Puppet MastersS


Light Sabers

South China Sea conflict shows US plans for regime change in China


Sputnik
Thu, 07 Apr 2016 20:06 UTC
south china sea
© AFP 2016/ POOL / RITCHIE B. TONGO
As Beijing begins construction of a lighthouse in the disputed South China Sea, Radio Sputnik's Loud & Clear speaks with Eric Draitser, founder of StopImperialism.org, to discuss the ongoing tensions between the US and China.

"What we're really interested in here is the symbolic significance of China's opening of this lighthouse because it is clearly and unmistakably an issue that has gone far beyond just military capabilities, commercial capabilities," Draitser tells Loud & Clear.

"Now China is also injecting itself into the legal questions and conflict resolution and dispute resolution."

Beijing's construction of artificial islands in the Spratly archipelago has been met with derision by US officials who accuse China of attempting to establish an air defense zone. Draitser believes this to be an inaccurate reading of Beijing's goals.

"...China now becomes a focal point in conflict resolution when it comes to maritime disputes, and I would argue this is another facet of China trying to pivot the world's attention away from strictly Western institutions when it comes to conflict resolution and putting China on an equal footing...politically, as well as economically and legally..."
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Attention

John Kerry praises Putin in new Charlie Rose interview - tacitly admits Putin outwitted and countered U.S. imperial ambitions


RT
Thu, 07 Apr 2016 18:56 UTC
kerry
© Eduardo Munoz / ReutersU.S. Secretary of State John Kerry
Just as the Pentagon ranked Russia as its No.1 threat, Secretary of State John Kerry lauded Moscow's "constructive role" in major diplomatic breakthroughs such as the Syrian ceasefire and Iran nuclear deal. He also had rare compliments for Vladimir Putin.

Russia's commitment to the Syrian ceasefire was initially called into question by the US and its coalition partners, which condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad, while accusing Moscow of bombing US-backed rebel groups.

"Everybody doubted whether Russia would play any constructive role whatsoever with respect to the cessation of hostilities [...] and we got the cessation of hostilities because they played a positive role," Kerry told PBS's Charlie Rose in an interview aired on April 5.


Comment: This is disingenuous at best, but it's the only way Kerry can accept reality and save face at the same time. No one with any brains in the U.S. doubted that Russia would play a constructive role, because the U.S. decision-makers were the ones that wanted a destructive outcome. With that denied to them, they have no choice but to acknowledge that Putin and Russia did what they said they'd do (something U.S. politicians can't quite grasp).

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Георгиевская ленточка

Despite West's failed attempts at isolation, Russia is becoming an "indispensable nation"


Sputnik
Wed, 06 Apr 2016 19:15 UTC
Kremlin Moscow
© Sputnik/ Evgeniya NovozhenovaKremlin, Moscow
While the Western press is trying to ignore the fact that Moscow is playing an increasingly important role in international affairs, Russia is fast becoming "the indispensable nation," however incredible it may sound, American journalist Deena Stryker notes.

When Moscow stepped in in Syria, a chorus of Western pundits predicted that the Russian intervention would definitely become a "quagmire" for the Kremlin.

However, since nothing of that has happened and Russia brought most of its aircraft home from Syria, Washington's Cassandras have reluctantly changed their rhetoric and pretended to be "surprised," international expert, author and journalist Deena Stryker writes in her article for New Eastern Outlook online magazine.

"'Putin is bad' was replaced by 'You never know what this guy is going to do next'," Stryker notes.

Then Palmyra was liberated from Daesh by Bashar al-Assad's Syrian Arab Army with the Russian Aerospace Forces' assistance.
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Bad Guys

Cameron's hypocrisy exposed after letter emerges showing PM pushed for offshore trusts to be shielded from EU regulations


RT
Thu, 07 Apr 2016 19:07 UTC
David Cameron
© Jonathan Ernst / ReutersBritain's Prime Minister David Cameron
Besieged Prime Minister David Cameron is under fire yet again after a 2013 letter was unearthed showing he shielded offshore trusts from an EU crackdown.

The letter has come to light as the Tory PM faces mounting pressure over his late father Ian Cameron's offshore trust Blairmore Holdings, details of which were exposed in the Panama Papers leak.

In the 2013 letter to then-European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, Cameron argued that trusts should not be subject to the same transparency rules as companies.

The EU had planned to publish a centralized register of offshore trusts' main owners as part of a broad crackdown on secretive financial practices. Cameron's letter, unearthed by the Financial Times on Thursday, said an important distinction must be drawn between different financial entities.

Comment: Cameron is another in a long line of politicians who act completely opposite to the rhetoric they spout to the media and public. People should know not to trust a single word that comes out of his mouth.

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Yoda

Putin: Panama Papers another attempt by West to destabilize Russia


RT
Thu, 07 Apr 2016 19:01 UTC
putin
© Sergey Guneev / Sputnik
The Russian part of the so-called Panama Papers leak that claims to reveal offshore financial activities of a number of public figures is not about corruption, but aims to destabilize Russia, says President Vladimir Putin.

