Puppet Masters

You shall not pass: Russia to require foreign warships navigating through its Northern Sea Route to give prior notice to Defense Ministry

RT
Fri, 30 Nov 2018 14:21 UTC

Russian Navy flag & russian warship Northern Sea Route

Russia is updating its navigation rules for a contingency involving another nation's warships attempting to sail along the Northern Sea Route. Such a passage would require prior notification from the Defense Ministry.

The route, situated in the Arctic along Russia's northern coast, is becoming more accessible to sea traffic as the climate warms. With longer navigation seasons and fewer ice hazards, Russia hopes the path will be increasingly in demand for international commercial transit. Such navigation however more often than not requires Russia's cooperation, since an icebreaker usually is needed to pass through.

There is however a potential source of problems with Russia's northern side becoming more accessible. Foreign military ships may travel it too, even those lacking ice protection, as was proven by the Loire-class offshore support and assistance ship of the French Navy Rhône in October. It took the ship 17 days to traverse the route and she didn't ask for Russian icebreaker assistance for it.

Comment: The days of navigating the arctic sea route sans ice-breakers may not last much longer: Climate panic: Arctic and Antarctic ice are increasing, not decreasing

Comment: See also:

Atlantic Council members McFaul and Polyakova appalled at seeing Russian media outlets listed in Kerch search results

RT
Fri, 30 Nov 2018 17:05 UTC

A former Atlantic Council scholar and ex-envoy Michael McFaul - neither being big fans of Russia - are worried that Google is showing them RT stories on the Russia-Ukraine scuffle in the Kerch Strait, above the mainstream names.

Alina Polyakova, formerly a research director at the Atlantic Council, a NATO-sponsored think tank pushing an anti-Russian agenda, has some tough questions for Google, after finding Russian and Ukrainian media headlines, about the recent standoff between Russia and Ukraine in the Kerch Strait, a bit too high in her search results for her liking.

Never go full Saakashvili! Desperate Poroshenko loses it

The Saker
The Unz Review
Fri, 30 Nov 2018 16:34 UTC

Petro Poroshenko is in deep trouble. His ratings have been in the single-digit range in spite of a vast propaganda effort, and his latest attempt to create a salvific crisis involving the usual "Russian aggression" has not only failed but appears to be backfiring.

It is now becoming abundantly clear that the Ukronazi provocation was not only breathtakingly stupid and irresponsible, but also breathtakingly poorly planned and executed. The documents seized by the FSB on the Ukrainian ships show that the Ukrainian captains were given the order to "covertly" sneak under the Kerch bridge. I have no idea what the Ukronazi junta leaders were thinking, maybe they were drunk or terrified to tell Poroshenko that this was a suicidal mission (most likely he was too drunk to care anyway), but the fact that they could even imagine that three old boats could somehow sneak around the Crimean Peninsula and then covertly pass under the Kerch bridge is just amazing (as is the fact that the crews failed to destroy this damning evidence!). One of the most heavily monitored sections of our planet, right next to a war zone, which has been the object of innumerable threats, and yet they thought that they could somehow avoid being detected and intercepted. Wow, just wow!

Comment: Unless that was the plan, and these sailors were bait, in the hopes that Russia would attack them with much more force than they ended up using. Ukrainian martyrs would play a lot better than the sad display the world was treated to.

Fascist Ukraine agitating for 'new measures' against Russia: EU, NATO say 'enough being done already'

RFE/RL
Fri, 30 Nov 2018 16:40 UTC

European leaders and NATO have reacted coolly to calls by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko for new measures to strengthen defenses and penalize Russia over its capture of Ukrainian ships and crew off Crimea.

A NATO spokeswoman said on November 29 that the military alliance already has a strong presence in the Black Sea region where the incident occurred, and it has no plans to send warships into the Sea of Azov, which lies between Ukrainian and Russian territory, as requested by Poroshenko on November 28.

Oana Lungescu said NATO ships routinely patrol and conduct exercises in the Black Sea, with NATO ships already present in the region for 120 days this year as compared with 80 days last year.

Comment: Ukraine is still trying to get mileage out of a transparent ploy engineered to draw Russia into a confrontation with NATO. Fortunately, cooler heads seem to be prevailing.

Catching fire: French yellow vest protests spread to Brussels with calls for resignation of PM Charles Michel

RT
Fri, 30 Nov 2018 16:14 UTC

France's 'Yellow Vest' protests have now made their way to Belgium, with demonstrators in Brussels calling on the prime minister to resign. Some threw rocks and firecrackers at officers, prompting them to deploy water cannons.

Crowds of people protesting fuel prices and living standards disrupted traffic and walked the streets for around three hours on Friday.

Comment: Dissatisfaction with autocratic rule is a spreading contagion - it will be interesting to see if elites respond reasonably or push-back and risk greater conflagration.

Drones away: Trump outdoes Obama in drone-bombing the world

Sputnik
Thu, 29 Nov 2018 03:36 UTC

US President Donald Trump is known to reference policies and actions of his predecessor Barack Obama's administration while patting himself on the back, but there is one particular topic 45 may not want to make into a numbers game during his rallies: drone strikes in undeclared war zones.

According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Obama surpassed George W. Bush's 57 drone attacks in the undeclared battlefields of Yemen, Pakistan and Somalia with a whopping 563 strikes by his 2017 exit from the White House. Trump, with only two years under his belt, has ordered 238, more than half the total carried out in Obama's eight years in office.

Assad urges ministers to fight political corruption after cabinet shuffle

Sputnik
Fri, 30 Nov 2018 16:06 UTC

Syrian President Bashar Assad on Thursday called on the newly appointed government ministers to fight corruption, comparing its implications to those of terrorism.

