Puppet MastersS


Nuke

UN report: Israel buries 'nuclear waste with radioactive content' in Golan Heights


Sputnik
Mon, 25 Feb 2019 21:38 UTC
Guterres
© Iran PressSecretary-General of the UN Antonio Guterres
The UN has been adopting resolutions condemning the Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights for decades; however Tel Aviv hasn't changed its policies and is continuing to exercise sovereignty over the disputed territory, including holding municipal elections.

Secretary-General of the UN Antonio Guterres has presented a report to the UN Human Rights Council based on Syrian accusations against Israel's action in the Golan Heights, saying that Israel has been burying "nuclear waste with radioactive content in 20 different areas populated by Syrian citizens" in the occupied territory. Most of the waste has allegedly been dumped in the area near Al-Sheikh Mountain.

According to the report, this puts "the lives and health of Syrians in the occupied Syrian Golan in jeopardy" and violates the 4th Geneva Convention.

Israel is suspected of possessing nuclear weapons, but no evidence proving or disproving the suspicion has been presented so far. Tel Aviv has neither confirmed, nor denied possessing nuclear weapons.
Golan Heights
© Daily StarGolan Heights
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Oil Well

A half-billion dollars' worth of sanctioned oil is sitting offshore Venezuela


RT
Tue, 26 Feb 2019 14:38 UTC
tankers/oil storage
© Reuters/Henry RomeroVenezuelan tankers and oil storage facilities
Tankers loaded with 8.36 million barrels of crude are reportedly floating off the Venezuelan coast as the sanction-hit country struggles to find buyers for its oil.

The crude is worth upwards of half-a-billion dollars, according to shipping reports and ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. An armada of 16 ships holds cargoes belonging to state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), Chevron, Valero Energy and Rosneft Oil.

Sources told Bloomberg that oil ventures owned by PDVSA with Rosneft, Chevron, Total SA and Equinor ASA, whose upgraders convert tar-like Venezuelan crude into oil that refineries can process, reduced rates this week because they ran out of space to store crude. PDVSA had to put some of that oil onto tankers to clear space and continue to operate at lower rates.

Shipments to the United States, once Venezuela's largest customer, have dried up, so that the South American nation had to turn its focus to other consumers, including China and India. Imports of Venezuela's oil by India surged 66 percent in the first half of February to 620,000 barrels a day.

A person with knowledge of the situation said the PDVSA-Rosneft joint-venture, Petromonagas upgrader, isn't processing oil after running out of space to store their production.

Comment: See also:

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X

Lebanon speaks out on UK's plan to ban Hezbollah: 'Resistance is not terrorism'


Sputnik
Tue, 26 Feb 2019 12:45 UTC
Hezbollah parade
© AP/Mohammed ZaatariHezbollah military on parade
On Monday, the UK announced it would ban Hezbollah's political wing as a terrorist organisation, following a decade-old ban on its military wing. It comes despite Hezbollah fighting against jihadists in Syria for many years, with Britain saying that the movement had sought to "destabilise" the balance of power in the Middle East.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil has commented that the UK's decision to extend its ban on Hezbollah would not affect its relations with Lebanon, despite Hezbollah having a role in the country's government. Bassil said, as quoted by AFP, that senior British officials had agreed the issue should not have an "impact on bilateral relationships between Lebanon and Britain".

Britain's move "will not have direct negative consequences on Lebanon because we are already used to this situation with other countries", he added. "If the whole world stood up and said the resistance is terrorism, this does not make it terrorism as far as the Lebanese are concerned," he said in separate comments reported by Reuters.

Hezbollah is a Shiite paramilitary and political organisation, which was founded in the 1980s and originally aimed to end Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah has been active in the Syrian war, working with the government of the country to oust terrorists throughout its territory.

Comment: See also:

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No Entry

Mourao: Brazil won't consider 'under any circumstances' even one US base for intervention in Venezuela


Brazil Monitor
Mon, 25 Feb 2019 00:00 UTC
Brazil VPMourao
© Brazil MonitorBrazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourao
The Brazilian government does not consider "under any circumstances" to allow the United States to use Brazil's territory in a possible intervention in Venezuela, said Vice President Hamilton Mourao on Monday in an interview with GloboNews TV in Bogota, where he participates in the meeting of the Lima Group.

