Puppet MastersS


Bad Guys

Swimming with sharks: John Kelly's fraught relationship with the DC press

Annie Karni
Politico
Fri, 11 May 2018 15:10 UTC
John Kelly
© Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesJohn Kelly has struggled to reconcile his growing frustration with the political press and his desire to engage in order to put to bed the rumors that he's on the outs with the president.
The White House chief of staff was forced to retract remarks made in an NPR interview.

White House chief of staff John Kelly has declined all requests to appear on the Sunday show circuit, even though the president loves seeing his staff mount combative defenses of him on TV.

But he was willing to sit down with a National Public Radio reporter he has known for years - John Burnett, who forged a good relationship with Kelly when he spent time embedded with the four-star general in Iraq, sources said - for an extended stemwinder that circumvented the Washington reporters Kelly has come to view with a mix of distrust and disdain.

Kelly still stumbled. He said that undocumented immigrants seeking to enter the country "don't have the skills" to assimilate and called them "overwhelmingly rural people" in comments that sounded derogatory. But that wasn't all.

Comment: Such is life in the in the Swamp.

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Newspaper

Macron's popularity down, as hopes for the 'political wonderboy' seem to vanish


RT
Sun, 13 May 2018 14:42 UTC
Emmanuel Macron
© Reuters
Emmanuel Macron became the president of France following a landslide victory a year ago. The man, who was once seen as a symbol of hope and renewal, seems to have turned into a source of "dissatisfaction" for the French.

In early May 2017, Macron won the French presidential elections with 66.1 percent of the vote, which was one of the most decisive results in the history of the French Fifth Republic. A month later, his party, 'Republic on the Move' (LREM), scored another impressive victory by winning a majority of seats in the French parliament.
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Vader

Fmr US and NATO officials team up against imaginary 'Russian meddling' in elections

Stephen Lendman
stephenlendman.org
Sat, 12 May 2018 14:31 UTC
Anders Fogh Rasmussen
© Associated PressFormer NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is co-chair of the Transatlantic Commission on Election Integrity.
Russia is falsely accused of all sorts of things to justify unjustifiable US-led Western actions against the country - part of Washington's longstanding regime change plans, wanting its sovereign independence replaced by pro-Western puppet governance.

The neocon/CIA-linked Washington Post urged Republicans, undemocratic Dems, and their EU counterparts to team up against Russia.

Joe Biden, former Bush/Cheney DHS secretary Michael Chertoff, and former US-installed NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen formed an anti-Kremlin alliance.

No evidence suggests Moscow interfered in America's electoral process, European ones, or any others. Yet fabricated accusations persist.
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Propaganda

'Israel attacked Syrian bases, not Iran' - Journalist

Paul Antonopoulos
FRN II
Fri, 11 May 2018 00:00 UTC
Syrian with Flag
According to Syrian journalist and collaborator of Prensa Latina in Damascus, Fady Marouf, "the targets attacked by Israel this morning were all Syrian defense units. Iran had nothing to do with it."

In the early hours on April 10, the Israeli "Defense" Forces for five hours claimed that they attacked Iran's positions in Syria and several Syrian defense units. According to Damascus, the forces attacked by Israel are 100% Syrian.

"It was five hours of intense fighting between Syria and Israel and it was the Israelis who started this as they have continually done during the seven years of war in Syria," Marouf told Sputnik World.

Comment: See also:

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Propaganda

Best of the Web: British Deep State Floats Idea of Overthrowing Corbyn in Military Coup


RT
Fri, 11 May 2018 21:53 UTC
Militaristic fantasies were unleashed on The Telegraph's op-ed pages this week, when a piece asked: 'What would a 21st century British coup look like? And what would a Corbyn government have to do to survive it?'
UK Tanks
© Tobias Schwarz / Reuters
Throwing partisanship out the window, The Telegraph published an opinion piece written by Paul Carter, a political commentator who is writing a book about Harold Wilson and Louis Mountbatten. He wondered if the near-coup led by Earl Mountbatten of Burma could happen in modern times. "Only one week after Jeremy Corbyn's election as Labour leader, a serving general of the army warned of a direct and public challenge if a future Prime Minister Corbyn jeopardised the country's security: 'The army wouldn't stand for it... people would use whatever means possible, fair or foul to prevent that,'" Carter wrote.

"The idea of a military coup against an elected Prime Minister Corbyn may seem fanciful. Yet, 50 years ago this week, this almost happened to Harold Wilson, a prime minister regarded by many as left-wing and anti-establishment, who had also been accused of consorting with communist spies."

Comment: The man hasn't even been elected yet. Maybe they know he would have been last year but for some vote-rigging? They certainly know it's a losing battle to contest Corbyn democratically.

This isn't actually the first time the British security services have floated this idea in the media.

See also:

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Info

Mahathir sworn in as prime minister in Malaysia election

Bhavan Jaipragas
South China Morning Post
Thu, 10 May 2018 00:01 UTC
Mahathir Mohamad
© EPA-EFEMahathir Mohamad
Malaysia on Thursday woke up to the prospect of a seismic shift in its politics after the general election defeat of the long-ruling Barisan Nasional coalition helmed by Prime Minister Najib Razak.

In its place, the Pakatan Harapan bloc led by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad won a simple majority in parliament as it emerged victorious in 122 out of 222 seats, enough to form the next government.

Comment: See also: Malaysia election: PM Najib Razak in fight for political survival

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Question

To Be Determined: Is the US to become a rogue state?