On Monday, Assad carried out a cabinet reshuffle, changing nine ministers. Notably, the new interior minister was appointed to replace Mohammad Shaar, who had been in the position since the early days of the Syrian crisis, and the Directorate of the National Reconciliation was created to substitute the Ministry of the Interior. Moreover, Assad appointed the new mayor of Damascus. On Thursday, the new cabinet ministers were sworn in in the presence of the president.

"All the Syrian people, mainly the security forces and all those related to them, have been suffering ... They have the right to see something better and it is our duty to show them the results of our work, particularly, our fight against corruption," Assad said during a cabinet session, as quoted by his press service.

Comment: Assad has turned out to be a leader with integrity and responsibility. Rather than blame everything on external actors, he takes the high road by pointing out the problems that actually need fixing. Syria is a better place because of it.

Fascist Ukraine raids home of Russian Orthodox cleric in Kiev accused of 'inciting hatred'

RFE/RL
Fri, 30 Nov 2018 16:00 UTC

Father Pavlo leads the Pechersk Monastery in Kyiv

Ukraine's intelligence service said its officers have searched the home of the father superior of Kyiv's biggest and oldest monastery, which is part of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Ihor Huskov, chief of staff of the SBU intelligence agency, told reporters on November 30 that Metropolitan Pavlo, who oversees the Pechersk Lavra monastery, was suspected of "inciting hatred."

The SBU was investigating him under an article in the Criminal Code covering "violations of citizens' equality depending on racial ethnicity, religious convictions, incitement of interconfessional hostility," Huskov said.

Comment: How ironic...

Metropolitan Pavlo confirmed the raid.

"Today there are many questions about whether the actions of our state authority in relation to the church are legitimate. To a certain extent they are illegal," Pavlo said in a statement.

"There is a pressure on me personally, threats are being heard, all sorts of attacks not only on me, but also on other bishops and priests. For what reason I do not know."

Comment: More on the Orthodox schism prompted by Poroshenko (maybe he should be investigated for incitement of hatred?):

Fascist Ukraine: Hired thugs throw eggs at presidential candidate, beat up his team (VIDEO)

RT
Thu, 29 Nov 2018 18:07 UTC

Anatoliy Grytsenko, who is in the race to become Ukraine's president in next year's election, has accused current head of state Petro Poroshenko of organizing an attack during a campaign visit to the Black Sea port of Odessa.

The former defense minister was due to make a local radio appearance on Wednesday night, but when he arrived at the station, the entrance was blocked by a group of masked men "of athletic build," according to a statement from his press secretary, published by Interfax-Ukraine.

They handed Grytsenko a carved pumpkin with a dildo stuck in its "mouth", and the words "F*** off home" written on the side, and attempted to pelt him with eggs.

Too big to fail: Saudi Arabia inks deal for Lockheed's THAAD missile defense system

Mike Stone
Reuters
Fri, 30 Nov 2018 15:48 UTC

Saudi Arabia will buy Lockheed Martin's (LMT.N) $15 billion missile defense system, a U.S. Department of State spokesman said on Wednesday, after aggressive lobbying by the administration to close the deal that included a personal call between President Donald Trump and Saudi King Salman.

The State Department said the Saudis and U.S. officials signed the letters of offer and acceptance documents on Monday, formalizing terms for Saudi's purchase of 44 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) launchers, missiles and related equipment.

In recent weeks the Trump administration and the U.S. defense industry worked to save the few actual deals in the much-touted $110 billion arms package for Saudi Arabia amid rising concerns about the role of the kingdom's leadership in the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi critic.

The THAAD deal had been under discussion since December 2016 and is now completed, the spokesperson said.

Comment: It's just business, after all. And Israel. Mattis commented:

The Pentagon's chief called Riyadh "fundamental" to regional and Israeli security, as well as crucial for the US' own interests.

"We are seldom free to work with unblemished partners," Mattis bluntly admitted. He went on to argue that the ties with the kingdom "cannot be dismissed" even as Washington condemned Khashoggi's death.

The officials also came out of their way to shield Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, widely known as MBS, against the allegations that he might have been in on the plan to kill Khashoggi all along.

"We have no smoking gun the Crown Prince was involved, not the intelligence community or anyone else. There is no smoking gun,"Mattis told reporters. Pompeo agreed with him, claiming there is "no direct reporting" connecting MBS with the order to kill the journalist.

You can say that again. In fact, you can say that about the U.S. itself and the CIA in particular: it's assassination central there.

I said this would happen...now they are looking to mandate companies with less that 100 employees...shits getting real, people[Link]

Bezel Bub

it's all a lie ! :O

cracker

"Falling out of windows" as an occupational hazard for people with access to sensitive information - compliments of the Soviet playbook and even...

Tsakoug

covid will seem like a walk in the park when the proper cold sets in later this month and beyond...

steven23

I've got an idea to help folks like this. Anyone know of any in Central Florida? R.C.

Rowan Cocoan

Puppet Masters

You shall not pass: Russia to require foreign warships navigating through its Northern Sea Route to give prior notice to Defense Ministry

Atlantic Council members McFaul and Polyakova appalled at seeing Russian media outlets listed in Kerch search results

Never go full Saakashvili! Desperate Poroshenko loses it

Fascist Ukraine agitating for 'new measures' against Russia: EU, NATO say 'enough being done already'

Catching fire: French yellow vest protests spread to Brussels with calls for resignation of PM Charles Michel

Drones away: Trump outdoes Obama in drone-bombing the world

Assad urges ministers to fight political corruption after cabinet shuffle

Fascist Ukraine raids home of Russian Orthodox cleric in Kiev accused of 'inciting hatred'

Fascist Ukraine: Hired thugs throw eggs at presidential candidate, beat up his team (VIDEO)

Too big to fail: Saudi Arabia inks deal for Lockheed's THAAD missile defense system

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