Puppet MastersS


Hiliter

PenelopeGate: Petition against wife of French presidential hopeful Fillon

French politician Francois Fillon
© Charles Platiau / ReutersFrench politician Francois Fillon, member of the conservative Les Republicains political party and his wife Penelope (L)
A petition calling on the wife of French presidential hopeful Francois Fillon to return €500,000 of "falsely earned" income has gathered 200,000 signatures. The scandal, dubbed 'Penelopegate', centers on claims Penelope Fillon improperly received public money.

Addressing Penelope Fillon, the petition states that the amount "seems very exaggerated, since in different interviews you affirm to have 'never been involved in the political life' of your husband."

"It is a question of morality and ethics: if you haven't actually carried out this work as parliamentary assistant, we ask you to reimburse these 500,000 euro to the National Assembly and therefore to us, the French people," the petition adds.

The scandal involving the Republican candidate's Welsh-born wife broke earlier in January. Canard Enchaine, a satirical weekly newspaper, reported that Penelope Fillon had been paid around €500,000 (US$530,000) from 1992 to 2002 from the money made available to her husband by the French government.

Map

Who will be top rooster in the South China Sea?

giant chicken sculpture made to resemble Donald Trump
© AFPA woman takes a photo of a giant chicken sculpture made to resemble Donald Trump outside a shopping mall in the city of Taiyuan, in China's Shanxi province.
As we enter the Year of the Rooster, a fierce debate rages over whether Donald Trump is trying to stake his claim as the Great Red Rooster lording it over the South China Sea.

First we had Secretary of State nominee Rex "T. Rex" Tillerson equating Chinese island-building activity in the South China Sea to "Russia's taking of Crimea" and insisting "access to these islands also is not going to be allowed." Then we had White House press secretary Sean Spicer's pledge to defend "international territories" in the South China Sea.

All this after Trump had blamed Beijing for building a "massive military complex in the middle of the South China Sea."

Magnify

Lead suspect in Paris & Brussels terror attacks indicted by French authorities

Bataclan paris attacks French France shootings
© Christian Hartmann / ReutersFrench fire brigade members aid an injured individual near the Bataclan concert hall following fatal shootings in Paris, France, November 13, 2015.
Mohamed Abrini, a lead suspect in both the Paris and Brussels terrorist attacks, has been indicted by French investigators in connection with the 2015 attack in the French capital, his lawyers said Monday.

One hundred and thirty people were killed in a coordinated series of attacks in Paris on November 13, 2015.

Abrini, dubbed the 'man in the hat' after being filmed on CCTV shortly before the Brussels airport attacks, was indicted by French prosecutors on Monday for his role in the mass shootings and bombings.

Comment: Further reading: The West has a terrorist "catch and release" program, admits proxy army is geopolitical strategy
The Wall Street Journal would admit that the recently arrested "man in the hat" also known as Mohamed Abrini, was also arrested for suspected terrorist activity - allegedly scoping out potential targets in the UK - but also - like his collaborators - inexplicably released. His brother had been to Syria where he fought and died alongside the so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS), and Abrini himself too appears to have been in Syria.



Bad Guys

US Congress orders analysis of Russian & Chinese 'nuclear strike survivability': Russia slams the 'maniac orders'

Trident II D-5 Missile
© ReutersA Trident II, or D-5 missile, is launched from an Ohio-class submarine
The US Congress has directed intelligence agencies and the Pentagon's Strategic Command to evaluate the 'survivability' of Russian and Chinese leaders in the event of a nuclear strike on their aboveground and underground defense facilities.

The comprehensive study will be carried out by the US intelligence agencies as well as the Strategic Command, which is in charge of the American nuclear forces. They will evaluate whether the Russian and Chinese leadership could survive a nuclear attack and continue to operate in a post-strike environment, according to a little-reported sectionof the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The review will include "an identification of which facilities various senior political and military leaders of each respective country are expected to operate out of during crisis and wartime," as well as the"location and description of above-ground and underground facilities important to the political and military leadership survivability.

