Puppet MastersS


Rocket

Israel opened fire on Syrian government forces after shell landed in Golan Heights


Sputnik
Thu, 09 Feb 2017 01:49 UTC
Israeli chopper
© Reuters/Bas RatnerExtreme Responder
An Israeli helicopter fired at Syrian government forces positions in the province of Quneitra in southern Syria, after a shell landed in Golan Heights, Beirut media report.

The Israeli attack targeted a military town in the Syrian city of Al-Baas, the Al Mayadeen TV channel said late on Wednesday citing a source, who specified that Syrian government troops in Al-Baas are fighting against terrorists from the Jabhat Fatah al Sham group, formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, or al-Nusra Front.

Meanwhile, the press service of the Israeli Defense Forces said on Wednesday that Israeli forces fired at a post of Syrian government troops after the northern area of the Israel-controlled part of the Golan Heights was shelled from the direction of Syria.

The Israeli side did not suffer any casualties. According to the Israeli Defense Forces, it is unclear whether the shelling was intentional or an accidental result of internal fighting in Syria.

Multiple incidents have been registered when fighting between government forces and opposition and terrorist groups in Syria resulted in mortar shells and rockets landing on Israeli territory.

Comment: A stray shell landed unintentionally on Israeli territory (that used to be Syrian), exploding in an open area. Israel's retaliation: Let's shoot up the Syrian army's military town. Something anti-Semitic about the mistake or just normal psychopathic trigger response?

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Stormtrooper

Marco Rubio: Arming Syrian rebels now more difficult, US didn't 'empower right people'


RT
Wed, 08 Feb 2017 22:27 UTC
MarcoRubio
© Reuters/Kevin LamarqueUS Senator Marco Rubio
The growing influence of Islamic radicals inside Syria has made arming rebels more difficult and less productive than it was at the beginning of the country's civil war, US Senator Marco Rubio, a former presidential hopeful, told Sputnik. "It's a much more difficult proposition now... we [the United States] didn't empower the right people," Rubio told the news agency on Tuesday, when asked if he supported arming opposition forces inside Syria.

He went on to state that the people the US should have been empowering "were killed and wiped out, and it's the radical elements who grew in influence and ability." Rubio said the rebels on the ground are now "smaller" and "less equipped and less capable than we wish they would've been at this stage in the process."

"I warned at the outset of the conflict that at that time there were Syrians there that we could have empowered, but if we didn't then the best equipped, most effective groups on the ground would become these foreign Islamic radicals that have flowed into Syria. And that's exactly how it played out, so it's harder," Rubio said. He also said that the strategy to arm the rebels may have once been a lot more productive than it is now, but noted that there are still some elements on the ground which the US could work with.

Comment: Trump is joining Russia to eradicate ISIS and Rubio thinks there are still some radicals the US could work with. One was elected president and one lost the primary in his home state where he remains insignificant.

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Propaganda

Abby Martin: Fake news and the oligarchy behind it

Jay Syrmopoulos
The Free Thought Project
Wed, 08 Feb 2017 15:17 UTC
Abby Martin
© RT
Jay Syrmopoulos, of The Free Thought Project, interviewed investigative reporter Abby Martin, the former host of the RT show Breaking the Set, which was featured in the fatally flawed DNI report on Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election, and asked her a few questions about the widely panned intelligence report, fake news and more.

The "Declassified Intelligence Community Assessment of Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections" report, which amounted to nothing more than a speculative assessment, contained no actual evidence of Russian hacking, and was a clear attempt at propping up a dubious political agenda.

The report provided no conclusive evidence to support the oft-made claims of "Russia hacking the election," and instead devoted a large section of the report to speculative claims about Russian motives and criticism of the Russian television station RT.

In particular, the report explicitly blamed the RT program, Breaking the Set, for undermining Americans' confidence in US electoral processes. One major problem: the program wasn't even on the air during the current presidential election cycle.

Comment: Not one of the CIA's shining moments.

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Dollars

Marine Le Pen declares 'Euro is not a currency, it's a political weapon'


RT
Thu, 09 Feb 2017 15:24 UTC
anti-Euro symbol
© Jacky Naegelen / Reuters
French presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen, who has been calling the country to leave the eurozone and give up the euro, has described the single currency as "a knife which the EU puts into the backs of the people."

In an interview with the BBC, she talked about her vision for the future of Europe after this year's elections in France, Germany and the Netherlands, and the UK's Brexit vote.

According to Politico, Le Pen said the European Union should change radically and deeply, and abandon its authoritarian character, "or it will die."


Comment: Marion Marechal-Le Pen: National Front is only force standing for a Europe of sovereign states


Comment: See also: It's not just Brexit: Greece, Spain, and France are also on the brink

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Star of David

How DARE he! Netanyahu summons Brussels envoy after Belgian PM meets with anti-occupation groups


RT
Thu, 09 Feb 2017 15:17 UTC
Charles Michel and Benjamin Netanyahu
© Johanna Geron / www.globallookpress.com Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered a reprimand of the Belgian Ambassador after a meeting between Belgium's PM and leaders of two Israeli human rights groups accusing the Israeli army of abuse in occupied Palestinian territories.

"The Belgian government needs to decide whether it wants to change direction or continue with an anti-Israel line," Netanyahu's office warned in a statement Wednesday, referring to Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel's decision to hold a meeting with heads of B'tselem and Breaking the Silence right groups during his three-day official visit to Israel.

The Belgian ambassador, Olivier Belle, is set to be summoned to the Israeli Foreign Ministry on Thursday.

Both human rights groups are known for uncovering cases of abuse of power by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) against Palestinians, such as random shootings of civilians. The groups constantly face accusations of denigrating Israel's image, undermining its security and endangering the lives of soldiers.

