Puppet Masters

NATO expands along Russia's borders, has gall to call Moscow the aggressor

Sputnik
Tue, 03 May 2016 16:57 UTC

Paleo-conservative commentator Pat Buchanan slams NATO hawks for working to expand the alliance's presence all along Russia's borders, while calling Russia out as the aggressive power. Instead of touting Putin's belligerence, Buchanan suggests, observers should think about what it would be like to walk a mile in the Russian president's shoes.

On Friday, Buchanan recalls, "a Russian Su-27 did a barrel roll over a US RC-135 over the Baltic, the second time in two weeks. Also in April, the US destroyer Donald Cook, off Russia's Baltic [exclave] of Kaliningrad, was twice buzzed by Russian planes."

"Vladimir Putin's message: Keep your spy planes and ships a respectable distance away from us. Apparently, we have not received it."

'Our rules, not China's': Obama invokes Beijing threat in defense of Pacific trade deal

RT
Tue, 03 May 2016 15:09 UTC

The rules of trade in the Asia-Pacific must be written by America, not China, US President Barack Obama has argued in an opinion article that called for a swift ratification of the controversial TPP free trade deal.

"America should write the rules. America should call the shots. Other countries should play by the rules that America and our partners set, and not the other way around," the president wrote in a piece published by the Washington Post.

Comment: So in other words Obama thinks all countries should be subservient to the USA.

Obama was defending the Trans- Pacific Partnership (TPP), a free trade deal signed in February by 12 Pacific Rim nations. The US legislators are yet to ratify the deal, and the president said it must be done as soon as possible.

Comment: More here:

Truth emerges: New analysis shows TPP trade agreement will lead to increased unemployment and inequality

'Worse than we thought': TPP a total corporate power grab nightmare

TPP: The most audacious corporate power grab in American history

CFR journal calls Washington's use of financial sanctions against Russia ineffective and counterproductive

Sputnik
Sun, 01 May 2016 15:37 UTC

The US has long relied on financial sanctions as a preferred weapon against its adversaries. However, in Russia's case, it turned out to be an "outright failure" and the West should admit this. Let's have a look why.

Washington's favorite economic power tool has been so overused, it's becoming ineffective and, in some cases, even counterproductive, reads an article in Foreign Affairs, the influential journal published by the US Council on Foreign Relations.

It refers to a report which was recently published by the Cato Institute, a libertarian-leaning US think tank, and the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) which has raised questions about how effective sanctions actually are — and shows mounting evidence of their negative ripple effect.

"Sanctions are often the tool to which US policymakers turn first in responding to crises and managing threats on an ongoing basis," says the 78-page research publication "The New Tools of Economic Warfare".

"But as rapidly as the tools themselves have evolved, the framework for determining their effects, for evaluating their effectiveness, and for minimizing unintended consequences has lagged behind."

Leaked documents reveal TTIP could tear asunder Europe's long-held environmental and consumer protections

RT
Tue, 03 May 2016 14:53 UTC

Climate protection, jobs, food safety and online privacy rights will be whittled away under the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), an explosive tranche of leaked documents reveal.

The text of the secretive EU-US trade negotiations indicate the watershed deal could tear asunder long-held environmental and consumer protections many Europeans hold dear.

Greenpeace Netherlands published the classified documents on Monday to dismantle a veil of secrecy over the trade agreement and lay bare its implications for climate protection, human health, workers' rights, internet privacy rights and the very social fabric of Europe itself.

The NGO, which has a long history of environmental campaign work and research, obtained the documents from an unknown source.

Green Peace Netherlands worked with a number of high-profile media outlets on the data, including Hamburg-based TV station NDR, Cologne-headquartered public broadcasting group WDR and renowned Munich-based newspaper Süddeutscher Zeitung.

Comment: The Truth behind the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)

EU deputy reveals no actual treaty signed with Turkey - who's gonna pay them the 3 billion Euros?

Pete Kimberley (translator)
Voltaire Network
Tue, 03 May 2016 15:20 UTC

Sophie in t’Veld

While we have been stating for several weeks that the 3 billion Euros annually promised by the European Union to Turkey are not destined to help the migrants, but to finance the war against Syria, European deputy for Holland Sophie in t'Veld (Liberal Democrats) caused a shockwave by unmasking the scandal - according to her, no Treaty has been signed between the Union and Turkey.

This is unique in European history - the decisions taken by the Council have been formulated exclusively by way of a Press communiqué.

It seems that it is now impossible to hide this manipulation any longer.

So who is going to pay the 3 billion Euros annually?

And from what budget?

Comment: Further reading: Erdogan's blackmail: EU will offer Turkey visa-free travel after Turkey threatens to back out of migration deal

Erdogan's blackmail: EU will offer Turkey visa-free travel after Turkey threatens to back out of migration deal

RT
Tue, 03 May 2016 15:09 UTC

The European Commission will propose easing visa requirements for Turkey on Wednesday, Reuters quoted sources close to the Brussels-Ankara negotiations. The reports come after Turkey threatened to back out of the migration deal.

Reuters cited a diplomatic source as saying that Turkey's visa-free demands will be met when the European Union's top executive body announces its proposal to ease visa requirements for Turkish citizens during a meeting on Wednesday. Another source said that the committee's preparatory meeting already supported the proposal Monday.

The European Commission is scheduled to report on May 4 whether Turkey has met the benchmarks for visa-free travel.

An EU official speaking to Reuters on Monday claimed that Turkey has fulfilled as many as 65 requirements, meaning it doubled the number of satisfied conditions in less than two weeks. As of the end of April, Turkey had reportedly met less than half of the conditions required.

