Puppet MastersS


Bomb

John 'bomb-Iran' Bolton, will decimate Trump's ME policy if picked for Secretary of State

Gareth Porter
Middle East Eye
Mon, 14 Nov 2016 21:43 UTC
John Bolton
© Huffington Post
Post-election comments on Middle East policy last week, by President-elect Donald Trump and one his campaign advisers have, provoked speculation about whether Trump will upend two main foreign policy lines of the Obama administration in the Middle East.

But the more decisive question about the future of US policy toward the region is whom Trump will pick for his national security team - and especially whether he will nominate John Bolton to become secretary of state.

Bolton, one of the most notorious members of Dick Cheney's team plotting wars in the George W Bush administration, would certainly push for the effective nullification of the main political barrier to US confrontation with Iran: the 2015 multilateral nuclear deal.

Personnel is policy

Trump created a minor stir by giving an interview to the Wall Street Journal last Thursday in which he reiterated his criticism of the Obama administration's involvement in the war against Syria's Assad and supported cooperation with Russia against the Islamic State group.

Comment: Mr. Trump will not be able to shake up US policies if he chooses the same single-agenda instigators that forced the hand now being played out to such devastating degrees and consequences. They are already trying to infiltrate and shape policy.

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Footprints

Kiss off: A patronizing Obama warns Trump can't keep promises, requires temperament corrections, shouldn't trust instincts

David Martosko
The Daily Mail
Mon, 14 Nov 2016 17:52 UTC
Obama
© ABC13.comCautionary advice to Trump, or commentary on himself...
President Barack Obama delivered a series of patronizing backhanded compliments to President-Elect Donald Trump on Monday during a lengthy White House press conference conducted before his final trip abroad as America's leader. While he praised Trump for pulling off 'one of the biggest political upsets in history,' Obama scolded his Republican successor for believing he can deliver on his campaign promises.

"I think that he successfully mobilized a big chunk of the country to vote for him," Obama told reporters. But 'regardless of what experience or assumptions he brought to the office, this office has a way of waking you up. And those aspects of his positions or predispositions that don't match up with reality, he will find shaken up pretty quick. Because reality has a way of asserting itself."


Comment: This dig at Trump was more a commentary on himself.


Comment: Quite frankly, Obama, Killary and the DNC made a hellish mess and were outplayed. Let's see what the new guy can really do.

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X

US rejects ICC report alleging war crimes by military, CIA Afghanistan


RT
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 02:54 UTC
CIA torture
© Shannon Stapleton / ReutersAn example of what "they didn't do."
The US has dismissed the ICC's investigation of potential war crimes committed in Afghanistan as being not "warranted" or "appropriate." Washington praised its own "robust" system of accountability, saying that it does not fall under the ICC's jurisdiction.

"We do not believe that an ICC examination or investigation with respect to the actions of US personnel in relation to the situation in Afghanistan is warranted or appropriate," US State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said Tuesday, referring to the International Criminal Court's preliminary probe of alleged wrongdoing by US personnel.

In a report issued Monday, ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said there was "reasonable basis to believe" that the US Army and the CIA committed actions and resorted to interrogation techniques "amounting to the commission of the war crimes of torture, cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, and rape." In doing so, the US might have violated several provisions of Article 8 of the ICC Rome Statute, Bensouda said.

However, in Washington, those allegations have not been taken seriously, first, because the US is not part of the Rome Statute, and second, because of its own system, to which Trudeau referred extensively in her comments. The State Department noted that the US is "deeply committed to complying with the law of war," but stressed that it has its national system of investigation and accountability, which is "more than sufficient."


Comment: US dismissed its war crimes as "inappropriate." Two hundred 'inappropriate" investigations of detainee abuse is not trivial.

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Chess

Former CIA director and Trump senior adviser James Woolsey says new administration is willing to change American policy


RT
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 18:33 UTC
James Woolsey
© Jonathan Ernst / ReutersFormer director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency James Woolsey.
Donald Trump's administration will be made up of individuals willing to make changes to American policy, former CIA director James Woolsey, his senior adviser, told RT. Woolsey said the administration will likely be made up of "individuals who would normally be regarded as part of the establishment, but who are willing to work for him, with him to make some changes in American policy."

