Puppet Masters

5 ways US anti-missile system threatens Russian security

RT
Fri, 13 May 2016 18:45 UTC

© Inquam Photos / Reuters
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (L), Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work (R) take part in an official inauguration ceremony at Deveselu air base, Romania, May 12, 2016

Russia has opposed America's plans to deploy antimissile systems close to its borders for decades. Washington says the system would not compromise Russia's security, but Moscow sees a number of reasons why it does.

ABM sites in Romania and Poland could be converted to fire Tomahawks

The system deployed in Europe is called Aegis Ashore and is derived from a naval antiballistic missile system. The Standard Missile 3 interceptors are launched by a variant of Mk 41 VLS. The same vertical launch system is used by the US Navy to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles. Russian defense experts believe the launchers in Romania and Poland can be secretly converted to enable firing cruise missiles at targets in Russia. The US is banned from deploying Tomahawk missiles in Europe by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), which Moscow and Washington signed in 1987.

ABM sites will constantly monitor Russian airspace

© Wikipedia
The AN/SPY-1 (Army Navy Joint Electronics Type Designation System / S - Water (surface ship), P - Radar, Y - Surveillance, a US naval radar system manufactured by Lockheed Martin

To fire interceptors at ballistic missiles they must be targeted by a powerful radar station, and US sites in Europe have those. They can be used to monitor a large part of Russian airspace. The Russian military are not happy that NATO would get additional intelligence on movements of aircraft and missile tests. A similar concern is voiced by China, when it criticizes US plans to deploy the THAAD long-range antimissile system in South Korea to counter threats from Pyongyang.

Russia will upgrade its combat helicopters based on performance in Syria

Sputnik
Fri, 13 May 2016 18:11 UTC

The Russian Helicopters company is coordinating with the country's Defense Ministry a program of combat helicopters modernization based on the aircraft's performance during an anti-terror campaign in Syria, the design and manufacturing firm's deputy head said Thursday.

"We have an established program that is now being coordinated with the Russian Defense Ministry, and it would allow making minor or more significant adjustments to give our choppers more efficiency," Andrey Shibitov told journalists.

On September 30, Moscow began its anti-terror campaign in Syria on Damascus' request, during which the Russian Aerospace Forces conducted precision airstrikes against Daesh, outlawed in many countries, including Russia.

In mid-March, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to start withdrawing most of Russia's military contingent from Syria after accomplishing its objective, while leaving a minor residual force.

Comment: Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu also announced that Russia will form 3 new military divisions to counter NATO:

"The Ministry of Defence adopted a number of measures to counter the buildup of NATO forces close to Russia's borders," said the Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation. "Until the end of the year, two new divisions will be formed in the western military district, and one in the southern military district. We are currently equipping the locations of these compounds," said Shoigu, concluding his statement.

The Kremlin also announced that they are taking protective measures against the NATO missile defense. Those measures could possibly be some sort of electronic warfare designed to make the missile systems inoperable or ineffective. As it stands, Putin is clearly not sitting on his hands while the US Empire plots against him. He's going to make sure the Russian people are fully protected against the possible military action by the US/NATO.

Not just surveillance - Orwell's 1984 is an instruction manual for the state

Claire Bernish
The Free Thought Project
Mon, 09 May 2016 17:57 UTC

Assessing current conditions in the United States, it would be next to impossible not to grasp innumerable parallels to George Orwell's dystopic portent, 1984. Though other fictional dystopias could similarly elicit comparisons to the dark turn taken by American empire, aspects of 1984's creepy authoritarian nightmare ring all-too-true.

And Big Brother-like surveillance — though undoubtedly relevant — imparts only the most obvious, and therefore least pertinent, connection on the list.

Comment: 13 quotes from George Orwell's 1984 that resonate more than ever

Is Russia considering another increase of operations in Syria?

Ollie Richardson
Fort Russ
Sat, 07 May 2016 00:00 UTC

On the 4th May, 2016, John Kerry announced a new ceasefire in Aleppo that was due to begin at midnight. The US State Department thus released the following statement reaffirming the cessation of hostilities:

This statement, like all US statements since the beginning of the war, did not commit the western coalition towards any specific group in Syria. By denying any influence over rebels, they paved the way for the main force in Syria - Jabhat al Nusra - to recover and gain new territory. The details of the ceasefire give the "moderate" rebels and Salafist groups in Syria a respite from Syrian and Russian bombardment, especially in East Ghouta, where the Syrian Airforce had dealt some serious blows to the various groups in the so-called 'Free Syrian Army' umbrella.

However, the US has itself admitted that Jabhat Al-Nusra is fighting side-by-side with the "moderates" in Aleppo. It was also reported that Al-Nusra had captured the strategic town of Khan Touman during the 48 hour ceasefire. Thus, it cannot be denied that US' active lobbying for ceasefires in Damascus and Aleppo and the gains by Al-Nusra et al show a clear correlation.

It is noteworthy that the State Department is sending mixed signals regarding the US' ability to control rebel groups in Syria. One employee (Mark Toner) says that the US can influence groups in order to implement a ceasefire, yet another employee (John Kirby) denies any methods of control.

Comment: Opportunity after opportunity, Russia keeps trying to entice the US to be better than it is. The war has evolved. Has the US? Russia has displayed immense capacity to dodge and weave itself way beyond the expectations of the US, exacting the outcomes intended adeptly and expediently. It is the US' stupidity to not factor this and change its trajectory.

Kremlin: Russia taking protective measures to counter US missile systems in Europe

TASS
Fri, 13 May 2016 16:54 UTC

Russia is taking protective measures against the US missile defense in Europe; the question who the missile defense system is targeted at is still relevant, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told the media.

