Puppet MastersS


Bad Guys

Delusional idiot John McCain promises war on Putin and Russia

Di Massimiliano Greco translated by Tom Winter
Fort Russ
Sun, 08 Jan 2017 10:16 UTC
putin mccain
Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham went to Kiev to bring support to the Ukrainian coup, promising that 2017 will be the year in which America will regulate accounts with Putin, who will be, in their terms, defeated on the fields of battle of Eastern Europe. "If Putin wins in Ukraine, then he can invade the rest of the world," said McCain. "Your struggle is our struggle," he added, pointing to the putschists. "Back home, we will push for measures to be taken on the issue. It is time for them to pay a heavy price."

Graham, first asserts that "the Russians will have to pay a high price: it's time that they stop attacking other countries," then poses as a moderate, saying that "our struggle is not against the Russian people, but against Putin."

Comment: For more information: On warpath against Trump, Mad Dogs John McCain and Lindsey Graham spend New Years receiving medals from neo-Nazi Ukraine government

Mark Nicholas writes (in Russia Insider):
Most people want to spend the New Year's eve with their families. John McCain spent it holed up in a forward combat outpost with Ukrainian marines on the frontlines against Ukraine's pro-Russian rebels. On the New Year he then travelled to Georgia where he preached about the need to "stand up to Vladimir Putin". Before Ukraine McCain was visiting the Baltic states where NATO has been steadily increasing its troop presence citing a Russian threat.

McCain had once famously spent the night holed up with Syrian rebels who later turned out to be hard-core jihadists. Likewise he joined the anti-government protestors in Ukraine in 2013 who spearheaded by far-right street fighters (and snipers) would go on to overthrow the Ukrainian president Yanukovich.

In other words McCain has a history of reckless photo ops which A.) end up an embarrassment for him and B.) end up encouraging radicals and promoting chaos.

McCain had a famously close relationship with Georgia's Saakashvili who launched a war in 2008 against the breakaway republic of South Ossetia and the Russian peacekeepers stationed there. Saakashvili is long gone however and the new government has distanced itself from such adventurism so fortuately there isn't a danger the McCain factor will have grander consequences here.

Kiev however, would be well advised not to mistake the egging on by a hardline US legislator for official American support -- the very mistake Saakashvili comitted in 2008.


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Star of David

Why has Israeli spy Shai Masot not been expelled from Britain?

Craig Murray
Craig Murray Blog
Sun, 08 Jan 2017 19:55 UTC
Shai Masot israel spy britain
© YoutubeShai Masot
There is no starker proof of the golden chains in which Israel has entangled the British political class, than the incredible fact that "diplomat" Shai Masot has not been expelled for secretly conspiring to influence British politics by attacking Britain's Deputy Foreign Minister, suggesting that he might be brought down by "a little scandal". It is incredible by any normal standards of diplomatic behaviour that immediate action was not taken against Masot for actions which when revealed any professional diplomat would normally expect to result in being "PNG'd" - declared persona non grata.

Obama has just expelled 35 Russian diplomats for precisely the same offence, with the exception that in the Russian case there is absolutely zero hard evidence, whereas in the Masot case there is irrefutable evidence on which to act.


To compare the two cases is telling. Al Jazeera should be congratulated on their investigation, which shames the British corporate and state media who would never have carried out such actual journalism. By contrast, the British media has parroted without the slightest scrutiny the truly pathetic Obama camp claims of Russian interference, evidently without reading them. When I was sent the latest "intelligence report" on Russian hacking a couple of evenings ago, I quite genuinely for several minutes thought it was a spoof by the Daily Mash or similar, parodying the kind of ludicrous claims that kept being advanced with zero evidence. I do implore you to read it, as when you realise it is supposed to be serious it becomes still more hilarious.

The existence of a natural preference in Russia to see a US President who does not want to start World War III is quoted as itself evidence that Russia interfered, just as the fact that I could do with some more money is evidence I robbed a bank. The fact that Russia did not criticise the electoral process after the result is somehow evidence that Putin personally ordered electoral hacking. Oh, and the fact that Russia Today once hosted a programme critical of fracking is evidence of a Russian plot to destroy the US economy. Please do read it, I promise you will be laughing for weeks.