He went on to say that, as a man who was opposed by both parties and major media outlets during the election, Trump has endured to spark a "populist spirit" across the US. "Positive change" under the Trump presidency can spread across US borders, Woolsey said, stating that "there are opportunities for former adversaries such as the US and Russia to work together on some things," particularly noting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).

Trump's unexpected victory earlier this month, which saw him handily winning the Electoral College but losing the popular vote to rival Hillary Clinton by a narrow margin, has sparked protests across the US. The full interview with Woolsey will be aired on RT's Worlds Apart program hosted by Oksana Boyko on Thursday.
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Bullseye

Killary now blaming white female 'internalized misogyny' for her election loss

Kyle Olson
The American Mirror
Tue, 15 Nov 2016 00:00 UTC
the unelected
© Blasting NewsI loathe self-loathing, sexist women.
Move over James Comey. Hillary Clinton's campaign has a new culprit for its loss to Donald Trump: Self-loathing, sexist women.

During an appearance on MSNBC on Monday, former Clinton campaign communications director Jess McIntosh claimed it was women with "internalized misogyny" who couldn't bring themselves to vote to elect the first woman president.

When she was asked by Chris Hayes why Hillary didn't do better with white women than Barack Obama did in 2012, McIntosh responded, "Internalized misogyny is a real thing and this is a thing we have to be talking about as we go through and see."

McIntosh then echoed what she claimed was Obama's assessment.

"We as a society react poorly to women seeking positions of power. We are uncomfortable about that and we seek to justify that uncomfortable feeling because it can't possibly be because we don't want to see a woman in that position of power," McIntosh said.

"As we go through these numbers, as we figure out exactly what happened with turnout, it seems to be white college-educated women," she continued.

"We have work to do talking to those women about what happened this year and why we would vote against our self-interest," McIntosh said.


Comment: Speaking for American women: They didn't.



Comment: What a hoot! Outrageously ridiculous. Expect a mandatory vaccine for this devastating female voting dysfunction, coming soon to a college campus near you.

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Bad Guys

Resistance against terrorists in E.Aleppo grows, rallies brutally dispersed- Russian MoD


RT
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 19:08 UTC
Civilians in the Eastern districts of Aleppo city took to the streets to protest at Jeish al-Fatah's presence in their city, requesting the militants to leave Aleppo immediately, local sources reported Wednesday
Civilians in the Eastern districts of Aleppo city took to the streets to protest at Jeish al-Fatah's presence in their city, requesting the militants to leave Aleppo immediately, local sources reported Wednesday
Resistance against the terrorists and rebels controlling eastern Aleppo has been growing amongst the civilian population trapped in the city, Russia's Defense Ministry said. Eleven protests have been staged in militant-controlled areas since the beginning of the week.

In the past 24 hours alone, some 1,500 civilians in four Aleppo districts have risen up against the militants, ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov reported on Wednesday, citing intelligence data.


Comment: See also: Russian MoD: Terrorists executing militants ready to surrender in Aleppo

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Snowflake

Micheal Moore's Snowflake Revolution is Doomed for Failure

Dr. Binoy Kampmark
Global Research
Tue, 15 Nov 2016 16:07 UTC
Michael Moore
In an age where many pundits and pollsters ought to be put out to an ignoble pasture, predictions and astrology gazing on the US election continues. While he did have a better sense of this election than most, actually predicting the result, Michael Moore has decided to essentially ignore it except in the negative.

On MSNBC's Morning Joe, Moore took another stab at reading the future. "Here's what's going to happen, this is why we're not going to have to suffer through four years of Donald J. Trump, because he has not ideology except the ideology of Donald J. Trump."

The thesis is not entirely credible, but Moore layers it with the rationale of narcissism. As in ancient Rome, imperial ego eventually leads to downfall. Being "so narcissistic where it's all about him, he will, maybe unintentionally, break laws. He will break laws because he's only thinking what's best for him." Shades of Richard Nixon here: if the US President does it, it must be legal.

