Puppet MastersS


Footprints

Might Trump's 'troop surge' in Afghanistan bleed over into Indian-China stand-off?

Wayne Madsen
Intrepid Report
Thu, 31 Aug 2017 00:00 UTC
India/China
© jagran.com
There are intelligence indications and warnings that President Trump's "troop surge" in Afghanistan may also include the deployment of U.S. special warfare troops to the Indian side of the Chinese border. Currently, Indian and Chinese troops are facing off in a dangerous game of brinkmanship in three regions of the Himalayan range: the tri-border Dokalam Pass between China, the Indian state of Sikkim, and Bhutan; the Lipulekh Pass between the Indian state of Uttarakhand, Nepal, and China; and the Pangong Lake area of Ladakh in the territory of Kashmir, sovereignty over which is disputed between India, China, and Pakistan. The Pangong Lake stand-off resulted in a rock throwing spree between Chinese and Indian border troops last week.

The small armed forces of Bhutan are also involved in the Dokalam stand-off on the side of India. Since 1949, India has served as the protecting power over Bhutan, but a recent offer of $10 billion in Chinese economic aid to Bhutan has the kingdom thinking twice about its relationship with India.

Pentagon and CIA propaganda machinery are already citing China as the aggressor in all three Himalayan flash points, not surprising since the Trump administration has made hostility toward China a cornerstone of its foreign policy. Trump also has a friendly, albeit cautious, relationship with Indian right-wing nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Trump and Modi share the goal of ensuring China's ambitious "One Belt One Road" global economic initiative remains a pipe dream.

The word among diplomats in Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital, is that India would not have dared to stand up to China militarily without guarantees of American military support. That support is rumored to be included as a covert part of the U.S. troop "surge" in nearby Afghanistan. Moreover, Japan, a U.S. ally, has thrown its support behind Bhutan and India in the Dokalam stand-off with China.

Comment: The US continues to see itself as the universal default but only after it creates the circumstances to justify its intrusion.

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Better Earth

From concept to partnership: BRICS members to build future through cooperation

Li Hui from People's Daily
Global Research
Tue, 29 Aug 2017 17:45 UTC
BRICS flags
The world is now casting its eyes on Xiamen, the coastal city in China's Fujian Province, as it will host the ninth BRICS Summit themed "deepening the BRICS partnership and opening up a brighter future" in early September.

"BRICS", since its birth as a new concept, has evolved into a cooperative mechanism guided by the regular meeting of leaders from the five emerging markets-Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The mechanism also involves a series of exchanges and dialogue activities, including regular ministerial meetings, business forums and think-tank forums.

Over the past decade, the BRICS bloc has transformed itself from a concept to an entity by strengthening dialogue, deepening cooperation and establishing the New Development Bank (NDB) and Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA).

The members, as a result, have contributed much to stimulating world economic growth, reforming and improving global economic governance and boosting democratization of international relations.
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Megaphone

Trump looking for bipartisan support for tax reform plan to boost middle Class and 'bring back Main Street'


RT
Thu, 31 Aug 2017 17:51 UTC
trump
© Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
President Donald Trump is counting on bipartisan support for his tax reform plan, which he says will boost the economy and the middle-class. And, he may be in luck, as Democratic lawmakers facing reelection in states Trump won feel the political pressure.

At a manufacturer in Springfield, Missouri, Trump told an audience of supporters that he was going to bring back Main Street with a tax plan that he said is "pro-growth, pro-jobs, pro-worker and pro-American."

"We're here today to launch our plans to bring back Main Street by reducing the crumbling burden on our companies and on our workers," Trump said. "The foundation of our job creation agenda is to fundamentally reform our tax code for the first time in more than 30 years."

Trump urged members of Congress to get behind his efforts, saying that this is a "once in a generation opportunity to deliver real tax reform for everyday hard-working Americans."
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Dollar

Real 'fake helicopter money': CIA counterfeits currencies to destroy economies of target nations

Terje Maloy
Global Research
Wed, 30 Aug 2017 19:06 UTC
Wheelbarrow-money
Cash in a wheelbarrow
Why is it that countries are in the US cross hairs so often experience hyperinflation? In times of economic difficulties, such as war, it is normal to experience significant inflation. But in the countries mentioned as examples below, inflation was off the chart, where money became worth less than the paper it was printed on.

