Puppet MastersS


Take 2

Is the GOP playing Trump until they can dump him? Are Democrats planning impeachment?

donald trump
© AFP 2016/ Jim Watson
I had breakfast recently with a friend who's a former Republican member of Congress. Here's what he said:
Him: Trump is no Republican. He's just a big fat ego.

Me: Then why didn't you speak out against him during the campaign?

Him: You kidding? I was surrounded by Trump voters. I'd have been shot.

Me: So what now? What are your former Republican colleagues going to do?

Him (smirking): They'll play along for a while.

Me: A while?

Him: They'll get as much as they want - tax cuts galore, deregulation, military buildup, slash all those poverty programs, and then get to work on Social Security and Medicare - and blame him. And he's such a fool he'll want to take credit for everything.

Me: And then what?

Comment: Given the unprecedented campaign and 'surprise' election of Donald Trump, we can't dismiss the possibility of him being ousted. As the fake news drivels on and the bread and circuses continue, there will be a lot going on behind the political scenes. As Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way." We'll have to wait and see, keeping our eyes on the Signs.


Book

Fake News leader CNN says Conway's 'alternative facts' comment led to Orwell's '1984' hitting Amazon's bestseller list

Kellyanne Conway 1984
© AFP/WikipediaWhite House Senior Advisor Kellyanne Conway.
Trump's adviser Kellyanne Conway took a beating on social media, being accused of using Orwellian "doublespeak" after she used the phrase "alternative facts" to explain away why the press secretary lied about the size of the crowd attending Trump's inauguration.

The social media frenzy, with the hashtag #AlternativeFacts compared the remark to 'doublespeak' and had the added distinction of moving sales of George Orwell's dystopian novel "1984" to the top 3 of Amazon's bestsellers list by Tuesday afternoon.
1984 Tweets
© Via RT
The surge in sales was first reported by CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter in his 'Reliable Sources' newsletter.


Comment: 1984 is currently listed at #2 on Amazon's list. Interestingly enough, Amazon bowed down to Killary by scrubbing her negative book reviews.


The novel, first published in 1949, but set in the dystopian future of "1984," is about a society in which the government lies to its citizens through "Newspeak," which was designed to limit freedom of thought of the people, and conducted surveillance on its dissenters.

Briefcase

CREW, a Democrats-linked group, sues Trump for 'unconstitutional' DC hotel

trump forehead conflict
© theatlantic.comThe Lawsuits Begin
On his first workday in office, President Donald Trump was sued for supposedly violating the US Constitution by owning a luxury hotel in Washington, DC. The lawsuit was filed by an ethics group with connections to the Democratic Party.

In the lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York on Monday, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) accuses the president of violating Article I of the Constitution, which prohibits federal officials from accepting gifts or titles from foreign governments.

"A federal officeholder who receives something of value from a foreign power can be imperceptibly induced to compromise what the Constitution insists be his or her exclusive loyalty: the best interest of the United States of America," CREW wrote in its legal filing, arguing that Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue violates the Emoluments Clause (Section 9, Clause 8) of the US Constitution.

President Trump has shrugged off the lawsuit as "totally without merit."


Comment: While CREW may have some value in pinpointing corruption in government and flooding the courts with lawsuits, in this case they are forcing Trump's hand to get his tax returns. Somebody wants them.


Comment: CREW's claims to fame lie under the umbrella of a nonprofit organization...a deflection for aggressive lawyers with a left-leaning bias. Executive compensation at this nonprofit group is "based on CREW's effectiveness." Given the echelon, connections and realm of their legal activities, we know CREW's loyalties. Their track record shows they almost exclusively target Republicans, making them a prospering Democratic tool.

See also:


Eye 1

WikiLeaks co-founder Assange 'wants to engage' with US over Manning extradition promise

Assange
© Ben Stansall / AFPWikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange has once again defended the promise to allow his extradition to the US if Chelsea Manning was granted clemency during a rare appearance on Australian television.

Assange was interviewed by Waleed Aly on Channel 10's 'The Project' on Tuesday, and fielded pointed questions suggesting he was lying by not handing himself over to US authorities following the "major strategic victory" which the commutation of Manning's sentence provided the whistleblowing organization.

Comment: See also: Assange stands by his offer to be extradited to U.S. provided his rights are protected


Chess

Syrian Government joins forces with Armed Opposition to fight Terrorism

Syrian army tank
© AFP
The head of the Syrian governmental delegation at the talks in Astana and the Permanent Representative of Syria to the UN, Bashar Jaafari, told Sputnik that the negotiations were successful thanks to the excellent organization by the Syrian, Iranian and Russian sides.

