Puppet MastersS


Chess

Germany preparing deployment of tanks, infantrymen, to Russian border


RT
Thu, 27 Oct 2016 22:15 UTC
German tank
© Michaela Rehle / ReutersLeopard 2A7 tank
Germany is preparing to deploy its most modern 'Leopard 2' tanks and more than 600 infantrymen to Lithuania as it joins NATO's biggest military buildup since the Cold War, German media reported citing the defense ministry. The plans to deploy [not] infantry and tanks to the NATO member state bordering Russia were announced by the German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen at a two-day meeting of the alliance's defense ministers in Brussels.

Deployment of "heavy weaponry" was then confirmed to the German daily Die Welt by a defense ministry spokesman, who said that tanks will be only part of the military equipment that Germany is going to deploy to the Baltic State. A NATO battalion under German command will be stationed in Lithuania in February. The battalion's personnel will amount to 1,000 soldiers, with from 450 to 650 of them coming from Germany and the rest being deployed by France, Belgium and Croatia.

According to the German daily Der Tagesspiegel, this will be an autonomous combat-ready unit equipped with tanks and armored vehicles that will also have snipers, engineering troops, military medics and even military police. The battalion will be fully operational starting from June 2017, German media reported.

The decision to send tanks alongside with the infantry to Lithuania should "send a clear signal" that Germany takes security concerns of the eastern NATO members "seriously," von der Leyen said during the ministers' meeting in Brussels. "It should send a clear signal that an attack on any NATO member state would be regarded as an attack on all 28 members [of the bloc]," she said, as cited by Der Tagesspiegel. At the same time, she stressed that the deployment of German forces on the Russian border was a "strictly measured" step that has exclusively "defensive" purposes, as reported by Die Welt.

Comment: And what specifically are the Russian actions these NATO forces are hastily defending against? FYI to NATO: A defensive move is "circling the wagons", not circling another country.

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Bad Guys

Syrian "Rebels" Kill Civilians in Aleppo Counteroffensive; Russia Hosts Syrian, Iranian Ministers


RFE/RL
Fri, 28 Oct 2016 19:04 UTC
Syrian Army Aleppo
© AFPSyrian government forces patrol the outskirts of embattled Syrian city of Aleppo earlier this week.
Syrian activists say rebel fighters have launched a large-scale offensive in Aleppo, trying to break the government's siege of opposition-held, eastern districts.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based organization with extensive on-the-ground contacts, said more than 15 civilians had been killed and 100 wounded by rebel shelling.


Comment: Propaganda spin cycle: 'Syrian Observatory for Human Rights' is funded by US and UK governments


State media reported that five civilians were killed and the Syrian Army said its forces had repelled the attacks.

"The Syrian Army and its allies are in control on the ground and armed groups were not able to change the map," the statement said.

Once Syria's biggest city, Aleppo has become the main battlefield between President Bashar al-Assad's forces, backed by Iran, Russia, and Shi'ite militias, and Sunni rebels, which includes groups supported by Turkey, Persian Gulf states, and the United States.


Comment: The Syrian and Iraqi wars: Washington's myth of Sunni/Shia sectarianism


The fighting on October 28 came as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with his counterparts from Syria and Iran to discuss the Syrian conflict.

Lavrov said the Moscow meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif was an effort to "hammer out a constructive solution" to the Syrian crisis.

Comment: War crime: U.S.-backed terrorists kill 6 civilians, 71 wounded in Aleppo

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Attention

Pro-U.S. elite out of control after Venezuelan referendum denied due to signature drive fraud

Andrew Cawthorne
Yahoo! News / Reuters
Thu, 27 Oct 2016 18:55 UTC
Leiders Venezuela Maduro, Chávez, Bolivar
In a curious convergence of events on the same day last week, four Venezuelan provincial courts issued identical rulings, state governors quickly hit Twitter to celebrate, then the election board emailed a short but bombshell statement.

Opposition hopes for a referendum to recall President Nicolas Maduro were dashed, on grounds of fraud in an initial signature drive. The vote was off.

For many in the opposition, that settled a years-old debate about the nature of Venezuela's socialist government, uniting them in conviction they are now fighting a dictatorship.


Comment: When the pro-Western, elite class of an anti-imperialist nation starts calling its leader a "dictator", you can be sure it means nothing of the sort. The signature drive was fraudulent. Ergo, a referendum based on fraud would be just as fraudulent. That is not dictatorship - it is common sense, and the rule of law. Get over it.


Their new militancy heightens the risk of unrest as the South American OPEC member of 30 million people grapples with a dangerous economic and political crisis.


