Welcome to Sott.net
Mon, 08 Nov 2021
The World for People who Think

Puppet Masters
Map

Laptop

More meddling in other countries: 'Cyber warriors' to join US infantry overseas


RT
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 16:36 UTC
US Army “cyber warrior
© Rick Wilking / Reuters
The US Army is preparing to embed "cyber warriors" within regular infantry units, Pentagon officials said. Claiming that the US has been shackled by laws, military officials vowed to enhance their offensive cyber-warfare capabilities.

Under the new protocol, the army's cyber soldiers will serve six-month rotations while integrated in infantry units. But unlike their rifle-toting comrades, the keyboard warriors will seek control over the battlefield by "non-kinetic" means.

"Not everything is attack and destroy. How can I influence by non-kinetic means? How can I reach up and create confusion and gain control?" Colonel Robert Ryan, who commands a Hawaii-based combat team, said on Wednesday.

The cyber warriors will tailor operations according to their commanders' needs, but a standard operation would likely involve dragnet information gathering and intercepting enemy transmissions, according to Colonel William Hartman of the army's Cyber Command.
      Read More...
Map

One Belt, One Road and the terrorist threat in China

Dmitry Bokarev
New Eastern Outlook
Sat, 16 Dec 2017 14:31 UTC
Chinese road
As is well known, international terrorism is a threat to the whole world. But this problem is particularly acute today in Asia, and China is no exception. In spite of being one of the most successful Asian States, PRC also has internal conflicts which are a breeding ground for terrorism.

China consists of many regions inhabited by peoples of different cultures and traditions, and separatist sentiment periodically intensifies in some of these regions. Currently first of all it is the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in Northwest China, or East Turkistan as it is also called by local advocates for separation from China. It is the largest Chinese region by area with a relatively small (by Chinese standards) population of about 22 million people. About 50% of the population in Xinjiang are Uygurs, a Turkic nation who practice Sunni Islam. Many of them dislike the Chinese, who are actively settling in the region as the result of a Beijing initiative.

Xinjiang has an ancient and complex history. At various times, independent states came into being in the region, and these states later joined larger entities, including the Chinese Empire at various periods of its history. Throughout the XVIII-XX centuries, the Uygurs revolted against Chinese rule about four hundred times. The current Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China was formed in 1955.

Comment: For more on OBOR: Pepe Escobar - The New Great Game moves from Asia-Pacific to Indo-Pacific

      Read More...
War Whore

The FBI: A ship full of fools

Roger L. Simon
PJ Media
Sat, 16 Dec 2017 16:10 UTC
mueller
© Associated Press/Cliff Owen
Of the many astonishing revelations now emerging from the Russia investigation, not enough has been made of the fact that Peter Strzok -- that Zelig of the FBI who mysteriously appeared at every controversial moment -- was second in command for counterintelligence.

That's right, counterintelligence -- that activity "designed to prevent or thwart spying, intelligence gathering, and sabotage by an enemy or other foreign entity."

And yet that same Mr. Strzok was conducting a clandestine extra-marital affair with an FBI colleague over thousands of text messages that could be and likely were (more of that in a moment) intercepted by those same foreign intelligence agencies -- or were, at the very least, recklessly exposed to them.

Now you don't have to be James Jesus Angleton or even have read a novel by John le Carré to know one of the most important vulnerabilities in the intel world is just such dangerous liaisons, frequently used for blackmail of all sorts.
      Read More...
Bad Guys

ISIS management structure & their plans to continue underground

Sophie Mangal
Global Research
Sat, 16 Dec 2017 14:47 UTC
ISIS returns to homes
© AFP
Inside Syria Media Center' sources report on personnel changes and on the renewal of ISIS leadership. Senior officials in hiding are trying to optimize the management of their structure and continue to carry out illegal subversive activities in a number of countries.

