Puppet MastersS


Cult

Saudi Arabia reportedly offering large bribes to Syrian MPs to oppose Assad

International meeting syrian settlement
© REUTERS/ Mukhtar Kholdorbekov
Saudi Arabia attempted to bribe parliamentarians in order to persuade them to oppose the Syrian government, an MP tells Sputnik.

Mohammed Kheir Jasim al-Nadir said that while some Syrian leaders have indeed taken bribes from Saudi Arabia and stayed in the country, he refused the offer and went to serve Syria instead.
"Saudi Arabia offered us money to break away from Assad and oppose the Syrian government. We were offered it (the bribe) at the house of the Syrian ambassador to Riyadh Mahdi Dakhlallah," al-Nadir said.
"They tempted us with houses and money. They gave us a blank check which could be filled out with any sum, if we announced a U-turn. But, as they say, a person who is good does the right thing for their country, for their people. Nobody can be separated from their people, nobody can abandon their homeland. We are with Syria, with our land, with the valiant Syrian army."
"Unfortunately, some Syrian leaders left for Saudi Arabia because of money. I had a Saudi passport, but I left everything and went to Syria," al-Nadir said.

Comment: What a surprise!


Attention

Hungarian Foreign Minster: 'Russia would not attack any NATO state, real current threat to the world is IS'

Hungarian FM Peter Szijjarto
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said Russia should not be perceived as a threat to Hungary or any other NATO or EU state. Criticizing Western sanctions against Russia, Szijjarto said Hungary is seeking closer ties with Moscow.

"I don't see Russia as a threat to Hungary," the foreign minister said in an interview with Reuters on Friday.

Szijjarto also said that while he "understands" some Eastern European countries such as Poland and the Baltic states might have "another" position, he disapproved of frequent allegations of Russian aggression.

"Russia would not attack any NATO member state. I don't think it would be in Russia's interest," the foreign minister said.

Bad Guys

UK is becoming a vassal state to the US, says French presidential candidate

US UK flags
© Oliver Brandt / Global Look Press
Having been on equal terms with the EU, Britain has now entered a stage of 'vassalization' in its relations with the US under Prime Minister Theresa May, according to French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron.

"Britain lived in an equilibrium with Europe. But now it is becoming a vassal state, meaning it is becoming the junior partner of the United State," Macron said in an interview with France Culture radio on Friday, according to Reuters.

Macron described new US President Donald Trump's first steps in office as "extremely worrying," adding that in his opinion it would be difficult to cooperate with the Republican.

"What's happening today with Trump's first statements and choices is extremely serious and worrying," Macron said, adding that under Trump the US could "destabilize things that have been built for decades."

Macron, who was previously sure that Trump would stay close to the European Union, has now apparently changed his views.

"It signifies that the US will no longer be in a position to co-organize globalization and be the world's policeman with the European Union," he said.

Comment: This guy is a little late to the party. It's no revelation that both the UK and the EU serve as vassal states to the US. Now that Trump is pursuing a more reasonable global platform, the EU's slavish leadership doesn't know what to do without a master.


Post-It Note

Russia's London embassy is trolling May over 'beware Putin' remarks

T.May
© Mark Makela/ReutersBritain Prime Minister Theresa May
Russia's embassy in the UK has ridiculed Prime Minister Theresa May for her warning to US Republican lawmakers that the West should "engage with, but beware" of President Vladimir Putin.

May invoked the spirit of the Cold War on Thursday, when she warned of a possible "eclipse of the West" if they failed to engage with Moscow "from a position of strength."

Her caution to US politicians came ahead of a planned phone call between Putin and US President Donald Trump on Saturday, when the two leaders will speak directly for the first time.

In response, a mocking poem poking fun at the PM's 'Cold War' mindset was posted on the official Twitter account of the Russian Embassy in London on Friday.


