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Radar

Syrian Army outmaneuvers ISIS in Idlib region, seeks revenge for slain soldiers

Paul Antonopoulos
Fort Russ
Sat, 20 Jan 2018 00:00 UTC
Syrian army in Idlib
Moments ago the Syrian Army has created a pocket trapping ISIS and any remaining Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Nusra fighters in the Idlib axis (southern Idlib countryside-northern Hama countryside-southern Aleppo countryside).

This was possible after the Syrian Army captured the Abu Duhur airbase after the majority of Al-Nusra fighters withdrew from the airbase. It is thought, but cannot be confirmed just yet, that most Al-Nusra fighters escaped the Idlib axis before the pocket was created. Details of the capture of the airbase can be read here.

Now that ISIS are trapped in the pocket, it is expected the Syrian Army will be seeking revenge on the terrorist organization after they beheaded three captured soldiers yesterday. Details can be read here.

Comment: A lot of eyes are now following these developments: US and Turkey react as Syrian forces move to retake Idlib from Al Qaeda

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Attention

China outraged over USS Hopper sailing near disputed island


RT
Sat, 20 Jan 2018 17:09 UTC
USS Hopper
© John L. Beeman/U.S. Navy photo/ReutersFILE PHOTO: Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Hopper
China has slammed a US missile destroyer for encroaching on the "indisputable" Huangyan Dao island in the South China Sea, warning that it can and will take "necessary measures to firmly safeguard its sovereignty."

In this latest clash over freedom of navigation in the disputed South China Sea, the USS 'Hopper' missile destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of Huangyan Dao, a tiny island claimed by China, on January 17. The vessel failed to get Beijing's permission for entering the waters and was intercepted by the Chinese Navy, with China's Foreign Ministry accusing the US of violating "sovereignty and security interests" as well as posing a "grave threat" to its forces stationed in the area.

"China is strongly dissatisfied with that and will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard its sovereignty," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said in a statement on Saturday. He also warned US forces against further "provocative moves" for the sake of "China-US relations and regional peace and stability."

Comment: China blasts US meddling in regional sea disputes

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Whistle

FBI Whistleblower Sibel Edmonds on Pierre Omidyar and his campaign to neuter Wikileaks

Whitney Webb
MintPress News
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 22:33 UTC
Julian Assange
© Associated Press/Frank AugsteinWikiLeaks founder Julian Assange leaves after greeting supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, May 19, 2017.
FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds asserts Pierre Omidyar decided to create The Intercept to not only take ownership of the Snowden leaks but also to continue his blockade against WikiLeaks and create a "honey trap" for whistleblowers.

WikiLeaks, the transparency organization known for publishing leaked documents that threaten the powerful, finds itself under pressure like never before, as does its editor-in-chief, Julian Assange. Now, the fight to silence Wikileaks is not only being waged by powerful government figures but also by the media, including outlets and organizations that have styled themselves as working to protect whistleblowers.

As this three-part series seeks to show, these outlets and organizations are being stealthily guided by the hands of special interests, not the public interest they claim to serve. Part I focuses on the Freedom of the Press Foundation, The Intercept, and the oligarch who has strongly influenced both organizations in his long-standing fight to silence WikiLeaks.

Mid-November, 2017 - The Daily Beast ran an exclusive report detailing how the Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) was set to break ties with WikiLeaks amidst concerns among the foundation's board, which includes such well-known figures as Daniel Ellsberg, Edward Snowden, Laura Poitras, John Cusack and Glenn Greenwald, among others. The news was confirmed less than a month later when the nonprofit's board officially voted to stop accepting U.S. donations for WikiLeaks, which had been blacklisted for years by Visa, MasterCard and PayPal after publishing leaked U.S. government documents provided by Chelsea Manning.

Even though the FPF had been founded to allow WikiLeaks to circumvent the banking blockade - which, according to WikiLeaks, sapped nearly 95% of the transparency organization's funds - the board's decision to end its founding mission was unanimous.

Comment: Ms. Edmonds has hit the high-points on Omidyar. More background:

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USA

A List of Attempted and Successful Coup D'etats by the US Government Over the Last 70 Years

William Blum
Williamblum.org
Sat, 20 Jan 2018 15:59 UTC
US corporate fascism
Instances of the United States overthrowing, or attempting to overthrow, a foreign government since the Second World War. (* indicates successful ouster of a government)
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Bizarro Earth

'Zippergate' 20 years on: How Monica and Bill changed the course of world history

Robert Bridge
RT
Sat, 20 Jan 2018 14:00 UTC
President Clinton poses with Monica Lewinsky in a Nov. 17, 1995 photo
© ReutersPresident Clinton poses with Monica Lewinsky in a Nov. 17, 1995 photo.
On the twentieth anniversary of the Clinton Lewinsky scandal, and just in time for the #MeToo coming out party, what better time to reflect on the political fallout from that hyper-sensationalized tryst.

