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The troubling links between Killary and influential Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen

Chuck Ross
The Daily Caller
Wed, 13 Jul 2016 01:52 UTC
Hillary Gulen
© Katahon
Hillary Clinton and Fethullah Gulen
A newly-released email and lobbying documents filed with Congress reveals new ties between Clintonworld and members of a network operated by a mysterious Islamic cleric from Turkey.

Connections between Clinton and acolytes of the imam, Fethullah Gulen, could muddle the complex relationship between the U.S. and Turkey, a key NATO ally, if the former secretary of state wins the White House.

Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has mounted an aggressive crackdown against Gulen and his followers, known as Gulenists. Erdoğan, who was once allied with Gulen, has even personally asked President Obama to extradite the 74-year-old guru, who has lived in self-exile in Pennsylvania's Pocono mountains since 1999.

Erdoğan has accused Gulen of attempting to undermine the Turkish government. Gulen's followers control many Turkish institutions, including the media, courts, and police force.

In addition to muddying that complex geopolitical dynamic, a 2009 email recently released by Judicial Watch provides yet another example of access being provided to a Clinton campaign and Clinton Foundation donor.

In the April 1, 2009 message, a Gulen follower named Gokhan Ozkok asked Clinton deputy chief of staff Huma Abedin for help in connecting one of his allies to President Obama.

Ozkok is founding board member of the Turkish Cultural Center and part of a network of businesses and non-profits affiliated with the Gulen movement, also known as Hizmet.
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Eye 2

Syria: Beheading of Palestinian child prompts US to disassociate from its proxy psychopaths

Vanessa Beeley
21st Century Wire
Wed, 20 Jul 2016 00:00 UTC
Psychopathic thugs
© Twitter

Horrifying scenes of the beheading of a very young Palestinian boy by the US and UK backed terrorist faction in Syria, Nour-Al-Din Al-Zenki, flooded social media feeds yesterday.

The US is scrambling to both disassociate themselves and their proxy murderers from this abhorrent crime. 21WIRE will not post the videos in the report below as they may be too distressing, but they are available in the link to the article. We stress that this footage is graphic and horrific.

The Daily Mail report indicates that the child had quite possibly been tortured prior to his crude beheading at the hands of one of the thugs bullying and beating him on film.
"Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki is an Islamist rebel group in Syria formed in late 2011 during the Syrian Civil War.

Named for Emir of Aleppo Nur ad-Din, the movement was formed in Aleppo to fight against the Syrian Arab Army, and it joined the Army of Mujahideen in the war against the Islamic State.

The United States supplied the group with money and BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles during its war against ISIS and the government.

In December 2014, it joined the Levant Front and also the Fatah Halab operations room."
~Daily Mail
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Roses

The last published article of Ukrainian journalist assassinated today

Kristina Kharlova
Fort Russ
Wed, 20 Jul 2016 01:30 UTC
assassinated Ukraine journalist Sheremet

RIP Pavel Sheremet
Ukraine is still managing to balance between the two centers of power: the current government prompted by CIA-supported SBU [Security Service of Ukraine] (according to many reports the CIA takes up an entire floor in the SBU building, and the American ambassador in Ukraine is the de-facto president, approving laws and calling the shots) and the Russophobic radical Nazi battalions, which where the muscle responsible for the violent overthrow of Yanukovich government on Maidan and in the aggression of the new Kiev government against the separatist Donbass.

As a guarantor of order in Ukraine, the SBU must appear to defend the population from gangs and crime, while after plundering the mostly Russian population of separatist Donbass in the name of patriotism, members of volunteer battalions who know no other means to make a living, are constantly in Ukrainian criminal news reports.

The nationalist volunteer battalions have always been a source of the greatest threat to the new Ukrainian government, which over the last two years continues to successfully balance on the edge of a third Maidan, constantly accused by the far right of not being patriotic or Russophobic enough. This is the reason why remaining Ukrainian career politicians and oligarchs had to abandon decency and paint themselves in nationalist colors in order to hold on to their power.

Only the future will tell how long can the fragile balance be maintained. Meanwhile we bring to your attention the last article of Pavel Sheremet, a Ukrainian journalist describing the internal squabbles between the two Ukrainian power poles. As common for current Ukrainian journalists, who are still permitted to be published in the mainstream Ukrainian media, he is supporting the Nazi Ukrainian commander Andre Biletsky and explains why he could be a threat to the government.

