Puppet MastersS


Jet5

Israeli warplanes strike ammunition facility near Damascus International Airport


RT
Fri, 22 Sep 2017 18:50 UTC
F-16 fighter jet
© Amir Cohen / ReutersAn Israeli F-16 fighter jet
Israeli planes have reportedly fired two missiles which hit near Damascus, targeting an ammunition facility belonging to Lebanon's Hezbollah, according to a Lebanese TV station citing "informed" sources and various social media reports on pro-Syrian webpages.

Israeli forces are reported to have carried out attacks from outside the Syrian border early on Friday, according to the Lebanese Al Mayadeen. It said the strike led to a fire, with no casualties or disruptions at Damascus International Airport reported.

Comment: Update (Sep. 23): The Arabic-language website of the Russia's state news agency, RT, quoted Syria's Elam al-Harbi news agency as reporting that the army's Russia-made mid-range Buk-M2 system targeted and shot down an Israeli missile that was fired to hit the Damascus airport.
Eyewitnesses said parts of the intercepted missile are escattered across al-Keswah area in a region near the town of al-Zariqiyeh South of Damascus city.

In the meantime, Israeli media sources and some Syrian social networks reported earelir today that the regions near Damascus international airport were hit by two or three missiles flying from outside the Syrian airspace.
See also: Israeli warplanes strike Syrian military airport in Damascus

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Clock

Chuck Hagel, James Fanell, and the new strategy to target China via Australia

Peter Lee
China Matters
Fri, 22 Sep 2017 18:05 UTC
Chuck Hagel
Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel
The dismissal of an unwilling Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense in 2014 was, I think, a watershed in the fortunes of the China hawks, both in the Pentagon and at Pacific Command.

Perhaps because it is bad form to explore the possibility that Hagel was purged for insufficient enthusiasm for a pro-active China confrontation agenda, nobody went there. But I did. Natch.

In 2015, I buried my analysis in a tediously long piece that was meant to give an overview of the evolution of US China policy, and provide a corrective to the "Chinese aggression" meme that China hawks like to lean on.

The narrative of escalating Chinese aggression is central to the China hawks' thesis that we need an escalating response.

Rather interestingly, today a lot of this narrative is coming out of Australia. Google "Chinese influence Australia" and you'll get an idea of the barrage of local and global coverage keying on the skillfully shaped message that Chinese influence--though it is not illegal--must be feared.

I've recently come to the conclusion that spate of panic stricken reports emerging from Australia concerning the China menace in economics, politics, and academics are a belated and improvised substitute for what was supposed to be the real deal: a pivot from Obama namby-pambyism to steely Clinton resolve to confront China in 2016.

Comment: Peter Lee has a new documentary available from Newsbud titled General MacArthur's Conspiracy To Start A War With China. The China hawks have a long history, and they're just as crazy today as they were 2 or 3 generations ago.



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Laptop

Federal government tells 21 states they were targeted by hackers before 2016 election - doesn't give any details

Geoff Mulvihill and Jake Pearson
AP
Sat, 23 Sep 2017 17:49 UTC
2016 election
The federal government on Friday told election officials in 21 states that hackers targeted their systems before last year's presidential election.

The notification came roughly a year after U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials first said states were targeted by hacking efforts possibly connected to Russia. The states that told The Associated Press they had been targeted included some key political battlegrounds, such as Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

The AP contacted every state election office to determine which ones had been informed that their election systems had been targeted. The others confirming were Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

Being targeted does not mean that sensitive voter data was manipulated or results were changed. A hacker targeting a system without getting inside is similar to a burglar circling a house checking for unlocked doors and windows.
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Attention

Tom Fitton claims Mueller is setting up his own 'justice department'

Cristina Laila
Gateway Pundit
Sat, 23 Sep 2017 00:00 UTC
Rob Mueller
Mueller's team of lawyers is so big and powerful now, that Fitton described it as the Special Counsel's 'own Justice Department'. This is all thanks to AG Jeff Sessions recusing himself.

In response to a Daily Beast article titled Bob Mueller Brings on 'Tough' Guy Stephen Kelly to Handle Capitol Hill, Fitton said, "Bob Mueller setting up his own Justice Department. Shut it down."

