Puppet MastersS


Che Guevara

Varoufakis attacks Tsipras, advises Corbyn: 'The systemic media will try to tear you apart'


RT
Thu, 17 Sep 2015 03:12 UTC
Varoufakis
© Justin Tallis / AFP Former Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, speaks at a meeting of The Peoples Assembly in London.
Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis unleashed a fresh attack on his former allies in the Syriza party, days before it faces a tough battle in an early national election.

"I am not part of Syriza any more. I do not have what it takes to support my own party," Varoufakis told RT's Afshin Rattansi in a wide-ranging sit-down interview for his Going Underground program. "They surrendered to an illogical logic, they surrendered to going along with and extending the crisis - something I have fought against for five years."

Two polls released on Wednesday, ahead of Sunday's vote, showed Syriza just behind and just ahead of the conservative New Democracy party. The party that comes first in the elections called by Prime Minister Alexi Tsipras last month, will get additional seats in parliament, and the first shot at forming a coalition.

Varoufakis reserved most of his scorn for Tsipras, who won a popular referendum to reject an EU bailout in July, only to accept an €86 billion ($97 billion) rescue package in the following months, which entailed greater concessions from Athens.

"To hear my friend and comrade Alexis Tsipras admit this is a terrible package, but say that we can implement it a little better than the others, makes me pull back and make me say that this is not a path I am prepared to walk with you," said Varoufakis, who resigned weeks before the bailout was negotiated.

Comment: Corbyn's election was welcomed as a message of hope in all the hearts of peace-loving people, who oppose the US banker psychopaths spreading their Freedom & Democracy War-Plague, Chaos and Destruction around the world.

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Yoda

Here's why Putinism will survive Putin

Walter Laqueur
Politico Magazine
Sun, 13 Sep 2015 00:00 UTC
Putin
© www.cnn.comPresident Vladimir Putin
As the Ukraine crisis settles into what appears to be a long stalemate, perhaps it is time to consider the future of Russian recalcitrance to the West—and who and what may follow in the footsteps of the main author of this recalcitrance, Vladimir Putin. Russia plainly needed someone like Putin as this point in its history. But did it also need Putinism? Will it in the future? Will the autocratic, state-centered ideology that Russian's leader has come to represent survive the man?

I believe there is a good chance that it will. Coming out of the failure of the Soviet Union, Russia needed a new feeling of mission, a new Russian idea. This is what Putin delivered. Though there is no elaborate Putinist ideology, a document prepared by a think tank established by the Russian politician German Gref in 1999, just prior to Gref's appointment as minister for economic development, and approved by Putin, constituted a platform for Putin's election campaigns. The document said that Russia was passing through the greatest crisis in its history and that all its resources, political, economic, and moral, would have to be enlisted so that a united country will be able to overcome it. The country needed solidarity and above all gosudarstvenost, or strong state power.

This need is not going away. Contrary to the beliefs of those who subscribe to the idea of an "End of History" in which liberal democracy becomes the common form of government throughout the world, Russians feel the need for strong state power more than many other countries. At the core of the Russian character is a belief that, without discipline, people would not work and nothing would function, and only government authority can enforce this discipline. Given the basic anarchic inclination of the people, but for a strong state power, the country would fall apart. Beyond that Russians tend to believe that Russia can exist only as a great power to fulfill its historic, God-given mission, and a democratic Russia would not be strong enough to attain great power status. This is at the root of the weakness of every democratic movement in Russia throughout history.

Comment: Mr. Putin's leadership has transcended the pitfalls of a compromised Russia and has created the way for a beneficial turn-around politically, economically and in the eyes and hearts of the Russian people. Equally important is his wisdom and steady presence, a counterbalance to the chaos and horror unravelling in the world.

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Health

'Virtual silence' on civilian casualties in Yemeni conflict condemned by UN


RT
Wed, 16 Sep 2015 05:12 UTC
Yemen
© www.telesurtv.netFighting escalates in Yemen.
UN officials have openly criticized the "the virtual silence" with regards to civilian suffering in the Yemeni conflict from the world community, warning that unless violence on the ground is stopped via political compromise more people will suffer.

Adama Dieng, the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, and Jennifer Welsh, the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, "expressed concern at the ever increasing impact on civilians of the ongoing conflict in Yemen, and the virtual silence of the international community about the threat to populations."

