Puppet MastersS


Mr. Potato

European values: Poland's PM won't tolerate 'anti-Ukrainian sentiment'


RT
Sun, 14 Jan 2024 15:06 UTC
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaking at the parliament in Warsaw
© AFP / Wojtek RadwanskiPolish Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaking at the parliament in Warsaw
Every Polish patriot must understand the importance of backing Kiev in its conflict with Moscow, Donald Tusk said

Newly-installed Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has insisted that he won't tolerate any kind of "anti-Ukrainian sentiment" in the ranks of his government.

Tusk claimed in an interview with TVN24 on Friday that in the run-up to last October's election the right-wing Law and Justice Party (PiS) "tried to play an anti-Ukrainian note" to remain in power and that nothing of this kind will happen on his watch.

"I will never allow anyone in my government to build their position on some kind of anti-Ukrainian sentiment," the pro-EU politician, who headed the Polish government between 2007 and 2014 and was president of the European Council from 2014 to 2019, vowed.

Kiev needs the backing of Warsaw and the entire West because "as long as Ukraine is fighting Russia, we are relatively safe," he explained.

"There can be no doubts about... our involvement and the involvement of the entire Western world in support of Ukraine... Every Polish patriot must absolutely recognize these reasons," Tusk stressed.

The PM called upon Europe to "rise to the occasion" and invest more money in assisting Kiev because Poland "won't be able to cope financially" with such a task on its own.


Comment: Europe proclaims to value free speech and democracy yet it is showing itself more and more to value totalitarian values, censorship and the stifling of dissent.


Comment: So the Polish PM is going to Ukraine in a few days, following the suit of the British PM and the French foreign minister and likely many more EU leaders to follow. All to go to Ukraine and shout loud about "freedom, freedom and free speech". The reality is that it has become Orwellian double-speak.
When the Polish PM got elected recently the first he did was to get rid of the media critical of him:
Poland's new pro-EU government dismisses state media chiefs

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Eye 2

Israel warns Egypt it will take control of border corridor with Gaza in violation of Cairo's sovereignty


The Times of Israel
Sat, 13 Jan 2024 19:06 UTC
israel egypt border
© AP Photo/Adel HanaFile: An Egyptian armored vehicle patrols on the Egyptian side of the border as bulldozers work on the Gaza side to create a buffer zone, in Rafah, Wednesday, June 28, 2017. According to Wall Street Journal, Jerusalem plans to reassert control of Philadelphi Route, which it has not controlled since 2005.
Israel has informed Egypt of plans to launch a military operation to take control of the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

Citing Israeli and Egyptian officials, the report said such an operation was expected to see Israel take the Rafah border crossing and station forces along the so-called Philadelphi Corridor separating Egypt and Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month that the Philadelphi Corridor, which runs for 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) all along the Gaza-Egypt border, "has to be in our hands" in order to ensure that Gaza is and remains demilitarized, to prevent weapons from being smuggled through tunnels into the coastal enclave.
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Megaphone

Biden sent private message to Tehran amid airstrikes: 'We're well-prepared'

Edward Helmore and David Smith
The Guardian
Sat, 13 Jan 2024 19:16 UTC
US president Joe Biden speaks to the press before flying to Camp David, on the south lawn of the White House on 13 January 2024 in Washington DC.
© Samuel Corum/Getty ImagesUS president Joe Biden speaks to the press before flying to Camp David, on the south lawn of the White House on 13 January 2024 in Washington DC.

After second night of US-UK strikes in Yemen against Iran-backed Houthis, fears of wider regional conflict grow

Joe Biden said on Saturday that the United States has sent a private message to Tehran that "we're confident we're well-prepared", following a second night of US and British strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn on Saturday morning, on his way from Washington to Camp David in Maryland, the US president declined to go into further detail and switched to answering questions about the Taiwan election.

His comments came after a fresh round of airstrikes hit a Houthi radar facility, raising further fears of a wider regional conflict. This came amid concerns about the world economy as well as security and civilian safety, and further backlash in the US from progressives in the Democratic party who have decried Biden's executive decision to launch strikes on Yemen without seeking the backing of Congress.

