Puppet MastersS


Document

State Department's annual report: Settlements and 'lack of hope' spur Palestinian violence

Eric Cortellessa
The Times of Israel
Fri, 21 Jul 2017 11:57 UTC
T and Abbas
© Thomas Corex/AFPUS President Donald Trump and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the presidential palace in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
A new US State Department report says a myriad of Israeli policies - such as continued settlement building and aggressive military operations in the West Bank - are driving Palestinian terrorism, while the Palestinian Authority is making substantial efforts to halt such violence.

The report, an annual assessment of worldwide terrorism published this month, detailed a number Palestinian attacks against Israelis in 2016, including through rockets launched from Gaza, gunmen opening fire on civilians in Tel Aviv and numerous stabbing attacks.

"Israel again faced terrorist threats from Palestinian terrorists from Gaza and the West Bank," said the report, titled Country Reports on Terrorism 2016. "Since 2015, a series of lone-offender attacks by Palestinians in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank has increased tensions between Israel and the Palestinians."

But it also said that Israel was, in part, spurring these attacks through actions that create a "lack of hope" for Palestinians and motivates them to carry out acts of terror. "Continued drivers of violence included a lack of hope in achieving Palestinian statehood, Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank, settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, the perception that the Israeli government was changing the status quo on the Haram Al Sharif/Temple Mount, and IDF tactics that the Palestinians considered overly aggressive," the report said.

That kind of diagnosis is unusual for US President Donald Trump's administration, which has been reluctant to criticize Israel, let alone suggest it is partly responsible for Palestinian terror.

Comment: Israel only wants one version of 'balanced narrative' -- one completely in its favor.

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Chess

Rouhani: Iran to 'strengthen defensive weapons' in response to US sanctions, yet unsigned by Trump


RT
Wed, 26 Jul 2017 10:38 UTC
TrumpKomeini
© Getty/Shutterstock
Iran is used to living under US sanctions and will continue to develop its defense capabilities in response to the latest round of restrictions approved by Washington legislators, President Hassan Rouhani told his cabinet. "We will take any step that we deem necessary in line with the interests of our country, and we would continue our path without paying attention to their (Americans') sanctions and policies," the president said, as cited by Iran's Press TV.

Rouhani added that Iran will continue its military development despite pressure from any foreign nation. "We must always strengthen our defense and will strengthen all our defensive weapons, regardless of the views of others," he said, as cited by Fars news agency.

It comes after the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to impose new sanctions against North Korea, Iran and Russia. In Iran, 18 organizations and individuals connected with the national rocket program, military procurement and the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps have been targeted.

Iran and the US saw brief signs of a thaw in relations after Tehran and six leading world powers, including America, signed a deal restricting Iran's nuclear research in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions in 2015.

Relations have since reverted to their usual hostility, however, and if anything have worsened under President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly accused Tehran of violating the terms of the agreement, which he branded the "worst deal ever." Trump, however, did not go as far as to claim that this was the official position of his administration when he certified to Congress earlier this month that Tehran did not break the terms of the agreement. But this week he told the Wall Street Journal that his decision may be different the next time he is due to update legislators on the issue.

The US president is yet to sign the sanctions bill, with White House officials sending mixed signals on whether he would do so. The support of the legislation in Congress would be sufficient to overcome a hypothetical Trump veto.

Comment: In steering a very big ship to a new trajectory, it is prudent to make a wide turn and make the fewest big waves. And, you have to know where you are going.

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Stop

Abbas will not resume Israel contact until all Temple Mount security is lifted


Sputnik
Tue, 25 Jul 2017 23:35 UTC
Mr.Abbas
© AFP/Abbas MomaniPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
Palestine will not re-establish contacts with Israel despite the latter's removal of some of the metal detectors installed near the Temple Mount, one of Jerusalem's holy sites, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday.

