Puppet MastersS


Binoculars

Syrian diplomat: Damascus has many eyewitness reports on staged chemical attack plot


Sputnik
Thu, 13 Sep 2018 08:52 UTC
People stand in front of damaged buildings
© AP Photo / Hassan AmmarPeople stand in front of damaged buildings, in the town of Douma, the site of a suspected chemical weapons attack, near Damascus, Syria, Monday, April 16, 2018
The Syrian authorities have received dozens of reports from eyewitnesses about ongoing preparations for a false-flag chemical attack in the northwestern Idlib province, Syria's Ambassador to China Imad Moustapha told Sputnik on Wednesday.

"This information has been extensively corroborated by eyewitnesses from the local population who are sending us [dozens] of reports about the preparations for the staged attack, the transport of hazardous chemical material to certain areas around Jisr al-Shughur, kidnapping more than 40 children from Idlib's neighboring areas to use them as 'victims' of the planned attack, and many other reports regarding this planned staged provocation," Moustapha, who previously served as the Syrian ambassador to the United States, said.


Comment: Syrian Foreign Minister warns White Helmets kidnapped 44 children to stage chemical attack in Idlib


The ambassador noted that the information, obtained by the Russian Defense Ministry, regarding the staged attack with the use of chemical weapons in Idlib did not come as a surprise to the Syrian government.

Comment: See also: Russia exposes errors of OPCW report on staged chemical weapons attack in Syria - but don't expect to hear about it from mainstream news

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Radar

US missile destroyer arrives in Mediterranean as Syria tensions rise


RT
Thu, 13 Sep 2018 08:32 UTC
Guided missile destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG 84)
© Lt. K. Fitch, US Navy / FlickrGuided missile destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG 84)
With the arrival of another guided missile destroyer to the Mediterranean, the US may have 200 'Tomahawks' ready for a strike on Syria, as Russia warns that jihadist groups in Idlib are planning a fake chemical attack.

The USS Bulkeley (DDG-84), an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, entered the Mediterranean through the Straits of Gibraltar on Wednesday, the Russian news agency Interfax reported citing international maritime monitoring data. A Gibraltar-watcher confirmed the destroyer's transit on September 12.


Comment: See also:

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Newspaper

Newly revealed texts show Strzok's contact with NYT and WaPo reporters - 'media leak strategy'?

Sara Carter
saraacarter.com
Wed, 12 Sep 2018 06:14 UTC
Peter Strzok
© Glare/APPeter Strzok
A series of text messages released Wednesday reveal that former FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok was in contact with reporters at the New York Times and Washington Post regarding stories they published about the FBI's investigation into alleged collusion between Russia and President Trump's campaign during the spring of 2017, according to a series of texts obtained by SaraACarter.com.

The text messages suggest that Strzok, along with his paramour, former FBI Attorney Lisa Page, had been in contact with reporters from both newspapers. Strzok specifically mentioned two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times writer Michael Schmidt his text message to Page.

Strzok wrote, "Also, apparently Times is angry with us about the WP (Washington Post) scoop and earlier discussion we had about the Schmidt piece that had so many inaccuracies. Too much to detail here, but I told Mike (redacted) and Andy they need to understand we were absolutely dealing in good faith with them," Strzok texted to Page on April 14, 2017. "The FISA one, coupled with the Guardian piece from yesterday." (The New York Times did not respond immediately for comment. The Washington Post also did not respond immediately for comment.)

According to several U.S. officials who spoke to this news outlet, "Mike" mentioned in Strzok's text message is Mike Kortan, the former FBI assistant director for public affairs who retired in February. "Andy" was in reference to former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. McCabe was fired earlier this year after it was revealed in DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz's report that said he lied to investigators and leaked information to the media.
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Eye 1

'Surveillance Valley' Book Review: All watched over by machines


Librarian Ship Wreck
Wed, 12 Sep 2018 11:25 UTC
surveillance valley levine book
There is something rather precious about Google employees, and Internet users, who earnestly believe the "don't be evil" line. Though those three words have often been taken to represent a sort of ethos, their primary function is as a steam vent - providing a useful way to allow building pressure to escape before it can become explosive. While "don't be evil" is associated with Google, most of the giants of Silicon Valley have their own variations of this comforting ideological façade: Apple's "think different," Facebook's talk of "connecting the world," the smiles on the side of Amazon boxes. And when a revelation troubles this carefully constructed exterior - when it turns out Google is involved in building military drones, when it turns out that Amazon is making facial recognition software for the police - people react in shock and outrage. How could this company do this?!?

