Puppet MastersS


Bad Guys

Saudis 'terrified' by Iran's rising influence, stoke Sunni-Shiite tensions in response

Stanislav Ivanov
New Eastern Outlook
Wed, 06 Jan 2016 13:07 UTC
Saudi Arabia Iran protests execution
© Unknown
The execution of a Shia preacher Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr in Riyadh on January 2 2016 has provoked a massive wave of protests in the Shia community all across the Middle East: in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Bahrain, and other countries densely populated by Shiites. As you must know, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr was arrested a couple of years ago by the Saudi authorities on accusation of organizing mass protests during the events of the so-called "Arab Spring." At that time the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia sought greater regional autonomy and insisted on the proportional representation of the Shia minority in the central government. The Saudi authorities chose to brutally suppress all protests, subjecting Shia activists to violent repressions.

Despite the fact that during his trial in 2012 Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr claimed that he never was in possession of any kind of weapons and did not call for violence, he was sentenced to death all the same. Saudi authorities have been well aware of the fact that the execution of this influential Shia cleric will be regarded as a blatant injustice by all Shiites across the whole region, still he was executed together with jihadists to stress the fact that Saudi authorities see no difference between terrorists and fighters for their civil rights and freedoms. Not surprisingly, the violent death the preacher faced has made him into a martyr, whose only fault was his devotion to Islam and his criticism of the ruling Al-Saud clan that he sometimes voiced. On January 3 the Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the Saudi politicians are going to experience the holy wraith on themselves for this crime. As for the West, its reaction on this medieval act of barbarity has been pretty toothless.
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2 + 2 = 4

If U.S. wanted to defeat ISIS they would stop selling weapons to the Saudis


Sputnik
Wed, 06 Jan 2016 13:27 UTC
ISIS Syria
© AFP 2015/ STR
Putting an end to Wahhabi Jihadism, the radical ideology which lies at the heart of terrorism in the Middle East, requires Washington stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia, former businessman and US politician David Stockman asserted.

Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan maintains that "the real jihadi terrorism in the contemporary world arose almost exclusively from the barbaric fundamentalism of the Sunni-Wahhabi branch of Islam, which is home-based in Saudi Arabia."

Apparently, this radical ideology is only capable of surviving because the Saudi monarchy is supporting it.

Comment: Also see: Children escaping the wrath of Islamic State: Yazidi survivor camp in Syria

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Nuke

North Korea claims fully successful 'hydrogen bomb' test


RT
Wed, 06 Jan 2016 02:24 UTC
news report on North Korea’s first hydrogen bomb test
© Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty ImagesSouth Koreans watch a news report on North Korea’s first hydrogen bomb test
North Korea has announced that it has successfully tested a miniaturized hydrogen bomb following an "artificial seismic event" that has likely become the country's fourth known nuclear test.

In a "special and important" announcement at noon, North Korean TV claimed that the country has successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test at 10:00am local time.

"Through the test conducted with indigenous wisdom, technology and efforts the DPRK fully proved that the technological specifications of the newly developed H-bomb for the purpose of [the] test were accurate and scientifically verified the power of [the] smaller H-bomb," the statement said.

"It was confirmed that the H-bomb test conducted in a safe and perfect manner had no adverse impact on the ecological environment," it added.
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Eye 2

Leaked letter proves Saudis knew executions would spark another Mid-East crisis


Sputnik
Wed, 06 Jan 2016 03:54 UTC
Saudi Arabia Iran protests execution
© Unknown
Saudi Arabia's mass execution of 47 people on Saturday sparked an international outcry. According to a leaked memo obtained by The Independent, Riyadh was fully aware of this possibility, ordering security services to cancel holiday plans to be on full alert.

The Saudi government's decision to execute 47 people in a single day has drawn considerable criticism, particularly given that one of those individuals was Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric. In addition to causing a diplomatic crisis with Iran, the incident led to mass protests across the world.

According to leaked letter obtained by The Independent, the Saudi government was fully aware of the repercussions of its actions, but followed through with the executions anyway. The letter, issued by the head of the government's security forces, was sent to regional chiefs in the areas where the executions took place, and was marked "very urgent."

Comment: Saudi Arabia and Washington were both well aware of the meltdown that would follow these heinous executions. And of course that's how they operate - control through chaos:
"We asked very clearly for the American president to intervene as a friend of Saudi Arabia — and the Americans did not intervene," he said in a telephone interview from al-Awamiyah, a village situated in the Qatif region in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province.

