Puppet MastersS


War Whore

Obama's last push for war with Russia

big brother obama
As Obama's days as U.S. President draw to a close, both the Obama administration and the mainstream corporate media are attempting to provoke a greater conflict with nuclear-armed Russia on the basis of something that never actually happened; at least on the basis of something that they have yet to prove has actually happened. Still, the hype and hysteria being piped from the halls of the White House, intelligence community, and the mouthpiece of the establishment, the corporate media, is incessant. According to the media and the President, the Russians hacked the DNC (never mind the fact that the DNC was acting inappropriately and rigging the elections themselves) and put American democracy at risk.

Of course, neither the intelligence community nor the White House has yet to produce any evidence of their claims, despite the fact that they are clearly provocations aimed both at Russia and the domestic population of the United States, with the intention to frighten the latter into submission with a healthy dose of Neo-McCarthyism and red-baiting. Still, this continuous and baseless propaganda might cause many Americans a number of flashbacks since the last time their President, intelligence community, and corporate media came to them with proof of an encroaching threat to democracy, telling them the evidence was clear but that the masses would simply have to "trust" them, Americans ended up bewildered on the battlefield in Iraq where they remain to this day, thirteen years on.

Once again, we are given no evidence, only vague unproven allegations to justify actions that very well may be destructive not only to the American people but to all the people of the world. All we need is for Colin Powell to give a PowerPoint presentation in front of the United Nations and the circle will be complete.

Info

Samsung chief questioned as suspect in South Korea national corruption scandal

Lee Jae-yong (C) vice chairman of Samsung Electronics
© AHN Young-Joon / AFPLee Jae-yong (C) vice chairman of Samsung Electronics.
Special prosecutors have interrogated the head of South Korean multinational Samsung Group on suspicion of bribery that led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-Hye.

Jay Y. Lee is suspected of agreeing on bribes paid to Park's secret confidante Choi Soon-Sil, which she then allegedly used for her private benefit. Samsung was the biggest contributor to Choi's two non-profit foundations.

The donations were reportedly made in return for governmental approval of controversial mergers. Investigators suspect Choi Soon-Sil of swindling the money received from corporations, including Samsung.

"I am very sorry to the South Korean people for not showing a better side," the head of Samsung Group told journalists as he arrived at the prosecutor's office.

Bad Guys

Former German MP: Washington on brink of 'civil war' as elites fuel anti-Trump hostility

Trump and Clapper
© Reuters
The US establishment is working hard to make it impossible for Donald Trump to ditch the warmongering policies previous administrations pursued, and to deliver on his pledge to mend relations with Russia, former CDU defense spokesman Willy Wimmer told RT.

"When you see the situation in Washington, I think they are not willing, those who lost the election, to accept the new president whose name is Trump... What's going on in Washington sounds like the beginning of a civil war," said Wimmer, who is a former MP with Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and also served as vice president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

The former OSCE top official noted that not only members of the Democratic Party, who staked everything on Clinton's victory, but also Republicans from the war establishment camp, like Sen. John McCain, put up a united front against US President-elect Donald Trump's plans to build good relations with other countries. Such foreign policy strategy may deal a blow to their hawkish worldview, Wimmer argues.

Jet1

Russia and Turkey agree to coordinate airstrikes against terrorists in Syria

Russian SU-34 fighter jet
© Sputnik/ Maksim Blinov
Russian and Turkish military officials on Thursday agreed to coordinate airstrikes against terrorist targets in Syria and signed a memorandum on combat flight safety during missions in Syrian airspace, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

On January 12, Russian and Turkish military officials held consultations on coordination of actions in the fight against terrorists in Syria at the Russian Defense Ministry.

"The memorandum establishes mechanisms of coordination and interaction between Russian and Turkish aircraft during airstrikes against terrorist targets, as well as measures aimed at preventing flight incidents involving aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles in Syrian airspace," the ministry said in a statement.

Comment: Hopefully, this works out better than the agreement between Russia and the US.


Snakes in Suits

Insane US imposes sanctions on Syrian Army, Navy, Air Force and Republican Guard based on #fakenews

US Treasury building
© Flickr/ Roman Boed
The United States has imposed sanctions on Syrian military branches and the country's Republican National Guard, the US Department of the Treasury said on Thursday.

The Treasury Department's Office of Assets Control (OFAC) designated the Syrian Arab Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Forces and the Syrian Arab Republican Guard for use of chemical weapons.


Comment: With absolutely no proof.


The United States also sanctioned the Syrian Organization for Technological Industries, the Department of the Treasury said.

Dollar

Soros out $1B post Trump election

soros
© AP"A billion here, a billion there..."
While Carl Icahn infamously made a killing following the "surprise" Trump election, another prominent hedge fund manager was not nearly as lucky. According to the WSJ, "George Soros lost nearly $1 billion as a result of the stock-market rally spurred by Donald Trump's surprise presidential election."

Which, of course means, he only has $29 or so billion left.