In the interview, Mourao also said that Brazil is working to prevent the Venezuelan crisis from generating conflict in the region and said that it would be "very bad" to bring to South America a climate similar to what existed in the Cold War era.

"Brazil does not consider this at all," Mourao said when asked if the country would allow the United States to use its territory in a possible intervention.

"You have to always remember that any presence of foreign force in our country has to have authorization from the National Congress, the government can not simply do this," explained the deputy, adding that "the majority" of the government of President Jair Bolsonaro is against allowing the US to use Brazilian territory for intervention in the neighboring country.
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Handcuffs

Former Israeli minister, Gonen Segev, sentenced to 11 years for spying for Iran


Sputnik
Tue, 26 Feb 2019 12:13 UTC
Gonen Segev
© AP/Ronen Zvulun/PoolGonen Segev, center, escorted by prison guards as he leaves the court.
The former official, who served as energy and infrastructure minister from 1995 to 1996, has agreed to a plea bargain on charges of espionage and transfer of information to Iran.

The Jerusalem District Court on Tuesday sentenced Gonen Segev, a former Israeli minister of energy and infrastructure, to 11 years in prison for spying for Iran after a plea bargain was agreed.

Prosecutors Geula Cohen and Rachel Aharoni Zeevi stated:
"The indictment which Segev confessed to as part of the plea bargain included grave crimes of spying and providing information to an enemy with the intent of harming national security. He confessed that he acted on behalf of the Iranian intelligence forces for five years, maintained regular communications with his handlers using a clandestine channel and that he provided them with a diverse range of information - including top secret information."
According to the prosecutors, the former minister met with his handlers both in Iran and other countries at secret locations. As they specified, Segev sought to promote contact between Iran and Israelis he knew in the defence establishment.

Explaining his motives, Segev previously stated, as quoted by Channel 10, he tried to help Israel and return as a "hero" under the guise of spying for Iran.

Comment: See also: Former Israeli Energy Minister arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran

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Stormtrooper

Russian Security Council warns US amassing special ops in Puerto Rico, army in Colombia to oust Maduro


RT
Tue, 26 Feb 2019 19:31 UTC
us marines
© Agence France-Presse / Lillian Suwanrumpha / FileUS Marines during a drill. February 2019.
By deploying troops and special ops forces to Puerto Rico and Colombia, Washington is getting ready to intervene in Venezuela and topple its leader, the secretary of Russia's Security Council said.

The US is "preparing for a military invasion" in Venezuela, Nikolai Patrushev told Russian media on Tuesday.
The relocation of American special forces' units to Puerto Rico, the deployment of the US Army units to Colombia and other facts evidently show that Pentagon is enhancing its military in the region in order to use it in ousting... President [Nicolas] Maduro.
"The people of Venezuela understand this clearly," Patrushev said, adding that this notion increases popular support for Maduro and drives the government to reject the aid offered by "an aggressor state."

Comment: The Venezuelan people are as staunch and brave as the Vietnamese. Trump may find himself in a quagmire worse than Vietnam, should he continue on the course Bolton and Abrams have decreed.

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TV

Best of the Web: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro interviewed by ABC News: 'The people around Trump are nuts'

Tom Llamas, et. al.
ABC News
Tue, 26 Feb 2019 17:41 UTC
Maduro interview ABC
© ABC NewsNicolas Maduro is pictured during an interview with ABC News on Feb. 25, 2019.
Embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has accused the U.S. government of trying to fabricate a crisis, which is "doomed to failure," in an attempt to start a war in South America.

In his first interview with an American television network in years, Maduro said, "The extremist Ku Klux Klan government that Donald Trump directs wants a war over oil, and more than just oil," describing Venezuela as a "pacifist, humble nation."

