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Putin: Russia won't be drawn into arms race, but military has to catch up


RT
Wed, 11 Nov 2015 17:12 UTC
Image
© Alexei Druzhinin / RIA Novosti
November 10, 2015. Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, chairs a meeting on the development of the defense complex in the Bocharov Ruchei residence in Sochi
Russia won't take part in any kind of arms race, but the country's defense industry needs to bridge some gaps, Russia's President Vladimir Putin said.

"We're not going to get involved in some sort of arms race. Especially, chase or bypass somebody," Putin said during a meeting on the development of Russian armed forces in Sochi.

"We just need to catch up on what was lost at the turn of the 1990s - 2000s when the armed forces and the military-industrial complex were chronically underfunded," he added.

During the meeting, the president stressed the importance of implementing measures aimed at increasing the efficiency of interaction between the Defense Ministry and the military-industrial complex.

Comment: Russia is clearly quite capable of producing high-class weaponry: Russia's S-400 missile has no parallels in terms of combat capabilities. And with the US/NATO rattling the saber of war all around their borders, they really have no choice but to bulk up their defenses.

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Bad Guys

U.S. will extend Syrian conflict until Iran and Russia concede 'Assad must go'

Salman Rafi Sheikh
New Eastern Outlook
Wed, 11 Nov 2015 18:27 UTC
Assad quote us sponsored terrorism
© Unknown
Since the beginning of the Russian military campaign against ISIS and other terrorist outfits in Syria, the US has been finding it difficult to devise a counter-balancing strategy. It would not be an exaggeration to contend that the Russian campaign certainly has jeopardized the US vital strategic objectives. Neither is the US in any position to remove Assad from power—a vital objective of the US Syria strategy—nor is it in any position to fight the terrorists because they are the US' only ground source available at the moment to keep the Syrian Army engaged in the conflict. Hence, the question: how is the US actually trying to off-set the Russian campaign in Syria?

As of October 28, 2015, the US is operating at least on three different yet highly interconnected fronts to defeat Russia in Syria. These fronts include: diplomatic, Islamic militancy and a proper military offensive, including both ground and air operations. These apparently looking diverse fronts have one cardinal objective in common: removal of Assad from power and consequent defeat of Russian campaign against the CIA backed terrorist organizations.

On the diplomatic front, the US has very keenly invited Iran to discuss peace proposal. The important question that we must be asking is why has the US included Iran in this round of talks? Does the US expect Iran to change its erstwhile stance towards Assad? It seems to be highly unlikely that Iran would change its stance. Iran has been a staunch ally of President Bashar Al-Assad and it also has a strategic view of the Syrian crisis and has its own interests, materialization of which depends upon the continuation of Assad's regime.

Comment: The US' information war does hint that they may well be pursuing this strategy. They want to spin this conflict into an example of 'Russian imperialism' by driving the lie that Russia's protection of Syria's sovereignty is actually an imperial maneuver vis a vis the Soviet Union's (propagandized) 'Bear trap' in Afghanistan, which saw the CIA undermine a progressive Afghan government and replace it with fundamentalists:
What happened to this progressive government? In brief, it was undermined by the CIA and the mujahedeen, which triggered a series of events that destroyed the country - and ironically led to the disaster of September 11, 2001 in the USA and to the present chaos and tragedy in Afghanistan. [...]

Sending in troops to Afghanistan was a colossal blunder on the part of the USSR. If the Soviets had simply provided weapons for the Afghan government, they may have survived the "barbarians at the gates" - because ordinary Afghan people were not fanatics and most of them had supported the government's progressive reforms.
But the Russia of today is not the Soviet Union. Hopefully a combined effort by Iran, Iraq, Russia, and Syria will be able to restore the control of legitimate authorities in Syria, and these legitimate authorities will be able to maintain a lid on Washington's terrorist threat.

Check out:

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Arrow Down

US intel agencies trying to incite Russo-Saudi clash in Syria


Sputnik News
Wed, 11 Nov 2015 19:04 UTC
Syria
© AFP 2015/Joseph Eid
US intelligence agencies are trying to put a spoke in Russia’s wheels in Syria by working to incite a Russo-Saudi clash in the region, the German newspaper Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten (DWN) reported.
US intelligence agencies are trying to put a spoke in Russia's wheels in Syria by working to incite a Russo-Saudi clash in the region, the German newspaper Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten (DWN) reported.

The situation in Syria might get worse because the US government stands behind a scheme to make Saudi Arabia provide greater support to various Syrian opposition forces amid the ongoing Russian airstrikes, the newspaper said.

