Puppet MastersS


Attention

Trump pledges to 'totally destroy' law that bars political speech by churches and other tax exempt organizations


RT
Thu, 02 Feb 2017 21:42 UTC
Donald Trump
© Carlos Barria / Reuters
At the National Prayer Breakfast, President Donald Trump repeated a campaign promise, vowing to end the federal law that restricts political speech and activity by churches and other tax-exempt organizations.

"I will get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution," Trump said Thursday, according to the New York Times, adding that "freedom of religion is a sacred right, but it is under serious threat."

The Johnson Amendment is a 1954 law that bars tax-exempt organizations such as religious groups, including churches, as well as those that are "educational, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition, and preventing cruelty to children or animals," from engaging in open endorsement of or campaigning for political candidates, among other political activities.
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Chess

Democratic Party rebranding itself as America's 'war party' alongside the neoconservative wing of the Republican Party

Robert Parry
Consortium News
Thu, 02 Feb 2017 20:28 UTC
Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed a crowd on May 9, 2014, celebrating the 69th anniversary victory over Nazi Germany and the 70th anniversary of he liberation of the Crimean port city of Sevastopol from the Nazis
The Washington establishment's hysteria over its favorite new "group think" - that Russian President Vladimir Putin put Donald Trump in the White House - could set the stage for the Democratic Party rebranding itself as America's "war party" alongside the neoconservative wing of the Republican Party.

This political realignment - with the Democrats becoming the party of foreign interventionism and the Trump-led Republicans a more inwardly looking America First party - could be significant for the future. However, in another way, what we're seeing is not new. It is a replay of other "group thinks" in which some foreign leader is demonized beyond all reason allowing any accusation to be lodged against him with virtually no pushback from anyone interested in maintaining a U.S. mainstream career.

We saw this pattern, for instance, in the run-up to the Iraq War when Saddam Hussein was demonized to such a degree that any accusation against him was accepted without question, such as him hiding WMDs and colluding with Al Qaeda. In that context, some individuals supposedly with "first-hand knowledge" - "Iraqi defectors" - showed up to elaborate on and personalize the anti-Saddam propaganda message. We learned only later that many were scripted by the U.S.-government-funded Iraqi National Congress.

Since 2011, we saw the same demonization treatment applied to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who was depicted as a ruthless monster opposed by a "moderate opposition" which, in turn, was embraced by "human rights" groups, touted by Western media and applauded even by citizen "peace groups" around the United States and Europe. The Assad demonization obscured the fact that many "opposition" groups were part of an externally funded "regime change" project spearheaded by radical jihadists connected to Al Qaeda.

A Reagan Strategy

For me, this pattern goes back even further. I have witnessed these techniques since the 1980s when the Reagan administration tapped into CIA psychological warfare methods to rally the American people around a more interventionist foreign policy - to "kick the Vietnam Syndrome," the public skepticism toward war that followed the Vietnam debacle.
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Георгиевская ленточка

Israeli Ambassador to Russia: Israel "highly appreciates" Russia's peacekeeping role and humanitarian efforts in Syria


Sputnik
Thu, 02 Feb 2017 19:42 UTC
gary koren
© Sputnik/ Vitaliy Belousov
Israel highly appreciates the peacekeeping role of Russia in the Syrian conflict, as well as its efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to civilians, Israeli Ambassador to Moscow Gary Koren said Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Koren held a meeting with Konstantin Kosachev, the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian upper house of parliament, and said that the previous year had been successful for the Israeli-Russian relations.

"I think that this year will not be less intense, in a positive way, exactly due to the regional events in the Middle East. We highly appreciate Russia's peacekeeping efforts in Syria. This good cause is not only about a ceasefire, but also humanitarian aid to civilians," Koren said after the meeting.

According to Koren, Israel, on its part, also provides medical aid to Syrians, who enter the Israeli territory.
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Oscar

Award for Merkel over migration policy during 2015 crisis is compared to Obama receiving Nobel Peace Prize, social media raises eyebrows


RT
Thu, 02 Feb 2017 17:46 UTC
German chancellor Angela Merkel
© Christoph Schmidt / DPA / Global Look PressGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel receives the Eugen Bolz Award 2017 from Mayor of Rottenburg am Neckar, 01 February 2017.
German chancellor Angela Merkel has been awarded a prize for her migration policy during the refugee influx in 2015, raising a few eyebrows among some politicians and people on social media.

