Puppet MastersS


2 + 2 = 4

Morocco shuts down schools allegedly linked to Turkish cleric Gulen


Sputnik
Fri, 06 Jan 2017 21:10 UTC
Fes general view, Morocco
© Sputnik/ Vladimir Fedorenko
According to investigators, the schools are engaged in spreading FETO's ideology.

"Investigations on the establishments of the Mohamed Al-Fatih group, linked to Turkish national Fethullah Gülen, showed that they use education to spread the group's ideology and ideas contrary to the principles of the Moroccan educational and religious system," the Thursday statement says, as quoted by the Daily Sabah newspaper.

The ministry did not specify the exact number of schools to be shut down, but said that they would be closed "within a delay of one month" and that all efforts would be made to find alternative schools for the affected students.

Comment: See also:

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Attention

Paul Craig Roberts: Suppression of truth is the last defense of a corrupt ruling establishment

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts
PaulCraigRoberts.org
Thu, 05 Jan 2017 00:00 UTC
anti-russian propaganda
Jon Rappoport's mocking of the US presstitutes is superb:

"Vladimir Putin is the secret president of the United States.

"Yep. That's it. The US is now the USSR. It's all over. Trump is a Communist who took orders from Putin. Trump is a Red. That was his game all along. He's a billionaire Commie."

Ridicule is effective, and nothing deserves ridicule more than the Washington Post, New York, Times, CNN, and the rest of the presstitutes who pretend to be real journalists. But as I have emphasized, and other real journalists, such as Glenn Greenwald (see, for example) imply, the fake news recklessly promoted by the presstitutes brings with it the threat of thermo-nuclear war.

For several years Russia and her president have experienced endless demonization. The Russians know that Georgia's invasion of South Ossetia (done while Putin was at the Beijing Olympics) was a Washington provocation. The Russians know that Washington's coup in Ukraine (done while Putin was at the Sochi Olympics) was a provocation aimed at seizing Russia's Black Sea naval base in Crimea and cutting Russia off from the Mediterranean. The Russians know that Washington knows that the charges that Russia hacked Hillary's emails and the US presidential election are lies. The Russians know that the "Russian threat" created by Washington is a lie along with all of its permutations, such as an impending Russian invasion of Poland and the Baltics. The Russians understand that US ABM bases on Russia's borders are provocations, as are NATO military exercises on Russia's borders and in the Black Sea. You can add to this list on your own.
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Magnify

Trump appoints ex-senator Dan Coats director of Office of National Intelligence


RT
Thu, 05 Jan 2017 19:48 UTC
Dan Coats Trump ONI
© Lucas Jackson / ReutersDan Coats
Senator Dan Coats has been named director to lead the Trump administration's Office of National Intelligence. Coats previously served on the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services committees.

Coats' job would be to oversee the FBI and 16 other intelligence agencies, including the CIA, NSA (National Security Agency) and the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration). Director of National Intelligence James Clapper announced he was resigning from the position at the end of the Obama administration.

Clapper's tenure in office was marked by high profile showdowns over the government's desire to protect the civil liberties of American citizens.

During a tense March 2013 exchange with Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden over whether the NSA gathers "any type of data at all on millions of Americans," Clapper responded "no" and "not wittingly."

However, in June 2013, The Guardian published documents leaked by whistle-blower Edward Snowden, including a top secret court order showing that the NSA had collected phone records from over 120 million subscribers.

Snowden later told Wired magazine that it was Clapper's testimony that prompted him to leak the documents.

President-elect Trump is said to be working with top advisers on a plan to restructure the ODNI. The plans involve restricting and scaling back the ODNI, which Trump thinks has become bloated and politicized, the WSJ reported.

Comment: Interestingly, in 2014 Coats signed an open letter to the Obama administration opposing upgrading the Open Skies agreement with Russia, citing Moscow's "invasion" of Crimea. How will that square with Trump's goal of better relations with Russia?

Secret fight over Russia in the Obama Administration

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Snakes in Suits

Venezuelan right wing puts Chavez coup backer at head of Parliament, vows to rid Maduro from power

Ryan Mallett-Outtrim
Venezuelanalysis.com
Fri, 06 Jan 2017 19:42 UTC
Julio Borges
© Reuters/Marco Bello
Venezuelan legislators appointed Thursday controversial right wing figure Julio Borges to head the National Assembly.