As discussed in 2016, Soros returned to trading at Soros Fund Management LLC, which manages $30 billion for the Soros and his family. At the time, "Soros was cautious about the market going into November and became more bearish immediately after Mr. Trump's election, according to people close to the matter." In retrospect, that clearly proved a mistake as the market rallied on expectations that Trump's policies will boost corporate earnings and the overall economy, even if such expectations may end up being premature. To be sure, Soros wasn't alone as many other experts had predicted a tumble for stocks in the wake of the election, but instead the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 9.3%.


Comment: Oh ye of little faith!


Comment: Gone. One thirtieth of his 'publicized wealth.' Food stamps not any time soon. In fact, in 2016, Soros improved 5% -- more to spend delegitimizing governments and policies he disagrees with in support of a far-left agenda. At what price fronts, influence and control? Apparently they are all affordable.


Snakes in Suits

Insane McCain is serving the interests of a fascist regime in Ukraine

John McCain with Ukraine Facists
Forgot the fake scandal about Trump. The real scandal is all about John McCain.

The last time Donald Trump was in Moscow was in 2013. He came to promote his Miss. Universe beauty contest. The last time John McCain was in Kiev was less than two weeks ago. There, he met with many of the soldiers who are slaughtering civilians in Donbass as well as leaders of the fascist regime. The contrast could not be clearer.

Donald Trump has few significant connections to Russia, whilst McCain has many profound connections with the fascist regime in Kiev. He helped them get into power, he was there cheering on the coup. Therefore, why has no one accused McCain of being a Ukrainian agent, working to destabilize American democracy in the name of a corrupt foreign power?

Jet2

Russia scales down military presence in Syria, Su-25 transfer to Khmeimim is planned rotation - MoD

Russia military
© Andrei Aleksandrov / SputnikSU 25 jets
The Russian Defense Ministry has said that it is continuing to scale down its military presence in Syria, with the recent transfer of four Su-25 aircraft to Khmeimim airbase part of a planned troop rotation.

"In accordance with the order of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is implementing measures to reduce Russia's military presence in the Syrian Arab Republic," Defense Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said on Thursday.

He added that the Russian Navy's aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, and its group, which numbers more than 40 naval aviation aircraft, will be the first to return from the Mediterranean Sea to their base in Severomorsk, where Russia's Northern Fleet is permanent stationed.

"In addition, the first six Su-24 bombers have already been relocated from the Khmeimim airbase to the territory of the Russian Federation. The withdrawal of other aircraft, as well as pilots and technical staff from the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic is planned for the nearest future," Konashenkov noted.

He also said that, in the meantime, four Russian Su-25 airplanes, which NATO calls Frogfoots, have been deployed at Khmeimim, explaining that the transfer is part of a planned troop rotation.

Comment: See also:


Question

What awaits Syria at the Astana peace talks?

Russia, Iran and Turkey flags
The Russian-Iranian-Turkish Tripartite is preparing to mediate a new round of intra-Syrian talks in Astana sometime soon, and President Assad just announced that he is ready to negotiate on "everything" provided that the process follows the legal mechanisms laid out in the Syrian Constitution.

Australian professor and prominent Syrian activist Tim Anderson is correct when he wrote in his latest article for the Centre for Research on Globalization that "wars are always concluded with political settlements", and that's certainly going to be the case with the War of Terror on Syria. The game-changing Tripartite partnership between Russia, Iran, and Turkey - originally forecasted by the author over six months ago in a series of articles listed at this link - is taking the lead in resolving this conflict by organizing the upcoming intra-Syrian talks in Astana, which importantly exclude the participation of the US.

President Assad told French media in an exclusive interview that he's willing to negotiate on "everything", but that the process must be in line with the legal mandates set out in the Syrian Constitution. If any sort of compromise is reached which leads to an outcome separate from that which is allowed under existing Syrian law, then the constitution must be changed in order to accommodate this, and the Syrian people must formally agree to any amendments by means of a referendum. This is an important checks-and-balance system which ensures that the results of the peace process will be democratic and represent the will of the Syrian people.

USA

'Deep State' wins....Get on with the program or else

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump
© Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Donald Trump "finally concedes" Russia hacked the election, crowed the US media following his first news conference this week. That seeming turnaround by Trump signals 'the Donald' is being tamed to toe the "official" Washington line.

That line centers on the US pushing a belligerent policy toward Russia.

Notably, too, on the same day, Trump's pick for the next Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, adopted a remarkably antagonistic view of Russia under pressure from hostile senators during his Congressional confirmation grilling.

Tillerson, who holds a Russian Order of Friendship award bestowed by President Vladimir Putin in 2013, responded to relentless goading from senators by saying that the US should maintain sanctions on "resurgent Russia," adding that "the taking of Crimea" was against the law.

Together, the shift by Trump and his incoming cabinet toward a more frosty stance on Russia signals that a coercive taming process is underway by the Washington establishment, with sinister implications for supposed US democracy.

It's a truism that US presidential winners are, in reality, determined by elite corporate power, the 'Deep State' military-intelligence apparatus, and their controlled news media conglomerates. In Donald Trump's case, the outcome appeared to be an exception to the rule. So, post-election, 'the Donald' is being 'processed' to produce the desired 'result.'