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US 'brain injury' numbers a cover-up for dead US troops in Iranian missile strike - IRGC


Press TV
Sat, 01 Feb 2020 11:28 UTC
Ain al-Asad
© APUS military personnel look at damage to a building at the Ain al-Asad base in Anbar Province, west of Baghdad, in Iraq, January 13, 2020.
The spokesman for the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps has said that Washington's alleged numbers of "brain injuries" in its troops following the Iranian retaliatory missile strike on the Ain al-Assad airbase represent the number of dead troops.

"We conclude that what the United States announces to be related to brain injuries from the attack on Ain al-Assad to be a metaphor for dead US troops," Brigadier General Ramezan Sharif wrote for Iran's Vatan-e-Emrooz daily on Saturday.

"I believe that that the term 'brain trauma', whether mild, moderate or severe, reflects the number of dead, which they hesitate to formally announce," he said.

Comment: See also:

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Toys

Puppet Pete Buttigieg says revolution and the status quo aren't mutually exclusive

Caitlin Johnstone
Medium
Mon, 10 Feb 2020 00:01 UTC
puppet pete buttigieg
The world's first laboratory-grown presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg met with boos and chants of "Wall Street Pete" at a recent Democratic Party event in New Hampshire for taking a dig at the revolution-minded rhetoric favored by Bernie Sanders and his supporters.

"We cannot risk dividing Americans' future further, saying that you must either be for a revolution or you must be for the status quo," Buttigieg said. "Let's make room for everybody in this movement."

This is a talking point that the tightly scripted and focus group-tested Buttigieg has been repeatedly regurgitating all month, so it's worth taking a look at.

Comment: See also:

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Satellite

Norway claims Chinese intelligence has repeatedly acquired its space technology


Sputnik
Wed, 12 Feb 2020 04:42 UTC
satellite
© John Pulsipher / Global Look Press
Norway plays an important role in space exploration for key military space facilities used by the US, including the Globus II radar in Finnmark County, sometimes referred to as the world's most advanced radar for tracking satellites.

In recent years, the Chinese intelligence service has succeeded in obtaining advanced Norwegian technology several times, the Scandinavian country's intelligence service has stressed, warning that China is en route to becoming "a military superpower in Norway's neighbourhood".

"With growing interest in the Arctic, we believe that China will continue to influence the situation, even in our proximity", the head of the intelligence service, Lieutenant General Morten Haga Lunde, said, as quoted by national broadcaster NRK.

According to Haga Lunde, advanced technology with military application is especially sought after.

For instance, the Andøya Space Centre at Andenes in Nordland County, which is vying to become the first in Europe to launch satellites, has admittedly noticed penetration attempts.

"We notice that the interest and awareness of our sector is only getting bigger, even when it comes to penetration attempts", Odd Roger Enoksen, Managing Director of the Andøya Space Centre, told High North News.
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Arrow Down

Andrew Yang drops out of presidential race

Julia Jester and Dareh Gregorian
NBC
Wed, 12 Feb 2020 02:04 UTC
Andrew Yang
© Brendan Smialowski / AFP - Getty ImagesAndrew Yang makes his way through the spin room after a debate in Detroit on July 31, 2019.
"You know I am the math guy, and it is clear tonight from the numbers that we are not going to win this race," he told supporters on Tuesday.

Andrew Yang, a New York businessman whose unusual presidential campaign rose to prominence with a plan to give Americans $1,000 a month, is dropping out of the Democratic race.

Initially seen as a long-shot candidate, Yang used a savvy social media strategy to garner legions of devoted followers who referred to themselves as the "Yang Gang."

Comment: See also:

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Bulb

Best of the Web: What Trump is really about

Sylvain Laforest
Oriental Review
Fri, 15 Nov 2019 00:00 UTC
Trump
The timing is right for everyone to understand what Donald Trump is doing, and try to decrypt the ambiguity of how he is doing it. The controversial President has a much clearer agenda than anyone can imagine on both foreign policy and internal affairs, but since he has to stay in power or even stay alive to achieve his objectives, his strategy is so refined and subtle that next to no one can see it. His overall objective is so ambitious that he has to follow random elliptic courses to get from point A to point B, using patterns that throw people off on their comprehension of the man. That includes most independent journalists and so-called alternative analysts, as much as Western mainstream fake-news publishers and a large majority of the population.

About his strategy, I could make a quick and accurate analogy with medication: most pills are designed to cure a problem, but come with an array of secondary after-effects. Well, Trump is using medication solely for their after-effects, while the first intent of the pill is what's keeping him in power and alive. By the end of this article, you'll see that this metaphor applies for just about every decision, move or declaration he's made. Once you understand what Trump is about, you'll be able to appreciate the extraordinary presidency he's conducting, like no predecessor ever came close to match.

Comment: In case you missed it: Revelations in the bubble: Trump's presidency brings to light 7 undeniable facts about the swamp

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Wall Street

The crash party: A brief history of economic crashes and those in power

Sven Henrich
Northman Trader
Mon, 10 Feb 2020 00:00 UTC
The crash party
Since 1900 markets have had their fair share of crashes. Mind you crashes don't happen that often, in fact crashes are very rare. You know what's also very rare? A particular party being in power preceding crashes. Every single time, making them the crash party.

