Puppet MastersS


Lemon

Russia's MoD: US Tomahawk strike on Syria as effective as dropping missiles from air balloons


RT
Wed, 12 Apr 2017 13:37 UTC
US missile strike on the Shayrat Airbase in Syria
© Mikhail Voskresenskiy / Sputnik
Russia has questioned the precision and cost-effectiveness of the US missile strike on the Shayrat Airbase in Syria. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Pentagon tried to impress the American public at the cost of credibility in the eyes of military professionals.

"The figures voiced by the Pentagon about the supposedly high efficiency of a massive missile strike at the Shayrat airbase were made for the American public, and not for professionals," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.
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Dollar

Britain handed out £14bn in taxpayer funds to developing nations in 2016


RT
Wed, 12 Apr 2017 12:53 UTC
UK humanitarian foreign aid
© gov.uk
Britain is the third largest donor of foreign aid in the world, according to figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Britain gave the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) $18.01 billion (£14.4 billion) to aid international development in 2016, accounting for nearly 13 percent of the group's budget. The Committee's total spending last year came to $142.6 billion (£114 billion).

Net aid from the 29 members of the DAC also set a record high last year, but the latest OECD report shows that much of that money was spent on supporting refugees already in Europe.
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Jet2

Pentagon calling for 5-7% cut in F-35 cost - report


RT
Wed, 12 Apr 2017 12:39 UTC
F-35
© Peter Nicholls / Reuters
Amid mounting pressure to rein in costs, the Pentagon reportedly wants Lockheed Martin to lower their price for their next batch of F-35 stealth fighter jets, the most expensive weapons program in US history.

The Pentagon is looking to shave five to seven percent from their next order of 130 new F-35 jets, which could save the government an estimated $660 million, sources told Reuters. The price reduction is purported to come from 100 F-35As that are being purchased.

Comment: A piece of garbage, even if it's on sale, is still a piece of garbage.

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Snakes in Suits

DEA did not deny it lets drugs into communities and pushes them on citizens

Justin Gardner
The Free Thought Project
Tue, 11 Apr 2017 12:39 UTC
DEA logo and drugs
When Richard Nixon decided to bring the War on Drugs into full force, he signed Reorganization Plan No. 2, in 1973, which established the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). For decades, the DEA has carried out a war on people as it enforces the senseless, unjust prohibition of arbitrary substances.

Government ruins countless lives - locking people in cages for years or life, tearing apart families - for victimless "crimes" such as possessing cannabis or other "illicit" drugs. In a glaring example of hypocrisy, however, the DEA is teaching Americans a telling lesson —you're not supposed to sell or possess substances that are deemed illegal by the State, unless you work for the State.

In a recent House Judiciary Committee Hearing, the DEA's acting director, Chuck Rosenberg, was caught off-guard by a question andtacitly admitted that his agency sells drugs and lets drugs flow into communities. The ostensible purpose is to catch bigger drug dealers, but Rosenberg could not even summon the typical bureaucratic doublespeak to address the issue.
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Info

Putin vows to prevent 'color revolutions' for Russia and its Eurasian allies


RT
Wed, 12 Apr 2017 12:32 UTC
Members of a local anarchist movement burn flares during a sanctioned rally in Bolotnaya square in Moscow
© Anton Golubev / ReutersMembers of a local anarchist movement burn flares during a sanctioned rally in Bolotnaya square in Moscow December 10, 2011.
Russia will not allow external forces to destabilize its internal politics through protests and violence, and will protect its allies from this threat, President Vladimir Putin said in a televised interview.

"We know various theories that are being implemented in various parts of the world and lead to serious instability in these regions. Of course we must not allow anything of this sort and we will by all means take appropriate actions in Russia and support our partners in the CSTO," Putin told the Mir TV channel.