Borges has been a divisive figure in Venezuelan politics since supporting a failed 2002 coup against former socialist President Hugo Chavez, and for his ties with the US government.

Since being sworn in, Borges has stated he will seek new elections, while calling for the military to support opposition efforts to remove President Nicolas Maduro from power.

"Let's have elections ... this year: governors, mayors, the AN and also the presidency," he told El Nacional.

Comment: There is a lot of trouble brewing in Venezuela:

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Arrow Up

Mission accomplished: Russia announces further troop pullouts in wake of successful ceasefire


Sputnik
Fri, 06 Jan 2017 19:39 UTC
Russian Federation soldiers
Ministry of defence of the Russian Federation.
Russia is starting to further reduce its military presence in Syria after completing a range of objectives and in the wake of the renewed ceasefire in the war-torn country, the Russian Armed Forces General Staff said Friday.

Russia started its anti-terrorist campaign in Syria in September, 2015, following a request by the Syrian government. A number of ceasefire attempts and peace talks have taken place between Syria's warring factions since then. A US-Russian-brokered partial ceasefire was first introduced in early 2016, but violence continued, especially in Aleppo. A second Russian-Turkish-backed ceasefire took effect after the fall of Aleppo's militant-held enclave just before the end of 2016.

The first scaling back of the Russian campaign took place in March, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the withdrawal of the bulk of the country's air group from Syria, stating that the mission's aims had been achieved and a chance should be given to diplomacy. A limited force remained and has been active in assisting Syrian forces against terrorists in eastern Syria and in Aleppo.

Comment: More on the liberation of Aleppo:

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Laptop

One more time: The DNC emails were leaked, NOT hacked

William Binney and Ray McGovern
The Baltimore Sun
Fri, 06 Jan 2017 19:18 UTC
Obama Putin
© Chicago Tribune
DNC and Podesta emails were leaked, not hacked, op-ed writers say.

It has been several weeks since the New York Times reported that "overwhelming circumstantial evidence" led the CIA to believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin "deployed computer hackers" to help Donald Trump win the election. But the evidence released so far has been far from overwhelming.

The long anticipated Joint Analysis Report issued by the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI on Dec. 29 met widespread criticism in the technical community. Worse still, some of the advice it offered led to a very alarmist false alarm about supposed Russian hacking into a Vermont electric power station.

Advertised in advance as providing proof of Russian hacking, the report fell embarrassingly short of that goal. The thin gruel that it did contain was watered down further by the following unusual warning atop page 1:
"DISCLAIMER: This report is provided 'as is' for informational purposes only. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) does not provide any warranties of any kind regarding any information contained within."
Also, curiously absent was any clear input from the CIA, NSA or Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Reportedly, Mr. Clapper will get a chance tomorrow to brief an understandably skeptical Donald Trump, who has called the briefing delay "very strange," even suggesting that top intelligence officials "need more time to build a case."

Mr. Trump's skepticism is warranted not only by technical realities, but also by human ones, including the dramatis personae involved. Mr. Clapper has admitted giving Congress on March 12, 2013, false testimony regarding the extent of NSA collection of data on Americans. Four months later, after the Edward Snowden revelations, Mr. Clapper apologized to the Senate for testimony he admitted was "clearly erroneous." That he is a survivor was already apparent by the way he landed on his feet after the intelligence debacle on Iraq.

Comment: Julian Assange has been saying this from the beginning.

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Arrow Up

French people paying more attention about situation in Aleppo - Lawmaker


Sputnik
Fri, 06 Jan 2017 20:35 UTC
Citizens at a yard of the Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo destroyed following military actions. The Umayyad Mosque was the largest and the oldest mosque of Aleppo
© Sputnik/ Timur AbdullaevCitizens at a yard of the Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo destroyed following military actions. The Umayyad Mosque was the largest and the oldest mosque of Aleppo
French people are now more interested in the reports of the people familiar with the situation in Aleppo from personal experience and are questioning the version of events that has been given to them for years, Nicolas Dhuicq, a lawmaker with The Republicans (LR) party, told Sputnik on Friday.

