Puppet MastersS


Bad Guys

Hysterical reaction over tree-cutting around historic Munich building


The New Observer
Thu, 12 Jan 2017 23:26 UTC
house of art Munich remodeled atist render
The Haus der Kunst as envisioned by the “remodelling.”
The German Council of German Jews has decried plans to cut down the trees in front of the Hitler-era Haus der Deutschen Kunst ("House of German Art") in Munich, claiming that an unobstructed view of the famous building is "reconstructing Nazi architecture."

British architect David Chipperfield—who won acclaim for his remodeling of the equally famous Neues Museum in Berlin—has proposed a €78 million ($83.7 million) renovation plan to revert the now renamed Haus der Kunst to its original exterior by removing the deliberately planted trees obscuring the city-facing side of the building.
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Caesar

The Idiots: Western journalists misuse Dostoyevsky for new explanations of Putin

Danielle Ryan
RT
Sun, 15 Jan 2017 15:58 UTC
Putin's soul
© Mikhail Klimentyev / ReutersRussia's President Vladimir Putin
To understand Vladimir Putin, turn to the writings of Fyodor Dostoyevsky. That's the latest way to prove you're in the know about the Russian leader and his deep, dark soul.

An article by Alejandro Jimenez in the Harvard Political Review this week attempted to foster understanding of Putin and his motivations through quotes from Dostoyevsky. To save you the trouble of reading it, here's the basic concept: Putin has expressed a fondness for Dostoyevsky. Dostoyevsky had a lot of ideas about the Russian soul and Russian destiny. Let's pick all the bits that sound the worst and use them to prove Putin is an empire-builder on a mission to destroy the West. The end.

By the time I sat down to write this, my attention had been drawn to a second article on the same theme, thanks to a post on historian Paul Robinson's blog. Only, this second piece, written by Peter Savodnik and published by Vanity Fair, was even more outlandish than the first. This one went so far as to credit Dostoyevsky as the "secret source of Putin's evil."
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Document

Secret IMF documents on Greece with comment by Eric Toussaint

Eric Toussaint
CADTM
Mon, 16 Jan 2017 22:55 UTC
IMF documents dating from March and May 2010
The CADTM draws attention to two IMF documents dating from March and May 2010 that were kept secret. These authentic documents were placed at the disposal of the Truth Committee on Greek Public Debt by Zoe Konstantopoulou, the President of the Hellenic Parliament in office from 6 February to 3 October 2015.

Their contents are damning. They clearly show that a large number of IMF Executive Board members expressed severe criticism of the program the Institution was preparing to implement. Some of them denounced the fact that the program was aimed at rescuing the private European banks - mainly certain major French and German banks— who were creditors of Greek debt, both public and private. Several of them denounced the selfsame policies that had led to the Asian crisis of 1996-1997 and the Argentine crisis in 2001.

Several executives denounced the fact that the principal executive officers (mainly the Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the Deputy Director John Lipsky) had, unbeknownst to the other members of the Board, modified one of the fundamental rules that condition credits allocated by the IMF to its members. Indeed, for a loan to be granted by the IMF, it must be shown that this loan and the accompanying program will render debt repayment sustainable.

This condition could not be satisfied in the case of Greece, since the IMF directorate and the European authorities refused to reduce the Greek debt or to make private banks contribute.
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Attention

The Titanic sails at dawn: Warning signs point to danger ahead in 2017

John W Whitehead
Newsbud
Fri, 13 Jan 2017 22:35 UTC
Graphic of police state violence
A Future Riddled with Hidden and Not-So-Hidden Dangers
"When did the future switch from being a promise to being a threat?" ― Chuck Palahniuk, Invisible Monsters
Despite our best efforts, we in the American police state seem to be stuck on repeat, reliving the same set of circumstances over and over and over again: egregious surveillance, strip searches, police shootings of unarmed citizens, government spying, censorship, retaliatory arrests, the criminalization of lawful activities, warmongering, indefinite detentions, SWAT team raids, asset forfeiture, etc.

Unfortunately, as a nation we've become so desensitized to the government's acts of violence, so accustomed to reports of government corruption, and so anesthetized to the sights and sounds of Corporate America marching in lockstep with the police state that few seem to pay heed to the warning signs blaring out the message: Danger Ahead.
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Bad Guys

Daesh militants surround Deir ez-Zor airbase in Syria


Sputnik
Mon, 16 Jan 2017 21:46 UTC
Deir ez-Zor
© Flickr/ Jose Javier Martin Espartosa
Daesh terrorists have surrounded the Deir ez-Zor military airfield in Syria northeast, al-Mayadeen TV channel reported.

According to the TV channel, terrorists have managed to approach the airbase, gaining control over the territory which had been earlier occupied by a Syrian army military unit.

Deir ez-Zor airbase remains the last line of defense of the Syrian army on the way to the city. Despite numerous terrorist attacks involving suicide bombers and military equipment, the Syrian Air Force managed not only to successfully defend the airfield, but also counterattacked terrorists fighting in nearby territories.