What these revelations challenge is not simply the mythos surrounding particular tech companies, but the mythos surrounding the tech industry itself. After all, many people have their hopes invested in the belief that these companies are building a better brighter future, and they are naturally taken aback when they are forced to reckon with stories that reveal how these companies are building the types of high-tech dystopias that science fiction has been warning us about for decades. And in this space there are some who seem eager to allow a new myth to take root: one in which the unsettling connections between big tech firms and the military industrial complex is something new. But as Yasha Levine's important new book, Surveillance Valley, deftly demonstrates the history of the big tech firms, complete with its panoptic overtones, is thoroughly interwoven with the history of the repressive state apparatus. While many people may be at least nominally aware of the links between early computing, or the proto-Internet, and the military, Levine's book reveals the depth of these connections and how they persist. As he provocatively puts it, "the Internet was developed as a weapon and remains a weapon today" (9).

Comment:



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Binoculars

However much it tries, Washington's attempts to stop Eurasian integration are failing miserably

Federico Pieraccini
Strategic Culture Foundation
Tue, 11 Sep 2018 00:00 UTC
Rouhani Putin
The operation of the Syrian Arab Army in the province of Idlib represents the last step of the central government of Damascus in the liberation of the country from the scourge of Islamist terrorism. With the defeat of Daesh and the removal of the remaining pockets of resistance, Assad's soldiers have accomplished an extraordinary task. Meanwhile, the United States continues its illegal presence in Syria, through its support of the SDF in the north of the country for the purposes of sustaining the destabilizing potential of terrorist networks in the region and beyond. In light of this unfavorable situation for the Americans, it is easy to explain the transfer of commanders and high terrorist spheres from Syria and Iraq to Afghanistan, as confirmed by several official Russian, Iranian, Syrian and Iraqi sources.

The logic behind such a move has everything to do with the ongoing process of Eurasian integration. Progress in this regard has been multifaceted in recent months and years. It ranges from the most important event, namely the entry of Pakistan and India into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), to other less known events, such as the signing of the Caspian Sea treaty by Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan. The United States is committed to stopping this integration. Staying true to Brzezinski's grand strategy, based on the concepts of Heartland and Rimland, it has not been difficult for policy makers and advisors of the current US administration to understand the importance of Afghanistan in helping the process of Eurasian integration by fomenting terrorism. Afghanistan plays an important double role as a hinge between both Eurasia and the Middle East and the Persian Gulf.

Comment: See: Putin, Xi & Abe: Greater Eurasia Coming Together in Russian Far East

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Snakes in Suits

John Kerry accused of violating Logan Act after he admits to secret Iran talks

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Wed, 12 Sep 2018 18:48 UTC
zaraf_Kerry
Back when Kerry was actually authorized to do this sort of thing as Secretary of State under Obama in 2015. Via the Iran Project
Though he previously denied it when allegations first surfaced last Spring, former Secretary of State John Kerry has now disclosed he's personally had semi-frequent face to face contact with top Iranian officials to discuss US-Iran relations since Trump entered office.

Kerry confirmed and explained in detail his recent meetings with Iranian Former Minister Javad Zarif in an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt to promote his new memoir, Every Day Is Extra.

During the interview Kerry disclosed that he met with Zarif "three or four times" and discussed political issues and challenges between the United States and Iran in what could constitute a significant and clear violation of the Logan Act.

Though it's almost never been enforced, the 1799 Logan Act states that unauthorized diplomacy with foreign powers by private American citizens is a crime. Notably, two Trump-connected individuals that prominent Liberals and editorials demanded be prosecuted under the Logan Act include former national security advisor Michael Flynn and Trump senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

When asked point blank during the radio show about his rumored meetings with top Iran officials, Kerry admitted, "I think I've seen him three or four times," but attempted to claim he was not trying to "coach" Iran on how to navigate President Trump's pullout of the Iran nuclear deal.
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Better Earth

Best of the Web: Putin, Xi & Abe: Greater Eurasia Coming Together in Russian Far East

Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
Wed, 12 Sep 2018 15:28 UTC
putin xi jin ping
© Russian Presidential Press and Information Office handout / Anadolu AgencyChina's President Xi Jinping, second left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, second right, making bliny [Russian pancakes] as they visit the Far East Street exhibition on the sidelines of the 2018 Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Sept 11, 2018.
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin were involved in a joint cooking venture. Pancakes with caviar (blin, in Russian), chased down with a shot of vodka. It just happened at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. Talk about a graphic (and edible) metaphor sealing the ever-evolving 'Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership'.

For a few years now the Vladivostok forum has been offering an unequaled roadmap tracking progress on Eurasia integration.

Last year, on the sidelines of the forum, Moscow and Seoul delivered a bombshell: a trilateral trade platform, crucially integrating Pyongyang, revolving around a connectivity corridor between the whole Korean peninsula and the Russian Far East.

Roundtable topics this year included integration of the Russian Far East into Eurasian logistic chains; once again the Russian link-up with the Koreas - aiming to build a Trans-Korean railway connected to the Trans-Siberian and a "Pipelineistan" branch-out into South Korea via China. Other topics were the Russia-Japan partnership in terms of Eurasian transit, centering on the link-up of the Trans-Siberian and Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) upgrades to a projected railway to the island of Sakhalin, and then all the way to the island of Hokkaido.

The future: Tokyo to London, seamlessly, by train.


Comment: See also: And check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Trump Ditches Europe, Europe Bluffs, Russia and China Carry on With Eurasian Integration

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Chess

SOTT Focus: The Real Problem For Syria's Idlib Offensive is Turkey

Andrés Perezalonso
Sott.net
Wed, 12 Sep 2018 22:40 UTC
Noor i Alaa na prosvjedima protiv antiterorističke kampanje u Idlibu
© Twitter
After liberating the region of Daraa and the border with the Golan Heights in the south-west of the country, the Syrian Army has turned its attention to the northern province of Idlib, the last stronghold of 'rebels' - these ones backed by Turkey - and Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist groups. The 'Battle for Idlib' has been expected for weeks - yet against all talk of a build-up of troops, and the alarmist declarations of Western powers, the offensive may take some time to begin. When it does, it may more resemble a careful, patient and strategic hunt rather than 'shock-and-awe'.

The Independent's Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk is, as far as we know, is the first and only Western journalist to have assessed the situation from the front-line of Idlib. Rather than witnessing the 100,000 Syrian soldiers said to be amassing for the assault, he came across a contingent of some 200 Syrian soldiers with no armored vehicles or heavy weaponry. Not much else out of the ordinary was to be seen that would indicate that the storming of Idlib was imminent. Only preparatory Russian and Syrian airstrikes targeting jihadi positions between Hama and Idlib have been reported.
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Attention

Paul Craig Roberts: Armageddon rides in the balance

Paul Craig Roberts
Institute for Political Economy
Mon, 10 Sep 2018 00:00 UTC
Armyguys
© Independent
For some time I have pointed out the paradox of the American liberal/progressive/left being allied with the CIA, FBI, military/security complex and deep state. Now leftist Ann Garrison has noticed the paradox of this alliance. She concludes that the left has lost its mind.

Indeed, it has.

Out of its hatred of Trump the left has united with the forces of evil and war that are leading to conflict with Russia. The left's hatred of Trump shows that the American left has totally separated from the interests of the working class, which elected Trump. The American left has abandoned the working class for the group victimizations and hatreds of Identity Politics. As Hillary put it, the working class comprises the "Trump deplorables." The Democratic Party, like the Republicans, represents the ruling oligarchy.

I have explained that the left wing lost its bearings when the Soviet Union collapsed and socialism gave way to neoliberal privatizations. The moral fury of the left wing movement had to go somewhere, and it found its home in Identity Politics in which the white heterosexual male takes the place of the capitalist, and his victim groups - blacks, women, homosexuals, illegal immigrants - take the place of the working class.

The consequences of the left wing's alliance with warmongers and liars is the left wing's loss of veracity. The left has endorsed a CIA orchestration - "Russiagate" - for which there is no known evidence, but which the left supports as proven truth.

Comment: Degradation of government, fragmentation of society, increasing authoritarian control, disregard for human life...can we still rise above this? Or has it all become too late?

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X

Fact Check: Bob Woodward's substantial trail of accuracy issues nobody is talking about

Peter Hasson
The Daily Caller
Mon, 10 Sep 2018 09:28 UTC
Bob Woodward
© Mother JonesBob Woodward
Longtime journalist Bob Woodward's best-selling new book, Fear, presents a scathing depiction of President Donald Trump and his ability to perform his duties as commander-in-chief.

While senior Trump officials including Secretary of Defense James Mattis have denied quotations attributed to them in the book, media coverage of Fear has been largely positive, emphasizing the 75-year-old Woodward's experience and trustworthiness.

But that coverage has left out part of the story: repeated, credible charges - including from well-respected fellow journalists - that in previous books Woodward embellished the truth, made dubious bombshell claims or was otherwise misleading.

Woodward's former editor at the Washington Post, Ben Bradlee, though publicly complimentary of Woodward, privately doubted some of the more dramatic elements of Woodward and Carl Bernstein's Watergate-era bestseller, All The President's Men. Bradlee and Woodward's former assistant at the Post, Jeff Himmelman, revealed Bradlee's nagging doubts in a 2012 biography of the longtime editor.

Comment: Woodward writes with the idea that 'fiction is more believable than fact'. Banking on his reputation from Watergate, it is obviously a premise he puppets to alter perceptions, enhance the drama and redirect the reader. From the perspective of a fiction writer, dramatic interpretations of real events sell books. Entertaining, but not credible, Woodward 'sells truth short'.

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