Welcome to Sott.net
Sat, 06 Nov 2021
The World for People who Think

Puppet Masters
Map

Map

Syrian proxy war sitrep: Afrin, Idlib, East Ghouta


Moon of Alabama
Sat, 03 Mar 2018 21:41 UTC
After a slow start the Turkish and Jihadi attack on the Afrin canton in north-west Syria is making some progress. Despite intimate knowledge of the terrain and years of preparation the local Kurdish forces of the YPK have little chance to withstand.
afrin map march
© syriancivilwarmap.com
Turkish air and artillery support for the attacking force opponents is overwhelming the Kurds. The ground troops Turkey is using are mostly Islamist Free Syrian Army fighters directed by Turkish officers. A few Turkish special forces are acting as forward observers to call in artillery and airstrikes. Only yesterday the Turkish air force flew more than 30 bombing missions on a rather small front. Today some 36 fighters were killed by Turkish air strikes.

Last week the local Kurdish forces were reinforced by other Kurdish forces and Syrian government paramilitaries. Some of the Kurdish groups had split off from the U.S.-supported SDF in east Syria, crossed through Syrian government-held land and reached Afrin. Kurdish groups in Aleppo city gave control of two of the three districts they held to the Syrian government to join their brethren in Afrin. A contingent of 500 Syrian paramilitary fighters from two Shiite towns near Afrin also joined the fight. The Turkish army tried to interdict the convoys reinforcing Afrin but most of the fighters reached the front lines. The Syrian Red Cross sent a convoy with humanitarian goods for the about one million inhabitants of the canton.

Comment: According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the terrorists in East Ghouta have imposed a curfew on the civilians under their control, severely punishing them when trying to escape Ghouta into the protection of the Syrian Army:
Militants controlling the Damascus suburb have shelled a medical aid point and continuously open fire at a checkpoint in the area, Major General Vladimir Zolotukhin, a spokesman for the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria, told reporters on Sunday.

"At 12:50 [10:50 GMT] the militants from western suburbs of the Er-Rikhan settlement shelled a medical aid point. Six mortar shells exploded at a distance of 200-400 meters in the west," Zolotukhin said. He added that no one was injured in the attacks, unlike yesterday's assault at the humanitarian corridor, which left three civilians wounded.

Apart from constantly attacking the corridor, militants have also introduced a curfew to coincide with the daily five-hour humanitarian pauses to prevent civilians from fleeing. They have also prohibited people from holding any public gatherings, according to the official.

"Civilians violating the rules established by the militants are severely punished in public," the general said, referring to information obtained earlier by the reconciliation center.

The Russian military has previously reported that the civilian population was being used as "human shield" by the terrorists. On Sunday, Zolotukhin said that they "hide behind the backs of the elderly, women and children" while boosting their positions inside civilian infrastructure.


      Read More...
Mr. Potato

Ex-CIA chief and crazy person John Brennan calls Trump "unstable, inept, inexperienced, unethical"

John Bowden
The Hill
Fri, 02 Mar 2018 21:36 UTC
Brennan
© The Counter Jihad Report
Former CIA director John Brennan
Former CIA chief John Brennan on Friday predicted "rough waters ahead," particularly on international issues, saying President Trump is "unstable, inept, inexperienced, and also unethical."

In an interview with MSNBC's "Deadline: White House," Brennan told host Nicolle Wallace that the president was "ill prepared" to take on the duties of commander in chief, particularly growing military aggression from Russia and North Korea.

"It is no secret to anybody that Donald Trump was very ill prepared and unexperienced in terms of dealing with matters that a head of state needs to deal with, head of government, and I think this is now coming to roost," Brennan said.

"Our country needs to have confidence that we're going to be able to deal with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, who is flexing his muscles once again on the military front, that we can deal with North Korea, that we can deal with these issues. And if we have somebody in the Oval Office who is unstable, inept, inexperienced, and also unethical - we really have rough waters ahead."


Comment: Hmm, Brennan must think Trump won't go to war with Russia and North Korea. And that's a bad thing?

      Read More...
USA

America is a System Not a Democracy

Chris Kanthan
Sott.net
Sun, 04 Mar 2018 22:14 UTC
US democracy
Are you perturbed by what's happening in America? Are you shocked by inequality, disappearing middle class, declining quality of health, police brutality, gun violence, ever-growing national debt, government's Orwellian monitoring etc.? You are not alone, but all these are confusing only if you think in terms of an "American government" or "American corporations" or "American banks" that have, or should have, unique loyalty or consideration towards the American people.

