Puppet MastersS


Eagle

Trump, the Secretary of State, and the Master Persuader "Brand" Decision

Scott Adams
Scott Adams' Blog
Tue, 06 Dec 2016 19:27 UTC
john bolton
When half the country thinks you're Hitler, picking a war-loving white guy with a mustache is a really bad move.
The most important job opening that Trump has to fill - at least from a "brand" perspective - is Secretary of State. You can get away with hiring loyal supporters for less-visible cabinet positions, but you need to get the Secretary of State job right because it directly reflects on the brand of the presidency. And Trump knows branding.

If you look at the Secretary of State from a Master Persuader perspective, it's hard to know who would do the best job among the candidates under discussion. They're all highly-capable people. And their opinions are not so different, otherwise they wouldn't be in the final consideration. The big differentiator is how the country will view Trump's choice, and how that changes their impression of Trump's brand as president. Let's take a look at the candidates through that filter.

Giuliani probably has some foreign business interests that could be problematic once the mainstream media sinks their teeth into him. That doesn't help Trump's brand because Trump has the same type of foreign conflict-of-interest issues. You don't want to add to the problem you already have.

Comment: Further reading:

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Vader

Living the life of luxury: Obama charges family vacation to Hawaii on taxpayers' dime to the tune of $4.8 million


RT
Tue, 06 Dec 2016 19:03 UTC
obamas
© Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
President Barack Obama's family vacation to Hawaii in 2015 cost taxpayers more than $4.8 million.

Conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch obtained Secret Service records through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request which revealed the agency spent $1.2 million on the trip. Adding that to previously-obtained expense records, the group found the total cost of the Obamas' trip to Hawaii last December came in at over $4.8 million.

The group has also tallied the total spent on the Obama family vacations during his eight years as president, which comes to $85 million.

Although the Obamas vacationed for 17 days, the Secret Service arrived before the First Family, bringing the Secret Service's accommodation bill for 19 nights to $1.46 million. Another $165,893 was spent on 103 rental cars throughout the vacation, as well as $68,964 on air and rail expenses.

"The Secret Service and the Air Force are being abused by unnecessary travel," Judicial Watch's Tom Fitton claimed. "Unnecessary presidential travel for fundraising and luxury vacations on the taxpayers' dime would be a good target for reform for the incoming Trump administration."
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Bad Guys

New Wikileaks email dump exposes Erdogan's shady business ties to ISIS oil smugglers in Syria

Rudy Panko
Russia Insider
Tue, 06 Dec 2016 19:51 UTC
Erdogan's shady business ties to ISIS oil smugglers in Syria
Business as usual
For more than a year now — time flies when you're writing "fake news"! — Russia Insider and other FSB fronts have been detailing ties between Erdogan and ISIS.

Just a few examples from the past year: And now a new WikiLeaks email dump has exposed the business dealings of Berat Albayrak, Erdogan's son-in-law and Turkey's Minister of Energy. What kind of "business" are we talking about? You know:

The emails detail Albayrak's involvement in organisations such as Powertrans, the company implicated in ISIS oil imports. On 11 November 2011, the Erdoğan government passed a bill prohibiting all import, export, or transfer of oil or its by-products into or out of Turkey. But the bill also stated that the government could revoke the ban in specific cases. This exception was used to grant Powertrans the sole rights to oil transportation without holding a public tender. There have been numerous allegations in the Turkish media about Powertrans' imports of ISIS-controlled oil to Turkey. Albayrak has repeatedly denied his connection to Powertrans, but the emails prove the opposite.

In one email, Albayrak discusses with his lawyer publicly denying any connection with Powertrans. The lawyer proposes a statement saying "my client no longer has ties with Powertrans...". Albayrak "corrects" him, saying "what do you mean no longer? I never had ties with this company!" . However, throughout the archive it is clear that Albayrak started being involved in Powertrans in 2012, coinciding with the government's decision to give Powertrans the rights of oil transportation. The archive contains almost 30 emails exchanged between Albayrak and Betul Yilmaz, the human resources manager of Çalık Holding, a conglomerate of which Albayrak was Chief Executive Officer. Yilmaz seeks approval from Albayrak regarding Powertrans personnel decisions, such as who to hire, and approval of Powertrans salaries.
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Eye 2

Saudi Arabia sentences 15 to execution over spying for Iran


RT
Tue, 06 Dec 2016 18:53 UTC
saudi head choppers
© Andrew Biraj / Reuters
Saudi Arabia has sentenced at least 15 people to death accused of leaking details on the Saudi military and national security to Iran. The majority of the spies worked in the military, diplomatic and economic fields.

