Puppet MastersS


Crusader

Rep. Gabbard calls on US to stop 'supporting terrorists' after meeting Syria civilians and Assad


RT
Thu, 26 Jan 2017 13:18 UTC
Tulsi Gabbard
© Scott Audette / Reuters
Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has called on the US to put an end to the "illegal war" she believes it wages in Syria after visiting Damascus and Aleppo. During her trip, she spoke with civilians, religious leaders, opposition leaders, and President Assad.

Gabbard described her privately-funded seven-day trip to Lebanon and Syria as a "fact-finding mission" to learn the truth about the war by speaking directly to the Syrian people. The itinerary was kept secret until Gabbard's return to the US for security reasons.

Gabbard traveled to Beirut, and then to Damascus and Aleppo, where she spoke with Syrian students, entrepreneurs, academics, and aid workers. She also received firsthand accounts of the conflict from refugees displaced by the war.


Comment: Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard makes secret "fact-finding trip" to Syria


Comment: Here is Gabbard's letter: The Syrian People Desperately Want Peace

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Eye 1

EU expands task force aimed at combatting imaginary 'Russian interference in elections'


RT
Thu, 26 Jan 2017 12:50 UTC
European Union
An EU agency, East Stratcom, will receive an influx of cash and personnel to fight what the West calls Russian propaganda news, Deutsche Welle reports. The decision to give the controversial body a boost comes ahead of 2017 elections in several European countries.

The task force, which was formed as part of the European External Action Service (EEAS) in early 2015 to tackle what the EU sees as Russian propaganda, will now receive extra resources, Germany's Deutsche Welle (DW) reported, citing a spokesperson for the EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

So far, there are 10 people working for the agency, DW said, explaining that they are searching for what they believe to be fake news and then writing "disproof" statements.

Comment: Further reading: German anti-Trump activism results in 'Ministry of Truth' to censor populist sentiments

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Quenelle

Russian & Syrian forces push ISIS back in Deir Ezzor

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Thu, 26 Jan 2017 12:50 UTC
Syrian Army
Round the clock bombing by Russian air force paves way for advances by Syrian army as it seeks to break ISIS's siege of Deir Ezzor's vital airport.

Reports from Deir Ezzor are sketchy, and it is clear that the crisis there is far from over. However over the last few days there have been mounting indications that the worst of the crisis may be over, with the Syrian army apparently succeeding in seizing local hilltop positions and strongpoints from ISIS, as it seeks to break ISIS's siege of Deir Ezzor's vital airport.

A key factor in turning the tide against ISIS has been round the clock bombing by the Russian air force. This has included bomb runs by both aircraft originating in Khmeimim air base in western Syria, and TU22M3 medium range bomber aircraft flying from Mozdok air base in the northern Caucasus in southern Russia.
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Wall Street

Trump Foiled Soros' Master Plan to Impose New World Order - Hedge Fund Manager


Sputnik
Thu, 26 Jan 2017 12:34 UTC
soros
© AP Photo/ Kin Cheung
President Donald Trump came to power just in time to prevent billionaire George Soros and Bill and Hillary Clinton achieve a Trans Pacific free trade deal hidden from the public, Wall Street hedge fund manager and financial analyst Mitch Feierstein told Sputnik.

"George Soros and Clinton Inc. were nearly able to declare 'Mission Accomplished' on their vision of establishing an opaque 'New World Order'," Feierstein, a hedge fund manager who has spent 38 years working in the New York, Tokyo and London global financial markets, said on Tuesday.

On Monday, Trump announced that he was scrapping the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that his predecessor President Barack Obama had sought to complete during his eight years in office.
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Info

Trump admin reportedly stalls Obama's last-moment $221mn handout to Palestine


RT
Thu, 26 Jan 2017 02:07 UTC
Benjamin Netanyahu stands next to Donald Trump
© Kobi Gideon / Government Press Office / Reuters
Washington has reportedly frozen the transfer of the multimillion aid bound for West Bank and Gaza, which Barack Obama is said to have authorized just hours before Donald Trump's inauguration.

A senior Palestinian source told the Times of Israel that the Palestine Authority (PA) leadership was notified by US officials that it should not expect the payout, authorized on January 20 by then-President Obama despite strong Republican opposition, any time soon.

