Puppet MastersS


Bomb

Ukraine says it 'destroyed' Russian ship in underwater drone attack off Crimea


Al Jazeera
Fri, 02 Feb 2024 00:00 UTC
'Ivanovets' in 2012.
© WIKIMEDIA COMMONS'Ivanovets' in 2012.
Ukraine has said it used sea drones to attack and destroy a Russian warship in the Black Sea near the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula.

The military intelligence agency, known by its Ukrainian acronym GUR, published a video on Thursday that it said depicted a naval drone attack on the missile-armed corvette Ivanovets the night before.

The grainy footage, running about 2 and a half minutes and accompanied by a dramatic soundtrack, showed a number of explosions, and the ship eventually listing to one side. It ended with the vessel sinking stern-first into the sea.

Comment: Forbes and other outlets reported that the ship was destroyed:
The crew of the Russian navy missile-corvette Ivanovets saw the drone boats coming early Thursday morning. They opened fire with machine guns or cannons — but missed.

Several of the explosives-laden, satellite-guided boats struck the 490-ton Tarantul-class corvette — blowing her up then sinking her just off the west coast of Crimea.

It's possible all 50 or so sailors aboard the 1980s-vintage vessel are dead. At a minimum, the Russian Black Sea Fleet is down yet another warship.

The sinking coincides with repeated attacks on Russian oil infrastructure by Ukraine's long-range unmanned aerial vehicles — and comes just two weeks after Ukrainian missiles shot down one of the Russian air force's rare Beriev A-50 radar planes.


Read More...
Cruise Missle

Moscow slams 'provocative and unacceptable' remarks by Israeli envoy


RT
Mon, 05 Feb 2024 19:43 UTC
kremlin
© Sputnik / Nataya Seliverstova
The Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday condemned remarks by the Israeli ambassador to Moscow, on issues including the holocaust and the Gaza conflict, calling them "provocative and unacceptable."

An explosive interview with Simona Halperin, published by the Russian daily Kommmersant on Sunday, was slammed in a statement by the ministry as distorting the "historic realities and foreign policy approaches of our country."

The ministry noted that Halperin had criticized Russia for not including an international Holocaust memorial day on its official list of state days, an issue she pledged to discuss with diplomats in Moscow.

Russia, in fact, is among the countries that first floated the idea of establishing an international memorial day at the UN back in 2005, the ministry stressed. In addition, the country has an entire memorial week dedicated to the remembrance of the Holocaust victims, it added.
Read More...
Dominoes

Zelensky military purge to extend beyond top general - media


RT
Mon, 05 Feb 2024 19:39 UTC
Zaluzhny
© Facebook / vzaluzhnyiUkrainian Chief of the General Staff, Sergey Shapatala (left) and Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief, Valery Zaluzhny
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is reportedly considering letting go not only of Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny, but also of the Chief of the General Staff, according to the news outlet Ukrainskaya Pravda.

The report comes after Zelensky admitted last week that he intends to fire the top commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The two have had a major falling out following Kiev's failed summer counteroffensive. Zaluzhny has described the battlefield situation as a "stalemate," while Zelensky has vehemently rejected this assessment, especially in light of waning support from Kiev's Western backers.

In an interview with Italy's RAI TG1 news channel on Sunday, Zelensky announced that he is planning a "serious" overhaul of the country's leadership, noting that these changes will not be "about a single person." He did not, however, list any specific names.

Citing sources within the Ukrainian government, Ukrainskaya Pravda reported on Monday that Zaluzhny may indeed not be the only one getting canned amid Zelensky's purge and suggested that Sergey Shaptala, who currently serves as the Chief of the General Staff, will also be leaving his position as early as this week.
Read More...
Eye 2

Ukraine's top general sparing neo-Nazis from frontline slaughter - ex-CIA analyst


RT
Tue, 06 Feb 2024 19:16 UTC
Zaluzhny
© Andriy Andriyenko / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty ImagesGraffiti depicting General Valery Zaluzhny
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who has reportedly been attempting to fire his top general, Valery Zaluzhny, could find himself out of a job before the nation's top military commander, considering that the latter is backed by armed neo-Nazis, former CIA analyst Larry Johnson has argued.

