Puppet MastersS


Bad Guys

Brussels bureaucrat threatens Germany, shows EU effectively a dictatorship

German parliament
For decades, the European Union was known for its chest-thumping about "freedom, democracy and the rule of law". The troubled bloc also claimed that it was purely an "economic project" and that it "had nothing to do" with NATO, geopolitics, military, etc. However, in the last two years, all those masks have fallen, showing that the EU is nothing more than a geopolitical pendant of the world's most vile racketeering cartel.

The troubled bloc's close coordination with NATO shows that there's virtually no difference between the two. One of the most glaring examples of this is the "enforcement of democracy" in various member states (and not just member states, as evidenced by Western meddling in Georgia), extremely reminiscent of the way the United States and later NATO did in the immediate aftermath of WWII and later years.

USA

Forget presidential fanfare, U.S. imperialism occupies the White House

Donald Trump
© Strategic Culture Foundation
Donald Trump takes over from Joe Biden at the White House in less than a week in what is, for all intents and purposes, a theatrical change of the executive figurehead.

One manikin is wheeled out, another wheeled in. Cue the brass band and gun salutes.

There's a big difference in personal style and rhetoric about policies. But the world will continue to endure its experience of U.S. power - one of imperialistic militarism, conflict, and violence.

Outgoing Democrat President Joe Biden let the cat out of the bag - as he is prone to do - when he delivered what was billed as his last foreign policy speech this week. He outlined a world of U.S. domination by military force and proxy machinations. It was a dystopian view of international relations - yet Biden exulted in the belief that "America is winning" and that this something noble to report to the American people.

During his 30-minute rant at the State Department, Biden declared: "The United States is winning the worldwide competition compared to four years ago. America is stronger. Our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are weaker."

It was hard to listen to Biden as he slurred from one fragmented sentence to the next without punctuation. It was harder still to listen to the delusional lies about America leading the world under the aegis of his administration.

He went on to boast that adversaries Russia, China and Iran were all weakened by his policies to create a new Cold War. That's right, Biden actually claimed it a virtue when he stammered, "the post-Cold War is over, a new era has begun" of fierce competition and crises."

The proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, where as many as one million military deaths have been incurred in three years, has been recklessly fueled by the Biden administration. The Biden White House and former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson deliberately sabotaged an early peace settlement in March 2022.

Star of David

IDF killing of 80-year-old grandmother likely a 'war crime' - UN envoy (VIDEO)

CCTV footage of 80-year-old Halima Abu Leil getting shot during the December 19 IDF raid near Nablus, West Bank
© X/IhabHassaneCCTV footage of 80-year-old Halima Abu Leil getting shot during the December 19 IDF raid near Nablus, West Bank
Israeli forces killed an elderly Palestinian during a raid that used a vehicle disguised as an ambulance.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops that killed an elderly civilian during a West Bank raid may have committed a war crime, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese has told Sky News.

The 80-year-old, Halima Abu Leil, was on a grocery run on December 19 when she was shot six times by IDF troops during "counterterrorism activity" at the Balata refugee camp near Nablus. She died soon afterward.
"When I look at the footage, what emerges prima facie is that there were no precautions taken - within these operations whose legality is debatable - to avoid or spare civilian life. No principle of proportionality because there was wild fire directed at the identified target and ultimately no respect for the principle of distinction," Albanese told the British outlet on Monday.

"So this was a murder in cold blood, and could be a war crime as an extrajudicial killing," she added.

Comment: See also:


Explosion

How the West destroyed Syria

PeteFord
© Lgrant PhotoCinem/Xinhua/Getty Images/KJNPeter Ford discusses Syria
Peter Ford served in the UK Foreign Ministry for many years including being UK Ambassador to Bahrein (1999-2003) and then Syria (2003-2006). Following that, he was representative to the Arab world for the Commissioner General of United Nations Relief and Works Agency. He was interviewed by Rick Sterling on Jan 6, 2025.

RS: Why do you think the Syrian military and government collapsed so rapidly?

Peter Ford: Everybody was surprised but with hindsight, we shouldn't have been. Over more than a decade, the Syrian army had been hollowed out by the extremely dire economic situation in Syria, mainly caused by western sanctions. Syria only had a few hours of electricity a day, no money to buy weapons and no ability to use the international banking system to buy anything whatsoever. It's no surprise that the Army was run down. With hindsight, you might say the surprise is that the Syrian government and Army were successful in driving back the Islamists. The Syrian Army forced them into the redoubt of Idlib four or five years ago. But after that point, the Syrian army deteriorated, became less battle ready on the technical level and also morale.

Syrian soldiers are mainly conscripts and they suffer as much as any ordinary Syrian from the really dreadful economic situation in Syria. I hesitate to admit it, but the Western sanctions were extremely effectively in doing what they were designed to do: to bring the Syrian economy down to its knees. So we have to say, and I say this with deep regret, the sanctions worked. The sanctions did exactly what they were designed to do to make the Syrian people suffer, and thereby to bring about discontent with what they call the regime.

Arrow Up

LA fires worse than nuclear strike - Trump

PacPalisades fire
© Mario Tama/Getty ImagesAerial view of homes destroyed in wildfires in Pacific Palisades, California
The US president-elect has criticized the Californian leadership's handling of the crisis and expressed concern over the rising death toll.

US President-elect Donald Trump has compared the devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires to a nuclear attack, warning that the death toll may rise in the coming days. He criticized California's leadership, particularly state governor, Gavin Newsom, suggesting that mismanagement has exacerbated the crisis.

The wildfires that began last week in southern California have claimed at least 24 lives, burned more than 40,000 acres, and destroyed over 12,000 structures, leveling entire neighborhoods.

