Puppet Masters

Turkish FM Cavusoglu: Ankara considers joint op with Baghdad against Iraqi Kurds

RT
Thu, 08 Mar 2018 18:57 UTC

Ankara and Baghdad may carry out a joint military operation against Iraqi Kurds after the May election in Iraq, the Turkish foreign minister said.

Speaking to CNN Turk, Mevlut Cavusoglu also said that Ankara's own operation against Syrian Kurdish militias in the Afrin region would be completed by May.

Kurdish militias in Iraq and Syria were allied with the US-led coalition, which rallied them for operations targeting the jihadist forces of the terrorist group, Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS). In Syria, the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces, which are dominated by Kurdish YPG militias, were the primary ground force in the siege of the IS stronghold of Raqqa.

Comment: Speaking to reporters on his flight from Germany to Austria, Çavuşoğlu said the joint cross-border operation with Iraq may start after Iraq holds parliamentary elections scheduled for May 2018, signaling Turkish troops may move to northern Iraq following the ongoing operation.

"Even if the Afrin operation has not yet been completed, we have the capacity to carry out both operations simultaneously," Çavuşoğlu said.
...

The minister's statement came after the Turkish General Chief of Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar met with his Iraqi counterpart Gen. Othman al-Ghanimi in Baghdad on March 1.

After Akar was received by Iraqi Defense Minister Erfan al-Hiyali at the Defense Ministry building in Baghdad, the three reportedly discussed regional security and means of enhancing bilateral military relations.

"Turkey and Iraq have been facing the same risks and threats that generated from the latest regional situations," said Akar.

"We would like to boost our relations and collaborate over the war against terrorism and border security," he added.

"This visit will be beneficial for the people on both sides," Ghanimi said.

See also: US Wants Control over Iraqi-Syrian Borders

U.S. Army analysis: Strategy to 'dethrone' Putin for oil pipelines might provoke WW3

Nafeez Ahmed
Medium
Wed, 07 Mar 2018 16:33 UTC

© Janek Skarzynski / Agence France-Presse /Getty Images
French soldiers unload tanks from a train in northern Poland for a NATO military exercise

A US Army document concedes the real interests driving US military strategy toward Russia: dominating oil pipeline routes, accessing the vast natural resources of Central Asia, and enforcing the expansion of American capitalism worldwide.

The Russians are coming. They hacked our elections. They are lurking behind numerous alternative political movements and news outlets. Such is the overwhelming chorus from traditional reporting on Russia, which sees the United States as being under threat from fanatical Russian expansionism - expansionism which has gone so far as to interfere dramatically in the 2016 Presidential elections.

Russian MoD: E. Ghouta militants attack civilian convoy of 300 families, at least 3 cars burnt

RT
Thu, 08 Mar 2018 18:43 UTC

Militants entrenched in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta have attacked a convoy of civilians trying to exit Ghouta, and shelled the area where their relatives and journalists had been waiting, Russian military said.

The armed groups fired on a civilian convoy of some 300 families, who were attempting to leave Eastern Ghouta via a humanitarian corridor, spokesman for the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria, Major General Vladimir Zolotukhin, told journalists on Thursday. The convoy came under fire just a kilometer away from the exit, where relatives of the Eastern Ghouta residents were waiting with journalists. It was not immediately clear whether there were casualties in the attack, but at least three cars were reportedly destroyed as a result of the shelling.

The militants then opened mortar fire on the exit area. No one was injured in the second attack, as civilians and journalists in the area were all immediately evacuated.

Comment: Local residents of Eastern Ghouta are sending messages to the Center for the Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria, telling about their readiness to leave the area but militants' leaders are taking all efforts to prevent their exit, Center Representative Major General Vladimir Zolotukhin said on Thursday.

'For this purpose, the illegal armed formations have intensified repressive measures against the population and increased the intensity of shelling the checkpoint near the town of El-Vafidin. The fire is delivered also during humanitarian pauses, due to which no one has been able to leave the exclave towards the checkpoint at the current moment," the general said.

The situation in the area remains complex and tense, he added.

Pentagon 'disappointed' by Putin's revelation of new Russian nuclear deterrent

RT
Thu, 08 Mar 2018 00:00 UTC

Top Pentagon officials have told US lawmakers that they were "disappointed" by Putin's public announcement of Russia's unmatched missile capability, lamenting that he will use it to further "intimidate" the US and its allies.

