Puppet Masters

US imperialism: Pentagon chief outlines plan for escalation of Iraq-Syria war

World Socialist Web Site
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 19:03 UTC

In a speech to US soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division about to deploy to Iraq, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter gave the most extensive account of the Pentagon's plans to escalate the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria over the next year.

In particular, he singled out the two largest urban areas controlled by ISIS, the city of Mosul in northern Iraq, third-largest in the country, and the group's de facto capital of Raqqa, in eastern Syria, as the main targets for coordinated air, ground and special operations warfare in the next period.

Russia may begin releasing data on US-coalition activity in Syria

ITAR-TASS
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 17:37 UTC

The Russian Defense Ministry may begin publishing data on the results of airstrikes of the international coalition in the Middle East, in order to disprove the accusations alleging that the Russian military aim at civilian targets, ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Friday.

General Konashenkov recalled that at the end of last year the ministry said that it had the sufficient amount of information on the results of the work of the countries of the anti-Islamic State coalition in Syria. The Defense Ministry said that these results did not always correspond to the stated objectives.

"Frankly speaking, we expected our colleagues not only to pay attention to this, but also to draw certain conclusions. Therefore, to disprove further rumours and accusations against us and if our colleagues keep silent on the results of their bombings in Syria, we will ourselves have to inform the public of these facts," said the Russian official.

According to Konashenkov, in the area of Aleppo where a school was allegedly destroyed by an airstrike more than 10 aircraft of the coalition, as well as attack drones were fulfilling various combat tasks on that day. In addition, since December 20 last year to this day the coalition planes have been making sorties and hitting targets in the area of Aleppo practically every day.

"Thus, the question is: which facilities were targeted in that area by the coalition aircraft? Our colleagues continue to stubbornly keep silent," the Russian defense official said.

Comment: Recent history has provided a mountain of evidence of how the Unites States has committed crimes and then blamed others for what it has done. So, this case of bombing of civilians would not come as a surprise, even if it is an ever horrifying reminder of the type of people who run the US and create chaos where ever they go.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is a complete sham and here's a few other articles exposing this phony one-man show.

Wall Street selling in a panic over Dow Jones and S&P plunge, dropping oil prices

RT
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 19:00 UTC

Fear gripped markets on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Index falling more than 500 points. Global stocks suffered in the wake of oil prices dropping below $30 a barrel and sell-offs occurring in the Chinese stock markets.

The S&P 500 fell below its August low of 1,867, trading more than 3 percent lower by midday. The Dow also showed a drop of more than 3 percent, losing over 500 points. The Nasdaq composite lost more than 4 percent during the same period.

The sell-off dashed hopes about stability on Wall Street, coming just a day after US markets had their best day in over a month. On Thursday, the Dow had jumped 228 points, a nearly two percent increase for the day.

Terrorist state Turkey arrests 12 academics for denouncing military campaign against Kurds

RT
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 18:33 UTC

Turkey has arrested 12 academics for signing a declaration denouncing Ankara's military operations against Kurdish militants. The move comes after more than 1,200 scholars were being investigated for criticizing the Turkish State.

The Anadolu Agency, as cited by AP, says the 12 who were detained by police are lecturers at Kocaeli University in the northwest. Police are still processing the paperwork for nine other academics, who will also be arrested.

The 1,200 academics had been accused of allegedly participating in "terrorist propaganda" after they signed a declaration condemning military operations against Kurdish rebels in the southeast.

Comment: Fine use of words there Erdogan. Anyone criticizing terrorist behavior is part of "terrorist propaganda". Erdogan continues to show his love for Hitler as each day passes.

News of the investigation was reported by Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency.

Around 1,200 academics from 89 universities, including prominent foreign scholars such as Noam Chomsky, David Harvey and Immanuel Wallerstein, signed the declaration, which was titled: "We won't be a part of this crime."

Comment: The only way Erdogan can keep his dictatorship going is by silencing all the opposition against their terrorist acts. And this is who the US chooses to support? Americans should be in the streets disgusted at their government's support of Erdogan.

Child sex abuse epidemic in US military is a reflection of its dehuminizing function around the world

Richard Sudan
RT
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 17:18 UTC

Recent figures obtained by the Associated Press have revealed the grim reality of child sex abuse as an epidemic among the US military. According to the report, hundreds of children of US service members are abused each year, most of them being the children of enlisted service members. The information also suggests that more than half of those serving time in US military prisons, or whose cases are working their way through the so-called military justice system, involve child sex abuse.

It should be noted that the full scale of the problem is unclear and remains shrouded in secrecy; according to the Department of Defense, which issued AP the shocking figures after a FOI request, "information that could unintentionally uniquely identify victims was withheld from release to eliminate possible 're-victimization' of the innocent."

Although more information of the crimes is needed to unearth the full scale of the reality, the breakdown of the information gathered to date paints a chilling picture. The AP's findings so far show that between fiscal years 2010 and 2014, there were at least 1,584 substantiated cases of military dependents, or children of US service members, being sexually assaulted.

Enlisted US service-members were found to have abused children in 840 cases, while most of the enlisted service personnel involved were male. Most of the victims were said to have been female. In 2015, US service members were reported to have abused children in 133 of 301 sex crime victims. The information suggests that child sex abusers make up the biggest group (or gang) currently held in military prisons. Needless to say, there is a wide scale problem of child sex abuse that exists among the US military.

