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Eye 1

Washington's 'anti-ISIS coalition' never existed

Ulson Gunnar
New Eastern Outlook
Tue, 24 Nov 2015 01:03 UTC
ISIS
© Unknown
The problem with America's "anti-ISIS coalition" is not a matter of poor planning or a lack of resources. It is not a matter of lacking leadership or military might. The problem with America's "anti-ISIS coalition" is that it never existed in the first place. There is no US-led war on ISIS, and what's worse, it appears that the US, through all of its allies, from across the Persian Gulf to Eastern Europe and even within Washington itself, are involved in feeding ISIS, not fighting it.

Going from Syria itself, outward according to geographical proximity, we can trace ISIS' support all the way back to Washington itself. And as we do, efforts like the "talks" in Vienna, and all the non-solutions proposed by the US and its allies, appear ever more absurd while the US itself is revealed not as a stabilizing force in a chaotic world, but rather the very source of that chaos.

In Syria

Within Syria itself, it is no secret that the US CIA is arming, training, funding and equipping militant groups, groups the US now claims Russia is bombing instead of "ISIS." However, upon reading carefully any report out of newspapers in the US or its allies it becomes clear that these "rebels" always seem to be within arms reach of listed terrorist organizations, including Jabhat al Nusra.
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Pistol

French police find a disturbing lack of evidence after 7-hour firefight in Saint-Denis

Samuel Osborne
The Independent
Tue, 24 Nov 2015 01:12 UTC
Saint-Denis raids
© EPA
The 8 rue du Corbillon building in Saint-Denis, one day after special police raided an apartment with suspected terrorists, in northern Paris
French police have discovered what they believe to be a suicide bomb belt in a bin in the southern Paris suburb of Montrouge. Police have sealed off the area and a specialist team is investigating whether the belt contains explosives. The belt was found without a detonator near where Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam was traced to on the night of the attacks.

One theory suggests Abdeslam intended to blow himself up but abandoned the plan, although it is currently unclear why. No traces of Kalashnikov rifles or other automatic weapons were recovered in the Saint-Denis flat where police engaged in a seven-hour gunfight with three terror suspects last Wednesday.

Having sifted the rubble and passed it through metal detectors, police were perplexed to find only one handgun, French radio network RTL reported. Forensic scientists found a 9mm pistol and a dozen cartridges, along with fragments of an explosive vest filled with bolts. However, police reported coming under consistent gunfire during the assault, saying they fired 5,000 rounds in retort.


Comment: Here we have yet another curious case of a dog that didn't bark. A handgun and a dozen cartridges doesn't make for a seven-hour firefight with automatic weapons, nor do 'suicide' vests explode without a detonator. The evidence not found at the crime-scene appears to provide some major clues as to the covert nature of this professional shootout and cleanup.

This siege involved hundreds of police officers surrounding this apartment and entire area for SEVEN HOURS, during which time they engaged in this intense firefight with someone. The result was that they arrested two people from the flat and the three that were inside were killed, their bodies found in the "rubble". Yet no automatic weapons! Maybe they were 3D-printed Kalashnikovs and melted in the explosion?

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Eye 1

U.S. may 'turn up the heat' now that France and Russia have a common enemy in ISIS


Sputnik
Mon, 23 Nov 2015 23:00 UTC
Hollande Obama
© AP Photo/ Carolyn Kaster
Affected by twin tragedies, relations between Russia and France appear to be warming. But with French President Francois Hollande's visit to Washington this week, the US may attempt to drive a wedge between Paris and Moscow.

The West has imposed sanctions against Russia for over a year due its alleged involvement in Ukraine. These sanctions will expire at the end of January, and despite the fact that Russian officials have repeatedly denied any involvement in eastern Ukraine, and maintain that the reunification of Crimea was the result of a referendum in which over 96% of voters approved, a number of Western politicians are calling for an extension of the penalties.

But recent terrorist activities have cast political squabbles in a new light. Whatever differences may exist between world powers seem petty compared to the immediate and deadly threat posed by the self-proclaimed Islamic State terrorist group.

Comment: Also see:
[I]t looks as if France (and maybe other nations) is responding in such a way that it draws it closer to Russia. France did not invoke Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty ('an attack on one is an attack on all'). Instead, the Russian and French militaries are talking with each other and coordinating their operations in Syria, to some degree anyway. Hollande is scheduled to meet with Putin this week, right after visiting Washington. This is perhaps a way of joining the Russian-led operation in Syria without doing so explicitly. France can still pretend to be Washington's lapdog, when in reality it is working closer with Russia. It would be nice to see that, but it's hard to say for sure at this point if a full EU/Russian rapprochement is on the cards.

The world on the edge of a nervous breakdown: Terror attacks, nonsensical official claims, threats, house raids, explosions...