Oh don't start hating on me. This is not a political post, but I know how tribal politics are these days and you say one thing about anyone or party you get hammered. For the record: I'm not a Republican and I'm not a Democrat. Tribalism, parties, clubs, it's just not in my DNA. I'm an independent or outsider or whatever label fits.

I analyze charts, trends, macro data. And people who have followed me for a long time know I've been ranting about the Fed during the Obama administration as much as I am now. So this post has nothing to do with party, but with history and the data is surprising.

First off, what were the big crashes since 1900?

Comment: Interesting historical review, but for the purposes of the regular working class individual, the important thing to note is that the conditions for a crash seem quite possible for this period - now. But if one does want to drill down, these conditions got a lot of help in being put into place under Democratic leadership.

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Chess

US promises 'enormous pressure' on Tehran over... failed satellite launch?


RT
Tue, 11 Feb 2020 19:31 UTC
Pompeo says missile development behind Iran space program
Mike Pompeo
© Reuters / Kevin LamarqueUS Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Iran's latest attempt to launch a scientific satellite has apparently unnerved Washington, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lashing out at Tehran and vowing that the US would not let it continue the launches.

Washington used the occasion to once again slam Iran and the 2015 deal on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, from which the US itself unilaterally withdrew back in 2018.

Since then, America has been hell-bent on stopping the Iranian missile program, seemingly at any cost, introducing several tranches of heavy restrictions on Tehran and threatening other nations - including some of America's allies - with secondary sanctions if they don't toe the US line on dealing with Iran.

Comment: On the brink of war with Iran: US claimed it had 'intelligence' to blame Iran (Iraqi PMUs) for attack on K1 base

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Arrow Up

Inside track: National security mandarins groomed Pete Buttigieg, managed his future

Max Blumenthal
The Grayzone
Thu, 17 Dec 2020 00:00 UTC
Buttigieg
© ForbesDemocratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg
Pledging to "end endless wars," Pete Buttigieg claims he has "never been part of the Washington establishment." But years before he was known as Mayor Pete, an influential DC network of military interventionists placed him on an inside track to power.

In his quest for front-runner status in the 2020 presidential campaign, Pete Buttigieg has crafted an image for himself as a maverick running against a broken establishment.

On the trail, he has invoked his distinction as the openly gay mayor of a de-industrialized Rust Belt town, as well as his experience as a Naval reserve intelligence officer who now claims to oppose "endless wars". He insists that "there's energy for an outsider like me," promoting himself as "an unconventional candidate."

When former Secretary of State John Kerry endorsed Joe Biden this December, Buttigieg went full maverick. "I have never been part of the Washington establishment," he proclaimed, "and I recognize that there are relationships among senators who have been together on Capitol Hill as long as I've been alive and that is what it is."

But a testy exchange between the South Bend mayor and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard during a November 20 Democratic primary debate had already complicated Buttigieg's branding campaign.

Comment: This candidate is packed, programmed and loaded! Buyer beware!

See also:

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Padlock

Feds seek 7 to 9-year prison sentence for Trump ally Roger Stone

Michael Balsamo
AP
Tue, 11 Feb 2020 00:00 UTC
Roger Stone
© AP/Jose Luis MaganaRoger Stone and wife Nydia leave federal court in Washington, November 15, 2019.
Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to sentence President Donald Trump's confidant Roger Stone to serve between 7 and 9 years in prison after his conviction on witness tampering and obstruction charges.

Stone, who is scheduled to be sentenced next week, was convicted in November of a seven-count indictment that accused him of lying to Congress, tampering with a witness and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to tip the 2016 election.

He was the sixth Trump aide or adviser to be convicted of charges brought as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

In a sentencing memorandum filed Monday evening, prosecutors asked for Stone to serve between 87 and 108 months in federal prison, in accordance with federal sentencing guidelines. Such a sentence would send a message to deter others who might consider lying or obstructing a congressional probe or tampering with witnesses.

Comment: See also:

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Life Preserver

Keiser Report: Trade deficit Trump wants to eliminate is a lifeline for US dollar


RT
Tue, 11 Feb 2020 13:48 UTC
FloatDollar
© Getty Images/philhol
The trade deficit with China may have cost US jobs, but it could be one of the few things keeping the greenback afloat, RT's Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert have found. Stacy Herbert, discussing what is causing job losses and the recent study from the Economic Policy Institute, commented:
"It's trade deficit which maintains the US dollar as that global unit of account. Without that trade deficit, the US dollar could not be the world's reserve currency. So that trade deficit harms American workers, but it helps Wall Street bankers."
Max Keiser explained that bringing China into the global economy was based "on people's conception of what a trade policy should be," with no global standard for money. Thus, instead of creating one, US tariffs and trade policies:
"replaced having a yardstick for the global economy like a gold standard. You need to have a standard unit of money in the globe to have to have global trade. Once you get rid of that, as now we have no global standard of money in the world, you will open yourself to fraud and gaming the system and hopeless collapse."

Comment: It's an election year and no matter what Trump does or doesn't do with the economy, it will be perceived as self-serving.

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