Puppet MastersS


Newspaper

One good reason to read the Putin story: To learn the truth for yourself

Vladimir Putin
In news this morning, a man in Moscow known for his dislike for Vladimir Putin slipped on a banana peel and fell headlong into the freezing waters of the Moskva River. Unnamed sources say the banana peeling was a clever new tool of Kremlin security forces used by Putin's personal henchmen.

As fantastic and zany as this may seem, it's not too far from headlines all over Europe and North America.

And in Australia the Sydney Morning Herald parrots the AP line, "Russian protests call for Putin to quit as dozens arrested". The story lead goes:
"Several hundred Russians lined up in central Moscow on Saturday under the gaze of riot police to hand over handwritten appeals for President Vladimir Putin to quit, as similar protests took place in other cities."

Info

India faces growing pressure over Kashmir

India protesters
International pressure on India to resolve the festering Kashmir conflict is likely to increase in the coming months. The situation in the Kashmir Valley, the epicenter of a powerful Pakistan-backed armed insurgency against the Indian state since 1990 and the main bone of contention in the India and Pakistan territorial dispute, has deteriorated over the past year.

India-Pakistan relations have frayed significantly, with the recent mutilation of the bodies of two Indian soldiers, which India described as "a strong act of provocation" by Pakistan, likely to trigger a robust Indian military response.

The fragile situation in the region has already sparked outside interest.

Take 2

'Carelessly made' White Helmets propaganda, discredited [Video]

White Helmet propaganda
No crater, fire or smoke is uncharacteristic of airstrike damage to the surroundings
The notorious organization the "White Helmets", has become known as such for its links with the Al- Nusra terrorists. The organisation earns money by staging videos, that discredit the actions of the Syrian Army troops.

The "White Helmets" have published a new video on the deaths of civilians in Deraa province, allegedly by Syrian Air Force strikes. However, not even examining the record most carefully, we can see that this video is no more than another lie of the pseudo-rescuers, writes Rusvesna.

We can start with the surroundings. In the video we see some localities, allegedly affected an airstrike.

Anyone who is even slightly acquainted with military affairs, knows that after the explosion, a bomb leaves a cloud of smoke, but could also ignite objects close to it, and the cloud of dust and smoke can linger for quite a long time.

In the video, there is no fire, no smoke, nothing that could say that this place was recently cleared of aircraft munitions. From what we can conclude, the shooting took place at a specially selected area, which has clearly not undergone a recent bombing.

Arrow Up

Russia to boost its activities in Syria as infighting between terrorists stops

Sukhoi-Su27
Sukhoi-Su27
Clashes between terrorist groups, otherwise known to be fighting against the Syrian Army, have reportedly ended.

For the past week, the Damascene suburban area of Eastern Ghouta has been witnessing intense infighting between Jaysh Al Islam, Syria's largest jihadist group and their rivals from Al Nusra Front and Qatari-backed Al Rahman Brigade. Until now, the clashes resulted in the deaths of about 130 terrorists, in addition to some civilian casualties.

The Syrian Army continued its offensive against Ahrar Al Sham terrorists in the Damascene district of Qaboun. No significant progress was made, however, it is expected that Syrian Army will soon break through Ahrar Al Sham defense lines. Once completed, this would have very positive effect on Damascus, as the terrorists, stationed in Qaboun, frequently carry out rocket attacks against the residential areas of Damascus.

A greater achievement was made in the province of Deir Ez Zour where Syrian forces completely managed to cut ISIS supply routes between Al Tharda Mountain and the city of Deir Ez Zour. 13 terrorists were killed during operations.

Meanwhile, Syria is preparing for implementation of the so-called "de-escalation zones" which will come in effect tonight at midnight, local time. Four zones, hosting more than 42,000 terrorists, are said to be created within Syrian territory. The deal was brokered by Turkey, Iran and Russia during one of the sessions at the fourth round of Astana talks on settlement of Syrian crisis and which ended yesterday.


Russian officials, however, did not rule out the use of force, should de-escalation zones agreement be violated. In addition, Russian Ministry of Defense stated that Russian Air Force will increase its efforts against ISIS in the surrounding areas of Palmyra and will also join the Syrian Army in its fight against ISIS terrorists in the eastern province of Deir Ez Zour.

Comment: See also: Syrian endgame: "De-escalation zones" = "Destroy al-Qaeda zones"


Piggy Bank

Farewell Wells Fargo: The city of Philadelphia to change handlers of its $2bn payroll account

Police officers Philadelphia
© Mark Makela | ReutersPolice officers direct pedestrians in Philadelphia.
Efforts by Wells Fargo to move beyond its bogus accounts scandal have been set back by the loss of a big government contract.

The Philadelphia City Council voted Monday to change handlers of its $2 billion payroll account, according to published reports. Instead of continuing the arrangement with Wells, the city chose to hire Citizens Bank for the next fiscal year starting in July.

