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Russian military jets collide over Sea of Japan


RFE/RL
Fri, 18 Jan 2019 19:49 UTC
Russian jets

The Russian Defense Ministry says that two Su-34 jets were performing training flights when they came into contact.
Two Russian jets have collided in midair in the Far East, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

In a statement on January 18, the Russian military said that two Su-34 jets were performing training flights when they came into contact about 35 kilometers from the shore in the Sea of Japan.

Both crews ejected from their aircraft but it was not immediately clear where they were. Rescue crews have been dispatched to the area. There was no immediate information about the fate of the jets.

The Russian military said the fighter jets were not carrying missiles.
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Bad Guys

US sends warship to the Black Sea in effort to provoke Russia


RFE/RL
Sun, 20 Jan 2019 19:39 UTC
USS Donald Cook

The guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook in the Mediterranean Sea on December 15, 2014.
The U.S. Navy says the USS Donald Cook is heading to the Black Sea to conduct maritime security operations and enhance maritime stability with NATO allies in the region.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer was navigating the Dardanelles Strait in Turkey on January 19 as it headed north toward the Black Sea, the U.S. Navy said in a statement.

"The U.S. Navy routinely operates in the Black Sea consistent with the Montreux Convention and international law," the statement said.

It did not say when it expected the ship to reach the Black Sea, but the TASS news agency quoted the Russian Defense Ministry's Defense Control Center as saying it is "tracking the movements" of the Donald Cook, which according to international convention may stay in the Black Sea for no longer than 21 days.

Comment: More from RT:
[Deployment of the Donald Cook] is the second such deployment in less than two weeks as, earlier in January, the Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry was deployed to the Black Sea where its crew trained together with the sailors of the Romanian Navy. The US Navy statement said that the US military vessels' "routine" deployment to the Black Sea is in full accordance with the international law.

The Russian Navy dispatched a patrol vessel to monitor the actions of the US destroyer as it entered the Black Sea waters, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. It also used additional "electronic and technical means" to monitor the situation. Under the international law, the US ships are allowed to stay in the waters of the Black Sea for no more than 21 days, the ministry said.

Six American military vessels carried out missions in the area in 2018, including the guided-missile destroyers USS Ross, USS Carney and USS Porter as well as the command ship USS Mount Whitney, the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill and the expeditionary fast transport USNS Carson City.


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Magnify

Kennedy and King families call for Congress to reopen assassination probes


Who.What.Why
Sat, 19 Jan 2019 00:00 UTC
Truth and Reconcilition probes Kennedy King assassinations
After five decades, the mysteries behind the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X may finally get the scrutiny they deserve.

A group consisting of relatives of the Kennedy and King families, as well as their confidantes and other prominent voices, is calling for a Truth and Reconciliation Committee to get to the bottom of these tragic murders.

Over the decades, those in power, whether in government, media, or academia, have contended that all of these murders were simply the result of lone-wolf actors: There was "no collusion," and please don't mention that other "C" word - conspiracy.

But parallel to these affirmations, an ever-growing group of dissenters has pointed out the inconsistencies in the official narratives. They have demonstrated that those events could not have unfolded the way we've been taught on TV and in standard textbooks. Indeed, the evidence of a deeper and darker story is so compelling that one must begin to ask why those in power are not investigating further?

Comment: There are few documentaries in existence today that have followed the murders of all three of these beacons of hope, JFK, MLK and RFK, like Evidence of Revision. The vignette footage used in this film reveals the terror and manipulation that underpinned society at that time. Much has been forgotten and yet it still haunts the very fabric of Western civilization today.
Evidence of Revision is a six-part documentary containing historical, original news footage revealing that the most seminal events in recent American history have been deeply and purposefully misrepresented to the public. Footage and interviews provide an in-depth exploration of events ranging from the Kennedy assassinations to the Jonestown massacre, and all that lies between.

The footprints left in this archival footage reveal the coordinated, clandestine sculpting of the America we know today. Evidence of Revision proves once and for all that history has been revised, even as it was written!
See also:

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Star of David

Israeli news reports says Hezbollah began digging tunnels to Israel before 2006 war - IDF has no comment


Sputnik
Fri, 18 Jan 2019 05:56 UTC
hezbollah tunnels
© REUTERS / Ronen Zvulun
An Israeli soldier lowers a camera down an Israeli-dug hole into a cross-border tunnel dug from Lebanon into Israel, as seen on the Israeli side of the border, near the town of Metula December 19, 2018
Though it was only in December 2018 that Israel initiated an operation to find and destroy all of them.

Before the 2006 war started, despite claims by Israel's military that the construction only started a few years ago, according to a report by i24 News citing the Channel 13 news network.

The report says then-head of the Israel Defence Forces' (IDF) Northern Command Benny Gantz was informed about the inception of the tunnels by his advisor Col. Yossi Langotsky back in 2005. However, the military apparently neglected the warning at the time.

Comment: Looks like the vaunted IDF screwed up big-time and is now in damage control mode.

