Puppet MastersS


Briefcase

Donald Trump and Angela Merkel: An unhappy summit, a fraught future relationship

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Mon, 20 Mar 2017 16:56 UTC
trump merkel
A summit meeting intended to create bridges between the leaders of the US and Germany merely highlighted their differences.

As she gears up to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow in May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel - the self-styled "Queen of Europe' - has concluded a trip to Washington where she had her first meeting with US President Donald Trump.

Merkel previously had a very close relationship with Donald Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, and was widely seen as Obama's most important foreign policy ally. Given the critical importance of relations with the US for Germany, there is no doubt this close relationship with Obama gave Merkel considerable political standing in Germany and played a key role in securing her position. The political and perhaps psychological importance of this relationship for Merkel is shown by the way Merkel repeatedly sacrificed other relationships and policy positions in order to preserve it.

Thus in 2014 Merkel reversed the longstanding German policy of maintaining close political and commercial relations with Russia by imposing sanctions on Russia during the Ukrainian crisis that year, and in 2015 she backed away from a plan proposed by her Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble to eject Greece from the eurozone to which she had previously appeared to lend support. On both occasions she did this in order to fall into line with Obama's wishes.

Angela Merkel undoubtedly anticipated that she would be able to forge a similarly strong relationship with Hillary Clinton - a personal friend - once Hillary Clinton had been elected US President.

The election as US President of Donald Trump instead of Hillary Clinton therefore came as a shock, and Merkel has struggled to come up with a coherent response.
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Snakes in Suits

Media's idiotic "handshake" fixation aims to delegitimize Trump

Bernhard
Moon of Alabama
Mon, 20 Mar 2017 16:34 UTC
Donald Trump's refusal to shake Angela Merkel's hand sent Twitter into meltdown mode
© Image Tweeted BY @hadyr2esDonald Trump's refusal to shake Angela Merkel's hand sent Twitter into meltdown mode
I dislike Trump and his policies. I dislike Merkel and her policies. Both are my political enemies. But what I dislike even more are lying media which try to deceive me for undeclared political aims.

A recent example: The pieces linked above go on to speculate about personal animosities between Merkel and Trump and about diverging U.S. and European political directions.

While differences may exist between Trump and Merkel they have nothing to do with a handshake in an Oval Office photo op. Not mentioned in the above reports is that Merkel and Trump shook hands with each other several times and in cordial ways.

Comment: The media have not been subtle about undermining Trump and Pence would certainly be more acceptable to the Deep State:

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Star of David

Israel's role as America's mad dog in Syria

Tony Cartalucci
New Eastern Outlook
Mon, 20 Mar 2017 15:24 UTC
israel
© Latuff
Israel has played an increasingly provocative role in the destructive conflict unfolding within and along Syria's borders since 2011. To many observers, it appears Israeli policy borders between opportunistic and unilateral aggression. In reality, Israel's role in the Syrian conflict fits a much larger and long-term pattern with Anglo-American plans not only for Syria but for the entire region.

A more recent row between Israel and Syria was the reported incursion of Israeli warplanes into Syrian airspace, including attacks near the eastern Syrian city of Palmyra. Palmyra hosts an ongoing battle between Syrian forces and the self-proclaimed "Islamic State" (ISIS) terrorist organization. Israeli airstrikes against Syrian forces - then - would have facilitated ISIS operations in the region.

Israel is a State Sponsor of Terror, Not a Champion Against it

Israel has existed as a nation-sized, de facto forward operating base for Anglo-American interests since its creation in the 20th century. It has pursued aggressive regional policies that have intentionally pitted itself against its neighbors as a means of maintaining a Western foothold and point of leverage in North Africa and the Middle East for decades.

Ongoing conflicts between Israel and Palestine are fueled by an orchestrated strategy of tension between a manipulated Israeli population and controlled opposition - Hamas - politically backed, armed, and funded by Israel's own regional collaborators including Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

When proxy military operations began against the Syrian state in 2011 under the cover of the US-engineered "Arab Spring," Israel along with Jordan and Turkey, played a direct role in backing militants and undermining Damascus.
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Tornado1

White House meeting with Trump was a disaster for Merkel

John Lee
RT
Mon, 20 Mar 2017 15:20 UTC
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump
© Jonathan Ernst / ReutersGermany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump, Washington, U.S., March 17, 2017.
There were discernible slights and insults for German Chancellor Angela Merkel at her first meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday. For Donald Trump, it was just another day, full of outrageous behavior and controversy.

The grave consequences of rudeness at this rarefied diplomatic level should not be underestimated. But it was nuances of what was said and what wasn't said at the White House that will have the more far reaching results.

Angela Merkel was portrayed by the world media as a put upon woman, a victim of the slights of a misogynist. But she is a mature and substantial politician in her own right. She will know that she came away from this summit with nothing. She is the kind of consensus, liberal politician that Trump holds in the greatest contempt. And she has the most to fear.
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USA

The enemies of Trump and the unholy alliance against American freedom

Nick Griffin
Katehon
Mon, 20 Mar 2017 15:24 UTC
soros revolutions
© Katehon.com
The conspiracy to force President Trump from office

"The Democrats, the liberal media and juvenile snowflakes are bad losers and they're making themselves look ridiculous by continuing to refuse to accept that Donald Trump is their President, and looks set to be so for eight glorious years as he Makes America Great Again". That is the view of many millions of American patriots and conservatives - and, sadly, it is terribly wrong.