From time to time the New York Times publishes articles that contain extraordinary revelations, that show the real working methods of the CIA. These revelations are normally once-off news, never to be followed up. In 1992, the newspaper published an article with the headline 'Fake-Money Flood Is Aimed At Crippling Iraq's Economy', which had some extraordinary revelations:
Iraq's economy is the target of an American-led destabilization campaign to pour vast amounts of counterfeit currency into the country, Arab and Western officials here say.

The fake dinar notes are being smuggled across the Jordanian, Saudi, Turkish and Iranian borders in an effort to undermine the Iraqi economy, said the officials here who closely monitor the situation inside Iraq. Those officials said counterfeit dollars are being smuggled into Iraq in smaller quantities to further confound the banking system. The officials, who insisted on not being identified, said the countries behind the separate counterfeiting operations included Western nations, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Israel.

The fake currency has contributed to Iraq's severe inflation problem, which is aggravated by the fact that the Iraqi Government is printing money at uncontrolled speed to pay inflated salaries and cover the costs of reconstruction.

A Saudi official, who insisted on not being identified, concurred with the reports, saying that "all borders are being used."
To properly understand this tactic of the CIA, it is worth noticing that the target country, Iraq, already was under severe economic stress. A common theme in the targeted countries are pre-existing weaknesses that become strongly exacerbated by hyperinflation. The countries have been excluded from the international financial markets, thus making loans impossible.
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Attention

Defense Secretary Mattis begins signing orders to send additional US troops to Afghanistan


RT
Thu, 31 Aug 2017 17:38 UTC
US soldiers
© Omar Sobhani / Reuters
US Defense Secretary James Mattis has announced he's signed an order to send more troops into Afghanistan. The move comes after the Pentagon confirmed it has way more troops in the country than previously admitted.

Speaking at a news conference, Mattis confirmed the reinforcements would be arriving in Afghanistan within the next few days, according to Defense News correspondent Aaron Mehta, who is present at the briefing. Mattis did not mention exact numbers or specifics though.

"Yes, I have signed orders but it is not complete. In other words I have signed some of the (orders for) troops that will go and we are identifying the specific ones," Mattis said at the conference.

"By and large this is to enable the Afghan force to fight more effectively. It is more advisers, it is more enablers, fire support, for example."
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Snakes in Suits

US judge blocks Texas 'sanctuary cities' law, state to appeal the decision


RT
Thu, 31 Aug 2017 17:30 UTC
judge gavel
© West Coast Surfer / Global Look Press
A US district judge has blocked enforcement of major parts of a Texas "sanctuary cities" law, two days before it was set to be enforced. Republican Governor Gregg Abbott says the state will appeal the decision to the Supreme Court if necessary.

US District Judge Orlando Garcia ruled Wednesday evening that Texas Senate Bill 4, which requires local law enforcement to assist federal immigration agents, "will erode public trust and make many communities and neighborhoods less safe," the Dallas Morning News reported.

The Republican-backed law was scheduled to be enforced starting Friday, September 1.

The 94-page ruling also specifically blocked a provision that prevented local law enforcement departments from enacting policies that "materially limit" federal enforcement of immigration laws.

The court order partially leaves in place SB 4's provision allowing police to inquire upon a detainee's immigration status. The ruling restricts what police can do afterward, however. They must only share that information with federal authorities.

"In sum, SB 4 gives local officers discretion to inquire and share information but it does not provide them with discretion to act upon the information that they may obtain," the judge wrote.

"Because of this ruling," Texas Governor Gregg Abbot wrote in response, "gang members and dangerous criminals, like those who have been released by the Travis County Sheriff, will be set free to prey upon our communities."
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Arrow Down

Pepe Escobar - Why Jihadism won't be allowed to die

Pepe Escobar
Sputnik News
Thu, 31 Aug 2017 17:31 UTC
Flag of the Islamic State
© Sputnik/Andrey SteninFlag of the Islamic State in the conflict zone in Latakia, Syria.
A serious working hypothesis is being discussed for a while now among independent geopolitical analysts. Here it is, in a nutshell.

Daesh may be dying - but the world is still encumbered with its walking corpse. Plan B of Daesh's masters may have been to indoctrinate repeated waves of misguided youth across the EU and "seduce" them into D.I. Y. jihadi terror, creating fear and insecurity in Europe. I've just been to Barcelona - and that's not happening. No Fear.