While commenting on the deployment of the US missile defense in Europe Peskov said that "the question is not whether measures will be taken or not; measures are being taken to maintain Russia's security at the necessary level."

"From the very outset we kept saying that in the opinion of our experts the deployment of an anti-missile defense poses a threat to Russia," he said.

Peskov recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin had "repeatedly asked who that system was working against and who it would be working against in the future."

Western journalists impressed by Russian military's professionalism in Syria

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Fri, 13 May 2016 17:27 UTC

A little known fact about the Palmyra concert is that the Russians arranged for 150 western journalists to attend it. The Western reporters who attended the concert seem however to have been uninterested in it.

This report from CNN's Frederik Pleitgen does not mention it at all.

Instead the Western reporters whom the Russians took to Palmyra seem to have been more interested in reporting on the scale of the Russian military operation in Syria.

The Russians must find this deeply frustrating. However for those of us interested in the nature of the Russian military operation in Syria it does at least provide an insight into what is going on.

'Skull and bones' records from George W. Bush presidency set to be declassified

Jay Syrmopoulos
The Free Thought Project
Thu, 12 May 2016 17:09 UTC

Bush and the Bonesmen

One of the most infamous secret societies in America, Yale University's Skull and Bones Society, may be a little less secret come July, as the national archives is scheduled to publicly release 1,650 pages of records from the President George W. Bush-era.

The National Archives, which oversees White House records held at the George W. Bush Presidential Library in Dallas, Texas, reportedly received a request on April 15 for materials specific to George W. Bush's presidency under the Freedom of Information Act.

The request specifically sought the public release of records containing 8,072 pages, 3,159 assets (such as presidential memoranda - cards, letters, etc.), and one video clip, according to the National Archives.

Comment: Related reading: Skull and Bones: The disgusting initiation ceremonies at the heart of the American Establishment

New U.S. House bill proposes police learn to avoid shootings or risk losing federal funding

RT
Fri, 13 May 2016 12:41 UTC

Police departments across the US could lose public funding if cops don't avoid taking all steps possible before using their firearms. New restrictions will have to be introduced for the funding to stay intact under a new Democrat-proposed bill.

The bill will be introduced to the House of Representatives on Thursday by Wisconsin Congresswoman Gwen Moore. She wishes to introduce fines for any police chiefs who would fail to follow through and introduce stricter regulations on appropriate gun use for their officers. This has to do in particular with when to open fire on a suspect.

Gun use in the United States is a multifaceted issue; over the past couple of years it has, among other things, proven to reach across racial lines in a way that ignited nationwide movements against police brutality and wrongful shootings.

Moore's proposal is a reaction to these developments, particularly the shooting death of Dontre Hamilton, who in April 2014 was killed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The man was a schizophrenic shot by a cop in self-defense. But it later emerged that the officer used an inappropriate pat-down, triggering an unpredictable nervous reaction.

Introducing her bill, 'Preventing Tragedies Between Police and Communities Act of 2016', Moore said in a statement:

"As a mother, grandmother and elected representative, I personally took the untimely death of Dontre Hamilton to heart. Dontre wasn't just my constituent, but a member of our community, yet sadly, his story is not unique," she said.

Comment: Creating militarized police: Pentagon sent $2 billion in military gear to police departments over last 10 years

Creating militarized police: Pentagon sent $2 billion in military gear to police departments over last 10 years

RT
Wed, 11 May 2016 15:03 UTC

Thousands of military weapons and trucks, as well as hundreds of aircraft, worth roughly $2.2 billion have been sent by the Pentagon to police departments around the United States over the last 10 years, a new report has found.

Even small police departments are being armed with surplus military gear from the Department of Defense's 1033 program, shows the report, compiled by the transparency advocacy group Open the Books. Since 2006, more than 83,000 M16 and M14 rifles worth $31 million have been transferred into the hands of local police. Law enforcement officers received another 8,198 pistols and nearly 1,400 shotguns as well.

Meanwhile, more than 7,000 military trucks and hundreds of mine-resistant armored vehicles (MRAP) have been given to police, along with over 400 helicopters and 56 airplanes.

'Mistaken' release of glyphosate report raises questions over EPA's ties to Monsanto

Lorraine Chow
EcoWatch
Mon, 09 May 2016 14:58 UTC

Sources told Sustainable Pulse that the EPA allegedly attempted “to take the legal pressure off the pesticide industry and specifically large producers of glyphosate-based herbicides such as Monsanto,” by releasing the Cancer Assessment Review Committee draft report.

The House Science, Space and Technology Committee is questioning why the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted and then suddenly pulled its highly anticipated risk assessment of glyphosate, the main ingredient in weedkillers such as Monsanto's flagship herbicide Roundup.

On April 29, the EPA's Cancer Assessment Review Committee published a report online about glyphosate concluding that the chemical is not likely carcinogenic to humans. However, even though it was marked "Final" and was signed by 13 members of CARC, the report disappeared from the website three days later.

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Puppet Masters

5 ways US anti-missile system threatens Russian security

Russia will upgrade its combat helicopters based on performance in Syria

Not just surveillance - Orwell's 1984 is an instruction manual for the state

Is Russia considering another increase of operations in Syria?

Kremlin: Russia taking protective measures to counter US missile systems in Europe

Western journalists impressed by Russian military's professionalism in Syria

'Skull and bones' records from George W. Bush presidency set to be declassified

New U.S. House bill proposes police learn to avoid shootings or risk losing federal funding

Creating militarized police: Pentagon sent $2 billion in military gear to police departments over last 10 years

'Mistaken' release of glyphosate report raises questions over EPA's ties to Monsanto

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