The Daily Beast article says Mueller has now brought on a liaison to Capitol Hill:
Having hired a host of seasoned federal prosecutors for his probe of the president's associates, Bob Mueller has now brought on a liaison to Capitol Hill.

Stephen Kelly, formerly the longtime congressional affairs chief for the FBI, has joined the probe, according to several sources familiar with his new role.

"Stephen Kelly is exactly who I would hire if I wanted to share as little information with Congress as possible," said a Hill staffer who has interacted with Kelly in his new role as Mueller's congressional liaison.
Robert Mueller also just hired his SEVENTEENTH liberal hack lawyer to investigate Trump. The latest hack is an Obama/Hillary donor.

Fitton is right. Mueller has essentially set up his own Justice Department; he's the one doing all the investigating while Trump's Justice Department sits idly by doing absolutely NOTHING.

Comment: Twenty liberal lawyers or a hundred...if there is no evidence then there is no case. But even one lawyer, with cleverly and covertly falsified evidence, can potentially pull down an entire administration. Mueller is throwing everything into the pot to find the linchpin or to prove, irrefutably, the allegations are empty.

See also:

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Jet5

Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White says US flew nuclear-capable B-1B bombers just off coast of North Korea


RT
Sat, 23 Sep 2017 19:58 UTC
A US B-1B Lancer bomber
© ReutersA US B-1B Lancer bomber
The US has flown nuclear-capable B-1B Lancer bombers escorted by F-15 fighters off North Korea's coast venturing the "farthest north of the Demilitarized Zone," separating the two Koreas, in the 21st century, the Pentagon's spokesperson said.

"This is the farthest north of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) any U.S. fighter or bomber aircraft have flown off North Korea's coast in the 21st century, underscoring the seriousness with which we take (North Korea's) reckless behavior," said Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White.


The DMZ is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula near the 38th Parallel, separating North Korea from South Korea. It was created in 1953, following the armistice which ended the Korean War.


"This mission is a demonstration of US resolve and a clear message that the President has many military options to defeat any threat. North Korea's weapons program is a grave threat to the Asia-Pacific region and the entire international community. We are prepared to use the full range of military capabilities to defend the US homeland and our allies," the spokeswoman added.
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Camera

ISIS film themselves in panic as Syrian army blows them "to smithereens"

Patrick Knox
UK Sun
Fri, 22 Sep 2017 17:21 UTC
isis
In the lead up to being hit one of the panicking death cult killers appears to be aware he is being hunted down
Terrorists are filmed in blind panic as they are hunted down in the desert as their so-called caliphate crumbles into sand

THIS is the moment a group of ISIS jihadis are blown to smithereens after being hunted down by a Syrian government tank. Footage filmed on a head-cam inside an armoured car shows the moment the death cult troops spot a tank.

One of the jihadis can be heard screaming: "Tank on the right side. The tank..the tank..the tank is over there, over there, over there." The machine can't be seen in the clip but a bright flash is visible which could suggest that its barrel is firing rounds.

The jihadi can then be heard crying out: "Anti-tanks oh anti-tanks..follow us." Another asks where the tank is. And the jihadi replies: "Over there, the tank will bomb us." The armoured car then tries to out-drive the tank before stopping. Someone can be heard saying: "No-one gets off...stop...stop." Then there are pleas for the anti-tank units to protect them.


Comment: What a difference a couple years can make. Remember the days when the Western media couldn't get enough of asserting that the Syrians (and Russians) "weren't fighting ISIS"? Now this...

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Info

Ukrainian armed forces purposefully target doctors and civilians in Donbass


NRT 24
Sat, 23 Sep 2017 19:27 UTC
Doctor of an ambulance in Trudovskie
AFU shelled car of ambulance in the night from 17 to 18 September that arrived to the Petrovskiy district that was shelled and a civil man got wounded.

