Puppet MastersS


War Whore

War rumblings continue: Bibi says Iran is another Nazi Germany

Benjamin Netanyahu
Dangerous rumblings of war continue in the Mideast, the day after Israeli warplanes and surface-to-surface missiles attacked an Iranian military base near Damascus. Suspicion continues that an alliance among Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump and the Saudi Crown Prince, 32-year-old Mohammed bin Salman, plans to widen the conflict and target Iran.

Netanyahu reinforced this fear with a saber-rattling speech to the Saban Forum in Washington, D.C., in which he repeatedly called Iran another Nazi Germany, with a "ruthless commitment to impose tyranny and terror . . . to murdering Jews." The Israeli prime minister spoke by satellite yesterday from his office in Jerusalem to the Forum's yearly conference on the Middle East. He once again denounced the Iran deal, and endorsed Trump's effort to "fix the great flaws" in the agreement.

Comment: What a scumbag. Netanyahu's schemes are so transparent.


Handcuffs

Former Democrat Congresswoman sentenced to five years for ripping off fake children's charity

Former Democratic Rep. Corrine Brown
© Kris Connor/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 25: Representative Corrine Brown(D-FL) speaks during the Stars For Trayvon: A Fundraiser at Shadowroom on April 25, 2012 in Washington, DC.
Former Florida Democratic Rep. Corrine Brown was sentenced to five years in federal prison Monday on number of charges including tax fraud and tax crimes.

A judge sentenced Brown to five years in prison and a 3-year supervised release. Brown will be forced to surrender to authorities sometime after Jan. 8., according to CBS 47.

The jury convicted Brown of stealing money from a fake charity, One Door For Education. The "charity" was supposed to give scholarships to children who could not afford school but instead the Democratic congresswoman used the donations to go on trips and purchase expensive items. She also used the money to host parties.

Comment: 5 years seems like a slap on the wrist considering Brown was facing 18 fraud counts which could have put her behind bars for the rest of her life (maxium 277 years). See Former Florida Democratic Rep Corrine Brown pleads for mercy after being convicted of stealing funds from children's charity, where we read:
Just to let you know how bad Brown really was, more than $800K was deposited into the One Door for Education, the Virginia-based "charitable foundation," but only $1,200 went to charity. Over $200K went to NFL tickets, luxury vacations, plane tickets and lavish events, but she wants mercy and compassion. Give me a break!
...
I don't care about the good she did, that didn't get her in trouble with the law. She's a crook and isn't remotely remorseful for all of her illegal activities. She needs the max so that other politicians understand that if you betray us and have the audacity to even manipulate a charity fund for children, you will be punished.

Five years would be far more lenient than she deserves, but I doubt she will serve even one day behind bars. She knows all too well how to manipulate the system, as she has proven by refusing to admit her guilt or show any remorse. In her mind, she honestly believes she has done no wrong.
See also:


Flashlight

Double standards: Clinton aides went unpunished after making false statements to anti-Trump FBI supervisor

Michael Flynn
© REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstFormer U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn arrives at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., December 1, 2017.
The FBI agent who was fired from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation team for sending anti-Donald Trump text messages conducted the interviews with two Hillary Clinton aides accused of giving false statements about what they knew of the former secretary of state's private email server.

Neither of the Clinton associates, Cheryl Mills and Huma Abedin, faced legal consequences for their misleading statements, which they made in interviews last year with former FBI section chief Peter Strzok.

But another Strzok interview subject was not so lucky.

Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser, pleaded guilty last week to lying during an interview he gave on Jan. 24 to Strzok and another FBI agent. Circa journalist Sara Carter reported on Monday that Strzok took part in that interview with the retired lieutenant general.

Comment: Oh dear. Could it be that all this chasing after Trump people (such as Flynn) will actually come back to haunt Hillary Clinton via Peter Strzok? We can't wait to see what happens next!

Previously:


Headphones

Veteran FBI agent: Trump's attack on the bureau unprecedented

President Donald Trump
© Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump walks before boarding Marine One at the White House on Sept. 29 in Washington.
Over the weekend, President Trump took to Twitter to rant about the Federal Bureau of Investigation and its former director, James Comey. "After years of Comey," the president typed, "with the phony and dishonest Clinton investigation (and MORE), running the FBI, its reputation is in Tatters - worst in history!" This was merely a continuation of the president's attack on the credibility of the Department of Justice and follows the guilty plea of his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn - for lying to the FBI.

To talk about the inner workings of the FBI, and its interactions with presidents and politicians, I spoke by phone with Robert E. Anderson Jr., who served in the bureau for almost 22 years and, by the end of his career, was an executive assistant director in charge of numerous divisions. During the course of our conversation, which has been edited and condensed for clarity, we discussed what's so unique about Trump's behavior, the differences in leadership styles between James Comey and Robert Mueller, and why the latter's case might wrap up sooner than we think.

Comment: See also:


Mr. Potato

Politico touts Chelsea Clinton as possible Senate candidate in Arkansas

chelsea clinton
© ELLE
Go ahead - make my day, Democrats.

I wonder who it was who suggested that a major Politico Magazine story on Chelsea Clinton entitled Clinton Should Run for Cotton's Senate Seat was a good idea? A reasonable guess would be members of the Clinton Machine who know that its days are numbered, now that Hillary Clinton is embarrassing herself with excuses for her loss and angry Sanders supporters feel the injustice of having the nomination stolen from their guy.

The problem is that there is no possible heir other than Chelsea to build on the name recognition inherent in the Clinton Brand, and Chelsea is...well...not exactly racking up successes that would appeal to Arkansas voters. True, she enjoys a spacious $15-million apartment in a trendy part of Manhattan, but she didn't earn the money for it, and her husband, whose last hedge fund was shut down after making bad bets on Greek sovereign debt, lacked the wherewithal. And I am not certain that fashionable New York digs count for much in Arkansas.

