Puppet MastersS


Red Flag

Trump Admin. considering implementing 'extreme vetting' procedures for foreigners entering US

Laura Meckler
Wall Street Journal
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 14:16 UTC
phone privacy
© ERIC RISBERG/ASSOCIATED PRESSA man holding his iPhone during a rally in support of data privacy in San Francisco in February
Foreigners who want to visit the U.S., even for a short trip, could be forced to disclose contacts on their mobile phones, social-media passwords and financial records, and to answer probing questions about their ideology, according to Trump administration officials conducting a review of vetting procedures.

The administration also wants to subject more visa applicants to intense security reviews and have embassies spend more time interviewing each applicant. The changes could apply to people from all over the world, including allies like France and Germany.

The measures—whose full scope haven't yet been publicly discussed—would together represent the "extreme vetting" President Donald Trump has promised. The changes would be sure to generate significant controversy, both at home, from civil libertarians and others who see the questions as overly intrusive, and abroad, with experts warning that other nations could impose similar requirements on Americans seeking visas.

"If there is any doubt about a person's intentions coming to the United States, they should have to overcome—really and truly prove to our satisfaction—that they are coming for legitimate reasons," said Gene Hamilton, senior counselor to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.
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Bad Guys

Mission accomplished: 'Hogtied' Trump not likely to ease anti-Russian sanctions


RT
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 14:13 UTC
The US Capitol, Washington, DC
© Nicholas Kamm / AFPThe US Capitol, Washington, DC
The White House won't relax sanctions imposed on Russia over the conflict in eastern Ukraine during the next twelve months, according to the majority of economists, surveyed by Bloomberg.

The scandals that have recently unfolded around Russia's alleged meddling in the US presidential election, as well as rising pressure on President Trump and his administration, forced experts to scale back their optimism over the issue.

The proportion of analysts, who believed Washington would begin softening its punitive measures against the country, has fallen to 25 percent, less than half what it was in January.
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Bad Guys

Supreme Court to decide if Arab Bank can be liable for 'financing terror' in Israel


RT
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 14:13 UTC
Arab bank
© Mohamed Azakir / Reuters
The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the Arab Bank may be financially liable for claims that it served as the "paymaster" of terror attacks in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.

On Monday, the Supreme Court granted a petition filed by roughly 6,000 victims of terrorist attacks between January 1995 and July 2005.

In the case, Jesner v Arab Bank, the victims and their families are accusing the Jordan-based Arab Bank of distributing hundreds of millions of dollars to finance suicide bombings and making"martyrdom" payments to the families of suicide bombers.

Comment: Once again the US takes on the role as arbiter of international law. But this could be an interesting precedent - no doubt Syrians would be delighted if Western and Israeli sources could be held liable for financing terrorism in their country.

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Sheriff

AG Sessions asks for delay in Baltimore police reform


RT
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 14:15 UTC
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions
© Yuri Gripas / ReutersU.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions
The US Justice Department is asking a federal judge for more time to review the Baltimore Police Department as part of its relationship with local law enforcement under President Donald Trump's new policies.

On Monday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a motion requesting a 90-day pause to "review and assess" a proposed agreement to reform the Baltimore Police Department (BPD).

In January, the DOJ announced an agreement with the Baltimore PD on a court-enforceable consent decree filed with the US District Court for the District of Maryland.

The announcement came after a 2015 investigation into the department found police were engaging in "a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the First and Fourth Amendments of the Constitution as well as federal anti-discrimination laws."
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Jet5

US military woes: 3 out of 10 Air Force planes are out of commission

Stephen Losey
Air Force Times
Sun, 02 Apr 2017 14:05 UTC
AC-130
AC-130
On March 22, as North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un prepared to test-launch a missile and tensions rose on the volatile Korean peninsula, a lone B-1B Lancer bomber took off from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and flew across the Pacific on a Continuous Bomber Presence sortie.

It rendezvoused with Japanese F-15J Eagles for a training mission, before flying on to South Korea to further train with their F-15Ks and F-16s.

But there were supposed to be two B-1Bs there that day. The second bomber that was "scheduled to respond to a clear and present danger in North Korea," as Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., said in a hearing later that day, was unable to take off. Pacific Air Forces later said a maintenance issue kept the second Lancer on the ground.

