Welcome to Sott.net
Tue, 26 Oct 2021
The World for People who Think

Puppet Masters
Map

Black Cat

Bellingcat shill Eliot Higgins in Twitter meltdown after being accused of 'STEALING' Assange's quote describing WikiLeaks for own book


RT
Tue, 04 Aug 2020 17:45 UTC
bellingcat wikileaks eliot higgins
© WikiLeaks/Twitter
There's evidently only room for one "people's intelligence agency," as Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins demonstrated in a recent twitter tirade against WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange, over the descriptor.

A new book by Higgins on Bellingcat bills the organization as an "intelligence agency for the people." Which 'people' he means is up for debate, given that Bellingcat is partially funded by the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and spends a good deal of that money smearing anti-establishment candidates, accusing Russian media of stoking race riots and shooting down airplanes, and drumming up support for war in Syria.

The slogan "an intelligence agency for the people" was first coined by WikiLeaks founder Assange, whose own investigative work has seen him jailed in the UK and facing extradition to the US on espionage charges. In a tweet namechecking Bellingcat on Tuesday, WikiLeaks said that while it is "great to see others adopting 'intelligence agency of the people' to describe themselves...not all measure up."

Comment: If Eliot Higgins had a scrap of sense, he would sit down. He is up to his eyeballs in spooks and every egotistical outburst brings that fact to light even more. His psy-op organization Bellingcat has close relations with intelligence agencies on both sides of the Atlantic.

      Read More...
Alarm Clock

Trump gives Microsoft 45 days to clinch TikTok deal

Greg Roumeliotis, Echo Wang and Matt Spetalnick
Yahoo Finance
Sun, 02 Aug 2020 18:02 UTC
bytedance

People walk past a logo of Bytedance, which owns short video app TikTok, at its office in Beijing
President Donald Trump only agreed to allow Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> to negotiate the acquisition of popular short-video app TikTok if it could secure a deal in 45 days, three people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

The move represents an about-face for Trump and prompted the U.S. tech giant to declare its interest in the blockbuster social media deal that could further inflame U.S.-China relations. Trump said on Friday he was planning to ban TikTok amid concerns that its Chinese ownership represents a national security risk because of the personal data it handles.

The proposed acquisition of TikTok, which boasts 100 millions U.S. users, would offer Microsoft a rare opportunity to become a major competitor to social media giants such as Facebook Inc <FB.O> and Snap Inc <SNAP.N>. Microsoft also owns professional social media network LinkedIn.

Trump had dismissed the idea of a sale to Microsoft on Friday. But following a discussion between Trump and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, the Redmond, Washington-based company said in a statement on Sunday that it would continue negotiations to acquire TikTok from ByteDance, and that it aimed to reach a deal by Sept. 15.

This is a deadline that was put to ByteDance and Microsoft by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which scrutinizes deals for potential national security risks, according to the sources.

Comment: See also:

      Read More...
Bad Guys

US troop size in Afghanistan will reduce to 4,000 'very soon', Trump says

Ayaz Gul
VOA News
Tue, 04 Aug 2020 17:36 UTC
pompeo taliban
© Taliban media
Photo released by the Taliban spokesman from Pompeo-Baradar video meeting.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan will be reduced to "anywhere from 4,000 to 5,000" troops by November this year.

Trump's remarks to Axios for HBO came as the Afghan Taliban has said its chief peace negotiator in a video meeting on Monday with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed the state of the Afghan peace process.

"It's already planned. We'll be down in a very short period of time to 8,000 [troops], then we're going to be down to 4,000, we're negotiating right now. We have been there for 19 years," Trump told the media outlet. The U.S. president declined to specify the exact time but said that it would happen "very soon."

When asked how many American troops will be in Afghanistan on U.S. election day in November, Trump said it would be "probably, anywhere from 4,000 to 5,000."

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the U.S. president also stressed "We're leaving Afghanistan fairly shortly."

The U.S military began a gradual drawdown soon after the Trump administration sealed a peace pact with the Taliban insurgency in February to close the 19-year-old Afghan war, America's longest.
      Read More...
Vader

Houston mayor orders police to punish residents who refuse to wear masks with $250 fines


RT
Tue, 04 Aug 2020 15:45 UTC
travelers at George Bush Intercontinental Airport
© Reuters / Adrees Latif
FILE PHOTO: Travelers receive complimentary face masks as they enter the George Bush Intercontinental Airport amid the coronavirus outbreak in Houston, Texas.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner is ratcheting up enforcement of a state Covid-19 mask mandate, ordering police to cite residents who refuse to wear a face covering after being warned and to penalize them with a $250 fine.

"For months, we have been focusing on education and not citations, but now I am instructing the Houston Police Department to issue the necessary warnings and citations to anyone not wearing a mask in public if they do not meet the criteria for an exemption," the mayor said Monday at a press briefing.


Comment:

      Read More...
Bizarro Earth

US signs deal with Kurdish-led rebels to steal Syrian oil


Reuters
Sun, 02 Aug 2020 15:37 UTC
Kurds flag SDF
Syria's foreign ministry said on Sunday that an American oil company had signed an agreement with Kurdish-led rebels who control northeastern oilfields in what it described as an illegal deal aimed at "stealing" Syria's crude.

