Puppet MastersS


Footprints

The UAE jails the Muslim Brotherhood, while the U.S. shields them

united arab emirates
© CC BY 2.0 / Abdulla Al Muhairi / يرفرف
Dr. Hamad Saif al-Shamsi, Attorney General of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has referred 84 individuals with alleged ties with Muslim Brotherhood to stand trial at Abu Dhabi State Security Court, following a six-month investigation.

The accused face charges of forming a secret organization for the purpose of committing acts of violence and terrorism in the UAE. In May 2023, Jordan handed over Khalaf Abdul Rahman Humaid al-Rumaithi, a wanted man with links to the Muslim Brotherhood, to the UAE.

The UN COP28 climate conference was hosted in the UAE last month, and The Emirates Detainees Advocacy Center, a group headed by an Emirati who lives in exile in Istanbul after being named on a terrorism list by the UAE, organized the a protest.

The MB holds the same core beliefs, and platform as AQ and ISIS. They all believe that Islam is the only true religion and that all Kings, monarchies, and dynasties are oppressive and run against Islam. They believe that the only constitution needed is the Koran and Islamic Law fulfills all the need for civil codes. Abu Bakr al Baghdadi was the Caliph of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and his group came to be called ISIS.

Question

Troubling questions surround the strange case of Pentagon chief missing in action

lloyed austin defense secretary covid mask
© Associated PressUnited States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin views the military honor guard at Camp Aguinaldo military camp in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, July 30, 2021.
The absence of Austin would have no doubt exacerbated the alarm within an already trigger-happy U.S. military machine. Combined with those concerns is the lack of confidence in Biden's cognitive health as Commander-in-Chief.

It seems utterly bizarre that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin - the second-highest ranking civilian military commander in the United States - was absent from duty for several weeks without President Joe Biden or Congress knowing about it.

A charitable view would be to call the scandal a "comedy of errors". More appropriately, however, are urgent concerns about the implications for global peace and security. The U.S. resembles a juggernaut out of control careening along a precipice.

This inexplicable prolonged gap in U.S. military command and control at the apex of the Pentagon goes from bizarre to deeply worrying considering the rapidly deteriorating security conditions in the Middle East. And especially because the deterioration is largely caused by the United States and its accomplices in their blatant contempt for international law.

Comment: Back in the real world, where people understand that one doesn't spend a week in the ICU for a bladder infection, the more plausible story seems to be that Austin was injured by a missile strike during a secret visit to Ukraine. While there is a 'gentlemen's agreement' between major powers not to target each others' senior officials, if Austin was there unannounced, he may well have been caught in one of Russia's recent missile barrages on Ukraine "decision-making centers". Perhaps the truth will never fully come out, but there's plenty of smoke around this to suspect a fire.






Megaphone

Best of the Web: 'Lunatics have taken over!' - Neil Oliver on air strikes in Yemen, Britain's borders and more


Comment: Another dynamite quick-wrap monologue of the utter state of the world, by the fearless Neil Oliver.


Neil Oliver
Neil Oliver
'Saying that the lunatics have taken over the asylum used to be joke. Now it's our day-to-day reality!'

Neil Oliver discusses UK strikes in Yemen, the trouble maintaining Britain's borders and the ongoing Post Office scandal.


Sherlock

Will the 'gates of hell' open in the Middle East?

naval fleet
© US Central Command (CENTCOM) / Anadolu via Getty ImagesA view from the US and British naval fleet as Yemeni local sources states that US and British warplanes have carried out airstrikes on some points in Sana'a, Hodeidah and Taiz cities during the night, at sea on January 12, 2024
The first month of 2024, as well as the previous few years, were marked by further escalations in the Middle East. This time, on January 12, the US and the UK conducted a military operation against the Houthis in Yemen. Washington used fighter jets and Tomahawk cruise missiles to strike areas controlled by the movement, killing five Houthi fighters and injuring six.

US President Joe Biden said the operation was in response to "unprecedented attacks by the Houthis on international maritime vessels in the Red Sea," which included anti-ship ballistic missile strikes. The American leader said the strikes were defensive in nature.