Comment: Biden says 'we're well-prepared,' yet it looks like they are just 'reacting' while trying to lull both the population and their own Congress. It looks more and more as if one hand doesn't know what the other is doing. It seems likely this will blow up in their faces at some point.

See also:

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Black Cat

NY judge orders Trump to pay almost $400k in legal fees for dismissed lawsuit against New York Times despite NYT illegally obtaining his tax records

Jim Hᴏft
The Gateway Pundit
Sat, 13 Jan 2024 23:15 UTC
The new york times
© Alastair Pike / AFP
Former President Donald Trump has been ordered by a New York Supreme Court judge to pay nearly $400,000 in legal fees to the New York Times.

This comes after his lawsuit against the publication was dismissed, a lawsuit that Trump filed in 2021, alleging that the Times, along with three of its reporters (Susanne Craig, David Barstow, and Russell Buettner), and his niece, Mary Trump, had conspired to improperly obtain his confidential tax records to smear him.

Alina Habba, Trump's lawyer, claims that Mary Trump violated a 2001 confidentiality agreement signed during the settlement of Fred Trump's will after his passing in 1999. The Times journalists are alleged to have committed tortious interference by persuading Mary Trump to disclose the tax information.

Comment: Lawfare combined with TDS at its finest. The New York Times just can't stop lobbing salvos at Trump:

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Bullseye

Türkiye, Russia condemn strikes on Yemen: West turning Red Sea "into a bloodbath"

Tyler Durden
Zerohedge
Fri, 12 Jan 2024 19:10 UTC
Putin i Erdogan
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
The international reaction to the Thursday night US-UK coalition bombing of Houthi positions in Yemen continues to come in, with the more interesting of the statements being issued by Turkey.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Friday statements to the press in Istanbul said that the attack would turn the Red Sea into a "bloodbath". He also condemned the Western coalition operation as "disproportionate" despite the previous over two dozen attacks on commercial shipping of the last months by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

"First of all, they are not proportional. All of these constitute disproportionate use of force," Erdoğan told journalists. "It is as if they aspire to turn the Red Sea into a bloodbath."

Comment: Let it be noted that not one death has occurred in all of Yemen's interdiction actions. Compare this with Israel's behavior regarding the Mavi Mara, where nine people were killed, including one American.

Yemen rightly claims they are exercising the "Right to Protect" so beloved by the Empire.





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Attention

Corruption, disinformation, warnings about assassinations: What to make of the latest claims about the Bidens' Ukraine links

Tarik Cyril Amar
RT
Fri, 12 Jan 2024 17:23 UTC
BiZel
© Susan Walsh/AFPUS President Joe Biden and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky
Former Ukrainian MP Derkach may be a source with an agenda of his own but that doesn't make his recent interview any less real...

At first it feels like a blast from the past but it's really about the present and future: Journalist Simona Mangiante Papadopoulos has released a long interview with former Ukrainian MP Andrey Derkach - in which Derkach makes allegations about corruption in the US and Ukraine. In particular about the American President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

With regard to graft, while the various allegations (by no means only Derkach's) and ongoing investigations are complex, in essence several simple questions are at stake:
- Did the current president's son, Hunter Biden, sell his services as a Washington influence-peddler by using the "brand" (as one witness, Devon Archer, has put it) of his father's connections (as then vice-president under Barack Obama)?

- And, potentially even more disturbingly, did the elder Biden himself profit from such influence-peddling?

- Finally, most disconcerting of all, did the current president use his leverage as Obama's point-man on Ukraine to shield his son and, possibly, himself from investigations in Ukraine? Including by bringing down Ukrainian chief prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who got too close to the truth about Hunter Biden's shady role in the Ukrainian Burisma gas company?