However, even his assessment confirms that the nationalist battalions were a magnet for the disadvantaged troubled youth who found a meaning, a community and a boost to self-esteem in nationalist ideals, who when not occupied by combat resort to crime, so well documented in the war zone of Donbass.
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Radar

British nuclear sub collides with merchant vessel off Gibraltar


RT
Thu, 21 Jul 2016 01:24 UTC
UK nuke sub collision gibralter
© JollyGreenMFGiant / YouTube
One of Britain's newest Astute-class submarines has docked at Gibraltar after suffering a "glancing collision" with a merchant vessel, the UK Royal Navy announced, emphasizing that the HMS Ambush suffered "absolutely no damage" to her nuclear reactor.

The incident happened at around 1:30pm local time on Wednesday, when HMS Ambush was "submerged and conducting a training exercise" off Gibraltar, the Royal Navy said in a statement.

The Astute class nuclear submarine suffered "some external damage", with the Royal Navy reassuring the public that "absolutely no damage" had been inflicted on its nuclear reactor.

The Navy also added that no one suffered in the incident, but the submarine had been forced to dock. "There are no safety concerns associated with HMS Ambush being alongside," the Royal Navy stated.

The vessel ship that the submarine collided with suffered no damage, according to initial assessment. An investigation is now underway.
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Snakes in Suits

Global Coalition: Britain to deploy 250 more troops to Iraq in alleged fight against Daesh


PressTV
Thu, 21 Jul 2016 01:04 UTC
British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon
© AFP
Britain is doubling its deployment of troops to Iraq, says Secretary of State for Defense Michael Fallon, citing fight on Daesh terrorists.

The additional 250 troops will put the total number of the British military at more than 500, Fallon told reporters on Wednesday in his first visit to the US since the forming of the new British government, AFP reported.

"We will be sending an additional 250 troops into the theater over the next few weeks," Fallon said. "Other countries are being asked to look for their contribution to see what more they can do."

Fallon was in the United States to take part at a meeting of the so-called Global Coalition to Counter ISIL.
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Radar

Raising the tension: India moves nearly one hundred tanks and troops to Chinese border


Sputnik
Thu, 21 Jul 2016 00:57 UTC
Indian tanks
© AP Photo/ Carolyn Kaste
With tensions rising between China and India, New Delhi has deployed nearly 100 tanks to its eastern border.

The mountainous region of Ladakh, in northern India, lies in a tense location between disputed Kashmir and Tibet. In an effort to boost its military presence in the area, the Indian military has sent Russian-made T-72 tanks to Ladakh's Chinese border

"The vast flat valleys along the mountain ranges allow for armored movement; besides, there has been an increase in the force levels across the border," an unnamed military official told NDTV.

The tanks have undergone significant upgrades to be better outfitted for the region's climate.

"We have procured special additives and lubricants for high-altitude terrain such as winter-grade diesel and additives for the lubrication system, which prevents it from freezing in the tank," Colonel Vijay Dalal told The Hindu.

This marks the third regiment placed in Ladakh by India since 2014.
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SOTT Exclusive: Is Washington serious about partnership with Moscow in Syria?

Paul Mansfield
Sott.net
Thu, 21 Jul 2016 15:33 UTC
putin kerry
© TASS
Meetings between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov over a US proposal for military cooperation in Syria appear destined to fail. As they say, the path to ruin is paved with good intentions. In this instance, Russia has maintained good intentions throughout the war in Syria, while the US threatens to lead all participants on a path to ruin.

The details of the proposal were apparently hammered out over two days, which would see joint US-Russian airstrikes against Al-Nusra and ISIS; the grounding of Syrian air force planes in designated areas occupied by 'other rebel groups'; and agreement that Russia continue conducting airstrikes against Al-Nusra and ISIS in defence of Syrian forces. While it is curious indeed to see the US engaged in dialogue rather than unilaterally conducting its own airstrikes, this proposal reads suspiciously like a plea: "please, Mr Putin, don't bomb our 'moderate' terrorists."

Aside from the dubious idea of grounding Syria's air force from striking terrorist groups, the proposal would give the US a degree of control in subjecting Russian strikes against Nusra targets to American approval, according to the Washington Post, which broke the story last Thursday. Moscow, from the outset of its Syria campaign, has called for a truly international coalition in fighting all terrorists. Clearly this proposal would not achieve that. Moreover, with respect to policy in Syria, disunity among US diplomatic, military and intelligence circles (Hawkish generals, Ash Carter, Victoria Nuland, and the 51 State Department officials angling for a job under Hillary Clinton spring to mind) continues to grow, and this proposal is unlikely to reverse the trend.
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Gold Coins

Bank of England ponders issuing its own digital money


RT
Wed, 20 Jul 2016 21:12 UTC
bank of england digital currency
© Luke MacGregor/Reuters
A taxi and buses queue outside the Bank of England in London
England (BoE) have suggested central banks introduce their own cryptocurrency, claiming it could create a sizeable and long-term jolt for national economies.

