Puppet MastersS


Attention

Trump may seek support from Japan in countering China's growing influence


RT
Fri, 11 Nov 2016 21:53 UTC
Soldiers from U.S. Marines and Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force
© KYODO / Reuters Soldiers from U.S. Marines and Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force.
The US president-elect will likely seek to gain Tokyo's support in countering China's rising influence in Asia despite existing rift over Japanese funding for American troops stationed in that country, according to Donald Trump's security adviser.

A meeting between Trump and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in New York next Thursday may include discussing tougher stance on China which seeks to extend its influence over Southeast Asia, Reuters reported on Friday.

Trump wants Japan "to play a more active role in Asia," a security adviser for the US president-elect who chose not to disclose his identity, told Reuters.
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Colosseum

Trump, Brexit and the collapse of the Western liberal order

John Wight
Counterpunch
Fri, 11 Nov 2016 20:31 UTC
trump cartoon caricature
© DonkeyHotey
One of the most confounding aspects of Donald Trump's election as 45th President of the United States is that in the space of a year - indeed less than a year - a man with zero political experience has destroyed two of America's most entrenched political dynasties: Bush and Clinton.

Just pause on this for a moment, and place it in the context of someone who when he first appeared on the political stage as a candidate for the Republican nomination was met with ridicule and scorn. Consequently, a mainstream media and liberal commentators for whom politics is an exclusive club, the preserve of a select group of blessed people who belong to this club as if by divine right, have just been delivered one almighty slap-down.

The sense of entitlement that emanated from the Clinton campaign during this election was astonishing to behold. Hillary Clinton emitted the demeanour of a woman approaching a coronation rather than an election, disdaining not only Donald Trump but also his supporters, whom she infamously described as "deplorables". This was her undoing.

Regardless of the attempt to paint her as someone in touch with the suffering and pain of the millions of Americans who have long been denied a seat at the banquet of US democracy, she came over as the very embodiment of a machine politician, a candidate whose credibility and character was irredeemably tainted by her connections to Wall Street, big business, the Saudis, George Soros, etc.
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Cowboy Hat

Duterte humility: 'I'm just small molecule compared to Trump'


RT
Fri, 11 Nov 2016 20:14 UTC
Duterte
© Edgar Su / ReutersPhilippines President Rodrigo Duterte
Controversial Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte has said that compared to Donald Trump he is just a "small molecule." Duterte, known for his harsh rhetoric toward outgoing US President Barack Obama, has hailed Trump's election victory.

"I'm just a small molecule on this planet, he's now the president of the most powerful country in the world," Duterte is cited as saying by ABS-CBN News.

"I am just a president struggling barely above the water," he added.

According to Duterte, he and Trump share the same "passion to serve" the people of their respective countries.

The Philippines leader expressed confidence that Washington will remain Manila's "friend" and "ally" under the new US president, adding that all bilateral agreements between the states will be respected.

Comment: Duterte has a passion to serve the Filipino peoples and is not afraid to take the heat for it.

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Chess

Obama directs Pentagon to deploy more drones to eliminate Al Qaeda targets in Syria


RT
Fri, 11 Nov 2016 20:21 UTC
A U.S. Air Force MQ-1 Predator
© U.S. Air Force / ReutersA U.S. Air Force MQ-1 Predator
President Obama has reportedly ordered more armed drones and intelligence assets to be deployed to Syria as he tasked the Pentagon to go after Al-Qaeda-linked militants. The move, not formally confirmed yet, could signal a major turn in Obama's approach in Syria.

Several unnamed US officials told The Washington Post that Obama ordered the military's Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) to use additional armed drones and surveillance aircraft in the airspace over northwestern Syria.

According to one official, the president could not deal "with the devil" - meaning the Syrian Al-Qaeda offshoot formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra. Fighting against Assad on the side of the US-supported rebels, the group cut ties with Al-Qaeda and changed its name to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham in July.

"The president doesn't want this group to be what inherits the country if Assad ever does fall," a senior US official told The Post. "This cannot be the viable Syrian opposition. It's Al-Qaeda."

Comment: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister said that the possible instruction to kill key leaders of the terrorist group formerly known as the Nusra Front by the United States is welcome news if confirmed officially.
"If in fact we are talking abut such a decision, it can only be welcomed," Ryabkov told reporters, noting that he has not yet seen official confirmation of the media reports.


