Puppet MastersS


Pirates

Hoisted by his own petard: Kerry forced to 'negotiate' with allies to stop intermingling with al-Qaeda in Syria


Moon of Alabama
Mon, 02 May 2016 18:01 UTC
John Kerry

Comment: This is rich. Piece by piece the American propaganda and war machine is falling apart at the seams. Did Kerry and his band of village idiots really think they could not-so-covertly support Nusra (al-Qaeda in Syria), publicly vow to fight Nusra, then try to get away with saving their Nusrats from total obliteration by Syria/Russia/Iran/Hezbollah?!

It's quite satisfying to see the Americans hamstrung by their own propaganda. They are forced to choose between two unpalatable options: 1) admit their ongoing support for the very enemy they've professed to be at war with for over 15 years, 2) allow and even participate in the destruction of their very own proxy army of jihadi mercenaries in Syria. They should've seen it coming, but wishful thinking will get you every time.


U.S. Secretary of State is in Geneva today to renegotiate a cessation of hostilities between the Syrian government forces and the foreign-supported "rebels" in Syria. But there is something very curious going on with these negotiations. Kerry will neither talk with the Syrian government nor with the Russians. The Russian Foreign Minister is not even expected to come.

No, Kerry is negotiating with the U.S. allies Jordan and Saudi Arabia who support the same "rebels" that are opposed to the Syrian government that the U.S. itself supported all along. He now asks them to separate their proxy forces in Syria from the terrorist organization al-Qaeda/Jabhat al-Nusra.
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Eye 1

Mass surveillance breeds meekness, fear and self-censorship - Oxford study

Glenn Greenwald
The Intercept
Thu, 28 Apr 2016 15:28 UTC
world surveillance
A newly published study from Oxford's Jon Penney provides empirical evidence for a key argument long made by privacy advocates: that the mere existence of a surveillance state breeds fear and conformity and stifles free expression. Reporting on the study, the Washington Post this morning described this phenomenon: "If we think that authorities are watching our online actions, we might stop visiting certain websites or not say certain things just to avoid seeming suspicious."

The new study documents how, in the wake of the 2013 Snowden revelations (of which 87% of Americans were aware), there was "a 20 percent decline in page views on Wikipedia articles related to terrorism, including those that mentioned 'al-Qaeda,' "car bomb' or 'Taliban.'" People were afraid to read articles about those topics because of fear that doing so would bring them under a cloud of suspicion. The dangers of that dynamic were expressed well by Penney: "If people are spooked or deterred from learning about important policy matters like terrorism and national security, this is a real threat to proper democratic debate."

As the Post explains, several other studies have also demonstrated how mass surveillance crushes free expression and free thought. A 2015 study examined Google search data and demonstrated that, post-Snowden, "users were less likely to search using search terms that they believed might get them in trouble with the US government" and that these "results suggest that there is a chilling effect on search behavior from government surveillance on the Internet."

Comment: GG wrote above:
"...Oxford's Jon Penney provides empirical evidence for a key argument long made by privacy advocates: that the mere existence of a surveillance state breeds fear and conformity and stifles free expression."
That's not quite what the evidence shows, Glenn. What it shows is that MASS AWARENESS OF the existence of a surveillance state breeds fear and conformity and stifles free expression.

Small but crucial difference.

This awareness only came about when you and your buddies were roped into that 'NSA Leaks' stunt in 2013.

Think about it Glenn... They used you:

Mission Accomplished? Snowden 'NSA Leak' had 'chilling effect' that scared people away from learning truth about terrorism

See also:

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Propaganda

US media stirs the pot on Russia-US conflict which primes the public for NATO buildup in Baltic region


Sputnik
Mon, 02 May 2016 15:19 UTC
Russian jets
© Russian Defense Ministry
Media reports magnifying incidents with Russian and US military planes come amid news that NATO will deploy additional forces near the Russian border, a senior Russian lawmaker said Saturday. Earlier in the day, US media reported that NATO member states were preparing to deploy about 4,000 troops - four battalions — in the Baltic states and Poland as part of the Alliance's strategy of military buildup on the Russian border.

"Now it becomes completely clear why the United States needed a hype around the interception of a US spy plane over the Baltic Sea and the incident with the Donald Cook destroyer. This was information preparing for the additional placement of four battalions of NATO in the Baltic region," Franz Klintsevich, the first deputy chair of the upper-house Committee on Security and Defense, told RIA Novosti.