A ministry statement, published on state media, did not name the firm involved in the deal with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance that seized swathes of north and east Syria from Islamic State with U.S. help.

There was no immediate response from SDF officials to a Reuters' request for comment. There was no immediate comment from U.S. officials on Sunday.

Comment: So this is US withdrawal from Syria?

      Read More...
Nuke

UK lobbies US for controversial new nuclear warheads, threatens non-proliferation treaty


The Guardian
Sat, 01 Aug 2020 16:48 UTC
Wallace
© Andy Rain/EPAJulian Borger in Washington
Ben Wallace, Britain's defence secretary, is calling on the US to back spending on the W93 warhead.
The UK has been lobbying the US Congress in support of a controversial new warhead for Trident missiles, claiming it is critical for "the future of Nato as a nuclear alliance".

A letter from Britain's defence secretary, Ben Wallace, seen by the Guardian, urged Congress to support initial spending on the warhead, the W93.

The letter, sent in April but not previously reported, draws the UK into a US political debate, pitting the Trump administration against many Democrats and arms control groups over whether the the $14bn W93 programme is necessary. The US navy already has two warheads to choose from for its submarine-launched Trident missiles.

The close cooperation on the W93 casts further doubt on the genuine independence of the UK deterrent - parliament first heard about it when US officials accidentally disclosed Britain's involvement in February - and the commitment of both countries to disarmament.

Comment: This exposes how the UK is reliant on bilking the US for its own nefarious ends as well as its place in destabalizing world peace: Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Perfidious Albion: If Russia is a Rogue State, What is the UK?

      Read More...
Eye 2

Fauci attacks church choirs, implies worship is less important than protests

Madeline Osburn
The Federalist
Fri, 31 Jul 2020 06:48 UTC
anthony fauci
© D. Myles Cullen
Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in June said churches should consider suspending their choir if located in an area with a high infection rate. On Friday, Fauci refused to say whether large protests should also be suspended.

"My recommendation still holds that the choirs should refrain from singing. When you sing and you project your voice, the aerosols of the virus come out," he said, contradicting Centers for Disease Control recommendations on socially distanced worship.


According to Newsy, the CDC also first wrote on their website that faith communities should "consider suspending or at least decrease the use of choir/musical ensembles, congregant singing, chanting or reciting during services..." Those initial recommendations then disappeared from the website overnight without an explanation. Fauci stood by the recommendation.

Comment: See also:

      Read More...
Red Flag

Seattle's Bolshevik Revolution

Mike Whitney
The Unz Review
Fri, 31 Jul 2020 00:00 UTC
Bolshevik Revolution
Here's a question for you: When a young man dressed entirely in black, uses a racial justice protest to conceal himself so he can break windows, incinerate retail shops and cafes, pelt cops with bottles, rocks and fireworks, and spread mayhem across the city, what is the political message he is trying to send?
  1. He is honoring the death of George Floyd
  2. He is expressing his support for racial justice
  3. He is attacking the system that protects ordinary people from criminal violence
  4. He is a paid agitator funded by liberal organizations that seek to intensify social unrest for their own political objectives
If you chose 3 or 4, you're probably right, there are undoubtedly paid agitators operating on behalf of wealthy outsiders, just as there are many "true believers" who see the riots as a springboard for a broader revolt that will topple the existing system. In other words, there are competing agendas at play in these violent outbursts. The least likely answer is Number 1, that "He is honoring the death of George Floyd." The riots have nothing to do with George Floyd, he's merely the fig leaf that hides the true motives of the perpetrators.

Isn't it odd that - after 60 days of protests and riot - the media has never once asked what these activists want, what their actions mean or who they are?
      Read More...
Snakes in Suits

'Nobody believes you': Poilievre grills Trudeau as he testifies over WE Charity controversy


The Duran
Mon, 03 Aug 2020 00:17 UTC
Pierre Poilievre_Trudeau
Finance Critic Pierre Poilievre grills Justin Trudeau on how much his family has received from the WE Charity while he testifies.

      Read More...
Eye 1

Going too far: Americans should start wearing face masks AT HOME, Dr. Deborah Birx says


RT
Mon, 03 Aug 2020 23:25 UTC
birx
© Reuters / Leah Millis
Families sitting down to watch the evening news might soon have to wear face masks, if the advice of the White House coronavirus adviser Dr. Deborah Birx is turned into a rule, as America's disjointed war on Covid-19 continues.

With cases of coronavirus beginning to tick upwards across the US, Dr. Deborah Birx told CNN on Sunday that the country is entering a new phase in its fight against the disease.

"What we are seeing today is different from March and April. It is extraordinarily widespread. It's into the rural as equal urban areas," Birx, told 'State of the Union' host Dana Bash, before suggesting that Americans take even more extreme precautions against the virus.

"If you're in multi-generational households, and there's an outbreak in your rural area or in your city, you need to really consider wearing a mask at home," she said, citing the threat to the elderly and people with pre-existing health conditions.
      Read More...
Amazon Smile
Revolt! T-shirts