Puppet MastersS


USA

DNC shatters illusion of democracy to keep donors 27 bucks

Bernie DNCFraud
© YouTube
Well that didn't take much. After all the time and effort that those of us in the alternative media have been pouring into our attempts to show people that democracy does not exist in America, the political establishment has stepped forward and admitted it candidly with its own face hole. A recently-released transcript of Florida court documents has revealed that the Democratic National Committee's first line of defense in their motion to dismiss a lawsuit against them by defrauded Bernie Sanders supporters is to state that they are under no contractual obligation to provide the American people with real party primaries.

Yes, really. That's their Plan A. In order to avoid a situation where they could be forced to return some of the small-dollar campaign donations of Sanders' base, representatives of the regulatory committee for the Democratic party have tacitly admitted in a court of law that they are running a fake political party using the lie of legitimate primary elections to manufacture political engagement, and that democracy is officially dead in America.
"[T]here is no right to — just by virtue of making a donation, to enforce the parties' internal rules," said DNC attorney Bruce Spiva. "And there's no right to not have your candidate disadvantaged or have another candidate advantaged. There's no contractual obligation here."
Mr. Spiva is of course referring to the charge that Sanders supporters were defrauded of millions of dollars when they poured donations many of them could barely afford into the campaign of a candidate that the DNC was actively conspiring to sabotage, in gross violation of the Impartiality Clause of their own charter. Rather than trying to deny that this act of sabotage took place, the DNC is instead arguing that it is perfectly within its rights to obstruct and favor any campaign it wants in order to ensure the nomination of the candidate that it prefers.


Comment: As exampled by the machinations of the DNC, the supporting public was drawn into a fictitious participation -- believing it was upholding and exemplifying the principles, ideals and standards of the exemplary nation -- but in reality they were the unsuspecting victims of the most totalitarian political system that may have ever existed and those who desired to exploit it.


Stock Up

US military establishment budgets bloom despite failure to extinguish terrorism

soldier gun
© America Revealed
From the 2003 invasion of Iraq to current military action in Syria, the U.S.' military-industrial machine is continuing to use the excuse of "fighting terrorism" to justify the growth of its budget and bureaucracy, despite evidence that their expansion has done little to stop terror groups.

While the U.S. has long justified its presence in Syria with the need to fight off Daesh (ISIS) and other militant extremist groups, some neo-conservatives - notably Tom Friedman of the New York Times - have called on Trump to "back off fighting" Daesh in Syria in order to ramp up "pressure on Assad, Iran, Russia and Hezbollah."

Though Friedman's policy suggestions may leave some Americans scratching their heads over the call to ignore the terror group that has ostensibly been the foundation of recent U.S. military involvement in the Middle East, it is not altogether surprising, as the U.S. establishment has often used counterterrorism as a cover for not-so-covert regime change efforts.

As journalist Gareth Porter noted for Middle East Eye, the very idea that U.S. counterterrorism efforts abroad can make the U.S. safer essentially amounts to a bait-and-switch operation. Since 2001, the Pentagon and the CIA, as well as other security and intelligence bureaucracies, have deliberately sacrificed sensible counterterrorism policy in the name of pursuing their own institutional interests.

One of the clearest examples of this methodology was the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as counterterrorism specialists in the U.S. knew that overthrowing Saddam Hussein would not only strengthen al-Qaeda but also massively boost anti-American sentiment in the region. A potential uptick in Islamic extremism did not dissuade top Pentagon officials from the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Paul Wolfowitz, who some describe as the architect of the Iraq war, invented the justification that Iraq would become a "flytrap" for extremists, preventing them from spreading their influence elsewhere.

Wolfowitz was wrong, as a 2005 intelligence assessment from the CIA later showed. The assessment, in contrast to the "flytrap" argument, found that the Iraq war had resulted in a massive increase in extremism - not just in Iraq, but throughout the Middle East. Another assessment released the following year found that those identifying as "jihadists" had become widely distributed geographically. This report predicted the growing terrorist threat of "self-radicalized cells" on a global scale.