Three French lawmakers are currently on a visit to Syria and planning to spend the Orthodox Christmas weekend with Syrian Christians in Aleppo.

"The French understand that the version [of events in Aleppo]] that they have been given for years is not true to reality. So I think we can influence the public opinion positively," Dhuicq, a member of the French legislative defense committee, said.

The lawmaker added that the French were paying more and more attention to those who were familiar with the situation on the ground.

Comment: A lot of false information about the situation in the Syrian city of Aleppo exists, so French National Assembly members, who have traveled to Syria, want to learn directly from Aleppo residents what happened in the city, Thierry Mariani, a member of The Republicans (LR) party, told Sputnik on Friday.
"I think there is a lot of false information regarding Aleppo. Now that Aleppo is liberated, we want to learn directly from the city residents what has happened here in the last few months," Mariani said.


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Snakes in Suits

Grasping for straw men? US knows which Russians provided hacked e-mails to WikiLeaks


RFE/RL
Fri, 06 Jan 2017 19:30 UTC
Julian Assange
U.S. media are reporting that U.S. intelligence agencies have identified the Russians they say provided hacked e-mails to WikiLeaks in an effort to influence the November presidential election.

The Washington Post and Reuters reported on January 5 that the CIA has identified Russian officials who fed material hacked from the Democratic National Committee and party leaders to WikiLeaks at the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin via third parties.

Reuters said the findings are contained in a secret briefing document intelligence agencies gave to President Barack Obama on January 5 and are scheduled to give to President-elect Donald Trump on January 6.

Comment: Waiting on Trump's tweet in 3...2...1...

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Eagle

U.S. deploys hundreds of tanks to Germany to station on Russia's doorstep


RFE/RL
Fri, 06 Jan 2017 19:33 UTC
us tank
© AFPU.S. military vehicles are unloaded from a transport ship in the harbor in Bremerhaven, Germany, on January 6.
Hundreds of U.S. tanks and other weaponry arrived by ship in Germany on January 6, the first wave of equipment to be deployed to Eastern Europe as part of NATO's push to beef up its presence in the region.

The equipment is set to be transported by rail and convoy to staging sites in Poland ahead of the arrival of U.S. military units to Eastern Europe.

Beginning next month, the American units and equipment will fan out across NATO members Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and the Baltic states for training and maintenance.

The moves are aimed at reassuring U.S. allies following Russia's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and its backing of armed separatists in eastern Ukraine.


Comment: Pass the sick bag. People in the Baltics and E. Europe should either be insulted (for being portrayed as thin-skinned neurotics with paranoid delusions), or ashamed (for being thin-skinned neorotics with paranoid delusions).


Russia has condemned what it sees as an aggressive Western buildup in in the region, accusing NATO of destabilizing actions and stoking tensions near Russia's borders.

NATO insists the moves are strictly defensive in nature.

"The best way to maintain the peace is through preparation," U.S. Major General Timothy McGuire told reporters when asked if the action was intended to send a message to Russia.
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Sherlock

Trump calls for investigation into top secret intel leaked to NBC


RFE/RL
Fri, 06 Jan 2017 19:25 UTC
trump
© EVAN VUCCI/APPresident-elect Donald Trump wants to trim the country's top spy agencies, according to a report.
President-elect Donald Trump has called for a congressional investigation into an NBC News report featuring details from a classified intelligence report about alleged Russian computer hacking targeting U.S. elections.

Trump made the extraordinary call on January 6 shortly before his own scheduled briefing with top U.S. intelligence officials about the report.

"I am asking the chairs of the House and Senate committees to investigate top secret intelligence shared with NBC prior to me seeing it," Trump wrote on Twitter.


Comment: Contrary to what may readers of the MSM think, these types of "disclosures" from anonymous intelligence officials are often psyops directed at the American people. No accountability. No need for evidence. It's also illegal, but when did that ever stop the CIA? In this case, assuming the contents are as described, it still amounts to a politicized 'leak' designed to smear Trump, Russia, and the possibility of cooling the New Cold War tensions being stoked and provoked by the CIA and their allies.

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