Puppet Masters

Comey: Planting undercover operators close to political campaigns 'totally normal'; 'the FBI doesn't spy'

Mike Brest
The Daily Caller
Thu, 09 May 2019 09:46 UTC

Former FBI Director James Comey said it's "totally normal" for the FBI to plant undercover individuals close to political campaigns, during his Thursday town hall on CNN.

A member from the crowd asked Comey if Azra Turk, an asset who posed as Cambridge professor Stefan Halper's assistant to meet with trump aide George Papadopoulos in 2016, should be classified as "spying." Turk's identity was uncovered publicly in a May 2 New York Times report. Comey answered:

"Yeah, I'm not going to comment on a particular investigative step, because that's for the bureau to do, and I'm not in the government any longer, but the FBI doesn't spy to begin with. The FBI investigates. And you got to remember where we were in the end of July 2016. We knew the Russians were engaged in a massive effort to attack our democracy, and then we learn from an allied ambassador that one of President Trump-elect - candidate Trump's advisers had been talking to a Russian representative long before that about dirt they had on Hillary Clinton that the Russians wanted to make available."

Comment: See also:

N. Korea launches new missile, the second weapons test this week

Paul D. Shinkman
US News
Thu, 09 May 2019 00:00 UTC

North Korea on Thursday launched two short-range missiles, marking the second weapons test in less than a week and further straining U.S.-led efforts toward denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

The South Korean joint chiefs of staff announced the launch in a statement, saying the missiles were fired from the northwest city of Kusong and traveled roughly 260 miles to the east. American negotiators are currently in South Korea for discussions on how to break the impasse following two high-level summits between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that failed to secure any lasting changes.

The launch comes less than a week after North Korea fired several short-range missiles on Saturday, the first such weapons test since November 2017. Trump has previously cited North Korea's lull in missile and nuclear tests as evidence that his outreach to the Hermit Kingdom was proving successful.

Comment: See also:
US launched two missile tests right after NK fired its pair of projectiles

Russia supports EU in defying US pressure, maintaining ties with Tehran, continuing joint projects

RT
Thu, 09 May 2019 18:27 UTC

Moscow will see through joint projects with Tehran despite mounting pressure from Washington, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said, urging European countries to maintain ties with Iran and abide by the nuclear deal.

The recent decision of Tehran to suspend some of its obligations under the landmark agreement - officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - is "understandable," given the US' hostile actions against the country, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday. The move is perfectly legal, as the agreement allows the country walk away from some of its obligations if other signees do not stick to the deal.

At the same time Moscow, warned Tehran against making further steps towards scrapping the deal altogether, while urging "other participating countries" - basically, European ones - to fulfill their obligations.

On Wednesday, Iran reduced its obligations under the deal and vowed to take further steps on uranium enrichment in 60 days if the EU does not act to help its banking and oil sectors. The European Union, however, has already branded Tehran's move as an "ultimatum" and promised to "assess Iran's compliance" with the deal.

Comment: See also:

US launched two missile tests right after NK fired its pair of projectiles

RT
Fri, 10 May 2019 15:02 UTC

Just minutes after North Korea fired two short-range missiles, the US launched an intercontinental ballistic missile test, followed by a submarine ballistic missile test. US officials say the timing was coincidental.

The North Korean launch took place at 4:40pm local time from the Sino-ri missile base and the projectiles flew a distance of 260 and 170 miles, South Korean military officials said.

Shortly afterwards, a US Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile was fired from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, and the Air Force reports it flew 4,200 miles into the Pacific. It was the second US missile launch this month, and the fourth this year.

Linda Frost, Deputy, Media Operations of the Air Force Global Strike Command, told Fox News that the close timing of the US and North Korean tests were not related. "It's important to note that our test launch is not a response or reaction to world events," she insisted, adding that launch dates are lined up three to five years in advance.

Comment: See also:
N. Korea launches new missile, the second weapons test this week

Deep State hack Pompeo to meet with Putin in Moscow next week

Tucker Higgins
CNBC
Fri, 10 May 2019 17:35 UTC

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia, next week, according to the State Department.

Pompeo will meet with Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday to discuss "the full range of bilateral and multilateral challenges," the department said in a press release. Pompeo is scheduled to arrive in Moscow on Monday with a diplomatic team.

The two countries are facing tension on a number of fronts around the world, including in Venezuela, Iran and North Korea.

Palestinian FM: Trump's peace effort is not a plan but a condition for surrender

Haaretz
Fri, 10 May 2019 17:25 UTC

A key architect of the long-awaited U.S. plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace lashed out at the UN's "anti-Israel bias" Thursday while urging support for the Trump administration's "vision." The Palestinian foreign minister, however, dismissed the U.S. peace effort, saying all indications are it will be "conditions for surrender."

