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Fire

Best of the Web: Victory or fire: The plan for Hong Kong

Tom Luongo
Gold Goats 'N Guns
Mon, 14 Oct 2019 00:00 UTC
ProtestersHK
© Unknown
It's become quite clear to me that the situation in Hong Kong is now about regime change through economic terrorism. What started as peaceful protests against an extradition law and worry over reunification with China has morphed into an ugly and vicious assault on the city's economic future.

These are being perpetrated by the so-called "Black Bloc," roving bands of mask-wearing, police-tactic defying vandals attacking randomly around the city to disrupt people going to work.

Pepe Escobar has been doing exemplary work in recent months covering the ins and outs of Asian politics. His latest article covers the "Black Bloc," their tactics and who's likely behind them in Hong Kong:
"More likely to be informed is Hong Kong garment and media tycoon Jimmy Lai, billionaire publisher of the pro-democracy Apple Daily, the city's Chinese Communist Party critic-in-chief and highly visible interlocutor of official Washington, DC, notables such as US Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and ex-National Security Council head John Bolton.

"On September 6, before the onset of the deranged vandalism and violence that have defined Hong Kong "pro-democracy protests" over the past several weeks, Lai spoke with Bloomberg TV's Stephen Engle from his Kowloon home.

"He pronounced himself convinced that - if protests turned violent China would have no choice but to send People's Armed Police units from Shenzen into Hong Kong to put down unrest.

"That," he said on Bloomberg TV, "will be a repeat of the Tiananmen Square massacre and that will bring in the whole world against China..... Hong Kong will be done, and ... China will be done, too."
Jimmy Lai is telling you what the strategy is here. The goal is to thoroughly undermine China's standing on the world stage and raise that of the U.S. This is economic warfare, it's a hybrid war tactic. And the soldiers are radicalized kids in uniforms bonking old men on the heads with sticks and taunting cops.
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Propaganda

Best of the Web: NYT has been 'duped by spooks and terrorists' - Russian military corrects flaws in report on hospital bombings


RT
Mon, 14 Oct 2019 14:39 UTC
field hospital
© AFP/George DurfalianRebel shelled field hospital in Furqan neighborhood of Aleppo, 2016.
A damning report by the New York Times, which accused Russia of bombing four UN-protected hospitals in Syria, is a product of misinformation by Western intelligence services and jihadists, the Russian military said.

On Sunday, the leading US newspaper said it had irrefutable proof that Russian warplanes had bombed four sites in Syria, which it knew to be locations of civilian hospitals. The accusation stems from analysis of social media, interviews with witnesses, data provided by local plane spotters and records of communications of the Russian military deployed in Syria. The bombings, which happened on May 5 and 6, are just a faction [sic fraction] of attacks on civilian infrastructure, for which Moscow carries responsibility, the newspaper alleged.

Responding to the accusation on Monday, the Russian military said Times report was flawed for several reasons, including failure to explain that Idlib Governorate, where the four alleged bombings took place, lives under rule of brutal jihadists. That detail affects the entire narrative, indicating its flawed sourcing.

Comment: From Sputnik, 14/10/2019: Hospital allegedly 'destroyed' in Syria is well-protected terrorist bunker
The New York Times previously claimed that the Russian Air Forces had bombed several hospitals in Syria back in May. The newspaper said that local journalists had filmed the bombing and proved the incident via a radio recording of a ground controller giving the coordinates of the facility to the pilots.

The Russian Ministry of Defence stated on Monday that the "bomb-destroyed" hospital in Syria mentioned in the NYT reports was actually a terrorist base in a cave, adding that 80 journalists saw it.

The Russian military representative pointed out that "the hospital for civilians" was located in an area far from settlements in an "isolated cave", where medics couldn't have upheld any standards for treating injured people.

According to Gen. Major Igor Konashenkov, the media fell for another disinformation stunt, propagated by the British intelligence services, masked as news from "activists".

He also dismissed claims about "eavesdropped" dialogue between pilots and ground controllers, stressing that the military does not use open radio channels to transmit coordinates.


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Star of David

Israel to force its own Bedouin citizens into refugee camps


adalah.org
Thu, 10 Oct 2019 00:00 UTC
Bedouin community
© Mati MilsteinA general view of a Bedouin community located in the Naqab (Negev) desert.
Israel plans 'urgent' forced displacement of tens of thousands of Bedouin citizens from unrecognized villages in Naqab (Negev) desert into refugee or displacement camps to make way for military and other development projects, without offering any permanent housing solutions.

