Puppet Masters
"We face a widespread slowdown in growth across Europe, and in Italy we are headed for zero growth", Tria told an economic forum in Florence on Sunday.
Italy's central bank and the International Monetary Fund have both estimated that the eurozone's third-largest economy would expand by a meagre 0.6 percent this year, while the European Commission was more pessimistic, pencilling growth of just 0.2 percent.

"Share whatever you want on my platform! Except anything that might infringe ideological boundaries..."
In a seemingly counter-intuitive move, the Facebook CEO has asked governments to step up supervision of tech giants such as his own, and impose sanctions if they refuse to honor stricter rules regarding privacy and political or harmful content.
Investigative journalist Dave Lindorff explained that Zuckerberg isn't motivated by accountability, but rather the desire to keep Facebook intact - and protect the company's bottom line.
Comment: The Free Speech hot potato:
Facebook: "You do the censoring!"
Govt: "No, you do it! We can't be seen to be doing it!"
And so CorpGov collectively worms its way to 'a happy medium'.
The Zuck knows it's evil but will do whatever it takes to keep his eyes on the gold: the mass of data needed to power 'AI innovation' in the new 'data economy'.
Members of the 'Saudi Rapid Intervention Group', which was allegedly sent to the Istanbul Consulate in October 2018 to deal with the self-exiled journalist and critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, underwent training in America as part of a program launched under a State Department license, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius wrote, citing Saudi and US sources.
The CIA reportedly warned other government agencies that the special-operations training the Saudis might have received was conducted by Tier 1 Group, an Arkansas-based company as part of ongoing liaison with the Saudis.
The hit-team's alleged leader, Colonel Maher Mutreb, is said to be the one who received the training. Mutreb reportedly served in London as deputy chief of station between 2002 and 2007, and was later repeatedly sent to the US and elsewhere for training, Ignatius said.
Comment: The West has been providing all kinds of training and support to the Saudi's:
- UK's secret dirty war on Yemen: 5 Special Forces troops wounded while 'advising' Saudi Arabia, alliances with terrorists, child soldiers
- UK govt blasted over RAF training of 102 Saudi pilots who are now bombing civilians in Yemen
- UK secretly training Saudi troops for war on Yemen, 'against Geneva conventions'
- The Murder of Jamal Khashoggi: Oil, Sanctions And The Anti-Trump Establishment
"I thought AOC would be our savior, but that's not the case," complained Roxanne Delgado, a local activist who said she has tried for months to get in touch with the congresswoman for help saving an animal shelter and to clean up parks in the district.
Comment: Salvation sells well, but rarely ever delivers.
Delgado, 40, says she has made numerous calls to Ocasio-Cortez's offices in Washington and Queens and sent a barrage of tweets after the freshman lawmaker encouraged residents during a recent visit to a Bronx public library to hit her up on social media.
But she's heard nothing back.
"NO email or contact on @AOC's page except DC number which has full #voicemail and no one picks up," Delgado tweeted on Monday.
Comment: Being that Ocasio-Cortez didn't actually grow up in the Bronx, it's not at all surprising she doesn't feel the need to connect with her constituents.
See also:
- Uber, living wage, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's economic illiteracy
- AOC's 'Green New Deal': Ideology Masquerading as Realism
- Hypocrite AOC's Washington luxury apartment complex has no affordable housing units for poor people
Ofir Gendelman, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Arab media spokesman, sparked a Twitter storm after he captioned an image with four veiled female protesters in the foreground as "ISIS women also participate today in the Hamas' led riots on the Gaza border."
He then piled on another highly dubious claim: "That's no surprise because Hamas IS the Gazan branch of ISIS."
To understand where this story goes, some background is needed.
In January, the National Enquirer published a special edition that revealed an intimate relationship Bezos was having. He asked me to learn who provided his private texts to the Enquirer, and why. My office quickly identified the person whom the Enquirer had paid as a source: a man named Michael Sanchez, the now-estranged brother of Lauren Sanchez, whom Bezos was dating. What was unusual, very unusual, was how hard AMI people worked to publicly reveal their source's identity. First through strong hints they gave to me, and later through direct statements, AMI practically pinned a "kick me" sign on Michael Sanchez.
The body of 57-year-old Daniel Forestier was found with five bullet wounds, including to the head and heart, in a remote car park near his home on the shores of Lake Geneva in the Alps.
France Bleu radio in Haute-Savoie said Forestier lived in the village of Lucinges, nine miles (15km) from where his body was found, with his wife and two children and had served as a local councillor until he was put under investigation last September.
The public prosecutor said the killing was probably a settling of scores. "There's almost no doubt about it," Philippe Toccanier said. Forestier had been shot five times in the thorax and the head, he added. -The Guardian

