Puppet Masters

Meet Leopoldo Lopez, co-author of Venezuela's failed coup

teleSUR
Wed, 01 May 2019 19:11 UTC

Using a variety of tactics to undermine his opponents, the savvy businessman spent several years attempting to cement his family's presence in the Venezuelan political scene.

In the history of U.S.-backed failed coup attempts in Latin America, the so-called "Operation Freedom" will be remembered as a military operation which had only one real achievement: moving opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez from his house arrest to the streets of Caracas.

This politician was a leading figure in the 2014 far-right violent demonstrations against President Nicolas Maduro. Due to his participation in criminal incitement activities, he was initially sentenced to 14-years in prison but was later released to house arrest in 2017.

EU chastises Poland over lack of 'contribution' to Europe, its use as a cash cow

RT
Wed, 01 May 2019 14:30 UTC

The EU Commission berated Poland for its approach to the union, accusing it of using the bloc as a "money machine" to improve its economy, while doing very little to contribute to the "future of Europe."

"The EU is not just a money machine, a cow that you can milk," European Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen said Wednesday. "We are expecting a more substantial contribution from Poland for the future of Europe." EU membership has helped Poland greatly and its "economic development has been remarkable," he added.

While the "future of Europe" part is rather vague, Katainen's description of the bloc as Poland's "cash cow" might not be that far-fetched. For example, the EU spent nearly €12 billion (US$13.49bn) on Poland in 2017, while Poland only contributed €3 billion to the EU. Since it became an EU member in 2004, Warsaw has received over €100 billion from the bloc.

Katainen also complained that the EU's pressure on Poland to change its behavior has been very ineffective and has yielded virtually nothing so far.

Caught on video: Israeli rabbis praise Hitler at military prep school

Jonathan Ofir
Mondoweiss
Tue, 30 Apr 2019 00:00 UTC

Yesterday, Israeli Channel 13 aired video recordings by rabbi educators at the state-sponsored military prep-academy Bnei David in the West Bank settlement of Eli. The rabbis hail Hitler's Nazi racist ideology as "100% correct", only criticizing it for not being applied to the right people - that is, the Jews should be the master-race, and non-Jews the 'untermenschen'.

The statements are jaw-droppers. The full coverage with subtitles can be seen in a video prepared by journalist David Sheen. (below)

These educators send young men to the army, and have been advocating these ideas for years. They have close ties to lawmakers, specifically to Rabbi Rafi Peretz, now head of the Union of Right Wing Parties, the notorious merger with the Kahanist party Jewish Power, who is now the leading candidate for Minister of Education. The academy is also tied to a Yeshiva, to which many students come after their military service.

Proscribed speech: Florida cites Poway synagogue shooting as it outlaws criticism of Israel

RT
Tue, 30 Apr 2019 23:40 UTC

Just days after the fatal shooting at a California synagogue, the Florida Senate passed an anti-Semitism bill that critics say will criminalize any criticism of Israel.

The bill prohibits anti-Semitism in Florida public schools and universities, and defines it broadly as any speech that makes stereotypical depictions of Jews, Holocaust denial, inciting of violence or explicit expressions of racial hatred - as well as "criticizing the collective power of the Jewish community."

Such a broad definition could be used to outlaw the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement, critics have pointed out, arguing that the bill violates the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

Comment: You must say these pronouns to these people.

You must not say these things about these people.

What could possibly go wrong with the proliferation of proscribed speech?

EVERYTHING.

See also:
Sequence complete? Now gunman opens fire at a San Diego synagogue, on Jewish Sabbath - 1 person dead, 3 injured

US military stops reporting how much territory puppet government controls in Afghanistan (because its share has tanked)

RT
Wed, 01 May 2019 10:06 UTC

A US government watchdog said it became even harder to gauge whether Washington's mission in Afghanistan is successful or not after the military stopped measuring how much territory is controlled by Western-backed forces.

The US-led NATO mission Resolute Support stopped measuring how much of the nation's territory is controlled by the Western-backed government in Kabul, the US special inspector general for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), John Sopko wrote in a quarterly report.

The mission explained its decision to drop the metric by claiming that it was "of limited decision-making value" to its commander. The report further noted that "no other product or forum through district-level control data is communicated to the command."

Sopko, whose job is to oversee the way the US spends money on its military presence in Afghanistan, told Reuters that the command's move is another blow to the already diminished transparency of Washington's policies in the country. "This much is clear: There's even less information for American taxpayers to gauge whether their investment in Afghanistan is a success, or something else."

Iran sends special message to Washington, increases oil output to partners despite sanctions

Sputnik
Wed, 01 May 2019 18:57 UTC

Earlier, Washington indicated that it would not renew the exemptions granted to eight major importers to its tough sanctions on Iranian crude oil exports once they expire later this week, with economists fearing the restrictions may impact the global energy market.

Iran is building up its gas refinery and transmission infrastructure to significantly expand its gas exports to countries such as Iraq and Turkey, National Iranian Gas Company CEO Hassan Montazer Torbati has said.

"Last year, we exported gas to Turkey, Baghdad and Basra with an average of over 40 million cubic meters a day, and this year, gas exports to Iraq will reach more than 35 million cubic meters per day," Torbati said, speaking to reporters at an energy conference in Tehran on Wednesday.