Amid widespread reports that Zelensky had unsuccessfully tried to sack Zaluzhny, Ukrainian and foreign media described a tense meeting between the pair, with the general reportedly rejecting a call to resign voluntarily and the president hesitating to remove him under pressure from military top brass. Zelensky has since told the press that a major overhaul of the military command was imminent.

In conversation with Nima Alkhorshid, the Brazil-based host of the YouTube channel, Dialogue Works on Sunday, Johnson claimed the soap opera would be hilarious "if hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians weren't dead and maimed."

"The guy with the gun usually wins and last time I checked Zaluzhny's got more guns than Zelensky," Johnson said.
Read More...
Bad Guys

Nikki Haley requests Secret Service protection

Nicholas Kerr and Luke Barr
ABC News
Tue, 06 Feb 2024 15:17 UTC
Nikki Haley
© Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesRepublican presidential candidate, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley delivers remarks at her primary-night rally at the Grappone Conference Center, on Jan. 23, 2024, in Concord, New Hampshire.
Nikki Haley's presidential campaign has applied for Secret Service protection, according to a spokesperson with the campaign and another source familiar with the situation.

The campaign spokesperson did not say what prompted the request, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

But Haley, who is former President Donald Trump's remaining major challenger in the 2024 Republican primary race, has faced some recent incidents including being the target of two "swatting" attempts at her home in South Carolina, according to records previously obtained by ABC News.

In both cases, police were falsely directed to her residence on suspicion of a crime. In one of the incidents, she has said, her parents were home with a caretaker when officers arrived with "guns drawn."

"It put the law enforcement officers in danger, it put my family in danger and, you know, it was not a safe situation," Haley said in an interview with NBC News last month.

Comment: Let's see if she gets the RFK Jr. treatment:

Read More...
Sheriff

El Salvador: Tough on crime leader wins reelection


RT
Tue, 06 Feb 2024 14:06 UTC
Bukele
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has won the the popular vote by a landslide, an official tally shows

El Salvador's Bitcoin-friendly and tough-on-crime president, Nayib Bukele was reelected in a landslide on Sunday, official data has shown.

According to preliminary results released by the Central American country's Supreme Electoral Court (TSE), Bukele received 83% of the votes out of the 70% of ballots counted. His New Ideas party is on track to win at least 58 out of the 60 seats in the National Assembly.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Bukele hailed the results as "the record of the entire democratic history of the world."

"It will be the first time in a country that just one party exists in a completely democratic system," Bukele later said, according to the Associated Press. He added that "the entire opposition together was pulverized."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Bukele and Vice President Felix Ulloa with their reelection. "The United States values our strong relationship with the people of El Salvador, forged over 160 years and built on shared values, regional ties, and family connections. Events in El Salvador have a direct impact on US interests at home and abroad," he said in a statement released by the State Department.

Comment: Bukele has been critical of the West in relation to a number of things such as IMF, coronavirus mandates and more. In 2022 during the Candian Trucker protests, he called for the liberation of Canada, Europe and the US from authoritarian measures. He also highlighted the repression going on in France.



In the recent vote in the UN calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, El Salvador voted for a ceasefire.

See also:

Read More...
Mr. Potato

Biden recalls recent meeting with long-dead French leader


RT
Tue, 06 Feb 2024 13:41 UTC
Emmanuel Macron, Joe Biden
© Phil Noble / WPA Pool via Getty ImagesUS President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron at the G7 summit in Cornwall, UK in June, 2021.
US President Joe Biden appeared to confuse French President Emmanuel Macron for the late Francois Mitterrand, when describing a 2021 G7 meeting at a campaign event on Sunday.

Speaking in Las Vegas, Biden recalled how shortly after being elected president he went to southern England to meet the heads of governments of six other prominent Western economies, whom he inaccurately called "all the NATO leaders."