Los Angeles Sheriff Robert Luna has reported 16 deaths from the Eaton fire and eight from the Palisades fire, with 16 individuals still missing. Authorities expect the death toll to rise as search teams with cadaver-sniffing dogs continue to comb through the rubble.

In an interview with Newsmax, Trump predicted that rescuers would find "many more dead" and expressed bewilderment at the scale of destruction. He told the outlet:
"I believe it's greater damage than if they got hit by a nuclear weapon. I've never seen anything like it. Vast miles and miles of houses just burned to a crisp. There's nothing standing."
He added that he had seen "very guarded pictures" of the destruction, claiming that the catastrophe is "far worse than you even see on television, if that's believable."

The president-elect went on to blame the Californian leadership for the scale of the tragedy, insisting that the crisis could have been prevented if water from Canada was allowed to flow to the state and its forests were properly maintained. Trump specifically accused California Governor Newsom of prioritizing environmental policies over human lives and called for his resignation.

Comment: "L.A. wildfire losses between $250-$275 billion." Good bet the pricy Palisades properties were well insured, whereas other affected areas of L.A. have the opposite financial story. And Biden? He sent numerous allotments of billions to destroy Ukraine. It's a bit late to think about how to handle disasters in the USA, such as his 'absent attention' to victims of Hurricane Helene.


Star of David

Arab officials: Trump envoy swayed Netanyahu more in one meeting than Biden did all year

Netiwitkoff
© UnknownPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu • US President-elect Donald Trump's Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff • Jerusalem • January 11, 2025
'Tense' Jerusalem sit-down led to breakthrough in talks, with Israel and Hamas agreeing in principle to hostage deal two days later; sides now finalizing implementation details.

A "tense" weekend meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and incoming Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff led to a breakthrough in the hostage negotiations, with the top aide to US President-elect Donald Trump doing more to sway the premier in a single sit-down than outgoing President Joe Biden did all year, two Arab officials told The Times of Israel on Tuesday.

Witkoff has been in Doha for the past week to take part in the hostage negotiations, as mediators try to secure a deal before Trump's January 20 inauguration. On Saturday, Witkoff flew to Israel for a meeting with Netanyahu at the premier's Jerusalem office.

Arrow Down

Washington Post traffic craters, loses $100M amid identity crisis as talent, readers flee: reports

Newspaper
© AFP/Getty ImagesThe Washington Post lost $100M last year after four years of plunging website traffic, according to the Journal
The Washington Post's readership reportedly cratered during Joe Biden's presidency — and the Jeff Bezos-owned broadsheet lost $100 million last year alone — as the embattled paper continues to suffer an exodus of top talent.

The left-leaning publication drew about 2.5 million to 3 million daily users to its site last summer, a fraction of the 22.5 million daily visitors at its peak when Biden took office in January 2021, according to internal data shared with Semafor.

The plummeting site traffic led the business to lose around $100 million on weak subscription and ad revenue in 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported.

WaPo took a hit to its bottom line after reportedly 250,000 readers canceled their subscriptions following Bezos' decision to kill an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris just weeks before the election.

The Washington Post had 54 million digital visitors last November — down from 114 million in November 2020, according to global media analytics firm Comscore.

Comment: Newspapers should print the news, not company endorsements. Bezos is correct on that one.


Camcorder

Pentagon contractor fired after O'Keefe undercover DoD "stop Trump" exposé

jamie mannina dod stop trump undercover sting
© O'Keefe Media GroupJamie Mannina was recorded as saying he was working with a group of retired generals on plans to stymie Trump policies
A top advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon has been fired after an undercover investigation caught him on camera admitting he's working with generals on a 'stop-Trump' effort.

Former FBI Special Agent Jamie Mannina - an employee of Booz Allen Hamilton, was confirmed as having been let go following an undercover exposé by James O'Keefe's OMG Media.

Comment: The anti-Trumpers have gone quiet for the moment, but they are still plotting in the shadows.


Bad Guys

Official inquiry reveals Skripal poisoning victim Yulia disputed UK narrative

yulia skripal
© ReutersYulia Skripal gave a single press conference on May 23, 2018, before disappearing again.
An official inquiry into a notorious 2018 Novichok poisoning case has found the victim briefly emerged from a coma, revealing information which wholly undermined the British government's narrative. While the medical professional she told was muzzled, mainstream media has ignored the new finding.

On March 8, 2018, just four days after being hospitalized for having allegedly been contaminated with novichok, which is said to be the world's deadliest military grade nerve agent, Yulia Skripal was roused from her coma. Upon waking up, she communicated to an intensive care consultant that she and her father, the turncoat former Russian spy, Sergei, had been "sprayed" with an uncertain substance while dining at a restaurant, before their collapse — and not at their home, as claimed by the UK.

The revelation, which runs completely contrary to widespread reports that Yulia spent almost a month in critical condition before regaining consciousness, stems from recently-disclosed transcripts of an official British inquiry into the death of Dawn Sturgess, who supposedly died after having inhaled novichok from a sealed perfume bottle.

Comment: John Helmer of Dances with Bears, has been on the case from the beginning: Much warmongering hay has been made out of this MI6 false-flag.


Russian Flag

Lavrov blames US for TurkStream attack

turkstream
© Isa Terli/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
The US instructed Ukraine to target the TurkStream gas pipeline after sabotaging the Nord Stream sub-sea connectors in 2022, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has claimed.

On Monday, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said Kiev had launched an unsuccessful attack with nine kamikaze drones on a gas compressor station near the village of Gaikodzor in Russia's Krasnodar Region. The site is crucial for the operation of the TurkStream pipeline, which delivers Russian natural gas to Türkiye and several other European nations, via the Black Sea.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested that the United States may have been involved in an attempt to sabotage a gas facility.

"I have a firm belief that the US needs no competitor in any fields, starting with energy," Lavrov stated.