Puppet MastersS


Eye 2

'The Russian threat' or how NATO makes a killing for the U.S. defense industry

Eric Zuesse
Washington's Blog
Sun, 19 Apr 2015 01:42 UTC
Image
On Saturday, April 18th, the Commander of the U.S. Army in Europe, Ben Hodges, told Britain'sTelegraph that "There is a Russian threat," and that "The best insurance we have against a showdown is that NATO stands together."

Ever since the Soviet Union's military alliance, the Warsaw Pact, dissolved in 1991, NATO has expanded eastward to Russia's borders, and now it is preparing to admit yet another nation on Russia's border: Ukraine. This eastward expansion broke (and breaks, since it's continuing) a verbal agreement which had produced the termination of the Warsaw Pact (the Soviet Union's equivalent of America's NATO alliance).

In February 1990, U.S. President George H.W. Bush sent his Secretary of State, James Baker, to Moscow to negotiate with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev an end to the Cold War. According to Jack Matlock, the U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union then, Baker offered Gorbachev the following deal: "Assuming there is no expansion of NATO jurisdiction to the East, not one inch, what would you prefer, a Germany embedded in NATO, or one that can go independently in any direction it chooses."

Comment: In case you've never seen it, watch U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower's farewell address to the nation on January 17, 1961. President Eisenhower, who was also a five star general in the U.S. army and served as Supreme Commander of the allied forces in Europe during WWII, warned the world of exactly what we're seeing today.



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Dollars

Shopping with cash in this state is now illegal

Joseph Salerno
The Crux
Tue, 14 Apr 2015 00:00 UTC
flea market
© viral.buzzYou can be arrested for paying with cash.
With the passage of House Bill 195 into law, the State of Louisiana has banned the use of cash in all transactions involving second-hand goods. State representative Ricky Hardy, a co-author of the bill, claims that the bill targets criminals who traffic in stolen goods. According to Hardy, "It's a mechanism to be used so the police department has something to go on and have a lead."

The bill prohibits cash transactions by "second-hand dealers," defined to include garage sales, flea markets, resellers of specialty items, and even non-profit resellers like Goodwill. Curiously, it specifically exempts pawnbrokers from the ban. But of course, pawn shops - and not rented stalls at local church flea markets - are notorious as places that criminals frequent to convert stolen goods into quick cash. So what gives?

Are the authors of the bill and those who voted for it ignoramuses - or are they deliberately obscuring the real purpose of the bill? The answer is clear once we examine the other provisions of the bill. The bill goes far beyond banning cash transactions.

As lawyer Thad Ackel notes, the bill requires second-hand dealers to turn over a valuable business asset, namely, their business' proprietary client information. For every transaction, a second-hand dealer must obtain the seller's personal information such as their name, address, driver's license number, and the license plate number of the vehicle in which the goods were delivered.

They must also make a detailed description of the item(s) purchased and submit this with the personal identification information of every transaction to the local policing authorities through electronic daily reports.

If a seller cannot or refuses to produce to the second-hand dealer any of the required forms of identification, the second-hand dealer is prohibited from completing the transaction.

Comment: Cash - maybe the last bastion of anonymity! What better way to shut down an economy, than to make new and invasive rules about how to accomplish a transaction, be worried about whether you are being monitored privately or on a national/international scale, and tracked as to what you purchase. (This bill was passed in 2011!) What is even worse is the $5000 bank withdrawal-triggers that allow the police to seize your funds and place you under investigation. Tellers have become the inquisitors. And, the smartphone personal tracking device and payment scheme (phasing out/outlawing cash/check/credit card sales thanks to POTUS) become mandatory in October 2015. Don't phone home.

Over in France, Finance Minister Michel Sapin hailed the introduction of measures set to come into force in September which will restrict French citizens from making cash payments over 1,000 euros. The new regulations, introduced in the name of fighting terrorism, will also see cash deposits of over 10,000 euros during a single month reported to anti-fraud authorities. Meanwhile, in the UK, HSBC is now interrogating its account holders on how they earn and spend their money as well as restricting large cash withdrawals for customers from £5000 upwards. Back in America, purchasing Amtrak train tickets with cash is being treated as a suspicious activity as part of a number of behaviors that are "indicative of criminal activity".

See also:
Department of Justice wants banks to call the police on anyone who withdraws more than $5,000
Feds urge banks to call the cops on customers who withdraw $5000 or more

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SOTT Logo Radio

SOTT Focus: Behind the Headlines: Hidden History - 70th Anniversary of World War Two


Sott.net
Sun, 19 Apr 2015 18:00 UTC
Sott Talk Radio logo
In a couple of weeks' time, commemorative events will be held in Russia and Europe to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of 'the Second World War'. Barely 20 years following 'the Great War (to end all wars)', World War II, or the 'Great Patriotic War' as it's known in Russia and the former Soviet Republics, left some 80 million people dead (including civilians who died as a result of war-related disease and famine). The largest number of casualties suffered by any one country was Russia, with some 30 million deaths.

