Puppet Masters

Israel is ramping up and manipulating Iran-US tensions again in order to stop a new nuclear deal

Robert Inlakesh
RT
Thu, 16 Sep 2021 19:31 UTC

After the IAEA struck a breakthrough agreement with Iran last weekend, Israel quickly sought to escalate tensions by accusing Iranian-backed forces of using drones to attack US forces in Iraq.

Perhaps the most positive sign since the inauguration of Iran's new President Ebrahim Raisi, came on Sunday with a new IAEA-Iran agreement. Following a snap visit by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, Tehran agreed to allow the watchdog group to service cameras monitoring Iran's nuclear facilities.

This step sparked speculation that Iran was posturing towards renewing talks with international partners to re-enter the nuclear deal. However the positive energy was quickly skewered by Israel's Minister of Defense, Benny Gantz, who delivered a speech the same day claiming that:

"Terrorists from Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon are receiving training on how to operate Iran-made drones in the Kashan Base north of Isfahan. Kashan is leading Iran's export of aerial terrorism in the region."

On Saturday, according to Kurdish Security Forces in Northern Iraq, drone strikes had targeted Erbil airport, a site which hosts US forces. Drone attacks of this nature earlier this year sparked two separate US attacks on the Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Units (PMU) in both Iraq and Syria. Although no evidence has been brought to bear as to who was behind the various drone strikes on US forces, US media and the Biden administration have regularly blamed the Iranian-backed PMU.

Friction among Taliban pragmatists, hard-liners intensifies

Independent
Thu, 16 Sep 2021 00:00 UTC

Friction between pragmatists and ideologues in the Taliban leadership has intensified since the group formed a hard-line Cabinet last week that is more in line with their harsh rule in the 1990s than their recent promises of inclusiveness, said two Afghans familiar with the power struggle.

The wrangling has taken place behind the scenes, but rumors quickly began circulating about a recent violent confrontation between the two camps at the presidential palace, including claims that the leader of the pragmatic faction, Abdul Ghani Baradar, was killed.

The rumors reached such intensity that an audio recording and handwritten statement, both purportedly by Baradar himself, denied he had been killed. The Pashto-language letter had a stamp from the office of Baradar, who had served as the chief negotiator during talks between the Taliban and the United States. Those negotiations had paved the way for the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, which was completed in late August, two weeks after the Taliban overran the capital of Kabul.

Shortly after the Kabul takeover, Baradar had been the first senior Taliban official to hold out the possibility of an inclusive government, but such hopes were disappointed with the formation of an all-male, all-Taliban lineup last week.

Comment: Hopefully, what is important will remain and what is not will sift out as Afghanistan begins the giant task of governing a broken country that suffered decades of fighting, occupation, contention and deception.

South Africa's Constitutional Court rejects Zuma's bid to have contempt of court order rescinded

Alex Mitchley
News24
Fri, 17 Sep 2021 18:27 UTC

Former South African president Jacob Zuma's arrest sparked widespread riots and looting in the country

The Constitutional Court has dismissed former president Jacob Zuma's application to have the contempt of court judgment against him rescinded.

In its majority judgment on Friday, the apex court ruled that Zuma had not met the requirements of a rescission application. The court also awarded a costs order against Zuma.

A majority decision by the Constitutional Court previously found that Zuma was in contempt of court after he ignored an order from the same court to appear before the Zondo Commission.

Comment:

Liberals gasp! Ron DeSantis was right about monoclonal-antibody therapy - now he must pay

Charles C. W. Cooke
National Review
Thu, 16 Sep 2021 17:28 UTC

© Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
President Joe Biden participates in a briefing alongside Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis, in Miami, Fla., July 1, 2021.

Florida's governor was blasted by progressives for promoting Regeneron's COVID treatment. Now, demand is so great the Biden administration is rationing it.

Two months ago, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida was being roundly castigated for promoting the use of Regeneron's monoclonal-antibody treatment as part of his state's efforts to fight COVID-19. Desperate to find something sinister in the push, DeSantis's critics threw out every charge they could dream up. At first, the line was that Regeneron's treatment didn't work. Then, it was that Regeneron's treatment worked fine, but represented a dangerous distraction from the vaccine. And, finally, it was that Regeneron's treatment was part of a corrupt plot to enrich DeSantis's donors.

Today, we learn from the Washington Post that, actually, none of that was the problem. Instead, DeSantis's sin is that he has been relying upon monoclonal-antibody treatment too much, and that this is unfair to other states that now need it.