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Attention

Russia will continue to implement 'humanitarian pauses' in Aleppo but won't let terrorists take advantage


RT
Fri, 11 Nov 2016 18:56 UTC
Allepo
© Omar haj kadour / AFP
The Russian military will continue staging 'humanitarian pauses' in the Syrian city of Aleppo, but their length won't be increased. Otherwise terrorists would use them to restore their own battle capabilities, Russia's defense ministry said.

According to the ministry, it received a letter from Senior Adviser to UN Special Envoy for Syria, Jan Egeland, earlier this week, in which he requested that the length of future Russian "humanitarian pauses" be increased.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, Major-General Igor Konashenkov, acknowledged that "humanitarian pauses" are, "certainly, necessary."

However, he stressed that "simply prolonging them, not for the sake of providing real assistance to the civilian population, but for the terrorists to better restore their combat capability, is counterproductive." The spokesman added that Russia already delivered 100 tons of humanitarian cargo to Aleppo "regardless of any 'humanitarian pauses."

"The 'humanitarian pauses' aren't being introduced overnight. The UN representatives are being informed in advance of their date and time, the placement of humanitarian corridors to be used by civilians and withdrawing militants, the security measures, the number of available buses, ER vehicles, hot food stalls," he said.
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Newspaper

General Flynn: The US can assist Turkey by not providing a safe haven for Fethullah Gülen

LT. GEN. Michael T. Flynn
The Hill
Tue, 08 Nov 2016 17:57 UTC
erdogan Gulen
© Getty ImagesErdoğan and Gülen
It is fair to say that most Americans don't know exactly what to make of our ally Turkey these days, as it endures a prolonged political crisis that challenges its long-term stability. The U.S. media is doing a bang-up job of reporting the Erdoğan government's crackdown on dissidents, but it's not putting it into perspective.

We must begin with understanding that Turkey is vital to U.S. interests. Turkey is really our strongest ally against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), as well as a source of stability in the region. It provides badly needed cooperation with U.S. military operations. But the Obama administration is keeping Erdoğan's government at arm's length — an unwise policy that threatens our long-standing alliance.

The primary bone of contention between the U.S. and Turkey is Fethullah Gülen, a shady Islamic mullah residing in Pennsylvania whom former President Clinton once called his "friend" in a well circulated video.

Comment: Wolf in sheep's clothing: Who and 'what' is Fethullah Gülen?

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Chess

How Trump 'shakeups' are already indirectly helping Russia and Syria (and the USA)

Ruslan Ostashko
PolitRussia via Fort Russ
Fri, 11 Nov 2016 00:00 UTC
Trump
© CNN.com
Perhaps the most famous media project of Donald Trump is the reality show The Apprentice on NBC, in which Trump played himself and subjected people wanting to work in his business to various tests. Trump not only played the lead role in the show, but also successfully produced it, which proves that he can not only build hotels, but also very well understands modern show business. This also shows how his opponents greatly underestimated him during the presidential race.

Before Trump launched his presidential slogan "Make America Great Again," in the public's mind he was already associated with another catchphrase: "You're fired!", which he yelled at the careless participants of his TV show. Some American commentators have even written that voters might have voted for him just to see whether he would dress down Washington officials in the same way he did on TV. So far, at least in front of cameras, Trump is behaving relatively restrained, especially since he has no official rights yet. But the press is already leaking information about what he is doing behind closed doors.

For example, USA Today, a newspaper which is very skeptical towards the new president, reports that Trump's first victims are Pentagon generals. He has set before them the unspoken task of working out a plan for mass, effective airstrikes on ISIS. The due date is in 30 days and will have unpredictable, negative consequences for those generals who will not fulfill the order or will handle it poorly. The sources of American journalists are even complaining that these generals could be forced to - get ready - cooperate with Russia and even share information with the Russian air force, something which for many senior US commanders is worse than having to shred their insignia.

Comment: As in good business, waste no time, lay out your terms, demand exemplary execution. Obama is scrambling to play catch-up. What can they do to him now. Fire him?