On April 13, the United States expressed concern after Russian Su-24 tactical bombers flew over the US guided missile destroyer Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea. On Friday, US media reported that a Russian Su-27 jet performed a "barrel-roll" over a US Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance plane in the Baltic Sea.

Comment: It appears the reports of Russian-US conflict have been greatly exaggerated for a particular and insidious purpose. The US has no business in the Baltic region and its hegemonic interests are unwelcome.

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War Whore

Western aggression: NATO preparing to deploy four battalions to Russia's western border

Daniel McAdams
Ron Paul Institute
Fri, 29 Apr 2016 14:54 UTC
nato secretary general jens stoltenberg
The Wall Street Journal is reporting today that NATO is preparing to deploy four battalions -- approximately 4,000 troops -- to Russia's western border. US Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work was in Brussels today to announce the Western military escalation on Russia's border, which he claimed was in response to Russian military exercises near the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

According to Deputy Secretary of Defense Work, two of the battalions would come from the United States, with one each coming from the UK and Germany. This announcement might come as news to German lawmakers, as such a significant German military presence on Russia's borders has not been approved by Berlin. Although German Chancellor Angela Merkel has given Washington reason to believe that Germany would join the escalation, the move is considered highly controversial in a Germany growing weary of following US foreign policy dictates. In fact, according to recent polling, only one in three Germans supports the idea of the German military defending the Baltics even if there were a Russian attack. A clear majority of Germans oppose NATO military bases on Russia's border.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the UK government has not agreed to send the troops either, despite the claims of unnamed "Western officials."
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Attention

Pentagon reporter says US Special Forces arrived in southern Yemen


PressTV
Mon, 02 May 2016 13:02 UTC
Yemeni security forces
© AFP
A report says US Special Forces have arrived in Yemen to fight alongside Emirati forces in alleged operations against al-Qaeda militants in the country's south.

Yemen's al-Masirah television channel on Sunday quoted Tom Bawman, the National Public Radio's Pentagon reporter, as saying that the troops had arrived in Yemen on April 25.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE last year provided financial and military support to militants to confront Houthis and the Yemeni army units that had taken over the security of the country after president Abd Rabbuh Manur Hadi resigned.

US deployment of troops comes a year after the withdrawal of its forces from Yemen.

Comment: US bringing "peace and democracy" once again. They say they're there to fight al-Qaeda. More likely, they're there to support them. Further reading: What's the deal behind Saudi Arabia's claim to have killed 800 terrorists in Yemen?...with no resistance?

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Bomb

Continuing violence: 3 bombings in and around Baghdad kill 14, injure dozens


RT
Mon, 02 May 2016 12:17 UTC
car bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq
© Ahmed al-Husseini / ReutersSmoke rises from a car bomb attack in the Saydiya district of southern Baghdad, Iraq May 2, 2016.
At least fourteen people have been killed and dozens more injured when three bombs went off in separate locations in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, police and medics said, as cited by Reuters.

The worst explosion hit the Sunni-dominated Saydiya district of southwestern Baghdad. A bomb in a parked car killed eleven people and injured 30 more, sources said.

The majority of the victims were Shiite Muslim pilgrims who were on their way to the shrine, in the Iraqi capital, of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim, a great-grandson of Prophet Mohammad.
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X

Six EU member countries request Brussels for extension and 2-year internal border control


RT
Mon, 02 May 2016 12:40 UTC
EU flag and fence
© Laszlo Balogh / Reuters
Six European countries reportedly want to maintain border control within the EU beyond the period the Schengen free travel agreement allows for. The measure was imposed in response to the influx of asylum seekers from the Middle East.

Temporary border controls between members of the Schengen treaty can last no longer than for eight months.

Sweden, which has to suspend the emergency measure in June, is advocating the extension of the grace period. Germany, Denmark, Austria, France and Belgium are reportedly also supporting such a move.

The six countries have written a letter to the European Commission requesting to add a six-month extension to measures currently in place, the Local reported. They also want these grace periods to last two years in the future rather than eight months.
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Eye 1

Moroccan authorities arrest ISIS militants planning more attacks in Brussels


Sputnik
Mon, 02 May 2016 03:30 UTC
Morocco Daesh ISIS terrorist arrest
© AFP 2016/ JESUS BLASCO DE AVELLANEDA
The militants arrested in Morocco's Nador last week with ties to the Daesh militant group were planning attacks in Brussels, local media reported.