When we arrived, we were told that the mortar shelled landed.
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Bad Guys

Syrians lament cost of US bombing: 'Raqqa was a beautiful city, now it's completely destroyed'


RT
Sat, 23 Sep 2017 19:08 UTC
Displaced Raqqa residents
© RuptlyDisplaced Raqqa residents
US-led coalition airstrikes on Raqqa, an Islamic State stronghold in Syria, have claimed many civilian lives and forced tens of thousands to flee. RT's Ruptly agency spoke to the displaced locals who described how the city was leveled in front of their eyes.

The ancient city of Raqqa, which has recently become known as the de-facto capital of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorists in Syria, is currently under siege by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led militia backed by the US-led coalition. The besieged city has come under heavy air bombardment while civilians have been trapped in IS-occupied neighborhoods, unable to escape.


The SDF on Wednesday said that "80 percent" of Raqqa has been retaken from IS and that the operation has moved into the final phase. At the same time, some SDF forces were seen being transferred away from the battlefield to the northern areas of the Deir ez-Zor province, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. The dislocation comes as the Syrian armed forces backed by Russian Air Force have been pushing out IS terrorists after liftking the siege of the city of Deir ez-Zor.

People in the Al-Mabrookeh refugee camp told Ruptly of the terrors they faced being caught in the middle of the fighting between IS terrorists and the US-backed SDF.

"The coalition launched heavy airstrikes over the residential areas and the nearby towns in the western and northern sectors, especially northward, where they targeted ISIS headquarters, and also locations where civilians were killed," Ahmad Ibrahim told Ruptly.

"Schools, where students were studying, have been targeted as well. There was nothing there, and they have just been hit and destroyed,"he said.

Comment: See also:

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Георгиевская ленточка

Austrian opposition party chairman calls Crimea's reunification with Russia legitimate

Translation - Inessa Sinchougova
Fort Russ News
Thu, 21 Sep 2017 16:06 UTC
austria opposition chairman
© ReutersHeinz-Christian Strache
Crimea is part of Russia, and it must be recognized. This was stated on Friday by the chairman of the Austrian Freedom Party Heinz-Christian Strache on the eve of the elections to the National Council of Austria (lower house of parliament) on October 15.

"The Crimea is a real part of Russia, it needs to be accepted." Sanctions on this issue should eventually be canceled.", Strache said in response to a question from the Austrian press agency whether Austria should recognize the reunification of Crimea with Russia and abolish the related sanctions.

In turn, the head of the New Austria party, Matthias Stroltz, noted that Austria can not yet acknowledge the fact of reunification. "But we need to agree that the Crimea will never return to Ukraine, and cancellation of the sanctions can follow Russia's clear steps towards democracy, freedom of speech, respect for human rights. Without this, sanctions can not be lifted, " Stroltz said.

At the same time, Chancellor of Austria Christian Kern and Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurtz still believe that "the annexation of Crimea violates international law." "But the sanctions did not lead to an improvement in the situation in Ukraine," Kern added.
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Bizarro Earth

Unintended consequences & ugly repercussions: Catalonia situation deteriorating

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Fri, 22 Sep 2017 15:18 UTC
catalonia
© ustoday.com
As NakedCapitalism's Jerri-Lynn writes, the Catalonia crisis is accelerating, with Madrid's crackdown increasing support for independence even among those previously not so disposed. This does not look like it will end well.

Spain will deploy police reinforcements to the northeastern region of Catalonia to maintain order and take action if a referendum on independence pledged by the Catalan government but deemed illegal by Spain should take place, officials said Friday.

AP reports that an Interior Ministry statement said the extra agents would provide backing for the Catalan regional police who are also under orders to prevent the staging of the referendum.

But protests continue to grow and Rajoy's actions only seem to solidify opposition...
"I feel the way people used to feel during Franco regime. Nothing less. Because Francoism is still alive," said protester Josep Selva, referring to Gen. Francisco Franco's military regime that ruled Spain between 1939 and 1978, three years after his death.

"The political reform of 1978 only legalized Francoism and disguised it as democracy," he said.
But, as WolfStreet.com's Don Quijones points out Madrid's crackdown on Catalonia is already having one major consequence, presumably unintended: many Catalans who were until recently staunchly opposed to the idea of national independence are now reconsidering their options.

Comment: Catalonia getting regional support:



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