Still, the Clinton crowd sees her as glamorous:

Heart - Black

Not our problem: Just 30 out of 650 MPs showed up to emergency debate on "world's biggest humanitarian crisis" in Yemen

yemen
© Mohammed Mohammed/ Global Look Press

The Commons has come under fire after only a small number of MPs showed up at a debate on the "world's biggest humanitarian crisis" in Yemen. Campaigners spoke out against the embarrassingly low turnout at the emergency debate.

The debate on Yemen had been called by Tory MP Andrew Mitchell, the former International Development Secretary last Thursday.

He aimed to discuss Britain's responsibility in the Yemen war given the UK's ongoing arms to Saudi Arabia, which is allegedly using the military equipment as part of its bombing campaign against the Houthi rebels. This proved to be something which was only of interest to 30 out of 650 MPs.

Comment: Yemen risks starvation as western-backed Saudi siege continues


USA

At all levels, US government is the problem

"In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem, government IS the problem."-Ronald Reagan
Whitehouse
© The Daily Beast
Corruption. Graft. Intolerance. Greed. Incompetence. Ineptitude. Militarism. Lawlessness. Ignorance. Brutality. Deceit. Collusion. Corpulence. Bureaucracy. Immorality. Depravity. Censorship. Cruelty. Violence. Mediocrity. Tyranny.

These are the hallmarks of an institution that is rotten through and through.

What you smell is the stench of a dying republic. Our dying republic.

The American experiment in freedom is failing fast.

Through every fault of our own-our apathy, our ignorance, our intolerance, our disinclination to do the hard work of holding government leaders accountable to the rule of law, our inclination to let politics trump longstanding constitutional principles-we have been reduced to this sorry state in which we are little more than shackled inmates in a prison operated for the profit of a corporate elite.

We have been saddled with the wreckage of a government at all levels that no longer represents the citizenry, serves the citizenry, or is accountable to the citizenry.

We're not the masters anymore.

It doesn't matter whether you're talking about the federal government, state governments, or local governing bodies: at all ends of the spectrum and every point in between, a shift has taken place.

"We the people" are not being seen, heard or valued.

We no longer count for much of anything beyond an occasional electoral vote and as a source of income for the government's ever-burgeoning financial needs.

Everything happening at the national level is playing out at the local level, as well: the violence, the militarization, the intolerance, the lopsided governance, and an uneasy awareness that the citizenry have no say in how their communities are being governed.

Bad Guys

CIA chief Pompeo: Saudi Arabia and Israel may set up joint military headquarters "that can basically work together to try to provide stability"

Mike Pompeo
© AFPCentral Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo
CIA Director Mike Pompeo says Saudi Arabia is working directly with Israel on confronting "challenges" in the Middle East, suggesting that the two sides could go as far as setting up "a joint military headquarters."

Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California, Pompeo cited Daesh, Iran and "failed states" as posing a challenge to both Saudi Arabia and Israel, advising the two sides to develop their relationship.

"We've seen them [Saudis] work with the Israelis to push back against terrorism throughout the Middle East, to the extent we can continue to develop those relationships and work alongside them - the [Persian] Gulf states and broader Middle East will likely be more secure," he said.


Comment: Say what?! Who does Pompeo thinks he's kidding here - the Israelis and the Saudis pushing back against terrorism?? Either Pompeo is utterly stupid and clueless, or he's making a great impression for the neocons, thinktankers and intelligence agencies that thrive on some pretty evil geopolitical ambitions. Probably the latter.


"It is incredibly important that in the Middle East, where we have failed states, where you have ISIS, where you have Iran, that we have got to develop a stronger coalition of countries that are willing to work together to confront these challenges," he added.

Comment: See: The Saker: Israel, Saudi Arabia setting preconditions for war with Hezbollah


Pirates

ISIS claims it downed Syrian warplane near Al-Bukamal

Syrian warplane
Members of ISIS have downed a Syrian warplane (apparently L-39) in the outskirts of al-Bukamal, the ISIS-linked news agency Amaq reported.

Furthermore, ISIS have allegedly captured two pilots of the downed warplane near the village of Al-Buq'an.

No photos or videos have been released by Amaq to confirm its claims. The situation remains unclear.

Comment: Further reading:


Snakes in Suits

Dangerous bluster: Netanyahu compares Iran to Nazi Germany in its 'ruthless commitment to murder Jews'

Netanyahu
© ReutersIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister went on another fiery tirade against Iran, comparing the Islamic Republic with Hitler's Germany, claiming both shared the goal to exterminate all Jews.

"Obviously, there are some differences between the Nazi Germany and Islamic Republic of Iran," Benjamin Netanyahu generously allowed, "but both regimes do have two important things in common: one, a ruthless commitment to impose tyranny and terror, and second, a ruthless commitment to murder Jews," he claimed in a video message, filmed for the Saban Forum, a conference on the US policy in the Middle East, that kicked off in Washington on Sunday.


Comment: This is the same event that Jared Kushner recently attended and received accolades from.


The Israeli leader has recently ratcheted up his angry rhetoric towards Iran, repeatedly accusing it of gaining a military foothold in Syria to attack Israel and vowing to "act alone" to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Comment: If Iran were truly "anti-semitic" it probably would have done something about the population of Jews (however small) that live in that Persian country a long time ago. No, Iran isn't genocidal or Jew-hating or anything of the kind. It is, however, quite willing to call truth to pathological power - and make deals with other nations when they're reasonable and mutually beneficial.

See: Alleged Threat of Iranian Nukes is Hysterical Nonsense Because Iran Doesn't Have a Death Wish