Since then, children in Western countries have been taught that a US and UK-led coalition defeated the Nazis (and Imperial Japan) to save the world from fascism and secure a better world for all. But is this the whole story? Was the sudden emergence of a post-war geopolitical balance-of-power that transformed the USSR from ally to enemy - and the US from 'reluctant participant' to global superpower - merely an accident of fate? As we try to understand the current global chaos, we need to ask; what crucial details and context have been excised from the history books?

Today on Behind the Headlines, we look back at this mass outbreak of insanity to explore its causes, historical comparisons, and consequences. We're live this Sunday, April 19th 2015, from 2-4pm EST / 11am-1pm PST / 7-9pm UTC / 8-10pm CET

Running Time: 01:50:00

Download: MP3

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Book 2

The Anthrax coverup exposed

Paul Craig Roberts
paulcraigroberts.org
Sat, 18 Apr 2015 19:33 UTC
Image
© amazon.com
Graeme MacQueen's 2014 book, The 2001 Anthrax Deception: The Case for a Domestic Conspiracy, has been vindicated by the head of the FBI's Anthrax Investigation.

Four and one-half months ago I posted a review of MacQueen's book. The hired government apologists, the despicable presstitute media, and the usual gullible patriots greeted the book with screams of "conspiracy theory." In fact, MacQueen's book was a carefully researched project that established that there indeed was a conspiracy - a conspiracy inside the government.

MacQueen's conclusion stands vindicated by Richard Lambert, the agent in charge of the FBI anthrax investigation who has turned whistleblower.

Comment: Agent in charge of FBI anthrax investigation blows whistle, claims whole thing was a scam

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Control Panel

Global metamorphosis: Eurasia as we (and the U.S.) knew it is dead

Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
Sat, 18 Apr 2015 00:00 UTC
Zbigniew Brzezinski Game Revealed
© Unknown
Move over, Cold War 2.0. The real story, now and for the foreseeable future, in its myriad declinations, and of course, ruling out too many bumps in the road, is a new, integrated Eurasia forging ahead.

China's immensely ambitious New Silk Road project will keep intersecting with the Russia-led Eurasia Economic Union (EEC). And that will be the day when the EU wakes up and finds a booming trade/commerce axis stretching from St. Petersburg to Shanghai. It's always pertinent to remember that Vladimir Putin sold a similar, and even more encompassing, vision in Germany a few years ago - stretching from Lisbon to Vladivostok.

It will take time - and troubled times. But Eurasia's radical face lift is inexorable. This implies an exceptionalist dream - the U.S. as Eurasia hegemon, something that still looked feasible at the turn of the millennium - fast dissolving right before anyone's eyes.
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War Whore

More Hillary cronyism revealed: Cisco and the Clinton Foundation

Mike Krieger
Liberty Blitzkrieg blog
Fri, 17 Apr 2015 16:13 UTC
Image
In her 2014 memoir "Hard Choices," Clinton reiterated her support for human-rights advocates in China. She specifically criticized the Great Firewall, writing that after she made comments about the right to dissent in China in 2011, "censors went right to work erasing mentions of my message from the Internet."

But the issue of Chinese repression — and Cisco's role — was already known by then. In 2009, weeks after Clinton's State Department had named Cisco a finalist for the secretary of state's Awards for Corporate Excellence (ACE), a report from the Electronic Freedom Foundation noted "Cisco's deep involvement" in building the Chinese government's censorship system. The report pointed out that "Cisco engineers gave a presentation acknowledging the repressive uses for their technology."

Daniel Wade, an attorney who represented Chinese dissidents in a lawsuit against Cisco, told IBTimes that "Cisco knew full well that its products were going to be used to suppress and facilitate the torture of democracy activists."

"Crony capitalism has defined Clinton's career, from her tenure on the board of Walmart, to the Wall Street execs whom she surrounded herself with at the State Department, to her allegiance to Cisco, even as it violated principles on which she staked her tenure," said David Segal, executive director of the Internet freedom advocacy group Demand Progress.

- From the International Business Times article: Hillary Clinton, Cisco And China: Company Funded Foundation, Was Lauded By Clinton Despite Role In Repression.
As many suspected, it turns out that the Clinton Foundation is indeed a tepid cesspool of crony corporate and government donations used to buy influence at the highest levels of Washington D.C. This shouldn't surprise anyone paying attention, but it will hopefully wake up some Democrats still buying into the deep rooted myth of Hillary Clinton.