Attention

China calls for 'immediate' halt to THAAD deployment in S. Korea

THAAD
© YONHAP/AP
Beijing has called for an immediate stop to the deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system to South Korea and is ready to protect its interests, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang voiced the government's position against the move during a briefing on Tuesday. "We oppose the deployment of the US missile system to South Korea and call on all parties to immediately stop this process. We are ready to take necessary measures to protect our interests," he said, adding that "China's position on the THAAD issue has not changed."

The spokesperson didn't specify what protective measures China had in mind. However, responding to the THAAD installation, China announced on Thursday that it will stage live-fire exercises and test new weapons to protect its security. Beijing has previously voiced concerns over the THAAD system and joint US-South Korean drills near the Korean Peninsula, consistently urging all the parties involved to find a peaceful solution to the volatile situation in the region.

Backed by Russia, it also proposed a halt to [US/S. Korean] military drills in exchange for an end to Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests during a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) session held in New York on Friday.

Comment: THAAD is a focal point, a face on the issue, a removable object and objective.
See also:


Target

Warning from Pyongyang's media: Nuclear war inches closer with US drills near Korean Peninsula

Kim and Trump
© South China Morning Post
The US activities in the vicinity of the Korean Peninsula - namely, US strategic bomber joint flights with South Korean and Japanese forces - may see the two Koreas end up in a nuclear war, the North Korean state agency KCNA has said. According to Pyongyang, the US forces are carrying out "a nuclear bomb dropping drill against major objects" in its territory at the moment when US President Donald Trump as well as "other US warmongers are crying out for making a pre-emptive nuclear strike" against the North.

"The reckless military provocation is pushing the situation on the Korean Peninsula closer to the brink of nuclear war," KCNA wrote, as cited by Reuters. Seoul defended the drills, saying the war games were held to prevent provocations from the North, according to South Korea's Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun.

The flight of the two supersonic B-1B bombers occurred on Monday, on the same day as Trump said he would be ready to meet with Kim Jong-un. "If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it," Trump told Bloomberg News.

Comment: "The reckless military provocation is pushing the situation on the Korean Peninsula closer to the brink of nuclear war." It is also pushing the situation towards resolution. This is the middle ground where any and all outcomes are possible. It is possible the big powers are hoping to get this situation to resolve before Kim Jong-un becomes more successful in his attempts and likely to utilize his achievements.


Info

Western Kremlinoia and the rise of Eurasia

International Security Conference in Moscow
Highlights from the 6th International Security Conference in Moscow

In what has already become a tradition, the Russian ministry of defense organized its annual international security conference in Moscow on April 26 and 27, 2017. This conference is the Russian government answer to the annual Munich security conference, the high-level gathering of veteran Cold Warriors and advocates of the Atlanticist geopolitical agenda.

In recent years, the Munich conference has become quite extensively infected by a serious case of Russo-phobia and Kremlinoia (the word I coined, defined as a paranoid attitude toward the Kremlin), so that it is no wonder that the Russians have decided to set up their own venue for expert security and military discussions and exchange of ideas. I have no doubt that they had invited most of the Munich crowd, but the list of speakers shows that none of them showed up. It is a proven fact that in the Atlanticist vision of the world, Munich and Moscow cannot come together as partners of equal strength. However, the absence of the Atlanticists was more than made up by the heavy presence of the top Eurasian military and security officials. The arrogant self-isolationism of the Western powers was once again on full display for everybody to see.

Pistol

Russian MoD: Russian military adviser killed In Syria by sniper

The Russian Ministry of Defense
© Sputnik/ Natalia SeliverstovaRussian Ministry of Defense
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that a Russian military adviser was killed in Syria by a sniper from the ranks of Syrian militants. The ministry added that the adviser had been training personnel of the Syrian artillery units.

"A Russian military adviser Alexei Buchelnikov was killed during a militants' fire. Buchelnikov was a member of the group that had been training personnel of the Syrian artilley units," the statement by the Russian Ministry of Defense reads.