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Eye 1

Vatican knew of promoted Argentine bishop's "naked selfies"


AP
Sun, 20 Jan 2019 12:00 UTC
Oran Gustavo Zanchetta
© AP Photo/Javier Corbalan
In this Aug. 26, 2016 photo, former Bishop of Oran Gustavo Zanchetta participates in negotiations with border workers in Oran, Salta, Argentina. In August 2017, Pope Francis accepted Zanchetta's resignation after priests in the remote northern Argentine diocese of Oran rebelled under his authoritarian rule and sent reports to the Vatican embassy in May or June of 2017 alleging abuse of power and sexual abuses with adult seminarians, the former vicar said.
The Vatican received information in 2015 and 2017 that an Argentine bishop close to Pope Francis had taken naked selfies, exhibited "obscene" behavior and had been accused of misconduct with seminarians, his former vicar general told The Associated Press, undermining Vatican claims that allegations of sexual abuse were only made a few months ago.

Francis accepted Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta's resignation in August 2017, after priests in the remote northern Argentine diocese of Oran complained about his authoritarian rule and a former vicar, seminary rector and another prelate provided reports to the Vatican alleging abuses of power, inappropriate behavior and sexual harassment of adult seminarians, said the former vicar, the Rev. Juan Jose Manzano.

The scandal over Zanchetta, 54, is the latest to implicate Francis as he and the Catholic hierarchy as a whole face an unprecedented crisis of confidence over their mishandling of cases of clergy sexual abuse of minors and misconduct with adults. Francis has summoned church leaders to a summit next month to chart the course forward for the universal church, but his own actions in individual cases are increasingly in the spotlight.

Comment: Covering up the abuse of clergy is par for the course at the Vatican, and, while it's perpetrated by clergy at all levels, criminality by those in the highest positions are extraordinarily common:

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Pirates

Scott Ritter: ISIS needs US presence in Syria to survive

Scott Ritter
The American Conservative
Fri, 18 Jan 2019 16:49 UTC
manbij
"No war is over until the enemy says it's over," James Mattis, the former Marine Corps General and recently resigned secretary of state, is quoted as saying. "We may think it over, we may declare it over, but in fact, the enemy gets a vote." Mattis's statement was made in 2012, well before President Donald Trump, in a surprise announcement on December 19, declared victory over the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, better known as ISIS.

"We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency," the president wrote. He later expanded on that sentiment in a video message, posted on Twitter. "Our boys, our young men and women, are coming home now," Trump noted. "We won."

But a recent attack on U.S. forces in Syria, carried out by a suicide bomber which ISIS claimed was operating on its behalf, has led to an outpouring of criticism of Trump's precipitous decision. "ISIS has claimed credit for killing American troops in Syria today," Senator Marco Rubio tweeted in the aftermath of the attack. "If true, it is a tragic reminder that ISIS not been defeated and is transforming into a dangerous insurgency. This is no time to retreat from the fight against ISIS. Will only embolden & strengthen them."

While Mattis's words were a cautionary warning about premature celebration, Rubio's sentiments, along with those who share his point of view, miss the point of the ISIS attack altogether. The U.S. was on the verge of withdrawing from Syria, something Rubio and others believe would give ISIS a victory. Why, then, would ISIS attack American forces in such a high-profile manner, creating the condition for a reversal of Trump's decision and keeping the U.S. military in Syria for the foreseeable future?

Comment: See also: Manbij False-Flag: The Empire Devours Its Own Soldiers

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Handcuffs

Desperate Netanyahu says criminal indictment against him would be win for 'the Left and media'


Sputnik
Sun, 20 Jan 2019 16:32 UTC
netanyahu
© AP Photo / Ariel Schalit
Case 4000 pertains to corruption allegations against Benjamin Netanyahu, with suspicions that he assisted the Bezeq group, controlled by Shaul Elovitch, in exchange for favourable media coverage, while working as communications minister in 2014-2017, in addition to his prime ministerial post.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hit out at Attorney General (AG) Avichai Mandleblit for recommending his indictment over the corruption case. Specifically, the PM described the move as a surrender to the media and the Left, Haaretz reports.

The newspaper referred to a short video published on Netanyahu's Facebook page on Saturday, which opens with claims of "the left and the media" pursuing "Mandelblit for three years to indict [Netanyahu] at any cost".

The footage, which also shows a spate of protests near Mendelblit's house, ends with: "Will they succeed?"

Also on Saturday, Netanyahu lambasted Mandelblit's move to give an interview to the Israel Television News Company, saying that "the decision to cooperate with such a program, at such a time, is unprecedented in the history of Israeli law and raises serious question marks".


Comment: Which is quite hilarious coming from Netanyahu, himself a criminal.


Comment: See also: Lock him up: Israeli AG advises Netanyahu be indicted over corruption case

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Bad Guys

War whore Graham urges slow withdrawal of Syrian troops, or else "Iraq on steroids"


Guardian
Sat, 19 Jan 2019 16:17 UTC
lindsay Graham
© Reuters
Lindsay Graham
Senator Lindsey Graham said on Saturday he hoped Donald Trump would slow the US withdrawal from Syria until Islamic State is destroyed, warning that if not thought through, the pullout can create an "Iraq on steroids".


