Puppet MastersS


Dollar

White House releases financial disclosures on Bannon and Kushner among 180 high-ranking officials


RT
Sat, 01 Apr 2017 08:39 UTC
The White House
© Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
The White House has released financial disclosure documents from 180 officials, showing President Donald Trump's administration staffers raked in millions of dollars last year.

STEVE BANNON

White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon's financial disclosure report shows he earned between $1.3 and $2.3 million last year, according to the New York Times. Much of that money came from companies backed by Republican mega-donors Robert and Rebekah Mercer.

Bannon disclosed $191,000 in consulting fees from Breitbart News Network, where he previously worked as executive chairman before joining the Trump campaign. He also disclosed $125,333 in consulting fees from Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm that specializes in predicting the political leaning of voters through "psychographic" profiles based on details of their consumer habits, social media, and other traits.
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Radar

Belgium probes own possible involvement in Mosul strike that killed 200+


RT
Sat, 01 Apr 2017 08:27 UTC
Belgian fighter jet
© Belgian Defense / YouTube
Belgium has opened a preliminary investigation to determine if its jets were responsible for civilian casualties on at least two occasions in Iraq. One probe seeks to establish whether a Belgian F-16 was involved in the March 17 strike which killed over 200 people.

In one of the deadliest single incidents of the Mosul siege, hundreds of people lost their lives in the al-Jadida neighborhood on March 17 from what the initial reports indicated to be a US-led coalition airstrike.

With the exact number of casualties still unclear, Mosul's municipality chief, Abdul Sattar al-Habbo, who was supervising the rescue, said 240 bodies had been pulled from the rubble.
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Jet5

Serious Russian Meddling: 'Rebel' Offensive Collapses After Russian Airstrikes Wipe Out 'Entire Groups' of Jihadists in Hama

Matthew Allen
Russia Insider
Fri, 31 Mar 2017 21:36 UTC
Roach problem? No problem. Call 1-800-RUSSIA
Roach problem? No problem. Call 1-800-RUSSIA
The offensive launched last week by Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) targeting the Syrian city of Hama has screeched to a halt, according to multiple sources.

One reason for the lack of progress: Russian meddling. (As usual.)

HTS, the "latest incarnation of Al-Qaeda", assembled upwards of 10,000 jihadists in an attempt to seize Hama.

As usual, Russia crashed the party:

(We've found Inside Source to be highly reliable in the past, by the way.)
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Bad Guys

'Crushing news': McCain, Graham "deeply disturbed" over Syria policy change


RT
Fri, 31 Mar 2017 18:10 UTC
US Senator John McCain (L) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R)
© Jonathan Ernst / ReutersUS Senator John McCain (L) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R)
Following the announcement by top US diplomats that Washington will no longer pursue regime change in Syria, Republican senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham condemned the administration's shift in priorities, saying it would empower ISIS and Al-Qaeda.

On Thursday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the future of President Bashar Assad "will be decided by the Syrian people." Earlier in the day, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said Washington's "priority is no longer to sit there and focus on getting Assad out."

Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator John McCain (R-Arizona), said he was "deeply disturbed" by Haley and Tillerson's pronouncements, adding that their "suggestion that Assad can stay in power appears to be just as devoid of strategy as President Obama's pronouncements that 'Assad must go'."

Syrian people can't decide the future of their country "when they are being slaughtered by Assad's barrel bombs, Putin's aircraft, and Iran's terrorist proxies,"McCain said in a statement.


Comment: Or, in reality, slaughtered by McCain's terrorists.


He also said a "Faustian bargain with Assad and Putin" would betray US allies and partners and "empower ISIS, al-Qaeda, and other radical Islamist terrorists as the only alternative to the dictator that the Syrian people have fought for six years to remove."

Comment: See also: How President Trump and Sec of State Tillerson have changed US foreign policy in 5 ways

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Camcorder

Pentagon says videos show ISIS setting up civilians, provoking coalition airstrikes


RFE/RL
Thu, 30 Mar 2017 19:05 UTC
mosul rubble airstrike
Many civilians were reportedly killed in an explosion and building collapse in west Mosul.
The Pentagon says Islamic State (IS) militants in the Iraqi city of Mosul are holding civilians in buildings by force and then deliberately attracting coalition strikes.