The joint statement by the senior officials comes a day after the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein told the UN Human Rights Council that over 2,000 civilians have been killed in Yemen. Since the conflict escalated in late March, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has documented some 6,631 civilian casualties, including 2,112 civilian deaths, and 4,519 injuries.


Comment: The UN has categorized the situation in Yemen as a level-three humanitarian emergency with 21M in need of assistance, 13M of which require food supplies.

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TV

Mike Huckabee: Syrian refugees just looking for 'cable TV', not fleeing tyranny

Travis Gettys
RawStory
Wed, 16 Sep 2015 20:16 UTC
Mike Huckabee
© CBS News
Mike Huckabee thinks it's "judicial tyranny" to order a county clerk to follow a court ruling that extends marriage equality rights to same-sex couples, but he's not sure Syrians are fleeing the brutal "tyranny" of Islamic State militants.

The former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate accused Syrian refugees of having "nefarious" or perhaps merely trivial reasons for fleeing the civil war that has devastated their home country, reported the Washington Post.

"Are they really escaping tyranny, are they escaping poverty, or are they really just coming because we've got cable TV?" Huckabee asked Monday during an event at the conservative Eagle Forum. "I don't meant to be trite. I'm just saying, we don't know."

Comment: "No moral obligation"!? There's always a moral obligation to help those that are suffering, and that Huckabee thinks America is exempt from this responsibility, especially in this case, shows both his ignorance and his heartlessness.

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Vader

A 'puppet of imperialist powers': New shadow chancellor's verdict on the UN


RT
Tue, 15 Sep 2015 14:45 UTC
McDonnell
© www.dailymail.co.ukShadow Chancellor John McDonnell
Newly appointed shadow chancellor John McDonnell once called the United Nations a "puppet of imperialist powers" at an anti-war rally in 2007, according to reports in the British media.

McDonnell also used his speech at the rally to pledge his support for a Ministry of Peace, which would replace the Ministry of Defence and focus on the UK's work on international security, the International Business Times UK reports.

He said he had spoken to the former US Democrat congressman on the "Departments of Peace" initiative.

"People thought this was George Orwell or something. What we wanted to do is no longer have ministries of war or ministries of defense, but to have ministries of peace so that our government and the US government signs up to becoming peace makers in the world, rather than warmongers as they are at the present," he said.

"We want to also take forward the debate on world governance - how we transform the UN from being a puppet of imperialist powers into a democratic organization that represents the world's people," he added.


Comment: The Conservatives have said Corbyn would present a "serious threat" to the UK's national security...isn't that a threat to Corbyn's security? John McDonnell...a breath of fresh air!

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Cut

Germany's solution to cut funds to put 'pressure' on EU states that reject refugee quotas


RT
Tue, 15 Sep 2015 16:30 UTC
Maiziere
© www.spiegel.deGerman Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere endorsed the idea of cutting funds to those European Union member-states that refuse to accept binding refugee relocation quotas, as a means of exerting pressure.

Thomas de Maiziere expressed his disappointment and sharply criticized the actions of Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania as well as the Baltic states after the emergency meeting of the European interior ministers in Brussels. On Monday, those states' disapproval resulted in the failure of the plan to distribute 120,000 refugees across the EU.

"Some states apparently believe they bear no responsibility and are under no obligation to participate in the joint response to the current great challenge," de Maiziere told the German television network ZDF. He called their tactic at the meeting "opportunistic behavior of the minority" and suggested measures to put pressure on them.

EU refugees
© www.bbc.comMediterranean migrant crisis.
"The negotiations situation is such that nothing happens to countries which refuse. We need to talk about ways of exerting pressure. These are often countries that receive a lot of structural funds from the European Union," Thomas de Maiziere in an interview to ZDF.

He also emphasized that he agreed with the suggestion of the European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, who proposed that "we should look at whether these countries [that refuse quotas] should get less structural funds."

Comment: See also: Europe taking a page from US handbook: 'Migrant' problem? Close the borders!

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Propaganda

In an act of Western styled 'freedom', Porosheko bans dozens of journalists from Ukraine


RT
Thu, 17 Sep 2015 02:20 UTC
Petro Poroshenko
© Mykola Lazarenko / ReutersUkrainian President Petro Poroshenko
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree on Wednesday, introducing sanctions against hundreds of individuals and legal entities. The list includes dozens of journalists, among them employees of the BBC, El Pais, Die Zeit and RT's Ruptly.

