Puppet MastersS


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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Brick Wall

Russia prepping lawsuit for illegal U.S. seizure of diplomatic property as Russian diplomats evicted from San Francisco homes - but justice unlikely


Sputnik
Wed, 06 Sep 2017 15:16 UTC
russia us flags
© AFP 2017/ MLADEN ANTONOV
Russia would have little chance of winning a favorable judgment on the illegality of the US government seizing its diplomatic property in the United States if the issue was ever brought before any court especially one in America, analysts told Sputnik.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin at a press conference after the BRICS Summit in China said he would instruct the Foreign Ministry to go to court after the US State Department seized three Russian diplomatic facilities in retaliation for Moscow's decision to cut US diplomatic staff in Russia.

Russian diplomats left the Consulate General in San Francisco and two other diplomatic entities in New York City and Washington on Saturday, while US security agents entered the premises and conducted a search, which Moscow said violated the Vienna Convention.

Comment: The above article was published earlier this month. No lawsuits have been filed yet, but the Russians are still working on it:
Russian diplomats are working to prepare a lawsuit against the United States in connection with the seizure of Russia's diplomatic property in Washington and San Francisco.

"We have a direct instruction from the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, we are working on the implementation of this commission," the Russian ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov ...

At the same time, he noted that this is a complex issue and needs to be studied.
Meanwhile, the Americans have given the Russian diplomats living in San Francisco a deadline for leaving:
Russian diplomats are ordered to vacate their apartments in San Francisco, California before midnight on October 1, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a notice released by the Federal Register on Thursday.

"Such prohibitions will take effect as of 11:59 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on October 1, 2017," the document stated. "[A]ll persons on said property are required to depart the premises no later than the date and time stated above."


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X

China implements additional UN restrictions on North Korea, caps oil supplies and bans gas exports


RT
Sat, 23 Sep 2017 15:28 UTC
North Korea female soldiers
© Carlos Barria / ReutersFemale soldiers guard the entrance of the port in Rajin, at the North Korean Special Economic Zone of Rason City, northeast of Pyongyang.
China is to limit the export of refined oil products and totally ban exports of liquefied natural gas and gas condensate to North Korea, as well as textile imports from that country, the Ministry of Commerce has announced.

China will limit refined oil exports to North Korea to 500,000 barrels for the period from next Sunday, October 1, to the end of the year, in compliance with the latest UN restrictive measures imposed on Pyongyang due to its sixth nuclear test earlier in September.

The UN resolution states that starting next year, exports of the refined oil products such as gasoline, diesel, heavy fuel oil, etc. will be capped at 2 million barrels annually.
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Question

Former aide Gorka: Trump to dump new team and reunite old team

Jason Le Miere
Newsweek
Fri, 22 Sep 2017 06:10 UTC
BannonTrumpGorka
© youtube.comBannon • Trump • Gorka
Sebastian Gorka, until recently a deputy assistant to President Donald Trump, has predicted that Trump will conduct an imminent cull of his White House team in order to bring back people more beholden to the president's original agenda.

Gorka was ousted from the White House last month, just days after his former Breitbart News colleague Steve Bannon met a similar fate as part of a shakeup in the wake of John Kelly's arrival as Trump's chief of staff. Since coming on board at the end of July, Kelly, a former general, has sought to cut out the numerous voices competing for the president's attention, restricting access to those who, like Bannon, once regularly dropped by the Oval Office.

Reports have since described Trump as isolated within the West Wing. And Gorka, a self-styled counter-terrorism expert who earned Trump's admiration with his combative defense of the president in interviews, does not believe the current setup will continue for much longer.

Comment: Gorka's fantasy is in high gear. As Americans are realizing, once their rights and choices have been eroded, they are gone. It is likely the same with puppet master control of the presidency.

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Dig

Trump meets with Ghani, focus on mineral resources


RT
Sat, 23 Sep 2017 01:54 UTC
GhaniTrump
© Kevin Lamarque / ReutersAfghan President Ashraf Ghani • US President Donald Trump
President Donald Trump and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani have voiced support for US companies developing Afghanistan's vast trove of minerals, in what Trump sees as payment for the US's role in the drawn out war. The two leaders met in New York on Thursday, where they discussed how American companies can help "quickly develop Afghanistan's rare earth mineral resources," the White House said in a statement.

The White House said the two "agreed that such initiatives would help American companies develop materials critical to national security while growing Afghanistan's economy and creating new jobs in both countries, therefore defraying some of the costs of United States assistance as Afghans become more self-reliant."

Trump has had his eyes on Afghanistan's vast mineral resources as a way to cover the $117 billion cost of the war and reconstruction efforts since the US began bombing and occupying the country in 2001. Reuters reports that Trump told advisors in June that the US should demand a share of Afghanistan's minerals as a payment for US assistance given to the Afghan government.

In July, the New York Times reported that senior White House aides met with an executive from American Elements, which specialises in mineral extraction, to discuss the potential for Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is home to vast deposits of gold, silver, platinum, coal, lithium, natural gas, uranium, tantalum and copper, among other minerals.

Comment: Real business or plunder funder?

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Stormtrooper

Report: US created an Afghani force unable to provide national security


RT
Fri, 22 Sep 2017 20:11 UTC
USMarine Afghan soldiers
© Omar Sobhani/ReutersTraining exercises: US Marines and Afghan National Army
The Pentagon has spent billions outfitting Afghan forces without giving them proper training, failing to understand the full "complexities and scale of the mission," a government watchdog said, also pointing out other flaws in US strategy.

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) issued a critical report on Thursday, titled Reconstructing the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces: Lessons From the US Experience in Afghanistan

SIGAR found the US government ill-prepared to help Afghanistan in building proper security forces that could protect the country from "internal and external threats and prevent the country from becoming a terrorist safe haven."

One of the key problems outlined in the report was that Afghan soldiers, while being handed advanced weaponry, were poorly trained. The US and NATO instructors sent to Afghanistan were themselves undertrained and undermanned, with the NATO training mission for ANDSF missing at least 50 percent of its staff. Over 100,000 Afghan police were trained by US Army pilots, infantry officers, and civilian contractors, despite these clear concerns about the competency of the instructors.

Comment: Ineffectiveness promotes necessity for continued US involvement.

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Star of David

An independent Kurdistan will allow Israel to 'kill two birds with one stone'


Sputnik
Fri, 22 Sep 2017 21:27 UTC
Soldier flags
© israelrising.com
The Kurdistan independence vote scheduled for September 25 will play into Tel Aviv's hands: an independent Kurdish state would allow Israel to solve its energy issues and weaken its regional rivals Iraq and Syria, Iraqi expert told Sputnik. For his part, a Syrian general revealed what steps the Syrian Army is taking to halt Kurdish separatism.

Israel has good reason to support the creation of an independent Kurdistan in the Middle East, Iraqi security expert Ahmed al-Sharifi told Sputnik Arabic: This project targets Damascus and Baghdad to guarantee water and energy supplies to Tel Aviv.

"Since 2005 [Benjamin] Netanyahu has spoken about the necessity of building an oil pipeline from [the Iraqi cities of] Kirkuk and Mosul to the Mediterranean Sea through Syria, to provide Israel with a constant source of energy," al-Sharifi emphasized.

According to the expert, Daesh (ISIS/ISIL) was created "to replace the governments in Syria and Iraq with pro-American authorities." It would also have played into the hand of Israel, he believes. "It would have allowed Israel to maintain control over oil and water resources," al-Sharifi suggested. "Additionally, [Tel Aviv] would have had loyal neighbors from the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean basin."

Comment: Netanyahu: 'the man (and agenda) behind the curtain'.

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