In passing, allow me to destroy quickly the "we have smoking gun evidence but it's too secret to show you" argument. Given the Snowden revelations and the whistleblowing of the former NSA Technical Director Bill Binney, for the US government to claim to be hiding the fact that it can tack all electronic traffic in the USA is risible. This is like saying we can't give you the evidence in case the Russians find out the sky is blue. If there were hacks, the NSA could identify the precise hack transmitting the precise information out of Washington. Everybody knows that. There were no hacks so there is no evidence. End of argument. They are internal leaks.

Comment: Further details from Middle East Eye
Maria Strizzolo, a former parliamentary assistant to junior education minister Robert Halfon, has resigned from her current position in in the education department after the release of undercover footage in which she is seen discussing ways to "take out" deputy foreign minister Alan Duncan with an Israeli embassy employee.

Speaking to an undercover reporter posing as a pro-Israel political activist, Strizzolo boasted of how she had taken on Halfon, the MP for Harlow in Essex, when he was a backbencher: "And now look at him, he's a minister, so I'm not too crap!"

Masot, who in an online profile deactivated on Saturday described Niccolo Machiavelli as his "God", then asked her whether she could do the opposite: "Can I give you some MPs that you can take down?"

Strizzolo, who is now a UK government employee working at the Department for Education's Skills Funding Agency, replied: "Well you know, if you look hard enough I'm sure that there is something they are trying to hide."
Trying to dodge the implications of such a meeting:
In a statement on Saturday, Strizzolo said: "The implications the Guardian is seeking to draw from a few out-of-context snippets of a conversation, obtained by subterfuge, over a social dinner are absurd.

"The context of the conversation was light, tongue-in-cheek and gossipy. Any suggestion that I, as a civil servant working in education, could ever exert the type of influence you are suggesting is risible.

"Shai Masot is someone I know purely socially and as a friend. He is not someone with whom I have ever worked or had any political dealings beyond chatting about politics, as millions of people do, in a social context."
More background:

Israeli diplomat recorded plotting 'take-down' of UK MPs‌

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Chess

Trump calls bluff of US 'Deep State'

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Sun, 08 Jan 2017 00:00 UTC
D T and wise smile
© Getty Images
Donald Trump has shown determination and skill in resisting the US "Deep State's" attempts to torpedo his policy of detente with Russia, avoiding the traps laid for him by the US intelligence community during the Russian hacking scandal.

Amongst the myriad of reasons for the Obama-Clinton-CIA campaign about alleged Russian hacking during the US election, a key one was to bluff Donald Trump into condemning Russia.

Following the failure to orchestrate a rebellion against Donald Trump in the Electoral College, Donald Trump's inauguration as US President on 20th January 2017 is now a certainty. The continued campaign over the alleged Russian role in the Clinton leaks since then was undoubtedly motivated in part by a continued desire to delegitimise his election victory by implying that it was somehow caused by Russian interference in the election.

It was also intended to provoke a rupture in relations between the US and Russia, which would have put Trump in a very difficult position, and made much harder his professed intention to improve the US's relations with Russia. However the Russians sidestepped that trap by refusing to be provoked by Obama's fresh sanctions and the expulsion of their diplomats.

Comment: Any more sideshow distractions in the Democrats' last hurrah? At least by now, they must have realized Mr. Trump knows how to tap dance.

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USA

Obama to Trump: 'Putin's not on our team', urges trust of US intelligence community


RT
Mon, 09 Jan 2017 05:12 UTC
Trumputinobama
© OverpassesForAmerica'Agent 44'
Outgoing US President Barack Obama has warned Americans and his successor Donald Trump that Vladimir Putin is an "adversary" who should never be trusted over the US intelligence community. Speaking to ABC's George Stephanopoulos after the release of the intelligence community's declassified assessment of the alleged Russian interference in the US presidential race, Obama again reiterated his firm belief that Moscow was somehow involved in propelling Trump into the Oval Office.


Comment: Yes. Allegations that Russia hacked the election made folks dig for the truth...only to discover Obama, the DNC, Hillary Clinton and the intel agencies were NOT IT (the truth).


"I think that what is true is that the Russians intended to meddle and they meddled. And it could be another country in the future," President Obama told the host of ABC' This Week which aired in the US on Sunday. The outgoing president spoke of a need to unite the country amidst the cyber hysteria that has split the country over the extent of Moscow's influence in the US presidential race.

Trump who somewhat criticized the US intelligence report insisted that the cyberattack and the subsequent leaks from the DNC server had "absolutely no effect on the outcome of the election," while Obama disagreed. "One of the things that I've urged the president-elect to do is to develop a strong working relationship with the intelligence community," Obama said. "I think it's important that Congress, on a bipartisan basis, work with the next administration, looking forward to make sure that this kind of influence is minimized."

