Puppet MastersS


Arrow Down

United Nations Farce: Saudi Arabia to head UN Human Rights council

Felicity Arbuthnot
Global Research
Thu, 24 Sep 2015 19:01 UTC
All victims of human rights abuses should be able to look to the Human Rights Council as a forum and a springboard for action. (Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General, 12 March 2007, Opening of the 4th Human Rights Council Session.)
Article 55 of United Nations Charter includes: "Universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion."
Faisal and Maller
© blog.unwatch.orgLeft: Faisal Trad, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in Geneva, has been elected Chair of the UN Human Rights Council panel that appoints independent experts. Right: Michael Møller, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva.
In diametrical opposition to these fine founding aspirations, the UN has appointed Saudi Arabia's envoy to the United Nations Human Rights Council to head (or should that be "behead") an influential human rights panel. The appointment was seemingly made in June, but only came to light on 17th September, due to documents obtained by UN Watch (1.)
... Mr Faisal Bin Hassan Trad, Saudi Arabia's Ambassador at the UN in Geneva, was elected as Chair of a panel of independent experts on the UN Human Rights Council.

As head of a five-strong group of diplomats, the influential role would give Mr Trad the power to select applicants from around the world for scores of expert roles in countries where the UN has a mandate on human rights.
Such experts are often described as the "crown jewels" of the HRC, according to UN Watch.

The "crown jewels" have been handed to a country with one of the worst human rights records in the world. Saudi Arabia will head a Consultative Group of five Ambassadors empowered to select applicants globally for more than seventy seven positions to deal with human rights violations and mandates.

In a spectacular new low for even a UN whose former Secretary General, Kofi Annan, took eighteen months to admit publicly that the 2003 invasion of, bombardment and near destruction of Iraq was illegal, UN Watch points out that the UN has chosen: "a country that has beheaded more people this year than ISIS to be head of a key Human Rights panel ..." (2)

In May, just prior to the appointment, the Saudi government advertised for eight extra executioners to: " ... carry out an increasing number of death sentences, which are usually beheadings, carried out in public" (3)

Seemingly: "no special qualifications are needed." The main function would be executing, but job description: "also involves performing amputations ..."

The advert was posted on the website of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of the Civil Service.

By 15th June this year executions reached one hundred "far exceeding last year's tally and putting (the country) on course for a new record" according to The Independent (15th June.) The paper adds that the Kingdom is set to beat it's own grisly, primitive record of one hundred and ninety two executions in 1995.
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Clipboard

Russian FM Lavrov reveals talking points of Putin's upcoming UN speech

Mikhail Klikushin
Observer
Thu, 24 Sep 2015 18:48 UTC
putin
© MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/AFP/Getty ImagesRussian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) in Dushanbe on September 15, 2015.
On Monday, September 28, Russia President Vladimir Putin is planning a one-day trip to NYC to take part in the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly, exactly ten years after his previous speech there. This time Putin cannot afford to skip the UN Session because of the jubilee character of the meeting. No doubt, his address will be one of the most closely watched by the whole world.

Knowing his reserved demeanor, nobody expects him to bang upon the podium with his shoe, but what will the Russian leader bring to New York?

In an interview on the Russian Sunday Time TV program Putin's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spilled the beans on what his boss would say to the world.

Of course, Putin will be talking about the economic sanctions imposed on his country by the West for Russia's interference in Ukraine's politics. Mr. Lavrov, expressing the position of Putin, said that the West had been "obsessed with sanctions measures, and not only toward Russia... As soon as something doesn't go out according to their [West's] templates - right away they grab the instrument of sanctions," he said, and this might be the Putin's exact future quote.


Comment: Correction: "ostensibly for Russia's interference in Ukraine's politics".


But the sanctions on Russia won't become a major issue of Putin's address.