A Pentagon spokesman on March 30 said the U.S. military will soon release a video showing IS fighters herding people into a building, then firing from the structure to bait coaltion forces.

The comments come as the U.S. military responds to criticism from within Iraq and internationally over a separate incident in which as many as 240 civilians are believed to have been killed.

"What you see now is not the use of civilians as human shields," said Colonel Joe Scrocca, a spokesman for the coalition. "Now it's something much more sinister."

He said militants are "smuggling civilians so we won't see them" into buildings and then attempting to draw an attack.

Comment: The Pentagon is damned if they do, damned if they don't. What they say above is plausible - that's the way ISIS operates. The Jihadis in Aleppo, and all over Syria, do the same or similar things. But the U.S. military will have to do a LOT to clean up their image if they want to really fight terrorism, and do so in a way that keeps what little honor they have intact. Decades of callous disregard for civilian life can't just be washed away. Funny thing is, ISIS knows that, which is why these tactics are so effective.

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Info

Mattis: U.S. concerned by Russia's actions in Afghanistan


RFE/RL
Fri, 31 Mar 2017 18:53 UTC
mattis
© AFPU.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis speaks to journalists during a press conference in London on March 31.
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has expressed concern over Russia's activities in Afghanistan and its interaction with the Taliban militant group.

"We have seen Russian activity vis-a-vis the Taliban," Mattis said during a news conference in London on March 31.

"I am not willing to say at this point if that is manifested into weapons and that sort of thing, but, certainly, what they are up to there in light of their other activities gives us concern," he added.

The comments come after U.S. General Curtis Scaparrotti, NATO's supreme allied commander in Europe, told a U.S. Senate committee on March 23 that he had seen evidence of increasing Russian efforts to influence the Taliban "and perhaps even to supply" the militant group.

Comment: While Russia denies "aiding" the Taliban, they probably do have contact. Along with China and Pakistan, Russia is actually interested in finding a solution for Afghanistan that is better than the status quo. And like it or not, that involves dealing with the Taliban. See Andrew Korybko's analysis, for instance: Pakistan's Eurasian Solution for the Conflict in Afghanistan. Whereas the U.S. has been denying a significant ISIS presence in the country, Russia, China, and Pakistan warn the Islamic State is growing in Afghanistan. Newsbud's Peter Lee agrees, and points out how the West's narrative is falling apart:



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Target

Trump: American firms should look for China-alternatives ahead of first meeting with Xi


RT
Fri, 31 Mar 2017 12:50 UTC
Trump
© Newsweek
US President Donald Trump has warned American businesses they may be forced to cut ties with China. Next Thursday President Trump will have his first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Businesses and experts are warning Trump of a possible backlash. "The meeting next week with China will be a very difficult one in that we can no longer have massive trade deficits and job losses. American companies must be prepared to look at other alternatives," Trump tweeted.

Trump will host the Chinese President at his country club in Florida. The two leaders will "discuss global, regional, and bilateral issues of mutual concern," the White House said in a statement.

Beijing responded to Trump's harsh rhetoric quite neutrally.

On Friday, China's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Zheng Zeguang repeatedly emphasized that "both China and the US attach great importance to the upcoming presidential meeting." The countries "hope for a successful meeting so that a correct direction will be set for the growth of bilateral relations," he added.

General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt has warned Trump about the importance of trade with China. "The country loses if we don't trade. The relationship with China is key. If you give up on trade, you give up on the best lever that the president of the United States has in negotiating around the world. I just think that President Trump is too smart to give up on that," he said, as quoted by Reuters.

Comment: Trump is a classic, almost quintessential, businessman. The bigger the deal, the bigger the game face, keep them guessing and underestimating. As a president, this takes getting used to. In business, it is an advantage.

See also: How President Trump and Sec of State Tillerson have changed US foreign policy in 5 ways

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Windsock

How President Trump and Sec of State Tillerson have changed US foreign policy in 5 ways

Adam Garrie
The Duran
Fri, 31 Mar 2017 00:00 UTC
Trump Tillerson
© Scribd"We got this!"
Rex Tillerson has offered insights into the pragmatic trajectory of US foreign policy under Donald Trump. Former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson once said that a week is a long time in politics. After months of Donald Trump's foreign policy being something of a mystery, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's globe-trotting journey has made things a lot clearer.