According to the sources, ISIS leadership is still under Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The representatives of ISIS military council are Iyad Abdulrahman al-Abadi, who is known as Abu Saleh al-Haifa, and Abu al-Harith Bashar Ismail al-Jarjar. For all the security issues Iyad Hamid Khalifa al-Jamili, known as Abdulrahman Ansari, and Abu Ali at-Turkmeni from Turkmenistan known as Abdul Bin Waheed Bin Khader Bin Ahmad are responsible. One of the high-ranking field commanders is Mustafa Sat Marim al-Nasr, also known as Masib As-Suri. The coordinators and official representatives, as well as spokesmen of the radical group, are Abu Hajir al-Sufi and Abu Hasan al-Muhajir. Besides, Abu Salah (Mustafa Mohamed al-Jarmusch) runs the financial management of ISIS.
      Read More...
Light Sabers

Trump is not Nixon, will go anything but quietly

Patrick J. Buchanan
Patrick J. Buchanan Blog
Thu, 14 Dec 2017 15:44 UTC
nixon resignation
© ABC News
Richard Nixon boards the White House helicopter after resigning the presidency, Aug. 9, 1974.
On Aug. 9, 1974, Richard Nixon bowed to the inevitability of impeachment and conviction by a Democratic Senate and resigned.

The prospect of such an end for Donald Trump has this city drooling. Yet, comparing Russiagate and Watergate, history is not likely to repeat itself.

First, the underlying crime in Watergate, a break-in to wiretap offices of the DNC, had been traced, within 48 hours, to the Committee to Re-Elect the President.

In Russiagate, the underlying crime - the "collusion" of Trump's campaign with the Kremlin to hack into the emails of the DNC - has, after 18 months of investigating, still not been established.

Comment: Get the popcorn. The real show is starting now.

      Read More...
Attention

US may drastically change policy on North Korea

Andrei Akulov
Strategic Culture Foundation
Sat, 16 Dec 2017 14:28 UTC
Korean children
Tensions have been running high recently, with signs of impending conflict hard to avoid. The US demand for North Korea to dismantle the nuclear program as a prerequisite for negotiation process led the situation into an impasse.

It may not be in the spotlight but the change of policy is obvious. The recent remarks made by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are signs that prospects for talks may be looming on the horizon while the balancing on the brink of war may be coming to an end. It may be a start of preparing the public opinion for peace talks where Moscow could play a prominent role.

The top diplomat offered to begin direct talks with North Korea without pre-conditions. He obviously backed away from the demand that Pyongyang must first give up the nuclear potential. "Let's just meet," the secretary said in a speech to Washington's Atlantic Council think tank on December 12. According to him, the United States was "ready to talk any time they're ready to talk", but there would first have to be a "period of quiet" without nuclear and missile tests.

Comment: A lot of wishful thinking here by the author. We shall have to wait and see what happens after the Olympics.

      Read More...
Snakes in Suits

Delusional Sen. Blumenthal: Leaving Russiagate hoax out of Trump's daily briefing is 'very dangerous'

Sally Persons
Washington Times
Sat, 16 Dec 2017 14:47 UTC
Richard Blumenthal
© AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Friday that reports of intelligence officials leaving out information about Russia so as not to upset President Trump is "very dangerous."

"I'm certainly not comfortable with it. The president needs and deserves to face objective reality, which is Russia is a threat to our democracy," Mr. Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, said on CNN.


Comment: Blumenthal went on to say "In fact he's firmly rejected any suggestion that Russia attacked our democracy, which plainly it did." Yes, so 'plainly' that a year long investigation hasn't even turned up any actual evidence.


A Washington Post report said Thursday that intelligence officials tend to tailor the daily briefings so they do not upset Mr. Trump and sidetrack the conversation. Sometimes, the officials said, they'll write up the report and leave it for the president to read, or mention it toward the end of the meeting.

