Puppet MastersS


Attention

WaPo smear-mongering: A mea culpa for the Age of McCarthyism 2.0

Chris Floyd
CounterPunch
Fri, 25 Nov 2016 22:51 UTC
McCarthy redscare poster
OK, I guess I'd better come clean. It seems that I must be a paid agent of the Kremlin. After all, I write for CounterPunch Magazine — for money! I used to write regularly for Truthout.org — for money! I've contributed articles to the Baltimore Gazette. I've often quoted and linked to stories from the Black Agenda Report. I've regularly quoted and linked to articles by prize-winning AP/Newsweek reporter Robert Parry for years. According to the Washington Post, all of this makes me either a paid Kremlin propagandist or a Kremlin dupe. There is no other alternative.

And who says this? A collection of completely anonymous "experts" from a group no one has ever heard of until it materialized for the Post article. The group, PropOrNot, put out a list of publications and websites that are "outlets for Russian propaganda," a list that included all the venues named above, as well as several others which have been long-time critics of various aspects of American foreign policy. These were all mixed in with obvious propaganda mills and clickbait factories (of whatever provenance).
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Info

Wisconsin agrees to election vote recount after receiving Stein and Del La Fuente petitions


RT
Sat, 26 Nov 2016 22:39 UTC
Jill Stein
© Dominick Reuter / Reuters
The Wisconsin Elections Commission has received a vote recount petition from Green Party's Jill Stein, now running a fundraising campaign to cover recount costs in three swing states. Reform Party USA's Rocky de la Fuente also filed a similar petition.

"The Commission is preparing to move forward with a statewide recount of votes for President of the United States, as requested by these candidates," Administrator Michael Haas said in a statement.

The Elections Commission has assembled an internal team to direct the recount and arranged for legal representation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Haas said.

"We plan to hold a teleconference meeting for county clerks next week and anticipate the recount will begin late in the week after the Stein campaign has paid the recount fee, which we are still calculating," he added.
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Bad Guys

Syrian jihadists flaunt portable shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles


Sputnik
Sat, 26 Nov 2016 22:27 UTC
Syrian militant with manpad
© Orient News
Members of the Syrian terrorist group Ansar al-Islam Front have been seen in a recent video flaunting a store of shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, the first known incident of jihadist forces possessing such weapons.

The jihadists claim they have a "good number" of SA-7 Strela-2 missiles, which the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Ansar both plan to use against government aircraft in Quneitra and Daraa. The weapons are not shown being fired in the video, but one fighter remarked, "We, in Ansar al-Islam Front, have distributed several points of air defense to counter any attempt by the Syrian warplanes or helicopters which bombs points in Quneitra province. We have good number of these missiles," according to Middle East Eye.
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Info

Trump slams 'brutal dictator' Fidel Castro's 'legacy of firing squads, theft, suffering and poverty'

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Sat, 26 Nov 2016 22:17 UTC
Obama and Trump
Having been unable to find a compromise on any topic affecting the living, outgoing president Obama and president-elect Donald Trump found a way to disagree even on the topic of death: that of Fidel Castro.

Earlier this morning, President Obama issued a typically soothing, celebratory statement in which he extended a hand of friendship to the Cuban people and offered condolences to Castro's family, adding that "history will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him."

Trump, on the other hand, had far less patience with history and delivered his visceral judgment right now, slamming "the passing of a brutal dictator who oppressed his own people for nearly six decades. Fidel Castro's legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights."

Comment: Trump needs to better informed about Fidel and not through the Western elite's lens: Fidel Castro: A Revolutionary Legacy at age 90

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Attention

'Who needs nukes?': Iran considers naval bases in Syria, Yemen, fleets in Russia, China, Italy, Kazakhstan


RT
Sat, 26 Nov 2016 21:09 UTC
iran navy
© Stringer / ReutersTwo Iranian navy warships
Iran is considering having naval bases on the coasts of Yemen and Syria, the Iranian chief of the general staff told a gathering of senior navy commanders, adding that the measure would have a great deterrent effect.

"One day, we may need bases on the coasts of Yemen and Syria, and we need the necessary infrastructures for it under the international maritime law," Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri said, as cited by the Iranian Tasnim news agency.

The deterrent effect of having naval bases in foreign countries "could be ten times more efficient than nuclear power," the head of the general staff said, stressing that Iran's military strategy should focus on preventing potential enemies from accessing Iranian territories, and forcing potential enemy warships to stay away from the Iranian coast.

He went on to say that Iran needs a fleet in the Indian Ocean that would be equal to the one stationed in the Gulf of Oman, and urged the Navy to enhance its intelligence activities by working on satellite and cyber-space technologies, as well as by developing naval drones.

Comment: If there's one thing Trump and his team have in common, it's a fairly fervent Iranophobia. Never mind that the reason Iran is an enemy in the first place is because of the CIA-backed coup in 1953 and the horrors of the Western puppet Shah. Iran is a major power, allied with Russia. Whether the U.S. can accept that or not remains to be seen. But they may not have a choice. Ideally, all that anti-Iran rhetoric will stay on the level of rhetoric.

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Info

Iraqi Parliament adopts law to legalize Shia militias


RFE/RL
Sat, 26 Nov 2016 20:41 UTC
pmu shia iraqi militia
© Agence France-Presse
Iraq's parliament approved a law on November 26 that would transform the Popular Mobilization forces, a coalition of Shi'ite militias that play a role in fighting Islamic State, into a legal and separate military corps.

There have been disagreements over the paramilitary forces as Iraq battles the Islamic State (IS) group, which swept across northern and western Iraq in 2014.