The reality is that Donald Trump, American democracy, and the survival of the Christian world as a whole, are in grave and growing danger. This is because the 'War on Trump' is not the futile and ridiculous lost cause that many on the right naively believe. Rather, what we have seen so far are just the opening shots and manoeuvres in a well-planned coup d'etat, which is being prepared by sinister forces with enormous experience of 'regime change' all over the world.

There are, of course, significant numbers of grass-roots Republicans who are now aware that there is nothing 'spontaneous' about the petulant student riots, Women's Marches, Antifa gang attacks and other protests against Trump. While the liberal controlled media have largely avoided the issue, the Internet has helped to spread information about the key roles of George Soros in funding [1] and Barack Obama in organizing [2] the 'Resistance'.
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Chess

U.S. panics as their Libyan puppets lose control of key oil ports


Russia Insider
Mon, 20 Mar 2017 00:00 UTC
libyan oil
All that delicious Libyan oil..

The EU and US urge "strongman" Khalifa Haftar to return oil ports to the "Libyan people". We're glad that Washington has a sense of humor

Libya was the richest, most developed, most educated country in North Africa. It was a model of much-needed stability in the region, with a government that was considerably less terrible than NATO's numerous medieval dictator-allies.

Before the "revolution", the Libyan government used oil revenues to subsidize a whole range of social benefits for its citizens.

And now that Libya is a moon crater, the U.S. and its European poodles are whining about "returning oil ports to the Libyan people". Is this a new standup routine that Washington has been practicing?

Comment: See also: Tripoli is the new battleground of NATO's terrorist militias

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Snakes in Suits

Poroshenko: 'We've lost influence over Donbass due to the blockade'

RIA Novosti - translated by J. Arnoldski
Fort Russ News
Mon, 20 Mar 2017 15:28 UTC
Petro Poroshenko
At a meeting of the Regional Security Council in Kiev, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stated that Ukraine has completely lost influence over Donbass due to radicals' recent blockade of the region.

"As a result of the blockade, Ukraine lost its last sphere of influence on this territory," Poroshenko asserted. The president remarked: "At the same time, this dealt a blow to domestic energy, metallurgy, and the budget."

Continuing, Poroshenko explained: "The organizers of the blockade tricked society insofar as this was not a blockade of separate districts of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions - what blockade can there be when there is a hole in the border, including one of hundreds of kilometers with the Russian Federation? In fact this turned out to be a special operation aimed at pushing the occupied territories of Ukrainian Donbass to the Russian Federation."
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Info

Turkish Red Crescent to provide all necessary aid to Syrian Al Bab


Sputnik
Mon, 20 Mar 2017 15:22 UTC
Damaged medical supplies
© REUTERS/ Ammar Abdullah
The Turkish Red Crescent will provide all kinds of necessary humanitarian aid to the nationals of the Syrian town of Al Bab, which has been recently liberated from the Daesh (outlawed in Russia), Kerem Kinik, the organization's head, said Monday.

"Almost 60 percent of Al-Bab was heavily destroyed. Turkey will provide support in various areas like education, health, humanitarian aid and municipal works to help daily life return to normal and to remove the rubble," Kinik told the Anadolu news agency.

According to Kinik, the aid will include accommodation, food and health supplies, as well as the restoration of local medical facilities.
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Snakes in Suits

Duterte labels Obama 'idiot', impersonates a Trump endorsement of his war on drugs


RT
Mon, 20 Mar 2017 05:50 UTC
Duterte
© Casino.org
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has once again insulted former US leader Barack Obama, calling him an "idiot" for his approach to negotiations with his country. At the same time, he voiced hope that he will find a common language with Donald Trump.

Criticizing US diplomacy, Duterte noted that Obama's team always prepared for negotiations with the Philippines by digging up dirt on alleged human rights abuse being committed there. "The past administration, whenever they make a report to any forum or venue there, they do research on the human rights violation amid the threat that you'd lose the assistance that is given to you every year," Duterte said while on a two-day visit to Myanmar.

The Philippines' president slammed Obama and his entire apparatus as "idiots" for throwing up accusations rather than engaging in constructive dialogue. "It came to a point that repeatedly Obama said [this], the State department said [this], and everybody there was an idiot," he said.

"So we go 'You can go to hell. You can eat your assistance; we do not need it; we will survive.' So I go, from now on, I will adapt an independent foreign policy and I will deal with any country that I like," the president said at the Horizon Lake View Resort in Nay Pyi Taw on Sunday.


Comment: To be sure, Duterte is one of a kind, with a unique style and perspective. Though he is a curiously interesting personality, it shouldn't deter questioning outrageous policies and infringements on human rights. That goes for any leader, no matter who's in charge nor how big the country.

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Info

Russian sub fires cruise missiles at Islamic State


Russia Insider
Mon, 20 Mar 2017 15:16 UTC
Russian cruise missile attacks
Islamic State positions near Palmyra were treated to several Kalibr cruise missiles launched from a Russian submarine, according to reports.

Via Al Masdar News:
The Russian Navy launched several Kalibr cruise missiles towards the Islamic State's (ISIL) positions in eastern Syria on Sunday, Interfax News Agency reported last night.

According to a statement from the Russian Navy, a submarine off the cast of Syria launched a number of cruise missiles at the Islamic State's positions in eastern Syria.

These Russian cruise missiles reportedly struck the Islamic State's positions in the eastern countryside of Palmyra, where the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) is currently attempting to advance against the terrorist group.

Russia has carried out several cruise missile strikes against the Islamic State in the past; however, they have been less prevalent recently due to the Syrian Arab Army's success on the ground.
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