Puppet MastersS


Eye 1

Kicking off a battle: The US Federal Courts are the right place to decide the legality of Donald Trump's 'travel ban' Executive Order

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Sat, 04 Feb 2017 00:00 UTC
Travel ban
The decision of the federal judge in Seattle to order a block on President Trump's 'travel ban' Executive Order kicks off a legal battle, which will resolve the question of its legality.
I have previously discussed why the Executive Order appears to me to break no new ground. I doubt that it is discriminatory in the way some people say, and I doubt that its intention was discriminatory. The Executive Order has been administered in the most chaotic way, and this has caused real hardship in many cases. However that is unfortunately true of most immigration and border law in general.

On the subject of whether the Executive Order is discriminatory, given that its declared purpose is to exclude from the US Jihadi terrorists who are exclusively Sunni Muslims, it seems to me that it would be illogical to exclude from the US the non-Sunni Muslims the Jihadi terrorists are persecuting. In other words the discrimination looks to me to be on the part of the Jihadis it is targeting rather than in the Executive Order itself.

Comment: See also:

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Vader

Russophobia: Baltic states building border walls (to keep Russians out) - Latvia completes 23km section of fence


RT
Sun, 05 Feb 2017 16:06 UTC
latvia nazi march
© EPA/STRINGER LATVIA Members of Latvia's Parliament Dzintars Rasnacs (3-L), Raivis Dzintars (C) and other members of Latvia's elite during a parade near Freedom Monument in Riga, 16 March 2011. Every year, they commemorate Latvians who fought in two German Waffen-SS divisions in World War II. Little wonder then that they are fond of impenetrable fences with barbed wire.
Baltic states continue bolstering their frontiers with Latvia reporting the completion of the first 23km segment of a wire fence on its 276km border with Russia, designed to prevent "illegal immigrants" from breaching the perimeter.

Latvia's fence construction began in 2015 and the first 23km section is ready, according to local media reports, citing State Border Guards spokeswoman Evgeniya Poznyak. The Latvian government has allocated an additional €6.3 million on the construction and is seeking to build 60km of fence in 2017.

While a significant stretch of Latvia's 276km border with Russia is believed to be well-protected with natural landmarks, including swamps and rivers, some 193 kilometers are deemed "vulnerable." Yet the ambitious plan so far involves building only 92km of fence, Latvia's Delfi news reports.

Comment: Russians are funny!

Can't say the same about the fascist cliques ruling the Baltics and Ukraine though - they're clearly demented. And no one can say that Russia is to blame for this Iron Curtain.

Funny how 'Master' builds a wall 'across the pond', then the 'servants' ape him...

Anyway, the Russians have the right attitude; let them build their stupid walls. As if they're going to somehow 'cement' Germany's EU together when it's in the process of falling apart.

LOL!

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No Entry

Philippines' President Duterte 'doesn't feel like' appointing a new envoy to US


RT
Sun, 05 Feb 2017 16:03 UTC
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte
© Romeo Ranoco / ReutersPhilippine President Rodrigo Duterte
The Philippines won't send a new ambassador to the United States in the near future simply because the country's controversial strongman president, Rodrigo Duterte, "doesn't feel like" it.

"In the USA, we don't have an ambassador. No ambassador will go there. Until now, we do not have an ambassador in the United States. I don't feel like sending one," Duterte said while delivering a speech in Davao City this week.

President Duterte did not offer any further explanation for his comment. It has been seven months since the Philippines had an ambassador to the US. The Philippines Embassy, however, is still operational under the leadership of a deputy ambassador.
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Bomb

Picking apart the little-noticed bombshell in Trump's immigration order

Danny Vinik
Politico
Fri, 03 Feb 2017 03:26 UTC
Jason Bourne
© Business Insider
The travel ban got all the headlines, but experts are realizing another provision could clamp down on normal tourism and even diplomats.

When President Donald Trump issued his executive order on immigration last week, it was the travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries that dominated headlines—leaving hundreds of people in limbo, provoking airport protests, and raising questions about whether the U.S. was targeting religion in the guise of a new security rule.

But immigration lawyers who have read the order carefully are now increasingly concerned that one of its provisions could have much wider repercussions, affecting literally every foreign visitor to America, from tourists to diplomats.

The little-noticed section, appearing immediately after the travel ban, calls for the government to develop a "uniform screening standard and procedure" for all individuals seeking to enter the United States. As written, it appears to require all visitors to go through the same vetting measures, regardless of where they come from or how long they intend to stay.

If interpreted as broadly as it's written, "It would basically shut down tourism," said Stephen Legomsky, the former chief counsel for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services during the Obama administration.

Comment: There are certainly many points of view and interpretations of this vague one-liner. If it was easy to figure out, it would be in place already.

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Cardboard Box

Ditch the euro, vote Frexit: Le Pen's National Front manifesto


RT
Sat, 04 Feb 2017 21:47 UTC
Marine Le Pen
© Emmanuel Foudrot / Reuters
Abandoning the euro and a possible vote on exiting the EU are part of a newly-released manifesto by France's presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen. Drastically curbing migration and leaving NATO's integrated command are also among the proposals.

France should reconsider its relations with the European Union and give up the single currency, Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front, said in her recently released manifesto. If that doesn't happen, France may face a referendum on leaving the alliance.

"The aim of this program is first of all to give France its freedom back and give the people a voice," Le Pen said, introducing the manifesto on Saturday in Lyon, Reuters reported.

