Puppet Masters

US deploys first THAAD in Israel just in time for the Knesset election

Sputnik
Tue, 02 Apr 2019 02:46 UTC

A rapid-deployment drill involving the US military and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrapped up on Monday in which they deployed the powerful THAAD missile defense array. The muscle flex comes just a week before a challenging election for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has played up his closeness to Washington on the campaign trail.

A five week-long test of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system in southern Israel concluded Monday. Since March 4, 250 US officers and soldiers, plus 15 Israeli Air Force (IAF) personnel, have trained at the Nevatim Airbase on quickly deploying the missile defense system in Israel.

"The THAAD was deployed in Israel; we did a month of exercises with it. At the end of this month, it will go back to its place, and we will have improved our air defenses," IAF Col. Guy Amosi told The Times of Israel over the phone. "We learned tons."

Comment: See also:
Israel receives US THAAD missile defense system - part of 'joint exercises'

Chinese army arrives in Venezuela just days after the Russian military

al-Masdar News
Tue, 02 Apr 2019 18:12 UTC

A group of Chinese soldiers arrived in Venezuela on Sunday as part of a cooperation program between Beijing and Caracas.

According to reports, more than 120 soldiers from the Chinese People's Liberation Army arrived at Venezuela's Margarita Island to deliver humanitarian aid and military supplies to the government forces.

The arrival of the People's Liberation Army in Venezuela comes just days after the Russian armed forces deployed to the country to install a military helicopter training facility.

Max Blumenthal: 'What kind of a dictatorship is this?' as Venezuelan cops protect coup leader

RT
Mon, 01 Apr 2019 22:59 UTC

US-backed Venezuelan opposition leader, Juan Guaido, came to Caracas seeking to be arrested, but the provocation failed and he ended up being guarded by police from an angry mob, investigative journalist Max Blumenthal told RT.

"It's ironic to see government security forces actually protecting Guaido, a figure who is calling for the government to be toppled and attempting to fragment the security services from within," Blumenthal, editor of the Grayzone Project, said, commenting on the video recently uploaded to social media.

The clip showed people in the working-class neighborhood of El Valle in Caracas hurling insults and trying to make their way to a black SUV, which was reportedly transporting Guaido to a rally. Only the police officers, loyal to President Nicolas Maduro, were there to protect the opposition figure.

"It's also ironic because we constantly hear about Venezuela as some kind of ruthless Communist dictatorship. But here you have a situation that will certainly not be tolerated in the US or other countries, like Russia, China or Germany... What kind of dictatorship is this? Well, apparently it's not a very effective one," the journalist said.

The choice of "El Valle where Maduro's base is" for the opposition gathering was no coincidence, as Guaido came there "because the US wanted him to get arrested to create a provocation," Blumenthal said. The opposition leader wasn't visible in the video, but he said that "the rally actually did take place. Guaido got out of his armored car and very few people attended it."

Comment: Check out this interview with Max Blumenthal on the situation in Venezuela:

Judge orders DOJ to release Comey memos

Ivan Pentchoukov
The Epoch Times
Sun, 31 Mar 2019 00:00 UTC

A federal judge ordered the Department of Justice to hand over memos drafted by former FBI Director James Comey in which he recorded the details of his one-on-one conversations with President Donald Trump.

Judge James Boasberg ruled in favor of CNN, The Daily Caller News Foundation, Judicial Watch, and others in ordering the Justice Department (DOJ) and the FBI to turn over the memos to the court by April 1.

The memos in question include those Comey leaked to a "friend" with the intention of triggering the appointment of a special counsel. At least one of the memos contains classified information, according to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

Comment: See also:

US puppet Juan Guaidó called for protests but nobody showed up

Paul Antonopoulos
RNI
Mon, 01 Apr 2019 00:00 UTC

Co-director of the U.S. activist group Resistance Popular, Kevin Zeese, who visited Venezuela earlier this month with a delegation from his country, said that one of the delegates who remains in the Latin American country is not aware of any manifestation of support to self-proclaimed President Juan Guaidó.