"We have to remind ourselves we're on the same team. Vladimir Putin's not on our team," Obama added. "If we get to a point where people in this country feel more affinity with a leader who is an adversary and view the United States and our way of life as a threat to him, then we're gonna have bigger problems than just cyber hacking."

The departing president said that he is "concerned" about the degree of US reporting following the release of the intelligence community assessment. It appears to him that some politicians and reporters "seem to have more confidence in Vladimir Putin than fellow Americans because those fellow Americans are Democrats. That cannot be," Obama stressed.


Comment: This is rich. It is precisely what Obama set up in collusion with the intelligence community. The US citizenry is looking for answers and are independently coming to those conclusions.


Comment: Intel is dang useless if it bends to what someone wants to hear or is warped to push an agenda. Who then becomes the 'influencer'? Relentless, Obama is pushing his fantasies right down to the wire.

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Eye 1

Assange: ODNI report 'embarrassing', 'no evidence given'


RT
Mon, 09 Jan 2017 14:03 UTC
Assange
© Rodrigo Garrido / Reuters
During a press conference Monday, WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange criticized the recent ODNI report describing it as "quite embarrassing to the reputations of the US intelligence services." Assange answered questions submitted via #AskWL on Twitter for over an hour, which was streamed live via Periscope from the Ecuadorian embassy in London. He described the ODNI's report as containing "zero evidentiary weight" and being "deliberately political."

Asked about the source of the leaked emails from Hillary Clinton campaign chair John Podesta, Assange denied it was a state. "If our sources were a state we would have a lot less concern in attempting to protect them," he said, adding that he would not provide additional information as this could lead to their identification.

"Take the data now, keep it under your bed or with your mother. You can give it to WikiLeaks," Assange said, encouraging members of the Obama administration to prevent information being destroyed before he leaves office.

He denied that WikiLeaks possessed information from the Republican National Committee which they refused to publish, calling the claim "false."

Assange said he believed that whistleblowers would continue to be persecuted under Trump's administration, saying "No system of authority likes those who undermine their authority." The whistleblowing site has been accused of working with the Russian government to ensure Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential elections. Both WikiLeaks and founder Julian Assange have repeatedly denied the leaks came from state actors, with former UK ambassador and WikiLeaks associate Craig Murray stating the leak came from a "disgusted" whistleblower from within the Democratic establishment.

Comment: Updates: 'Not an intelligence report' 09 January 2017

WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange is answering questions at a press conference in response to allegations by US intelligence agencies that it worked with Russia to leak information to influence the US presidential elections.
  • 14:49 GMT
    "If WIkiLeaks had an effect it's because people read the words of Hillary Clinton and her team and didn't like what they saw," Assange says, referencing the leaking of emails from John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's campaign chair.
  • 14:45 GMT
    The ODNI report "mutually endorses" that WikiLeaks has verified its information, Assange says, maintaining the organization was thrilled by the CIA's interest in them.
  • 14:36 GMT
    Asked about WikiLeaks' alleged role in Donald Trump's presidential victory, Assange insists, "They [the US electorate] ended up voting for Trump as a way of delivering into DC something the existing media and establishment were appalled by."
  • 14:31 GMT
    Assange said the ODNI report's lack of sources made it so weak that "it does not make assertions to rise to the level of fabrication." "There is no evidence of any kind supplied," Assange.
  • 14:31 GMT
    Assange warns of the potential destruction of information by the Obama administration before he leaves office. "Such information is a part of history" Assange says, adding that its destruction would be a "crime against humanity." WikiLeaks have offered a reward for the exposure of anyone in the Obama administration involved in destroying information.
  • 14:28 GMT
    "We haven't said whether we know or don't know or sources." Assange says, reiterating that the source is not a state party.
  • 14:18 GMT
    Assange criticizes the time frame of the report by the CIA which claims the DNC was hacked by Russians in 2015, when "Trump is clearly not on the horizon."
  • 14:16 GMT
    Assange criticizes the ODNI report released last week, insisting it's "not an intelligence report." "It is frankly quite embarrassing to the reputations of the US intelligence services," Assange says.


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Attention

Ties breaker: If Trump ditches one-China-policy, Beijing will be called on to take revenge


RT
Mon, 09 Jan 2017 09:48 UTC
Cruz and Tsai
© WikicommonsTexas Senator Ted Cruz and Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen
Should Donald Trump break the "one-China" policy after taking office, the Chinese people will call on the government to "take revenge," Beijing's unofficial mouthpiece warned shortly after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen made a stopover in Houston.

"Trump is yet to be inaugurated, and there is no need for Beijing to sacrifice bilateral ties for the sake of Taiwan. But in case he tears up the one-China policy after taking office, the mainland is fully prepared," the Communist party-owned Chinese newspaper Global Times said in an editorial on Sunday. "Beijing would rather break ties with the US if necessary. We would like to see whether US voters will support their president to ruin Sino-US relations and destabilize the entire Asia-Pacific region," it added. "If Trump reneges on the one-China policy after taking office, the Chinese people will demand the government to take revenge. There is no room for bargaining," the Global Times concluded.

On Sunday, Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen, whom China does not recognize as legitimate, met with Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Senator Ted Cruz during her stopover in Houston en route to Central America. Cruz said that shortly before the meeting the Houston congressional delegation had received a letter from the Chinese consulate asking them not to meet with President Tsai.

"Sticking to [the one China] principle is not a capricious request by China upon US presidents, but an obligation of US presidents to maintain China-US relations and respect the existing order of the Asia-Pacific," the Global Times editorial said on Sunday.

Comment: US can't make all the rules for the entire world and then bend them at its discretion. It has to be able, in this case, to completely separate business from political priorities and stay within those guidelines unless it is committed to go to war over this issue. The stakes are too high and the global situation too fragile to hand Beijing the standard US flip answers, as per Ted Cruz. And, the US' past inconsistencies, as to approval/disapproval of other countries and their territory wars, could use a complete diplomatic overhaul.

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Eye 1

Turnabout: Turkey accuses US govt. hackers of disrupting its energy system, issues Obama an ultimatum

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Mon, 09 Jan 2017 00:00 UTC
ObamaYPG
© Yeni ŞafakObama and the YPG
In further sign of deteriorating relations Turkey accuses US hackers of disrupting its energy system and makes more threats over US use of Incirlik air base.

Fresh evidence of the "confidence crisis" in US-Turkish relations has come with the claim by Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak that recent breakdowns in Turkey's power supply were caused by cyber-attacks coming from the US
In recent days the Energy Ministry underwent a number of powerful cyberattacks that were conducted from the United States.
Note that Albayrak is not directly accusing the US government of carrying out the cyber-attacks. Rather what he is saying is that the cyber-attacks were launched from US territory.


Comment: Monkey see, monkey do. Russia is the US' default blame game. The US is likewise with Turkey. The difference is Turkey might be right.


Despite this important qualification, Albayrak's comment shows the extent to which blaming the US has now become the default position for Turkish ministers whenever Turkey runs into problems. This comes directly after President Erdogan's incendiary comments that the US is responsible for the rise of ISIS - which has carried out multiple terrorist attacks on Turkish soil - and the repeated Turkish criticism of US backing for the Syrian Kurdish militia the YPG.

The extent to which Turkey's relations with the US are deteriorating is shown by further Turkish warnings to the US about future US use of the Incirlik air base, with Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Işık in comments on Friday openly blackmailing the US by threatening to stop the US's use of Incirlik to wage its air campaign against ISIS unless the US drops its support for the YPG
İncirlik is not a NATO base; everyone should know this. [The coalition forces] are there with Turkey's permission. At this point, Turkey and the U.S. and the other coalition forces are in talks. If these talks come to a point that threatens Turkey's interests and a result cannot be reached, then Turkey will consider all options. The U.S. made a strategic mistake. We are paying its price as the U.S. will also pay the price. All terror organisations have made their supporters pay the price.

Comment: So...the US theoretically has to give up the YPG to keep Incirlik airbase access. Wonder how that sits with the current administration. An ultimatum. A fork in the road not of their making. Choices dictated by a regime they despise. One more mess being left to Trump.

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Dollar Gold

May signals hard Brexit, EU stocks dip, sterling falls


RT
Mon, 09 Jan 2017 13:29 UTC
Sterling water flag
© imago stock&people / Global Look PressSterling: will it sink or swim?
The British pound has hit its lowest since October following comments this weekend from the UK Prime Minister on leaving the European Union. Sterling dropped 0.9 percent to $1.2166 in morning trading in London after Theresa May said quitting the bloc is about "getting the right relationship, not about keeping bits of membership."