UK's Ken Livingstone blasts US Ambassador: 'US destabilizes world, not Britain scrapping nukes'

RT
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 16:54 UTC

US support for repressive regimes and active opposition to democracy causes global instability, not efforts to scrap nuclear weapons, former London Mayor Ken Livingstone has told the US ambassador to Britain.

Livingstone, currently co-chairing Labour's defense review, responded in withering terms to Ambassador Martin Barzun's claims on Wednesday that getting rid of nuclear weapons quickly could "actually be a destabilizing force and we do not need more destability in the world right now."

Ukraine hubris: Opens criminal case against Japanese journalists for visiting Crimea

Fort Russ
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 16:31 UTC

The Ukrainian Prosecutor's office opened a criminal case against journalists of the Japanese public broadcasting company NHK for their trip to the Crimea on 12th January this year.

This was reported by the press service of the Ministry. "It has been established that, despite the existing ban, journalists from the Japanese broadcasting Corporation NHK arrived in Crimea, in violation of international sanctions on the territory of the Peninsula. These persons on January 12th, 2016 visited the national production agricultural association of "Massandra" in Yalta, where they took part in the filming of the documentary film "Russia today", - the report says.

According to prosecutors, a pre-trial investigation is being conducted. The materials are currently being sent to the General Prosecutor's office to determine further action.

Power transfer: Saudi King Salman to abdicate throne to son

Press TV
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 11:02 UTC

A report says Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud plans to renounce power in favor of his son, who is currently the second in line to the throne but is widely believed to be the real ruler. The report by the Institute for [Persian] Gulf Affairs quoted multiple highly-placed sources as saying that the ailing 80-year-old ruler has been seeking to transfer power to his son Mohammed, the deputy crown prince and defense minister. The sources did not give a specific date for the abdication but said the issue will be concluded within a matter of weeks.

According to sources familiar with the matter, the current crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef will also be removed from his positions as the crown prince and the minister of interior. This as the order of succession in Saudi Arabia stipulates that the throne go to bin Nayef, an American favorite, who has been gradually marginalized by his younger cousin and the king's son, Mohammad.

It comes amid reports of a fierce battle going on for power in the kingdom. King Salman named Mohammed as defense minister shortly after ascending to the throne. The current Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi, a technocrat and not a royal by blood, is also said to be replaced by Abdulaziz bin Salman, another son of the king.

The sources also pointed out that King Salman has been visiting his brothers to seek their support for a change in succession order. The king is attempting to convince his brothers that the stability of the Saudi monarchy needs a change of the succession from lateral lines to a vertical order under which the king hands power to his most eligible son.

Comment: King Salman's many brash decisions during his first year of rule include waging war on Yemen, shrinking the budget, mass executions of dozens including Shia religious leader and dissident Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr for political activities earlier this month, and starting a spat with Iran. Sources said that the king is spending hundreds of millions to buy support for his decision within the ruling family. A fine record of accomplishments, indeed.

Russian officials warn they will publish data on US airstrikes in Syria 'if our colleagues remain silent'

Sputnik
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 12:18 UTC

The Russian Aerospace Forces have launched 97 cruise missiles hitting Daesh targets in Syria, the Russian General Staff said on Friday.

Since the beginning of the Russian aerial campaign in Syria, Russian warplanes have carried out 5,662 sorties, the Russian General Staff said.

"Since September 30, 2015, the Russian Aerospace Forces have carried out 5,662 sorties, including 145 sorties carried out by missile-carrying strategic aircraft and long-range bombers, 97 launches of cruise missiles both sea and land based have been carried out," Lt. Gen. Sergey Rudskoy, chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, told reporters.

Over 100 days of the Russian military operation, 217 populated areas and over 1,000 square kilometers in Syria have been liberated from terrorists.

Comment: Also see: Doing it right: German paper Bild's interview with Putin

Al-Qaeda threatens to annex Spain's North African enclaves

Sputnik
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 12:07 UTC

Islamist organization al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) threatened Spain it would annex its enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla located in North Africa on the border with Morocco, media reported Friday.

One of the leaders of the al-Qaeda branch, Algerian national Abu Obeida Yusuf Annabi voiced the threat in a video message, the Europa Press news outlet reported.

Last week, AQIM released a new video in which it threatened to attack Naples, Rome and Madrid. Spain's major private intelligence and security firm AICS told Sputnik that al-Qaeda was trying to copy Daesh extremist group in order to recover the power it was losing to Daesh militants.

Comment: For more on the shady history of AQIM, check out: Is the alleged 'mastermind' of the Mali terror attacks a CIA asset?

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Puppet Masters

US imperialism: Pentagon chief outlines plan for escalation of Iraq-Syria war

Russia may begin releasing data on US-coalition activity in Syria

Wall Street selling in a panic over Dow Jones and S&P plunge, dropping oil prices

Terrorist state Turkey arrests 12 academics for denouncing military campaign against Kurds

Child sex abuse epidemic in US military is a reflection of its dehuminizing function around the world

UK's Ken Livingstone blasts US Ambassador: 'US destabilizes world, not Britain scrapping nukes'

Ukraine hubris: Opens criminal case against Japanese journalists for visiting Crimea

Power transfer: Saudi King Salman to abdicate throne to son

Russian officials warn they will publish data on US airstrikes in Syria 'if our colleagues remain silent'

Al-Qaeda threatens to annex Spain's North African enclaves

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