Welcome to Sott.net
Thu, 21 Oct 2021
The World for People who Think

Puppet Masters
Map

Star of David

Jerusalem spooked by Moscow's growing influence in the Middle East

Raphael Ahren
Times of Israel
Fri, 18 Oct 2019 18:12 UTC
russian syrian military
© Maxime POPOV / AFP
A picture taken during a guided tour with the Russian army shows Syrian elite soldiers taking part in an instruction session with Russian military trainers, on September 24, 2019, at an army base in Yafour, some 30 kilometers west of Damascus.
US President Donald Trump's newly announced withdrawal of nearly all US troops from northern Syria has cemented Russia's status as the predominant global military power actively engaged in the Middle East.

This week, Russian troops arrived at military bases in northern Syria that the American army had hastily left just days earlier, in what can be regarded as both a literal and figurative handover of regional hegemony.

Many officials in Jerusalem are deeply worried about being abandoned by their superpower ally, as the American decision to gradually disengage from this part of the world — which started under former US president Barack Obama — threatens to embolden Israel's enemies: Iran and its allies and proxies in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and elsewhere.


Comment: It's incorrect to say that a slave can "abandon" its master. Better to tell the truth: a slave escapes its master's clutches.


What does Russia's takeover really mean for Israel? Some analysts are deeply concerned, fretting about the possibility that Moscow could use surface-to-air missiles against Israeli jets attacking Iranian targets in Syria, which would effectively end Jerusalem's campaign against Tehran's establishment of a military foothold near Israel's border.

Others see in Russia's new leadership role an opportunity, as it may make room for an Iranian-Israel modus vivendi that would prevent the shadow war between the two countries from escalating.

Comment: Good news is nice for a change.

See also:

      Read More...
Map

Turkey will view protection of Kurdish units by Damascus as declaration of war


Sputnik
Sun, 20 Oct 2019 16:13 UTC
turkish military
© REUTERS / MURAD SEZER
The possible protection of the Kurdish units, operating in northern Syria, by Damascus will be regarded by Ankara as a declaration of war on Turkey, Yasin Aktay, an adviser of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, said on Saturday.

On October 9, Turkey began the Operation Peace Spring, stating it aimed to rid its southern border of the Kurdish militia, which it views as terrorists. Soon after that Damascus sent troops to the north to protect the Kurdish units.

"If the Syrian regime [government troops] wants to enter Manbij, Ayn al-Arab [Kobani] and Qamishli to provide protection for the Kurdish People's Protection Units [YPG], that will be viewed by Turkey as the declaration of war and it [Damascus] will face a relevant response," Aktay said.

However, if the Syrian government provides Turkey with guarantees that the Kurdish units will not operate in the border area, Ankara may change its position on the Syrian government troops' advance to the northern part of the country, according to Aktay.

He added that the Turkish and other foreign troops would leave Syria after the establishment of peace and security across the country. "Turkey does not grab anyone's territories," Aktay added.

Comment: At least some of the Kurds actually seem receptive to the idea of pulling back from the border with Turkey:
A Syrian Kurdish militia leader has said his forces will withdraw from a border area in northeastern Syria to comply with a U.S.-brokered cease-fire deal if Turkish-led forces allow remaining Kurdish forces and civilians to leave an embattled city there.

The statement came with some reports alleging violations of a fragile truce along Turkey's border with Syria, two days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed a temporary halt to fighting to allow Kurdish forces time to pull back from regions under assault in Ankara's military drive.

Redur Khalil of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which has been supplied U.S. weaponry in the fight against Islamic State (IS) militants in the region, said late on October 19 that SDF troops will move back 30 kilometers from the Turkish-Syrian border in a 120-kilometer stretch between Ras al-Ayn and Tal Aybad if the evacuations are permitted of those cities.

Even with its built-in contingency, the statement appeared to be the first public acknowledgement by the SDF that they might pull back.
The Turkish defense ministry says one more Turkish soldier has been wounded in fighting with the SDF. The Turks have also taken control of Ras al-Ayn after the SDF left the area. Meanwhile, restoration work is being carried out on the oil and gas fields in Raqqa/Hama/Homs.

See also:

      Read More...
Star of David

War whore Pompeo soothes hysterical Israel: 'Iranian threat' gives 'fundamental right, even obligation' to bomb whomever it wants


RT
Sun, 20 Oct 2019 16:19 UTC
israel bomb gaza IDF
© Reuters / Mohammed Salem
Israeli aircraft bombs a multi-story building in Gaza City, August 9, 2018
Israel should not be constrained by international borders or laws if it feels under threat, and can always rely on US support, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said following his meeting with the Israeli PM and the chief of Mossad.

The US administration has always been "very clear" that it gives Israel a free rein in hunting down any purported sprouts of 'Iranian threat' in the region, using national security as an ultimate excuse, Pompeo said in an interview with Jerusalem Post.

Comment:

      Read More...
Attention

Indian PM Modi warns Pakistan he's serious about using 100% of Indian river water


RT
Sat, 19 Oct 2019 03:02 UTC
hydropower project Chenab river India & Pakistan
© Reuters
A hydropower project in the Chenab river, which flows through India & Pakistan
Indian PM Narendra Modi has warned Pakistan he means what he said about not wasting a single drop of 'Indian water', after Islamabad stated that any attempt to divert rivers would be viewed as an 'act of aggression.'

"Once I decide to do something, I always accomplish that," the PM told an election rally on Friday, slamming the opposition party for allowing a portion of India's river water to leave the country.
The water over which Haryana's farmers have the right will not flow to Pakistan now.
However, Pakistani Foreign Minister Muhammad Faisal had accused India of not just planning to utilize its water share to the max, but plotting to actually divert the rivers, and framed the PM's words as "another glaring example of the fact that the present government of India is bent upon making India an irresponsible and aggressive state that has no regard for human rights or international obligations." He stated that Pakistan has "exclusive rights" over three western rivers under the Indus Water Treaty.

Comment: Indian PM Modi: Our share of river waters will no more go to Pakistan

      Read More...
Cow

Why are Establishment Elites so Obsessively Anti-meat?

Brandon Smith
Alt-Market.com
Fri, 18 Oct 2019 00:00 UTC
elites against meat

Ruling oligarchies have always tried to restrict meat consumption by the "peasant class" whenever possible.
I don't know how many people have noticed this, but in the past three months it has been impossible for a person to throw a beef burger patty in any direction on the compass without hitting a news article on the "destructive effects" of the meat industry in terms of "climate change". There's also been endless mainstream articles on the supposedly vast health benefits of a vegetarian or vegan diet. This narrative has culminated in a tidal wave of stories about vegetable-based meat companies like Beyond Meat and their rise to stock market stardom. The word on the street is, meat based diets are going the way of the Dodo, and soon, by environmental necessity, we will ALL be vegetarians.

For at least the past ten years the United Nations has been aggressively promoting the concept of a meat free world, based on claims that accelerated land use and greenhouse gas emissions are killing the Earth. In the west, militant leftists with dreams of a socialist Utopia have adopted a kind of manifesto in the Green New Deal, and an integral part of their agenda is the end to the availability of meat to the common man (it's interesting the Green New Deal agenda matches almost perfectly with the UN's Agenda 21 and Agenda 2030). Some of these elitists have argued in favor of heavy taxation on meat products to reduce public consumption; others have argued for an outright ban.

The problem with this dietary revolution is that it is based primarily on junk science and cherry-picked data, along with outright lies and propaganda. The majority of studies and articles covering this issue are decidedly biased, left leaning and collectivist in nature. Now, I plan to touch on this issue, but what I really want to focus on is the "WHY" of the matter - Why are the elites targeting human meat consumption, and why are they willing to lie about its effects in order to get us to abandon our burgers and steaks? What is the real agenda here...?

Comment: See also:

      Read More...
Mr. Potato

'Russians will have a fight on their hands!': Alaska governor vows to thwart 'independence referendum & annexation' in prank call


RT
Sun, 20 Oct 2019 00:00 UTC
Grizzly bears
© Naomi Boak / National Park Service / handout via Reuters
Grizzly bears search for migrating salmon to help fatten up for the winter hibernation in Katmai National Park, Alaska, US (soon Russia?)
Governor Mike Dunleavy said he was aware of Moscow's plan to stage an independence referendum to reclaim Alaska, and promised to arrange a gold nugget for the visiting Ukrainian leader, in a phone call with Russian pranksters.

The governor seemed honored to receive such a 'high-profile' call from none other than Ukrainian prime minister and the country's ambassador to the US. Unsurprisingly, the key topic of the conversation was the omnipresent 'Russian threat.'

The two pranksters informed Dunleavy of a sinister plan, masterminded by the Kremlin, to reclaim Alaska. They explained that Moscow believes it had only temporary rented Alaska to the US back in 1876, and now - especially since the state has a maritime border with Russia, while being separated from the rest of the American territory by Canada - wants its land back.

Comment: See also: Russian Trolls Strike Again! Regime Change Operator Elliot Abrams Blabs US Venezuela Plans in Prank Call

      Read More...
Chess

Democratic takeover? Tulsi Gabbard supported by candidates Yang and Williamson as Killary backs out of event Tulsi will be headlining

Keith Griffith, Mary Kekatos & Emily Goodin
Daily Mail, UK
Sat, 19 Oct 2019 23:27 UTC
tulsi and hillary
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has received support from two of her opponents in the Democratic presidential primary after Hillary Clinton accused her of being a 'Russian asset.'

Marianne Williamson and Andrew Yang were the only two out of the Democratic field to take Gabbard's side in the growing feud, as the rest of the candidates remained silent on Clinton's accusations.

'Tulsi Gabbard deserves much more respect and thanks than this. She literally just got back from serving our country abroad,' Yang wrote in a tweet, referring to combat veteran Gabbard's continued service as a Major in the Army reserve.

Williamson, an author who did not make the party's cut for the most recent debate, chimed in: 'The Democratic establishment has got to stop smearing women it finds inconvenient!'

'The character assassination of women who don't toe the party line will backfire,' she continued, telling Gabbard, 'You deserve respect and you have mine.'
      Read More...
Bizarro Earth

German MP threatened after denouncing Ukraine's Mirotvorets hit-list site

Tom Winter
Fort Russ
Fri, 18 Oct 2019 12:00 UTC
Mirotvorets

I am on Mirotvorets -- a badge of honor
Andrei Hunko, deputy in the German Bundestag with Ukrainian roots, and deputy chairman of the United European Left Faction in the PACE, has insisted on closing the scandalous Peacekeeper website. The deputy recounted his personal letter to Ukrainian President Zelensky on his own website:

"Last week, in a personal letter, I called upon the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky. In my appeal, I clearly identified topics such as political repression in Ukraine and the criminal website Peacekeeper, and attached a list of political prisoners and political prisoners. These are two big problems that the new president received as a heavy legacy from his predecessor. If he does not solve them, he will not succeed in transforming Ukraine into a democratic state," Hunko wrote.

He argues that Zelensky should stop political repression and close the controversial Peacekeeper.

Comment: Any hopes of change with Zelensky in power are, as of right now, looking shaky, with residents of the DPR reporting that under his leadership daily shelling has gotten worse, as reported in Eva Bartlett's newest article Under fire from a Western-backed Ukraine: The people of the DPR share their stories.

See also:

      Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Here's where Washington's focus will shift to after Syria

Darius Shahtahmasebi
RT
Fri, 18 Oct 2019 16:10 UTC
navy
© Global Look Press / US Navy
Much to Washington's dismay, China is gaining further momentum in the Indo-Pacific region. As the US president pretends to deploy a hands-off approach to the Middle East, expect China's gains to fare in the news more often.

The reason the US might be (at least, on the face of it) caring less about the Middle East and the situation in Syria is that Washington has a new priority theater it is allocating its time and resources to focus on: the Indo Pacific. In that vein, you may start to notice that China and its relationship to the Pacific region is starting to make headlines again.

The latest outcry appears to be another kink in a longer chain regarding Beijing's actions in the Pacific and the wider question of the future of Taiwan. According to reports, China has agreed to fund a multi-million-dollar stadium in the Solomon Islands for the 2023 Pacific Games in its capital, Honiara. Unfortunately, Taiwan had previously made a commitment to providing the funds for the sports complex, but that has all but fallen through. Just recently, the Solomon Islands cut ties with Taiwan in exchange for funding from Beijing ($730 million according to some reports). Kiribati followed suit shortly after, leaving Taiwan with just 15 full diplomatic allies. One would have to think that, given Beijing's mounting influence and the sorts of packages being offered, that perhaps Tuvalu and the other remaining three Pacific states would not be far behind.

Comment: See also:

      Read More...
Star of David

Epstein disappears from view, but what about the Mossad?

Philip Giraldi
Strategic Culture Foundation
Thu, 17 Oct 2019 00:00 UTC
EpsteinMossad
© Corbis/Getty Images/Spirit of Metal/KJN
I have long argued that pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was clearly an intelligence agent and that he was most likely working for the Israeli external service Mossad. My belief was based on the nature of his activity, which suggested that he was able to blackmail important Americans using the sex tapes that he had been able to make at his Manhattan mansion. Put that together with the existence of his fake Austrian passport, as well as former Miami federal attorney Alexander Acosta's comments and it would seem that an intelligence connection is a sine qua non.

Acosta was particularly damning. When asked "Is the Epstein case going to cause a problem [for confirmation hearings]?" he replied "...that I had just one meeting on the Epstein case." He'd cut the non-prosecution deal with one of Epstein's attorneys because he had "been told to back off," that Epstein was above his pay grade. "I was told Epstein belonged to intelligence and to leave it alone."
      Read More...
Amazon Smile
Revolt! T-shirts