Puppet MastersS


Chess

Russia's success in Syria a 'powerful move on the international chessboard'


Sputnik
Sun, 25 Dec 2016 21:43 UTC
Russian SU-25 jets
© Sputnik/ Dmitry Vinogradov
Sputnik Mundo talked to Uruguayan journalist Gabriel Mazarovich from the Popular El weekly about his attitude to the recent developments in Syria. According to the journalist, the successful liberation of Aleppo has helped Russia further strengthen its positions as a key player on the global arena.

Mazarovich believes that a series of wins in the fight against terrorism has helped Russia to occupy a privileged position in the international system.

"Victory in Syria is Russia's merit. The US came to this country to fuel a civil war, overthrow Bashar al-Assad and create Daesh. Russia, in its turn, realized that the problem is not Assad, but terrorism. Today, it [Russia] can demonstrate its victory over this extremist group in the stronghold of the later. It is a very powerful move on the international chessboard," Mazarovich said.

Comment: Also see: Russia's air support was 'determining factor' in Aleppo victory

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Star of David

Propaganda not working out: Israeli ministers told to avoid states backing anti-settlement UN resolution


RT
Sun, 25 Dec 2016 21:28 UTC
Jewish man walks past buildings under construction
© Baz Ratner / ReutersAn ultra-Orthodox Jewish man walks past buildings under construction in the Israeli settlement of Beitar Ilit, in the occupied West Bank December 22, 2016.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his ministers not to travel to countries that backed a recent UN resolution against Israeli settlements on Friday, local media reported.

According to GLZ Radio, a popular station operated by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), Netanyahu instructed members of his cabinet not to travel to any state which voted in favor of the UN resolution passed Friday. He has also forbidden them from meeting their counterparts from those countries.

Earlier on Sunday, the ambassadors of the 14 countries that voted in favor of the resolution were summoned by the Israeli foreign ministry.
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Better Earth

Zakharova telling it like it is: Entire world 'disgusted by Obama administration's foreign policy'


ITAR-TASS
Sun, 25 Dec 2016 21:22 UTC
Maria Zakharova
© Sergey Sevostyanov/TASS
The Barack Obama administration's foreign policy over the eight years of Obama's presidency "evokes aversion of the entire world," Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday.

"I think this man [Obama] and his team - naturally, speaking about the man we mean the team which has proved to be bad for all on the global arena," she said in an interview with the Sunday Evening weekly news roundup on the Rossiya-1 television channel.

"I think this eight-year office served under the slogan of their exclusiveness evoked aversion of the entire world. They have failed to fulfill their obligations taken before some countries, they have failed to fulfill what they were commissioned to, including by the American people on the global arena," Zakharova said.
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Windsock

Flashback U.S. Navy Admiral: We may increase Black Sea patrols


RT
Wed, 07 Dec 2016 22:46 UTC
U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Truxtun
© Stoyan Nenov / ReutersThe U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Truxtun
Washington may send more ships to the Black Sea in order to extend the amount of time they can patrol the area, according to a senior US Navy officer.

The US has sent a string of warships into the Black Sea since the Ukraine crisis broke out in 2014, and NATO refused to recognize Crimea's reunification with Moscow or Russia's military presence on the peninsula.

"It depends on whether or not the challenges in the region become more or less urgent," Vice Admiral James G. Foggo III told Sputnik on Wednesday, on the margins of the Defense Forum 2016, organized by the US Naval Institute in Washington, DC. "Obviously, when things become more intense you see the presence of additional ships."

Extending the length of US operations would require additional ships, since the 1936 Montreux Convention limits vessels of outside states to 21 consecutive days in the Black Sea.

Comment: What's most interesting is how these think tanks, military types, and representatives from the military-industrial-complex all put their heads together in an effort to justify purchasing more arms, and preparing for more war. That's all they do; they are the well manicured, well spoken, and well paid dregs of humanity. This is now the definition of "Freedom": Made in America!

The Russian response:
Andrei Kelin, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's european cooperation department, said: "The bolstering of NATO military infrastructure near Russia's borders will continue and we will respond to it appropriately."

He added: "If we look at the process of the Alliance bolstering its military infrastructure and strengthening of military presence at its eastern flank, it is clear that all these measures directly affect our national security and it will be natural for us to take them into consideration during our defence planning."


