Puppet MastersS


Star of David

Israel's Syrian Christmas attack revealed an inconvenient truth about the S-300s

Andrew Korybko
Eurasia Future
Tue, 25 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
Israeli missile strike
© APFrame grab video provided by SANA shows missiles flying in sky near Damascus, Syria December 25, 2018.
All the pieces were in place for it to happen sooner than later, but striking Syria on Christmas night sent a terrifying message that's sure to backfire against "Israel" but will probably also get people to wonder why the S-300s didn't deter this from happening in the first place.

Reports are streaming in that "Israel" launched an attack against Syria on Christmas night after a brief hiatus of a couple of months following what President Putin previously described as the "chain of tragic circumstances" that led to the downing of a Russian spy plane over the Arab Republic's airspace in mid-September. Many people are shocked by the audacity of striking Syria on one of the world's holiest days but a lot of those who have also been following the country's conflict lately are surprised that it even happened at all.

Certain forces in the Mainstream and Alternative Medias pushed forth the narrative that Russia's highly publicized dispatch of S-300 anti-air missiles to Syria in the aftermath of the mid-September incident was supposed to have made this scenario impossible, though the reality is that the Russian military has yet to hand control of these systems over to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and might ultimately never end up doing so as part of a possible backroom deal between Moscow and Tel Aviv in order for "Israel" to continue having the so-called "freedom" to strike IRGC and Hezbollah positions in the country at its convenience.

Comment: See also:

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Key

It's been 8 years: Arab League ready to readmit Syria in 2019


Sputnik
Wed, 26 Dec 2018 19:16 UTC
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir • Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
© AFP 2018/LOUAI BESHARASudanese President Omar al-Bashir • Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
In November 2011, Syria was expelled from the Arab League over what the body described as Damascus' brutal repression of peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad.

The Guardian has cited diplomatic sources as saying that Gulf nations are considering re-admitting Syria into the Arab League in the immediate future. The sources referred to an increasing consensus among the league's 22 members on the need for Syria to re-enter the organisation - something that Washington still opposes.

"At some point in the next year it is likely Assad will be welcomed onto a stage to once again take his place among the Arab world's leaders," the sources noted.

In this context, The Guardian specifically referred to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who became the first Arab League leader to travel to Syria in eight years, in a visit that was touted as a sign of friendship on behalf of Saudi Arabia, which continues to bolster its ties with Sudan.
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Key

Damascus: UAE Embassy to reopen after 6-year closure


Sputnik
Thu, 27 Dec 2018 16:00 UTC
Damascus
© AP/Hassan AmmarDamascus, Syria
The embassy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will reopen in Damascus on Thursday after a six-year break, making it the first Arab embassy to start working again in Syria after closing as a result of the war, a source in the Syrian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik. "The UAE embassy in Damascus will reopen in the second half of the day," the source said.

The final preparations for the opening of the diplomatic mission are underway, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the scene. The embassy building was renovated earlier this week.

During the Syrian conflict that began in 2011, over 30 countries closed their embassies or relocated diplomatic staff to Beirut, including the United States, Saudi Arabia, and the EU mission. The United Arab Emirates closed the diplomatic mission and recalled the ambassador from Syria in 2012 due to the Syrian crisis.

The UAE is the first Arab country to restore the work of its embassy in Syria. Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad said earlier that Damascus welcomed the resumption of work of Arab countries' embassies in Syria.
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Chess

Trump considering executive order banning US companies from using Chinese telecom equipment

David Shepardson and Diane Bartz
Reuters
Thu, 27 Dec 2018 19:53 UTC
huawei
© iStockphoto
President Donald Trump is considering an executive order in the new year to declare a national emergency that would bar U.S. companies from using telecommunications equipment made by China's Huawei and ZTE, three sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.

It would be the latest step by the Trump administration to cut Huawei Technologies Cos Ltd [HWT.UL] and ZTE Corp, two of China's biggest network equipment companies, out of the U.S. market.

The United States says the companies work at the behest of the Chinese government and that their equipment could be used to spy on Americans.


