yer talkin' money...things could change.

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Attention

Amnesty International to President Trump: 'Arming Saudi Arabia & Bahrain risks complicity with war crimes'


RT
Thu, 16 Mar 2017 19:28 UTC
A view of destruction in a street in the southwestern city of Taiz, Yemen March 16, 2017
© Anees Mahyoub / ReutersA view of destruction in a street in the southwestern city of Taiz, Yemen March 16, 2017
US President Donald Trump should cancel impending weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, since this could put civilians in even greater danger and implicate the US in war crimes, Amnesty International said in a letter sent to the president.

"The deals would arm members of a military coalition that has attacked thousands of civilians in Yemen and violated international humanitarian law," the human rights group said in a press release published on Tuesday.

The organization noted that its experts found unexploded US bombs and "identifiable fragments of exploded US bombs" among the destroyed civilian buildings in Yemen.

If the US approves the deals while banning Yemenis from coming to the US, it would be like "throwing gasoline on a house fire and locking the door on [the] way out," according to Margaret Huang, Amnesty International USA executive director.

Comment: Further reading:

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Snakes in Suits

Hawaiian federal judge issues nationwide restraining order against Trump's second travel ban


RT
Wed, 15 Mar 2017 22:57 UTC
Hawaii district court
© Hugh Gentry / ReutersHawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin (R) arrives at the U.S. District Court Ninth Circuit in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Hours before President Donald Trump's revised ban on issuing visas to travelers from six majority-Muslim countries was set to go into effect, a federal judge in Hawaii issued a temporary restraining order preventing the ban's implementation nationwide. "Plaintiffs have met their burden of establishing a strong likelihood of success on the merits of their Establishment Clause claim," Judge Derrick Watson wrote in his decision Wednesday, referring to the First Amendment's requirement of the separation of church and state.

Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin argued the ban discriminated on the basis of nationality, exceeded the president's authority and was "motivated by anti-Muslim animus." He previously referred to the executive order as "Muslim Ban 2.0"

Trump responded to the ruling during a rally in Nashville, Tennessee, Wednesday evening, vowing to take the case to the Supreme Court if necessary. "The order he blocked was a watered down version of the first order," which "should have never been blocked to start with," Trump told the crowd.

Comment: The restraining order accuses President Trump of illegal actions. Presidential bans are not illegal. All presidents from Reagan to Obama have used them multiple times on their authority, at their discretion, authorized by the Immigration and Nationality Act. It should be "end of story." Unfortunately this restraining order is a 38-page diatribe, nearly all of it irrelevant.

See also: California joins multi-state lawsuit against Trump's travel ban

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Cardboard Box

Package sent to German finance ministry contained explosives - police - Update


RT
Wed, 15 Mar 2017 19:23 UTC
Police ribbon
© Lukas Schulze / DPA / Global Look Press
A suspicious package found early Wednesday at the German finance ministry in Berlin contained explosives, according to police.

The package was addressed to Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble but was flagged by security services in the ministry's post office, according to German newspaper, Bild. Wires were seen protruding from the package as it passed through an X-ray machine, the report said.

An evacuation of the scene was carried out before the package was removed and taken to Grunewald by explosive experts for examination, reports Bild. There have been no reports of injuries so far.

Comment: A militant Greek group has claimed responsibility for Wednesday's parcel bomb mailed to the German finance ministry in Berlin, claiming the failed attack was part of a campaign they dubbed 'Nemesis Project.'
"We still have the rage. We sent the package to Germany's finance minister as part of the second act of Nemesis Plan," Conspiracy of Fire Cells said in a statement posted on a radical anti-establishment website. "Nothing is over, everything continues."


The parcel was mailed from an Athens post office to German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble. He took a hardline stance during Greece's financial crisis, insisting on the implementation of austerity measures.

The parcel was intercepted by the finance ministry's mail department. It did not explode, but police confirmed it contained explosives.


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Star of David

UN labels Israel 'apartheid regime', Israel retorts UN like Nazis

Allison Deger
Mondoweiss
Wed, 15 Mar 2017 00:00 UTC
sign end apartheid
© wordpress.com
A United Nations agency today labeled Israel an "apartheid regime," in a report that found the country guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt" of the "grave charge" of operating systematic discrimination and oppression against the Palestinian people. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) published the document, Israeli Practices towards the Palestinian, People and the Question of Apartheid, [PDF]. ESCWA is mandated to review Israeli aggressions.

The findings of the report are non-binding and reflect contributions from professor of political science at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale Virginia Tilley and former UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk. It concluded UN organs should sanction Israel and coordinate with civil society groups in boycott campaigns.

Apartheid, the report described, is "a crime against humanity" and defined as:
"[I]nhuman acts...committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial groups or groups and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime."
While neither Jews [n]or Palestinians are racial groups, the report stated, the apartheid standard was met because ESCWA found a "racial character" to the policies of the Israeli government enacted toward both Jews and Palestinians. This is expressed inside of Israel through separate categories for a citizen's "nationality" (Jewish or Arab) and in the occupied territories by the absence of citizenship for Palestinians.

Israel was said to have divided Palestinians into different spheres of governance, each with fewer rights than Jewish-Israelis. Sub-sections of the report outline Palestinians citizens of Israel, West Bank and Gaza residents, Jerusalem residents, and external refugees, all of whom have unequal rights in comparison to Jewish-Israeli citizens. "Strategic fragmentation of the Palestinian people is the principal method by which Israel imposes an apartheid regime," ESCWA said. Individual treatment to each group may not meet the apartheid definition, when taken together the report said, it does.

The UN body regarded Israel as producing "one comprehensive regime developed for the purpose of ensuring the enduring dominion over non-Jews in all land exclusively under Israeli control in whatever category."

Comment: The march to apartheid has been going on for decades and should have been addressed by the UN long ago. One question: What took them so long?

Aljazeera includes the following:
The report is a "detailed analysis of Israeli legislation, policies and practices" that highlights how Israel "operates an apartheid regime", including through "demographic engineering".
  • Palestinian citizens of Israel are described as "subjected to oppression on the basis of not being Jewish", it said.
  • Palestinians in East Jerusalem similarly experience "discrimination in access to education, healthcare, employment, residency and building rights", as well as "expulsions and home demolitions".
  • Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are governed by "military law" alongside Jewish settlers "governed by Israeli civil law", the report said.
  • Palestinian refugees and exiles are "prohibited from returning to their homes in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory" on the basis that they "constitute a 'demographic threat' and that their return would alter the demographic character of Israel".
As well as urging governments to back BDS, the report recommends that the UN and its member states should "revive the Special Committee against Apartheid, and the United Nations Centre Against Apartheid (1976-1991)", which would then "report authoritatively on Israeli practices and policies relating to the crime of apartheid".

The report could contribute to an already deteriorating relationship between the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the United Nations.

Israel's UN envoy Danny Danon issued a statement condemning the report late on Wednesday. "The attempt to smear and falsely label the only true democracy in the Middle East by creating a false analogy is despicable and constitutes a blatant lie," he said.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, when asked about the report, said it was published without any prior consultations with the UN Secretariat and its views do not reflect those of the secretary-general.


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