The decision was made by the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh, Saudi state media reported. Those convicted were members of an "Iranian spy cell" which included at least 32 people: 30 Saudis, 1 Afghan and 1 Iranian. They were arrested in 2013.

Two of them were acquitted, 15 were given prison sentences ranging from six months to 25 years, and 15 others were sentenced to death.

Most of the convicts served in the military and diplomatic spheres. They also worked in economic, financial and academic fields.

The men are accused of collaborating with agents from Iranian intelligence and leaking information on the Saudi armed forces and national security to Tehran. They also attempted to recruit people "working in state agencies to commit acts of espionage for the Iranian intelligence service."
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Magnify

Best of the Web: Here's why everything you've read about the wars in Syria and Iraq could be wrong

Patrick Cockburn
Independent
Fri, 02 Dec 2016 00:00 UTC
destructionaleppo
© AnadoluAleppo under siege.
The Iraqi army, backed by US-led airstrikes, is trying to capture east Mosul at the same time as the Syrian army and its Shia paramilitary allies are fighting their way into east Aleppo. An estimated 300 civilians have been killed in Aleppo by government artillery and bombing in the last fortnight, and in Mosul there are reportedly some 600 civilian dead over a month.

Despite these similarities, the reporting by the international media of these two sieges is radically different.

In Mosul, civilian loss of life is blamed on Isis, with its indiscriminate use of mortars and suicide bombers, while the Iraqi army and their air support are largely given a free pass. Isis is accused of preventing civilians from leaving the city so they can be used as human shields.

Contrast this with Western media descriptions of the inhuman savagery of President Assad's forces indiscriminately slaughtering civilians regardless of whether they stay or try to flee. The UN chief of humanitarian affairs, Stephen O'Brien, suggested this week that the rebels in east Aleppo were stopping civilians departing - but unlike Mosul, the issue gets little coverage.

Comment: It is hard enough to witness an event and be able to process correctly what one sees. It is even harder to separate out pre-conceived notions about what took place. It is even more difficult to understand and eliminate personal prejudice at an emotional level in order to suss out a particular kernel of truth. Compound these few aspects with information from a secondary source with bias, agenda and intent. The end result may truly be several generations away from reality.

What are the choices left to reporters and journalists trying to do their job? It is up to the journalists and then the news recipients to become so knowledgeable about the situation that they can filter out persuasions and suss out reality, add up the score and see what is and what doesn't fit. Trustworthy news sources are all we have to tell it like it is, no matter what it is.

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Book

Saudi journalist banned from writing after criticizing Trump: Author does not represent the government of Saudi Arabia


RT
Tue, 06 Dec 2016 12:48 UTC
Jamal Khashoggi
© Mohammed Al-Shaikh / AFPJamal Khashoggi
Prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has reportedly been banned from publishing his work by the kingdom because he criticized Donald Trump.

The journalist and commentator made critical remarks against the president-elect during his presentation at a Washington think-tank on November 10.

Then, on November 19, the Saudi Press Agency, citing an anonymous source, insisted that Khashoggi's views did not represent the country in his statements, Middle East Eye reports.