"I think the statements made by Russian president Putin while not surprising were nonetheless disappointing. While we have been aware of the development of Russia's capabilities and watching with concern some of the development that has occurred in terms of Russia's doctrine and exercise program, it is nonetheless disappointing to see that the president of the Russian Federation chose to feature these capabilities in a way that he did," Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, John Rood, told the House Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, in a discussion on US Strategic Forces Posture and the Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Request.

Commander of the US Strategic Command, General John Hyten, added that "Putin's statements are not surprising and only reinforce Russia's commitment to develop weapons designed to intimidate and coerce the US and its allies."

Comment: See also:

They got your mind: Pentagon blatantly admits on Twitter it works with Hollywood to sell you war propaganda

John Vibes
The Free Thought Project
Tue, 06 Mar 2018 15:24 UTC

Hollywood Pentagon Department of Defense Private Ryan

In a tweet about the Oscars, the Department of Defense quite literally bragged about working in Hollywood, to ensure that the military is only portrayed in a manner they see fit.

This week, the Department of Defense sent out an interesting Tweet where they openly admitted that they control how the US government is portrayed in Hollywood films.

While this is a fact that has been documented for many years, it is still largely overlooked by mainstream media sources, who insist that this idea is nothing more than a conspiracy theory. In the post, it was plainly admitted that the agency "works with Hollywood to ensure the military is portrayed correctly in films."

Comment: Expect to see more baddies called Boris or Vladimir in your action movies in the near future.

Tell us more about how Google isn't part of the government and can therefore censor whoever it wants?

Caitlin Johnstone
Medium
Wed, 07 Mar 2018 11:42 UTC

When you tell an establishment Democrat that Google's hiding and removal of content is a dangerous form of censorship, they often magically transform into Ayn Rand right before your eyes.

"It's a private company and they can do what they like with their property," they will tell you. "It's insane to say that a private company regulating its own affairs is the same as government censorship!"

This is absurd on its surface, because Google is not separate from the government in any meaningful way. It has been financially intertwined with US intelligence agencies since its very inception when it received research grants from the CIA and NSA for mass surveillance, pours massive amounts of money into federal lobbying and DC think tanks, has a cozy relationship with the NSA and multiple defense contracts.

"Some of Google's partnerships with the intelligence community are so close and cooperative, and have been going on for so long, that it's not easy to discern where Google Inc ends and government spook operations begin," wrote journalist Yasha Levine in a 2014 Pando Daily article titled "Oakland emails give another glimpse into the Google-Military-Surveillance Complex".

"The purchase of Keyhole was a major milestone for Google, marking the moment the company stopped being a purely consumer-facing Internet company and began integrating with the US government," Levine wrote in a recent blog post about his book Surveillance Valley. "While Google's public relations team did its best to keep the company wrapped in a false aura of geeky altruism, company executives pursued an aggressive strategy to become the Lockheed Martin of the Internet Age."

Comment: Google, now a proud member of the Military Industrial Complex:

Google working with Pentagon on using AI for combat drone improvement

US driven by neo-imperialist ambitions, interfering in other countries' affairs - but they're losing their grip on Africa

RT
Thu, 08 Mar 2018 09:16 UTC

Rex Tillerson's criticism of China's policy in Africa is not exactly appropriate, says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He also slammed the US for interfering in other countries' affairs, pursuing neo-imperialist ambitions.

Lavrov's statements came on Thursday after he met with Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Harare.

"I didn't know that [US Secretary of State] Rex Tillerson is a specialist in Chinese-American relations," Lavrov said. He added that "it's not exactly appropriate" for Tillerson to speak about Africa's relations with other countries, while a guest, especially in such "a negative way."

Michael Flynn forced to sell his house to pay his legal bills, says his brother

Mark Moore
New York Post
Tue, 06 Mar 2018 11:14 UTC

Michael Flynn, President Trump's former national security adviser, has put his Virginia home on the market to help pay his mounting legal bills after pleading guilty to lying to FBI agents about his Russia contacts, according to a report Tuesday.

Flynn, who was fired from the White House last February, put his 13-year-old, three-bedroom home in Old Town Alexandria on the market in December with an asking price of $895,000, his brother Joe Flynn told ABC News.

