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'Assad killing his own people' lie exposed as hundreds of thousands of refugees return to Syrian govt-liberated territory

assad syria
Assad: 'As I already told you, like, a million times, they weren't running from me; they were running from the terrorists...'
As the mainstream corporate press attempts to guilt Westerners over making Syrian refugees return home, Western outlets are, in fact, deconstructing their own propaganda narrative for all to see.

For instance, according to the International Organization for Migration, more than 600,000 Syrians have returned home to Syria since the beginning of 2017, more than the number of returning refugees in the entire year of 2016.

IOM reports that the majority of those Syrians going home were internally displaced people. After that, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq followed respectively.

The typically pro-imperialist NPR attempted to suggest that the return of the internally displaced to their homes are being forced to relocate back home by the Syrian government. That claim, while largely nonsensical, is also contradicted by reports from other mainstream agencies.

IOM is worried that the "appropriate measures" to ensure safety to those Syrians returning home are not yet in place.

Comment: This is surely the cue for Germany and other European govts to call for sending Syrians back to Syria, right?

Fat chance!

They would sooner put up with the chaotic results of attempting to integrate 2 million Syrian refugees than admit they've been lying to their electorates for the last 6 years.


USA

Freedom for the speech we hate

"If there is any principle of the Constitution that more imperatively calls for attachment than any other, it is the principle of free thought - not free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought that we hate."- Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes
Free Speech
© Faking News
There was a time in this country, back when the British were running things, that if you spoke your mind and it ticked off the wrong people, you'd soon find yourself in jail for offending the king.

Reacting to this injustice, when it was time to write the Constitution, America's founders argued for a Bill of Rights, of which the First Amendment protects the right to free speech. James Madison, the father of the Constitution, was very clear about the fact that he wrote the First Amendment to protect the minority against the majority.

What Madison meant by minority is "offensive speech."

Unfortunately, we don't honor that principle as much as we should today. In fact, we seem to be witnessing a politically correct philosophy at play, one shared by both the extreme left and the extreme right, which aims to stifle all expression that doesn't fit within their parameters of what they consider to be "acceptable" speech.

There are all kinds of labels put on such speech-it's been called politically incorrect speech, hate speech, offensive speech, and so on-but really, the message being conveyed is that you don't have a right to express yourself if certain people or groups don't like or agree with what you are saying.

Hence, we have seen the caging of free speech in recent years, through the use of so-called "free speech zones" on college campuses and at political events, the requirement of speech permits in parks and community gatherings, and the policing of online forums.

Clearly, this elitist, monolithic mindset is at odds with everything America is supposed to stand for.

Light Sabers

Syria and Lebanon in epic battle against ISIS terrorists

Syrian and Hezbollah flags
No matter what Washington thinks or wants, people of the Middle East have chosen to work together in a bid to create a better future.
Whatever the West may think, and no matter what the Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri may say publicly, the Lebanese army, in clear coordination with Hezbollah (which is outlawed in many Western countries) as well as with the Syrian army, is now pounding the positions of deadly ISIS/Daesh, right at the border region.

The army began the operation on August 19, 2017, at 5 in the morning, by firing at the terrorists' positions in Jaroud, Raas Ba'albak and al-Qaa' using rockets and heavy artillery. It all has an emotional twist: the army commanders declared that the operation was launched in honor of the country's kidnapped military men and martyrs.

Apparently, Lebanon has finally decided: that, enough is enough! First Al-Nusra Front and now ISIS have to go.

Ignore the fact the Lebanese government went out of its way to say that the Lebanese army is actually not coordinating with Syrian forces, or with Hezbollah. After all, Mr. Hariri just recently returned from Washington, where he met the US President who is treating Syrian President Assad as his personal enemy, and Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Personally, Mr. Hariri likes the West, and he is very close to its loyal ally, Saudi Arabia, where he was born.

But Mr. Hariri was never elected. Lebanon is using a complex and obscure "confession system", 'distributing political and institutional power proportionally among confessional communities'. President has to be a Maronite Christian; Speaker of the Parliament is Shi'a Muslim and Prime Minister has to be a Sunni Muslim.

Therefore, one thing is what Mr. Hariri says, and the other is what most of the people of Lebanon think or do.