Comment: Further reading: US documents show Trident nuclear missiles have history of failure

'Maniac orders:' Senior Russian MP blasts US program to estimate nuclear attack outcome
The deputy speaker of the Russian State Duma says the US Congress is "transfixed on war and destruction," after it issued an order to evaluate the 'survivability' of Russian and Chinese leaders in the event of a nuclear exchange.

"This is a maniac order, made by people who are obsessed with the ideas of war and destruction and who want to find satisfaction in the description of possible casualties," MP Irina Yarovaya of the United Russia party told reporters on Monday.

"The Congress' ideas look like 'A Nightmare Elm Street.'" she added.

Although the study was ordered before US President Donald Trump took office, news about it was released after the new president announced that Washington "must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes."

"Instead of fighting terrorism, the US Congress is entertaining itself with hope to 'play' with nuclear weapons. We can witness a sick and dangerous hobby that is targeting world peace and the security of mankind as a whole," MP Yarovaya told reporters.



War Whore

Duterte's drug task force to be disbanded after S. Korean businessman's murder by rogue cops

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
© Romeo Ranoco / ReutersPhilippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
The Philippines' anti-drugs force is to be disbanded after rogue cops killed a South Korean businessman. President Rodrigo Duterte said he was "embarrassed" and vowed to reform the force.

It transpired in mid-January that Jee Ick-joo, a businessman from South Korea, who had gone missing in the Philippines three months earlier, was actually kidnapped in a "tokhang for ransom" scheme and then was strangled to death on the premises of the national police headquarters the same day.

"We will dissolve all anti-drugs units in the police," Chief Ronald dela Rosa told a joint news conference with Duterte on Sunday. He added this was necessary to overhaul the force, Reuters reports.

Duterte himself, saying he was embarrassed by the crime, gave the officers on the run after the killing 48 hours to turn themselves in, or have a price set on their heads at 5 million pesos ($100,000) - dead or alive.

There is a feeling among Duterte's critics that the mounting number of scandals involving his police force is a sign that the drug war is a cover for extortion, and that Jee's murder was merely the latest mishap.

Comment: See also: 'I can declare martial law to protect my country', Duterte warns amid escalating drug epidemic


War Whore

US documents show Trident nuclear missiles have history of failure

US submerine
© David Moir / Reuters
Newly-released US documents show Trident nuclear missiles have a track record of failure. The revelations come weeks after it emerged a British test-fired missile malfunctioned in June 2016 and veered off course towards the US coast.

Documents seen by the Sunday Times reportedly show the Trident system has long been affected by navigational issues, leading to £1.4 billion (US$1.76 billion) being spent on repairs and modifications.

The paper published a section of the report which said: "The Trident II missile is completing its 26th year of deployment and has reached its original design life goal.

"Like any other ageing weapon system, increased maintenance and repair will be required to sustain a safe, reliable and accurate strategic weapons system."

Comment: Who cares if they don't work? Just keep the money rolling into the pockets of the military industrial complex!


Radar

Turkish Navy ship with top army brass causes standoff with Greek gunboats near disputed islets

Chief of Turkish General Staff on board of the navy vessel passing through the Aegean Sea
© tsk.trChief of Turkish General Staff on board of the navy vessel passing through the Aegean Sea.
A Turkish Navy ship with top military commanders on board engaged in a brief but tense standoff with Greek gunboats near disputed islets in the Aegean Sea, adding to renewed tensions between NATO allies Turkey and Greece.

On Sunday, a Turkish warship carrying Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar, as well as army, navy, and air force commanders sailed past the uninhabited rocky islets of Imia - known as Kardak in Turkey - in the Aegean Sea, Daily Sabah reported.