Comment: A political crisis that wouldn't exist if not for stubborn American resistance to Chavez and Maduro's commitment to Venezuelan sovereignty.


Comment: Further reading on the recent attempts to bring down Maduro, and Chavez's legacy:

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Die

AI system predicts Trump will win election, is more popular than Obama in 2008

Arjun Kharpal
CNBC
Fri, 28 Oct 2016 19:22 UTC
Clintrump
© AZCentral.com
An artificial intelligence system that correctly predicted the last three U.S. presidential elections puts Republican nominee Donald Trump ahead of Democrat rival Hillary Clinton in the race for the White House.

MogIA was developed by Sanjiv Rai, founder of Indian start-up Genic.ai. It takes in 20 million data points from public platforms including Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in the U.S. and then analyzes the information to create predictions.

The AI system was created in 2004, so it has been getting smarter all the time. It had already correctly predicted the results of the Democratic and Republican Primaries.

Data such as engagement with tweets or Facebook Live videos have been taken into account. The result is that Trump has overtaken the engagement numbers of Barack Obama's peak in 2008 — the year he was elected president — by 25 percent.

Rai said that his AI system shows that the candidate in each election who had leading engagement data ended up winning the election.

"If Trump loses, it will defy the data trend for the first time in the last 12 years since Internet engagement began in full earnest," Rai wrote in a report sent to CNBC.
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Chess

Russia's EEU to start talks with Israel on free trade zone


RT
Fri, 28 Oct 2016 19:03 UTC
Port of Haifa Israel trade
© Ronen Zvulun / ReutersCranes are seen at the port of the northern city of Haifa, Israel
The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) will soon start talks with Israel on creating a free trade zone, said Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

"Before the end of the year the first round of talks [on a free trade area creation] is scheduled with Israel. Negotiations are to start with Serbia and a number of other states," Medvedev said during a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council.

According to the EEU Commission's Minister of Trade Veronika Nikishina, Israel may sign a deal in 2017. Israeli Minister Zeev Elkin said last December the country wants a free trade agreement with the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union as soon as possible. In February, Russian Deputy Agriculture Minister Sergey Levin said Moscow and Tel Aviv were planning the agreement in the near future as they "aim at maximizing cooperation in terms of agriculture and new technologies; as well as creation of joint ventures."

Comment: Of course, many of the rabid 'anti-globalists' will use this to 'prove' that Russia is no different from the West. As the point was made in SOTT's comments on Nuclear war scare is about preserving the dollar and US hegemony, Russia has to strategically work within the global system, and cannot succeed in its many pursuits by just skirting along the edges of global economic power. See the linked article for elaboration.

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Light Sabers

Trump criticizes Killary for "speaking very badly" of Putin


RFE/RL
Fri, 28 Oct 2016 19:14 UTC
Hillary and Trump
© Reuters
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has criticized Democratic rival Hillary Clinton for speaking "very badly" of Russian President Vladimir Putin, remarks that follow Clinton's recent allegations that the Kremlin is trying to tilt the election in her opponent's favor.

Noting Russia's nuclear capability, Trump told a rally in Springfield, Ohio, on October 27 that Clinton is unwise to criticize the Russian leader so harshly and that Washington and Moscow would benefit from closer ties.

"She speaks very badly of Putin, and I don't think that's smart," Trump told the crowd.

He accused Clinton, who has suggested Putin considers Trump a potential Russian "puppet" in the White House, of "trying to get votes" with her stinging criticism of the Russian president.

"How do you speak so badly of somebody? I mean, how are they ever going to get along? Wouldn't it be great if we actually got along with Russia and other countries?" Trump asked, drawing cheers from the crowd of thousands.


Comment: This is likely the very same opinion that many Americans have towards Russia as well. What Killary and the rest of the psychopaths in power don't realize is that having someone like Trump as their opposition,who is speaking directly to Americans and apparently wants to give them what they want, is very bad for their chances of staying power.

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Eye 2

Western operative Baghdadi announces arrival of more terrorists around Mosul


Iraqi News
Thu, 27 Oct 2016 18:35 UTC
baghdadi
© Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
ISIS media channels announced the arrival of the so-called "al-Sham battalion" to be deployed in the different regions of Mosul, in order to boost the morale of its fighters, Iraqi media outlets reported on Thursday.

Al Sumaria News stated, "ISIS media channels announced the arrival of the so-called al-Sham battalion, coming from the Syrian city of al-Raqqa, in order to be deployed in Mosul and support the other fighters of the caliphate state against Iraqi security forces."

"The ISIS announced the arrival of the battalion to raise the collapsed morale of its fighters in Mosul," Al Sumaria explained.