The prize hailed Merkel's "civil courage" over her handling of the refugee influx into the EU and Germany in particular.

"It's a bit strange, because one is used to spending the whole day fighting," Merkel said, apparently referring to the harsh criticism she received following the adoption of her so called 'open-door' migration policy. During her acceptance speech however, she did not elaborate on the refugee crisis itself, but called for "solidarity in Europe."

Winfried Kretschmann, the head of the German Federal State of Baden-Wuertemberg where Merkel received the award, hailed her policy in 2015 as "a sign of humanitarian attitude." Yet, he added, those migrants who did not require protection or came "for other reasons" should be sent back home to not "overburden" German society.

Stronger words came from Hans Ulrich-Ruelke, head of the German liberal party (FDP) in Baden Wuertemberg's local parliament, who criticized the decision to honour Merkel as a sign of "ignorance."

Comment: See also:

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Bad Guys

Mad Dogs John McCain and Lindsey Graham visited Donbass frontlines ahead of current bout of fighting, told Ukrainians to go on offensive

Mark Nicholas
Russia Insider
Thu, 02 Feb 2017 19:44 UTC
Petro Poroshenko and John McCain
Mad Men.
We reported that east Ukraine saw heavy fighting in late January as government troops went on an offensive using special infiltration tactics.

However, weeks ago we also reported that US Senators, and famous warmongers John McCain and Lindsey Graham spent their end of year holidays touring countries on Russia's doorstep which neocons have long billed as potential flashpoints, Georgia, the Baltic countries, and Ukraine.


Comment: On warpath against Trump, Mad Dogs John McCain and Lindsey Graham spend New Years receiving medals from neo-Nazi Ukraine government


In Ukraine McCain and Graham actually visited Ukraine's front line troops and spent the night with them alongside Ukraine's president Poroshenko in their barracks.

Comment: The two US senators' latest attempt to set off World War III during their visit to Ukraine is the last straw. Something must be done:
We do not know what else McCain and Graham promised Poroshenko out of sight of the cameras. But lo and behold, within weeks of this trip, Kiev started a new round of shooting.

The only possible motive for this outbreak of hostilities is a desperate attempt to regain the lagging sympathy of the world - a world long tired of Kiev's crying wolf over "aggression" and looting billions of money intended to boost its economy. It is also another attempt to sabotage any US-Russian reconciliation.

John McCain and Lindsey Graham are two men totally bought and paid for by the military-security establishment. They serve the CIA and the Neocon ideologues who want to spread American influence by force and believe in provoking conflict where necessary.

Just a few days ago, the US President accused the two men of trying to start World War III:



Donald J. Trump is now president of the United States. The president is head of state, and he directs foreign policy. Period. Yes the senate has the right to "advise and consent" on treaties and appointments, under the constitution. But the constitution does not grant congress the right to conduct an independent foreign policy.

In fact, under the Logan Act, it is a felony for any US citizen to interfere in US foreign policy without "the authority of the United States." Here is the full text of the act:
§ 953. Private correspondence with foreign governments.

Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply himself, or his agent, to any foreign government, or the agents thereof, for redress of any injury which he may have sustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects.
1 Stat. 613, January 30, 1799, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 953 (2004).

In United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp., 299 U.S. 304 (1936), Justice Sutherland, writing for the Court, observed that the authority to represent the country abroad lies entirely with the president:
[T]he President alone has the power to speak or listen as a representative of the nation. He makes treaties with the advice and consent of the Senate; but he alone negotiates. Into the field of negotiation the Senate cannot intrude; and Congress itself is powerless to invade it. As Marshall said in his great argument of March 7, 1800, in the House of Representatives, 'The President is the sole organ of the nation in its external relations, and its sole representative with foreign nations.
John McCain and Lindsey Graham do not have the "authority of the United States" to represent the country abroad. They do not have the authority to promise weapons to Ukraine, or to suggest US support for a new offensive. That authority belongs exclusively to the president and his duly appointed officers within the executive branch. (In general, the secretary of state, ambassadors, and members of the foreign service.) There is no indication then-president Barack Obama granted them such authority. And President Donald Trump certainly will not.