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Che Guevara

Ron Paul: Trump should resist neocon, shadow gov't influence to justify people's hopes


RT
Fri, 11 Nov 2016 18:48 UTC
Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Donald Trump's success or failure as the next US president will largely depend on his ability to keep his independence from the "shadow government" and elite structures that shaped the policies of previous administrations, former presidential candidate Ron Paul told RT.

Trump, 70, enters the US presidency a political virgin, whose policies will be shaped by advice offered by his political cabinet.

Comment: See also: President Trump Is A Wake Up Call, But Not For The Reasons You Think

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Bizarro Earth

DNC chair Donna Brazile booed by staff for backing 'flawed candidate' Clinton


RT
Fri, 11 Nov 2016 15:12 UTC
Donna Brazile
© RedStateWatcherDonna Brazile: "No regrets."
The interim head of the Democratic National Committee, Donna Brazile, was booed and shouted at during a post-election meeting in Washington. Brazile, who was exposed in WikiLeaks' Podesta emails for giving primary debate and town hall questions to Hillary Clinton's campaign when she was a CNN contributor, has been a target for angry Democrats following Clinton's loss to Republican Donald Trump.

Brazile stepped in as interim chair of the DNC following revelations that then-chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz had worked to suppress fellow Democrat, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, in favor of Clinton during the Democratic primaries. During Brazile's speech to DNC employees on Thursday about the way forward, a staffer, only identified as Zach, stood up to confront the interim chair. "Why should we trust you as chair to lead us through this?" he asked, the Huffington Post reports. "You backed a flawed candidate, and your friend [former DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz] plotted through this to support your own gain and yourself."

As some attendees began to boo, Zach continued. "You are part of the problem. You and your friends will die of old age and I'm going to die from climate change. You and your friends let this happen, which is going to cut 40 years off my life expectancy."

There is anger among members of the party who feel the establishment worked to impede democracy by pushing for its chosen candidate Clinton to succeed over Sanders. To many, Brazile symbolizes the DNC's disconnect from the progressive elements of the party after it was revealed that she had given Clinton an advantage against Sanders during the primaries.

Comment: WOW. Having been scandalized and skewered by her actions, she claims she would do it all again by better covering her tracks...but only after she couldn't get away with blaming Russia. What immoral planet does Brazile live on...oh yeah, this one.

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Arrow Down

The demise of US liberalism; the rise of the underdog

Robert Bridge
RT
Fri, 11 Nov 2016 13:06 UTC
obama's red line
© MoonbatteryObama's other red line. The decimation of liberalism.
The 2016 race to the White House threw a spotlight on the US Liberal, a fiercely insular political species that has become more focused on supporting radical, controversial cultural experiments than serving as watchdogs against government abuse of power.

Since much of the disbelief over Trump pulling an "upset" over Hillary Clinton has turned to reports of anti-Trump protests around the country, it seems like a good to discuss what for me is the most under-reported phenomenon of the 2016 presidential election: The death of the Liberal movement in America.

American Liberalism - and by extension, the Democratic Party - has not really passed away, per se, rather it has transmogrified into something completely strange, alien and, I believe, unsustainable as a political force. Sure, it was fun while the party lasted - legal marijuana, transgender bathrooms, same-sex marriages (I would like to emphasize that I am not necessarily casting judgment on those ideas per se, but rather questioning the logic behind introducing them in such rapid-fire succession). Too much of a good thing, too fast? That was the main reason, I believe, why the wheels finally came off the Democrat's coast-to-coast road trip.

In the last eight years of the Obama administration, Liberals have become obsessed with cultural over strictly political affairs. Concerned only with maximizing 'freedom of choice' for its increasingly hedonistic, self-serving adherents, they've done irreparable damage to the Liberal creed. In other words, the constitutionally guaranteed 'pursuit of happiness' in the cultural realm is the ultimate goal, and to hell with consideration for what's happening in the virtual world of politics and geopolitics.

Comment: There are still Americans who remember the 1960s when speaking out was a wake-up call, a public service instead of a crime. It shows how a society, in a short number of years through programming and atrophy, has grown numb and dumb to important issues. It has accepted spoon-fed media perspectives and has lost touch with the constitutionally-granted power of the people, now marginalized by acts of manipulation by the PTB. Trump remembers and, if nothing else, he serves as a connector to a time when 'the people' still mattered.

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