The speeches by U.S. envoy for international negotiations Jason Greenblatt and top Palestinian diplomat Riad Malki at an informal Security Council meeting ended up focusing on much broader issues than the chosen topic - Israeli settlements at the "core" of the "obstruction of peace."

Greenblatt said it was "surprising and unfair" that Indonesia, Kuwait and South Africa organized the council meeting and condemned Israel's behavior when it "was not even invited to speak at this session." He added that it was "inspiring" to see Israel celebrate its 71st Independence Day on Thursday, calling it "a small brave country" that grew to a "thriving, diverse economically vibrant democracy," the only one in the Mideast.

He called the council's "obsessive" focus on Israeli settlements a "farce," saying settlements aren't keeping Israel and the Palestinians from negotiating peace, and said the council should instead condemn Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad for recently firing hundreds of rockets into Israel from Gaza.

Rudy Giuliani plans Ukraine trip to urge investigation into Clinton election interference

Joe Tacopino
NY Post
Fri, 10 May 2019 17:19 UTC

President Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani is planning a trip to Ukraine in an attempt to encourage the country to investigate actions in the country leading up to the 2016 presidential election, a report said Thursday.

Giuliani told The New York Times that he is going to Kiev to meet with Ukraine's president-elect and urge him to continue a probe into whether Democrats worked with Ukrainian officials to interfere in the election on behalf of Hillary Clinton.

The former mayor also wants the country to find information about Joe Biden's son Hunter and a Ukrainian oligarch.

"We're not meddling in an election, we're meddling in an investigation, which we have a right to do," Giuliani told the Times. "There's nothing illegal about it."

Hasbara on tap: Israel sets up fake Eurovision boycott page to counter BDS campaign

RT
Fri, 10 May 2019 16:47 UTC

Sporting the URL boycotteurovision.net Israel's PR website masquerades as part of a campaign to boycott the Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv, but actually features pro-Israel narrative.

For most people who follow the issue, the acronym 'BDS' refers to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which aims to financially pressure Israel into improving treatment of Palestinians. However, according to a new website promoted via ads on Google, it now stands for how Israel is "beautiful, diverse, sensational."

Despite the deceptive URL and the fact that the page doesn't identify itself as run by the Israeli government, Tel Aviv's PR ministry confirmed to Reuters that they were behind the campaign.

Comment:

Nadler's committee grandstanding, not Barr, deserves to be held in contempt

The Washington Examiner
Thu, 09 May 2019 16:18 UTC

It's just three weeks since House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler subpoenaed the report without redactions, and all its underlying evidence, from special counsel Robert Mueller relating to his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Despite this, Nadler, D-N.Y., and fellow panel Democrats voted 24-16 Wednesday to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress for failing to comply in the blink of an eye with their demand. Never mind that it would have been illegal for Barr to do so. It will be for the full House to decide whether to support the contempt vote, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has said she'll follow the committee's lead.

Democrats took turns grandstanding at the hearing, and simply ignored the fact that it would be against the law for Barr to disseminate some redacted material in Mueller's report. Nor did they acknowledge the mammoth amount of work that would be required to organize and hand over Mueller's mountains of evidence.

Comment: Rep. Jim Jordan had a few things to say about Jerry Nadler's tactics:

China vows to take 'necessary countermeasures' after US tariff hike, stalling talks

RT
Fri, 10 May 2019 15:54 UTC

China plans to take "necessary countermeasures" in response to the US' decision to increase tariffs to 25 percent on $200 billion in Chinese goods, a decision China's Commerce Ministry said it "deeply regrets."

The ministry did not elaborate on what those countermeasures might be, but added in a statement that it hoped the US could come to a mutually satisfactory agreement with China through "cooperation and consultation."

Beijing's statement was made as the increase in tariffs took effect at the turn of midnight on Friday Eastern Time, between two days of desperate talks aimed at rescuing a trade deal that has been in the making for months now.

US President Donald Trump announced the hike on Sunday, accusing China of backtracking on commitments it had made while fleshing out the deal; he later said, "they broke the deal." Chinese officials rushed to the US to continue the negotiations, a move they said proved that they were "serious" about reaching an agreement. None has been forthcoming so far, with the talks in Washington moving into the second day without visible progress.

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Puppet Masters

Comey: Planting undercover operators close to political campaigns 'totally normal'; 'the FBI doesn't spy'

N. Korea launches new missile, the second weapons test this week

Russia supports EU in defying US pressure, maintaining ties with Tehran, continuing joint projects

US launched two missile tests right after NK fired its pair of projectiles

Deep State hack Pompeo to meet with Putin in Moscow next week

Palestinian FM: Trump's peace effort is not a plan but a condition for surrender

Rudy Giuliani plans Ukraine trip to urge investigation into Clinton election interference

Hasbara on tap: Israel sets up fake Eurovision boycott page to counter BDS campaign

Nadler's committee grandstanding, not Barr, deserves to be held in contempt

China vows to take 'necessary countermeasures' after US tariff hike, stalling talks

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