In January 1998, Washington was reeling from rumors that then President Bill Clinton, 49, had been involved in a sexual relationship with 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Despite repeated denials from Clinton, the media was not about to loosen its grip on such a salacious story.

On January 21, Clinton went on television with wife Hillary at his side to deny the reports, saying, "I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this again: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky."

If Clinton thought that terse statement would put the media hounds off the scent, he was sadly mistaken.
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X

Trump appointee resigns after CNN reports his racially charged statements


Sputnik
Sat, 20 Jan 2018 13:48 UTC
Carl Higbie
© Carl Higbie / facebook
Higbie was appointed as chief of external affairs in the Corporation for National and Community Service in 2017. The White House did not immediately comment on his resignation.

US President Donald Trump's appointee Carl Higbie has resigned from the federal government's volunteer service organization after his offensive remarks about blacks, Muslims, gays, women and undocumented migrants were reported in the media.

"Effective immediately, Carl Higbie has resigned as Chief of External Affairs at CNCS," Samantha Jo Warfield, a spokesperson for CNCS, said in a statement, declining, however, to comment on the circumstances of his resignation.

Comment: And, of course, this is the typical victory howl from the librul folks:


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Attention

'Great surprise': Houthi general says turning point in Yemen conflict close at hand


Sputnik
Sat, 20 Jan 2018 14:36 UTC
Yemen Houthi fighters
© AP Photo/ Hani Mohammed
The armed forces of the Houthi-controlled government in the Yemeni capital Sana'a have boosted their air defenses to a point where they no longer need to fear airstrikes by Saudi-led coalition forces, army spokesman Sharaf Luqman said, in an interview with Sputnik.

Brigadier-General Luqman said that the army now has all it needs to repel "enemy aggression" at sea, on the ground and in the air.

"The Yemeni army has taken over many enemy strongholds, which has changed the situation on the battlefield," the general said.

"These are depots with arms for the Air Force, night-vision cameras, ballistic missiles and launchers. This answers questions about where we are getting weapons amid the current blockade; who is helping us; and whether Iran is supplying us with ballistic missiles and military advisors," he added.
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Stop

Moscow slams biased US assessment of Russia's position on Syrian chemical attacks


Sputnik
Sat, 20 Jan 2018 13:48 UTC
Moscow Foreign Ministry
© Sputnik/ Vladimir Pesnya
The Russian Foreign Ministry sharply criticized an unofficial US report containing the assessment of Russia's position regarding the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

"After a thorough study of this document, we have to state that the content of this material has nothing to do with reality and completely distorts our country's approaches to investigating such incidents," the ministry said in a commentary on the report that was circulated by the US delegation at the United Nations on January 9.

The ministry also described attempts to impose responsibility for chemical attacks in Syria solely on Damascus as "devoid of any logic."
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Attention

New information from Glenn Simpson's interview with House Intel Committee

Chuck Ross
The Daily Caller
Sat, 20 Jan 2018 13:48 UTC
Mike Steel Glenn Simpson Trump
Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson provided the House Intelligence Committee with no evidence to support the allegations from the infamous Steele dossier, the salacious document that his firm commissioned while on the payroll of the Clinton campaign and DNC.

But Simpson did offer some new information in the Nov. 14 testimony, a transcript of which was released by the Intelligence Committee on Thursday.

Here are some fresh revelations from the 165-page transcript.

Comment: Further reading:

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Brick Wall

US-Mexico border wall models thwart commandos in tests


Breitbart
Sat, 20 Jan 2018 14:09 UTC
wall muro US Mexico border
© GUILLERMO ARIAS /Contributor / Getty
Recent assaults by tactical teams on prototypes of President Donald Trump's proposed wall with Mexico indicate their imposing heights should stop border crossers, a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the rigorous assessment told The Associated Press.

Military special forces based in Florida and U.S. Customs and Border Protection special units spent three weeks trying to breach and scale the eight models in San Diego, using jackhammers, saws, torches and other tools and climbing devices, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information was not authorized for public release.

A Customs and Border Protection report on the tests identifies strengths and flaws of each design but does not pick an overall winner or rank them, though it does point to see-through steel barriers topped by concrete as the best overall design, the official said.

The report recommends combining elements of each, depending on the terrain. The official likened it to a Lego design, pulling pieces from different prototypes.

Comment: So they needed military special forces with sophisticated equipment to verify that a 20 feet tall steel and concrete wall was hard to breach or climb?

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