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Dominoes

Manafort deal appears to be good news for Trump, terrible for Democrats

ManafortMueller
© Vanity Fair
Paul Manafort • SC Robert Mueller
According to NPR, Paul Manafort's deal with Special Counsel Robert Muller's office "does not include matters involving the Trump campaign."

Something rarely brought up by our utterly useless but still corrupt establishment media is that in order for someone to "flip," that someone has to have the goods on someone else. In other words, if you want to deal your way out of prison time, you have to have something to deal with; you actually have to serve someone's head up on a platter.

Comment: There are a lot of empty platters, without 'heads', on the Republican side of the table! And the Dems? The table is turning, slowly but surely.


Biohazard

US global biological warfare program enters the spotlight once again

containers on water
© unknown
This is a scoop to bring the US biological warfare effort back into the spotlight. On Sept. 11, Russian media reported that the Richard Lugar Center for Public Health Research laboratory, a research facility for high-level biohazard agents located near Tbilisi, Georgia, has used human beings for conducting biological experiments.

Former Minister of State Security of Georgia Igor Giorgadze said about it during a news conference in Moscow, urging US President Donald Trump to launch an investigation. He has lists of Georgians who died of hepatitis after undergoing treatment in the facility in 2015 and 2016. Many passed away on the same day. The declassified documents contain neither the indication of the causes of deaths nor real names of the deceased. According to him, the secret lab run by the US military was established during the tenure of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. The viruses could spread to neighboring countries, including Russia, Igor Giorgadze warned.

The laboratory's work is tightly under wraps. Only US personnel with security clearance have access to it. These people are accorded diplomatic immunity under the 2002 US-Georgia Agreement on defense cooperation.

Eurasia Review reported that in 2014 the Lugar Center was equipped with a special plant for breeding insects to enable launching the Sand Fly project in Georgia and the Caucasus. In 2014-2015 years, the bites of sand flies such as Phlebotomins caused a fever. According to the source, "today the Pentagon has a great interest to the study of Tularemia, also known as the fever of rabbits, which is also equated with biological weapons. Distributors of such a disease can be mites and rodents".

Comment: The US has bio-labs in 25 countries without any international protocol or oversight allowed...this amounts to a license to kill within any population.


USA

Terrorist-held Idlib is the last remaining excuse for illegal US presence in Syria

US military
© AP/APTV
US military, Darbasiyah, Syria
Idlib, the last terrorist stronghold in Syria, has become a bone of contention for major global players, commentators of Syrian descent told Sputnik. While Washington is swiftly losing its grip in the region, terrorist-held Idlib remains the only justification for the US presence in Syria, they noted.

Tensions surrounding the Syrian Arab Army's upcoming Idlib operation continue to escalate amid reports of possible chemical provocations by terrorists and the US-led coalition's threats to strike on Syrian government forces in case poisonous substances are used in Idlib and elsewhere in Syria.

The US's fierce opposition to Bashar al-Assad's plan to liberate Idlib, home to up to 70,000 jihadi fighters including Tahrir al-Sham, an umbrella organization for various terrorist groups, looks rather surprising given Washington's "green light" to the Syrian government forces' southern advance this June.

On June 24, Reuters reported that Washington had told Syrian rebels in the south that they should not expect it to provide any military aid to them amid the Syrian-Russian advance.

Comment: See also: Erdogan is delaying Idlib operation, but he can't do so indefinitely


Che Guevara

Commie survivors! Venezuela's Maduro embarks on state visit to China

Maduro,Xi
© teleSUR
Venezuelan President Maduro • Chinese President Xi
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has embarked on a state visit to China on Wednesday and announced that the meeting will "enhance the relationship between the two countries."

The Venezuelan president is seeking economic deals with the Chinese after announcing measures he intends to take to try to retake Venezuela's economy.

"Moving forward in the new strategic association agreements in the economic, commercial, energy, financial, technological," Maduro said at the international airport to television.

Comment: See also:


Green Light

Report: Trump green-lights tariffs on $200B more Chinese products

Shipping containers
© Aly Song/Reuters
US President Donald Trump has reportedly given a go ahead to additional tariffs on Chinese goods worth about $200 billion. The instruction to aides comes despite attempts by the Treasury to restart talks with Beijing.

The news was initially reported by Bloomberg and Fox News and later confirmed by Reuters. According to Bloomberg, the Trump administration has decided to delay the public announcement of the measure "based on concerns raised in public comments."

Trump ordered the new salvo in his trade war with China after meeting Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Bloomberg sources said. Mnuchin was earlier trying to kick-start negotiations with China, which responded in kind to the previous round of 25-percent tariffs on goods worth $50 billion and promised to act likewise in the future.

Light Sabers

Forget 'Assad vs NATO' - Idlib is about Turkish influence vs American grandiosity

Turkish forces syria

Turkish forces in Syria
Never mind the drama

In spite of increasing Ankara vs. Washington disagreements in a variety of areas ranging from Ankara's firm commitment to purchase Russian made S-400 missile defence systems to the continued US alliance with the YPG/PKK terror group in Syria, when it comes to the status of Syria's Idlib Governorate it would appear that Turkey and the United States are on the same side as both publicly oppose a Damascus-led operation in the infamous Governorate.