Comment: See also:


Snakes in Suits

Dripping in hypocrisy: Tony Blair returns as savior of UK liberal elite

Tony Blair
© Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
It's not so much that Tony Blair is attempting a comeback to mainstream politics that is offensive, it's the fact he is being actively supported by a liberal establishment in the UK for whom the word 'shame' does not exist.

This week the British public is being invited to yearn for the 'glory days' of Tony Blair's New Labour project on the 20th anniversary of his landmark election victory in 1997, which saw him enter Downing Street as Britain's prime minister for the first time. They are being regaled with articles looking back on the occasion with unfettered nostalgia, heralding his election as a time of hope, prosperity and optimism after the preceding 18 years of Tory rule.

Attention

Russian troops deploy to Afrin on Syrian border to stop Turkish attacks on Kurds

Russians with Kurdish (YPG) fighters
Russians with Kurdish (YPG) fighters.
Uncle Sam has no interest in warding off Erdogan from the Syrian Kurdish Afrin enclave.

Last week Turkey pounded numerous Kurdish positions and groups across Syria and Iraq. Erdogan was basically testing the US to see how strong its commitment to its Kurdish allies is, and if possible to try and drive a wedge between them.

Americans did react telling Erdogan to lay off and rode around flying the US flag in Kurdish-held areas.


There was a catch however, Syria's Kurdish Afrin enclave was left as unprotected as ever.

Comment: See also this South Front report on the deployment:




Telephone

Kremlin: Putin to speak by phone with Trump on Tuesday

President Putin and President Trump
© REUTERS/Ivan A combination of file photos showing Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, January 15, 2016 and U.S. President Donald Trump posing for a photo in New York City, U.S., May 17, 2016
Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump will speak by phone on Tuesday, RIA news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.

Trump will speak with Putin on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. EDT, the White House said on Monday night.

Comment: The Russian President Vladimir Putin's Tuesday agenda includes a telephone conversation with his US counterpart Donald Trump, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS.
"Yes, we confirm that," the Russian presidential spokesman said when asked to comment on reports about such a conversation, which cited White House sources.
Putin, Trump speak by phone, discuss Syria, N.Korea - Kremlin
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, held a phone call in which they have agreed to cooperate on promoting diplomatic progress in dealing with tensions on the Korean peninsula and in Syria, according to the Kremlin.

"Vladimir Putin has called for restraint and decreasing of the level of tensions" on the Korean peninsula, the statement said. "It has been agreed to work jointly on a diplomatic solution that will settle the crisis."

Putin and Trump have spoken about coordinating Russia's and US efforts aimed against terrorism in Syria, the statement adds.

Putin and Trump have decided to "activate the dialogue between the heads of the foreign ministries of both countries who will seek variants to secure the ceasefire regime, stabilize it and control it," the statement says.

"The goal is to create the background that would help launch a real peace process in Syria. This means that Russia's foreign minister and the US secretary of state would inform their leaders about progress in this regard."



Bad Guys

US deploys Global Hawk high-altitude drone to Japanese air base to observe N. Korea

RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft
© U.S. Air Force / Bobbi Zapka / ReutersRQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft
The US has sent a high-altitude surveillance RQ-4 Global Hawk drone to Japan, marking the beginning of a five-month deployment. It is expected to monitor moves made by North Korea, according to Japanese media.

The drone landed at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo on Monday night, after flying from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, the Japan Times reported.

According to Japanese Defense Ministry officials, the drone can capture aerial images and electronic data from an altitude of around 50,000 feet (15,240 meters) or higher.

It will be remotely controlled from Yokota during takeoff and landing. Once it reaches a sufficient altitude, it will be controlled from the US mainland.

The arrival of the drone, which is part of the 69th Reconnaissance Group Detachment 1, marks the beginning of a five-month mission for the drone. The US military said it will remain in Tokyo until October to avoid inclement weather in Guam, including typhoons.

Comment: See also: North Korea: U.S. deploys spy plane to Japan