Greek coast guard vessels and a navy gunboat were scrambled to deal with what was viewed by the Greek military as a violation of their territory. The vessels shadowed the Turkish warship, demanding it to leave the area. A few minutes later, the Turkish vessel complied and no further incident was reported.

Propaganda

Mainstream media tries to smear Tulsi Gabbard for speaking the truth on Syria

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard
© AFP/Timothy Clary
US mainstream media outlets, pundits and officials have pulled out all the stops in attempting to smear Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who traveled to Syria earlier this month and then had the courage to criticize the US's policy of funding and arming terrorists affiliated with al-Qaeda on national television.

Gabbard, a Bernie Sanders supporter who resigned from her position as vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee to support the anti-war candidate last February, traveled to Syria on a fact-finding mission earlier this month, where she had an unexpected meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad.

A combat veteran with two tours of duty in Iraq under her belt, Gabbard has been outspoken among US politicians in pushing for peace in Syria. Shortly after Trump's election, Gabbard surprised pundits and many members of her own party by meeting with the President-elect to discuss Syria and the fight against Daesh.

Books

Ukraine slaps ban on Russian book imports for 90 days

Ukraine book store
© Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS
Ukraine has imposed a complete ban on importing books from Russia to be in effect until April 1, 2017, Alexander Afonin, head of the Ukrainian Association of Publishers and Booksellers, said on Thursday.

"A ban was imposed on [books imports] from January 1 to April 1 until the relevant regulations and verification mechanism have been developed," he told Ukraine's Vesti.


Comment: Monkey see, monkey do? This is similar to the statement Trump made with the new 90 day immigration ban.


Meanwhile, a source at the Kharkov Customs Office said they had received "no documents banning book imports."

On December 30, 2016, Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko signed a law on restricting imports of "foreign products with anti-Ukrainian content" passed by the country's parliament on December 8.

Chess

'We must respond': European leaders take to Twitter to criticize Trump's 'Muslim ban'

Muslim ban immigration
© Kate Munsch / ReutersThe last group of travelers allowed through the security checkpoint inside Terminal 4 at San Francisco International Airport before police block the security check point off completely in San Francisco, California, U.S., January 28, 2017
European leaders, officials, and politicians have voiced concern over Donald Trump's executive order that temporarily bans the citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the US and indefinitely bans all Syrian refugees.

FRANCE

French President Francois Hollande has called on European leaders to give a "firm" response to Donald Trump, whose first steps as the US president have raised concerns among some of America's allies in Europe.

"We must conduct firm dialogue with the new American administration which has shown it has its own approach to the problems we all face," Hollande said at a meeting of southern European Union leaders in Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday.

Comment: All the while NATO's destruction of Libya continues in full force. Where are the crocodile tears for those still caught in the West's war machine?

Further reading: Scott Adams: Trump's 'Muslim ban' is just another 'Art of the Deal' opening bid
But lately I get the feeling that Trump's critics have evolved from expecting Trump to be Hitler to preferring it. Obviously they don't prefer it in a conscious way. But the alternative to Trump becoming Hitler is that they have to live out the rest of their lives as confirmed morons. No one wants to be a confirmed moron. And certainly not after announcing their Trump opinions in public and demonstrating in the streets. It would be a total embarrassment for the anti-Trumpers to learn that Trump is just trying to do a good job for America. It's a threat to their egos. A big one.

And this gets me to my point. When millions of Americans want the same thing, and they want it badly, the odds of it happening go way up. You can call it the power of positive thinking. It is also the principle behind affirmations. When humans focus on a desired future, events start to conspire to make it happen.

I'm not talking about any new-age magic. I'm talking about ordinary people doing ordinary things to turn Trump into an actual Hitler. For example, if protesters start getting violent, you could expect forceful reactions eventually. And that makes Trump look more like Hitler. I can think of dozens of ways the protesters could cause the thing they are trying to prevent. In other words, they can wish it into reality even though it is the very thing they are protesting.