Comment: The problem isn't that the phones are used to spy, but that the companies won't give the US government access to their tech so it can spy on Americans. Google, Apple, AT&T all give US intel backdoors to spy on Americans and without that they won't allow Chinese tech to enter the American market. So much for capitalism!


Huawei and ZTE did not return requests for comment. Both in the past have denied that their products are used to spy.
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MIB

MI5's temple of covert propaganda: Integrity Initiative and the scandal of the UK's information war

Mohamed Elmaazi and Max Blumenthal
The Grayzone Project
Mon, 17 Dec 2018 16:45 UTC
integrity Initiave headquarters london
© The Gray Zone Project2 Temple Place
The Grayzone entered the carefully concealed offices of a covert, British government-backed propaganda mill that is at the center of an international scandal the mainstream media refuses to touch.

Recent hacked documents have revealed an international network of politicians, journalists, academics, researchers and military officers, all engaged in highly deceptive covert propaganda campaigns funded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), NATO, Facebook and hardline national security institutions.

This "network of networks", as one document refers to them, centers around an ironically named outfit called the Integrity Initiative. And it is all overseen by a previously unknown England-based think tank registered in Scotland, the Institute for Statecraft, which has operated under a veil of secrecy.

The whole operation appears to be run by, and in conjunction with, members of British military intelligence.

Comment: There's likely plenty more dirt to be found on Integrity Initiative and its unholy parent, the Institute for Statecraft. Thanks should go to Anonymous for outing the UK military's propaganda mill.

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Broom

Saudi Arabia replaces Foreign Minister, sacks envoy to UK in major govt reshuffle following Khashoggi killing


RT
Thu, 27 Dec 2018 19:14 UTC
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir
Riyadh has announced a large-scale cabinet reshuffle, which involved appointing a new head of the foreign ministry as well as major changes to the national security posts.

Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has been relieved from his position and moved to a post of a minister of state for foreign affairs, the Saudi Press Agency said on Thursday, citing a royal decree. The change, which looks like a clear demotion for al-Jubeir, comes following pressure being put on Riyadh over its military campaign in Yemen and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In November, the US senators passed two resolutions blaming Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for Khashoggi's killing and calling on Washington to stop any aid to the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen. The moves came despite Washington's "strong opposition" to the idea of halting support to the Saudis.
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Dollars

Jailed Russian businessman: 'US offered my family green card if I accused Kremlin of corruption'


RT
Thu, 27 Dec 2018 19:05 UTC
Rusian businessman Viktor Bout
© Reuters / Sukree SukplangRusian businessman Viktor Bout
Russian businessman Viktor Bout, jailed in the US on accusations of being an international arms dealer, said he won't smear Russia's honor in exchange for any type of deal with the American justice system.

There was talk about me telling the US authorities about corruption in the Kremlin. I replied: 'What do I have to do with it at all and how am I supposed to speak about something that doesn't exist?'

Such offers were made to him "on numerous occasions" by lawyers aligned with the US side, Bout said in a public telephone conversation with TASS.

The legal eagles also "loved talking about this with the family; with my wife, proposing different options, including a green card," he added.

Comment: That's American 'justice' for ya: kidnap a Russian competitor, then try blackmailing him for geostrategic purposes.

And now they're trying it out on Chinese executives...

Political prisoners of Empire: Canada arrests Huawei CFO in Vancouver on behalf of US

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NPC

'Humanity not mankind': EU Parliament adopts radical leftist ideology, urges MEPs to stop saying words coined with 'man'


RT
Thu, 27 Dec 2018 02:45 UTC
eu flag
Faced with a fracturing union plagued by internal squabbles, EU Parliament has taken decisive action to solve the bloc's numerous real-world problems, issuing a pamphlet which urges MEPs to ditch words coined with "man".

Officials and members in the parliament have been sent guidebooks on using gender-neutral language in all of their official EU-related work and communications, the Telegraph reported on Thursday. Under the new guidelines, European lawmakers will be strongly encouraged to say "chair" instead of "chairman", "artificial" instead of "man-made", and "humanity" instead of "mankind."