The Saudi's support of Syrian rebel factions undermines the efforts of troops loyal to the government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who is a Russian ally. In other words, by supporting Syrian rebels, who are fighting against al-Assad, Saudi Arabia challenges the Russian anti-ISIL campaign in Syria, DWN said.

The offensives of the Syrian army backed by Russian air strikes began to slow down because of the increased Saudi support to rebels.

"Saudi is in a state of madness, escalating to the greatest degree," a source close to the Syrian army said, as cited by Reuters.
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Network

Russia announces Iran's membership in Eurasian Development Bank


Tasnim News Agensy
Wed, 11 Nov 2015 18:11 UTC
iran deal flag
The head of the Central Bank of Russia announced that the country welcomes Iran's membership in the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB).

In a meeting with Iran's Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi in Moscow on Tuesday evening, Elvira Nabiullina voiced Russia's willingness to promote cooperation with the Islamic Republic in the area of banking. She further described the connection of the two countries' electronic payment systems and the establishment of correspondent banking relationship as the grounds for promotion of mutual cooperation between the two sides.

Vaezi, for his part, hailed bilateral relations between Tehran and Moscow as close, and said the promotion of banking cooperation will boost economic ties between the two countries. The EDB is a regional development bank established by the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2006. The Bank currently has six member states, including Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
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Footprints

Palestinian investigating committee finds Israel responsible for assassinating Yasser Arafat


PressTV
Wed, 11 Nov 2015 18:25 UTC
Yasser Arafat
© AFP
The late leader of Palestine Liberation Organization Yasser Arafat
A Palestinian investigation team probing the mysterious death of the former leader of Palestine Liberation Organization, Yasser Arafat, says he was assassinated by Israel.
"The inquiry committee has been able to identify the assassin of former president Yasser Arafat," said Tawfiq Tirawi, the head of the team, AFP reported on Tuesday.

He said "Israel is responsible" for Arafat's death, adding, "We still need some time to elucidate the exact circumstances of this assassination."
The announcement came just one day before the 11th death anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize winner. About two months ago, a French team wrapped up investigations without any charges or any tangible results. In 2012, Arafat's widow, Suha, filed a legal compliant in France, claiming that her husband had been assassinated while staying at the Mercy military hospital near Paris in 2004. He was moved to the hospital the previous month for diarrhea and vomiting. According to French doctors, he died of a massive stroke, although the origin of his illness was unknown.

Arafat's tomb in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah was opened in 2004 so that three teams of French, Swiss, and Russian investigators could collect samples for the case. Many Palestinians believe that Israel poisoned Arafat. The Tel Aviv regime has denied any involvement in the matter.

Comment: Arafat was a man who worked tirelessly for peace. As such Israel wanted him out of the way and even went so far as to pass a bill calling for his removal from power a year before his death. See:

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Bomb

Syrian Army closer than ever to retaking the strategically important city of Palmyra


Sputnik
Wed, 11 Nov 2015 16:23 UTC
Syrian army
© AFP 2015/ STR
The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) assisted by Russian warplanes is slowly advancing towards the city of Palmyra, home to priceless Roman-era ruins partially destroyed by ISIL fighters; but it is too early to speak of victory, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported.

Damascus-led forces seem not to be in a hurry to retake Palmyra, probably the most famous archeological and historic site in Syria. They are mostly destroying ISIL manpower and occasionally take militant strongholds under control. Sometimes Russian Mil Mi-24P attack helicopters provide aerial support.

"Syrian aircraft are easily detectable in the sky and militants have time to hide. Russian warplanes launch attacks from higher altitudes since they are equipped with cutting-edge sighting and guidance systems. They also use guided bombs," a Syrian officer told RIA Novosti, adding that Russian planes are not visible from the ground, meaning they have an advantage of attacking anytime and anywhere.

Comment: It's great to see that the Syrian Army is taking back the country from Washington's terrorist mercenaries. If it weren't for Russia, Syria might have fallen back in 2013, when Washington was using the false 'Assad used nerve gas on his own people' narrative to justify an invasion. Putin warned then, in a Plea for Caution from Russia, that toppling Assad would unleash all-out bloodshed, like that witnessed in Libya. In a brilliant diplomatic maneuver, Russia insisted that, though there was plenty of evidence that the chemical weapon attack was a false flag, they would make sure Assad's chemical weapons were publicly disposed of.

Since then Washington has been doing their best to make sure they get the bloodshed they missed out on, using terrorist mercenaries to topple Assad while still falsely accusing him of being an 'evil dictator'. It's clear they have a plan for remaking the Middle East. Thanks to Russian intervention, these plans are being thwarted in Syria, and Washington's CIA/al Qaeda/ISIS assets are being wiped off the map. But it's also clear that Washington is not going to stop, and the cross-hairs are on Russia.