Juan Guaidó, the Venezuelan opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim president of Venezuela, allegedly organized "thousands" of protesters in about 100 places across the country, the Cocuyo Effect portal said on Saturday. Zeese said:

"One of our delegates is in Venezuela and she was trying to go to these protests, and couldn't find them. They seem like no one is showing up for these protests. So, Guaido is losing power as he embraces the United States, as he calls for US troops, as he is tied to this terrorism and the electrical grid attack, he is losing power. And on the other side, [Venezuelan incumbent President Nicolas] Maduro is gaining power."

Juan Guaidó called for mass protests on March 30 earlier this week to prepare for the April 6 active phase of what he called "Operation Tactics" of his Freedom Operation, aimed at ousting Maduro. Guaidó said the opposition had formed aid and freedom committees that would take part in the action, but gave no details of what was planned.

US blocks humanitarian efforts for Iran's flood victims

MEHR News Agency
Tue, 02 Apr 2019 15:13 UTC

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said on Monday the US has banned the financial accounts of Iran Red Crescent, saying that such measure has troubled the relief efforts targeting the victims of the recent water torrents across the country.

"Since all the accounts of Iran Red Crescent have been frozen [by US sanctions], no one can send their financial aid from overseas," Ghasemi added.

Noting that even in the most extreme cases, some banking systems remain unblocked so that the humanitarian aid can be provided to people through institutions such as the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, the official said the United States, in an inhuman and outrageous approach, has blocked the channels that could provide help to the flood-stricken people.

Earlier today, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif slammed the Trump administration for freezing the financial channels, saying that the US is waging "economic terrorism" against the Islamic Republic by impeding humanitarian measures targeting the victims of the natural disasters.

Unprecedented heavy rains have caused floods in various parts of Iran over the past two weeks. Scores of people were killed and injured and a large number were displaced across Iran.

According to Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, devastating floods have hit 400 villages and cities in 15 provinces across the country. So far, 78 roads linking cities and 2,199 roads connecting villages have been blocked by the floods, the minister said, adding that some 84 bridges are destructed in the flood-stricken areas. He added that 141 rivers have burst their banks and some 409 landslides have been reported in the country.

Comment: See also: (videos)
Deadly flash floods strike again in Afghanistan and Iran - now over 80 dead since mid-March

Russian FM slams Washington for sabotaging talks on space disarmament

RT
Tue, 02 Apr 2019 18:02 UTC

Washington has blocked the final report on the prevention of an arms race in space without any reasonable explanation, the Russian Foreign Ministry said as a UN Group of Governmental Experts fails to come up with a joint document.

Experts from 25 states held talks in Geneva in the end of March. Established by the UN General Assembly in 2017, the Group of Governmental Experts was set to lay the basis for a treaty that would ensure peace in space. Little progress, however, was made as the participants were unable to agree on a joint document.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry pinned the blame for the failed talks on the US expert who blocked the final report "without any reasonable explanation." Moscow, however, was not surprised with the dismal outcome.

Such scenario was essentially predictable given the US policy [aimed at] ensuring its one-sided domination in space by any means.

So far, the legal framework for controlling the arms race is restricted to the Outer Space Treaty - a Cold War era document signed in 1967 which prohibits the stationing of weapons of mass destruction in Earth's orbit, on the Moon, or other celestial bodies.

RIP, Russiagate

Aaron Maté
The Nation
Tue, 26 Mar 2019 16:29 UTC

Special counsel Robert Mueller's findings should finally put to rest the "collusion" theory that has consumed the mainstream media and the political class for more than two years. The central question of Mueller's probe was whether there was any conspiracy between candidate Donald Trump and the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin to secure his election over Hillary Clinton in 2016. And after an exhaustive inquiry with sweeping investigative authority, Mueller has answered it: The special counsel's office "did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities."