The US-UK coalition attack was condemned by the Houthis, who vowed to retaliate. The movement's spokesman, Mohammed Abdulsalam, said the strikes were "blatant aggression" and would "not go unanswered." This also raised concerns about the potential for a wider regional conflict. The Houthis are backed by Iran, which has been accused of providing them with weapons and training. The US and its allies are concerned that the Houthis could use these weapons to attack American interests in the region.

Snakes in Suits

Crocodile tears: Ex-UK PM Cameron 'doesn't recall' being briefed on Post Office scandal as PM - but sorry for 'appalling miscarriage of justice'

cameron
© Jeff Overs/BBC/PA
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron has said he cannot remember receiving a detailed briefing about the Horizon scandal while he was prime minister - but says he is sorry for an "appalling miscarriage of justice".

The apology by the former Tory leader and MP comes amid continuing fallout from the Post Office debacle that led to what has been branded the biggest miscarriage of justice in British legal history.

The scandal saw hundreds of sub-postmasters wrongly convicted of stealing after faulty Fujitsu accounting software made it appear as though money was missing at their branches.

The Post Office also forced at least 4,000 branch managers pay back cash based on the flawed data.

Propaganda

A flimsy cover-story timeline of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's hospitalization and lack of White House notification

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin
© Maya Alleruzzo, APDefense Secretary Lloyd Austin kept his hospitalization secret from the White House for three days after he was admitted.
The revelation that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had prostate cancer surgery and was later hospitalized in intensive care due to complications from that operation without President Joe Biden, Cabinet members or even his deputy knowing has put an intense spotlight on what staff knew when and why they did not inform government or military leaders or the public.

On the night of Austin's ambulance ride to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, his personal security detail was with him, and there are now questions about why that did not trigger an immediate call to an operations center to inform his key staff.


Comment: Why indeed?


Despite persistent questions, details about what happened and Austin's medical status only slowly dribbled out, day by day. Eight days after Austin was hospitalized for an infection stemming from the surgery a week earlier, the Defense Department finally released a detailed statement from his doctors outlining his cancer and subsequent complications.

Comment: So he's been in the hospital since January 1st because of a urinary tract infection?

The whole story stinks to high heaven. It's obvious that they're covering up something. Wasn't Austin in Ukraine recently?

See also: UPDATE- Jan. 15th: Lloyd Austin has been discharged but will stay at home for a while, while the cover up story continues:
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was released Monday from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center following complications he suffered after undergoing surgery for prostate cancer, a Pentagon statement said.

"The Secretary continues to recover well and, on the advice of doctors, will recuperate and perform his duties remotely for a period of time before returning full-time to the Pentagon," the statement said. "He has full access to required secure communications capabilities."
"He underwent a series of medical tests and evaluations and received non-surgical care during his stay to address his medical needs, to include resolving some lingering leg pains," they said in the statement. "He was discharged home with planned physical therapy and regular follow up. The Secretary is expected to make a full recovery."
No pictures or video of him going home, but the ABC in their coverage has 'his' statement:
Austin, in his own statement, said he will continue to "recuperate and perform my duties from home" and looked forward to returning to the Pentagon as quickly as possible.

"I'm grateful for the excellent care I received at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and want to thank the outstanding doctors and nursing staff for their professionalism and superb support," he said. "I also am thankful and appreciative for all the well wishes I received for a speedy recovery."
There is a lot of fishiness in this whole story. It will be interesting to see if and when he actually returns to work.


Dollar Gold

Biden campaign announces massive fundraising haul — There's just one problem

Donald Trump and Joe Biden
© BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI,JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
The Biden campaign raised significantly less in quarter four of 2023 than the Trump camp did at the same point in the lead-up to the 2020 election.

Biden and his allies are touting that the president's campaign raised $97 million in the last three months of 2023 ,and that it had $117 million on hand at the end of that period. The Trump campaign, meanwhile, raised $154 million and had $195 million in the bank at the same point in the 2020 election cycle, The New York Times reported.