"The author Jamal Khashoggi does not represent the government of Saudi Arabia or its positions at any level, and his opinions represent his personal views only and not that of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," a ministry source was quoted by the Saudi Press Agency.
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Network

Trump is not only correct in embracing Russia, but should also take Iran off the enemies list

Stephen Kinzer
Boston Globe
Wed, 23 Nov 2016 00:00 UTC
Trump dual conciliation
DURING HIS presidential campaign, Donald Trump posed as a slash-and-burn rebel in foreign as well as domestic policy. That raised the prospect of a president ready to stop waging foreign wars, abandon self-defeating fantasies of world domination, and concentrate on rebuilding America. It remains unclear whether Trump will keep faith with the angry voters who propelled him into office or forget his iconoclasm and sink into the Washington swamp he promised to drain. In foreign policy, a key test is whether he will be daring enough to reverse our course of confrontation with Russia and Iran. So far, he seems ready to go halfway. He has offered a conciliatory hand to Russia but no change in our 37-year policy of hostility to Iran.

Both of these countries have been in conflict with the United States. Each works against the United States in some ways and some places. Yet neither threatens vital American interests. In fact, on the urgent matter of fighting Islamist terror, both share our agenda. Nonetheless, we treat them as strategic adversaries. Driven more by reflex and emotion than cool calculation of national interest, we have convinced ourselves that whatever benefits Russia or Iran is automatically bad for us.
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Attention

How speculation and unverified Syrian media reportage shapes anti-Assad sentiment

Suliman Mulhem
Sputnik
Tue, 06 Dec 2016 17:24 UTC
internet connections world media hacking
© pixabay
Because of nation-wide fighting in Syria for the past few years, journalists have had little access to the country. As a result, unofficial networks and sources have played a large role in relaying developments in Syria to the international community. Many of these groups have manipulated events in Syria to suit their own political agendas.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has emerged as the most widely used source with regards to the Syrian crisis. This group has bent facts to push its anti-Assad and anti-Russia agenda.


Comment: In fact, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is solely a creation of Western intelligence agencies used to spread anti-Russian propaganda: Propaganda spin cycle: 'Syrian Observatory for Human Rights' is funded by US and UK governments


The SOHR has accused the Syrian government, and its armed forces of deliberately targeting civilians on several occasions. Many media outlets have used the SOHR's accusations to delegate blame to Assad's government.

However, it is clear that this organization is biased, and any sensible media outlet wouldn't take or use its allegations against the Syrian government as fact.

Comment: See also:

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Attention

Iraq was probably a 'strategic mistake' said Gen. James Mattis, Trump's defense pick

Mattathias Schwartz
The Intercept
Mon, 05 Dec 2016 22:24 UTC
General James Mattis
© Mike Segar / Reuters
President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of defense called the 2003 invasion of Iraq a "mistake," according to a recording obtained by The Intercept.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Mattis said, "we will probably look back on the invasion of Iraq as a mistake — as a strategic mistake."

Mattis was one of the Iraq campaign's most important ground commanders. He led the 1st Marine Division during the invasion and later oversaw the bloody retaking of Fallujah from insurgents in 2004.

Comment: This interview with Mattis from earlier this year gives some insight into his thinking and character. Warning, he may not live up to the "Mad Dog" image the media is presenting. Sure, he's an American military man down to the bone, but he's also surprisingly intelligent, practical, and principled:



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Magnify

Pepe Escobar: Despite Renzi's resignation, Italy will not be leaving the euro

Pepe Escobar
RT
Tue, 06 Dec 2016 18:03 UTC
matteo renzi
© Alessandro Bianchi / ReutersItalian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is no more. The temptation is inevitable to ascribe the end of this lucky opportunist's thousand days in the limelight as a verdict on the euro and the EU. As with all things Italy, it's way more complicated.

The Italian referendum this Sunday was indeed a resounding No to Renzi and the constitutional amendments he proposed. The key takeaway is that Italians essentially voted not to change the constitution to the benefit of an autocratic Parliament.

Inbuilt in the No, of course, there's immense, potential collateral damage - which happens to involve the future of the EU.

It's no wonder the anti-elite Five Star Movement, led by Beppe Grillo, as well as the ultra-xenophobic Lega Nord (Northern League), led by Matteo Salvini, are spinning it as a rout. Voter turnout was particularly high in wealthy Lombardy and Veneto - where the League is quite popular.

The League's message, day in, day out, centers on ominous figures besetting Italy - from three million workers in the black market to 20 million people living in extremely precarious circumstances. Blame the government - Renzi's Democratic Party - as well as immigration.
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