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Fire

US set to deploy 4K troops to Russian border - Cold War getting warmer?

Whitney Webb
True Activist
Fri, 23 Dec 2016 00:00 UTC
US Armed Forces
© Washington Free BeaconUS accelerates deployment to Poland.
The troops' deployment coincides with the deployment of 300,000 NATO troops that have been on "high alert" since last month. Is this a sign that Cold War 2.0 will go hot in 2017?

Since tempers first flared in 2014, tensions between Russia and the US have nearly boiled over on more than one occasion. However, recent NATO and US army actions along with a surge in anti-Russia propaganda throughout the Western world, suggest that these tensions will only escalate in the months ahead. Last Friday, new US tanks and armored vehicles arrived in the Netherlands, where they will be deployed to a storage facility in the province of Limburg to serve as part of the Army's "strategically prepositioned critical war stock." These tanks and other military assets are intended for use by the US Army's recently announced deployment of 4,000 American troops and around 2,000 military vehicles along Russia's border. The deployment breaches the Russia-NATO Founding Act of 1997, which states that NATO would not seek "additional permanent stationing of substantial ground combat forces" in nations closer to Russia.

The troops and vehicles will be stationed on a rotational, yet permanent basis in several countries that border Russia, such as Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and Baltic nations. Yet, the most provocative aspect of all of these deployments was the stationing of an American battalion in Poland near the border of Kaliningrad, Russia's enclave in the Baltic. The deployment comes as part of a $3.4 billion new spending plan intended to boost NATO forces in Europe, authorized by the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The US military currently boasts over 62,000 soldiers that are permanently stationed in Europe. Gen. Frederick Hodges, the commander of the US army in Europe, said that "these activities are the embodiment of the United States' commitment to deterring aggression and defending our European allies and partners." However, considering the massive deployments that have already taken place in addition to those recently announced, it becomes increasingly difficult to peg who the real aggressor is - NATO or Russia.

Comment: The US-NATO's deliberate provocation, at this stage in the Obama exit, is troublesome in that any active aggressiveness on the part of the West will try to tie Trump's hands.

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Hourglass

Putin prepping for serious changes in global politics


Sputnik
Sun, 25 Dec 2016 13:24 UTC
Vlad Putin
© CBS NewsHoping for a change in global politics.
In recent years, Russia has emerged as the key actor in global politics, according to prominent Argentine journalist and analyst Pedro Brieger. "Russia proved that it has become the key player in the international arena. If you want to understand that just look at what is going in Syria," Brieger told Sputnik Mundo.

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin held his annual year-end major press conference. Commenting on the event, the journalist noted that the press conference was organized right at a time when Russia is making new global achievements and when Moscow's ties with the United States and Europe are expected to considerably change. "I think that the Russian government and personally President Vladimir Putin are now preparing for new serious changes in global politics. These changes stem from the fact than soon new US President Donald Trump will soon enter office," Brieger pointed out.

During the press conference, when asked about what he will discuss at his first meeting with Trump, Putin said: "Trump said during the election campaign that he believed it was right to normalize Russian-US relations and said that it couldn't get worse because [they] were worse than ever. I agree with him. We will think together how to make [the bilateral relations] better."

Comment: It's the countdown to the new administration and the challenge will be renegotiating a global outlook to reflect the new dynamics. Some optimism and sanity could be in the making.

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Vader

How did the US become a 'rogue' superpower 'above the law'?


Sputnik
Sun, 25 Dec 2016 13:48 UTC
peace vigil white house
© johnzangas
Back in 2002, the US opened the door to a new arms race by abandoning the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, Brazilian journalist Pedro Paulo Rezende told Sputnik. The journalist highlighted that Russia has always pursued a defensive strategy and added that Russia's rockets are "undoubtedly the best in the world."

Brazilian journalist and expert in international affairs Pedro Paulo Rezende echoed Russian President Vladimir Putin stressing that the US opened the door to a new arms race by withdrawing unilaterally from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in June, 2002. In the course of his annual year-end conference Putin underscored that by abandoning the treaty the US created the context for the renewed arms race. "The basis for the new arms race was created after the United States left the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. This is obvious," Putin highlighted Friday.