Commenting on an agreement between the Syrian government and the opposition, Jaafari said that the parties have a good chance to sign a deal.

"We assess the recent negotiations positively. All the efforts, which are directed to the benefit of the Syrian people and the government in the fight against terrorism, are fruitful, and we are grateful for them," Jaafari told Sputnik.

Comment: Further reading: Astana peace process comes to an end, paving way for Geneva talks


Laptop

Trump administration orders EPA contract freeze, bars external communication

Scott Pruitt
© Melina Mara/The Washington PostOklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, nominated to lead the Environmental Protection Agency in the Trump administration.
The Trump administration has instituted what it described as a temporary media blackout at the Environmental Protection Agency and barred staff from awarding any new contracts or grants.

Emails sent to EPA staff since President Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday and reviewed by The Associated Press detailed specific prohibitions banning press releases, blog updates or posts to the agency's social media accounts.

The Trump administration has also ordered what it called a temporary suspension of all new business activities at the department, including issuing task orders or work assignments to EPA contractors. The orders were expected to have a significant and immediate impact on EPA activities nationwide.

Similar orders barring external communications have been issued by the Trump administration at other federal agencies in recent days, including the Agriculture and Interior departments.

Staffers in EPA's public affairs office are instructed to forward all inquiries from reporters to the Office of Administration and Resources Management.

Bullseye

That was fast! Trump sued for violating the Constitution on his first full business day in office

trump constitution
Sounds like someone's got a case of the Mondays. President Donald Trump's first business day in his new office included being sued by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). Their complaint, filed in federal court, accuses Trump of violating the "Emoluments Clause" of the U.S. Constitution.

According to the suit, which was filed with New York's Southern District federal court in Manhattan on Monday, Trump is "submerged in conflicts of interest," which "can subtly sway even the most virtuous leaders, and entanglements between American officials and foreign powers could pose a creeping, insidious threat to the Republic," the lawsuit contends.

Such conflicts, the suit adds, are banned under the "emoluments" clause, a provision in the Constitution stating "no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State."

CREW contends that any payments from foreign governments to the president's hotels, leases at Trump Tower in New York, rights to rebroadcast or create different versions of Trump's reality TV show, and even rounds at his golf courses are all illegal.

Comment: Where was CREW when Killary accepted funds from foreign officials?


Stormtrooper

Here's how and why the US has been helping ISIS take Deir El-Zour

Terrorist jihadi ISIS al Nusra al sham
© Stringer / Reuters
The US has been materially helping ISIS capture the strategic eastern Syrian town of Deir El-Zour because it is a vital link binding together the territories of the Middle East's Axis of Resistance.

The single fact which make the latest offensive by ISIS eastern Syria so frightening and serious is that the way for it was paved by the US-led "anti-ISIS" coalition.

Rocket

Pakistan conducts first test of nuclear-capable surface-to-surface missile

Ababeel surface-to-surface ballistic missile
© ISPR / AFPAn Ababeel surface-to-surface ballistic missile launches from an undisclosed location in Pakistan, January 24, 2017.
Pakistan has for the first time successfully test-fired its surface-to-surface ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads, the military press department said.

The missile, called Ababeel, has a maximum range of 2,200km and "is capable of delivering multiple warheads, using Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology," the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media branch of the Pakistani armed forces, said in a press release.

It also confirmed that the missile can carry nuclear warheads and is able to "engage multiple targets with high precision, defeating the enemy's hostile radars." It was developed as an answer to the "growing ... ballistic missile defense" capabilities of Pakistan's regional neighbors and is designed to "further reinforce deterrence," the press release says, apparently referring to India's nuclear arsenal.

Cards

Scapegoat? Key parts of memo linking Trump to Russian intelligence reportedly came from Russian-American Chamber of Commerce president

trump
© Flickr/ Gage Skidmore
Key parts of the memo on US President Donald Trump's alleged links to Russian intelligence came from the Belarus-born president of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce Sergei Millian, The Wall Street Journal newspaper reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.

Early in January, US media reported on memos compiled by an unnamed former intelligence officer from the United Kingdom which alleged that Trump had been groomed and supported by Russian intelligence for at least five years. The unverified documents also alleged that Russian intelligence had compromising material on Trump related to his "unorthodox behavior" during his visit to Russia.

A number of claims, including the allegations of compromising material in Russian possession, were relayed to the memo's author by a third party possibly without Millian's knowledge, The Wall Street Journal said.

Comment: Since the most likely culprit behind the completely fabricated memo is US intelligence, this appears to be a case of anti-Trump factions in the US government using one of their Fake News outlets to throw a man with Russian connections under the bus to take the heat off of the real culprits, likely the CIA, and to potentially foul up his relationship with the Russian government.