Comment: On Russia and Syria, see: As Assad pounds ISIS targets, US must rethink Syria strategy

On the refugee crisis: The simple truth: The U.S. caused Europe's refugee crisis

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Cross

Pope Francis on first U.S. visit tours D.C., gives speech discussing immigration and climate change


RT
Thu, 24 Sep 2015 17:58 UTC
Image
© Reuters / Jonathan Ernst
Pope Francis began the first full day of his six-day, three city US tour with a welcoming ceremony at the White House with President Barack Obama. It is the pope's first trip to the United States.

On a bright, breezy Wednesday morning, a crowd of 15,000 ‒ with many more watching on television ‒ gathered in the sunshine on the White House South Lawn to greet the pontiff and listen to what he had to say.

I am deeply grateful for your welcome in the name of all Americans. As the son of an immigrant family, I am happy to be a guest in this country, which was largely built by such families," he said.

He then called on America to build "a society which is truly tolerant and inclusive," and that safeguards the rights of its people and communities, as well as rejecting "every form of unjust discrimination."

"Accepting the urgency, it seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation. When it comes to the care of our 'common home', we are living at a critical moment of history," said the pope, known for his criticism of human behavior as a cause of climate change.

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Attention

US Emergency Broadcast Signal activates live tsunami warning across much of Northeast

Jim Shay
CT Post
Thu, 24 Sep 2015 17:48 UTC
Image
© DESPP Via Twitter
Relax. Connecticut is not going to get hit by a tsunami.

The state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection said a tsunami warning for Connecticut was inadvertently broadcast from the National Weather Service Thursday morning. The alert included Fairfield County, part of Long Island Sound and New Haven, Middlesex and New London counties.

"It was an internal test for the alert that went live," said Scott Devico, spokesman for the department. "The message was sent through the emergency alert system. The first thing we did was make contact with the National Weather Service and was told it was an accident." The department later sent out a tweet letting people know it was a mistake.

Comment: h/t to Sott.net reader TS who described the Emergency Alert Broadcast as follows:
This morning (Sept 24th), there was an interesting false alarm Tsunami warning on the US East coast sent out by the National weather Service of NY. It was actually a test of the Emergency Broadcast System, but it was aired on local news and radio stations as if it was a real Tsunami warning, and only later clarified as a test. It sent quite a few people in New England into a panic. I find it intriguing that this sort of thing happened at the same time the Pope is currently in that same general area and meeting with the President and Congress.
In addition, the 70th anniversary UN General Assembly is kicking off in New York City.

This isn't the first 'faulty test' that has happened in the US in recent years:

31 Mar 2015: U.S. 'emergency broadcast alert' confuses TV viewers nationwide

4 Feb 2013: 'Zombie Apocalypse' hoax message on U.S. Emergency Alert System broadcast on 10 channels across 5 states

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Dollars

Turkey wants to reach $100billion in trade with Russia by 2023


RT
Wed, 23 Sep 2015 17:26 UTC
Image
© Alexei Druzhinin / RIA NovostiSeptember 23, 2015. Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, foreground, and Turkish President Recep Erdogan during a meeting in the Kremlin
Trade between Russia and Turkey is growing despite difficulties in the global economy, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"As you know, our goal is to reach $100 billion. We have set ourselves to reach this level by 2023," said Erdogan at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, dedicated to the opening of the Cathedral Mosque in the Russian capital.

According to Erdogan, today's meeting with Putin is a good opportunity to discuss bilateral cooperation and international issues.

"We are very satisfied with the development of bilateral relations. Our trade and economic relations continue to diversify, investment on both sides also increases," Putin replied.

Comment: If Turkey stops being a puppet to Western interests, they might just reach their goal.

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Rocket

Escalating tensions: Kremlin will apply "counter-measures" in response to planned U.S. nuclear weapons deployment in Germany


RT
Thu, 24 Sep 2015 17:19 UTC
Image
© Alexander Vilf / RIA Novosti
The planned deployment of the latest US nuclear bombs at the Buchel Air Base in Germany would disrupt the strategic balance of forces in Europe and could force a reaction from Russia, President Vladimir Putin's press secretary has stated.