What a difference eight weeks make.

Unhinged: 'Poisonous' MSNBC host Joy Reid slammed for 'Republicans love Covid' rant

RT
Fri, 17 Sep 2021 15:50 UTC

Fresh from an on-air feud with rapper Nicki Minaj, MSNBC host Joy Reid has drawn scorn and ridicule for accusing Republicans of trying to spread Covid-19 into schools, offices, and stores.

"A message to Republicans: Okay, we get it! Covid is the precious and you love it. You love Covid so much you want it to spread into schools, at the office, in the WalMart, on the cruise ships, and at the club," Reid thundered during the opening monologue of Wednesday's episode of The ReidOut.

Comment: Nothing like watching the disintegration of society in real time. Joy Reid and MSNBC's equally unhinged Rachel Maddow are leading the way.

Why the Biden COVID-19 vaccine mandate is unconstitutional - and why Kavanaugh may be the key

Techno Fog
technofog.substack.com
Tue, 14 Sep 2021 00:00 UTC

On September 9, President Biden announced he would circumvent the democratic process, ordering the Secretary of the Department of Labor to require employers with over 100 workers to "ensure their workforces are fully vaccinated or show a negative test at least once a week." This was essential, as Biden said, "to protect vaccinated workers from unvaccinated workers."

As we have explained, the Secretary of Labor will issue these regulations through OSHA by way of an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). The ETS would allow the Secretary of Labor to issue the vaccine mandate without the normal administrative rulemaking requirements (like notice and public comment periods).

While the Biden Administration tells the public that there's no time to waste in issuing the mandate, the truth is that OSHA/Labor failed to argue the necessity of a vaccine mandate since the vaccines have been available - a time period approaching one year. Moreover, the Biden Department of Labor is secretly meeting with the US Chamber of Commerce and business lobbyists to gather support for the mandate.

Ex-Pentagon head on Milley: 'A disgraceful and unprecedented act of insubordination', 'must resign immediately or be fired'

Ryan Saavedra
The Daily Wire
Wed, 15 Sep 2021 00:00 UTC

Former Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller ripped Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley on Wednesday over a report that Milley told his Chinese counterpart that he would warn the Chinese military if the U.S. — and then-president Donald Trump — was about to launch a strike.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday, based on revelations in a forthcoming book from Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, that Milley was allegedly so worried that Trump would strike China that he called and told Gen. Li Zuocheng of the People's Liberation Army that the U.S. would not launch a strike and, that if the U.S. did, it would not be a surprise. Milley reportedly said:

"General Li, I want to assure you that the American government is stable and everything is going to be okay. We are not going to attack or conduct any kinetic operations against you. General Li, you and I have known each other for now five years. If we're going to attack, I'm going to call you ahead of time. It's not going to be a surprise."

Comment: As Biden administration personnel found ways to validate General Milley's actions and the implications dripping from passages in the Woodward-Costa book, others spoke from a protocol perspective:

Christopher Miller, the former acting Secretary of Defense, said Milley should resign "immediately." In a statement to Fox News, Miller said:
"the armed forces since the beginning have operated under the inviolable principle of civilian control of the military."
Kash Patel, the former chief of staff for the Defense Department, said Milley violated laws governing the chairman's ability to exercise "any operational authority." Patel told Fox News:
"Congress put this in the statute because the U.S. military is to be led by a civilian, the commander-in-chief. Furthermore, by law, the national command authority goes from the president to the secretary of Defense to include anything relating troop deployments, operations in theaters of war, and nuclear command.

"Calling a foreign counterpart and discussing operational capabilities against that enemy is literally treasonous. The White House, nor the Office of the Secretary of Defense authorized the chairman to conduct any calls with Chinese officials regarding operations."
Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) said in a tweet that the "deep state is real. General Milley needs to be court-martialed for sedition."

Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) said nobody elected Milley.
"He can't pretend otherwise. We need an investigation NOW & if true, his resignation & court-martial. While we're on the topic of 'unrest,' Biden & Milley are directly responsible for 13 dead servicemembers & letting Afghanistan fall into chaos."
Reacting to the statement from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Donald Trump Jr. said:
"That isn't even remotely close to a denial from Milley ... it's basically a full throttle defense of his potentially treasonous actions. He needs to be removed."