In April, Ankara threatened to back out of the migration agreement with the EU, unless travel rules were eased for Turkish citizens when entering the 28-nation union.

Lavrov announces upcoming cessation of hostilities agreement in Aleppo

RT
Tue, 03 May 2016 15:10 UTC

Lavrov optužio SAD zbog činjenice da se Al-Nusra Front teroristi i

A cessation of hostilities in the Syrian city of Aleppo will be announced in the coming hours, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday after talks with UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura.

Lavrov added that the US and Russian militaries are currently holding talks on the Aleppo ceasefire.
"I hope that in the coming hours such an agreement will be announced," the minister said after the meeting in Moscow.

According to UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura, the stalled Syria peace talks could be resumed if an Aleppo ceasefire is agreed. He added that there is now a possibility to relaunch the ceasefire by extending local truces.

"I have a feeling and a hope that we can relaunch this," De Mistura said. "We all hope that ... in a few hours we can relaunch the cessation of hostilities. If we can do this, we will be back on the right track."

Comment: In the run-up to the cessation, the Syrian Arab Army is doing all they can to repel the moderate jihadis in Western Aleppo:

Trump: US should shoot down Russian planes that fly near American aircraft

Sputnik
Mon, 02 May 2016 15:03 UTC

US presidential candidate Donald Trump said that the flybys of Russian planes over American aicraft demonstrated a lack of respect for the United States and President Barack Obama.

US military pilots would have to shoot at Russian planes that perform flyby maneuvers over American aircraft if diplomatic channels to prevent such incidents fail, US presidential candidate Donald Trump told an Indiana radio station on Monday.

Trump emphasized that Washington's initial response to such incidents should be diplomacy.

"And if that doesn't work out, I don't know... at a certain point, when that sucker comes by, you gotta shoot," Trump stated.

On Friday, US media reported that a Russian Su-27 jet performed a "barrel-roll" over a US Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance plane in the Baltic Sea.

Comment: Americans should be worried about what might happen if Trump gets elected. They might find themselves with nothing but enemies around the world.

FBI forces woman to unlock her phone using fingerprint biometrics

RT
Mon, 02 May 2016 14:56 UTC

A federal judge has signed a warrant to compel a woman to unlock her iPhone's fingerprint security mechanism. While the Fifth Amendment would prevent a person from having to give their passcode, biometric methods are not similarly protected.

Paytsar Bkhchadzhyan was arrested in late February, and within only 45 minutes the FBI had a warrant in hand, compelling her to use her finger to unlock her iPhone with its Touch ID sensor. It's believed that prosecutors wanted the data inside the phone, because Bkhchadzhyan is the girlfriend of an alleged Armenian gang member, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Normally, locked smartphones are only opened by way of a passcode, and the Fifth Amendment prevents law enforcement from demanding passwords, even with a warrant. Demanding biometric information like fingerprints, however, is not considered self-incrimination.

Compelling someone to provide their fingerprint is something of a legal grey area that appears to be created by mixture of legal precedents: Police can take fingerprint evidence from a person without a warrant, and a phone can be searched if they do have a warrant and, of course, a method to access it.

British McCarthyism: Labour councilors suspended over 'anti-Israel' social media posts

RT
Mon, 02 May 2016 13:32 UTC

Two Labour councilors have been suspended over posts criticizing Israel, including likening human rights abuses of Palestinians by the Jewish state to the treatment of Jews by Nazi Germany, as well as blaming Israel for the US Sandy Hook shootings.

Nottingham City councilor Ilyas Aziz had shared the controversial Facebook posts back in 2014, which were discovered by political website Guido Fawkes.

One post read: "Jews and Muslims lived together in the Middle East, in peace pre-1948. Perhaps it would have been wiser to create Israel in America, it's big enough. They could relocate even now."

Comment: British McCarthyism continues. The 'anti-Semitic' scandal is part of a 'slow motion coup' according to George Galloway, ostensibly to oust Jeremy Corbyn as Labour Party leader; as the British government continues to shield Israel from the massive growing pressure of the BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) movement. See also:

British McCarthyism: Is London's 'anti-Semitic' scandal a move against Jeremy Corbyn?

New Lt. Governor of Virginia Winsome Sears: "We're going to have safer neighborhoods, safer communities, and our children are going to get a good...

parzival

Bill Gates is going to be the one with the uncertain future,,, * New Lt. Governor of Virginia Winsome Sears: "We're going to have safer...

parzival

The more we hear about adverse affects the more we will merely shrug. It's a catch 22. Is that an asteroid trail in the photo?

sass

Welcome to the new normal. The more sensory exposure we have about such things, the less it is an issue.

sass

more misbehaving phuqqin' jewzskies starring on the sott; speaks for itself

Jibrish

Puppet Masters

NATO expands along Russia's borders, has gall to call Moscow the aggressor

'Our rules, not China's': Obama invokes Beijing threat in defense of Pacific trade deal

CFR journal calls Washington's use of financial sanctions against Russia ineffective and counterproductive

Leaked documents reveal TTIP could tear asunder Europe's long-held environmental and consumer protections

EU deputy reveals no actual treaty signed with Turkey - who's gonna pay them the 3 billion Euros?

Erdogan's blackmail: EU will offer Turkey visa-free travel after Turkey threatens to back out of migration deal

Lavrov announces upcoming cessation of hostilities agreement in Aleppo

Trump: US should shoot down Russian planes that fly near American aircraft

FBI forces woman to unlock her phone using fingerprint biometrics

British McCarthyism: Labour councilors suspended over 'anti-Israel' social media posts

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