Puppet MastersS


Cult

Rogue states: British arms companies sold Saudi Arabia £6bn in weapons since Yemen war began

Smoke rises at a community hall where Saudi-led warplanes struck a funeral in Sanaa, Yemen, October 9, 2016
© Khaled Abdullah / ReutersSmoke rises at a community hall where Saudi-led warplanes struck a funeral in Sanaa, Yemen, October 9, 2016
British arms companies have earned £6 billion ($8bn) from selling weapons to Saudi Arabia during the ongoing war in Yemen, it has emerged. The fighting has killed more than 10,000 people, destroyed vital infrastructure, and fomented a cholera epidemic.

War Child UK claims the true revenues from dealings with the Gulf kingdom are almost double previous estimates of £3.2 billion.

The charity told the Independent that private arms manufacturers, including BAE systems and Raytheon are, "profiteering from the deaths of innocent children" by selling missiles and equipment to the Saudi-led coalition.

Comment: See also:


Question

Germany's far right AfD: Islam isn't just a religion but also a political doctrine

DITIB Central Mosque
© Rolf Vennenbernd / DPA / AFPThe DITIB Central Mosque of the Turkish Community in Cologne's Ehrenfeld district, western Germany
Islam is not only a religion, but also a "political doctrine" seeking to penetrate all areas of society, said Alexander Gauland, the co-chair of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, adding that it is "incompatible" with democracy.

"The growing Islamization of Germany poses an urgent challenge for its public and state order; cultural identity and internal peace," Gauland said during the press conference held less than a week before the German parliamentary elections scheduled for September 24.

The politician, who is also one of the leading candidates from his party in the forthcoming vote, added that "orthodox Islam... is incompatible" with "the principles of the modern, secular, free and democratic law-bound state."

Comment: It appears Gauland is arguing that Islam isn't just a religious doctrine and therefore certain religious freedoms should not be granted to Islamic institutions and followers. His statements highlight the hypocrisy of using twisted 'European values' as a means of fueling division among people. There certainly are things to criticize about Islam, but perhaps he should first examine the mote in his own eye.


Black Cat

Hillary Clinton may challenge legitimacy of presidential election

Svaki komentar suvišan: ”Putin me nije volio zbog moje vjere u demokraciju
The US presidential election took place nearly one year ago, but to Hillary Clinton it may as well never have ended.

In an interview with NPR, the former first lady said that "if Russian interference turned out to be deeper than previously thought" she wouldn't rule out challenging its legitimacy or the outcome.

"No, I wouldn't rule it out," she said.

Still, even the defeated Democratic nominee admitted that she does not "believe" there is a means to officially challenge the election's outcome. "I don't know if there's any legal, constitutional way to do that," Clinton said.

"There are scholars, academics, who have arguments that it would be [possible], but I don't think they're on strong ground. But people are making those arguments. I just don't think we have a mechanism," Mrs. Clinton said. "I think you can raise questions."

Dollars

End of Petrodollar: Putin orders end to trade in US dollars at Russian seaports

Novorossiysk commercial sea port
© Vladimir Astapkovich / SputnikNovorossiysk commercial sea port
Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the government to approve legislation making the ruble the main currency of exchange at all Russian seaports by next year, according to the Kremlin website.

To protect the interests of stevedoring companies with foreign currency obligations, the government was instructed to set a transition period before switching to ruble settlements.

According to the head of Russian antitrust watchdog FAS Igor Artemyev, many services in Russian seaports are still priced in US dollars, even though such ports are state-owned.

Comment: See also: Putin warns Finance Minister to ax US dollar from Russian trade


Gear

US Navy fires additional officers after deadly warship collisions

United States warship collision
© Joshua Fulton / Global Look Press
The US Navy has dismissed an admiral and a captain in connection with two deadly accidents where US warships collided with commercial vessels in the Pacific. This comes less than a month after the Navy fired the commander of the Seventh Fleet.

Rear Admiral Charles Williams, commander of Task Force 70, and Captain Jeffrey Bennett, commander of Destroyer Squadron 15, were fired by Seventh Fleet commander Vice Admiral Phil Sawyer, the Navy said Monday. "Both reliefs were due to a loss of confidence in their ability to command."

The previous Seventh Fleet Commander, Joseph Aucoin, was dismissed on August 23, with Navy citing the same "loss of confidence" reasoning. Aucoin was scheduled to retire in September.

Comment: These deadly collisions appear to be the snake eating itself, a consequence of the degradation that comes with psychopathic infection.


X

Iranian President Rouhani: We believe all nuclear weapons must be destroyed

President Rouhani
© CNN
In an interview with Christiane Amanpour on Monday, President Rouhani discussed the possibilities that US President Donald Trump could come through on a campaign promise to shred the nuclear agreement negotiated under the Obama administration.
"Our position has been very clear and remains clear vis-a-vis nuclear weapons. We are against any type of weapons of mass destruction as well as nuclear weapons, and we believe that they must be destroyed around the world."

Comment: CNN's coverage of the interview with Rouhani focused on his statement of there being a 'high cost' to the US if they withdrew from the nuclear deal. Their headline covering the interview implies a veiled threat: Iran's Rouhani: US will pay a high cost if Trump scraps nuclear deal. Yet, Rouhani clarified the statement by saying that such an action "will yield no results for the United States but at the same time it will generally decrease and cut away and chip away at international trust placed in the Unites States of America." CNN never fails to prove their unprofessional bias and lack of integrity.


Bad Guys

Russia criticizes US manipulation of UN reform, identifies it as a means of furthering Washington's foreign policy

Trump United Nations
© Lucas Jackson / Reuters
As US President Donald Trump officially launched his 10-point reform program for the United Nations, Russian officials say they share many of the concerns it raises, but not the methods Washington is using to advance its solutions.

On Monday morning in New York, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Trump delivered speeches in support of the reform declaration, which has been endorsed by 128 states.

According to the published text of the plan, it would give Guterres greater executive powers "encouraging him to lead organizational reform," which would "provide greater transparency and predictability" and "promote gender parity and geographic diversity," while combating "mandate duplication, redundancy, and overlap" and other forms of inefficiency at the international body.

Comment: Bureaucracy and mismanagement may play a role in the UN's lackluster performance to one degree or another, but that's not why it is losing credibility. Russia's officials are on-point in identifying the UN's hypocritical alignment with US hegemonic principals as critical in undermining the institution's purpose.


Bomb

London train-bomb suspect nabbed because of CCTV footage showing him wearing same red hat

parsona green station sign
© Tim Ireland/Associated Press
Wearing a bright red hat is possibly not the best disguise if you are proposing to plant a bomb on a London underground train as one of the two suspects presently being detained by police has since discovered.

In what can be described as a foolish move, it was his distinctive headwear that first alerted police officers to arrest an 18-year-old in the departure lounge at the Port of Dover on Saturday, September 16, just hours after the partial explosion, which injured 30 people at Parsons Green station.

Police confirmed that an 18-year-old and 21-year-old are being held over the explosion, which injured 30 people.

The pair were arrested after CCTV images were released showing one of them wearing a hat and carrying a Lidl supermarket bag around 90 minutes before the incident. Recognizing his peculiar hat from CCTV footage taken at the scene where the "bucket bomb" exploded, police officers swooped to arrest him before he could flee Britain.

Comment: Further details:
Yahyah Faroukh, 21, was arrested on Saturday night just hours after police caught an 18-year-old at the port of Dover, suspected of planting the bomb in the London Underground which injured 30 people.

The younger man has not been named, but is believed to be an Iraqi orphan who moved to the UK when he was 15 after his parents died.

Faroukh has previously been registered as living with foster parents Ronald and Penelope Jones in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, where the 18-year-old bomb suspect had also been living.

Believed to be from Damascus originally, Faroukh has lived in Britain for at least four years. His home, close to the southern boundary of Heathrow in Stanwell, Surrey, was also raided.

Witnesses described seeing him being arrested outside Aladdin's Fried Chicken in Hounslow at midnight on Saturday. He was tackled to the ground before undercover officers took his phone and a forensic team wrapped plastic around his arms and legs, according to the Sun.

His home was raided on Sunday by counterterrorism police. Another property in Hounslow is also being searched, Scotland Yard said.

Faroukh's Facebook profile lists him as a former pupil at West Thames College in Isleworth, and says he is from Damascus. A second account lists his place of work as BSQ London, which describes itself as a record label and events company.

His profile pictures include him posing on Brighton beach, in Trafalgar Square and beside an iconic London double decker bus. He has also posted dozens of images of the war in Syria and children being carried out from the debris of bombed-out buildings.

Samir Fauor Awad, Faroukh's cousin, told the Times he "likes to live in England" and he "does not pray and I think he is not religious."

The Joneses have taken in hundreds of children since the 1970s and had only recently returned to fostering after being moved by the plight of youngsters caught up in the refugee crisis. They were appointed MBEs for their fostering work in 2009.

The couple are understood to have been looking after two teenaged refugees in recent weeks. One had attracted police attention because of a minor offence, a family friend told the Times, but it was the quieter boy who had been detained at Dover.

Britain's terrorism threat has been lowered to "severe" after being raised to "critical" over the weekend - its highest level. That means an attack is no longer imminent, but is still highly likely.

Officers are looking for equipment and materials used to manufacture the crude explosive device that partially detonated on a rush-hour tube train on the District line on Friday morning.



Arrow Up

Syrian Army crosses Euphrates in operation to clear ISIS from Deir ez-Zor

Syrian Army Euphrates
© Sputnik/ Mikhail Alayeddin
Syrian troops forced a crossing over the Euphrates river east of Deir ez-Zor on Monday as a part of an operation to clear the city's outskirts from Daesh terrorists, a Sputnik correspondent and Russian military reported.

"The squadrons of the Syrian government troops, strengthened by units of the fourth rank division with the support of the Russian Aerospace Forces conducted a forced crossing of the Euphrates river near Deir ez-Zor through a pontoon bridge established by engineer divisions." the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Over the course of a few hours, the Syrian storm troops have managed to drive Daesh militants out of a number of villages near the city. The correspondent noted that terrorists were resisting fiercely during the offensive.

USA

Best of the Web: An Empire of Chaos: The Real Reason the US is in Afghanistan

Trump Afghanistan
Donald Trump is sending more troops to Afghanistan, continuing the USA's longest war. CEO Michael Silver, of the American Elements corporation, wrote a short op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, urging for the extraction of the country's mineral resources. Afghanistan remains unstable. Many questions must be asked. The one on many minds is "Why is the USA in Afghanistan?"

Terrorism? Minerals? Or Something Else?

The USA has been occupying Afghanistan since 2001. Why? Both supporters and opponents of US Afghan policy give murky answers. Supporters of US efforts say they are in the country to fight terrorism and help the country rebuild and move toward democracy. Opponents of the occupation say the USA is seeking to control its rare minerals such as neodymium, indium, gallium, and lanthanum which are essential in making computer chips.

Comment: This is the first analysis - to our knowledge - that matches our own: the US is in Afghanistan to thwart Eurasian integration. It is there for negative, destructive reasons, which is why it has taken so long for people to realize its strategy.