- In sum, did the highest-ranking American official, charged with overseeing (among other things) Kiev's putative "fight against corruption," make things even worse by injecting a strong dose of US-establishment corruption into Washington's newest client state?
- And, if so, could that two-sided entanglement have left a legacy, including of compromising actions, that has been influencing America's reckless and failing (even on its own misconceived terms) proxy war policy in Ukraine?
Full disclosure: I happen to believe that the answer to all these questions is yes. Which is depressing, since it means that decisions, costing many human lives and making our shared global politics very dangerous, have been influenced by corrupt motives reminiscent of the world of organized crime.

Comment: Bias, the 'new truth', comes in many forms - particularly when politics are its filter and optics its umbrella. Author has interesting points!

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Cardboard Box

Prosecuting Trump would 'open Pandora's box'


RT
Tue, 09 Jan 2024 18:59 UTC
depiction
© Dana Verkouteren/APDepiction: Donald Trump listens as his attorney John Sauer speaks before the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, Washington DC • January 9, 2023
If Donald Trump can be charged over a speech, George Bush and Barack Obama could also be indicted, the former president's lawyer argues...

Former US President Donald Trump's attorney has argued that the country "may never recover" if a Washington DC appeals court allows a case against the ex-president to go ahead. The government contends that Trump can be criminally charged over a speech he gave while in office.

Trump arrived at the federal court on Tuesday, where a panel of three judges heard arguments as to whether a former president can be held criminally liable for actions taken while in office. Their eventual decision will determine whether Trump can be tried on three counts of conspiracy for a speech he gave before his supporters rioted at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Government prosecutor Jack Smith charged Trump in August, claiming that the speech - in which he urged his supporters to "fight like hell" against President Joe Biden's electoral victory - provoked the riot.

Trump's attorney, John Sauer, said at the start of the hearing:
"To authorize the prosecution of a president for his official acts would open a Pandora's box from which this nation may never recover."
Trump's legal team have already argued that speeches were part of "his official responsibilities as president," and that he is therefore immune from legal consequences.
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Briefcase

Hunter Biden, expected to plead not guilty to nine federal tax charges, returns to LA court after surprise appearance on Capitol Hill

James Callery
Daily Mail
Thu, 11 Jan 2024 07:30 UTC
HBiden
Hunter Biden makes surprise appearance at a House Oversight Committee markup and meeting to vote on whether to hold Biden in contempt of Congress
President Joe Biden's son will head back to court today for arraignment in Los Angeles on federal tax charges filed after the collapse of a plea deal that could have spared him the spectacle of a criminal trial during the 2024 campaign.

The charges stem from what federal prosecutors say was a four-year scheme to skip out on paying the $1.4 million he owed to the IRS and instead use the money to fund an extravagant lifestyle that by his own admission included drugs and alcohol.

The court appearance will also include a discussion over future court dates and filing deadlines. Meanwhile, Hunter Biden, 53, has also been charged in Delaware with lying in October 2018 on a federal form for gun purchasers when he swore he wasn't using or addicted to illegal drugs. He was addicted to crack cocaine at the time. He is also accused of possessing the gun illegally and has pleaded not guilty in that case.
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Broom

Turkey captures ringleader of PKK, launches major airstrike campaign killing 45 members in Iraq & Syria


TRT
Fri, 12 Jan 2024 23:17 UTC
Kurds
© Kurdishstruggle via FlickrFILE: Kurdish PKK guerillas In Kirkuk, Iraq. Serhat Bal, codenamed Firat, who joined the rural ranks of the PKK terrorist organisation in 2012, was found to have been operating at a purportedly responsible level in Syria and Iraq, security sources say.
Turkish intelligence has captured a ringleader of the PKK terrorist organisation while he was preparing to flee to Europe, security sources have said.

The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) captured Serhat Bal, codenamed Firat, one of the so-called leaders of the PKK terrorist organisation, said the sources on Friday, on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media.

His location in a Middle Eastern country was determined by the security forces, and his activities were monitored by the Turkish intelligence for a long time, the sources added.