But that's the wrong way to think about American today. Everything becomes clear if you think of it as a "System".
      Read More...
Pistol

Echoes of Vegas: Authorities are hiding surveillance footage of Parkland shooting

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Sun, 04 Mar 2018 20:57 UTC
Parkland nikolas Cruz
© The Free Thought Project
Just like officials have done in Las Vegas, authorities in Broward County are now surrounding themselves in secrecy and refusing to released the surveillance footage showing Nikolas Cruz attack the school.

In the weeks since the tragic shooting occurred in Parkland, Florida, we have learned that cops cowered outside instead of helping, the police and FBI were all warned on multiple occasions that the alleged shooter, Nikolas Cruz, told people he was going to shoot up the school, nearly two dozen people reported Cruz for death threats, and first responders were told to stand down. Now, we are finding out that the surveillance footage from the school - which the public has a right to see - is being deliberately kept secret by the Broward county sheriff - which many say is illegal.

Broward county sheriff Scott Israel, who has already been caught contradicting the official story, is claiming that the surveillance footage must remain secret.

Comment: A strange commonality. Perhaps media pressure will prevail in this case, but then one has to wonder:

Why does the media care more about the Parkland shooting than it ever did about Las Vegas?

      Read More...
Stock Up

What's the real game Trump is playing on NAFTA?

Edward Alden
Politico
Mon, 26 Feb 2018 00:00 UTC
trumpdollar
© CNN.com
He isn't negotiating. He's stalling for time.

As the United States, Canada and Mexico head into the seventh round of the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, there is a question increasingly looming over the talks: Why hasn't Donald Trump pulled the plug already?

The president has made no secret of his loathing for NAFTA, calling it during the campaign "the worst trade deal in history." He came very close to ending it nearly a year ago, in April 2017, but reportedly was talked down at the last minute by personal calls from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. Throughout the year, as the negotiations dragged past their original end-of-2017 deadline with no progress in sight, Trump continued to threaten withdrawal. As recently as the last round in Montreal in January, Canadian officials were telling reporters in advance that they were certain Trump was on the verge of pulling the U.S. out of NAFTA.

And yet, even with the president's top trade negotiator acknowledging last month after the Montreal round that the talks are "progressing very slowly," Trump now looks increasingly unlikely to leave the table. He told the Wall Street Journal that he was "leaving it a little bit flexible," and acknowledged that it would be hard to conclude a new NAFTA prior to Mexico's general election on July 1. "There's no rush," he added. That could mean the talks will now drag on until 2019, since the new Mexican president will not even take office until December.

Comment: The buck stops here...and big bucks as well, if negotiated honorably and structured fairly. Trump can't make up for yesterday's financial decisions and deficits.

      Read More...
Stock Up

Trump defends tariffs, says 'Trade wars are good'


RT
Sat, 03 Mar 2018 02:18 UTC
tradewars
© Axios
President Donald Trump has justified his decision to slap import taxes on trade partners in a bid to stem the growing multi-billion dollar deficit. China, the EU and Canada were mulling their response to the looming trade war.

"We must protect our country and our workers. Our steel industry is in bad shape," Trump tweeted Friday morning. "IF YOU DON'T HAVE STEEL, YOU DON'T HAVE A COUNTRY!"

On Thursday, Trump said import tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum would be announced next week. The New York Stock Exchange reacted badly, with the Dow Jones index dropping 420 points the same day.

Comment: A $566B trade deficit is a significant loss to the US economy.

Blue Ridge reports:
Trump's decision to seek steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports has provoked rarely seen urgency among Republicans, now scrambling to convince the president that he would spark a trade war that could stall the economy's recent gains if he doesn't reverse course.

The issue pits Trump's populist promises to his voters against the party's free trade orthodoxy and the interests of business leaders. Unlike recent immigration and gun policy changes that require legislation, Trump can alter trade policy by executive action. That intensifies the pressure on Republican lawmakers to change his mind before he gives his final approval for the penalties as early as this coming week.