"When one side unilaterally left the treaty and said it would be creating a nuclear 'umbrella,' all on its own, then the other side had to either create the same 'umbrella,' which we are not certain that it is advantageous, considering the doubtful efficiency of this program, or it had to create the efficient means of surpassing this missile defense system and perfecting the missile strike system," Putin said.

Commenting on the issue Rezende told Sputnik Spanish that US decision makers had sought to break the deal since the late 1990s. He bemoaned the fact that Washington succumbed to pressure from then US President George W. Bush. "Today I am giving formal notice to Russia that the United States of America is withdrawing from this almost 30-year-old treaty," Bush said on December 13, 2001 as quoted by CNN. The media outlet reported that in response Russian President Putin called upon Washington to create a "new framework of [US-Russian] strategic relationship" and called Bush's decision to abandon the treaty a "mistake."

Comment: Rogue State: noun, "a nation or state regarded as breaking international law and posing a threat to the security of other nations." By abandoning all forms of missile control, for the protection and wellbeing of mankind, the US has shown it has learned nothing in the 200+ years of its globally-aggressive existence. "Those who live by the sword, die by the sword."

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Play

Assassination of Russian Ambassador in Turkey: Facts, Motives, Beneficiaries (VIDEO)

Sibel Edmonds
Newsbud
Fri, 23 Dec 2016 17:48 UTC
kárlov
In this edition of Newsbud Spotlight with Sibel & Spiro, Sibel Edmonds covers the recent assassination of the Russian Ambassador to Turkey in Ankara. Edmonds covers the critical timing of the hit, the known facts, the motives and who benefits from this assassination as well as other questionable deaths of high ranking officials on both sides. Join the Newsbud team and get up to speed with the significant geopolitical impact of these recent events.


Comment: Further reading:

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USA

US berates Russia for political meddling, while it openly interferes in China

Joseph Thomas
New Eastern Outlook
Sun, 25 Dec 2016 16:38 UTC
china newspaper citizen
© Kin Cheung/Associated Press
Despite a concerted backlash against what US political leaders and policymakers claim is Russian interference in America's internal politics, the US continues to openly interfere in the internal politics of other nations worldwide, including most recently, China.

Berating Russia Over Alleged Hacks

In an effort to redirect attention and blame for America's unravelling political fabric, the US political establishment and its media has spent an inordinate amount of time blaming Russia for allegedly "hacking US elections" by infiltrating the Democratic National Committee (DNC)'s e-mails.

The hacks revealed impropriety within the Democratic party as well as e-mails between US presidential candidate and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her adviser, lobbyist and counsellor to US President Barack Obama, John Podesta which revealed everything from admissions US allies Saudi Arabia and Qatar were providing material support to the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq to the Clinton Foundation receiving funding from these same state sponsors of terrorism.

The fallout from the revelations has included a media blacklist targeting what is called "fake news," or, any media outlet that opposes narratives established by Washington, particularly regarding the contents of the leaked e-mails. It also resulted in claims that Wikileaks (who published the leaked e-mails) was intentionally mixing fabricated e-mails in with genuine DNC data, the Intercept would report.

The United States government and policymakers have also promised retaliation against Russia, who is accused of orchestrating the hacks and working with Wikileaks to publish the e-mails.

Considering the gravity the US has viewed alleged interference in its internal political affairs, one would expect Washington to have a solid record of respecting the sovereignty of other nations, specifically in regards to respecting their internal politics and particularly now, as Washington attempts to justify growing hostility toward Moscow regarding alleged meddling.
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Jet2

Russia's air support was 'determining factor' in Aleppo victory


Sputnik
Sun, 25 Dec 2016 16:30 UTC
Children celebrating Aleppo liberation
© Vanessa Beeley
Russia's aerial support has been instrumental in pushing numerous radical groups out of Aleppo, one of the largest cities in Syria, Paulo Wrobel, professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, told Sputnik, saying that the victory would not have been possible without Moscow's military engagement in the war-torn Arab country.

"Russian airstrikes which were launched more than a year ago on September 30, 2015 and were carried out with short pauses have been fundamental to the victory," Wrobel, an expert on Russia, said. "I think that this victory is something that the government of President Bashar al-Assad has wanted for the commercial capital of Syria for four years."
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