The Logan Act has often been discussed in cases of politicians abroad appearing to interfere in the president's foreign policy positions. Legal scholars are generally unenthusiastic about the prospects of applying it to members of congress. Though the law has been on the books since 1799, there has only ever been one prosecution under the act, and it failed.

I say it's never too late to start.


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Laptop

Czech DM reports failure to find Russian trail in cyberattacks on government


Sputnik
Thu, 02 Feb 2017 23:25 UTC
Stropnicky
© Flickr/ Ash CarterCzech Defense Minister Martin Stropnicky
It is difficult to reveal whether Russian hackers really stand behind the cyberattacks on the Czech Foreign Ministry, Czech Defense Minister Martin Stropnicky said on Wednesday in an interview with the Hospodarske Noviny newspaper. Stropnicky said that it is very difficult to detect those responsible for the cyberattacks.

"I had a short conversation with him [Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek] about that. According to my information, it is very difficult to reveal that. Maybe the minister [Zaoralek] knows more but experts say it would be very difficult to reveal that quickly," Stropnicky said.

He also warned against cause panic by reports about Russian cyberattacks. At the same time, Stropnicky said he was sure that the information campaign would target the Czech Republic during the election campaign.

Earlier in the day, media reported, citing an intelligence source, that a group of unknown hackers had cracked the emails of the Czech foreign minister and his deputies and had stolen thousands of user accounts, as well as classified data.

Zaoralek suggested that a foreign state could be behind the cyberattacks and compared them with those that hit the US Democratic Party.

A source in the Russian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik that the allegations that Russia was behind the cyberattacks on the Czech Foreign Ministry were tied to discussion of the draft bill extending the authority of the Czech intelligence services to control the Internet.

Comment: Elections everywhere BEWARE! The Russians are coming! Cyberattacks! (But only if you lose!)

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Padlock

Got the key? It's time to lock up John McCain and Lindsey Graham

Ricky Twisdale
Russia Insider
Thu, 02 Feb 2017 00:00 UTC
McCain/Graham
© Truthdig
In the past few days, renewed heavy fighting has broken out in Ukraine's Donbass region between government troops (and allied militias, though they are supposed to be nationalized) and the separatists. Naturally both sides claim the other started it, but it does not take a genius to see who has something to gain from renewed hostilities, and who has nothing at all to gain.

Russia and Vladimir Putin derive no benefit from an armed conflict on Russia's border, one which Russia is being blamed and punished for by Europe and the United States. And it was Moscow who forced the separatists to the table at Minsk, just when they had the upper hand on the battlefield following Kiev's massive defeat in the Debaltsevo Pocket.

Now, with the coming to power of Donald Trump as president of the United States, the putschists in Kiev have lost their principal sponsor. Trump has made clear his intention to prioritize relations with Russia - and European statesmen such as leading French presidential candidate François Fillon have begun to echo him. Germany is losing enthusiasm for this headache. The Ukrainian government is about to find itself isolated with no friend either to the East or to the West.

Enter the malevolent minions of mischief, US senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham. The dastardly duo made a trip to the Donbass front line just after the new year, where they gave incendiary speeches egging on Ukrainian troops to restart hostilities.

(Video below - Graham begins speaking at 1:10)


Comment: Here we have the Neocon poster boys: McCain -- the 'maverick' psychopath who still wants to bomb Iran, and his sidekick Graham -- likely compromised (literally) by the Mossad as exhibited in his sudden bobblehead fanaticism to everything Israeli. These two cheerleaders for imperial dominance, aggressive policies, wars and interventions that have cost about 2M lives and immense destruction? Yeah, lock 'em up. The world cannot afford these terrorists and neither can the USA.

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Jet2

Greece: Turkey violated airspace 138 times in one day


RT
Thu, 02 Feb 2017 03:41 UTC
Turkish plane
© EkathimeriniTurkish recon flight over Greecian islands.
Tensions between Greece and Turkey - both NATO members - are mounting after Athens accused Ankara of violating Greek airspace above historically disputed islets, and with the fallout over Greece's refusal to hand over coup suspects to Turkey still fresh.