In the manifesto, which consists of 144 "commitments," the 48-year-old candidate says a future French government should leave the euro zone, hold a Brexit-style referendum, levy taxes on foreign workers, lower the retirement age and increase some welfare benefits, while cutting income tax. The document, however, is quite vague on how the National Front's economic program would allow it to reduce taxes and at the same time raise welfare payments.


Comment: Is France ready to step outside the box and elect Le Pen?

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Dominoes

Austrian Chancellor: 'US interventions a reason for migrant crisis', should share burden


RT
Sat, 04 Feb 2017 16:59 UTC
Merkel and Kern
© Getty ImagesAngela Merkel and Christian Kern
The US shares responsibility for the ongoing migrant crisis, according to Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern. Speaking on the sidelines of an EU summit in Malta, he stated that American "interventions" are in part to blame for the refugee flows.

"There is no doubt that America shares responsibility for the refugee flows by the way how it intervened militarily," Kern said on Saturday, as cited by AFP. "It's unacceptable for the international community if America wants to avoid responsibility. We need to make this clear to our American friends. I'm convinced that there will be a high degree of unanimity [among EU leaders] on this question," Kern went on to say.

The refugee crisis that has engulfed the world due to these conflicts has been the major point of discussion for the EU summit in Malta. The attendees have not been pleased with the agenda of the current US administration with regard to this issue.

While criticizing interventions launched by former US administrations, the Austrian chancellor also lashed out at the newly elected president's recent move to ban entry to the United States to residents of seven Muslim states. "The entry bans against seven Muslim countries are... highly problematic. We should win these countries as allies in the fight against [radical] Islamism, not define them as adversaries," Kern stated.

Comment: For many EU states, who have 'followed the leader' regarding the ME, there is plenty enough 'responsibility' to go around. The deficit in lives, property and well being is enormous. There will never be a point when there is too much given back to decimated nations and peoples. Mr. Trump must determine the course and response for the US to balance the outcome. The EU should do the same.

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Question

Has 'anti-war platform' Trump sold out to warmongers or playing unpredictable madman to gain negotiating leverage?


Washington's Blog
Fri, 03 Feb 2017 00:00 UTC
DTrump
© politico
Conservative Patrick Buchanan - who endorsed Trump for president - writes:
High among the reasons that many supported Trump was his understanding that George W. Bush blundered horribly in launching an unprovoked and unnecessary war on Iraq.
***
Unlike the other candidates, Trump seemed to recognize this.
Trump's anti-war, anti-interventionist statements appealed to many Americans. Indeed, quite a few Sanders supporters switched to Trump (or stayed home on election day) because of Trump's anti-war promises ... and Clinton's record as a warmonger.

Buchanan expresses disappointment that Trump is already saber-rattling:
It was thought he would disengage us from these wars, not rattle a saber at an Iran that is three times the size of Iraq and has as its primary weapons supplier and partner Vladimir Putin's Russia.
Former long-time Congressman Ron Paul notes that Trump has already engaged in bombings in Yemen:


Comment: There certainly doesn't seem to be a clear-cut concept of Trump's modus operandi, nor the ability to predict or pinpoint his decisions. While the presidential zig-zag may be a significantly effective strategy that only time will tell, it is not adding to the public assurance that the US isn't going farther down roads it abhors only to end badly.

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Light Sabers

Lunatic Trump advisor Bannon sees war with China in next 5-10 years

Andrew Griffin
Independent
Wed, 01 Feb 2017 15:21 UTC
south china sea war
Donald Trump's closest advisor thinks that the US will be at war with China in the next few years.

The far-right figure, who has been given unprecedented power in the White House and has suggested in the past that he supports white supremacy, suggested that the two countries are headed towards war over the South China Sea.

"We're going to war in the South China Sea in five to 10 years, aren't we?" Mr Bannon said on his radio show in March 2016. "There's no doubt about that. They're taking their sandbars and making basically stationary aircraft carriers and putting missiles on those. They come here to the United States in front of our face — and you understand how important face is — and say it's an ancient territorial sea."
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Attention

O'Reilly calls Putin 'a killer': Trump responds 'You think our country is so innocent?'


RT
Sun, 05 Feb 2017 15:19 UTC
US President Donald Trump
© Carlo Allegri / ReutersUS President Donald Trump
The US is not as innocent as it may seem, according to President Donald Trump. When Fox News host Bill O'Reilly called Vladimir Putin "a killer," Trump responded: "We've got a lot of killers."

In an interview to be aired ahead of the Super Bowl later on Sunday, Bill O'Reilly asked if Trump respects Russian President Vladimir Putin, to which the he replied, "I do respect him. Well, I respect a lot of people, but that doesn't mean I'll get along with them."

Seemingly surprised, O'Reilly goes on to ask him why.

"He is the leader of his country. I say it's better to get along with Russia than not, and if Russia helps us in the fight against ISIS - which is a major fight - and the Islamic terrorism all over the world, that's a good thing," Trump answered.
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Info

Lavrov reveals why Russia imposed an embargo on the EU: It's 'one simple thing'


Sputnik
Sun, 05 Feb 2017 14:14 UTC
Russian and EU flags
© Sputnik/ Vladimir Sergeev
Russia's Foreign Minister revealed the one and only reason why Moscow had to retaliate in response to the European Union's economic restrictions.

Russian countermeasures were a reciprocal and honest response to the EU sanctions, because unfair competition from EU producers was unacceptable in light of the sanctions Brussels introduced, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

"We imposed sanctions as a countermeasure over one simple thing. The European sanctions limit the ability of our banks to get loans to finance agriculture, which would mean agricultural producers from the European Union would have had an advantage and maintained an unfairly competitive position in the Russian market," Lavrov told the Austrian magazine Profil in an interview.
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