Israel is taking the first steps towards establishing desert refugee or displacement camps designed to hold tens of thousands of Bedouin citizens whom it plans to "urgently" displace from their homes in unrecognized villages across the Naqab (Negev) desert - without offering them any permanent and just housing solutions.

Israel's Southern District Planning and Building Committee convened on Sunday, 6 October 2019, to discuss two plans - 652-0767921 and 624-0765792 - "Temporary Residential and Public Building Solutions for the Bedouin Population in the Negev."

The plans are intended "to provide temporary housing solutions for the unregulated Bedouin population, in cases where the population is urgently required to move from their living sites before permanent buildings are established" (emphasis added). Once approved, the plans would enable the "temporary" structures to remain for a period of up to six years.

In January 2019, Israel's Bedouin Development and Settlement Authority announced a plan for the forced displacement of 36,000 Bedouin citizens to make way for "economic projects" and the expansion of live-fire training areas for the Israeli military.

Comment: The Bedouins, an indigenous Palestinian Arab minority, have occupied the Naqab desert since the 7th Century with settlements dating back to the 16th Century, claiming 600,000 dunums (200,000 acres), or less than 5% of the total area of the Naqab. Considered a demographic and geo-political threat by the State of Israel, they are referred to by the Israeli government as "squatters" and "illegal trespassers" who are stealing State land. -Adalah, The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel

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Arrow Down

Vatican: Pope's security chief steps down over financial leak scandal


Sputnik
Mon, 14 Oct 2019 23:49 UTC
Pope Francis
© Sputnik/Vladimir AstapkovichPope Francis in Vatican, Rome
The Vatican was shaken by a new scandal two weeks ago after the Italian magazine L'Espresso published its internal police flyer signed by Pope Francis' chief bodyguard Domenico Giani. It identified five staffers who were suspended following a raid on two Vatican offices amid a reported probe into one of the Holy See's estate deals.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation tendered by Domenico Giani, the Commander of the Vatican Gendarmerie, over the now-infamous leak concerning the investigation into alleged irregularities surrounding a real estate deal involving the Holy See. The Vatican's Press Office released a statement on Monday, saying the pontiff "expressed his appreciation to the commander for his gesture."

It specifies that the 57-year-old police chief "bears no personal responsibility in the unfolding of the events," but resigned "out of love for the Church and faithfulness to Peter's Successor." The resignation is said to assure "the proper serenity to the ongoing investigation". The statement reads:
"Pope Francis also recalled Domenico Giani's twenty years of unquestionable fidelity and loyalty and underlined how, by offering an outstanding witness in many parts of the world, Commander Giani was able to establish and guarantee a lasting atmosphere of ease and security around the Holy Father."

Comment: See also:

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Bad Guys

US eyes Russia's Arctic waters like a delusional creepy stalker


RT
Tue, 15 Oct 2019 18:37 UTC
Arctic
© Sputnik / Alexander Kovalev
The United States intends to deprive Russia of its right to the Northern Sea Route (NSR) which lies in Arctic waters and within Russia's Exclusive Economic Zone.

That's according to media reports, saying Washington believes that the NSR should be open to the entire world community, and not only to Russia.

"The current US political elite has "suddenly" forgotten Article 234 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which guarantees Russia the right to the North Sea (because it is in the inland waters of this country), and which also recognizes Canada's right to passage northwest of this sea route,"'wrote Pecat magazine's journalist Zoran Milosevic.
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Bulb

Cultural diplomacy: 'Russian America Day' proposed by Russian Defense Ministry to promote 'humanitarian cooperation'


RT
Tue, 15 Oct 2019 17:25 UTC
Alaska
© Global Look Press / Luc NovovitchView of Sitka, Alaska, which was founded as Novoarkhangelsk and served as capital of Russian Alaska. Saint Michael’s Cathedral is a Russian Orthodox church originally built in the 1844-1848.
In a move that may rattle some Russia-watchers in the US, the Russian Defense Ministry suggested establishing a new holiday, the Russian America Day. The new honorary date may be set in Russia as soon as 2020.

Imperial Russia was one of European nations that went to explore and colonize the New World. Geography dictated that its primary interest was in North America's Pacific Coast, with Russian settlements dotting Alaska and going as far as Fort Ross in California and Fort Elizabeth in Hawaii.