The Temple Mount, which is the third holiest site in Islam, was equipped with metal detectors and surveillance video cameras to monitor its territory after a deadly shooting at the site that killed two Israeli police officers on July 14. The measures led to unrest in Jerusalem and caused Palestine to suspend contacts with Israel over several Palestinian deaths.

"Unless all measures go back to what they were before July 14, there will not be any changes," Abbas said with regard to Palestine's contacts with Israel, as quoted by Arutz Sheva news network.

Islamic religious trust Waqf, which administers the Temple Mount, called on Muslims to not go through the metal detectors. Many Muslims heeded the suggestion, and began to pray on streets and subsequently clash with the police.

Late on Thursday, street prayers in Jerusalem resulted in clashes with police, which injured five police officers and up to 40 protesters. On Friday, the Old City of Jerusalem became the scene of even more clashes between security forces and Muslims wishing to enter the Temple Mount to pray regardless of Israel's restrictions, which included barring male Muslims under the age of 50 from entering.

Comment: See also:

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Chart Bar

Calexit? California attorney general paves way for independence referendum in 2018


RT
Wed, 26 Jul 2017 17:15 UTC
calexit
© Jason ReedIs California about to 'drop off into the Pacific Ocean'?
A new California independence campaign has got the go ahead to collect signatures for its 2018 'Calexit' ballot initiative.

The state attorney general issued an official ballot measure title and summary, Tuesday. California Freedom Coalition can now start gathering the more than 585,000 signatures needed to qualify for the 2018 ballot.

This is the second official bid to make California an independent nation in the wake of Trump's election victory last November. Previous efforts by 'Yes California' ended in April after reports of Calexit affiliations with Russia undermined the campaign.

The movement, which received state authorization to begin collecting signatures last year, opened an embassy in Moscow in December. It's leader, Louis J. Marinell, specifically came under the spotlight for his connections to Russia.
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Eye 1

Declassified docs reveal illegal spying on Americans by FBI and NSA


RT
Wed, 26 Jul 2017 17:08 UTC
surveillance cameras
© Claudia Daut / Reuters
The FBI and National Security Agency improperly searched, stored and distributed raw intelligence on Americans, according to recently declassified documents about the controversial Section 702 surveillance program.

The documents, released earlier this month in response to a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), reveal specific violations that the FBI and NSA disclosed to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) or the Justice Department's national security division during President Barack Obama's time in office, between 2009 and 2016.

Reviewing the documents, The Hill found more than 90 incidents that specifically cited an impact on Americans, who are not supposed to be affected by 702 surveillance. Many of the incidents involved multiple people, multiple violations, or extended periods of time, the newspaper noted.

One analyst ran the same search on an American citizen "every work day" for a period of time in 2013 and 2014.
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Info

No more! New anti-Russian U.S. sanctions prompt German business lobby to urge EU action


RT
Wed, 26 Jul 2017 16:55 UTC
gas pipes harbor
© Tobias Schwarz / Reuters
A US move to expand sanctions against Russia may have an adverse impact on Europe's energy security, hurt the German economy, and appears to favor American firms, says Volker Treier, chief economist at the German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK).

Treier has urged European authorities to address the new round of anti-Russian sanctions approved by the US House of Representatives on Tuesday.

"The European Commission now must make efforts to shed light on the current situation, as well as resist the exterritorial effect of new US penalties. We get the impression the US pursues their own economiс interests," he told in an interview with TASS.

"If German firms are banned from participating in gas pipeline enterprises, very important projects in the energy supply security sector can be halted. In that case, the German economy will be discernibly influenced," Treier said.

Comment: You can only live in a bubble of narcissism so long before reality confronts you. The world is getting the message, but the American establishment cannot escape its self-induced delusions about Russia. Ironically, the harder they push their failing narrative, the more angry the rest of the world gets, the more obvious it becomes how deluded they are, and the more their credibility disappears. In the long run, they're only hurting themselves.

