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Attention

China disbanding 5 of PLA's 18 military corps amid downsizing of world's largest army


RT
Mon, 20 Mar 2017 06:47 UTC
Chinese military
© Stringer / Reuters
China's People's Liberation Army will reportedly disband five of its 18 army corps, including two that served as the power base of two disgraced generals, sources with knowledge about the ongoing shakeup told the South China Morning Post.

Two years ago, Beijing announced that it would lay off 300,000 members of its 2.3 million-strong military as part of a major reform, which is meant to turn the PLA into a more efficient and flexible modern fighting force. The country's top brass has since been overhauled, and China has restructured its military and investigated generals for alleged corruption.

Among the dozens of senior officers caught in the anti-corruption probes were two former vice-chairmen of the Central Military Commission, Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong. According to the newspaper's sources, among the five army corps slated to be disbanded are the 16th and the 47th, which had served as the disgraced generals' power base.
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Quenelle - Golden

Trey Gowdy warns against obstructing child sex abuse investigations (VIDEO)

Zeropointnow
iBank Coin
Mon, 20 Mar 2017 12:47 UTC
Trey Gowdy
© Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) is not a man to be trifled with.

The Tea Party Republican, former Federal prosecutor, and perhaps most notably chair of the Benghazi Committee, has a reputation for getting to the bottom of issues and rendering a fair opinion - even if it's unpopular with his own party. In the Benghazi report, Gowdy highlighted the Obama administration's systematic failures surrounding the tragic events of Sept. 11th, 2012 - though the findings did not conclude that Hillary Clinton was solely responsible - an outcome angering many Republicans:
"If you can read this report and you believe, in the last page of the report, that this is about one person rather than about four people, then there's nothing I can say that's gonna disabuse you of that," Gowdy said. "No amount of facts and no amount of evidence that's going to dissuade you from your previously held conviction."
Gowdy has been on the Committee on Ethics, Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security (Chairman), Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Subcommittee on Health Care, Benefits and Administrative Rules, and the Subcommittee on Government Operations.
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Star of David

Heinous act of aggression: Israel bombs small town in Syria, murders member of Syrian NDF


Fort Russ
Mon, 20 Mar 2017 12:47 UTC
Israel Drone bombs Syrian forces
One member of the Syrian National Defense Forces (NDF), a paramilitary organisation, fighting alongside the Syrian army, was killed during an Israeli drone raid on Khan Arnaba, a town in the Syria's Quneitra province, located right next to the Golan Heights.

According to the announcement made on the official NDF Facebook site, Mr. Yasser Hussein Seyyed was martyred after an unmanned Israeli drone targeted his car in Khan Arnaba, while taking the road to Damascus. The news was also picked up by the Israeli press.

The incident comes two days after one Israeli jet was shot down by the Syrian army. On the early morning on Friday, March 17th, four Israeli military jets violated the Syrian airspace and targeted Syrian military positions near the Lebanese border. The Syrian defense systems responded by shooting down one Israeli jet and hitting another one, while the remaining two retreated. The Israeli government has since responded and threatened to destroy the Syrian defense systems, should they be activated again.

Comment: Further reading:

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Caesar

Russia's Orthodox Christianity has become 'natural defender of mainstream Islam'

Adam Garrie
The Duran
Mon, 20 Mar 2017 12:47 UTC
Putin speech Church Russian Christian orthodox
The west's liberal crusade is anathema to both Russian traditions and Russia's legally stringent views on foreign policy

The contemporary foreign policy of the Russian Federation can be characterised as a pragmatic defence of self-interests along with the interests of its allies. All of these policies tend to be conducted within the framework of international law. In fact, Russia often finds herself having to define the precepts of international law to other nations who frequently violent it.

The forum where this is most frequently accomplished is the United Nations. The long-serving and recently deceased Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin became emblematic of Russia holding others to account, at least in terms of rhetoric and voting record.
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Sherlock

Court documents reveal Turkey coup timeline, but mysteries remain


Al Monitor
Mon, 20 Mar 2017 12:47 UTC
Erdogan coup attempt arrests soldiers
© REUTERS/Kenan GurbuzTurkish soldiers accused of attempting to assassinate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the night of last year's failed July 15 coup are escorted by gendarmes as they arrive for the first hearing of the trial in Mugla, Turkey, Feb. 20, 2017.

Despite a recently issued 2,700-page omnibus indictment, many questions remain unanswered about the July 15 military uprising in Turkey. The parts of the indictment supported by telephone records and camera recordings, and the documents that reached the news media, answer many questions but also leave some critical ones untouched.