The Russian-American Company, which was created in 1799, served as the vehicle for spreading Russian interests in North America, first on behalf of big Siberian merchants and later directed by the imperial military and civilian bureaucracy.
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Binoculars

Details of the Kurdish-Russian-Syrian deal: How one rocket provoked US withdrawal

Elijah J. Magnier
ejmagnier.com
Mon, 14 Oct 2019 18:03 UTC
syria
Last Friday a 155 mm artillery shell landed 300 metres from a US command post near the Syrian bordering city of Ayn al-Arab (known by the Syrian Kurds as "Kobane") during an ongoing operation carried out by Turkey - a NATO and a US ally. This operation aimed to dislodge, at a distance of 30-35 kilometres from the border, the US-backed Kurdish militants known as the YPG, the Syrian branch of the US-EU-NATO designated terrorist group, the "Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The Turkish troops backed by Syrian proxies had rapidly advanced in the first week of the military operation into US-occupied Syrian territory, cutting the main roads and attempting to isolate their enemies.

These two swift events were enough to ring the alarm bells and straightaway pushed the US administration to announce, via the Secretary of Defence Mark Esper, the withdrawal of approximately 1,000 US troops from north-east Syria (NES). The killing of any US soldier in Syria would effectively have been a nail in the coffin of the US President Donald Trump's electoral campaign in 2020. France and Britain, who maintain Special Forces in NES, will follow the US forces out of Syria.

The Syrian forces were given orders to deploy in NES following a deal between Russia and Turkey, and between Russia and the Syrian officials, to guarantee the safety of the separatist Syrian Kurds.

The Syrian President Bashar al-Assad agreed to guarantee the safety of the Kurds as long as these become part of the National Security Forces. No other conditions were put forward by the Kurds, who have lost momentum with the sudden US withdrawal. Damascus promised there will be no revenge or resentment measures towards the Kurds who have, for years, acted as human shields to protect the US occupation forces which remained in Syria notwithstanding the defeat of ISIS.

Comment: See also: Turkish invasion DAY 7: Syrian Army enters Manbij - Trump says US pulling out of Syria, will only stay at al-Tanf - UPDATES

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Jet3

US aircraft carrier suffering critical failures after just 2 years in service

Paul Antonopoulos
Fort Russ News
Tue, 15 Oct 2019 17:47 UTC
aircraft carrier gerald ford
© diseno-art.comThe USS Gerald R. Ford is the first in a new class of aircraft carriers which will slowly replace the Nimitz-class of carriers currently prowling the world's oceans.
The most sophisticated and potentially most advanced aircraft carrier in the US Navy, the USS Gerald R. Ford, already has numerous failures in just two years of service, according to the US Naval Institute.

The ship is the leader of a new series of nuclear aircraft carriers, writes the US institute.

One of the ship's many innovative features is its eleven advanced electromagnetic lifts that are used to move bombs, missiles and other ammunition reserves to aircraft hangars. However, only 2 of its 11 weapon lifts are in operation.

The oldest lifts on most aircraft carriers in the country, and around the world, operate on hydraulic power and can lift approximately 4,600 kilograms of ammunition at 30 meters per minute. In contrast, advanced AWE lifts can carry twice the weight at about 50 meters per minute.

Comment: The failures of the supposedly most sophisticated piece of US Navy hardware was easy to predict. The Pentagon's out-of-control defence budget, coupled with cosy relationships with private contractors, is a perfect storm. Unlimited amounts of money, and laissez-faire oversight could produce no other result.

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Info

Turkish invasion DAY 7: Syrian Army enters Manbij - Trump says US pulling out of Syria, will only stay at al-Tanf - UPDATES


RT
Tue, 15 Oct 2019 16:40 UTC
Tel Tamer
© Reuters / SANA / HandoutA Syrian army soldier in the town of Tel Tamer in northeast Syria, October 14, 2019
The Syrian Arab Army has entered the northeastern city of Manbij, state media has reported. The deployment comes amid the ongoing Turkish operation against the Kurdish-led militias, which control several towns in the border area.

State news agency SANA broke the news on Monday, confirming the earlier sightings of the Syrian troops in the area, first spotted overnight.

The confirmation comes a few hours after Turkey signaled that its military and affiliated Syrian "opposition" militants have sought to enter the city after the withdrawal of the Kurdish-led militias.