While criticizing Michel for meeting human rights activists, the Israeli PM's office also pointed to another "unfriendly" gesture by Belgium, which had opened an investigation into the alleged war crimes during the Israeli offensive in Gaza in late December 2008 and early January 2009 known as Operation Cast Lead. Last month, the Zionist Union's Tzipi Livni, who was foreign minister at the time of the operation, canceled a visit to Brussels after the Belgian prosecutor's office announced it wanted to question her.
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Blackbox

Another of Trump's executive orders challenged in court


RT
Thu, 09 Feb 2017 15:01 UTC
Trump
© REUTERS/ Mark Kauzlarich
Another of President Donald Trump's executive orders is headed to court. Requiring the removal of two old regulations before a new one is imposed goes beyond his constitutional authority, opponents allege.

Trump's "one-in, two-out" executive order over regulations received pushback from unions and left-leaning advocacy groups. Trump claimed that the order was not directed specifically at regulations from the Obama administration but rather "a knock on many presidents preceding me."

While the 178,000 pages of rules in the Code of Federal Regulations likely contains some redundancies, outdated policies or unnecessary policies, there is concern about Trump's promise to repeal 75 percent of all federal regulations.

Comment: Further reading: Is The Trump Administration Already Over?

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Eye 2

UK argues that ending arms trade to Saudi Arabia 'carries serious political risks'


RT
Thu, 09 Feb 2017 15:00 UTC
starvation malnutrition yemen
© Abduljabbar Zeyad / Reuters Salem Abdullah Musabih, 6, is held by his mother as she sits on a bed at a malnutrition intensive care unit at a hospital in the Red Sea port city of Hodaida, Yemen.
Halting Britain's multi-billion pound arms trade with Saudi Arabia would have serious political ramifications, the UK government has told a London court.

In a landmark judicial review, which has the potential to derail weapons sales from the UK to the Gulf State, the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) is arguing the exports are not compatible with UK and EU legislation, because they have been used to illegally kill Yemeni civilians.

The High Court case follows a call from campaign groups, led by CAAT, for the UK secretary of state for international trade to suspend all extant licenses and stop issuing further arms export licenses to Saudi Arabia while a full review takes place.
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Target

'Go hang on a banana tree': Zimbabwe official tells US embassy to buzz off over human rights concerns


RT
Thu, 09 Feb 2017 14:49 UTC
banana tree
© Markus Lange / www.globallookpress.com
A Zimbabwe official had some stern and rather unusual words for the US embassy after it criticized the African country's human rights record, telling the State Department officials they can "go and hang on a banana tree."

Presidential spokesman George Charamba delivered the message on Tuesday, according to Zimbabwe's state-run Herald newspaper.

He went on to denounce US Ambassador Harry K. Thomas Jr.

"He thinks he can boss over us," said Charamba, adding "they go and hang on a banana tree," according to The Herald.

Charamba also branded the US ambassador "a leftover from a terrible era," apparently referring to past US administrations that have had tumultuous relations with Zimbabwe's long-time leader, Robert Mugabe.

This unique way of telling Thomas, or any other American critics, to buzz off, came after the US embassy in Harare had expressed concern about what it called the "continuing deterioration" of human rights in Zimbabwe.

"The US Government unequivocally believes in the basic right to freedom of speech and calls on the Government of Zimbabwe to respect the human rights of all Zimbabwean citizens which are enshrined in the constitution," the embassy wrote in a statement on Monday.
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Footprints

Trump's Labor nominee Andrew Puzder admits to hiring undocumented worker


RT
Tue, 07 Feb 2017 20:04 UTC
Puzder labor secretary
© Drew Angerer / Agence France-PresseAndrew Puzder
US President Donald Trump's pick for Labor Department head, Andrew Puzder, has admitted to employing an undocumented immigrant for years, an admission that has caused Cabinet nominees to withdraw in the past.

On Monday, Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurants (the company that owns the fast food restaurants Hardee's and Carl's Jr.), admitted to employing an undocumented worker as a housekeeper, according to a disclosure he made to the White House, the Huffington Post reported.

"My wife and I employed a housekeeper for a few years, during which I was unaware that she was not legally permitted to work in the US," Puzder told the Huffington Post. "When I learned of her status, we immediately ended her employment and offered her assistance in getting legal status."

Puzder added that all the back taxes owed to the IRS and the state of California have been paid and all required paperwork regarding the undocumented woman has been submitted.

The woman declined an offer from Puzder to assist her in getting legal status because she was afraid she would be deported, a source told the Huffington Post.

In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Puzder wrote that he supported a "path to legal status" that would be "short of citizenship" if an undocumented worker could pass a background check, pay a fine, and learn English, among other measures.
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Eye 1

Western campaign against free speech a sign of 'systemic insecurity'

Finnian Cunningham
RT
Thu, 09 Feb 2017 15:00 UTC
propaganda free speech silence
© David W Cerny / Reuters
Over the past week hallowed Western institutions of free speech have become sites of struggle for this basic democratic right. Is it a sign of creeping intolerance or systemic insecurity?

Britain's House of Commons Speaker John Bercow sparked controversy this week when he declared that US President Donald Trump would not be invited to address elected MPs and members of the House of Lords at Westminster Hall during a state visit later this year. Bercow said his decision was based on the president's alleged obnoxious views of racism and sexism.

The move has caused uproar with many lawmakers saying that the proposed ban discredits the British Parliament - supposedly "the mother of all parliaments." British Prime Minister Theresa May is also annoyed that boycotting Trump could jeopardize her efforts to burnish the special relationship between the US and Britain, which she assiduously tried to renew last month as the first foreign leader to be received in the new White House.
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