Shocking report exposes how US defense contractors have wasted trillions through fraud and corruption

Kit Klarenberg
RT
Wed, 15 Sep 2021 17:32 UTC

The newly released 'Profits of War' report from Brown University has revealed in staggering detail the full extent of the corruption unleashed by Washington's profligate defense spending during the 20-year War on Terror.

It notes that since the start of the intervention in Afghanistan in October 2001, Pentagon spending has totaled $14 trillion, with the US war budget increasing between 2002 and 2003 by more than the entire military spending of any other country. Between one-third and one-half of that total was pocketed by defense firms, which provided logistics and reconstruction, private security services and weapons - along the way, these contractors habitually engaged in "questionable or corrupt business practices," including fraud, abuse, price-gouging and profiteering.

Wartime conditions meant standard contract processes were circumvented - bidders, bids, and subsequent delivery weren't subject to significant oversight, so fleecing the Pentagon was extremely easy, particularly for well-connected companies with government ties.

Putin, self-isolating, says 'dozens' in his inner circle diagnosed with COVID-19

RFE/RL
Thu, 16 Sep 2021 10:16 UTC

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he expects to remain in self-isolation for several days after dozens of members of his inner circle tested positive for COVID-19.

Speaking via a video conference with leaders of the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) who had gathered in Dushanbe for a summit on September 16, Putin said he wished "he could shake hands and embrace" the other leaders as he originally intended before being forced to self-isolate.

Putin said:

"You know, unfortunately, I had to cancel my trip to Dushanbe at the last moment, and I am sorry about that. But that is because, as you know, the coronavirus was discovered not just in one or two people, but in several dozens of people in [my] closest circle. So now I have to stay in self-isolation for several days."

It was previously unclear how big the outbreak was and how long Putin would remain isolated.

Durham reportedly seeking indictment against Clinton campaign lawyer who gave FBI Russia dirt

Colton Salaz
Just the News
Wed, 15 Sep 2021 11:24 UTC

Special counsel John Durham reportedly is seeking a grand jury indictment against Michael Sussmann, a cybersecurity lawyer at a Democratic-allied law firm that represented Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign.

According to the New York Times, the charge is said to be related to an alleged false statement to the FBI about a client's identity when Sussmann pushed now-debunked claims about secret communications between Russia's Alfa Bank and the Trump Organization in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election.

Durham "has told the Justice Department that he will ask a grand jury to indict a prominent cybersecurity lawyer on a charge of making a false statement to the FBI," the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing "people familiar with the matter."

Prior testimony and documents show Sussmann, who worked at Perkins Coie, delivered allegations about the Alfa server to then-FBI General Counsel James Baker in fall 2016. Baker has told investigators Sussman told him his approach was not on behalf of any client. But Sussmann told Congress he made the approach on behalf of a computer security client.

The newspaper said Durham's team has obtained records showing Sussmann billed work on the Alfa Bank matter to the Clinton campaign, the newspaper said.

Slappy looks old...I guess selling your soul to the devil has consequences...

Bezel Bub

Walensky was born Rochelle Paula Bersoff in Peabody, Massachusetts, to Edward Bersoff and Carol Bersoff-Bernstein. Walensky is married to Loren D....

HashAttack2

I would call her a moron but then idiots and imbeciles may feel left out

Michael L

Whoa folks! I just was wondering who this lady was and I came across this. Who is Melle Stewart? Is She Dead or Alive? Actress Melle Stewart...

Rowan Cocoan

go out kiss your neighbor, take the bus/train/face your fears, both vaxed an unwaxed. it is time for living with your convictions and to stop...

rakarb

Puppet Masters

Israel is ramping up and manipulating Iran-US tensions again in order to stop a new nuclear deal

Friction among Taliban pragmatists, hard-liners intensifies

South Africa's Constitutional Court rejects Zuma's bid to have contempt of court order rescinded

Liberals gasp! Ron DeSantis was right about monoclonal-antibody therapy - now he must pay

Unhinged: 'Poisonous' MSNBC host Joy Reid slammed for 'Republicans love Covid' rant

Why the Biden COVID-19 vaccine mandate is unconstitutional - and why Kavanaugh may be the key

Ex-Pentagon head on Milley: 'A disgraceful and unprecedented act of insubordination', 'must resign immediately or be fired'

Shocking report exposes how US defense contractors have wasted trillions through fraud and corruption

Putin, self-isolating, says 'dozens' in his inner circle diagnosed with COVID-19

Durham reportedly seeking indictment against Clinton campaign lawyer who gave FBI Russia dirt

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