Puppet Masters

Post-bromance spat: Trump taunts Macron for country's losses to Germany in both World Wars, low approval ratings and wine policy

RT
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 08:48 UTC

President Trump continued his verbal spat with French leader Emmanuel Macron, taunting the French leader for his country's losses to Germany in two world wars, and suggesting that Europe needs the US as a saviour.

After returning from Armistice Day commemorations in Paris over the weekend, Trump took to Twitter on Monday to savage the US' European allies for failing to meet their defense spending targets and leaving America to foot much of NATO's bill. On Tuesday, the president vented his frustrations again.

"Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia," Trump tweeted.

But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two - How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!

In a radio interview a week before the commemorations in Paris, Macron called for the establishment of an EU army that can defend the continent "without relying only on the United States."

While Macron once enjoyed a close bond with president Trump, the leaders' relationship has soured as of late. In a speech on Sunday, Macron emphatically denounced Trump's brand of nationalism, comparing it to the forces that plunged Europe into conflict in the 20th Century.

Comment: Trump is on a roll, now attacking Macron's approval ratings, disdain for nationalism and wine policy:

Trump then attacked Macron's plummeting approval ratings - likely a result of France's lagging economic performance, ten percent unemployment rate and a series of scandals that have plagued the Élysée Palace. Trump however, decided to get in some jibes by blaming Macrons' distaste for nationalism:

Macron's office has refused to make any comment in response to Trump's tweet salvo...

Czech Republic joins list of countries rejecting UN migration accord

teleSUR
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 17:10 UTC

Several other European Union countries have already rejected or are reconsidering the pact. Both Hungary and Austria have said they will not sign the agreement at an upcoming ceremony, in Morocco, in December.

Early Wednesday, Czech Republic voted to not to sign the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration accord, according to Reuters.

"The Czech Republic has long favored the principle of separating legal and illegal migration," Deputy Prime Minister Richard Brabec stated in a news conference. "That is what the Czech Republic's and other European countries' suggestions aimed for. The final text does not reflect those proposals."

May strong-arms cabinet in emergency meeting, this is the deal - now back me on Brexit

Dan Sabbagh, Daniel Boffey and Jessica Elgot
The Guardian
Tue, 13 Nov 2018 16:53 UTC

© Various
Liam Fox, the trade secretary; the chancellor, Philip Hammond; Matt Hancock, the health secretary; and Andrea Leadsom, leader of the House of Commons, pictured in Downing Street

Theresa May summoned her cabinet to an emergency meeting on Wednesday afternoon to sign off her long awaited final Brexit deal, prompting hard-Brexit Tories to call for senior ministers to stand up and block it.

The critical meeting is the culmination of months of negotiations and will see May's senior ministers consider whether they can personally endorse the agreement that the prime minister has been able to reach.

Ministers were summoned to No 10 in the early evening and some met individually with May or her chief of staff, Gavin Barwell. They were given the chance to read the key documents, although they were not trusted to take any papers home. Further one-on-one meetings were expected to take place on Wednesday.

Comment: Theresa doing some pretty fancy footwork trying to give the appearance of listening to the will of the people while de facto maintaining the status quo with Europe.

Pence ready for all-out Cold War on China if Beijing refuses to bow to all US demands

RT
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 16:42 UTC

Washington expects Beijing to undertake a dramatic change in all of its policies to accommodate US demands and is prepared for prolonged hostilities if it does not, Vice President Mike Pence reportedly said.

The confrontational stance of the Trump administration was described by journalist Josh Rogin in a Washington Post opinion piece. He said Pence outlined it to him during a flight aboard Air Force Two on the VP's Asian trip.

The US wants China to offer concessions on a wide range of grievances, from intellectual property protection to territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Comment: In decades past, the US has been more or less successful in maintaining influence over many Asian countries, but the benefits of such 'relationships' were based in power rather than productivity. China is changing the dynamics in Asia by bringing actual value with the vast projects included under their One Belt One Road initiative. China will not concede to US demands because the US has not and cannot provide any similar value to the East. Beijing understands how the US will respond, and it has created a strong safety net to maintain their course. The US, however, has nothing to fall on for when their influence fails.

Illusion of democracy? If US elections could change anything they wouldn't be held

Neil Clark
RT
Mon, 12 Nov 2018 15:20 UTC

Last week's US midterm elections received saturated media coverage. Why? The reality is that elections in the US don't change much, if anything, because America has a regime and is not a genuine democracy.

The US midterms - and you'd have to have been locked in a wardrobe all week to have avoided hearing about them - reminded me of a great song by the 1980s indie-rock band The Smiths. No, not 'This Charming Man', in reference to Donald Trump, but 'What Difference Does it Make?' Remember that one? It should be played on a loop every time America goes to vote.

Because every couple of years, whenever 'big' elections come along in the US of A, we are treated to the same spectacle. Ordinarily intelligent people making fools of themselves in the belief that the elections are 'tremendously important'. When will they ever learn that the best thing to do on a US election night is to go to bed early with a nice hot water bottle and a good book.

Let's take presidential contests first.

Why the Saudi-led 'Golden Victory' siege of Yemen's Hodeida is taking so long

RT
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 15:48 UTC

Saudi ground forces are too weak to stand up to the Houthis in Yemen, and their allies and proxies all have their own goals in mind - making the capture of the key port of Hodeida a strategic snarl, experts say.

The coalition offensive on Hodeida - a key port and a lifeline for Houthis and civilians alike - is codenamed 'Operation Golden Victory'. Rather telling, considering the vast amounts of money Saudi Arabia bundles into its military. Ironic, too: it would seem that with such massively superior military resources, the coalition should have stamped the Houthi rebels down within days.

