Puppet MastersS


Yoda

CNN smartass Fareed Zakaria schooled by Putin in live conference

Putin press conference
© RT
A poorly thought out question about Donald Trump gets a CNN poster boy knocked down a few pegs

Sorry Fareed, you came 4,000 miles just to get owned

One of CNN's top hosts and a highly visible mainstream media propagandist, Fareed Zakaria got the Vladimir Putin treatment up close and personal over the weekend.

Zakaria had been invited to moderate a panel discussion at Saint Petersburg Economic Forum, which ran from June 16th to June 18th. Present on the stage were Zakaria, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, President Putin, and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

Comment: Priceless Putin at his intellectual best. The man does not suffer fools.


Vader

A war-whore Killary presidency: "Humanity's worst nightmare"

war hillary
Since Soviet Russia's 1991 dissolution, successive US administrations governed increasingly lawlessly and recklessly - Bill Clinton worse than his predecessors, Bush worse than him, Obama worst of all, at war with multiple invented enemies throughout his tenure - from inaugural day to the present.

A neocon Hillary Clinton presidency succeeding him risks the unthinkable - possible WW III. America's rage for dominance, its wanting planet earth colonized, and increasing belligerence toward Russia and China points to eventual confrontation.

Unknown is to what extent, but when conflicts begin, they take on a life of their own. Starting them is easy, resolving them another matter entirely.

America has turned planet Earth into a battleground. All US post-9/11 wars continue, resolution nowhere in sight. Peace and stability defeat America's imperial agenda. Conflicts serve it.

Clinton's public record as first lady, US senator and secretary of state shows her rage for war, her contempt for rule of law principles and democratic values. She's for unlimited military spending, phony war on terror continued, likely escalated, use of banned weapons, and super-ones in conflicts she calls peacekeeping deterrents.

Comment: WW3 has already started, it just doesn't look like the previous ones. Color revolutions, sanctions, currency attacks, cyber warfare etc., are the weapons of choice now. The PTB don't want a nuclear confrontation. It would damage their assets.


War Whore

Congress proposes bill to create Cold War-style anti-Russian committee

cold war
© Flickr/ mikytex
A US Congress-proposed bill seeks to re-establish a Cold War-era body aimed at countering Russian espionage, amid tense relations between the two major world powers, BuzzFeed reported, citing a source in the US intelligence services.

In a press release last month, Senator Richard Burr's press office said that the 2017 Intelligence Authorization Bill, which was passed by the Senate Intelligence Committee in May, "requires the President to establish an interagency committee to counter Russian active measures," however no details on the requirements have been listed.

According to the BuzzFeed news outlet, the intelligence bill calls to revive the Cold War-era presidentially-appointed group to counter "Russian spies and Russian-sponsored assassinations" in the United States. The group would have to also investigate the funding of Russian "covert broadcasting, media manipulation" and secret funding.


Comment: Are there any Russian-sponsored assassination in the US? Or covert media manipulation by Russia? These are all activities that the US government engages in to a large degree. Congress should investigate its own government's activities. Maybe then they'd actually be engaging in a fruitful endeavor, instead of creating a committee to investigate that which does not exist, merely to demonize Russia and spread anti-Russian propaganda.


Chess

Putin's China visit - Just as much a political decision as an economic one

putin xi
© Sputnik/ Sergey Guneev
The upcoming visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to China is of interest to the market because Moscow and Beijing are currently in talks over China's cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union. But it is also very important in political terms.

While the commercial benefits of such integration are still unclear, it may give Moscow significant political dividends, observer Kenneth Rapoza wrote in an article for Forbes.

Following a large-scale economic forum in St. Petersburg and another extension of European sanctions, the Kremlin is once again turning to China.

Moscow is hoping to include Beijing into a trade relationship similar to Washington's Trans-Pacific Partnership, the article read. Putin's visit to China will take place after the June 23-24 Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

No Entry

Warrantless access to online data bill blocked by Senate

John McCain
© www.freedomworks.orgSenator John McCain: Ratz! Foiled again!
With only two votes to spare, the US Senate blocked a controversial bill that would expand the government's power to investigate terrorism suspects without a warrant. The amendment was defeated Wednesday afternoon with a final vote of 58-38, just two votes shy of the 60 necessary for the measure to proceed.

The measure, which was to be attached to the Commerce, Justice, Science spending bill, would have allowed the FBI to obtain a person's Internet browsing history, email account data and other electronic identifiers without first obtaining a warrant from a judge. Top Republicans have been pressing for such a measure since the Orlando nightclub shooting, where a man murdered 49 people and injured 53 others after pledging allegiance to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).

The votes largely fell along party lines, with 11 Democrats supporting the proposal and six Republicans opposing it. The amendment was put forward by Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) and Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-North Carolina) to give the government greater ability to stop lone wolf terrorists. "We aren't asking for content, we're asking for usage," McCain said in support of the measure, according to AP. "This is an important tool."

Comment: Before the facts are all in and the case has been honestly and thoroughly dissected, there comes a rush to create a bill in order to erode more citizens' rights. Getting Congress to demand and command action is what false flags do best. 'Lone wolf terrorists'? They are never alone in false flags and only serve as the patsy, so aiming legislation that affects millions to pre-empt a lone wolf is ludicrous thinking. Turning the investigation and spy techniques on government ops...now that might provide an interestingly provable and preventable outcome!