"The members of the battalion are masked, wear distinctive uniforms and speak with an Iraqi accent, which raised doubts that the battalion is just a play made by Baghdadi to persuade his fighters that reinforcements will arrive to support them after many fighters fled from Mosul," Al Sumaria added.
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Bizarro Earth

Bizarro World: Russia loses place on UN Human Rights Council while Saudi Arabia gets re-elected


RT
Fri, 28 Oct 2016 18:25 UTC
inside UN headquarters
© Shannon Stapleton / Reuters
For the first time since its inception in 2006, Russia has lost an election to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) after being narrowly beaten by Croatia in a vote. Saudi Arabia was successfully re-elected, despite criticism from human rights organizations.

The 47 places on the council are distributed on a regional basis, with staggered ballots seeing a third of the body re-elected each year. Russia had finished its three-year term and was running against Hungary and Croatia for the two available seats from Eastern Europe.

With Hungary far ahead, Croatia received the votes of 114 of the 193 member countries, and Russia was selected on 112 ballots.

"We've been in the UNHRC for several years, and I am sure next time we will stand and get back in," said Russia's UN envoy Vitaly Churkin.

Saudi Arabia sailed through the Asian ballot with 152 votes, and will represent the region on the UNHRC alongside China, Japan and Iraq for the next three years.

South Africa, Rwanda, Egypt and Tunisia were chosen from the African group, Cuba and Brazil from Latin America and the Caribbean, and the US and the UK will represent the Western bloc, which comprises Western Europe and North America.

Over the next term, which will last between 2017 and 2019, the 14 chosen members will be tasked with formulating the UN's official position on conflicts occurring around the world, as well as the domestic policies of member states.

The elections took place against a backdrop of criticism from non-governmental human rights organizations, who say that the body has been hijacked by oppressive regimes looking to deflect criticism and drive their own agendas.

Comment: Looks like the West got what it wanted and can now use the UNHRC as another tentacle with which to attack Russia. Though this tentacle is likely to be as dangerous as a wet noodle thanks to the inclusion of the well-known human rights violator Saudi Arabia.

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Robot

Rise of the machines: Russian defense industry PM warns of 'Skynet' nuclear apocalypse scenario


RT
Fri, 28 Oct 2016 14:36 UTC
terminator
© Mike Blake / Reuters
The future of warfare involves increased use of robots, but putting a non-human in control of a nuclear arsenal is a scary scenario, believes Dmitry Rogozin, the deputy PM in charge of the Russian defense industry.

"Let's consider the Hollywood movie 'The Terminator'. Once humans realize they are incapable of acting fast enough, they delegate the decision over launching a retaliation nuclear strike to a machine, Skynet," Deputy Prime Minister Rogozin said at a meeting with students of Tomsk Polytechnic University.

"A machine is a machine. Should we entrust one with such a sacred thing as the existence of humanity? I doubt that," he added, saying he is "scared" of putting a machine in charge of nuclear weapons

The plot of 'The Terminator' sees the Skynet computer system go rogue and launch American ICBM's at Russia and China, triggering a nuclear apocalypse. The fictional company later uses robots to subjugate and eradicate survivors, but human resistance forces eventually fight back.

Comment: It appears both Russia and the US are worried about each others' use of military robotic systems, so the stage is being set. The obvious solution would be to stop developing technology that could wipe out all of humanity, but that wouldn't fill the coffers of the military industrial complex.

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Handcuffs

Yes, Donna Brazile did pass debate question to Killary in March

Matthew Sheffield
Salon
Fri, 28 Oct 2016 18:44 UTC
brazile
© AP/Paul SancyaDemocratic National Committee Vice Chair Donna Brazile
Strong evidence has emerged to suggest that Democratic National Committee interim chair Donna Brazile passed a debate question to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign officials before a CNN town-hall forum in March.

Although it's not clear how Brazile got a hold of the question in the first place, one plausible source is her former CNN colleague Roland Martin, who is now an anchor and reporter for News One. Martin was one of the moderators for that March town-hall event — and asked the question that Brazile apparently passed to the Clinton camp in advance.

Brazile has repeatedly denied obtaining questions in advance from CNN and has suggested that her leaked emails to Clinton campaign officials may have been forged or altered by Russian hackers. But she has not directly denied receiving questions from Martin or News One.

Her claims have been further undermined by researchers who have used publicly available email verification tools to confirm that the WikiLeaks-sourced message is authentic. The email in question was sent by Clinton staffer Jennifer Palmieri to campaign chair John Podesta and contained a quotation from a message from Brazile that had apparently been sent on March 12.
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