About 221 suspects stand accused of participating in the incidents at the chief of staff headquarters. Lawyers who have seen a copy of the indictment told Al-Monitor it will be the basis of other indictments that will follow. The first part of the document broadly summarizes the background of the military uprising and coup attempt, and systematic efforts of the Gulen movement to infiltrate the military since the 1980s. In the rest of the document, preparations for the uprising are summarized with corroborative evidence, testimonies of the suspects and victims, telephone records, and military and civilian documents. It also identifies 38 members, all at the rank of lieutenant colonel and higher, as being in the "Peace at Home Council," the alleged brain trust of the coup.
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Info

Lavrov: US antimissile deployment in Asia-Pacific 'disproportionate' to Pyongyang threat


RT
Mon, 20 Mar 2017 14:36 UTC
THAAD interceptors
© Yonhap / Reuters
South Korea's decision to deploy the THAAD antimissile system from the US is disproportionate to the threat posed by North Korea, which was voiced as justification by both Seoul and Washington, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"We have drawn attention to the serious risks posed by the deployment of the US global antiballistic missile system in Asia-Pacific," Lavrov said after meeting his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida in Moscow. The two ministers met alongside their respective military colleagues, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada.

"We have voiced our assessments, according to which, if one wants to deal with threats posed by DPRK, the creation of such ABM system as well as pumping weapons into the region are a response far from proportionate," Lavrov said.

Comment: Lavrov makes a great point. And here is something else to consider:



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Attention

Erdogan compares Europe with Nazis, claims countries actively campaigning against Turkey's constitutional reform


RT
Sun, 19 Mar 2017 19:48 UTC
Erdogan refers EU countries Nazi's
© Murad Sezer / ReutersThe comments come as the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the German ambassador to express Ankara's anger over a Kurdish rally held in Frankfurt on Saturday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has once again compared Europe with the Nazis saying that they "would revive gas chambers" if they weren't ashamed. He also fired a personal broadside at Angela Merkel, accusing her of "Nazi practices."

Europe's "masquerade ball" is over, Erdogan said at yet another demonstration in Istanbul on Sunday, where he rallied support for a 'Yes' vote in Turkey's upcoming constitutional referendum.

Saying the "struggle" against his country has reached a new level, Erdogan slammed European nations, particularly Germany and the Netherlands, for their "Nazi regulations" as they revealed "the hatred they have accumulated for years against our country, our nation or even against all Muslims on TV screens and newspaper headlines every day."

Erdogan then dropped the hammer, "If they weren't ashamed, they would revive the gas chambers," he added as quoted by the Hurriyet Daily News.

The Turkish president then turned his sights on the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "When we call them Nazis they [European politicians] get uncomfortable. They rally together in solidarity. Especially Merkel," Erdogan said as cited by AFP.

Comment: See also:

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Arrow Down

Crude oil prices continue sliding as production limit optimism fades


RT
Mon, 20 Mar 2017 14:17 UTC
offshore oil rig
Crude prices dipped over a percent on Monday, as investors lose confidence in oil following strong drilling data from the United States and pessimism about OPEC-led output cuts.

"Speculative investors have thrown in the towel it seems. We've got record selling in the week ending March 14, and the bleeding has not stopped yet," said Carsten Fritsch, senior commodities analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt, as quoted by Reuters.

"The continued increase in US oil rigs adds to the bearish sentiment," he added.

Brent crude was down 58 cents at $51.18 per barrel, while US benchmark WTI slid 74 cents to $48.

In the US, drillers added 14 oil rigs in the week to March 17, according to Baker Hughes. At 631 rigs, this is the biggest count since September 2015. This indicates the US shale oil industry, hit by low energy prices, is returning to the market. The recovery is likely to see the biggest increase in shale production in six months in April.
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Arrow Up

800 plus bases, $596 billion budget. The massive US military machine summed up in this Infograph

Alex Christoforou
The Duran
Mon, 20 Mar 2017 14:04 UTC
US troops
The US military machine and its global presence in charts.

Trump's budget for 2018, proposes cutting lots of stuff, from the EPA to the NEA and even small cuts at NASA. One of the few departments that will not see any cuts was the US Department of Defense.

In 2015, Politico estimated that there are 800 U.S. bases abroad. The cots to maintain this massive military global footprint runs up to $100 billion annually.

The Visual Capitalist has summed up the huge US military machine the Infograph and accompanying charts below...
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Star

Palestinians present highest award to UN official who resigned in 'Israeli apartheid' report scandal


RT
Sun, 19 Mar 2017 23:45 UTC
Palestinian award
© REUTERS/Jamal SaidiPalestinian Ambassador to Lebanon Ashraf Dabbour (L) stands next to U.N. Under-Secretary General and ESCWA Executive Secretary Rima Khalaf (C) while she holds a gift, an Arabic calligraphy that reads "All the world is Palestine", after a news conference announcing her resignation from the United Nations in Beirut.
The UN official who resigned this week over the Israeli "apartheid regime" report has been awarded the highest Palestinian honor. Tel Aviv immediately slammed the move as an act of diplomatic war, saying its an "outrageous" decision to honor the former UN official for her "libel".

President Mahmoud Abbas had personally called Rima Khalaf, the former chief of Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) to notify her about receiving the Palestine Medal of the Highest Honor in recognition of her "courage and support" for the Palestinian people, Wafa news reported.

The series of events began when UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asked ESCWA to take down the report, which was published on the ESCWA website Wednesday. Khalaf was forced to resign her post after she refused to comply with Guterres' request to take down the controversial study which accused Israel of being guilty of "policies and practices that constitute the crime of apartheid" against the Palestinian people.

On Friday, the UN affiliate removed the document from its website.

Comment: See also:

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