Instead, the operation has been dragging on for months. It started in mid-June, then was paused until September for peace talks. Those eventually collapsed, and the fighting resumed. Now, coalition-backed ground forces are moving inside the city after a tense 11-day battle at the approaches. There are running battles in the streets and local hospitals are overflowing with civilians and militants alike; just one day of fighting claimed some 150 lives.

We asked several Middle East experts how, despite the enormous differences in military resources, the battle for Hodeida has become such a mess.

New report says UK government developing 'killer robot' drones though it says it isn't

RT
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 08:47 UTC

The British government has been secretly funding research with a view to developing autonomous 'killer robot' drones, despite making public statements to the contrary, an anti-drone campaign group has claimed.

Drone Wars UK claims that the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is funding research for weapons systems which could make life-or-death decisions without any human input.

In an unsettling new report, the group highlighted the Taranis drone, developed over a decade by BAE Systems and the UK Ministry of Defence. The Taranis can fly, plot its own routes and locate targets autonomously - and has cost a cool £200 million so far.

The year-long study by Drone Wars UK also uncovered multiple similar research and development programs that they say are being funded by the British MoD, despite public denials of any plans to develop the deadly machines.

Trump's Iran policy: What's 'normal' about starving innocent civilians?

Ron Paul
Ron Paul Institute
Mon, 12 Nov 2018 00:00 UTC

It's not often that US Government officials are honest when they talk about our foreign policy. The unprovoked 2003 attack on Iraq was called a "liberation." The 2011 US-led destruction of Libya was a "humanitarian intervention." And so on.

So, in a way, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was refreshingly honest last week when, speaking about newly-imposed US sanctions, he told the BBC that the Iranian leadership "has to make a decision that they want their people to eat." It was an honest admission that new US sanctions are designed to starve Iranians unless the Iranian leadership accepts US demands.

His statement also reveals the lengths to which the neocons are willing to go to get their "regime change" in Iran. Just like then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said it was "worth it" that half a million Iraqi children died because of our sanctions on that country, Pompeo is letting us know that a few million dead Iranians is also "worth it" if the government in Tehran can be overthrown.

The US Secretary of State has demanded that Iran "act like a normal country" or the US would continue its pressure until Iran's economy crumbles. How twisted is US foreign policy that Washington considers it "normal" to impose sanctions specifically designed to make life miserable - or worse - for civilians!

Comment: Ron Paul's last statement is true on many levels - Pompeo and his ilk aren't normal, they are psychopaths. Only those lacking a conscience and any shred of empathy glibly rationalize the brutal and totally unnecessary murder of thousands to achieve their goals.

War crimes: Economic sanctions are essentially medieval sieges designed to starve target populations

With all First World War veterans dead - the 11th of November has become a macabre event glorifying militarism

Adam Garrie
Eurasia Future
Sat, 10 Nov 2018 00:00 UTC

Of all the modern wars that have claimed millions of lives, the First World War was the most tragic as its origins were in futility, its outcomes were universally negative and its veterans experienced a perfect storm of modern weaponry combined with comparatively primitive medical care. Thus, those who died often experienced painful deaths while those who lived often lived with deep physical and psychological wounds for the rest of their lives - the likes of which those who are not veterans could scarcely imagine.

The new political maps of Europe, western Eurasia and the Arab that were carelessly drawn during and after the First World War were not only the proximate cause of the Second World War but remain the underlying cause of multiple contemporary conflicts including those in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, the Israel-Palestine conflict and even the war in Yemen. As the root causes of all of these conflicts were the artificial divides of the Arab world among the imperialists of Britain and France, the victory of the Anglo-French Entente is hardly a cause for celebration - certainly no more than the rise of Hitler or the present bloodbaths on Russia's historic western frontier which equally were and remain a direct result of how the First World War was ended.

And yet speaking personally, when First World War veterans from any side of the War were still alive, the end of the First World War was a cause for reflection and an incredibly sombre and important occasion. The 11th of November was once a day to pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of futility, having done so without being offered a say in the matter. The fault of the First World War lies not among the soldiers but among poor leadership on all sides that sent a generation to an early grave while haunting those who survived.

Comment: See also:

'Scapegoat framed by US & Mexico': El Chapo's lawyer claims real drug lord walks free & bribes govts

RT
Wed, 14 Nov 2018 13:29 UTC

Drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman had been framed by corrupt US and Mexican officials who let his chief lieutenant remain at large to lead the Sinaloa cartel instead, his defense claimed, at the start of the high-profile trial.

Guzman was made a 'scapegoat' by a corrupt Mexican government in an American drug war, so that the true head of the drug empire, Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, can escape justice, defense attorney for the narcotics baron claimed in his opening statement in Federal District Court in Brooklyn.

"[Zambada] has been allowed to operate for the last 55 years because he pays for it," Jeffrey Lichtman told the court in an unexpected start of the hearing. "He bribes the current president of Mexico and for good measure, the previous one as well."

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

Post-bromance spat: Trump taunts Macron for country's losses to Germany in both World Wars, low approval ratings and wine policy

Czech Republic joins list of countries rejecting UN migration accord

May strong-arms cabinet in emergency meeting, this is the deal - now back me on Brexit

Pence ready for all-out Cold War on China if Beijing refuses to bow to all US demands

Illusion of democracy? If US elections could change anything they wouldn't be held

Why the Saudi-led 'Golden Victory' siege of Yemen's Hodeida is taking so long

New report says UK government developing 'killer robot' drones though it says it isn't

Trump's Iran policy: What's 'normal' about starving innocent civilians?

With all First World War veterans dead - the 11th of November has become a macabre event glorifying militarism

'Scapegoat framed by US & Mexico': El Chapo's lawyer claims real drug lord walks free & bribes govts

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