On Friday, reports emerged that three suspected members of an extremist cell with ties to the Daesh were detained in northeast of Morocco.

According to Le360 news portal's Sunday report, citing intelligence sources, the detainees were in constant contact with Daesh members in Iraq for staging terrorist attacks in Brussels. Other targets included military objects, a police station and an airport in Nador.

Comment: Further reading: Belgian police knew of Paris attackers' plans since 2014

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Heart - Black

Brexit fantasy crushed...it took Obama to break the news

Jonathan Freedland
The Guardian
Fri, 22 Apr 2016 14:32 UTC
hands on EU
© www.theguardian.com
The US president destroyed one of the Vote Leave campaign's core arguments, ending a week that may define the referendum debate.

No wonder they were desperate that he keep his mouth shut. At his podium in Downing Street Barack Obama flattered his hosts, paid lip service to the notion that the referendum on British membership of the European Union on 23 June is a matter for the British people - and then calmly ripped apart the case for Brexit.

It was the Vote Leavers' worst nightmare. For years - no, decades - the anti-EU camp has suggested that Britain's natural habitat is not among its continental neighbours but in "the Anglosphere", that solar system of English-speaking planets which revolves around the United States. Break free from Brussels and we could embrace our kindred spirits in Sydney, Toronto and especially New York, Washington and Los Angeles. The Brexit camp has long been like the man who dreams of leaving his wife for another woman, one who really understands him.

Obama is that other woman. And today he told the outers their fantasies were no more than that. First in print and then, more explicitly, in person he spelled out that America has no intention of forming some new, closer relationship with a Brexited Britain. On the contrary, a post-EU Britain would be at "the back of the queue" if it sought to agree its own, new trade treaty with the US.

Comment: Obama has spoken. No favoritism to UK. In fact, go to the end of the line if you extricate from the EU and happen to regain sovereignty, independence and freedom of decision. We're talking about controlling the narrative and actions for world domination, for heaven's sake! No chinks in the armor, no holes in the wall. No extraneous successes. Who but Obama is going to (promise to) salvage the mass decay of the EU when Western imperialism and its broken-down economies are on the line? So no UK, you can't go.

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Top Secret

How the CIA writes (and re-writes) history

Jefferson Morley
The Intercept
Mon, 25 Apr 2016 19:08 UTC
CIA Angleton
CIA counterspy James Jesus Angleton
Last summer I paid a visit to Georgetown University's Lauinger Library as part of my research on legendary CIA counterspy James Jesus Angleton. I went there to investigate Angleton's famous mole hunt, one of the least flattering episodes of his eventful career. By the early 1960s, Angleton was convinced the KGB had managed to insert a penetration agent high in the ranks of the CIA.

In researching and writing a biography of Angleton, I constantly confront a conundrum: Was the man utterly brilliant? Or completely nuts?

Angleton is one of America's archetypal spies. He was the model for Harlot in Harlot's Ghost, Norman Mailer's epic of the CIA, a brooding Cold War spirit hovering over a story of corrupted idealism. In Robert De Niro's cinematic telling of the tale, The Good Shepherd, the Angletonian character was a promising product of the system who loses his way in the moral labyrinth of secret intelligence operations.

In real life, Jim Angleton was a formidable intellectual and canny bureaucrat who helped shape the ethos of the Central Intelligence Agency we have today. His doctrine of counterintelligence was widely influential, not only in the CIA but in the intelligence services of all the English-speaking countries. He pioneered pre-digital techniques of mass surveillance via an illicit mail-opening program called LINGUAL. He fed the intel to J. Edgar Hoover's COINTELPRO operatives at the FBI who used it to harass, disrupt, and discredit leftist, antiwar, and civil rights groups from the 1950s to the 1970s. His close liaison with the Mossad in the 1950s and 1960s helped forge a wide-ranging U.S.-Israel strategic relationship that has been central to U.S. foreign policy ever since.

Like them or not, his accomplishments were large. So were his mistakes.

Comment: For more information on the world that Angleton thrived in see:

The psychopathic Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the rise of America's secret government: The Devil's Chessboard book review

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