It's not only B-1Bs having readiness problems. On any given day, according to official statistics, nearly three out of every 10 aircraft in the Air Force's aging fleet are out of commission — in the shop getting upgrades, undergoing regular maintenance or inspections, or receiving heavier-duty repair work.
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Handcuffs

Head of Russian Republic of Udmurtia held over suspected bribery


RT
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 14:10 UTC
gate to jail cells
© Alexey Filippov / Sputnik
The head of the Republic of Udmurtia, central Russia, has been detained and urgently taken to Moscow over charges of accepting multimillion-dollar bribes from a construction company, a spokesperson for Russia's top law enforcement agency reports.

The Investigative Committee has started a criminal case against Aleksandr Solovyov after agents uncovered two cases of suspected graft and large-scale bribery, agency spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko told reporters on Tuesday.

According to investigators, in 2014-2016 a company building bridges in Udmurtia allegedly gave the head of the republic 139 million rubles in cash (about $2.44 million) and a 2.7 million ruble-valued stake in real estate (about $47,000) as bribes.
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Bulb

Far-left German party says NATO should be replaced with new security alliance that includes Russia


RFE/RL
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 14:05 UTC
Die Linke
© AFP 2017/ JOHANNES EISELE
The far-left German Linke party says NATO should be replaced by a new alliance that includes Russia.

In its draft program for the September 24 elections, the Linke (The Left) on April 3 also called for a ban on weapons exports and an end to German combat missions.

The party did not insist on withdrawing from NATO in its draft program. In the past, its call for Germany to pull out of the Western military alliance has helped to limit its popularity.
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Propaganda

Moscow 'not surprised' that Poland just accused Russia of murdering their president

RI Staff
Russia Insider
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 13:35 UTC
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
© Sergei Karpukhin / ReutersRussia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
Moscow responds to new allegations that Russian air traffic staff "deliberately" caused the downing of a plane carrying the Polish president in 2010

Moscow has responded to claims by the Polish government that Russia "deliberately" brought down a plane carrying the Polish president in 2010: We're not surprised that we're being blamed for everything, again.

While Russia recovers from the terror attack in St. Petersburg, Polish prosecutors have leveled fresh allegations that Russian air traffic staff "deliberately" caused the downing of a plane carrying the Polish president, Lech Kachzynski, in 2010.

Comment: It seems Russia is garnering too much sympathy following the tragedy in St Petersburg - time to ramp up the 'Russians are evil' theme.

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USA

Donald Trump: Hate his style, ignore his substance

Nedka Babliku
The Duran
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 13:35 UTC
The Donald's style has evolved, his substance has been remarkably consistent.
Donald Trump
In true conservative style, Donald Trump's views and politics have remained the same in the last four decades. The only thing that has changed is his delivery.

Judging from old interviews, it is clear to see how Trump has gone from a business and entertainment legend - a television person speaking in a similar manner to other television people, and generally about television people, to a legendary, larger-than-life figure addressing real people. His rhetoric in his younger days was smoother and more fluid; he was a different cat then, a calmer cat. But the context was also very different, while the content has barely changed.

In an interview with Larry King in 1987, he criticized US foreign policy, specifically its mismanagement of funds and subsequent high deficit at the expense of American farmers, the poor, the sick and the homeless. This was an honest man, talking to an honest host about honest and serious matters.
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MIB

Who's done Russia the most good? Democratic lobbyists

Paul Roderick Gregory
Forbes
Sat, 18 Feb 2017 13:06 UTC
Michael Flynn
© Saul Loeb/Agence France-Press/GettyRetired Army Lt. General Michael Flynn arrives for the Presidential Inauguration of Donald Trump at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, January 20, 2017. Flynn is appointed National Security Advisor to Trump.
K Street lobbyists are the symbol of Washington influence-peddling as they push government for favors, subsidies, exemptions, and other special treatment for their clients. Their customers include, in addition to domestic clients, foreign governments, oligarchs, fugitive speculators, and a rogue's gallery of questionable figures. Washington lobbyists trade on their access to power. Many are former administration officials or members of Congress. If Trump fulfills his promise to "drain the swamp," these influence peddlers would have nothing to sell. They are under attack.

The media has focused not on K Street but on the Russian ties of President Donald Trump's associates. They list the reprehensible Kremlin-associated figures for whom members of his inner circle worked, the most notorious being Viktor Yanukovich, the deposed president of Ukraine, and fugitive oligarch, Dymtro Firtash. But both of these "repulsive" figures were also advised by Democratic top dogs, who likely earned large multiples of what the "small fry" Trump associates took home.

In pushing its Manchurian-candidate-Trump narrative, the media fail to mention the much deeper ties of Democratic lobbyists to Russia. Don't worry, the media seems to say: Even though they are representing Russia, the lobbyists are good upstanding citizens, not like the Trump people. They can be trusted with such delicate matters.
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