Comment: Like 'terror', IS cannot be 'destroyed'. It is an ideology, not a wedding party. For all intents and purposes, ISIS in Syria is destroyed however. Only a few towns remain, and the U.S. and SDF are actually attacking them (finally). The Syrians and Russians could take them in a matter of weeks if allowed. But Graham does not actually want the destruction of ISIS. He just wants and excuse to stay in Syria indefinitely. Thankfully, Trump has different plans.


A bomb attack in Manbij this week, claimed by the militant group, killed two US troops and two civilians working for the US military in northern Syria, along with other civilians.

Trump was due to attend the repatriation of the bodies at Dover air base in Delaware. The president told reporters his Syria policy had made progress but that some work remained in destroying Isis targets. He defended his plans for a withdrawal.

"It's moving along very well, but when I took over it was a total mess," he said. "But you do have to ask yourself, we're killing Isis for Russia, for Iran, for Syria, for Iraq, for a lot of other places. At some point you want to bring our people back home."

Army chief warrant officer Jonathan Farmer, 37, of Boynton Beach, Florida; navy chief cryptologic technician Shannon Kent, 35, identified as being from upstate New York; and Scott Wirtz, a civilian Department of Defense employee from St Louis, died in the Manbij attack, the Pentagon said in a statement. It did not identify the fourth person killed, a contractor working for a private company.


Comment: In other words, there are more Americans in Syria than the officially acknowledged troops.

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Chess

Trump proposes wall-for-DACA plan in bid to end government shutdown

Steve Holland
Reuters
Sat, 19 Jan 2019 15:56 UTC
trump daca
© Reuters/Yuri Gripas
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on border security and the partial shutdown of the U.S. government from the Diplomatic Room at the White House in Washington, D.D. on January 19, 2019
U.S. President Donald Trump proposed an immigration deal on Saturday in a bid to end a 29-day partial government shutdown, including temporary protections for "Dreamers" and other immigrants, but Democrats immediately dismissed it.

Insisting on his demand for $5.7 billion to fund a U.S.-Mexico border barrier as part of any bill to fully reopen the government, Trump sought to pile pressure on Democrats by appealing to immigrants they have tried to help.

In a speech from the White House, Trump offered three years of protections for young undocumented immigrants known as "Dreamers," as well as for holders of temporary protected status (TPS), another class of immigrants.

Comment: Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer seems to have made it their personal mission to prevent a sensible solution to the very real problem of illegal immigration. Why are these two still in office?

Trumps proposal is reasonable and addresses the points of concern these two keep bringing up:
The president offered what he called a "common-sense compromise" that both Republicans and Democrats ought to endorse:
  • $800 million in urgent humanitarian assistance
  • $805 for drug detection tech at ports of entry
  • 2,750+ border agents
  • 750 new judges to reduce backlog of almost 900,000 cases
  • $5.7 billion for "strategic deployment of physical barriers" - not a 2,000 mile concrete wall "from sea to sea," but steel barriers in strategic locations.
"To build trust and goodwill," his proposal also includes:
  • 3 years of legislative relief for 750,000 DACA recipients
  • a 3-year extension of TPS for 300,000 immigrants whose status is facing expiration - time for Congress to work on a larger immigration deal
From RT:
Democrats are up in arms over US President Donald Trump's proposal to fund a border wall in exchange for protection for DACA recipients and TPS immigrants, denouncing it as a one-sided non-starter.

Democrats began shredding Trump's compromise proposal even before he went public with his "major announcement."

Trump's offer has already been rejected by Democrats, however. After Axios published an outline earlier on Saturday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) called it "a compilation of several previously rejected initiatives, each of which is unacceptable and in total, do not represent a good faith effort to restore certainty to people's lives."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer echoed her stance shortly after Trump laid out the details of his plan to reopen the government, now almost a month in shutdown.


Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) chastised the Democratic opposition to the proposal as "completely irrational obstructionism," while Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) called the compromise "a sign of strength" rather than weakness.


Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) was also on board, calling it a "reasonable proposal," as was Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), who described it as a "sensible compromise."




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Map

Smithsonian map reveals US military operating in over 40% of World's countries

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Sun, 20 Jan 2019 15:58 UTC
infographic of US counterterrorism activity
© Smithsonian Magazine
Smithsonian Magazine this month published a stunning map detailing just how expansive the post-9/11 "war on terror" has become, demonstrating that contrary to the common assumption that it's "winding down" more than 17 years later, it actually continues to grow and has now spread to more than 40% of the world's countries.

This includes American military and support personnel engaged in ongoing missions in 80 nations on six continents, according to Brown University's Costs of War Project at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, which has recently calculated that since 2001 the US has spent $5,900,000,000,000 on war, mostly in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, and Yemen - where US military operations have become more or less permanent, with no consideration of ending them under any circumstances.

The map creators for The Smithsonian culled information from foreign government sources, published and unpublished reports, military websites and geographical databases, as well as foreign embassies and interviews with journalists and academics, according to Smithsonian.com.
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