The Greek Defense Ministry said it has registered 138 violations of the country's airspace on Wednesday, Reuters reported citing the minister who claimed that all the violators have been "intercepted." "We want peace, we are not looking for a fight or for trouble in the Aegean, but there won't be an aircraft which will not be intercepted," Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos told Antenna Television.

All the airspace violations occurred in the central and southern Aegean above tiny Greek islets, disputed by the two countries.

The already strained relations between the two NATO nations escalated quickly after the Greek Supreme Court last Thursday, blocked the extradition of Turkish military officers whom Ankara accused of involvement in the botched coup attempt in July 2016. The top court's ruling is final and cannot be disputed even by the country's Justice Ministry. The officers applied for political asylum in Greece, but their petitions are still being considered.

Comment: 138 fly-bys in one day is more than a violation. It is 138 intentions to provoke.

See also:

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Clipboard

Past US presidents dealt with Muslims through preferences, registries and bans


RT
Wed, 01 Feb 2017 23:36 UTC
no muslim ban
© Brian Snyder/ReutersDemonstration in Boston, Massachusetts
President Donald Trump's temporary travel restrictions on seven countries has polarized the US public, with critics calling it a "Muslim ban" unfairly singling out a religion and proponents defending it as necessary for Americans' safety. The Trump administration has rejected the descriptions of the January 27 order as a "Muslim ban," noting that more than 40 Muslim-majority countries in the world are not affected by it.

"My policy is similar to what President Obama did in 2011 when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months, "Trump said, defending the order. "The seven countries named in the Executive Order are the same countries previously identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror."

Obama's Iraqi ban

President Barack Obama indeed ordered a review of all background checks for Iraqi refugees resettled in the US and imposed new security requirements on any new ones, after the May 2011 arrest of two Iraqis in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The duo was captured in a FBI sting operation and charged with conspiring to send material support to Al-Qaeda in Iraq. The investigation showed the men lied on their immigration paperwork and had previous ties with terrorists; one's fingerprints were even found on an unexploded bomb in Iraq.

While Obama's decision did not amount to a ban, in practice the increased scrutiny resulted in "significantly fewer" refugees entering the US in 2011 and 2012. According to a report compiled by the Congressional Research Service, the number of refugees in 2011 was 26,500 below the allotted 80,000, while the shortfall in 2012 amounted to 17,700 fewer than the reduced quota of 76,000.

Comment: Wake up America! This frenzy is for nothing. Protesting evil vaccines mandated and subjected to your own populace would be an excellent crusade!

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Attention

Europe: Refugees, women and children, have 'gone missing'


Sputnik
Wed, 01 Feb 2017 17:15 UTC
refugees
© AFP 2016/Armend NimaniWhere are they now?
At least 1,500 human trafficking cases have been registered in Syria in the past year, according to the country's Interior Ministry. Refugees who arrive in Europe are far from safe and they too fall victims to trafficking. Sputnik spoke about this with reporter Poppy Damon from The International Women's Initiative in an interview.

According to Damon when there are millions of people displaced, it is very likely that crime networks that already exist are going to use this situation in order to manipulate people who are vulnerable. "What we are seeing is that a lot of women and children who are in camps are being kidnapped or tricked into trafficking and then exported across international borders into Turkey, Lebanon and other places and what that means is that there are a lot of people who are untracked," she said.

She further said that people who arrive to countries like England, France and Sweden are then lost because there are trafficking gangs operating in those countries.

Talking about Syria she said that because of the scale of the conflict they are particularly vulnerable to problems as there are about 12 million people who are in need of humanitarian assistance in Syria and there are global networks involved in human trafficking who are exploiting this situation currently.

"There is a complete network of groups that are operating, so there are criminal gangs that are working but they are also funding groups like ISIS [Daesh in Arabic] and they are using it as a way of generating income. Even more worrying is that we see complicity among government officials in the corruption which would be necessary for them to operate," Damon said.

Comment: With a change in US strategy, a cutoff of funding and a partnering with Russia to eradicate ISIS, it would stand to reason ISIS will attempt to replenish its revenue through any means it can, such as human trafficking. See also:

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