"I sat down and I said, 'America is back.' And Mitterrand, from Germany - I mean, from France - looked at me and said - said, 'You know, what - why - how long you back for?'" Biden said.

Mitterrand served as president of France from 1981 to 1995 and died a year after leaving office, aged 79. The official White House transcript of Biden's speech identifies the person he spoke with at the G7 event, which took place in Cornwall in June 2021, as Emmanuel Macron.


Comment: Two gaffe's in one speech. Let's hope Biden keeps it up and goes for a new record!

Read More...
Bad Guys

Zelensky jeopardizing Ukraine's interests - Kiev mayor


RT
Tue, 06 Feb 2024 13:23 UTC
Vladimir Zelensky
© AFP / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service
The mayor of Kiev, heavyweight boxing star-turned-politician Vitaly Klitschko, has argued against Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's plan to fire military commander General Valery Zaluzhny, warning the move might have heavy implications for the whole country.

Klitschko shared his opinion on the matter in a Telegram post on Monday, stating that Ukrainian society has been "discussing and anxiously waiting for the outcome of the situation" regarding Zaluzhny.

"In many ways, it was thanks to Zaluzhny that Ukrainians truly believed in our Armed Forces, which enjoy the greatest trust today," Klitschko asserted, warning about the potential consequences of Zaluzhny's dismissal.
Unfortunately, today is the moment when politics can prevail over common sense and the interests of the state. And this moment does not depend on Zaluzhny.
Klitschko expressed hope that Ukraine's leadership actually "understands the seriousness of the steps it is taking now and the full extent of its responsibility." Kiev must maintain "combat readiness and coherence of the army" as well as the "unity of society," the mayor argued, expressing doubts that the potential move would actually contribute to these goals.

Comment: Getting rid of the man many see as responsible for what little success there has been for the Ukrainian military is probably not the best decision. But then, Zelensky always was in over his head.

Read More...
Pistol

Six wounded in Istanbul shooting


RT
Tue, 06 Feb 2024 13:00 UTC
Istanbul shooting
A man and a woman targeted a police checkpoint in front of the Caglayan courthouse

Six people were wounded in an alleged terrorist attack in front of a courthouse in Istanbul, the Turkish Interior Ministry has said, adding that the attackers had been 'neutralized'. The shooting comes just a week after two gunmen attacked a Catholic church in the city, killing one.

Two perpetrators, a man and a woman, opened fire at a police checkpoint in front of the Caglayan courthouse at around 9am GMT on Tuesday, injuring six people, including three police officers, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

Police managed to prevent a broader attack on a security checkpoint at the courthouse, which was allegedly the actual target, according to the minister.

Videos shared on social media showed people running away in panic with some lying down on the ground as the shooters opened fire.

Comment: It is only a week ago that Victoria Nuland visited Turkiye. Coincidence? Wherever she goes trouble is likely to follow.


A video from the scene:


See also:

Read More...
Bad Guys

Trump facing 'long' prison sentence - attorney


RT
Tue, 06 Feb 2024 12:17 UTC
Donald Trump
© Getty Images / Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesFormer U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media during an election night event at Mar-a-Lago on November 08, 2022 in Palm Beach, Florida
Former US President Donald Trump could be sent to prison "for a long time" when a verdict is delivered in his upcoming trial over alleged mishandling of sensitive government documents, an attorney linked to the US Democrats has warned.

Last June, Trump was charged with 37 felony counts amid claims that he illegally retained highly sensitive national security information at his South Florida residence. These included top-secret details of Washington's nuclear capabilities and its strategies in the event of an attack on the US or its allies.

Prosecutors, led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, claim that Trump rejected requests by federal officials to return the documents - some of which were stored in publicly accessible locations in Mar-a-Lago, including in an unsecured bathroom. Trump has denied all allegations of wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

"People forget how damaging the evidence is in that Florida case," Marc Elias, who represented the Democratic National Committee (DNC) between 2009 and 2023, said on MSNBC's The Weekend on Sunday.

Comment: It would be the height of hypocrisy to prosecute Trump for something that Biden, and every other president for that matter, has also done. See:

Read More...