"It may lead to the destruction of the strategic balance in Europe. Therefore it would definitely cause Russia to take corresponding counter-steps and counter-measures in order to restore the strategic balance and parity," Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.

"This is another step and unfortunately it is a very serious step towards increase of tensions on the European continent. Such actions cannot be described as a step towards stronger trust and greater stability," the Russian official added.

The statement was prompted by news this week circulated by the German television channel ZDF, which found out from US budget documents about the US Air Force's plans to bring new B61 nuclear bombs to the Luftwaffe's Buchel Air Base. It currently hosts Tornado multipurpose aircraft that are capable of carrying atomic weapons. Twenty older bombs are stored at the base under a nuclear sharing deal, while it is the only facility in Germany, which has kept nuclear weapons since 2007.

Comment: See also:

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Light Sabers

Pentagon planners can't find one 'war with Russia' scenario in which the U.S. wins


National Security News
Wed, 23 Sep 2015 00:00 UTC
Image
Russian helicopters take part in Center 2015 War Games in central Asia in September 2015, the largest military drills worldwide since the 1970s
A resurgent and aggressive Russia has created new concerns among Pentagon officials, leading them to dust off Cold War-era plans for dealing with Moscow's improved forces. But when war-gaming long-forgotten scenarios under today's conditions, Defense Department planners have made a shocking discovery: The U.S. military routinely comes up on the losing end of any conflict with Russian troops, Foreign Policy (FP) reported Monday.

To be sure, the Pentagon is always generating contingency plans for every possible scenario - from armed confrontation with Iran and North Korea to stopping zombie attacks (not a joke). As FP notes, those plans are then ranked and honed depending on priority and probability. Since the end of the Cold War in 1991, conflict with Russia and former Soviet satellite states dropped off the radar and, for the past two decades, essentially sat on a shelf gathering dust.

Now, however, as Russia becomes more active in Eastern Europe and more aggressive in Ukraine and Syria, Pentagon planners have begun revisiting old Cold War scenarios, according to several officials in the State and Defense departments, FP reported. Specifically, those plans are being updated "to reflect a new, post-Crimea-annexation geopolitical reality in which Russia is no longer a potential partner, but a potential threat," the magazine reported online.

Comment: The fact that the PTB are pursuing these scenarios and evaluating the projected results in the negative, should give them pause to reflect on the diabolical and meddling trajectory of the West and NATO, and the ramifications of a Hell on Earth played out on several continents. Why are they surprised? Restraint does not seem to be the strong suit for the "exceptional," nor will the results of the assessments likely constrain, nay, change the resolve to go to war. As the purse strings and sheeple we have been dumbed down to become, wouldn't now be a fine time (or last chance) to "wake up?" The writing is on the wall.

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Yoda

Putin: ISIS ideology based on lies and perversion of Islam


TASS
Thu, 24 Sep 2015 15:59 UTC
Image
© TASS/Mikhail Metzel
Russian President Vladimir Putin has stressed the need for countering fundamentalism as the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group that perverts Islam is attempting to recruit adepts in Russia.

"The work in this direction [countering fundamentalism] is especially important today when the attempts are made to cynically exploit religious feelings for political goals," the Russian leader said at an opening ceremony for the Grand Mosque in Moscow.

Turkish and Palestinian leaders Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Mahmoud Abbas are also attending the ceremony.

The non-acceptance and condemnation of any manifestations of fundamentalism and radicalism "has become a significant contribution in the fight against nationalism and religious extremism," Putin said.
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Bad Guys

Real Life Run of the "Global Change Game": All Republican presidential candidates are eager for war against Russia

Paul Craig Roberts
Sputnik
Thu, 24 Sep 2015 14:18 UTC
Republican US elections
© AP Photo / Uncredited
It is reckless for Washington to take provocative actions against Russia and to tell Russia that the actions are directed elsewhere. Russia knows full well that the actions are directed against Russia.