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Evil Rays

How NDAA allows U.S. government to use propaganda against Americans

Susanne Posel
Occupy Corporatism
Mon, 22 Jul 2013 22:48 UTC
news logos
© n/a
The US government has unbound the legal regulations against using propaganda against foreign audiences and American citizens. The intention is to sway public opinion by using television, radio, newspapers, and social media targeting the American and foreign people in controlled psy-ops.

The newest version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has an amendment added that negates the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 (SMA) and the Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 1987.

These laws made propaganda used to influence foreigners and US citizens illegal. Without these laws, disinformation could run rampant throughout our information junkets.

This amendment added to the NDAA has passed into implementation as of this month.

SMA defines the prohibition of domestic access to influence information through a variety of means, from broadcast to publishing of books, media, and online sources by restricting the State Department.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors was created from SMA. This agency claims to "inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy". They omit that their specialty is making sure propaganda is added to the informational flow we all depend on.

The amendment sanctions the US government, without restriction, the use of any mode of message to control how we perceive our world.

As of now, the level of propaganda in the mainstream media (MSM) is quite high, with all of our television, printed media and internet sites associated with MSM owned by only 5 corporations.

Comment: A timely reminder as the U.S. propaganda war gathers momentum in their attempts to regain control of the narrative.

Don't miss:


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Light Sabers

Russian delivery of S-300 rocket systems to Iran underway


RT
Mon, 23 Nov 2015 22:50 UTC
Image
© Ruslan Krivobok / Sputnik
An S300PMU2 "Favorite" anti-aircraft missile
The delivery of Russian S-300 anti-missile rocket systems to Iran has started, Iran's ambassador to Moscow said in an interview. Iran is getting one of the latest versions of the air defence complex.

The delivery is underway, ambassador Mehdi Sanaei told Persian-language daily, Etemaad, as cited by Tasnim news agency.

The news was not welcome in Washington, with US State Department spokesman Mark Toner reiterating the US stance on the issue in a briefing on Monday.

"We made clear time and again our objections to any sale of the S-300 missile system to Iran," Toner told reporters.


Comment: Thanks for sharing your two cents USA. As if anyone cares about your opinion anymore! The rest of the world is sick of following your dictates and sees a better world leader in Russia than the US ever was.


Earlier this month Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan announced Tehran is going to get Russian air defence systems by the end of the year, which in Iran ends on March 20, 2016.
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Map

Guam, Marianas brace for massive US military redeployment from Okinawa


RT
Mon, 23 Nov 2015 22:42 UTC
Image
© US Navy / AFP
US Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) fires a Harpoon missile during a live-fire drill on August 12, 2015 in the waters near Guam.
Thousands of American military personnel are expected to arrive in the Mariana Islands over the next several years, as part of the US strategic "pivot" to East Asia. Many will come from Okinawa, Japan, where many local residents want US bases closed.

Military facilities in Guam, the archipelago's largest island and a US possession since 1898, have been reinforced and updated in anticipation of almost 5,000 Marines, as well as new aircraft, submarines and patrol boats. The infrastructure upgrades will "elevate the tiny Pacific island into a maritime strategic hub, a key element laid out by the Pentagon in the Asia-Pacific Maritime Security Strategy," according to the US military newspaper Stars and Stripes.

Comment: Wherever the US goes, destruction follows.

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Light Saber

Assad: Russian airstrikes have shifted tide, Syrian Army making advances on nearly every front


RT
Mon, 23 Nov 2015 22:44 UTC
Image
© SANA / Reuters
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during an interview with a journalist from the Chinese Phoenix Television Channel in Damascus, in this handout picture provided by SANA on November 22, 2015
Russian airstrikes have shifted the tide in Syria and, thanks to them, the army is now gaining at the terrorists' positions, Syrian President Bashar Assad said. He added that the militants are supported from abroad, primarily by "Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar."

"Recently, after the participation of the Russian air forces in fighting terrorism, the situation has improved in a very good way, and now I can say that the army is making advancement in nearly every front," the Syrian president told China's Phoenix TV Channel.

Assad also pointed out that over the past year terrorists managed to capture more Syrian territories and gained more recruits from all over the world despite US-led coalition's airstrikes. While in contrast to that, only a month of the Russian air operation forced many terrorists to retreat and flee Syria for Turkey, Europe, Yemen and elsewhere.

"You cannot fight terrorism through air raids. You need troops on the ground. The Americans only fight through their airplanes," the president said.

"What about the Russians? They are depending on the Syrian troops on the ground. They are cooperating with us. So, the difference, the main difference, is that the Americans don't cooperate with any ground troops, while the Russians are doing this," he added.
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Eye 1

Capital of torture: Bahrain still tortures, sexually abuses detainees, despite UK claims of 'reform'


RT
Mon, 23 Nov 2015 22:02 UTC
Bahrain torture
© Hamad I Mohammed / Reuters
Bahrain has been torturing detainees using electric shocks and sexual abuse, Human Rights Watch has found. Despite the King of Bahrain pledging to end such practices, torture and beatings remain common, a new HRW report says.