Trump on Saturday showed no sign of backing away, threatening on Twitter to impose a tax on cars made in Europe if the European Union responds to the tariffs by taxing American goods. He also railed about "very stupid" trade deals by earlier administrations and said other countries "laugh at what fools our leaders have been. No more!"
See also:

      Read More...
Cloud Grey

Gathering war clouds: N. Korea will 'counter US' if it holds drills with Seoul


RT
Sat, 03 Mar 2018 15:03 UTC
N Korean military
© unknown
North Korea has threatened to "counter the US" if Washington holds joint military exercises with Seoul while still enforcing sanctions against Pyongyang.
"If the US finally holds joint military exercises while keeping sanctions on the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea], the DPRK will counter the US by its own mode of counteraction and the US will be made to own all responsibilities for the ensuing consequences," North Korea's official KCNA news agency said in a commentary on Saturday. "The US should clearly understand this and exercise prudence."
The US is due to begin joint exercises with Seoul in early April, a South Korean presidential security adviser said earlier this week, as quoted by Yonhap news agency. The plan has angered North Korea, which has long seen joint drills as a threat.

The KCNA commentary referred to the scheduled drills as an intention by America "to bring dark clouds of a war to hang over the Korean Peninsula." It also called for the US to be denounced by the international community, accusing Washington of aiming to "aggravate the situation on the Korean peninsula at any cost."

Pyongyang also said on Saturday that it is willing to have talks with the US, but that it rejects Washington's demands that it must first demonstrate willingness to denuclearize.

Comment: North Korea is being emboldened by Washington to a new level of reactivity. Trump is 'pushing the envelope', a strategy of escalating risks.

      Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Did US intelligence totally miss Russia's incredible advances in nuclear parity?

Gilbert Doctorow
Consortium News
Fri, 02 Mar 2018 00:00 UTC
NRO patch

The US National Reconnaissance Office patch
Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement on Thursday of major technological advances in nuclear weapons delivery systems appears to have caught the U.S. intelligence community unawares, reports Gilbert Doctorow.

President Vladimir Putin's two-hour long address yesterday to the Federal Assembly, a joint session of both houses of Russia's bicameral legislature - plus large numbers of Russia's cultural, business and other elites - constituted his platform for the upcoming presidential election on March 18. This, in lieu of participation in the televised debates on all federal television channels in which other seven candidates are busy these days.

But as is the case with many of Vladimir Putin's major presentations, the speech yesterday was addressed to a far broader audience than the Russian electorate. Many of the estimated 700 journalists invited to attend were foreign correspondents. Indeed, one might reasonably argue that the speech was directed abroad, precisely to the United States.

The final third of the address, devoted to defense and presenting for the first time several major new and technically unparalleled offensive nuclear weapons systems, established Russia's claim to full nuclear parity with the United States, overturning the country's withdrawal from superpower status dating from the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992. Some Russian commentators, in a burst of national pride, claimed that the power of the Soviet Union had now been restored and the wrongs of the 1990s were finally undone.
      Read More...
Info

George P Bush, relative of those Bushes, struggles in Texas and may signal end of 70-year political dynasty

Tom Dart
The Guardian
Sat, 03 Mar 2018 06:00 UTC
George P Bush with son Prescott
© Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT via Getty Images
George P Bush with son Prescott, turns out for a primary election in Fort Worth, Texas, in March 2014.
George P Bush is the young, half-Hispanic, grandson of the 41st president, nephew of the 43rd and son of a former Florida governor.

When he was elected Texas land commissioner four years ago, that background gave him a significant advantage as a fledgling Republican candidate seemingly on a fast track to stardom. Now, with conservative politics turned on its head by Trumpism, Bush is facing a tough primary election that threatens to doom his political career - and with it, bring to a close his family's 70-year political dynasty.

The land commissioner job - which manages state-owned land - was perceived to be a stepping stone to higher office, but the evisceration of his father, Jeb, in the 2016 Republican presidential primary showed that as it lurched to the right and was seduced by sound and fury, the GOP was no longer in the market for a quiet moderate named Bush.

Comment: See also: George P. Bush running for Texas land Commissioner

      Read More...
Question

Art of the deal? White House walks back Trump's gun control comments after meeting with NRA

Denis Slattery
NY Daily News
Fri, 02 Mar 2018 14:07 UTC
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders
© Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump is "interested in in improving" background checks on Friday.
The White House walked back several of President Trump's comments on gun control Friday - hours after the commander-in-chief met with officials from the National Rifle Association.

Trump made no promises to NRA leaders during a Thursday night Oval Office meeting, but vowed to "continue to support the Second Amendment," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.

Sanders sought to tame expectations after Trump's wide array of promises and proposals, made in the wake of the country's latest school shooting, on gun-related legislation.
      Read More...
Amazon Smile
Revolt! T-shirts