Here is Carla Fiorina at the debate describing the way she will lead us to Armageddon. She won't talk to Putin, but she will send him "the message" via military threats:
"Having met Vladimir Putin, I wouldn't talk to him at all. We've talked way too much to him. What I would do, immediately, is begin rebuilding the Sixth Fleet, I would begin rebuilding the missile defense program in Poland, I would conduct regular, aggressive military exercises in the Baltic states. I'd probably send a few thousand more troops into Germany. Vladimir Putin would get the message. <...> Russia is a bad actor, but Vladimir Putin is someone we should not talk to, because the only way he will stop is to sense strength and resolve on the other side, and we have all of that within our control. We could rebuild the Sixth Fleet. I will. We haven't. We could rebuild the missile defense program. We haven't. I will."

Comment:
The Global Change Game

In October of 1994, University of Manitoba psychology professor Bob Altemeyer performed an experiment. After screening participants using a personality survey disguised as an opinion poll, he selected 68 highly authoritarian college students to play a political governance and resource management simulation called the Global Change Game. In this game, each player represents 100 million people in one of nine different regions of the world. Play consists of making decisions about how to deal with various social, economic, and environmental matters. Each player's viability depends on three factors: food, health care, and employment. Lose access to one factor, and you earn a black armband. Earn three black armbands and all the people you represent die. ...

The Global Change Game was originally designed to educate students about various challenges facing the modern world, including population growth, hunger, climate change, international relations, war, and resource distribution. But that day in 1994, Bob Altemeyer used it for a different purpose: to see what would happen in a world populated exclusively by right-wing authoritarians.
What Happened When They Let Loose Right-Wingers In A Simulated Game Of Global Politics?

The Global Change Game is a "sophisticated three-hour simulation of the earth's future" in which decades unfold over the three hours. It is conducted on a basketball-court sized map of the world, where approximately 70 players are distributed across world regions and tasked with selecting leaders and policies.

According to the games' developers, participants "are given tokens representing their real-world resources, and are informed of the problems facing their regions. The players select what their priorities will be, and work within their groups and with their neighbours to achieve the goals which they have set". ...

So what happened when these people ruled the simulated world?

As if we, in Australia, need to ask, although you might be surprised to learn, though, that they didn't give themselves the right to strip people of their citizenship for kicking wheelie bins nor to patrol the streets paramilitary-style stopping anyone who looked like they might need a visa.

What they did do is produce a nuclear holocaust that killed everyone and destroyed the planet. But Altemeyer chalked it up to learning and gave them a second chance.

On their second go, sticking to conventional rather than nuclear weapons, team RWA killed 2.1 billion people over 40 game-years, through war, famine and disease.

The low RWA world, in contrast, remained "entirely peaceful" for the duration. Four hundred million people did die as a result of disease and starvation, but the low RWAs responded with "a great deal of inter regional co-operation" that "eventually produced food, health and jobs for nearly everyone".

In a high RWA world, then, five times as many people, or an extra 1.7 billion, died.
See Also Bob Altemeyer's website: The Authoritarians

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Eye 2

"Assad must go" is another dangerous expression of America's imperial arrogance

Andrew Korybko
Sputnik
Thu, 24 Sep 2015 14:05 UTC
Assad
© Unknown
The US' obsessive insistence that "Assad must go" is the most dangerous expression of American arrogance in years.

White House Press Secretary Joshua Earnest channeled President Obama's famous chant that "Assad must go" when he claimed during a regular press briefing that:
"The international community has decided that it's time for Assad to go. He clearly has lost legitimacy to lead. He has lost the confidence of those citizens of his country — at least the ones that — or I guess I should say particularly the ones that he is using the resources of the military to attack."
The arrogance on display is both stupefying and dangerous. The problem in Syria isn't, nor ever has been, President Assad - it's always been the US' arrogance in dictating demands and then militarily enforcing them after they've been rejected.

Comment: Also see: How Russian influence is eclipsing Washington's in the Middle East

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