"So here we've got some friend of the Russian president, he has done something, probably there is an aspect of corruption to it... But what aspect [exactly]? Well, there is none," Putin said on Thursday, addressing a media forum in St. Petersburg. He also pointed out that he himself had not been mentioned in the leaked documents.

"You are all journalists here and you know what an informational product is... They've plowed through offshore [funds]. [Putin] is not there, there is nothing to talk about. But the task has been assigned! So what have they done? They've created an informational product by having found some acquaintances and friends," the president told the media forum.
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Yoda

Putin: No one can hide the role Russia played in combating terrorism in Syria


RT
Thu, 07 Apr 2016 18:55 UTC
putin
© Sergey Guneev / Sputnik
No matter how hard you try, it's impossible to cover up the role and importance of Russia's actions to combat terrorism in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin told "Truth and Justice," a media forum of regional and local media in St. Petersburg.

"No matter how much one tries to belittle the role, the importance of our actions to combat terrorism, to silence these events is simply not possible," Putin said on Thursday, adding that the desire to hush up Russian successes is "still there,"RIA Novosti quoted the Russian president as saying.

It's too early to talk about radical change in Syria, but one thing is certain - Russia helped strengthen the state system in the country, Putin said.

"To say that a fundamental change has taken place there is still too early at the moment. But [to say] that we have fulfilled our task - that's quite obvious. Our task was first and foremost to strengthen Syria's statehood and legitimate state institutions," Putin told the forum, according to TASS.
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Rocket

Turkey shells Kurdish journalists in Syria


RT
Thu, 07 Apr 2016 18:20 UTC
turkey shelling
© Ruptly
A group of journalists in Syria are claiming they have been fired on by the Turkish army while filming a military operation in a Turkish border town from the Syrian side.

Freelance reporters were in the Syrian town of Qamishli, filming an army operation in Nusaybin - a Turkish town several hundred meters away from their position.

The footage they gathered on Tuesday allegedly shows the Turkish army shelling Nusaybin, the population of which is predominately Kurdish. In the video, plumes of black smoke can be seen rising high above the town's buildings, with sounds of explosions being heard in the distance. Army vehicles and tanks reportedly belonging to Turkey can be seen roaming the streets of Nusaybin.

The journalists, who are said to be part of the Kurdish "Free Communication Units," claim they then came under fire in what they believe to be a deliberate attack from the Turkish side.


Comment: Imagine if this happened on the U.S. border.

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Yoda

Why did Putin create a new paramilitary National Guard?


Sputnik
Wed, 06 Apr 2016 17:56 UTC
russian troops training
© Sputnik/ Sergey Pivovarov
In a sweeping reorganization of Russia's internal security apparatus, President Vladimir Putin has announced the creation of the National Guard - a powerful new paramilitary unit charged with combating terrorism and organized crime and maintaining social order. Why did the president decide to create the new unit now? Sputnik investigates.

On Tuesday, in a meeting with the heads of Russia's major internal defense and law enforcement agencies, President Putin announced the creation of a new federal executive body - the National Guard, which will be charged with fighting terrorism and organized crime, and with helping to maintain peace and order inside the country.

Formed out of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Guard, according to the president, will continue to work "in close cooperation" with the ministry.

For reference, the Ministry of Internal Affairs includes Russia's police and traffic police; the Internal Troops, meanwhile, constitute a gendarmerie-like paramilitary force.
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Red Flag

Indonesia to install missile defense system in South China Sea


Sputnik
Wed, 06 Apr 2016 17:36 UTC
Su-30 fighters
© Sputnik/ Mikhail Tsiganov
In the latest sign of ongoing hostilities in the South China Sea, Indonesia has announced plans to install its own air defense system in the region.

Nearly $5 trillion in trade passes annually through the highly contested region of the the South China Sea. China lays claim to most of the area, but there are conflicting claims by Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

According to meeting transcripts provided to IHS Jane, the Indonesian military is set to take steps to assert its own territorial claims.

The Indonesian Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia - Angkatan Udara, or TNI-AU) will station four special forces units, known as the Korps Pasukan Khas (PASKHAS), on Pulau Natuna Besar island in the South China Sea.

These units will be equipped with an air defense system known as the Oerlikon Skyshield. It features a 35mm multirole cannon that can fire 1,000 rounds per minute, as well as precision-guided projectiles that can take down aircraft.

Comment: The US is again operating under double standards. They criticize China for protecting a local strategic area, but also pressure their imperial puppet states like Indonesia and the Philippines to build active military structures there. China has no choice but to protect itself:

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Footprints

Puerto Rico thumbs its nose at Wall Street -- suspends all payments on public debt

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Wed, 06 Apr 2016 14:02 UTC
wall street
In a devastating blow to its megabank creditors, Puerto Rico's Legislature approved a bill on Wednesday that suspended the US territory's debt payments until at least January 2017.

Since 2000, Wall Street has conned the Puerto Rican government into a massive black hole of debt. After Puerto Rico handed them control of their federal bond sales, Wall Street executives tacked on hundreds of millions in fees for their "services," greasing the skids for the island's financial dismay.

Along with suspending debt payments, the legislation suspended payment on all general obligation bonds which happen to be guaranteed by the island's constitution. As Bloomberg previously reported:
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