According to the official, Iran, which has the second-largest proven natural gas reserves in the world, will increase its gas refinery and transmission capacity to over a billion cubic metres a day by February 2020.

Russia calls on France to investigate police attack on RIA Novosti journalist during May Day protests

Sputnik
Wed, 01 May 2019 18:37 UTC

The journalist was filming the demonstrations from the centre of the unrest on her mobile phone. In a bid to disperse the protesters, the police started using batons.

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday called on France to carry out a thorough investigation into the attack on a RIA Novosti correspondent during May Day riots in Paris, saying that the use of violence was unacceptable.

"We consider unacceptable the use of violence against journalists who carry out their professional duties. We urge France to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident. [We also call upon] human rights organizations and NGOs to keep this issue under control," the ministry said in a statement.

Globalization has been on a downward trend for seven years

Sue-Anne Tang
CNBC
Tue, 30 Apr 2019 18:04 UTC

Globalization is waning, and a U.S.-China trade deal would do nothing to reverse that phenomenon, according to a global investment strategist.

Peak globalization has actually already come and gone, according to David Roche, president and global strategist at London-based Independent Strategy.

"The actual reversal of globalization started over seven years ago," well before the rise of U.S. President Donald Trump, as countries worldwide instituted more protectionist policies, Roche told CNBC's "Squawk Box" last week.

In fact, even China - whose leaders are now some of the loudest proponents of global systems - will see most of its future growth come from domestic pursuits, he projected.

Comment: China is hardly just a mere 'proponent of global systems'. It's OBOR project is connecting the poorest regions of the world together that also happen to hold the heavy majority of the world's population. The potential for interconnected growth is immense for China and the near 70 countries participating in the project. What Roche is at pains to admit is that Western globalization is headed down the tubes while China is actually picking up the slack and doing a much better job at it.

British security state targets dissident peers by branding them 'Moscow's Men' in London Times hit-piece

RT
Wed, 01 May 2019 17:58 UTC

The UK government wants to curb Russian paid influence peddlers among members of the House of Lords - or at least that's what the Sunday Times has seemingly insinuated, singling out three peers as "Moscow's men."

Last week's edition of the newspaper ran two news stories (plus an op-ed) on the sinister threat of "red money" - which is like "dirty money" but worse because it comes from Russia and China. One article switches between the perceived threat of Huawei's 5G equipment to British national security and that of having peers with business interests in Russia sitting in Parliament. The other raises the alarm specifically about Russia and a report that seven members of the House of Lords have declared business links with the country.

Comment: Russophobic Tide Rising as Tory Government Fends Off Corbyn And Brexit

As British old-age-pensioners shiver in the bleak midwinter, as millions of our children are revealed by the United Nations to be living in poverty some of them literally going hungry, as a crime and murder wave breaks around our shores we discover that our 4th estate - the media - instead of on all or even any of these things have chosen to cloister instead with their Intelligence "handlers" to obsess about... Russia. And, most ominously, about Britain's Parliamentary Opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

The Russophobic tide in Britain has risen in inverse proportion to the country's perceived decline, something which can hardly be hidden, or a co-incidence. One doesn't need to be a psychologist to conclude that this is classic displacement activity. "Look over there" is the new motto on the imperial crest.

Fake News: CNN's Tapper claims 'Maduro troops are firing on own people'

RT
Wed, 01 May 2019 16:25 UTC

© Federico Parra / Agence France-Presse
Rebel troops, wearing Guaido's signature blue arm bands, attempt to take the La Carlota military base.

CNN's Jake Tapper has come under fire for claiming Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is firing at his own citizens after he shared a misleading tweet showing army defectors on the opposition side wielding guns.

"CNN live in Venezuela as Maduro government mows down citizens in streets," Tapper tweeted with a link that leads to a CNN video report starting with an image of a number of army defectors fighting on the side of the opposition. The video includes footage of what appears to be a National Guard truck hitting civilians, but Tapper's tweet implies Maduro is gunning down citizens by using an image of soldiers with weapons.

I said this would happen...now they are looking to mandate companies with less that 100 employees...shits getting real, people[Link]

Bezel Bub

it's all a lie ! :O

cracker

"Falling out of windows" as an occupational hazard for people with access to sensitive information - compliments of the Soviet playbook and even...

Tsakoug

covid will seem like a walk in the park when the proper cold sets in later this month and beyond...

steven23

I've got an idea to help folks like this. Anyone know of any in Central Florida? R.C.

Rowan Cocoan

Puppet Masters

Meet Leopoldo Lopez, co-author of Venezuela's failed coup

EU chastises Poland over lack of 'contribution' to Europe, its use as a cash cow

Caught on video: Israeli rabbis praise Hitler at military prep school

Proscribed speech: Florida cites Poway synagogue shooting as it outlaws criticism of Israel

US military stops reporting how much territory puppet government controls in Afghanistan (because its share has tanked)

Iran sends special message to Washington, increases oil output to partners despite sanctions

Russia calls on France to investigate police attack on RIA Novosti journalist during May Day protests

Globalization has been on a downward trend for seven years

British security state targets dissident peers by branding them 'Moscow's Men' in London Times hit-piece

Fake News: CNN's Tapper claims 'Maduro troops are firing on own people'

Latest News

Picture of the Day

Quote of the Day

Recent Comments

Quantum Quirk

Contact Us