Addressing a Republican 'retreat' in Philadelphia, May said: "When it comes to Russia, as so often, it is wise to turn to the example of President Reagan who, during negotiations with his opposite number Mikhail Gorbachev, used to abide by the adage 'trust but verify.' "With President Putin, my advice is to 'engage but beware.' There is nothing inevitable about conflict between Russia and the West. And nothing unavoidable about retreating to the days of the Cold War. But we should engage with Russia from a position of strength."

In an interview with Fox News on Friday, Trump said it would be to the advantage of both Russia and the US to mend ties and pool their efforts in the fight against terrorism, adding that he was looking forward to speaking with his Russian counterpart.

Comment: "But we should engage with Russia from a position of strength." If May thought they had it she wouldn't be saying it. They just would.


Megaphone

Mainstream media goes bonkers in onslaught of fake news following Trump presidency

Post truth
A term invented by the establishment, which describes their own attitude perfectly
U.S. and other media continue their strong move towards baseless, aka fake, news. We recently caught the New York Times claiming that Russia started the war in Georgia, something the NYT had earlier debunked itself. The Washington Post claimed that Russian hackers were sneaking into the U.S. electricity grid. The story fell apart within a few hours. Nothing in it was true. Hundreds of pieces were written about "peaceful demonstrator" rebels in Syria, about 250,000 civilians besieged in Aleppo or Syrian government bombings of hospitals that lacked any base in reality.

That onslaught of fake news by repudiated media continues unabated in print, web and TV.

Yesterday a sensational piece in the Washington Post claimed that The State Department's entire senior administrative team just resigned:
The entire senior level of management officials resigned Wednesday, part of an ongoing mass exodus of senior Foreign Service officers who don't want to stick around for the Trump era.

Chess

You're fired! State Department top ranks didn't resign in protest, they were given the boot

US State Department sign
© Jim Young / Reuters
As it becomes increasingly likely that Rex Tillerson - Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of State - will gain confirmation from the Senate, the State Department which Tillerson looks set to take over is witnessing a purge of its higher ranks.

During a visit by Tillerson to the State Department building in Foggy Botton the four most senior members of its management team all announced their resignations after being asked to quit (earlier claims that they resigned of their own accord are apparently untrue).

The four senior officials who have gone are Patrick Kennedy, Under Secretary of State for Management, Assistant Secretary of State for Administration Joyce Anne Barr, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Michele Bond and Ambassador Gentry Smith, director of the Office of Foreign Missions.

Another senior State Department official who is going is Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.

Nuland is a rigid neocon, notorious for her role in the Maidan coup, during which she posed handing out cookies to anti-government protesters in Kiev's Maidan Square, and who - to the US government's intense embarrassment - was caught (probably by Russian intelligence) speaking on the telephone with US ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt picking Arseniy Yatsenyuk for the post of Ukraine's Prime Minister. The wife of the arch-neocon intellectual Robert Kagan - who supported Hillary Clinton in the US election - and a former protege of George W. Bush's Vice-President Dick Cheney, Nuland's departure will be welcomed not just in Moscow but in other European capitals where she has become notorious for her abrasiveness.

Question

Media Matters wants to build a database of journalists allowed to ask questions at the White House

sean spicer
© REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueWhite House spokesman Sean Spicer holds a press briefing at the White House in Washington January 23, 2017.
Media Matters asked for help building a "comprehensive" database of reporters who "get to ask" questions at the White House Wednesday, sending a series of bizarre tweets in which the heads of various journalists are circled in red ink.

"[Media Matters] is going to try to maintain a comprehensive database of who gets to ask questions at press briefings," senior fellow Matthew Gertz tweeted. "We need your help to ID some!"


Comment: This move is highly questionable considering Media Matter's history:
David Brock's Clinton propaganda machine, Media Matters, trying to stay relevant in a post-Hillary world - by going after 'fake news' online


Cross

Placed on EU blacklist of 'Kremlin-paid propagandists', Danish journalist Iben Thranholm says 'European elites can no longer distinguish truth from lies'

Iben Thranholm
© NewSpeek/Youtube
Recently Marie Krarup, a member of the Danish Parliament for the Danish People's Party - contacted me to say that the EU task force East Stratcom has placed me on a list branding me as a pro-Russian propagandist and is accusing me of spreading Russian disinformation.