But the rhetoric only explains a fraction of the picture. For all intents and purposes, the situation is already largely beyond US control in a logistical (key word) sense. The US of course could and may well bomb Syria in relation to what Russia describes as an already-filmed false flag chemical weapons attack in or around Idlib. But just as the US missile strikes against Syrian government targets in 2017 and earlier in 2018 proved to be strategically irrelevant, there is little chance that a new set of strikes, even if bigger in terms of firepower, would alter the course of the war.

Comment:


Light Saber

The truth about Duterte: Why he is respected and admired by the people yet maligned by opponents

Duterte
© AFP 2018/ ted Ajibe
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte remains one of the most misunderstood leaders in the world. This is primarily due to a combination of fake news generated by his domestic opponents, primarily in the Liberal Party and a wider pan-liberal global campaign designed to discredit Duterte's popular reforms among news readers in Europe and North America.

Here therefore is a simple guide that explains Duterte's success, his beliefs and his popularity to those who are curious about the dynamic Philippine President and his political beliefs and public accomplishments.

1. The drug war

Duterte is most well-know[n] outside of The Philippines for his drug war. While many only discovered the Philippine President's hard-line against what ought to be called narco-terrorism in 2016, in reality Duterte has been waging a war on the drug trade and drug culture since he first became mayor of his hometown of Davao City in 1988. Duterte realised early on in his political career that drugs not only destroyed individuals but had a negative effect on society as a whole.

For those in the west where marijuana legalisation is becoming increasingly common and therefore associate Duterte's drug war with some sort of 20th century US style war on marijuana, one should note that the drug problem in The Philippines centres around a particularly potent and explicitly dangerous form of meth known as Shabu. Individuals on Shabu are a danger not only to themselves but to their families and strangers. Shabu takers are widely known and feared due to the fact they commit the most gruesome crimes against humanity throughout the nation.

Comment: Any leader who is actively working to improve the lives of ordinary citizens while refusing to follow the diktats of the empire is in danger of being 'regime changed'. The initial stages of the process involves demonization of such leaders (facts be damned) to create support for 'humanitarian intervention' - witness Qaddafi, Assad (and a host of others). Duterte is wisely aligning with those who can ensure success of his reforms and who may also prevent him from suffering a similar fate.


Pirates

'Turks are brothers' say militants in orchestrated protests across Idlib province

Terror groups demonstrations Idlib
© bdtonline.com
Terrorist group demonstration, Idlib Province
Terrorist groups entrenched in Syria's Idlib province staged numerous demonstrations in an attempt to sway public opinion ahead of a rumored military offensive by Damascus.

With everyone's attention stuck on Syria's Idlib province, the last major terrorist stronghold in the country, it suddenly erupted in a series of "mass protests," orchestrated all across the province.

As seen on Syria.liveuamap.com, the protests erupted simultaneously all across the province on Friday, with all the actions looking very similar to each other. The protests feature green, white and black flags used by armed Syrian opposition groups since 2011; videos of the protests feature people singing "revolution songs," led by a singer with a microphone.


Comment: See also:


Star of David

12-year-old boy among 3 Palestinians killed during protest at Gaza border

Palestinians Gaza border
© Mohammed Salem/Reuters
Palestinians under fire at Gaza border fence September 14, 2018.
Three people, including a 12-year-old boy, have been killed on the Gaza border after IDF personnel used live ammunition against Palestinian protesters rallying against the Israeli occupation. Some 248 people have been injured.

The deadliest Israeli-Palestinian clashes since the 2014 Gaza War have resulted in three more casualties: Hani Ramzi Afaneh and Mohammad Khalil Shaqoura, both 21, as well as 12-year-old Shadi Abul-Al, WAFA news agency reported.

At least 248 people have been injured or suffered from tear-gas exposure, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Some 15 people were hit by live bullets.

The Israeli Defense Forces has referred to the protesters as "rioters," insisting that its response was proportionate and in line with its rules of engagement. The Israeli army spokesman said that the protesters pelted its forces with rocks and burning tires, throwing two grenades and bombs, injuring one Israeli soldier. The soldier had suffered a shrapnel wound and received medical attention on the spot.

The IDF also claimed that nine Palestinians attempted to break through the fence on the Israel-Gaza border but were stopped by the Israeli security forces. In retaliation, the IDF targeted two Hamas positions inside Gaza with tanks and aircraft.

War Whore

A bit late for regrets: Norwegian politicians 'regret' participation in NATO's 2011 destruction of Libya

NATO-led destruction of Libya, 2011

NATO-led destruction of Libya, 2011
In 2011, Norway, led by current NATO boss Jens Stoltenberg, agreed to drop 588 bombs on Libya as part of NATO's operation to oust its leader Muammar Gaddafi, a decision a 260-page report found "ill-informed," sparking belated reproach and regret among politicians.

A state commission has concluded that Norway's Labor leadership and then-PM Jens Stoltenberg knew "too little" about the situation in Libya before they agreed to take part in NATO's operation in the spring of 2011, which effectively plunged the relatively prosperous North African country into chaos.

Norway played an active role in NATO's bombings of Libya, dropping a total of 588 bombs or one-tenth of the overall NATO effort, leaving many Libyan cities in ruins. Almost immediately, a debate about the righteousness and the necessity of this campaign blazed up. Former diplomat and humanitarian activist Jan Egeland demanded an investigation into the bombings as early as 2012, citing numerous victims among civilians, whom the UN-backed NATO raids were supposed to protect.

Comment: Libya in Chaos Seven Years After NATO's 'Liberation', But Who Cares?