Comment: Al Jazeera reports:
Turkey launches air attacks against Kurdish rebels in Iraq and Syria

Turkey has bombed multiple locations allegedly linked to Kurdish groups in Syria and northern Iraq in retaliation for the deaths of nine Turkish soldiers in Iraq, the defence ministry said.

The raids on Saturday came one day after an attack on a Turkish military base in Iraq resulted in the soldiers' deaths.

The ministry said the attacks targeted 29 locations - including "caves, bunkers, shelters and oil installations" belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Syrian Kurdish group which has been a central element in the United States-allied coalition against ISIS (ISIL).


Reuters reports at least 45 members were killed.

Map showing location of the strikes:

turkey pkk iraq syria

Turkey frequently carries out attacks against locations in Syria and Iraq that it suspects to be associated with the PKK.

The defence ministry said fighter jets struck targets in Metina, Hakurk, Gara and Qandil in northern Iraq, but did not specify which areas in Syria. It said the aim was "to eliminate terrorist attacks against our people and security forces ... and to ensure our border security".

The statement said that "many" armed fighters were "neutralised" in the attacks, a term Turkey uses to refer to killed or captured fighters.

On Friday night, attackers attempted to infiltrate a military base in northern Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region, killing five soldiers. Another four died later of critical injuries. The ministry said 15 fighters were also killed.

There was no immediate comment from the PKK, the government in Baghdad or the administration in the region.

Turkey launched Operation Claw-Lock in northern Iraq in April 2022, during which it established several bases in the Duhok governorate. Iraq has repeatedly protested against the presence of Turkish troops and called for their withdrawal.

"We will fight to the end against the PKK terrorist organisation within and outside our borders," Turkey's foreign minister Hakan Fidan posted on X.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was to hold a security meeting in Istanbul later on Saturday, said his communications director Fahrettin Altun.

Also on Saturday, 113 people were arrested for suspected links with the PKK in nationwide raids, interior minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X.

Continuing fighting

Three weeks ago, PKK-affiliated fighters tried to break into a Turkish base in northern Iraq, according to Turkish officials, killing six soldiers. The following day, six more Turkish soldiers were killed in clashes.

Turkey retaliated by launching attacks against sites that officials said were associated with the PKK in Iraq and Syria. Defence minister Yasar Guler said at the time that dozens of Kurdish fighters were killed in air strikes and land assaults.

It was not immediately clear if Friday night's attack and the one three weeks earlier targeted the same base.

More than 40,000 people have been killed since the start of the conflict between the PKK - which maintains bases in northern Iraq - and the Turkish state since 1984.

Turkey and the US, however, disagree on the status of the Syrian Kurdish groups.
Turkey seems to be taking advantage of the current instability as an opportunity to clean up: Turkey detains 33 more suspected Mossad agents amid 'anti-terror initiative'

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Bad Guys

Moldova & 'foreign specialists' training militants for terrorist attacks in Transnistria - State Security Ministry


TASS
Fri, 12 Jan 2024 15:04 UTC
Ursula von der Leyen and Moldova's President Maia Sandu
FILE PHOTO. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Moldova's President Maia Sandu. According to the statement, special combat groups are currently being trained at the facilities of the Moldovan security services under the guidance of foreign specialists.
Over 60 people are being trained in Moldova under the guidance of foreign instructors to carry out terrorist attacks in the unrecognized republic of Transnistria, the region's State Security Ministry said.

"According to available information, special combat groups (more than 60 people, mostly from Ukraine and experienced in combat operations) are currently being trained at the facilities of the Moldovan security services under the guidance of foreign specialists to carry out terrorist acts on the territory of the republic aimed at destroying critical life-support facilities, sabotaging military facilities, capturing or killing the highest officials of the republic and heads of security agencies," the ministry said in a statement on its website.

Comment: Perhaps unsurprisingly: 59% of Moldova's citizens believe country is controlled by US or EU forces - poll

And we know that the West is training, funding, and directing, the Kiev-junta: US admits Army general regularly traveling to Ukraine in advisory role to Kiev-junta

See also: Moldova: EU-aspirant's president to punish opposition-controlled cities

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