Puppet Masters

Netanyahu: Israeli Navy prepared to 'block' Iranian oil transit

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Thu, 07 Mar 2019 20:05 UTC

Short of last month's incident wherein Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared via Twitter that he's seeking "war with Iran", new comments issued this week represent the most aggressive declaration of how far Israel is willing to go to thwart Iran in the region.

Echoing the Trump administration's desire to bring Iranian exports to zero through sanctions, Netatyahu said on Wednesday that he's considering ordering Israel's Navy to target Iranian oil tankers to prevent them from selling oil abroad. This as a number of other signatories to the P5+1 nuclear deal have vowed to continue buying despite US sanctions and threatened repercussions from Washington.

"Iran is trying to circumvent the sanctions through covert oil smuggling over maritime routes, and to the extent that these attempts widen, the navy will have a more important role in blocking these Iranian actions," Netanyahu said.

Of course what the Israeli prime minister calls "covert oil smuggling" Iran would see simply as its right to conduct valid and legal shipping as a sovereign economic power. But given the tightening economic noose and expansive US naval presence in international waters, Iran has reportedly been switching off location transponders on its ships as well as other measures to conceal its maritime traffic (using "ghost ships" to flout US sanctions), including even altering names of ships or flag registries.

Comment: See also:

Porshenko's warmongering against Russia descends into electioneering hysteria

The Strategic Culture Foundation
Fri, 08 Mar 2019 18:44 UTC

Poroshenko with Ukranian army soldiers

This week the head of Ukrainian armed forces Viktor Muzhenko claimed that Russia was prepping a massive invasion of his country with up to 80,000 troops. Such incendiary claims have been made before by Kiev, only to be proven false over and over.

How is that such a reckless regime is not hauled before an international court for incitement against peace owing to its crazed claims? Of course, because it is patronized by Washington and European allies who are not exactly averse to incitement against peace as can be seen with regard to Venezuela, Syria and countless other countries.

Another twist this week in the tortuous "Russians are coming" scaremongering fable were Ukrainian media claims that eight Russian submarines were spotted in the Azov Sea. Presumably that lurid vignette was intended to amplify public fears of a naval offensive in conjunction with the alleged mass troop invasion from "north, east and south".

Feds gorge themselves on lobster as part of $97bn end-of-fiscal year spending spree - report

RT
Fri, 08 Mar 2019 19:31 UTC

Federal agencies splurged on lobster tail and other gratuitous frills in just one month in a convoluted plot to avoid future budget cuts, a new report claims. The spending orgy has received dozens of 1-star reviews on Twitter.

A jaw-dropping study published by a transparency NGO, OpenTheBooks, found that in the last month of fiscal year 2018 (September), the feds forked out an unfathomable $97 billion on essentials such as sirloin steak, snow crab, lobster tail, golf carts, iPads and of course - lest we forget - bombs. The last-minute shopping spree is part of a mind-melting scheme in which federal agencies spend every last penny they have or risk budget cuts in the future.

The Pentagon was particularly eager to take advantage of the "use it or lose it" fiscal policy, shelling out more than $61 billion over 30 days. More than $20 billion went towards the department's bread and butter - guns, ammunition and bombs - but there was plenty of cash left over for some end-of-the-year treats.

Exposing Israel's covert role in the brewing India-Pakistan conflict

Whitney Webb
MintPress News
Fri, 08 Mar 2019 18:22 UTC

© Sebastian Scheiner/Associated Press
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting at the King David hotel in Jerusalem, July 5, 2017

Well-known British journalist Robert Fisk recently wrote a very telling and troubling article in The Independent regarding the outsized role of the state of Israel in the burgeoning tensions between India and Pakistan, two nuclear powers. The story - despite its importance, given the looming threat of nuclear war between the two countries - was largely overlooked by the international media.

The tit-for-tat attacks exchanged between India and Pakistan last week have seen long-standing tensions between the two countries escalate to dangerous proportions, though Pakistan helped to deescalate the situation somewhat by returning and "saving" an Indian pilot whose plane had been shot down in retaliation for India's bombing of targets in a disputed area administered by Pakistan.

That bombing was retaliation for a car bomb attack launched by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militants, a group that both India and Pakistan recognize as a terrorist organization, against Indian forces. Some analysts have speculated that India's decision to bomb this area was made by Indian President Narendra Modi, a Hindu ethno-nationalist, in order to rally his base ahead of upcoming Indian elections in May.