The bill, supported by the Shi'ite blocs in parliament, was boycotted by lawmakers from the Sunni minority who object to the existence of armed forces outside the army and police.

Iraq's Sunni Arabs and rights groups have accused the Shi'ite militiamen of extrajudicial killings, abuse, theft, and the destruction of property in the places where they have expelled IS.

Comment: More on the Iraqi PMU in the wider context of the myth of sectarianism:

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Rocket

Is Japan next to deploy US THAAD anti-ballistic missile system?


RT
Sat, 26 Nov 2016 20:38 UTC
thaad
© WikipediaTerminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)
Japan is seeking to increase its defense capabilities against a potential North Korean ballistic missile threat. It has set up a commission that will examine the potential benefits of placing Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems on its territory.

"Although there is no specific plan to introduce the THAAD, the introduction of the new equipment will lead to strengthening Japan's ability" in terms of tackling North Korean threats, Japan's Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said this week.

"We are investigating future systems for intercepting missiles," Inada told reporters in Tokyo. While no concrete plans are yet in place to deploy THAAD, military officials are looking at the option of beefing up defense capabilities and are "considering what can be done."

The Ministry of Defense has set up a study committee, headed by State Minister of Defense Kenji Wakamiya to examine the pros and cons of US state-of-the-art interceptor system, Reuters Japan reported. The committee is expected to summarize the results of the probe by summer next year.
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Better Earth

Russian MOD: Lack of UN initiative sabotaged Aleppo humanitarian pauses


Sputnik
Sat, 26 Nov 2016 20:34 UTC
aleppo
© AFP 2016/ KARAM AL-MASRI
Russia has repeatedly introduced so-called humanitarian pauses in Syria's Aleppo, but every time they were sabotaged by lack of initiative from the United Nations representatives and actions of terrorists, the Russian Defense Ministry's spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said.

"Russia has repeatedly introduced humanitarian pauses in Aleppo for varying lengths of time. However, every time they were sabotaged for two reasons: the reluctance of United Nations representatives to deliver humanitarian aid, and the alleged unawareness of terrorists regarding agreements on evacuation of civilians from Aleppo," Konashenkov stated on Saturday.

The spokesman also said that during the last humanitarian pause two Russian servicemen have been injured after getting under terrorists' fire. "During the last humanitarian pause, two officers of the Russian Center for reconciliation were injured by shrapnel from a mortar attack by militants from eastern Aleppo while waiting for humanitarian column to enter the city," he added.
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Eye 1

Obama administration to create new task force to hunt terrorists across the globe - report


RT
Sat, 26 Nov 2016 16:26 UTC
Task force to hunt terrorists worldwide
© Manuel J. Martinez / Reuters
The outgoing administration is reportedly seeking to create a new special operations task force that would use the elite Joint Special Operations Command's experience to carry out clandestine activities all across the globe as an independent entity.

The proposal includes transformation of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) from being a strike tool employed by US Army's regional commands into a key part of a new multi-agency intelligence force, Washington Post reported.

Referred to as the 'Counter-External Operations Task Force,' or Ex-Ops, the new organization would act globally with the stated goal of targeting terrorists beyond conventional conflict zones like Syria or Libya, according to Obama administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Ex-Ops task force could also share intelligence as well as deliver recommendations and advice to Western militaries and security forces, or even conduct joint operations, the report said.

It will report to the Pentagon through the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), according to the military officials, creating a "hybrid command system" that can bypass the Army's regional commands to speed up preparations for covert operations.

Comment: See also: Safer to be a soldier: Red Cross says civilians have become the foremost victims in Middle East conflicts

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Bad Guys

Faltering US Empire still seeks more influence across Asia

Ulson Gunnar
New Eastern Outlook
Sat, 26 Nov 2016 19:15 UTC
east asia flags
While the US could accurately be described as a global power in decline, the ambitions of prominent special interests at the center of its economic and political power still pose a potent threat to global stability and national sovereignty worldwide. In Asia particularly, despite a clear shift in a regional balance of power that has persisted for nearly a century, the US is still actively involved in attempting to dictate which governments come to power in respective nation-states and how they rule and all in an attempt to create a balance of power in Asia that serves US interests.

From Myanmar to Vietnam, US Ambitions Still a Clear and Present Danger

US ambition to transform Asia manifests itself in a number of ways. In Malaysia, it has been fueling for years the so-called Bersih movement and its campaign for "clean and fair elections." While the movement attempted to appear spontaneous and independent of any political party, it was quickly revealed that its core leadership was funded by the US State Department via the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and Open Society. It was also revealed that Bersih was in fact an auxiliary front of a political coalition headed by US-backed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim who quite literally led the protests in the streets himself.

Extensive US support has been provided to the now ruling government of Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar, including the creation of Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy's (NLD) entire media capabilities. Pro-NLD media platforms created and funded annually by the US government include the New Era Journal, the Irrawaddy, and the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB). It was also revealed that Suu Kyi's Minister of Information, Pe Myint, was quite literally trained in Bangkok by the US government-funded Indochina Media Memorial Foundation, which now co-occupies the Western media's Foreign Correspondents Club (FCCT) office in Bangkok.

Comment: Despite the US' vigorous attempts to hold on to power in Asia, they are trying to fight nature. As a totally foreign culture miles away, the US can only maintain control of Asia by expending enormous energy, using forceful and devious methods described above. China on the other hand only has to keep steadily progressing, and the region will naturally end up under Chinese influence. And on that point, Chinese hegemony probably would serve Asia's interests much better than a US hegemony. China builds bridges while the US drops bombs.

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