Michael Krieger
checkpointinasia.net
Thu, 10 May 2018 00:00 UTC
torn US flag
© BAJC.com
If all other countries stay in the Iran nuclear agreement the US will be even more isolated than in 2003's invasion of Iraq

Let me cut to the chase. Every single world leader knows Trump's full of s**t. Even more importantly, the citizens of their nations also know it. Everyone with a functioning brain understands that pulling out of the Iran deal has nothing to do with terrorism, nuclear bombs or any other fairytale propagated by U.S. neocons. This is simply about the existence of a non-U.S. client state in a key strategic region sitting on massive oil reserves. It's about empire - global games of power and money fueled by a desperate attempt to hold on to a unipolar world where the U.S. bosses everyone around.

A global empire will keep pushing and pushing until something snaps. The leaders of empire become convinced of their invincibility right before the end, and the U.S. is no different. Given the rise of China economically and militarily, as well as Russia exerting its influence in Syria, the writing's already on the wall as far as where the world's headed. Towards a multi-polar planet in which the U.S. will still have influence, but far less than it's enjoyed since WW2. While shifts are already well underway beneath the radar, American leadership refuses to admit it. A serious decline of U.S. global power as a result of major mistakes related to Iran will begin to play out publicly from here.

Comment: And, who has infiltrated the US government, buys its loyalty, controls its media, dictates its policy, and changes its laws? The same state that would be delighted that the USA has only one blood-sucking, 'til death do us part' ally.

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Snakes in Suits

It's a miracle! Macron and Merkel discover concept of sovereignty - Are Europe's leaders joining the reality-based community?

Frank Sellers
The Duran
Fri, 11 May 2018 10:34 UTC
MerkelMacron
© South China Morning PostGerman Chancellor Merkel • French President Macron
After traveling to Washington to convince US President Donald Trump to preserve the JCPOA Iran nuclear deal, and then watching Trump so casually disregarding not just America's own international credibility but the interests of his European allies, who have invested so much actual and political capital into the Iran deal, French President Emmanuel Macron, following his reception of the Charlemagne prize, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have both condemned Trump's maneuver while emphasizing the manner in which this demonstrates the need for Europe to confidently stand up for its own interests:
"If we accept that other major powers, including allies... put themselves in a situation to decide our diplomacy, security for us, and sometimes even make us run the worst risks, then we are not more sovereign and we cannot be more credible to public opinion," Macron said, in a clear attack against Trump's decision to quit the hard-fought Iran accord.

But Macron urged Europeans to stand up against diktats from abroad. "Don't be weak," said the 40-year-old president.

"We need to choose, build, speak with all so as to construct our own sovereignty that will be the guarantor of stability in (the Middle East)."

Comment: In one sense, the US' exit from the Iran deal has emboldened European powers to distance themselves from US influence and seek a more self-sufficient platform. For the US, the plus side could be a 'lifted weight'. Has Israel calculated/plotted this trend?

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Attention

UN nuclear watchdog chief inspector suddenly quits, speculations arise


RT
Sat, 12 May 2018 02:31 UTC
Reza Najafi, Tero Varjoranta
© Leonhard Foeger/ReutersIran ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Reza Najafi (L) and Tero Varjoranta, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief of inspections Tero Varjoranta has announced his resignation three days after the US pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal. The official did not provide any reason for his departure.

Varjoranta was serving as the head of the agency's Department of Safeguards, tasked with determining whether countries that are party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) abide by the agreement.

The Finnish-born official took the job in October 2013 and was also a deputy director general of IAEA, which, during his tenure, repeatedly asserted Iran's compliance with the landmark nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The accord, which was struck between five UN Security Council members plus Germany and Iran, received a huge blow on Tuesday when US President Donald Trump, a long-time critic of the deal, announced the US' withdrawal and the reinstatement of economic sanctions on Iran.

Varjoranta has been temporarily replaced by the acting director of the Agency's Office for Verification in Iran, Massimo Aparo, with the IAEA spokesperson stating that "the agency's safeguards activities will continue to be carried out in a highly professional manner."

Asked about the cause of Varjoranta's abrupt resignation, the official said that "the agency cannot comment on personal matters, which are confidential."

Comment: As stated, the pullout of the Iran deal by the US could rebound into a positive effect for Iran. But, having now given up all negotiating power, what are the chances the US and Israel remain on the sidelines, given Israel's only option to further its agenda is war?

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Snakes in Suits

Remember that time Bolton promised regime change in Iran before 2019?

Caitlin Johnstone
caitlinjohnstone.com
Thu, 10 May 2018 00:00 UTC
John Bolton
© thedrive.comNational Security Advisor John Bolton
In July of last year neoconservative death cultist John Bolton, now the National Security Advisor of the United States, gave a speech at the Grand Gathering of Iranians for Free Iran in which he openly called for regime change in Tehran.

Bolton, who is so stupid, crazy and evil that he remains one of the only high-profile individuals on this planet who still insists that the Iraq invasion was a great idea, spoke about the need to prevent the Iranian government from achieving "an arc of control" through Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. He decried the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), claiming that Iran was still a nuclear threat under the existing agreement, and spoke glowingly of aggressive sanctions against Tehran. He concluded his speech with the following statement:
"There is a viable opposition to the rule of the ayatollahs, and that opposition is centered in this room today. I had said for over 10 years since coming to these events, that the declared policy of the United States of America should be the overthrow of the mullahs' regime in Tehran. The behavior and the objectives of the regime are not going to change, and therefore the only solution is to change the regime itself. And that's why, before 2019, we here will celebrate in Tehran!"
Whoa there, Grandpa Clusterbomb. Back up a bit.


Comment: The US/Israel grand scheme is being unfolded without diligent scrutiny or consent by politicians or the public. The cadre of hawks now flocking to the administration has more than tipped the scales towards a conflagration with Iran and its allies. A possible point of no return?

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