Comment: A video on the latest battle situations in Syria:



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Info

Iraqi military releases footage of foreign Daesh militants' passports found in Mosul


Sputnik
Mon, 16 Jan 2017 21:39 UTC
Iraqi soldiers holding Daesh flag
© AFP 2016/ THOMAS COEX
Iraqi servicemen on Monday released a video demonstrating the documents of foreign militants of Daesh terrorist group which had been found in the city of Mosul.

Passports of Azerbaijani and Russian nationals were captured on the video published by the Iraqi military on Twitter. Neither the authenticity of the documents nor their belonging to particular people have been verified to date.

The operation to liberate Mosul from Daesh terrorists began on October 17, 2016. Iraqi troops have managed to advance in the eastern part of the city, but the western part — on the right bank of the Tigris River — remains under control of the militants.

Comment: More proof the militants have nothing to do with a revolution but are merely hired guns spreading chaos.

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Dollar

Russia must be destroyed: John McCain, dodgy dossiers and demonizing narratives

John Wight
Counterpunch
Fri, 13 Jan 2017 21:18 UTC
John McCain
© n/a
Delanda est Cathargo (in English "Carthage must be destroyed") are words that come down to us from ancient history. They were spoken by the famed Roman soldier, statesman and orator Cato the Elder, and have never been more relevant than now, today.

The Rome of our time is Washington, Russia is Carthage, and today's Cato the Elder is US Senator John McCain, whose quest for conflict with Russia is unbounded. Indeed, for Mr McCain the belief that Russia must be destroyed has been elevated to the status of a self evident and received truth.

Comment: See also:

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War Whore

Priceless! Politicians across Europe react to 'shocking' Trump interview


RT
Mon, 16 Jan 2017 20:52 UTC
Europe Europa ue eu
© AFP 2016/ Philippe Huguen
Politicians across Europe have been reacting to a wide-ranging Donald Trump interview, hitting back at the US president-elect's "astonishing" statements on EU policies, NATO and the Iran nuclear deal.

In his interview with UK newspaper the Times and Germany's Bild, published Monday, Trump said plenty of things Europe may not have wanted to hear, calling the Iranian deal "catastrophic," labeling NATO as "obsolete," applauding Brexit, and reiterating his intension to mend relations with Russia.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed that Trump's position on NATO and the EU had "been known for a while."

Comment: Further reading: Trump turns foreign policy inside out: Interview with London Times and Bild

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Magic Wand

Sainthood: The beatification of Barack Obama

Kit
Off Guardian
Sun, 15 Jan 2017 00:00 UTC
obummer
© SlateOne tear...for himself. More than he shed for Libya, Syria, Yemen, the USA or its people.
As the eight-year term of America's first black President draws to a close, the media are already in the process of myth-making. There's room for an honest autopsy of a man who promised a new kind of world, and delivered merely warmed-over soundbites and a few fake tears.

"With Barack Obama's exit the US is losing a saint." writes Simon Jenkins in the Guardian, whilst Ann Perkins praises his "grace, decency and defence of democracy". Lola Okolosie rhapsodises on his legacy of "warmth, love, resilience". Already the storyline is set - Obama was a good man, who tried to do great things, but was undone by a Republican senate, and his own "sharp intelligence".

These people, as much as anybody, reflect the cognitive dissonance of the modern press. "Liberals", to use their own tortured self-descriptor, now assign the roles of good guy and bad guy based purely on aesthetics, convenience and fuel for their vanity. Actions and consequences are immaterial.

For the sake of balance, here is a list of Saint Obama's unique achievements:

Comment: A fitting tribute to say 'the least.'

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Chess

U.S.-Russian cooperation may (eventually) quell the fighting in Libya

Richard Galustian
Moon of Alabama
Mon, 16 Jan 2017 18:46 UTC
On January 20th Trump will be sworn in as President. US Foreign Policy will crystallize when the full cabinet is approved by the U.S. Congress. The Russians will try and make their moves on the world chess board during this transition period to further their interests.

Khalifa Hafter
© ReutersGeneral Khalifa Hafter
As far as Libya is concerned will Russia's now overt support for the LNA (Libyan National Army) and 74 years old General Khalifa Haftar, a former(?) CIA asset, cause a problem? The U.S. has up to now supported the UN installed GNA (Government of National Accord) which has little following in the country. Could Russia's LNA support put it at odds with the incoming Trump administration or will this be a welcome and calculated play from Trump's perspective?

Haftar and the LNA are also supported by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Last week Blackwater founder Erik Prince allegedly provided private mercenary pilots in armed agricultural aircraft to bomb Western Libya's Islamist extremists. Prince's mercenary air force is paid by the UAE. He is a brother of Betsy DeVos, the U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of education.

What will change as a result in the complicated ground war in Libya between the various warring factions in south, east and west Libya?

What of ISIS relatively small presence in the Sirte and Sabratha regions?

What of the tentative potential thawing of US/Russia relations put on edge by last week's inevitably doubtful allegations of Trump's being blackmailed by Russia.

The first three months following the inauguration will be the most telling.
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