The CSTO is a military bloc that started its work in 2002. Currently CSTO unites six ex-Soviet nations - Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Russia.
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Bad Guys

US blames Russia for sowing doubt in 'Assad used chemical weapons' narrative


RT
Wed, 12 Apr 2017 12:08 UTC
US Capitol building
© Uwe Kazmaier / www.globallookpress.com
While Moscow continues to call for a thorough and independent probe into the Syrian chemical attack, the White House has "declassified" an open-sourced report that pins the blame on Damascus while accusing Moscow of "sowing doubt" over the US narrative.

"We have gone back through and looked at all the evidence we can and it's very clear who planned this attack, who authorized this attack and who conducted this attack itself," Defense Secretary James Mattis said Tuesday adding that he has "no doubt" that Assad was responsible.

On April 4, toxic gas, believed to be sarin, killed dozens of civilians in Khan Shaykhun in the Idlib province of Syria. At the time of the attack, the town was under the control of Tahrir al-Sham, formerly known as the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front.

Comment: Further reading: Putin: Idlib 'chemical attack' was false flag to set Assad up, possibly more to come

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Dollar

Navalny released from detention to teens demanding their 'hard-earned' 10k euros

Inessa Sinchougova (Translator)
Fort Russ
Wed, 12 Apr 2017 12:08 UTC
Alexei Navalny
Alexei Navalny
RusVesna - translated by Inessa Sinchougova

Oppositioner Mr. Navalny, having been detained by Moscow police since March 26th, was released today to a crowd of displeased teenagers.

The young people stood outside the facility and demanded their "hard earned" 10,000 Euros, for the participation in the unsanctioned Moscow opposition protests. Their signs read "When will we receive our 10k ?"; "You promised, you lied!" Mr. Navalny stands against dishonesty and state corruption.

Earlier it became known that Mr. Navalny had promised each teenager, who could get detained by the police as part of the opposition protest, 10,000 euros. Journalists have come up with the amount of 433.5 million rubles ($7.6m USD) for Navalny to be able to satisfy his claims.

Comment: Further reading:

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X

Russian MoD: 'Absolutely no evidence' the Syrian Army has chemical weapons


RT
Wed, 12 Apr 2017 12:08 UTC
President Bashar al-Assad
© SANA / Reuters Syria's President Bashar al-Assad
The Syrian Army has no chemical weapons and has "no need" to use any such arms, as it has already been conducting a successful offensive on militant positions, a Russian General Staff official has said.

Militants "are suffering one defeat after another and are leaving the territories they once controlled. Under such circumstances, the government of Bashar Assad has no need to use chemical weapons. Moreover, the Syrian Army does not have any [chemical agents]," Colonel General Sergey Rudskoy, the chief of the Russian General Staff's operations department, told journalists during a news briefing.

The top military official went on to say that Russia demands a"thorough investigation" of the April 4 incident in the town of Khan Sheikhoun located in Syria's Idlib province. He underlined that US and western claims accusing the Syrian government of being behind the alleged chemical assault are "highly questionable."

Comment: Further reading: Rewriting history: Politifact retracts story that US got chemical weapons out of Syria in 2014

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Attention

'Nodding like bobbleheads': Putin slams NATO's support for US violation of international law in Syria


RT
Wed, 12 Apr 2017 12:26 UTC
Vladimir Putin
© Sergei Chirikov / Reuters
The missile strike on Syria was a clear breach of international law, while Washington's claim that Damascus carried out the chemical attack that the US used as its casus belli is yet to be proven by any hard evidence, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"What was the reaction of the NATO allies? All of them are nodding like bobble heads," Putin said in an interview with Mir 24 TV channel.

"Where is evidence that Syrian troops used chemical weapons? No evidence. And what about the violation of international law? It is an obvious fact," he added.
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Newspaper

Defying the supreme leader? Ahmadinejad set to run for Iran presidency


RT
Wed, 12 Apr 2017 11:24 UTC
Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
© Morteza Nikoubazl / Reuters Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Former two-term Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has filed paperwork to run for the office for a third time in the May 19 election. The move comes in defiance of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who advised him against it.

The former hardline president is one of 126 people who registered Interior Ministry on Wednesday for the upcoming election, according to the IRNA news agency. Registration is open for five days, and more candidates, including incumbent President Hassan Rouhani, are expected to join.
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