"She signaled once again that the aim of controlling immigration was a red line she would not be willing to cross. That means that following Brexit the country is likely to lose access to the single market," said Esther Reichelt, a currency strategist at Commerzbank in Frankfurt, as quoted by Bloomberg.

Since the historic June vote to leave the EU, the national currency has plummeted nearly 20 percent against the US dollar, consistently hitting 30-year lows throughout the period. "Since October it's become clear that sterling has a very binary relationship with political news, and anything which suggests 'hard Brexit' sends sterling down, and anything that suggests a 'soft Brexit' sends sterling up. That's been the case since the party conference in October," said Rabobank currency strategist Jane Foley as cited by Reuters.

At the same time, the blue-chip British FTSE 100 hit a record high as soon as the first full trading week of the New Year kicked off. The index grew more than 0.2 percent. "The rise in the FTSE is really down to the weakness of sterling, but the Brexit news is not great, so I don't see the FTSE gaining too much," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, market strategist at London Capital Group, as quoted by Reuters.

European stocks were lower in morning trading despite positive economic reports from Germany, where exports rose 3.9 percent in November, the strongest monthly gain in five years. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.6 percent lower as the DAX fell 0.52 percent. The French CAC was down 0.76 percent and the Spanish IBEX 35 was off 0.65 percent.

Comment: Nothing in this world is independent, not even flapping butterfly wings. Decisions have consequences.

See also: Theresa May hints at 'hard Brexit' outside single market - won't attempt to "keep bits" of EU membership

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Arrow Up

Iran: Restart selling crude to Philippines, upcoming talks


RT
Mon, 09 Jan 2017 10:18 UTC
Iranian oil facility
© AFP
The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has begun negotiating a long-term agreement to sell crude to the Philippines, according to a statement from the firm. "The National Iranian Oil Company is in talks with Philippines' National Oil Company (PNOC) to export four million barrels per month," the statement said.

PNOC, a member of a consortium of international companies, has already signed a non-disclosure agreement with the National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) for studies into two oilfields in Iran. The group, known as Pergas, comprises eleven European, Canadian and Asian corporations in addition to the Sharif University of Technology. "Based on the deal, the consortium will have six months to hand over the result of the studies on the fields to the NISOC. Pergas may submit its proposal for the development of the fields sooner if it is ready," Iran's Press TV reported.

PNOC has bought Iranian crude before and is currently considering resuming purchases, according to the company's CEO Pedro Aquino. "The Philippines will play a constructive role in the future contract in view of Iran's strategy to build up its oil export figures," he said.

Apart from importing the oil, the Philippines aims to invest in Iran's energy sector. "We are also interested in investing in Iran's liquefied gas sector to future supplement our country's energy needs. By joining Pergas, we seek investment in Iran's upstream sector and long-term crude purchase," Aquino said.

The Islamic Republic managed to win an exemption from OPEC's production cuts agreed on last November, and has risen output slightly. According to data from the cartel, Iran exports over 500,000 barrels per day of refined products to Asian markets. The 2015 deal between Iran and six major powers lifted the decades-long sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic. Since then, the country has been ramping up crude production to restore much of its lost market share.

Comment: If Obama were to stay in office, there would be penalties for the Philippines' association with Iran. We will see shortly what Trump has to say about it.

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Brick Wall

Theresa May hints at 'hard Brexit' outside single market - won't attempt to "keep bits" of EU membership


RT
Mon, 09 Jan 2017 18:05 UTC
Theresa May Brexit
© John Stillwell / Reuters Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May (L) is interviewed by Sophy Ridge on Sky News, during the Ridge on Sunday programme, in London, Britain January 8, 2017.
Prime Minister Theresa May has hinted the UK is heading for a 'hard Brexit,' as the country will not seek to "keep bits" of EU membership.

The PM's response to a question on whether Britain will prioritize immigration controls over access to the single market caused the pound to drop on Monday, falling to its lowest level since late October.

In an interview with Sky News, May failed to answer the actual question posed, but instead said her government would try to deliver a "really good, ambitious trade deal."

Leading Brexit campaigner and former Education Secretary Michael Gove has urged the PM to back a 'full Brexit' by leaving the single market and customs union, as opposed to a 'fake Brexit' which would see Britain retaining some elements of membership.

The UK's top diplomat to the EU, Sir Ivan Rogers, resigned last week after describing the government's thinking on Brexit as "muddled."

May denied the government is confused over its EU exit plans, and said she would reveal more of her negotiating aims in the next two weeks.
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