A lightly edited transcript of Maduro's interview ABC News Anchor and Chief National Affairs Correspondent Tom Llamas, which aired on World News Tonight, follows here:
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Pirates

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi hiding in Baghuz, Syria? Last battle will see ISIS fighting to the death

Elijah J. Magnier
ejmagnier.com
Tue, 26 Feb 2019 18:01 UTC
sdf isis
© @ReutersWorld by @RodiSadAn SDF militant searching an ISIS militant near Baghuz, Syria.
President Donald Trump will not be able to declare victory over ISIS in the next days because there are still between 1000 to 1500 militants and Emirs in Baghuz, a city bordering the Euphrates river. It is obvious these militants are not ready to surrender but most likely will fight to death, unless a deal is made - as happened before in Jarablus, Raqqah and Dabiq - to transfer them to another location. There are strong indications suggesting the presence of top leadership individuals in Baghuz, including Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Following a deal reached between ISIS and the US forces in Baghuz, the Kurdish forces engaged in a battle against ISIS in the area allowed civilians, ISIS families, wounded and ISIS fighters willing to surrender to leave the surrounded city.

According to a high ranking Iraqi official in the military Intelligence services, "there are strong indications ISIS top ranking leaders are in the city, probably including Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi".

The source relies on intelligence information collected from Iraqis in Baghuz collaborating with Iraqi intelligence services. According to the source, "there is a serious shortage of food and medicine in Baghuz forcing ISIS leadership to reduce the burden by asking civilians and families of militants to leave. The 1000 or 1500 militants remaining in the city can survive longer rationing what is left and are ready to fight to the death. Fighters get used to bombing and ISIS has enough experience in tunnel digging and the setup of underground shelters for command and control leadership and fighters to wait out an infantry assault".

The exit of civilians offers more freedom for artillery and air force bombing because it reduces civilian casualties. The departure of all civilians will be achieved in the next several days. Then, the assault against the city will resume.
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Cell Phone

Huawei exec trolls US, NSA at tech trade fair in Spain: "Ask Snowden"


Dayton Daily News
Tue, 26 Feb 2019 17:21 UTC
huawei
© Lluis Gene | AFP | Getty Images
The U.S. government's fight to ban Chinese tech giant Huawei from next-generation internet networks appears to be flagging.

The two sides faced off Tuesday at the world's biggest mobile technology trade fair, in Barcelona, Spain, where they sought to win over customers and governments.

The U.S. argues Huawei is a security risk as it could let the Chinese government snoop on internet users worldwide. Huawei rejects the claim and says it is part of the United States' broader efforts to stifle China's economic and technological ascent.

On Tuesday, a top Huawei executive used a keynote speech at the show, called MWC Barcelona, to poke fun at U.S. intelligence.

"PRISM, PRISM, on the wall, who is the most trustworthy of them all?" said Guo Ping, Huawei's rotating chairman, in a reference to a U.S. data gathering program.

"If you don't understand that, you can go ask Edward Snowden," he told the audience, referring to the former National Security Agency contractor who exposed the program in 2013.
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TV

UK intelligence services attempts 'very British coup' against Corbyn via media ultimatum

George Galloway
RT
Mon, 25 Feb 2019 12:45 UTC
Jeremy Corbyn with Seumas Milne
© Global Look Press / Elliott FranksJeremy Corbyn with Seumas Milne
A fortnight ago, the Mail on Sunday devoted over 12 pages to the destruction of Jeremy Corbyn in one of the biggest misfires in media history. It returned like a dog to its own vomit last weekend with more tales from the east.

This time, the main target was not Labour leader Corbyn but his right-hand man Seumas Milne (full disclosure: Milne has been a close friend of mine since the 1970s), the Labour Party's director of communications and strategy.

The top line was - in the mouth of Sir Richard Dearlove, the disgraced former head of the British Iraq-War security services - that unless Corbyn ditched Milne, neither the US nor other "allied" countries would share information with the UK under a Corbyn premiership, which would thereby be rendered impossible. The implication was that the Privy Council would advise the Queen to select someone else instead of the winner of the election!

Comment: It's clear that the UK establishment is going all out to take down Corbyn, and that they're utilizing every smear at their disposal. But, as of yet, they've utterly failed. Because under his leadership, Labour party membership continues to grow: Also check out SOTT radio's:

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