Comment: Poor Blumenthal must still be upset that Trump called him out for pretending to have served in Vietnam. Trump's words still stand:



      Read More...
Pistol

MSM catches on, realizes weapons sent by CIA to 'Syrian rebels' were reaching ISIS less than two months later

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Fri, 15 Dec 2017 00:00 UTC
  • Mainstream media in 2013: "Conspiracy Theorists!"
  • Mainstream media in 2017: "ISIS got a powerful missile the CIA bought!"
US manufactured
© Conflict Armament Research
Years late to the party, mainstream media outlets like USA Today, Reuters, and Buzzfeed are just out with "breaking" and "exclusive" stories detailing how a vast arsenal of weapons sent to Syria by the CIA in cooperation with US allies fuelled the rapid growth of ISIS. Buzzfeed's story entitled, Blowback: ISIS Got A Powerful Missile The CIA Secretly Bought In Bulgaria, begins by referencing "a new report on how ISIS built its arsenal highlights how the US purchased munitions, intended for Syrian rebels, that ended up in the hands of the terrorist group."

The original study that Buzzfeed and other media are referencing comes from a UK-based independent weapons research organization called Conflict Armament Research (CAR) which has had a team of weapons and munitions experts on the ground in the Middle East for years examining arms and equipment recovered from ISIS and other terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria. Using serial numbers, crate shipping markings, and all available forensics data, the CAR experts began finding that as early as 2013 to 2014 much of the Islamic State's advanced weapons systems as well as small arms were clearly sourced to the United States and the West.

Comment: Russia declared that Syrian War was over. Despite all these years of funding non-existent moderate-rebels and destroying a small nation, America and their minions failed to change the Syrian government. Why is it MSM announcing this seemingly inconsequential news as a investigative journalism now?. Is it to buttress their ratings or create a case for more funding to CIA operations?

      Read More...
Vader

Sleepwalking to disaster, Mexico Congress approves police powers for military in spite of outcry from human rights groups


South China Morning Post
Sat, 16 Dec 2017 12:14 UTC
Mexico flag Mexican military army soldiers bandera
© AP
Mexico's Senate approved a law on Friday to give the military legal justification to act as police, despite objections from human rights groups.
The army was has been made to do the job of local forces since 2006 when it was realised that cartels were far too strong. But since then, accusations of executions and torture have surfaced

Mexico's Congress has handed the military a legal framework that allows them to act as police, despite unanimous objections from human rights groups.

President Enrique Pena Nieto is expected to sign the bill into law after it was approved on Friday. The Senate made changes to the bill to try to calm fears that army troops could be used to crack down on protests or that local authorities would feel less pressure to improve their police forces.

The law lets the president issue a decree allowing military deployments for one year to certain states where there are "threats to national security" and police aren't able to cope with violence.


Comment: Who is to determine what constitutes a threat to national security?


But the president could also grant unlimited extensions, allowing the military to become a permanent presence, as they have become in the particularly violent border state of Tamaulipas for more than a decade.

Comment: Chances are that one day in the near future Mexicans will wake up to see their country turned into a full military dictatorship.

More on this sad issue:

      Read More...
Handcuffs

Russia cleans house: ex-economy minister Ulyukayev sentenced to 8 years in prison in $2mn bribery case


RT
Fri, 15 Dec 2017 08:36 UTC
Russian former economy minister Alexei Ulyukayev
© Mikhail Voskresenskiy / Sputnik
Russian former economy minister Alexei Ulyukayev
Former Russian economy minister Aleksey Ulyukayev has been found guilty on charges of taking a $2 million bribe and sentenced to eight years in prison. He is now the highest-ranking Russian official to have been convicted on corruption charges.

Ulyukayev was detained in November 2016 on charges of allegedly receiving a $2 million bribe, in return for his ministry's support of a positive assessment that would allow state oil company Rosneft to complete a deal to purchase the government's stake in another Russian oil major, Bashneft.

The charges were based on the testimony of Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, as well as a on the evidence of a sting operation, in which Sechin personally handed a bag containing $2 million in cash to Ulyukayev, the then-economy minister.


Comment: You're fired: Moscow is cleaning house of corrupt regional governors before 2018 elections


Comment: Russian economy minister caught taking $2mn bribe from oil giant Rosneft (UPDATES)

      Read More...
Amazon Smile
Revolt! T-shirts