"We are about to implement our decision on Manbij," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters on Monday. "When Manbij is evacuated, we will not go in there as Turkey. Our Arab brothers, who are the real owners, the tribes ... will return there. Our approach is to ensure their return and security there."

The map of control in Syria is once again going through rapid changes after Turkey began an invasion of the northeast border areas, dubbed 'Operation Peace Spring.' The offensive targets Kurdish-led militias that Ankara considers to be terrorists. This includes the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) group, that has been the key US ally in its fight against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) terrorists.

Comment: In addition to Manbij, a number of settlements in Aleppo have announced the restoration of Syrian sovereignty, according to the Russian military:
"The self-proclaimed Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, having not received support from the United States and other Western countries, was unable to take any effective measures to protect the population and resolve humanitarian problems," Maj. Gen. Alexey Bakin, the head of the Russian centre for Syrian reconciliation said at a daily briefing.

"As a result, the self-governing authorities of the settlements in the Manbij district of Aleppo province, Tabka district of Raqqa province, Qamishli and Hasakah districts of Hasakah province announced the full restoration of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic on their territory," he added.

The general also said that in other settlements in Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa provinces, representatives of several tribal unions had held demonstrations against the foreign aggression and terrorism, and sent appeals to the Russian reconciliation centre to assist them in restoring the legitimate authority of Syria.

The U.S. imposed sanctions against 3 Turkish ministers (including the defense minister). Notably, in his tweet about the sanctions, Trump announced that U.S. troops will be pulling out of the entire northeast of Syria to be redployed elsewhere. Only "a small footprint of United States forces will remain at At Tanf Garrison in southern Syria to continue to disrupt remnants of ISIS."




Meanwhile, the Pentagon is pressing NATO allies to sanction Turkey:
Blaming Turkey for "undermining the successful multinational 'Defeat ISIS' mission in Syria," US Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced a "deliberate withdrawal" of US forces from northeast Syria. "I will be visiting NATO next week in Brussels, where I plan to press our other NATO allies to take collective and individual diplomatic and economic measures in response to these egregious Turkish actions."

"President Erdogan bears full responsibility" for "a potential ISIS resurgence, possible war crimes, and a growing humanitarian crisis," Esper warned, pinning the responsibility for "widespread casualties, refugees, destruction, insecurity, and a growing threat to US military forces" exclusively on Turkey.

Trump talked on the phone with Erdogan, urging a ceasefire, and Pence is planning to head to Turkey with NatSec Adviser O'Brien for negotiations. The UK has halted exports of arms to Turkey that "might be used in military operations". For his part, Erdogan plans on returning 3 million Syrian refugees to the region after Turkey 'secures' it. Russia has vowed to prevent clashes between the Syrian and Turkish armies. Russian troops are currently patrolling the areas the Syrian army entered in the last day or so.

Vice president of the Kurdish National Council in Syria Abdul Hakim Bashar:
"The handover of Kobani and Manbij is not the decision of the SDF, but rather it will be in accordance with consensus between the regional and international parties. The Russian Federation will have the crucial role in these arrangements", Bashar said.

He called the developments "the complete surrender of the SDF" to the Syrian army as a way to protect itself from the Turkish incursion.

"The Kurds will not move voluntarily out of their historical presence unless they are forced", he added.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu:
"Sanctions against Turkey will achieve nothing. It is necessary to observe promises given to Turkey. We began the operation in the north of Syria because the US failed to observe its commitments," Cavusoglu said at an international conference on media freedom in Azerbaijan.
For previous updates, see:

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Yellow Vest

People power! Ecuador's Moreno scraps fuel subsidy cuts in big win for indigenous groups

Alexandra Valencia
Yahoo! News
Mon, 14 Oct 2019 17:09 UTC
peru natives protest fuel tax
People gather in the aftermath of the last days' protests, after the government of Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno agreed to repeal a decree that ended fuel subsidies, in Quito
Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno on Monday officially scrapped his own law to cut expensive fuel subsidies after days of violent protests against the IMF-backed measure, returning fuel prices to prior levels until a new measure can be found.

The signing of the decree is a blow to Moreno, and leaves big questions about the oil-producing nation's fiscal situation. But it represents a win for the country's indigenous communities, who led the protests, bringing chaos to the capital and crippling the oil sector.

The clashes marked the latest in a series of political convulsions sparked by IMF-backed reform plans in Latin America, where increased polarization between the right and left is causing widespread friction amid efforts to overhaul hidebound economies.

Comment:

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