Read more:

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USA

A fool's game: First 6 of 12 US fighter jets deployed to Turkey to 'defeat ISIS' and deter 'Russian aggression'


RT
Wed, 11 Nov 2015 17:43 UTC
A US Air Force F-15 C fighter aircraft
© Prakash Singh / AFP
The first six of 12 US fighter jets have arrived in Turkey at Ankara's request, according to the Pentagon. It says the deployment is aimed at protecting slow-flying US planes hitting Islamic State targets in Syria, and deterring Russian aggression.


Comment: Meant to deter Russian success. Russia is not the aggressor here.


The arrival of the F-15-C Eagle jet fighters to Incirlik Air Base represents "both our commitment to ensure the safety of our NATO ally and our commitment to degrade and ultimately defeat the [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant] in Iraq and Syria," Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said on Tuesday.

In addition to the F-15Cs, the US Air Force will also soon deploy F-15E Strike Eagle jets to Incirlik as part of the US-led coalition's operations against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). However, their number and date of arrival have yet to be determined, according to Cook.

Comment: The US and Turkey are playing a dangerous game here trying to interfere with Russia's success in Syria. A 'mistake' is bound to happen.

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Gold Seal

Federal Judge calls bulls**t on NSA bulk spying program

Claire Bernish
Anti Media
Tue, 10 Nov 2015 00:00 UTC
Image

D.C. District Court Judge Richard Leon employs common sense, understanding of the law, and true justice. Rare commodities in Washington D.C.
Snowden vindicated as Judge shuts down NSA bulk spying in epic smackdown

On Monday, a federal judge ordered a halt to the NSA's bulk metadata collection program in a reiteration and confirmation of a previous ruling that found the practice "unconstitutional"— and even "Orwellian."

"This court simply cannot, and will not, allow the government to trump the Constitution merely because it suits the exigencies of the moment," stated Washington, D.C. District Court Judge Richard Leon in his mordant 43-page ruling.

Edward Snowden immediately hailed the decision, pointing out significant passages from the court to his millions of Twitter followers. Of particular importance — and, indeed, at the heart of both known and potentially unknown domestic spy programs — remains the impossible reckoning between Fourth Amendment protections and the government's claims of a national security imperative.

Comment: Though we can certainly relish that someone, somewhere in the U.S. in a position of legal authority has called BS on one of the major lies and injustices of our time, the sad fact of the matter is that it will probably not stop the NSA in any way, shape or form. This abomination called an intelligence agency exists primarily as an entity unto itself, with revolving doors of personnel who go into or out of the corporate world to become wealthy off of the liberties and rights of the vast majority of the world's citizens. And, as Judge Leon asserts, it has never been known to actually prevent any acts terrorism ostensibly its raison d'être. The NSA is a body of malevolent and myopic parasites.

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Gold Bar

China discovers largest ever undersea gold deposit


Sputnik
Wed, 11 Nov 2015 17:19 UTC
Chinese gold mining
© People's Daily Online
Chinese marine geologists have discovered about 500 tons of gold under the seabed in the East China Sea, local media reported.

The first undersea gold reserves and the largest gold deposit found in China was discovered after three years of investigations near Sanshan Island in east China's Shandong province, 1.2 miles below sea level, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported Tuesday.

The new-found deposit is currently valued at over $16.4 billion and is estimated to hold at least 1,600 tons of gold, according to the newspaper.

The gold mine is located near the city of Laizhou, which is home to the largest gold deposits in the country.

Comment: China continues to accumulate gold at a feverish pace. How does that saying go: he who owns the gold, owns the world?

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Eye 1

German govt. desperate to cover up true extent of NSA and BND spying scandal


Sputnik
Wed, 11 Nov 2015 16:33 UTC
Image
© AP Photo/ Markus Schreiber
The German government is trying to cover up the scandal surrounding the country's national intelligence agency (BND), a foundation for liberal politics in Germany said Wednesday.

Three members of the German parliament are due to present their report on the BND's activities in Europe and the United States to a parliamentary oversight committee later in the day.

According to the German radio station RBB, the BND allegedly spied on a German diplomat and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

Comment: Merkel has plenty on her plate, with conservative factions in the country furious that she was not tough enough on Greece, and others even more furious at her 'open arms' immigration policies. With the NSA and BND scandals lurking in the background, and with who knows how much blackmail material they have waiting in the wings, it looks like Germany is under siege by some very nasty people.

Read more:

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