Comment:

Chelsea Manning sent back to jail for refusing to testify in secret proceedings against Wikileaks

RT
Fri, 08 Mar 2019 17:54 UTC

© Associated Press/Matthew Barakat
Chelsea Manning was ordered to jail Friday, March 8, 2019, for refusing to testify to a Virginia grand jury investigating Wikileaks.

US army whistleblower Chelsea Manning has been taken into custody for contempt of court after refusing to testify in front of a grand jury in what's believed to be the case against WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange.

Manning received a subpoena from the US District Court in January.

She appeared before a grand jury on Wednesday and invoked her First, Fourth and Sixth Amendment rights. She said the questions pertained to her 2010 disclosures of the American military's misconduct, and she had answered those extensively during her 2013 court-martial.

Comment: More from Fox News:

Manning was ordered to jail by U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton after a brief hearing in which Manning confirmed she had no intention of testifying. She told the judge she "will accept whatever you bring upon me."

"These secret proceedings tend to favor the government," Manning told reporters before her hearing, according to The Washington Post. "I'm always willing to explain things publicly."

Manning's lawyers have asked she be confined to her home instead due to the medical complications she faces.

Chelsea Manning was ordered to jail Friday, March 8, 2019, for refusing to testify to a Virginia grand jury investigating Wikileaks. (AP Photo/Matthew Barakat)

The judge, however, concluded U.S. Marshals could appropriately handle her medical care.

Prosecutor Tracy McCormick said Manning can easily end the incarceration on the civil charge by testifying.

Chelsea Manning embodies the integrity sorely needed in the world today. She is willing to return to incarceration despite having already endured seven years of horror, in the course of upholding her principles and defending the right of US citizens to know what their government is doing in their name.

Facebook announces plan to censor anti-vaccination 'misinformation and hoaxes' on its platforms

Soo Youn
ABC News
Thu, 07 Mar 2019 17:47 UTC

facebook thought police, facebook censorship

Facebook is tackling rampant misinformation campaigns about vaccines on its platforms.

The company will both fight the proliferation of false information about vaccines in its News Feed, ads, on Instagram or suggested content. It will also try to provide context and correct information about vaccine safety and public health, Facebook said in a statement released on Thursday.

The announcement comes just two days after Ethan Lindenberger, an Ohio teenager, told a U.S. Senate committee he defied his parents to get vaccinated despite growing up in an anti-vaccine, or "vaccine-hesitant" home.

He told senators on Tuesday that misinformation distributed, particularly on Facebook, puts children at risk.

"Certain individuals and organizations which spread misinformation and instill fear into the public for their own gain selfishly put countless people at risk," Lindenberger said in written testimony.

Comment: Who decides what is "misinformation" about vaccines and information that discusses very real issue of the dangers surrounding vaccines? The fact that Facebook isn't giving any credence to the dangers of vaccines should give everyone pause over how free speech is being handled on social media.

There are plenty of horror stories regarding vaccine injuries:

Assange prosecutors focusing on Chelsea Manning era releases, not DNC dmails

Elizabeth Vos
Disobedient Media
Sun, 25 Nov 2018 17:02 UTC

It seems that the shades have finally been ripped off of the persecution of Julian Assange. Fallen by the wayside is the pretense used to justify his arbitrary detention: allegations of sexual misconduct, of Russian involvement, and of aiding Trump's ascension to the Presidency.

Gone is the pretense that it is not the rabid wolves of the US and UK military state baying, slavering for Assange's blood. Former intelligence assets in the guise of "journalists" openly call for Assange's arrest.

Recent reports have indicated that formerly secret charges pending against Julian Assange will focus on material relating to Chelsea Manning and the earliest releases published by WikiLeaks. Alternatively, on WikiLeaks' Vault7 releases in March 2017 or on the help he and his organisation gave to Edward Snowden to get the NSA whistleblower to safe asylum.

Comment: "In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." -- G. Orwell. Tragically, this is a time of deceit, and Julian Assange is reaping the truth-teller's reward. His bravery in the face of it is inspiring.

PM Khan says no militant groups will be able to attack from Pakistani soil

Asif Shahzad
Reuters
Fri, 08 Mar 2019 17:49 UTC

Imran Khan

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said no militant group would be allowed to operate from Pakistani soil to carry out attacks abroad, days after his government announced a sweeping crackdown against Islamist militant organizations.

Pakistan faces growing international pressure to rein in Islamist groups that carry out attacks in neighboring India.

One such attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Feb. 14, claimed by the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) Pakistan-based group, killed 40 Indian paramilitary police and led to clashes between the nuclear-armed rivals as India retaliated.

Both countries carried out aerial bombing missions last week and even fought a brief dogfight over Kashmir before tensions cooled.

But the United States, Britain, and many other nations are urging Pakistan to act against anti-India militant groups.

Pakistan has a history of using Islamist groups to pursue foreign policy aims in the region, but it has denied Indian accusations it actively supports militants fighting Indian forces in India's part of Muslim-majority Kashmir.

Comment: See also:

Venezuela blames sabotage, US 'electricity war' after major power outages

RT
Fri, 08 Mar 2019 17:45 UTC

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused the US of waging an "electricity war" against the country, as Caracas and other cities were plunged into darkness Thursday night. The government says the incident is likely sabotage.

Thousands of commuters in Caracas had to walk home as a power outage shut down the capital's subway, resulting in massive traffic jams.The lights also went out in the largest airport of Caracas.

People on social media described disruptions in most of the nation's regions and it is unclear how long the blackout will last. The government had to cancel school lessons and suspend the working day on Friday due to the emergency, Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez wrote on Twitter.

Comment: Now we get to see in action the US cyberwarfare 'kill-switch' programs Snowden warned about in 2013...

Trump witch hunt: Judicial Watch uncovers DOJ docs revealing Bruce Ohr was contact for Clinton operative Christopher Steele

Judicial Watch
Thu, 07 Mar 2019 17:36 UTC

Christopher Steele, Bruce Ohr, Glenn Simpson

Judicial Watch announced today it received 339 pages of heavily redacted records from the U.S. Department of Justice which reveal that former Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr remained in regular contact with former British spy and Fusion GPS contractor Christopher Steele after Steele was terminated by the FBI in November 2016 for revealing to the media his position as an FBI confidential informant.

The records show that Ohr served as a go-between for Steele by passing along information to "his colleagues" on matters relating to Steele's activities. Ohr also set up meetings with Steele, regularly talked to him on the telephone and provided him assistance in dealing with situations Steele was confronting with the media.

Judicial Watch obtained the records through a March 2018 Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed after the Justice Department failed to respond a December 2017 request Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:18-cv-00490)). The lawsuit seeks:

All records of contact or communication, including but not limited to emails, text messages, and instant chats between Bruce Ohr and any of the following individuals/entities: former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele; owner of Fusion GPS Glenn Simpson; and any other employees or representatives of Fusion GPS.
All travel requests, authorizations and expense reports for Bruce Ohr.
All calendar entries for Bruce Ohr.

The timeframe for the requested records is January 1, 2015, to December 7, 2017.

.. .. Ernesto Guido, you know much that his hidden! [Link]

Jibrish

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Solare

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rs1

I'm sick of the unjabbed being called "unclean", even when done sarcastically. We are the pristine, uncontaminated ones. The jabbed are...

Steelj

The process of indoctrination was alarmingly simple: first, terrify them out of their wits and then offer just one solution. And unbelievably...

ReRan

Puppet Masters

Netanyahu: Israeli Navy prepared to 'block' Iranian oil transit

Porshenko's warmongering against Russia descends into electioneering hysteria

Feds gorge themselves on lobster as part of $97bn end-of-fiscal year spending spree - report

Exposing Israel's covert role in the brewing India-Pakistan conflict

Chelsea Manning sent back to jail for refusing to testify in secret proceedings against Wikileaks

Facebook announces plan to censor anti-vaccination 'misinformation and hoaxes' on its platforms

Assange prosecutors focusing on Chelsea Manning era releases, not DNC dmails

PM Khan says no militant groups will be able to attack from Pakistani soil

Venezuela blames sabotage, US 'electricity war' after major power outages

Trump witch hunt: Judicial Watch uncovers DOJ docs revealing Bruce Ohr was contact for Clinton operative Christopher Steele

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