The disparity between Trump's and Biden's campaigns is heightened when considering inflation. A dollar is worth 20% less now than it was in January 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index calculator.

Comment: A well-known quote from Henry Ford reads: "A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time."

See also:


Horse

Deluded Germany preparing for potential Russia-NATO war - Bild

Leopard 2 tank
© Ronny Hartmann / AFPA German Leopard 2 main battle tank shoots during a training exercise at the military ground in Ostenholz, northern Germany, on October 17, 2022.
Germany is preparing for a scenario in which Russia launches an "open attack" on NATO in the summer of 2025 after scoring major victories against Ukraine, Bild reported on Sunday, citing classified documents. Moscow has repeatedly denied having any plans to attack the US-led military bloc.

The secret German defense ministry paper reportedly seen by the outlet provides a month-by-month outline of a possible "path to the conflict" between the West and Russia. The scenario begins a new mobilization in February 2024 with Russia calling up an additional 200,000 troops. Moscow has insisted it does not need to pursue such a measure, citing an abundance of volunteers.

According to the scenario outlined in the document, Moscow then launches a powerful spring offensive against Ukraine resulting in Kiev,suffering from inadequate Western support, yielding ground.

Comment: It is hard to know if the German defence industry is actually believing this stuff or whether it is just a sales pitch with the aim at scaring the German population into accepting more weapons and money into the military industrial complex.

Has Germany really forgotten how it went last time around?




NPC

Ukraine, Britain announce security agreement during Kyiv visit by PM Sunak

Zelenskyy and Sunak
© Thomas Peter/ReutersUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attend a security accord signing during Sunak's visit to Kyiv
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has signed a new security agreement with Ukraine's president and announced an increase in military funding for the war-wracked country during a visit to Kyiv.

Britain, one of Ukraine's closest allies during the Russian invasion, will increase its support in the next financial year to 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2bn), an increase of 200 million pounds ($255m) on the previous two years, Sunak said on Friday.

The funding would cover long-range missiles, air defence, artillery ammunition and maritime security.

Comment: What an utter waste of money. See also: 'Nobody believes in our victory like I do.' Inside Volodymyr Zelensky's struggle to keep Ukraine in the fight


Red Pill

Ex-Shin Bet head says Israel should negotiate with jailed intifada leader

Ami Ayalon
Ami Ayalon: ‘We Israelis will have security only when they, Palestinians, will have hope. This is the equation.’
A former leader of the Shin Bet domestic security force has said Israel will not have security until Palestinians have their own state, and Israeli authorities should release Marwan Barghouti, jailed leader of the second intifada, to direct negotiations to create one.

Ami Ayalon, a retired admiral who also commanded Israel's navy and was wounded in battle and decorated for his service, also said destroying Hamas was not a realistic military goal, and the current operation in Gaza risked entrenching support for the group.

"We Israelis will have security only when they, Palestinians, will have hope. This is the equation," he said in an interview at his home. "To say the same in military language: you cannot deter anyone, a person or a group, if he believes he has nothing to lose."

He said Israel's war in Gaza was a just one, after the horrors of the 7 October attack, in which Hamas slaughtered at least 1,200 people and took more than 240 others hostage. But too many Israelis could not accept that Hamas did not represent all Palestinians, or that they had a legitimate claim to their own state, he said.

Ayalon said most Israelis believed that "all Palestinians are Hamas or supporters of Hamas", and they did not accept the concept of a Palestinian identity. "We see them as people, not 'a people', a nation," he said. "We cannot accept [the idea of a Palestinian people] because if we do, it creates a huge obstacle in the concept of the state of Israel."

Comment: The mainstream media is slowly starting posting articles which question the rationale of the current Israeli policies and which show some of the Palestinian side of the story. What Ami Ayalon says above is allowed because he is an Israeli, whereas if the same had been said by anyone else, the person would have been vilified as being anti-semitic or a nazi etc. and then censored.

See also: