Puppet MastersS


Footprints

Pentagon readies 7K troops for border duty; Trump warns 'gang members' in caravan


RT
Wed, 31 Oct 2018 15:56 UTC
Stonethrowers
© Reuters/Carlos Garcia RawlinsUS-bound migrants throw stones after pulling down a gate at the Mexico/Guatemala border.
Continuing a stream of similar warnings, US President Donald Trump has again warned a thousands-strong 'caravan' of migrants, en route to the US, to "turn around," as the Pentagon identifies 7,000 troops to send to the border.
"The Caravans are made up of some very tough fighters and people," the president tweeted on Wednesday. "Fought back hard and viciously against Mexico at Northern Border before breaking through. Mexican soldiers hurt, were unable, or unwilling to stop Caravan. Should stop them before they reach our Border, but won't!"

With a caravan of around 4,500 migrants already well into Mexico, "breaking though," was likely a reference to a second migrant caravan forcing its way through Mexico's southern border with Guatemala on Saturday, battering down the gates and throwing rocks at police.

Comment: This upcoming encounter, with all its potential variables, is akin to threading a humanitarian, legal and political needle. There will be only one chance to do it right.
See also:

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Jet3

US urges Saudi-led coalition to cease airstrikes in 'populated areas' of Yemen


RT
Wed, 31 Oct 2018 00:35 UTC
PomMat
© cnn.comSecretary of State Mike Pompeo • Defense Secretary James Mattis
The US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has urged the Saudi-led coalition to stop airstrikes in heavily populated Yemen, shortly after Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said a that long-lasting ceasefire is the only possible solution.

"Time is now for the cessation of hostilities, including missile and UAV strikes from Houthi-controlled areas into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Subsequently, Coalition air strikes must cease in all populated areas," Pompeo said in a statement.

"It is time to end this conflict, replace conflict with compromise, and allow the Yemeni people to heal through peace and reconstruction," declared the top diplomat of the country that supplies the coalition with the bulk of its weapons, as well as intelligence and reconnaissance assistance.

Just hours earlier - while noting that American aircraft continue to provide aerial refueling and intelligence to Saudi jets attacking Yemeni targets - the Pentagon chief also demanded that the warring parties work towards a long-lasting peace.

"We want to see everybody around a peace table based on ceasefire, based on a pullback from the border, and then based on ceasing dropping bombs," Mattis said at the Institute of Peace (USIP).

Comment: The time to end this conflict was years ago.

And from Sputnik:
A strike by the Arab coalition fighting Houthis in Yemen killed 150 rebels near the port city of Hodeidah, a spokesman for the Saudi-led forces said Tuesday. The missile and bomb attack hit a Houthi training camp, Col. Turki Al-Malki said.

The coalition of mostly Gulf Arab nations has been carrying airstrikes in Yemen in support of the country's government since 2015.

UN aid chief Mark Lowcock has warned that fierce clashes for the Red Sea port were blocking a crucial road used by food convoys to feed northern Yemen. Half of the country's population, he said, will soon be on the brink of famine.


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Attention

Premeditated: Khashoggi was strangled in planned attack, body dismembered says Turkish prosecutor


RT
Wed, 31 Oct 2018 14:10 UTC
Saudi Prosecutor
© REUTERS/Kemal AslanSaudi public prosecutor Saud Al Mojeb leaves from the Justice Palace in Istanbul, Turkey October 30, 2018.
Journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed by "strangulation" immediately after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, a Turkish prosecutor has confirmed, adding that his body was "cut into pieces' after the murder.

The dissident reporter disappeared after going to the diplomatic mission on October 2. After denying his death and the knowledge of his whereabouts for days, Riyadh admitted that Khashoggi died as a result of a 'fist fight.' Later, the Saudi prosecutors also said that some evidence suggested that Khashoggi's killing was premeditated.

Now, the office of Istanbul's chief prosecutor Irfan Fidan says Khashoggi was strangled as soon as he entered the diplomatic compound as part of a premeditated killing. This is the first official confirmation of the murder made by the Turkish officials.

Comment: The prosecutor 'confirms' this. Is there a forensic report to back him up?

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Pistol

Tehran accused of attempting to assassinate Iranian opposition figure in Denmark


RT
Tue, 30 Oct 2018 20:08 UTC
Finn Borch Andersen
© PolitikenDanish intelligence chief Finn Borch Andersen
Denmark has accused Iran of plotting an attack on at least one Iranian opposition figure living in the Scandinavian country, with Tehran dismissing the allegation as a political stunt meant to undermine its relations with Europe.

The alleged attack would have been aimed at the leader of the Danish branch of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz (ASMLA), Danish intelligence chief Finn Borch Andersen said on Tuesday.

"We are dealing with an Iranian intelligence agency planning an attack on Danish soil. Obviously, we can't and won't accept that," Andersen told a news conference.

A Norwegian citizen of Iranian descent was arrested in Sweden earlier this month in connection with the foiled operation, Reuters reported.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi dismissed the accusations, calling them a "continuation of enemies' plots to damage Iranian relations with Europe at this critical time."

Comment: More from The Iranian:
Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen said on Twitter that the reported attack plot was "completely unacceptable", and that "the government will respond to Iran and is speaking with European partners on further measures," Samuelsen said.

During a subsequent press conference, Samuelsen said that Denmark believes the Iranian government was behind the attempted attack, and that the Danish ambassador has been recalled from Iran. Samuelsen also said that Denmark will push for EU-wide sanctions against Iran in light of the attempted assassination.

During the conference, Samuelsen also said evidence presented to him by Danish intelligence leaves "no doubt" Iran's government was behind the plan, and said that behavior by Iranian intelligence was not restricted to Denmark, causing alarm across several European nations.


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Attention

Erdogan advisor warns Greece will suffer a swift catastrophe if it wages war with Turkey


RT
Tue, 30 Oct 2018 12:14 UTC
A controversial adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has issued a sobering warning to Greece, saying it "will end up in a catastrophe" within hours if it decides to wage war on Ankara.
Turksoldiersflagmarch
© Reuters/Umit BektasTurkish soldiers marching at a military event.
A controversial adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has issued a sobering warning to Greece, saying it "will end up in a catastrophe" within hours if it decides to wage war on Ankara.

Perhaps having some 'insight', known only to the adviser, Yigit Bulut stated: "Greece will end up in a catastrophe within three to four hours if it wages a war against Turkey. "Notably, the suggestion comes from someone who once said Greece is not a challenge to Turkey as 'it would be like a fly picking a fight with a giant.'"

Bulut's boastful remarks - made recently on local TV - came amid another round of tensions between Turkey and Greece.


Comment: And he is an advisor to Erdogan? Geez.

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Satellite

US needs 'offensive weapons in space' for self-defense, Mattis claims


RT
Wed, 31 Oct 2018 19:07 UTC
US astronauts
© NASA via Reuters
Dominance in space is vital for the American way of life and the Pentagon must be prepared for deployment and usage of offensive weapons there, in order to protect US interests, Secretary of Defense James Mattis said.

The Pentagon is looking at a two-pronged strategy in space, Mattis told an audience at the US Institute of Peace in Washington on Tuesday. In addition to making US assets in orbit more difficult to destroy and easier to replace, offensive capabilities are under consideration, he said.

"We are going to have to be prepared to use offensive weapons in space should someone decide to militarize it and go on the offensive," said the retired Marine who took over the Pentagon in January 2017.

In any competitive sport in the world, "you cannot simply play defense and win," Mattis added. "This is not an area that we want to be second-place in."
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Vader

Good luck with that: Mattis says Syria's Assad eventually will have to be 'managed out of power'


Sputnik
Wed, 31 Oct 2018 17:11 UTC
Bashar Assad
© Reuters/SANASyrian President Bashar Assad
Syrian President Bashar Assad will ultimately have to be "managed out of power" because he lost credibility, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis said during a discussion at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC.

"We see the reason that I think eventually Assad will have to be managed out of power," Mattis said on Tuesday. "I don't think any election run under the offices of the Syrian regime is going to have any credibility with the Syrian people or with the international community."

The United States is committed to supporting local forces in Syria and finding the settlement through the Geneva process, Mattis added.