According to a BoE report, a new digital currency could boost economic output by around three percent "due to reductions in real interest rates, discretionary taxes, and monetary transaction costs." It could also help maintain financial stability and provide policy makers with more effective tools to smooth financial booms and busts.

Central banks across the developed world, including the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada, are studying the potential of introducing a digital currency. If they decide to issue digital cash and make it available to the general public, money would exist electronically outside of bank accounts in digital wallets, like physical banknotes. That could radically reshape the present financial system.

A central bank issued 'bitcoin' would help policy makers control the amount of money in the economy which is not possible at the moment as commercial banks create money by using deposits as loans thus increasing the money supply.

Comment: When a central bank is touting a digital currency, the trap is closing. Wealth can be created with a few keystrokes and taken away in the same fashion.

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Briefcase

Grotesque and absurd: Republicans plumb the depths

Joseph Kishore and David North
World Socialist Web Site
Wed, 20 Jul 2016 21:42 UTC
Donald Trump
© AP
As one follows the Republican National Convention, one cannot avoid the conclusion that some fundamental political boundary is being crossed.

There is little reason to idealize the political history of the United States. The conventions of the two capitalist parties—attended by several thousand delegates representing a cross section of corrupt politicos and operatives in the pay of Big Business—have usually been sordid affairs. Over the past half-century they have resulted in the nominations of people such as Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and the two Bushes. And yet this Republican Party convention in Cleveland, which has just officially chosen Donald Trump as its candidate for president, represents something new, ugly and sick.

Even as socialists, who have carefully followed, analyzed and explained the protracted crisis of American democracy, it is difficult to suppress a feeling of disgust, akin to nausea, as one watches the proceedings. One cannot help but ask oneself, "Has it really come to this?" The convention is a display of the grotesque and the absurd, in which all that is seedy, stupid, backward, cruel and reactionary in American politics and culture is on display.

An air of demoralized paranoia dominates the convention. Under the slogan "Make America Great Again," the speakers describe a country in irreversible breakdown, beset by enemies inside and out. In the speeches, filled with appeals to the military and the police, one senses, beneath all the braggadocio, a ruling class extremely nervous about its future.

Comment: See also: Does fear lead to fascism? A culture of fear and the epigenetics of terror

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Fifth column hamstrung by post-coup purge: Turkey realigning with axis of resistance?

Harrison Koehli
Sott.net
Thu, 21 Jul 2016 19:41 UTC
Fethullah Gulen
© AP Photo/ Selahattin Sevi, File
CIA-backed terrorist trainer and recruiter Fethullah Gulen
turkey coup
Continuing our coverage of the coup in Turkey (see here for the previous updates, and here for my previous Focus), news from the past two days has not slowed down. It's coming fast and hard. Erdogan has just announced a 3-month state of emergency.

In FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds's recent commentary, she made the comment that detaining or firing a few thousand individuals would do little to counter the scope of the Gulenist fifth column in Turkey. Well, since those initial numbers, Turkish authorities have fired thousands more public officials and employees.

Breaking it down in numbers so far, the following have been suspended from their previous positions (close to 60,000 people in total): 21,000 private teachers (including 1,577 university deans, public and private - 626 institutions have been closed), 15,000 Education Ministry personnel (latest report adds an additional 6,500 staff members), 399 Ministry of Family and Social Policies employees, 257 employees in the office of the prime minister, 8,000 police officers, 3,500 soldiers, 3,000 judges and prosecutors (all of whom are under investigation) including 2 constitutional judges and 262 military judges/prosecutors, 492 clerics, 130 MIT spies, 120 generals and admirals (that's just under 30% of all generals), and the commander of the Turkish Gendarmerie Gen. Galip Mendi.

More than 9,300 people are currently under investigation for involvement in the coup. In addition to all government officials, all university professors have been banned from traveling abroad. Turkey's main religious body has banned all religious funeral services for military troops killed during the attempted coup; it only applies to those who actively took part, not those who participated "unwittingly or under duress".
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