"Gender-neutral or gender-inclusive language is more than a matter of political correctness", the guidebook insists. "Language powerfully reflects and influences attitudes and perceptions."
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Radar

NATO steps up presence of strategic weapons next to Russia's borders

Paul Antonopoulos
Fort Russ News
Wed, 26 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
NATO Russia
In recent times, the US and NATO have been increasing the deployment of strategic weapons near Russia's borders, said Admiral Vladimir Korolev, chief of the navy's General Staff, quoted by the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper.

The US and military alliance have increased the intensity of operational readiness along Russia's borders. In addition, the Admiral revealed that Western countries have installed American naval air defense systems, conventional high-precision strategic systems and military infrastructure facilities in waters adjacent to Russian borders, Korolev told the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper.

However, the military commander stressed that the amount of Russian navy forces in international waters makes it possible to exclude any threat from the sea.

"Russian navy forces will be present in important regions of the oceans in the amount set to eliminate any threat from the seas or oceans," he told reporters at the meeting of the Coordinating Council of Russian Navy veterans' organizations.

Comment: Pathological NATO is driven to bully and intimidate Russia to the end of instigating conflict - which it will then, no doubt, blame on Russia. See also:

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Star of David

Best of the Web: 'Treacherous': Israeli air force used Syrian civilian airliners as cover for Christmas Day attack on Damascus


21st Century Wire
Thu, 27 Dec 2018 16:12 UTC
syria return missile damascus christmas
© Jerusalem PostIsrael fires at retaliatory Syrian missiles after bombing of arms depots near Damascus
Yesterday, Israel carried out an unprovoked Christmas Day attack against Syria. According to reports citing the Russian Ministry of Defense, six Israeli F16 fighters violated neighboring Lebanese airspace and while passing over Sidon, fired 16 laser-guided GBU-39 bombs towards targets in and around the capital city of Damascus, 14 of which were intercepted by Syrian air defense systems.

More shocking details were revealed today, as the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that the IDF jets flew in to firing position - just as two civilian passenger airliners were in the air preparing for their landings into both Beirut and Damascus airports.

As a result, Syrian military defense units did not deploy its surface-to-air missiles and electronic jamming "to prevent a tragedy" and instead allowed Damascus air traffic control divert one of its passenger flights to an emergency destination at Khmeimim in Latakia.

Comment: RT reports:
The Israeli military put two civilian airliners in immediate danger, Igor Konashenkov, the Defense Ministry spokesman, told reporters. "Provocative acts by the Israeli Air Force endangered two passenger jets when six of their F-16s carried out airstrikes on Syria from Lebanese airspace."

The IDF's F-16 flew in as civilian jets were landing at Beirut and Damascus airport. The Syrian military didn't deploy surface-to-air missiles and electronic jamming "to prevent a tragedy" and let Damascus air traffic control divert one of the passenger jets to a reserve airport in Khmeimim.

The Israeli Air Force used as many as 16 US-made laser-guided GBU-39 bombs, but only two of them reached their targets. Most were intercepted by Syria's air defenses, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Two precision munitions hit a logistics compound 7km away from Damascus, injuring three personnel there.

The statement largely confirmed a previous report by Syria's state-run news agency SANA that went public overnight. Israel has not confirmed the strikes, but reported that the IDF activated its air defense systems to shoot down a Syrian anti-aircraft missile.

Head of IDF's International Media Branch has refused to comment on the allegations to Russian media.

Israel repeatedly carried out strikes on targets on Syrian soil that it regards as threats to its security. Damascus blasts those strikes as illegitimate acts of aggression and has threatened not to let them go unanswered.

Syrian airspace has seen a number of dangerous incidents. In September, a tragic sequence of events led to the downing of a Russian surveillance Il-20 plane, which killed all 15 crew on board. The plane was shot down by Syrian air defense units as Israel's F-16s effectively used it as cover during the attack on its neighbor.

Israel firmly denied any culpability.


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