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Black Magic

Neophyte Nikki Haley requests ancient neocon wisdom from the demonic master of mayhem John Bolton

Riley Waggaman
Russia Insider
Wed, 26 Jul 2017 00:00 UTC
Haley and Bolton
Disciple and master
We are all deeply nostalgic for the days of yore-the days before Nikki Haley was muzzled by the State Department-when our favorite South Carolina peach made daily headlines with her barely literate, Facebook-rant diplomacy.

Of course, in accordance with official Trump policy, Haley is still allowed to preach from the Bible of Bomb Iran; so her status as a rogue psycho has been downgraded to "standard psycho".

But there's always room for improvement. After all, Haley is an unexperienced greenhorn when compared to the seasoned war criminals who usually infest the United Nations. But has Haley been taking advantage of her privileged status to absorb the wisdom of those who sought to bomb Iran before her?
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Apple Red

Pat Buchanan asks the question: Are our wars just and moral? No, they're not

Patrick J. Buchanan
Buchanan.org
Tue, 25 Jul 2017 16:39 UTC
pat buchanan
"One knowledgeable official estimates that the CIA-backed fighters may have killed or wounded 100,000 Syrian soldiers and their allies," writes columnist David Ignatius.

Given that Syria's prewar population was not 10 percent of ours, this is the equivalent of a million dead and wounded Americans. What justifies America's participation in this slaughter?

Columnist Eric Margolis summarizes the successes of the six-year civil war to overthrow President Bashar Assad.

"The result of the western-engendered carnage in Syria was horrendous: at least 475,000 dead, 5 million Syrian refugees driven into exile in neighboring states (Turkey alone hosts three million), and another 6 million internally displaced. ... 11 million Syrians ... driven from their homes into wretched living conditions and near famine.

"Two of Syria's greatest and oldest cities, Damascus and Aleppo, have been pounded into ruins. Jihadist massacres and Russian and American air strikes have ravaged once beautiful, relatively prosperous Syria. Its ancient Christian peoples are fleeing for their lives before US and Saudi takfiri religious fanatics."
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War Whore

Busted: Pentagon caught selling military supplies to fake police dept. set up by GAO


RT
Wed, 26 Jul 2017 16:47 UTC
night vision goggles
© Charles Platiau / Reuters
The US Department of Defense has been caught out selling large amounts of military supplies to a fake police department. The fake department was created by the US government itself to sniff out waste and fraud.

The Government Accountability Office issued a revealing report last week showing that the Pentagon sold more than 100 controlled items valued at $1.2 million to a fake police department set up by the government watchdog agency through the 1990s-era 1033 program, according to a report released by the GAO. The 1033 program allows local and state law enforcement to apply for excess equipment from the US military.

The gear that the GAO received from the DoD included night vision goggles, simulated M-16A2 rifles and pipe bomb equipment.

The government watchdog set up a fake website with a fake address that led to an empty parking lot and gave the information to the DoD in their application for the supplies. The GAO then received the fake items in less than a week after applying.

"They never did any verification, like visit our 'location,' and most of it was by email," Zina Merritt, director of the GAO's defense capabilities and management team, which conducted the operation, told the Marshall Project. "It was like getting stuff off of eBay."
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Megaphone

Trump tweets another bombshell: 'Transgender people cannot serve in any capacity in US military'


RT
Wed, 26 Jul 2017 16:32 UTC
transgenders military
© AFP/GettyTrump: 'Sorry guys, er, gals; no can do.'
Transgender people will not be allowed to serve in the American military in any capacity, President Donald Trump said, adding that US forces shouldn't be "burdened by" medical costs and "disruption" they would bring.

"After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow ... Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military," Trump wrote on Twitter.




The Pentagon declined to comment on the transgender ban, referring all questions on the issue to the White House.

"We refer all questions about the president's statements to the White House. We will continue to work closely with the White House to address the new guidance by the commander-in-chief on transgender individuals serving the military. We will provide revised guidance to the department in the near future," the Pentagon spokesman said.


Comment: For now, the Pentagon is apparently too scared to comment, leaving Trump to take all the flak.


Comment: Stand by for major backlash in 3, 2, 1...

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