This organisation was set up in March 2015 by the European Council to implement an action plan on strategic communication to address what it labels "Russia's on-going disinformation campaigns", allegedly aiming to destabilize European democracy. To this end, East StratCom "publishes two public weekly newsletters to stay up to date with the latest disinformation stores and narratives". Have a look at EastStratcoms website.

This was shocking news to me. Marie Krarup requested a consultation with Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs Anders Samuelsen. She found that the task force accusation violated my constitutional rights under Danish law to exercise freedom of speech, and found this to be stark evidence of the EU usurping undemocratic and totalitarian privilege to list commentators, pundits and journalists that criticize EU policies and EU leaders.

The minister disagreed. He stated that Iben Thranholm deserved her listing as a pro-Russian agent and should remain so listed. He indicated that I was hired by the Kremlin to destabilize Europe. Despite the consultation, this remains his position. No action has been taken to amend the list. No further comment has been offered on the case in the media.

The consequences may be dire. If the conflict with Russia escalates, the state will have the right to imprison me as an enemy of the state. Already now I have been branded a traitor and unpatriotic. Many opinion leaders and colleagues have composed and published an open letter criticizing the ministry. Social media have been brimming with support, but my government remains stubborn in its accusation that I am a Russian agent. This means that I am no longer protected by the state of which I am a national.

Stock Up

UK to abide by EU laws in trade talks between May and Trump

MayTrump
© CNN.com
British Prime Minister Theresa May will stick to the European Union's rules while discussing a new trade deal with Washington, according to Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond.

"Britain remains a fully engaged member of the European Union," Hammond said on Friday before a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels. "Of course we want to strengthen our trade ties with the very many trade partners we have around the world, but we're very mindful of our obligations under the treaty," added the British finance minister.

May has arrived in Washington to become the first leader to meet US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Besides politics, the two are likely to discuss post-Brexit trade opportunities.

This week, European Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas said EU rules don't "prohibit you from discussing trade." Countries can't have official negotiations while the UK is still a member of the single market.

In a BBC interview, Ted Malloch, tipped to become the US ambassador to the EU, said the two countries could clinch a free trade deal in 90 days.

Comment: From pomp and ceremony to sussing out a future deal, at the least it will be an opening discussion. We shall see on what the "forces for peace" come to agreement.


Megaphone

Propagandists' lies about Trump's relationship with Kremin threatens US national security

trump putin
© Slate.com
Nation Contributing Editor Stephen F. Cohen and John Batchelor continue their weekly discussions of the new US-Russian Cold War. (Now in their fourth year, previous installments are here.) Cohen worries that unrelenting allegations that President Trump is a willing or unwilling agent of Putin's Kremlin—charges made thus far without any factual evidence—could limit or even cripple his ability to make wise decisions in regard to Russia, even in a dire crisis. In that connection, Cohen continues:

Implying or outright alleging that Trump is a "puppet," "poodle," or "fifth columnist" of the Kremlin is neither episodic nor marginal. Such charges have appeared consistently in mainstream media—including The New York Times, The Washington Post, MSNBC, CNN, and other influential news outlets— since mid-2016, and they have continued since he became president. Considering the grave dangers inherent in the new Cold War, some kind of détente, or more cooperation with Russia, as Trump has promised, is imperative for US and international security. But détente requires reciprocal negotiations—concessions on both sides.

"It takes two to tango," as President Reagan remarked during his détente with Soviet leader Gorbachev. How will Trump gain the needed political support at home for any reciprocity with Russian President Putin while being suspected of, or charged with, betraying American interests? Or in a more dire crisis like the nuclear confrontation over Cuba in 1962, how would he manage President Kennedy's wise negotiations with Soviet leader Khrushchev, which required face-saving concessions on both sides? To prove his loyalty to America, would Trump have to go closer to the brink of, or wage, nuclear war?