The outcome is no surprise to those who scrutinized the facts as they emerged. Time and again, the available evidence undermined the case for such a conspiracy. None of the characters presented to us as Russian "agents" or Trump-Kremlin "intermediaries" were shown to be anything of the sort. None of the lies that Trump aides or allies were caught telling pointed us toward the collusion that members of the media and political figures insisted they were hiding. None of the various pillars of Russiagate-the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting; the fanciful assertions of the Steele dossier; the anonymously sourced media claims, such as Trump campaign members' having "repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials"-ever led us to damning evidence. And all of that is likely why Mueller never charged anyone with involvement in (or covering up) a Trump-Russia conspiracy.

Comment: The collapse of the Russiagate narrative should serve as a reckoning, but it won't... at least not for the driving force of 'the resistance'. Remember, the same was said about the fake news campaign of 2016 leading up to the presidential elections. Things have only become worse and it appears this trend will continue on all accounts. That said, collapsing narratives are growing by the day, and the modern 'progressive' agenda is growing quite sick with exposure.

Venezuelan Supreme Court seeks to strip Juan Guaido's immunity

RT
Tue, 02 Apr 2019 17:44 UTC

Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice has urged MPs to strip Juan Guaido of his immunity from prosecution, a move which could lead to criminal charges brought against the US-backed opposition leader and self-declared president.

"[The court] orders to hand a certified copy of this decision to the head of the national Constituent Assembly in order to recall the parliamentary immunity of Juan Gerardo Guaido Marquez," Supreme Court Justice (TSJ) Maikel Moreno announced on Monday, explaining that the opposition leader had violated the January 29 ban on leaving the country.

Guaido, who declared himself interim president in January, visited several Latin American neighbors in an attempt to muster support for regime change in Venezuela.

The opposition leader holds immunity as head of the National Assembly, but stands accused by Caracas of inciting violence and engaging in an illicit financial activity. In February, he travelled to Colombia to lead the so-called US humanitarian aid convoy into Venezuela.

U.S. Supreme Court: Death row inmates not guaranteed 'painless' execution

Lawrence Hurley
Reuters
Tue, 02 Apr 2019 17:08 UTC

The U.S. Constitution does not guarantee a prisoner sentenced to capital punishment "a painless death," a divided Supreme Court said on Monday, paving the way for the execution of a convicted murderer who sought to die by lethal gas rather than lethal injection because of a rare medical condition.

Russell Bucklew, 50, had argued that lethal injection might inflict undue agony by rupturing blood-filled tumors on his face, head, neck and throat caused by a congenital condition called cavernous hemangioma in violation of the Constitution's Eighth Amendment, which bars cruel and unusual punishment.

In a decision that exposed stark divisions among the justices on the death penalty, the court ruled 5-4 that Bucklew had failed to present enough evidence to pursue his request to be executed by lethal gas. The court's five conservatives were in the majority and its four liberals dissented.

New Lt. Governor of Virginia Winsome Sears: "We're going to have safer neighborhoods, safer communities, and our children are going to get a good...

parzival

Bill Gates is going to be the one with the uncertain future,,, * New Lt. Governor of Virginia Winsome Sears: "We're going to have safer...

parzival

The more we hear about adverse affects the more we will merely shrug. It's a catch 22. Is that an asteroid trail in the photo?

sass

Welcome to the new normal. The more sensory exposure we have about such things, the less it is an issue.

sass

more misbehaving phuqqin' jewzskies starring on the sott; speaks for itself

Jibrish

Puppet Masters

US deploys first THAAD in Israel just in time for the Knesset election

Chinese army arrives in Venezuela just days after the Russian military

Max Blumenthal: 'What kind of a dictatorship is this?' as Venezuelan cops protect coup leader

Judge orders DOJ to release Comey memos

US puppet Juan Guaidó called for protests but nobody showed up

US blocks humanitarian efforts for Iran's flood victims

Russian FM slams Washington for sabotaging talks on space disarmament

RIP, Russiagate

Venezuelan Supreme Court seeks to strip Juan Guaido's immunity

U.S. Supreme Court: Death row inmates not guaranteed 'painless' execution

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