According to the source, the respective notice was received by PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on Tuesday, the same day the US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said it would put the payment under additional scrutiny and see if any adjustments are needed to be taken that would correspond the incumbent US President's take on the issue.
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Info

EPA research to get 'case by case' vetting from Trump administration prior to public release


RT
Wed, 25 Jan 2017 21:14 UTC
EPA HQ Washington DC
© Johannes Schmitt-Tegge / Global Look Press
Prior to the outside release of any scientific findings, researchers with the US Environmental Protection Agency will likely need approval from Trump administration officials for the foreseeable future, an EPA transition spokesman said.

At least during the early days of the Trump administration, EPA research that will be disseminated outside the agency will be subject to some form of supervision from the Trump administration on a "case by case basis," Doug Ericksen, spokesman for Trump's EPA transition effort, told NPR.

"We'll take a look at what's happening so that the voice coming from the EPA is one that's going to reflect the new administration," Ericksen said, adding that he does not know whether the review policy will become a permanent procedure.

Comment: See also:

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Star of David

Israel's ex-chief rabbi goes to jail for corruption


Sputnik
Wed, 25 Jan 2017 23:17 UTC
Israeli flag
© Pixabay
A former Israeli chief rabbi has taken a plea deal in a Jerusalem court for corruption and will now serve three and a half years in prison.

In addition to imprisonment, Yona Metzger must pay a $1.3 million fine. The state will also foreclose on his apartment in central Tel Aviv.

In 2013, Metzger stepped down amidst charges of breach of trust, fraud, tax offenses, money laundering, theft, and accepting bribes. He was accused of using charity donations for profit, and accepting bribes for changing his opinion on various matters.
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Info

'Obsolete and unnecessary': Germany to scrap law restricting insults against foreign heads of state


RT
Wed, 25 Jan 2017 23:06 UTC
Tayyip Erdogan
© Dado Ruvic / Reuters
Germany is to get rid of the lèse-majesté law protecting heads of state or government from being publicly offended. The decision came after last spring the law was evoked by Turkish President Erdogan who tried to sue a German comedian for a satirical poem he found too insulting.

"The idea of 'injured majesty' comes from a long-gone epoch and it doesn't fit in our criminal code anymore," Justice Minister Heiko Maas said, adding that the "regulation is obsolete and unnecessary," as cited by the Justice ministry website.

Insults against head of states will still be punishable, but "not more or less than that of any other person," Maas also said.

Comment: Also see: German anti-Trump activism results in 'Ministry of Truth' to censor populist sentiments

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Bizarro Earth

'Not one euro more' of austerity, says Greek Prime Minister


RT
Wed, 25 Jan 2017 23:08 UTC
A Greek pensioner wipes his face with a fake euro banknote during a demonstration against government policies affecting pensioners in Athens
© Alkis Konstantinidis / ReutersA Greek pensioner wipes his face with a fake euro banknote during a demonstration against government policies affecting pensioners in Athens
Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras promised the government wouldn't pass any new austerity measures as talks with bailout lenders have stalled over their demands for deeper cuts.

"There is no way we are going to legislate even one euro more than what was agreed in the bailout," Tsipras told Greek daily EfSyn (Efimerida ton Syntakton), marking his two-year anniversary in office.
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Brick Wall

Trump orders construction of border wall and threatens cuts to sanctuary cities


RT
Wed, 25 Jan 2017 22:55 UTC
Donald Trump prepares to sign
© Jonathan Ernst / ReutersU.S. President Donald Trump prepares to sign an executive order at Homeland Security headquarters in Washington, U.S., January 25, 2017.
President Donald Trump has signed orders to step up immigration enforcement and secure the US border, beginning with building a border wall with Mexico he promised during the campaign. Jurisdictions that harbor illegal immigrants may lose federal funding.

The first executive order will order the building of "a large physical barrier on the southern border," White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters Wednesday. It will also provide the Department of Homeland Security agents "tools and resources to stop illegal immigration from entering the US."

The second order aims to empower Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and "strip federal grant money from sanctuary cities and states that harbor illegal immigrants," according to Spicer.
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