The language of American foreign policy has changed significantly under Trump and Tillerson vis-a-vis Obama/Clinton and Kerry. Ideology is kind of heavy handed at times; surprisingly cordial pragmatism is in.

Here are the five ways this has manifested itself.

1. No More Lectures

The Obama administration had a tendency to lecture other nations about how they ought to run their countries, using diplomatic avenues to deliver the message. Diplomacy is not about speaking down to other nations but about speaking respectfully to others in the pursuit of cooperation and understanding in areas of mutual self-interest.

Thus far, the two most important countries in terms of regional and geo-political influence that Tillerson has visited, have been China and Turkey. In both cases, Tillerson used the language of good will, cooperation and respect in order to emphasise the nature of the relationship.

This is a stark contrast to the Obama administration who often offered provocative and disrespectful remarks to China and who consigned Turkey to the realm of an unimportant, distant regional player. Although, Turkey's regional role has been overwhelmingly negative, it has nevertheless been very prominent. Turkey cannot be ignored, even though Obama tried his best to ignore it.

Obama's approach was both foolhardy and objectively wrong. China is a superpower and the US depends economically on China far more than many in the west let on. If anything, China has the upper hand in future negotiations with the US. Therefore approaching China with anything other than a position of respect is insulting to this key superpower. Obama's approach was the antithesis of diplomacy.

Comment: What a difference respect and increased objectivity make. May it ripple outward.

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Stock Up

Tillerson urges NATO allies to create spending boost plans


RFE/RL
Fri, 31 Mar 2017 00:00 UTC
Tillerson Stoltenberg
© ReutersUS Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and General Jens Stoltenberg
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has urged NATO allies to boost defense spending or come up with plans to reach the alliance's budget guidelines. Washington is spending a "disproportionate share" on defense compared with its partners, Tillerson told a NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels on March 31.

The NATO members pledged in 2014 to move toward a guideline of spending 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense within a decade, but only five nations currently meet the target. "Our goal should be to agree at the May leaders' meeting that by the end of the year all allies will have either met the pledge guidelines or will have developed plans that clearly articulate how...the pledge will be fulfilled," Tillerson said.

The Brussels meeting is the first NATO meeting to be attended by Tillerson. The meeting was initially scheduled for next week and Tillerson had planned to skip it, citing other commitments, but it was subsequently rescheduled. The gathering is preparation for a May 25 NATO summit that U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will attend.

Since his presidential election campaign, Trump has pushed to get U.S. allies to increase their defense spending to help ease the burden on the United States. His criticism of NATO -- which he called "obsolete" during the campaign -- and his stated desire for closer relations with Russia have raised questions among allies about his commitment to the alliance.

But Tillerson told them that the United States will ensure the alliance has the capability to defend itself. "We understand that a threat against one of us is a threat against all of us, and we will respond accordingly," he said. "We will uphold the agreements we have made to defend our allies."

Comment: Defying facts, Russia is at the mercy of a "NATO jury," an organization to which it doesn't belong nor owes accountability. NATO is a great example of the fallacy in convincing yourself of a reality that is (in reality) a delusion.

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Key

S. Korea's impeached president moved to detention center


RT
Fri, 31 Mar 2017 10:27 UTC
Park Geun-hye
© Lim Heon-jeong / Yonhap via ReutersOusted leader Park Geun-hye leaves her private house in Seoul.
Ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye has been moved to a detention center, where her only privileges over other inmates will be a slightly larger, more comfortable cell, according to prosecution and correctional authorities. The 65-year-old was assigned a single cell at the facility, a security official said, as cited by Reuters. As for the conditions Park is kept in, officials believe her ex-president status could entitle her to a larger cell than the standard 6.56 square meter unit.

"I think Park will stay in a better facility. And she will have a bigger cell than those of others," Reuters quoted Kim Kyung-soo, a retired prosecutor who interrogated two ex-leaders, Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, in a 1995 treason and bribery case.

Apart from that, Park will have to obey the same detention rules as the others, such as getting up at 6:30am and going to bed at about 9pm. She will also be allowed to watch pre-recorded TV programs, cleared by the Justice Ministry, and will be served a rotating 2,500-calorie set of meals. Citing the prison food menu, Reuters reports her $1.30 Friday lunch will include rice with bean sprouts, kimchi, cabbage stew and seaweed.


Comment: See also: Impeached South Korean President Park leaves presidential palace, early elections date to be announced

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