He has since lowered the price to $834,995, according to realtor.com.

The retired Army general bought the house three years ago for $774,000.

Comment: Will the witch-hunting zeal demonstrated against Flynn be applied to Andrew McCabe as well?

Could Andrew McCabe be charged like Michael Flynn if he lied?

Could Andrew McCabe be charged like Michael Flynn if he lied?

Jonathan Turley
The Hill
Mon, 05 Mar 2018 10:20 UTC

The Justice Department's inspector general is reportedly close to releasing a report on its investigation into the handling of the Clinton Foundation. FBI Director Christopher Wray reportedly asked deputy director Andrew McCabe to step down in light of some of the findings of the inspector general.

One aspect of the reported findings, however, stands out. According to these reports, investigators believed that McCabe misled them about his approval of a leak to the media on the Clinton investigation. An alleged false or misleading statement by McCabe could rekindle questions about how the Justice Department addresses alleged false statements within its own ranks.

Ultimately, Inspector General Michael Horowitz has the authority to refer a matter to criminal investigators in cases of false statements or other crimes. He can also refer matters to state bars in cases of professional misconduct by lawyers. He could do either in the matter of McCabe if investigators conclude that McCabe intentionally misled them. However, if history is any guide, McCabe is unlikely to find himself facing a charge.

Comment: See as well:

Listen liberals: Russia is not the enemy

Dan Kovalik
Huffington Post
Thu, 15 Feb 2018 09:56 UTC

I must say that I am simply baffled by what appears to be the prevailing view in this country, and especially among liberals, that Russia is somehow a threat to the United States.

In truth, one of the only redeeming qualities of a Trump presidency that I saw was the possibility that his administration would repair ties with Russia and work with that country in trying to solve issues of mutual concern, particularly in the Middle East. Yet, that is one goal of the new White House which the establishment, both in Washington and in the media, seem hell-bent on preventing. Indeed, I agree with the assessment of a number of commentators, including Dennis Kucinich who is breaking ranks with fellow liberals over this issue, that the U.S. intelligence community's successful attempt to remove Mike Flynn as National Security Adviser was motivated by the desire to keep the new Cold War going.

While I certainly understand it is in the interest of the military-industrial complex, again as Kucinich explains, to continue to vilify Russia in order to justify our already-bloated military spending, I am a bit taken aback at how eager most liberals are to embrace and even stoke this demonization.

Comment: Indeed. Sadly, a lot of liberals these days are possessed by their ideology and their blind hatred of Trump, and have swallowed the whole 'Russiagate' propaganda nonsense, to the point that they appear to be willing to risk World War III - all for the sake of not accepting they were wrong from the start. A case in point:

Young Turks' Cenk Uygur joins the chorus demanding that Trump escalate further with Russia

Jut for laffs here's George Carlin doing a spoof as the Architect in the Matrix: [Link]

parzival

.. .. Is the Brits' Prince Pedo ok? [Link]

Jibrish

.. .. jUS Con gress shid show [Link] Let's go pfhizer [Link]

Jibrish

Billionaires certainly have no right to remove our supposed democracy and bring through 'resets' through the back door. Neither do our politicians...

Kevin Smith

Unfortunately this can't be done in Australia, as AHPRA will pull anyone's liscence to practice if they "say anything bad" about vaccines. This is...

Ruth

Puppet Masters

Turkish FM Cavusoglu: Ankara considers joint op with Baghdad against Iraqi Kurds

U.S. Army analysis: Strategy to 'dethrone' Putin for oil pipelines might provoke WW3

Russian MoD: E. Ghouta militants attack civilian convoy of 300 families, at least 3 cars burnt

Pentagon 'disappointed' by Putin's revelation of new Russian nuclear deterrent

They got your mind: Pentagon blatantly admits on Twitter it works with Hollywood to sell you war propaganda

Tell us more about how Google isn't part of the government and can therefore censor whoever it wants?

US driven by neo-imperialist ambitions, interfering in other countries' affairs - but they're losing their grip on Africa

Michael Flynn forced to sell his house to pay his legal bills, says his brother

Could Andrew McCabe be charged like Michael Flynn if he lied?

Listen liberals: Russia is not the enemy

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