Attention

Disaster for Syrian Army in Aleppo, al-Raqqa

Army guys on hill
© russia-insider.comDivided and conquered. Syrian army suffers losses.
In early June when Syrian pro-government forces launched an offensive against ISIS billed as having the ultimate goal of reaching and capturing the ISIS capital of al-Raqqa many observers asked if that was not too ambitious. After all Raqqa was 200 kilometres away from nearest Syrian army positions and was bound to be heavily defended. Of course, one could reason the offensive was merely in the direction of al-Raqqa but that its ultimate goal was merely the town of al-Tabqa on the shores of Lake Assad which is captured by Tabqa dam on the Euphrates.

Reaching Lake Assad would mean that ISIS territory would be cut in two so the potential rewards of a successful push were huge. However, did it really make sense to commit so many resources to a new offensive vs ISIS before the situation in Aleppo was at least stabilized?

Since April rebels spearheaded by Jabhat al-Nusra have been clipping away at territory held by pro-government forces in southern Aleppo. There was no major collapse of pro-Damascus forces, and rebels have been sustaining considerable casualties, however, bit by bit the latter have been gaining ground. Theoretically if this continues Aleppo may be threatened with renewed encirclement -- by the al-Qaeda-led rebels.

In any case the offensive was launched and made steady progress. Just days ago it was reported Syrian forces were some 5 kilometres from Tabqa airbase and 20 kilometres from the shores of Lake Assad. The progress being made, however, was through the emptiness of the desert which means the Syrians advanced on a single, narrow axis capturing the road but little ground to their left and right. -- Recreating the situation in Aleppo which allowed ISIS to briefly cut off the Syrians there in February.

Monday ISIS did what it does best: it counter-attacked when the enemy least expected it and where it was weakest. The results unfortunately have been devastating. The entire offensive has collapsed.
Map to Raqqa
© miladvisor

Comment: Was this a disaster entirely due to poor planning by the Syrian Army strategists or was this equally a sucker punch delivered by the US/Rebels while Russia was locked out with the ceasefire ruse? Whatever is in the works for the pro-Assad team, it needs to happen before the 'regime change' in the US. Then all bets are off. We may not even know what the bets are!


Eye 1

The FBI's facial recognition database contains over 400 million photos, 90% are non-criminals

FBI Seal
In 2014, the FBI announced their plans to launch a massive database containing 52 million images of faces, in order to keep tabs on Americans through a biometric facial recognition program known as Next Generation Identification (NGI). However, according to an exhaustive report by the federal Government Accountability Office (GAO), the program is far larger than they claimed, and ominous.

According to the report, the system actually contains about 411 million photos, only 30 million of those are "civil and criminal mugshots." The overwhelming majority of images in the FBI database are of innocent people.

Comment: See also:

FBI secretly ramps up biometrics; civil and criminal fingerprints combined into one database
FBI maintains secret biometrics database - claims NGI should not be subject to Privacy Act
The FBI just finished its new facial recognition system


Bad Guys

Azov and related neo-Nazi battalions return to frontline to "terrorize separatists"

Azov battalion protests
© Gleb Garanich / ReutersMembers of the Ukrainian interior ministry's "Azov" battalion attend a protest against local elections in eastern Ukraine under the Minsk peace agreement, in Kiev, Ukraine, May 20, 2016.
The nationalist battalions Azov and Donbas are returning to the so-called "ATO zone" to participate in combat operations. This was reported by the head of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry's advisor, Zoryan Shkiryak, on his Facebook page.

According to Shkiryak, these battalions are not only returning to the ATO, but are being immediately sent to the frontline.

"First and foremost we are talking about the operational rapid response brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard and also units of the specially distinguished Azov and Donbas battalions. They are returning to the frontline and will fulfill their mission of direct contact with the enemy," Shkiryak said.

Comment: Just like their sponsors in NATO, the Azov and Donbas battalions excel at terrorizing civilians while pursuing delusions of world conquest. Also see:


Info

White House stating the obvious: Syria invasion will not be in America's best interest

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest
© AFP
The White House has ruled out a US military attack against the government of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, saying the outcome of any such action would not be in America's best interest.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Wednesday that President Barack Obama "is determined to make sure that the United States does not make the unwise assessment that somehow we can succeed in imposing a military solution on Syria."

He made the remarks in response to an internal memo signed by over fifty US State Department officials, who called for military intervention in Syria.

Star of David

Always their fault: Israel blames Palestinians for water shortages in West Bank

Palestinian children with water bootles
© Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters
Israeli authorities blame Palestinians' unwillingness to upgrade aging infrastructure as the primary reason for increased water shortages in the West Bank. Palestinians accuse their neighbors of blackmailing and holding water supplies hostage.

Since the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Palestinian villages east of Nablus have been suffering from a water shortage amid soaring summer heat. Locals living in the West Bank blame the Israeli water company Mekorot for cutting water supplies, which the utility company has denied doing. Palestinians at the same time argue that quota for neighboring Jewish settlements located in the West Bank is much higher.

Israeli settlers receive 240 liters of water per capita per day , according to the Emergency Water, Sanitation and Hygiene group (EWASH), while the Palestinians in the Salfit region of the West Bank have access to around 73 liters, which is lower than World Health Organization's recommended of 100 liters per day required for the basic needs of the populace.