Sheikh Nimr's brother: "I blame Obama for my brother's execution"


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Ambulance

Wall Street begins 2016 with a faceplant

Mike Whitney
Counterpunch
Tue, 05 Jan 2016 00:00 UTC
Wall Street chaos
2016 started with a thud on Monday when news from China sent global stocks into freefall. The Shanghai index plunged 242 points before a system-wide circuit breaker kicked in and trading was halted. All three major US indices followed Asia's downward slide with the Dow Jones leading the pack with a triple-digit loss on the day. The news that Chinese manufacturing continued to contract after ten straight months of erosion put the kibosh on any New Years rally as jittery traders dumped stocks at a pace not seen since 2011. The combination of dreary economic data, shrinking profits, dwindling capital investment, sub-par growth, and higher interest rates has put Wall Street in a foul mood foreshadowing a volatile and bumpy year ahead with little cause for celebration.

While the proximate cause of the current turbulence is China's flagging manufacturing sector, the underlying reasons are even more important, like the dismal state of the US economy which continues to languish in a long-term coma. Here's a brief recap from economist Jack Rasmus at CounterPunch:

Comment: This news doesn't bode well. But considering the following, should come as no big surprise:

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Play

South Front: What to expect in 2016 after a year of crisis escalation?


South Front
Wed, 06 Jan 2016 01:54 UTC
south front
Foreign Policy Diary - 2015, Year of Crisis Escalation. What to expect in 2016?

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Quenelle - Golden

Oman disapproves of Saudi's sectarian agenda - 'They are just trying to pressure Iran'

Paul Antonopoulos
al Masdar News
Tue, 05 Jan 2016 20:42 UTC
Oman Iran
© Unknown
Oman's diplomat to Tehran stated that Riyadh's move to cut diplomatic ties with Iran was an effort to overshadow Iran's nuclear agreement with the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany). The Omani ambassador, Saud bin Ahmed bin Khalid Al Barwani, also said that Saudi Arabia's reactions were the wrong method. "Regardless of its cause, this has definitely been an unwise action conducted through an incorrect method," Bardani said in a meeting with Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani. "I believe Saudi Arabia, through its recent measure, is after pressuring Iran and overshadowing the nuclear agreement (between Tehran and the world powers)," he added.

Comment: Hopefully Saudi Arabia's ploy to pressure Iran and further destabilize the region will backfire. Check out:

Saudi provocation may backfire: Will Iran now start actually aiding Houthis?

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Bomb

Syrian Army thwarts ISIS attack in Hama and crushes several ISIS strongholds in the process


Sputnik
Tue, 05 Jan 2016 18:30 UTC
Syrian Army Hama
© AFP 2015/ GEORGE OURFALIAN
The Syrian Army and National Defense Forces (NDF) resisted an attack by Daesh in a rural area in the Eastern part of Hama province following an intense fight.

"The Syrian army troops and their allies thwarted the ISIL attempt to infiltrate into the defense lines of the government forces in al-Mab'ujah village in Salamiyah district," Fars News Agency reported the army as saying.

The army further said that Syrian army artillery units heavily bombed the militants' strongholds near the villages of al-Qahira, Tal Wasit, al-Mansoura and al-Ziyarah and the regions of al-Dellak and al-Sathiyat across Hama province, resulting in a major death toll for the terrorists.

Comment: For more updates on the battle for Syria, check out: South Front Digest: Syria, Iraq, Yemen war updates (VIDEO)

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Hourglass

Sexting scandal: Labour MP Simon Danczuk, rejects calls to quit as protesters lay siege to his office


RT
Tue, 05 Jan 2016 17:14 UTC
Simon Danczuk
© Andrew Yates / ReutersLabour member of parliament Simon Danczuk
Labour MP Simon Danczuk, who reportedly sent explicit text messages to a 17-year-old girl, is under mounting pressure to resign after protesters descended on his Rochdale constituency office on Monday.

The 49-year-old, who is at the heart of a deepening sexting scandal, admitted he was "silly" for sending explicit text messages to the 17-year-old dominatrix, who had asked him for a job.

In a string of lewd messages, the MP told Sophena Houlihan how "horny" he was and asked her if she wanted "spanking."

Comment: See more: Traits that define ethical leadership

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Attention

World Order: Hearing the Russian perspective

Gilbert Doctorow
Consortium News
Sat, 02 Jan 2016 00:00 UTC
Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin taking the presidential oath at his third inauguration ceremony on May 7, 2012.
The neocons and liberal hawks who dominate the U.S. foreign policy and media establishment are pushing the world toward a nuclear showdown with Russia as few people hear a comprehensive response from the other side, an imbalance that a new Russian documentary addresses, writes Gilbert Doctorow.

Without mincing words, the new Russian documentary World Order is a devastating critique of U.S. global hegemony justified in the name of "democracy promotion" and "human rights" ever since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1992.

It is directly in line with Russian President Vladimir Putin's first repudiation of the American unipolar world issued in his speech to the Munich Security Conference in February 2007 and his further, ever more explicit exposés in a succession of speeches that challenged specific manifestations of "American exceptionalism."

Comment:

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