Comment: A lot of accusations are flying around in this article but one thing is clear, it's all about money and capitalism for which Hillary clearly advocates above all else. She clearly has no scruples where human rights are concerned.

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Stormtrooper

Caught on tape: National Guard troops patrol California city, conduct New Jersey 'Homeland response drill'

Tyler Durden
Zerohedge
Sat, 18 Apr 2015 14:20 UTC
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Late last week, when we covered the various signs that "something big" may be coming, we discussed the one "exercise that people have really been buzzing about" - operation Jade Helm, an "unconventional warfare exercise" during which the states Texas and Utah will be designated as hostile territory.

As previously profiled, "Jade Helm is a challenging eight-week joint military and Interagency (IA) Unconventional Warfare (UW) exercise conducted throughout Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado," according to an unclassified military document announcing the training drill, which runs from July 15 through September 15.

Multiple branches of the US military, including Green Berets, Navy Seals, and the 82nd Airborne Division, will participate in the 8-week long exercise, which may result in "increased aircraft in the area at night."

Troops will be tasked with honing advanced skills in "large areas of undeveloped land with low population densities," and will work alongside "civilians to gain their trust and an understanding of the issues."

The exercise, in which some participants will be "wearing civilian clothes and driving civilian vehicles," lists Texas and Utah as "hostile" territory.

Comment: It seems plans are well underway in preparation for an economic collapse and possibly natural catastrophes.

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Eye 2

Where is the outrage? Chemical weapons used by Saudi Arabia kill scores of Yemen civilians


Sputnik
Sun, 19 Apr 2015 12:55 UTC
Image
© AP Photo/ Hani Mohammed
Saudi warplanes used toxic gas during Saturday's strikes on markets and civilian areas in Sa'ada, leaving a number of people injured and dead, Iranian media reported.

Yemeni locals said that the Saudi warplanes used prohibited weapons in their airstrikes on the Fag Attan area in Southern Sana'a on Friday.

Those who were injured during the attacks said they have been suffering from suffocation, nausea and diarrhea since the start of the attacks.

The Saudi Arabia led coalition has been attacking Yemen for 24 days now to restore power to President Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led operation has so far killed over 2655 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children. The attacks have also left thousands of people injured.

Comment: This is completely unconscionable and despicable. Clearly military targets were not chosen but instead civilians. Absolutely disgusting behavior! Where is the outcry like the accusations of Saddam Hussein and Bashar al-Assad?

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Briefcase

The hijacking of the Bank of Canada and the "case" efforts to return it to the people

Murray Dobbin
The Tyee
Fri, 17 Apr 2015 03:07 UTC
Canadians have been fleeced for billions, but no traction in media for complex banking case.

Bank of Canada
© d. neuman.The Bank of Canada became a public institution in 1938.
"Once a nation parts with the control of its currency and credit, it matters not who makes the nation's laws. Usury, once in control, will wreck any nation." -- William Lyon Mackenzie King, prime minister of Canada, 1935
You know the old aphorism -- "If a tree falls in the forest...?" Well, how about this one: If citizens win a significant victory in court against an autocratic government involving the fleecing of Canadians of billions of their hard-earned tax dollars and no one in the media actually covers it, did it really happen?
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Stock Down

Russia will not give consent to restructuring Ukraine's $3 billion debt - finance minister


TASS
Thu, 16 Apr 2015 01:49 UTC
Ukraine gas debt Russia
© TASS/Dmitry Astakhov Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov
"We'll be waiting for Ukraine to fulfill its obligations," said Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov

Russia will not give its consent to restructuring Ukraine's $3 billion debt, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told reports in response to a request to comment on the remarks by his Ukrainian counterpart Natalya Yaresko who said that restructuring Ukraine's Eurobonds worth $3 billion related to the London Club mechanisms.

"We won't give out consent to any restructuring. We'll be waiting for Ukraine to fulfill its obligations," he said.

If Kiev fails to honor its commitments, Russia will go to court. "We'll apply to the court of arbitration in accordance with the U.K. laws, the way it was stipulated in case of default or non-fulfillment of Ukraine's obligations towards Russia," Siluanov said. He added that the conclusions to this effect could be made in December, when Ukraine was due to repay the loan.

Ukraine received $17.5 billion from the International Monetary Fund in February. Under the agreement, Kiev must restructure its $15.3 billion debt to private investors. Russia is not planning to take part in the restructuring program and expects Ukraine's debt to be repaid in December 2015.

Comment: Russia has shown Ukraine tremendous patience out of consideration for the suffering of its citizens.

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