Nearly 400 individuals from France, Greece, Israel, Spain, Italy, USA, Russia, Poland, Switzerland, Germany, the UK and several other countries have found themselves under sanctions introduced by the Ukrainian leader, a decree published on the Ukrainian presidential website stated.

Over one hundred legal entities are also on the new sanctions list, which introduces travel and financial restrictions, among others, starting from Wednesday for the period of one year.

Surprisingly, the sanctions apply to a several journalists working for Western media as well as Russian. At least three BBC employees can be found on the list, along with journalists from Spain's El Pais, Germany's Die Zeit and RT's Ruptly video agency.
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Boat

Le Pen compares migrant surge to barbarian invasion of Rome


RT
Tue, 15 Sep 2015 20:48 UTC
Le Pen
© www.rt.comFrance's National Front party leader Marine Le Pen vocal on refugee crisis.
French presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen has compared the surge in asylum seekers coming into Europe to the invasion of Rome by barbarians. The nationalist politician previously landed in hot water when she drew parallels between Muslims in Europe and a Nazi invasion.

"Without any action, this migratory influx will be like the barbarian invasion of the IV century, and the consequences will be the same," the Front National (FN) leader told supporters during a rally ahead of December's regional elections in Arpajon, a suburban town in southern Île-de-France, the region that includes Paris.

"We must immediately stop this madness to safeguard our social pact, freedom and identity."

Over 1 million asylum seekers are expected to arrive in Europe by the end of this year, more than twice as many as last year.

Le Pen blamed both of the mainstream coalitions, former president Nicolas Sarkozy's center-right UMP, and current leader Francois Hollande's Socialist party for what she called "only the first wave of coming migrants."

Comment: Empathy? Sounds like she's going for the votes.

See also: Syrian refugees in Europe, regime change in Damascus, and the mass migrations still to come

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Mr. Potato

US Fighting ISIS? Hardly. Only '4 or 5' US-trained rebels are fighting in Syria despite multiple millions spent


RT
Wed, 16 Sep 2015 21:27 UTC
U.S rebel training
© Khalil Ashawi / ReutersRebel fighters fire mortar shells at the frontline in the Jabal al-Akrad area in Syria's northwestern Latakia province.
Only four or five US-trained Syrian rebels are still fighting in the war-torn nation, a top US general told Congress on Wednesday. He acknowledged that Washington's training program is behind schedule, and that the military's targets will not be met on time.

When asked how many US-trained forces were fighting in Syria, General Lloyd Austin, who leads the US military's Central Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee: "The ones that are in the fight, we're talking four or five."

He added that Washington will not reach its goal of training 5,000 Syrian fighters anytime soon. The US had originally aimed to have a force of 5,400 by December, to take on Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Iraq and Syria.

However, Austin downplayed the significance of the numbers, stressing that the program is "designed to be a complement to all the other things that we're doing." He also said he expects the number of fighters to grow over time.

But the numbers of fighters in training is also small, according to Christine Wormuth, the under secretary of defense for policy. She told Congress that only 100-120 people are currently in the program.

"This number is much smaller than we hoped for at this point, partly because we put our volunteers through a very vigorous screening process to meet standards very appropriately set by US Law."

She added, however, that additional recruits are "in the pipeline."

During the panel, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ga.) called the program a "total failure," adding that it's "way past time to react to that failure."

Comment: One might almost think the US was supporting ISIS.

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Megaphone

Russian UN envoy: Rise of ISIS should be blamed on American occupation


RT
Wed, 16 Sep 2015 22:51 UTC
Image
© Brendan McDermid / ReutersRussia's Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin
Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, dismissed the US claims accusing Bashar Assad's regime for the rise of Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL). Islamic State's rise goes back to the US-led intervention in Iraq, he said.

"ISIS appeared and became active in Iraq when the militants began storming Baghdad ... So, Islamic State ripened in Iraq during the U.S. occupation ... the American occupation should be blamed for the rise of ISIS," Vitaly Churkin said in a TV interview to the Russian news agency Rossiya Segodnya.

He also added that it was time to "start creating an international coalition to fight ISIS, which is what President Putin's proposing," referring to the Russian president's speech at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on Tuesday.

"Russia, as you know, has proposed to form a wide coalition to fight extremists without any delay. It should unite everyone who is ready and is already contributing to tackling terrorism," Putin said at the CSTO summit speaking about the Islamic State threat.
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