Others focus on the internal dynamic of the Republican Party. Within the structure of the organisation lie kingmakers and potential assassins (in the political context). For historian Allan Lichtman, another who found his prediction on a Trump victory vindicated, the Achilles heel was infuriating unpredictability.

Comment: This election, more than any other of the massive violations the US has perpetrated, has shown the people of the United States the deep corruption of the neo-liberal elite and how far they are willing to go. They've revealed themselves because elections are up-close and personal and are considered 'the bedrock' of democracy. This is after-all the narrative that has been emphasized throughout the Unites States history, and it's not an ideology that people will easily dismiss. US media outlets exposed themselves as inaccurate and biased tools during the election campaigns, and they appear unwilling or unable to learn from their failings.

Moore et al. are trying to foment a revolution of sorts, but they are rallying behind a despicable and inept creature who couldn't handle a concession speech, let alone the operation of a country. If that doesn't work (and it likely won't because precious snowflakes are as unfit for revolution as Killary is for presidential office), they are priming the American mind for a 'Donald Trump scandal' that would, hopefully for them, lead to impeachment proceedings. Never-mind that he's not even in office yet. The bigger picture they are missing is that people are not placing the same degree of faith in the media, and so their priming will not have the desired effect.

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Dollar Gold

ICAI report: Britain has continued to secretly send millions in 'indirect' aid to China


RT
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 16:54 UTC
chinese military
© Stringer / Reuters
Britain has been secretly sending millions of pounds in aid to China over the past six years, a period in which the UK has done all it can to cultivate a new 'golden era' of ties with Beijing.

It's been revealed that the Department for International Development's (DFID) official figures on aid spending are actually wrong.

The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) revealed the true figure in a report published on Wednesday, in which it found that ministers have "not clearly communicated to the public" continued aid spending on China.

An investigation set up to scrutinize aid payments found that the UK continues to spend £10 million a year on initiatives in China managed from the UK.

Although direct aid ended, as planned, in 2011, indirect aid has continued to fund 18 projects in health, agriculture, disaster management, water, forests, trade, mining, energy, conflict and security.
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Bad Guys

Russian MoD: Terrorists executing militants ready to surrender in Aleppo


Sputnik
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 17:50 UTC
Eastern Aleppo district
© Sputnik/ Mikhael Alaeddin
The Russian Ministry of Defense made a statement on Tuesday saying that civilians who managed to escape Aleppo report that terrorists are carrying out 'intimidating actions' not only against civilians but against militants who had decided to surrender as well.

Terrorists are blocking any attempts by civilians to escape Eastern Aleppo using humanitarian corridors, Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said.

He further said that civilians are protesting against terrorists in the Eastern part of Aleppo, where 11 protests have been held so far this week.

"There's a growing resistance against terrorists on the locals' part in Eastern Aleppo. This week alone, there have been 11 protests in the terrorist-controlled areas of East Aleppo," Konashenkov said.

Comment: See also:

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Arrow Down

Bowing to US pressure? German court rejects bid to reveal NSA spying targets


RT
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 14:33 UTC
BND surveillance
© Tobias Schwarz / Reuters Surveillance cameras overlook the building site of the new headquarters of the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany's Federal Intelligence Service in Berlin October
Germany's highest court has rejected the opposition parties' bid to make the government reveal to a parliamentary commission investigating the activities of the US NSA spy agency in Germany, the spy targets they had jointly worked on.

The head of the Left Party in the NSA parliamentary commission, Martina Renner, said the ruling was a "bad day for democracy," which signaled that the "secret services can continue doing what they want, undisturbed by parliamentary control," Zeit reported.

The ruling is a response to a complaint filed by two opposition parties, The Greens and the Left Party, in September 2015 following reports that the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) intelligence agency had collaborated with the NSA, helping it eavesdrop on European firms and prominent politicians.

Comment: See also: German MPs give spy agency wider powers while critics attack the law as 'unconstitutional'

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