Comment: Mattis' "vacuum" that he is so worried about is actually Syria reclaiming the territory that rightfully belongs to the country. By propping up the Kurdish SDF in their sham offensive against a miniscule pocket of ISIS in southeastern Deir Ezzor, the US maintains control of Syria's richest oil and gas fields. Which was always the point, with the added bonus of having a strategic drop on Iran. However, at this point in time it seems the only way Assad will be 'managed out of power' is when he chooses to retire. Those who've tried to force him out by various means have not fared well.
assad must go
© Twitter


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Attention

Sabotage? Russia's largest floating dock sinks, tower crane makes hole in nation's sole aircraft carrier


RT
Wed, 31 Oct 2018 16:45 UTC
Russian Admiral Kuznetsov heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser
© Sergey Eshenko / SputnikRussian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov
Four workers were injured and one is missing as Russia's largest floating dock quickly went underwater. Its tower crane fell 15 meters, crashing on the country's only aircraft carrier and piercing a hole in its hull.

The incident occurred at a shipyard in the port city of Murmansk in northwest Russia, where the aircraft carrier 'Admiral Kuznetsov' was undergoing planned repair and maintenance. The ship was parked in the floating dry dock PD-50. It could hold up to 80,000 tons, and was considered one of the largest floating docks in the world, as well as Russia's largest.

Things went wrong on Tuesday after a short circuit on the shore suddenly shut down the dock's pumps. Once that happened, the tanks were quickly filled with water, and the massive structure began to submerge, the shipyard's spokesman told TASS news agency.

Comment: One must start to wonder at the spate of bad luck Russia is having with regard to major infrastructure.

Alarming: Russia says drilled hole in International Space Station was intentional

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Info

Kremlin sees no reason to question Saudi royals' statements on Khashoggi case


TASS
Fri, 26 Oct 2018 16:21 UTC
Saudi Arabia consul general residence in Istanbul
© AP Photo/Lefteris PitarakisSaudi Arabia consul general residence in Istanbul
Kremlin sees no grounds to question the Saudi Royal Family's statements on its non-involvement in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

He dismissed as inappropriate reporters' question whether the Kremlin believed the Saudi Royal Family was not involved in the journalist's murder.

"There is the king's official statement, there is the crown prince's official statement. Actually, no one should have any grounds not to believe (them)," the Kremlin spokesman stressed.

According to Peskov, the Kremlin welcomes Riyadh's determination to thoroughly investigate Khashoggi's murder. "Russia's stance has been outlined by [President Vladimir] Putin. We heard the Royal Family's statements condemning this murder, stressing that the Royal Family was not involved in that. All the rest is a matter of investigation, and the Royal Family itself wants that too. We welcome that," he stressed.

Comment: That's the diplomatic approach: it offers the King the opportunity to save face. And it might also be correct, too: Saudi Royals reviewing options for replacement of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

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Russian Flag

India agrees to buy Russian S-400 in rubles, not dollars


RT
Wed, 31 Oct 2018 16:09 UTC
S-400
© Alexander Nemenov / AFPA Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile launching system
The contract between Moscow and New Delhi on supplies of Russian S-400 air defense systems will be settled in rubles, according to Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov.

The move comes as Moscow intensified recent efforts to make de-dollarization of the Russian economy one of the main pillars of its policy. The Kremlin is looking for an alternative to the US dollar in mutual settlements with international partners. The key point of the plan is to make it more profitable for Russian exporters and importers to use rubles instead of dollars.

Earlier this month, President Vladimir Putin said safety and security of the economy was the major driver behind the decision to eliminate the role of the US dollar. The measure reportedly comes amid threats from Washington to cut Russia off from dollar transactions and hit Russia's sovereign bonds with another round of sanctions.

The Indian government has been increasing military cooperation with Russia. In early October, Russia and India agreed on supplies of Russia's S-400 missile systems worth $5.4 billion. The deal was clinched during Putin's two-day visit to New Delhi. The country is also reportedly planning to buy Russian T-14 Armata tanks and guided-missile frigates, and could potentially develop submarines and next-generation fighter jets in cooperation with Russia.

Comment: See also:

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