The move comes under the dark cloud that has enveloped Wells since the second-largest bank by assets in the U.S. agreed to pay $185 million in fines for opening some 2 million accounts for customers without their knowledge.

More than 5,000 Wells Fargo employees lost their jobs, and several top executives were sacked. The scandal emanated from aggressive cross-selling goals in which sales people were encouraged to enroll customers in as many programs as possible.

Philadelphia city officials said the decision to switch payroll providers was not related directly to the scandal, though it seemed to play at least some role.

"Time and time again their actions have revealed them to be the antithesis of corporate social responsibility," Councilwoman Cindy Bass said in a statement. "I want to thank my colleagues on the committee for doing the right thing and sending a message that we will not do business with companies that engage in unethical business practices."

Info

'Enough killings': Maduro condemns violence as Venezuela death toll nears 40

Nicolas Maduro
© AVN
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro spoke out Thursday against the wave of political violence gripping his country, as the death toll continued to rise.

Speaking at the Tiuna Military Fort in Caracas, Maduro called for an end to "violence and guarimbas". Guarimba is a term used to refer to violent demonstrations that use street barricades to shut down neighborhoods across the country.

"Enough killings, you murderers! I extend my condolences to the family of the police, the National Guard and the young man who was murdered yesterday by these violent people ... I send my solidarity to all of Venezuela," he said.

Cell Phone

New draconian legislation allows British police to remotely disable mobile phones

British police can disable cell phones
© Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters
The legislation, passed in late April, contains a section stating police can order the shutdown of communications on a mobile phone if it is found to be used by a person involved in drug dealing.

The power also allows authorities to restrict or disable a person's mobile phone communications if they are suspected of even being associated with drug-dealing activity, whether or not they have actually committed a crime, according to Motherboard.

It is hoped the law will crack down on so-called "deal-lines" used by gangs to remotely deal drugs in rural areas. According to the government, these gangs exploit children and vulnerable people as couriers, using "specific" mobile numbers.

The Home Office told the Independent that police have yet to acquire the powers, as "the introduction of powers included within Acts are often staggered and further details will be developed by the next government."

Map

Syrian endgame: "De-escalation zones" = "Destroy al-Qaeda zones"

astana opposition
Russian plan for de-escalation areas revealed to be plan to isolate, fragment and ultimately destroy Al-Qaeda in Syria.


Publication of the Memorandum setting up the 'de-escalation areas' signed by the representatives of Russia, Turkey and Iran at the Astana conference, together with certain comments about them by representatives of the Russian and Syrian governments, have clarified their intended purpose.

It is now clear that the 'de-escalation areas' have nothing in common with the 'safe havens' constantly advocated by various people in the West - including at different times by Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump - and by the Jihadi themselves, and by Turkish President Erdogan. Erdogan's attempt at the joint press conference with Putin to pretend that they were was misleading in the extreme and plain wrong.

Nor is it correct to suppose (as I did) that the Russian proposal to set up the 'de-escalation areas' was prompted by Donald Trump's recently re-discovered enthusiasm for 'safe havens'. On the contrary it is clear that the Russians have been working on this proposal for some time, almost certainly from before the alleged Khan Sheikhoun attack and the US missile strike on Syria's Al-Shayrat air base.

Comment: See also: Russia, Iran, and Turkey sign agreement on creation of Syria de-escalation zones - UPDATES


Stock Down

Canadian banking system is in serious trouble

Last Wednesday, its stock plummeted as much as 66%.

The next day, it fell another 20%.

Home Capital Group (HCG.TO) is now down more than 78% since the start of the year. And it's trading at its lowest price ever.

That's a staggering decline for such a short period. But some analysts think the stock's headed even lower.
Home Capital Group
Others are wondering if Home Capital will trigger a full-blown financial crisis in Canada.

Home Capital Group

Newspaper

Sputnik and RT to file lawsuit over Macron team's allegations

Margarita Simonyan
© Sputnik
Sputnik news agency and RT broadcaster editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan said Friday that the media would go to court over accusations made against the outlets by the headquarters of French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron about the spreading of "fake news" regarding his alleged offshore bank accounts.

"The recipe of a fake about RT and Sputnik from AFP and Macron's team: take a story that has nothing to do with us, describe the step-by-step mechanism for its distribution, which, again, has nothing to do with either the RT or Sputnik, add more righteous anger, and finally, and this is a must, for no particular reason mention RT and Sputnik. It is ready, one can warm up the hysteria about the 'Russian threat' in French society. We are tired of their lies. We will sue them," Simonyan said in a statement.

Comment: Will Macron go after other news sources after this revelation? Macron lied about tax evasion: 4Chan /pol/ posts images from Macron's off-shore bank account