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., left, accompanied by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., right (File).
Booker spoke to AIPAC members from New Jersey at the organization's annual policy conference in Washington, D.C., a gathering of thousands of activists from around the country, culminating in a lobbying effort on Capitol Hill. Booker's appearance came at a contentious time; last week, the progressive advocacy group MoveOn called on 2020 candidates to skip the conference, and at least five of the Democrats declined to attend.
Booker's remarks, some of which were first reported by the Jerusalem Post, did not appear on a schedule of on-the-record events for journalists covering the conference. The Intercept obtained a 35-minute audio recording of the session from a conference attendee and is publishing the recording in full here.
Comment: See also:
- Immigration, Crime and Propaganda
- The Scourge of Modern 'Liberalism' in France
- Macron calls for sanctions on EU states that refuse migrants - Italy's Salvini denounces his "arrogance"
- Hungary's Orban orders his intelligence services to go after the "Soros empire"
- The Truth Perspective: Weapons of Mass Migration: Interview with Michael Springmann on Europe's Migrant Crisis
- NewsReal #26: Globalization vs Nationalism - The Hidden Causes of The Yellow Vest Protests in France
- Behind the Headlines: Mass immigration: Wall 'em out of Fortress Europe and the Trump State?
"I have always asked God to protect the people of Venezuela, to give us the strength to go on," Fabiana Rosales said in Spanish. "Today, Venezuela can be a great example for the world, and I know that the results of Venezuela, which we will see very soon, will be an example for the nations of the world never go through what Venezuela is going through today."
Rosales received the key to Miami-Dade county presented by Mayor Carlos Gimenez.
"Let me say as mayor of Miami-Dade County, I'm very familiar with the plight of the Venezuelan people," said Gimenez, explaining how his Cuban roots exposed him to the more negative aspects of socialism, "We stand by the people of Venezuela."
Comment: Then why support a woman whose husband doesn't seem to have the support of said people? This is a pretty pathetic display of political grandstanding. And it will only rally the Venezuelan people behind Maduro.
Rosales recently visited Melania Trump and spoke of her meeting with the United States' first lady, "I am sure that the First Lady admires the Venezuelan women for their bravery."
Comment: See also:
- Venezuela and the half-truths of Noam Chomsky
- Spineless 'journalism': TIME downgrades Venezuela's Maduro to 'authoritarian ruler' in line with US policy
- Lavrov: It's sad to see US diplomacy reduced to ultimatums and sanctions
- Zakharova blasts hypocrites in Washington for projecting their schemes for Venezuela onto Russia
- S-300 defense systems: US admits it cannot militarily attack Venezuela













Comment: Italy's woes are not entirely of their own making. Being under the thumb of the EU, which is essentially the same as being under the thumb of the US, has damaged the country enormously.
- Italy losing a massive €3.5 billion annually thanks to Russian sanctions
- Former PM Matteo Renzi warns Italy is on the brink of becoming 'ungovernable' as anti-Europe feeling rises
- Italy positioning itself to profit from the New Silk Road
- US advice: Italy should steer clear of China's Silk Road because...it's a national security issue?
Being on the frontline of illegal migration routes only makes the problem worse: