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'Al-Qaeda Goes to Hollywood': Mini-documentary pulls back the veil on western Syrian war propaganda


Sputnik
Wed, 26 Sep 2018 19:27 UTC
white helmets
© Agence France-Presse/Amer Almohibany
Members of the Syrian Civil Defence, known as the White Helmets, take a selfie with their certificates after taking part in a training session in the rebel-held eastern Ghouta area, east of the capital Damascus, on November 22, 2016
A new mini-documentary aims to tackle the tall challenge of exposing swaths of propaganda crafted by Hollywood producers and distributed through mass-market channels like Netflix.

It goes without saying that US media has propagandized in its war reporting for years. The Afghan Mujahedeen fighters trained by the US in the 1980s were hailed as freedom fighters by the president and the press alike. But when it comes to Syria, from shady Western-funded groups like the White Helmets to manufactured claims of a Sunni genocide, the level of deception is potentially unprecedented.

In a war where social media videos have spurred bombing campaigns and CNN anchors have cried over children who were alleged victims of the government (whose parents, in reality, support the government), it is outstandingly difficult for the US populace to get good information.

Comment:

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Light Sabers

Corbyn challenges May to run-off should her Brexit plans go awry


RT
Tue, 25 Sep 2018 19:03 UTC
corbyn and may
© Leonhard Foeger / Reuters
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has declared that UK PM Theresa May should call a general election if parliament votes down a Tory Brexit deal based on the Chequers plan, or a "No deal," which he says would be "a national disaster."

Corbyn warned May that Labour will vote against her Chequers proposal if it forms the backbone of any final deal with the EU's 27 member states, and claimed that the prime minister would be forced to call a general election if she could not get it through parliament.

Fine tuning the party's Brexit position, Corbyn told delegates assembled in Liverpool: "As it stands, Labour will vote against the Chequers plan - or whatever is left of it - and oppose leaving the EU with no deal."
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Magnify

Project Veritas Deep State exposé Part 4: IRS officials - 'You should give increased scrutiny to conservative groups.. I don't give a s**t if that's a crime'


Project Veritas
Tue, 25 Sep 2018 00:00 UTC
Project Veritas IRS officials
© Project Veritas / YouTube

UPDATE: Sep 25, 2018, 2:36 PM | Project Veritas attorney Ben Barr submitted this complaint to the Department of Justice regarding the findings of this investigation.

Project Veritas has released the fourth story in a series of undercover reports which unmask the Deep State. This report features two Internal Revenue Service (IRS) officials who candidly discuss the IRS's unfair treatment of conservative non-profit groups. The two officials in the report are Thomas Sheehy, an IRS tax examiner and member of the Austin Democratic Socialists of America in Texas, and Jerry Semasek, an IRS attorney in Washington, DC.

The Austin Democratic Socialists of America is a socialist group that works to advance 'progressive issues' in Austin, Texas.


Comment: Earlier installments in the Deep State exposé:

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Snakes in Suits

Rosenstein's Resistance

Andrew C. McCarthy
National Review
Sun, 23 Sep 2018 07:55 UTC
Rosenstein
© Unknown
Former Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein
Weasel words, weasel moves from an emotionally overwrought deputy AG eager to ingratiate himself with Democrats.

Rod Rosenstein is even a weasel when repudiating his weasel moves. Here (with my italics) is the deputy attorney general's non-denial denial of a New York Times report Friday that he brainstormed about ousting President Trump in May 2017:
The New York Times's story is inaccurate and factually incorrect. . . . I will not further comment on a story based on anonymous sources who are obviously biased against the department and are advancing their own personal agenda. But let me be clear about this: Based on my personal dealings with the president, there is no basis to invoke the 25th Amendment.
Let's parse this.

Comment: The NYT has lived up to its biased and fading reputation. McCarthy's analysis, of Rosenstein's motives and actions, as well as the colorations and conclusions in the NYT article, has teeth - a primer for discovery and scrutiny.

See also:

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Pirates

Craig Murray: Importing Jihadi terror to the UK - Cui Bono?

Craig Murray
craigmurray.org.uk
Tue, 25 Sep 2018 00:00 UTC
WHelmet/Jihadi
© SouthFront
White Helmets by day, terrorists by night.
If Osama Bin Laden was not sufficient warning that decades of money, arms and other support from the Western security services does not render a jihadi a friend of the West, then the Manchester bomber, Salman Abedi, should have opened British eyes forever to the danger. In collaboration with MI5, Abedi had been fighting in the ongoing proxy war for Western oil interests in Libya, before being rescued by the Royal Navy. Back home in Manchester, he carried out an attack of appalling violence against a primarily young and female target group.

So it would be very foolish indeed to rely on the fact that the jihadi logistic support and propaganda group the White Helmets is largely British government funded, to expect its members who are now, like Abedi, being brought into the UK, to behave as quiet citizens. The links of the White Helmets to Al-Nusra and Al-Shams and other jihadi groups are deep - they chose to be evacuated to Idlib together from numerous sites. The reason there is no substantial corpus of independently filmed evidence of the White Helmets' work is that they co-operate with people who would chop off western journalists' heads on sight. In many well-attested cases, they are the same people.

Comment: The White Helmets/Jihadis are an expensive resource able to be repurposed. Duality has its usefulness - a militant two-for-one benefit, funded in the millions by many gullible Western countries. In the UK: A Freedom of Information Act request revealed that, as of March 2018, the UK government has funded the White Helmets to the tune of £38,425,591.23 (approximately $51,148,535).

See also:

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Attention

Windbag Bolton: 'Hell to pay' if Iran crosses US and allies, as Rouhani dares Trump to resume talks


RT
Tue, 25 Sep 2018 21:07 UTC
Bolton
© YouTube.com
US National Security Advisor John Bolton lashes out at Iran at UANI summit.
Hours after the US and Iranian leaders took aim at each other at the UN General Assembly, US National Security Adviser John Bolton said, at an anti-Iran summit, that Tehran will have "hell to pay" if it crosses the US or its allies.

"The murderous regime and its supporters will face significant consequences if they do not change their behavior. Let my message today be clear: We are watching, and we will come after you," Bolton told the so-called United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) summit in New York. "If you cross us, our allies, or our partners; if you harm our citizens...there will indeed be hell to pay," Bolton said.

Bolton said the US will be "aggressive and unwavering" when it comes to enforcing sanctions on Iran. He also referenced the European Union's plan for an Iranian payments channel, accusing Brussels of being strong on rhetoric and weak on follow-through. "We do not intend for our sanctions to be evaded by Europe or anybody else," he said.

The gathering, also attended by the likes of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Mossad Director Yossi Cohen, was not without incident. Footage emerged from the conference showing activists of the grassroots movement Code Pink disrupting the event while shouting that Americans "want peace" with Iran.

Comment: It is astounding (and to his credit) that Rouhani could bring himself to call for dialogue, given the outlandish and unrelenting Iran bashing happening on a daily basis by the US war-mongering circus.

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Attention

BBC tweet misquotes Trump: 'War will follow', didn't bother deleting it


RT
Wed, 26 Sep 2018 11:57 UTC
Trump UN
© nbcnews.com
US President Donald Trump at the UN
The BBC was attacked after claiming US President Donald Trump told the UN General Assembly 'war will follow' in reference to Iran. One problem, Trump said 'more will follow,' and the BBC are yet to delete the erroneous tweet.

The tweet read: "Donald Trump tells UN General Assembly "war will follow" after his decision to re-impose sanctions on Iran, who he accuses of "slaughter in Syria and Yemen."
BBC tweet
© BBC
The corporation issued a correction, some 19 hours later, in which they used the hashtag "#honestmistake." However their contrition didn't stretch far enough for them to delete the false tweet. Their inability to do so drew ire from many on social media.
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Arrow Down

US Missile systems to be pulled out of the ME, says WSJ report


Sputnik
Tue, 25 Sep 2018 12:56 UTC
Patriot surface-to-air missile systems
© AP Photo / Rainer Jensen
Patriot surface-to-air missile systems.
The US military is now focused to a greater extent on tensions with China and Russia, according to a Wall Street Journal report, citing senior military officials.

The United States is pulling some of its anti-aircraft and missile batteries out of the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing senior US military staffers. The removal will reportedly be conducted next month.

As many as four Patriot missile systems will be withdrawn from Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain, the edition stated, adding that the step essentially marks a shift of attention away from the long-lasting military confrontations in the Middle East and Afghanistan, towards soured relations with China and Russia, and subsequently to meet nascent threats from there.

The US Central Command has refused to comment on the matter, the WSJ noted.

The media outlet went on to say that there were no plans to replace the Patriot systems in the Middle Eastern countries, which is seen as a significant decrease in the defense capability in the region since the batteries were used not only to protect the US bases in the region, but to provide defense for US allies. The missile systems will likely be sent back back to the United States for upgrades or refurbishing.

Comment: The implications are the Patriot systems will be refurbished and repurposed. Their removal may prod to-now benefitted countries to purchase their own protection.

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Snakes in Suits

Macron chides Trump on Iran and trade


RT
Tue, 25 Sep 2018 19:04 UTC
MacronTrump
© Carlos Barria/Reuters
Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump hold a bilateral meeting before the UN General Assembly in New York, however their body language speaks the loudest.
In a speech to the UN General Assembly, French President Emmanuel Macron called for multilateralism in dealing with Iran, and for countries to stop making trade deals with those outside the Paris climate accords, namely the US.

Macron's Tuesday speech was undoubtedly less scrutinized than US President Donald Trump's - which came shortly beforehand - and was thematically worlds away. While Trump celebrated the concept of sovereign nation-states and rejected "global governance," Macron called for multilateralism in diplomacy and trade.

Trump threatened Iran with even tougher sanctions, and accused Hassan Rouhani's regime of using the sanctions relief granted by the 2015 Iran Deal to "build nuclear capable missiles, increase internal repression, finance terrorism, and fund havoc and slaughter in Syria and Yemen" through proxy forces.

Macron on the other hand credited the deal - which granted Iran sanctions relief in exchange for a halt to its nuclear weapons program - with bringing stability to the region.

Comment: Macron is stretching his boundaries as a statesman beyond his level of wisdom. How much of it is pushback, due to his grudge against Trump, combined with his indulgent aspirations to be top dog in Europe? Feedback looping, perhaps?

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Rocket

Syrian deputy FM: Israel must reconsider attacking Syria after Damascus receives S-300s


RT
Wed, 26 Sep 2018 08:46 UTC
S-300 air defense missile system
© Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
An S-300 air defense missile system.
Israel has been advised to think twice before attacking Syria again, now that Damascus is being equipped with S-300 long-range surface-to-air missile systems, the country's deputy foreign minister has said.

Faisal Mekdad stated on Tuesday that the Russian-made S-300 systems will act as a persuasive deterrent to any further Israeli attacks against Syria - while emphasizing that the air-defense systems would be used only if Syria was attacked.
"Israel, which got used to carrying out many attacks under different pretexts, would have to recalculate and reconsider before attacking again," Mekdad told Xinhua news agency. "Let the Israelis try [to attack] and we will defend ourselves as we have done before."

Comment: Without retaliatory aggression, Russia is shutting down Israel's waring agenda in Syria. Will it succeed in restraining Israel? Bets are off for the long run.

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