Daesh can also manipulate its brand name to stake a claim into what we may call the New War Belt in Southwest Asia. That's also not happening, because the "4+1" - Russia, Syria, Iran, Iraq, plus Hezbollah - with the addition of Turkey, and with China in a "leading from behind" role, are all working together.

The unfinished war across "Syraq" coupled with spasms of jihadism in Europe could certainly still metastasize into a massive Eurasian cancer, spreading like a plague from Afghanistan to Germany and vice-versa, and from the South China Sea to Brussels via Pakistan and vice-versa.

What would happen under this cataclysmic scenario is the complete derailment of the Chinese-driven New Silk Roads, a.k.a. Belt and Road Initiative (BRI); its integration with the Russia-driven Eurasia Economic Union (EAEC); and a massive security threat to the domestic stability of the Russia-China strategic partnership, with uncontrollable bellicose scenarios developing very close to their borders.

It's no secret which elements and institutions would very much cherish internal political chaos in both Russia and China.
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Stop

'Unacceptable price for civilians': UN says US-led coalition airstrikes on Raqqa may breach international law


RT
Thu, 31 Aug 2017 17:14 UTC
Smoke rises after an air strike in Raqqa, Syria
© Zohra Bensemra / ReutersSmoke rises after an air strike in Raqqa, Syria August 15, 2017
Civilians are paying an "unacceptable" price in the siege of the city of Raqqa, a top UN human rights official has said, adding that the US-led coalition may not be respecting the principles of international humanitarian law in its "intense" airstrikes.

The multi-ethnic Syrian militia known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and dominated by Kurdish YPG units, supported by the US-led coalition, launched the offensive in Raqqa province in November last year.

In June, the fighting progressed towards Raqqa city, a de facto capital of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorist caliphate.

Up to 25,000 civilians are still trapped in the besieged city, the under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, Stephen O'Brien, told the UN Security Council Wednesday.
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Sherlock

Wasserman Schultz IT staffer banned from White House network months ago still has an active account

Luke Rosiak
The Daily Caller
Tue, 29 Aug 2017 16:58 UTC
Abid Awan
© DCNFAbid Awan, a House IT technician suspected in a security breach, leaves court after separately being accused of insurance fraud.
A former IT aide suspected of stealing equipment and data from Congress still has an active, secret email account on the House computer system, even though he has been banned from the congressional network because of a criminal investigation into the alleged cybersecurity violations, The Daily Caller News Foundation Investigative Group has learned.

Imran Awan's still-active email address is linked to the name of a House staffer who specializes in intelligence and homeland security matters for Indiana Democratic Rep. André Carson. Court documents and emails obtained by TheDCNF show Awan used the address 123@mail.house.gov in addition to his standard imran.awan@mail.house.gov account.

He and two of his Pakistani-born brothers, as well as his wife, are at the center of an FBI investigation over their IT work with dozens of Democratic congressional offices. Authorities shut down Awan's standard email account Feb. 2, and he was arrested by the FBI at Dulles International Airport trying to board a flight to his native Pakistan on July 25.

Authorities apparently did not realize Awan has a second account that is not linked to his identity. While his main email address began rejecting mail after it was shut down, the 123 address was still accepting mail Tuesday.

Comment:

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Attention

Trump orders closure of Russian Consulate in San Francisco, Lavrov regrets the escalation


RT
Thu, 31 Aug 2017 16:55 UTC
Consulate-General of Russia in San Francisco
© WikipediaConsulate-General of Russia in San Francisco.
The Russian Consulate in San Francisco, as well as two annex buildings in Washington and New York, will have to close by September 2, the US State Department announced in response to Moscow ordering the US to reduce its diplomatic personnel in Russia.

"We are requiring the Russian Government to close its Consulate General in San Francisco, a chancery annex in Washington, D.C., and a consular annex in New York City," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement on Thursday.

Stating that the measure comes "in the spirit of parity invoked by the Russians," the US State Department said that now both countries will have three consulates each.

The decision was made by President Donald Trump personally, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters in Washington on Thursday afternoon.

"We want to halt the downward spiral and we want to move forward towards better relations, we look for opportunities to do that, but we also want to have equity in the decisions... We're also going to make sure that we make decisions that are best for our country," Sanders told reporters.
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