Britain, a close ally of the gulf monarchy, has been arguing that Bahrain has reformed its security forces and is following the recommendations of its Independent Investigation Commission (BICI). The UK's policy is "to support Bahrain in its return to a stable and reformist state with a good human rights record," the Foreign Office said late last month.

However, HRW disputes this, saying that "Bahraini authorities have failed to effectively implement the BICI recommendations for combatting torture; that the new offices have failed to fulfill their mandate; and that Bahraini security forces continue to torture detainees using methods identical to those documented by BICI investigators in 2011, and by Human Rights Watch in 2010."

A former prisoner in Bahrain who talked to HRW recalled how an interrogator told him: "I'll show you why Wifaq [the country's Shia opposition party] calls Bahrain the capital of torture." Another detainee told Human Rights Watch that an officer from Bahraini Interior Ministry's Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) held something to his nose and told him it was "the blood of people who don't cooperate."

HRW interviewed 10 detainees who said they had repeatedly endured coercive interrogations at CID and in police stations since 2012. Four former inmates of Jaw prison told the group they had been physically assaulted earlier this year, in March.

Many said that CID interrogators boasted of their reputation for torturing detainees. Several described electric shocks; suspension in painful positions, including by their wrists while handcuffed; forced standing; extreme cold; and abuse of a sexual nature, according to the report.

Comment: And this is the kind of psychopathic regime David Cameron's government is happy to do business with, perhaps it takes one to know one. Although it should come as no surprise that the UK turns a blind eye while the people of Bahrain suffering torture and sexual abuse, when we read:
UK Royal Navy base construction begins in Bahrain

Construction has begun on a controversial Royal Navy base in Bahrain, as Britain's seeks a return to "East of Suez" in a major strategic shift that has dismay human rights campaigners.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond travelled to the Gulf kingdom this weekend to break ground on HMS Juffair, the first major naval base opened by Britain in the east of the Suez canal since 1971.

[...]

"All the British government's policies show is a commitment to military expansion at the cost of human rights," said Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, director of Advocacy at the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy. "Bahrain continues to systemically arbitrarily arrest, torture and silence any critic of the government. This new base is totally inappropriate."

Campaigners are also dismayed that the Royal Navy has chosen to name HMS Juffair after a 1930s colonial base in the country, amid suggestions that the UK is "celebrating a legacy of repression".

Source: The Independent


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Bad Guys

Military expansion over human rights: UK Royal Navy base construction begins in Bahrain as crackdown and torture continues

Jamie Merrill
The Independent
Sun, 01 Nov 2015 22:25 UTC
Philip Hammond Bahrain
© AP Photo/Hasan Jamali
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheik Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, center help lay a cornerstone for a new British military base being built in Manama, Bahrain.
The major strategic shift has dismayed human rights campaigners

Construction has begun on a controversial Royal Navy base in Bahrain, as Britain's seeks a return to "East of Suez" in a major strategic shift that has dismay human rights campaigners.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond travelled to the Gulf kingdom this weekend to break ground on HMS Juffair, the first major naval base opened by Britain in the east of the Suez canal since 1971.

The ceremony Mina Salman Port in Bahrain comes as the UK is pushing to strengthen economic and military ties in the region, but has prompted outcry from human rights campaigners who say the ruling Al Khalifa family in Bahrain is overseeing an on-going crackdown on human rights and freedom of expression.

Comment: For more on the UK government's willful ignorance and hypocrisy on the issue, see: Capital of torture: Bahrain still tortures, sexually abuses detainees, despite UK claims of 'reform'

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Star of David

Israeli jets strike Hamas military compound in Gaza after rocket fired

Gili Cohen
Haaretz
Mon, 23 Nov 2015 22:14 UTC
Image
© AFP
A picture taken from the Israeli Gaza border shows smoke billowing from the Gaza Strip following an Israeli air strike on July 16, 2014.
Israeli warplanes struck a Hamas military compound in the center of the Gaza Strip on Monday night, after a rocket was fired from the Strip at Israel earlier in the day.

According to an Israel Defense Forces statement, the army considers Hamas to be the "sole responsible party for goings-on in the Gaza Strip, and will continue to act with severity to keep the calm in southern communities."

The rocket fired from Gaza exploded in an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council, causing no damage or casualties. No warning siren was sounded alerting residents of the incoming rocket, possibly because its trajectory indicated it would not hit any community.

Last Tuesday, a rocket fired from the Strip exploded near the border fence between Gaza and Israel, prompting the Israel Air Force to strike two targets in the Gaza in response.
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