Info

Flashback Is Putin rebuilding Russia according to Solzhenitsyn's design?

solzhenitsyn putin
© SputnikRussian President Vladimir Putin (right) gave Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn a state award in 2007 for his humanitarian work.
During an informal question-and-answer session at the pro-Kremlin Seliger youth camp on August 29, a young woman expressed concern about the "growth of nationalism" in Kazakhstan.

The woman wondered if a "Ukraine scenario" was possible there if longtime Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev left office -- and asked what the Kremlin's strategy was for dealing with this eventuality.

"What are the chances of Eurasian integration?" she asked.

Putin stressed Kazakhstan's importance as an ally and lavishly praised Nazarbaev as a wise leader dedicated to the welfare of his country. He said Nazarbaev was perhaps the most capable of all the leaders of post-Soviet countries.

However, part of his answer raised alarm bells in the Central Asian country.

Comment: Solzhenitsyn made an appearance in the infamous Wikileaks cables. Here's what he apparently had to say about Putin:
The US ambassador, William Burns, visited Solzhenitsyn in April 2008 at his dacha outside Moscow. He then sent a cable to Washington giving his impressions of the Nobel-prize winning writer who was exiled from the Soviet Union in 1974 and returned to Russia 20 years later.

"Solzhenitsyn, who will turn 90 this December has been in declining health for some time. A stroke has left his left arm paralysed and his hand gnarled, but Solzhenitsyn's legendary energy was undiminished, and he was alert, spoke clearly, and, as the conversation showed, actively engaged with the events of the day," Burns reported in the dispatch released by WikiLeaks.
...
According to Burns, Solzhenitsyn took a dim view of both Yeltsin and Gorbachev, the Soviet Union's last leader: "Solzhenitsyn positively contrasted the eight-year reign of Putin with those of Gorbachev and Yeltsin, which he said had 'added to the damage done to the Russian state by 70 years of communist rule'. Under Putin, the nation was rediscovering what it was to be Russian, Solzhenitsyn thought."

However, the writer's praise for Putin wasn't unqualified. Solzhenitsyn acknowledged that "many problems remained", including the widening gap between Russia's rich and poor. He also said Putin's decision to scrap Russia's system of elected governors - they are now all appointed - was a mistake.
...
Solzhenitsyn's hostility towards the Soviet regime was evident, Burns said, reporting that he worried that "young Russians did not sufficiently appreciate the dangers of Soviet communism", a system he described as deformed.
Solzhenitsyn was a darling of the Western anticommunists at first. But the establishment turned on him the second they realized he wasn't anti-Russian, just anti-Soviet. And it didn't help that Solzhenitsyn refused to go along with the "West is best" propaganda line; he was just as quick to criticize the Western political system. That's the fate of all those rational people who refuse to make themselves into ideological mouthpieces. And for that reason, Solzhenitsyn deserves his place alongside all those other people of conscience and reason. May he rest in peace.


Network

Foreign ministry: 'No doubt' US will try to meddle in 2018 Russian presidential election

Moscow
© Alexander Vilf / Sputnik
Moscow has long been used to Washington's interference in its domestic affairs, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said, adding that "there is no doubt" the US will try to meddle in the 2018 presidential election.

"We are used to American interference, we live with it. It's the same as wire-tapping by US secret services. Someone who doesn't assume it, is an absolutely naive person living on a different planet," Sergey Ryabkov said in an interview with Chinese and Japanese media.

Answering reporters' questions, the deputy foreign minister said that "of course there will be interference" from the US in Russia's 2018 presidential election. "There is no doubt about that."

Meanwhile, Moscow keeps "hearing accusations" that it attempted to affect last year's presidential election in the US, not only through alleged hacking, but also through contacts with some US citizens. Evidence to support the allegations has not been presented, Ryabkov pointed out.

Clipboard

Petition calls on WH to recognize Antifa as terrorists - UPDATE: Petition passes 100k signatures required for White House response, now has 277k

Antifa
© Scott Olson / AFPPolice clash with demonstrators as they try to clear Antifa members and anti-Trump protesters in Portland, Oregon.
A petition urging the Donald Trump administration to formally classify the Antifa movement as a terrorist organization has been launched on the White House website. The petition was started Thursday, and by Saturday, had garnered over 35,000 signatures. The White House is obliged to review the initiative if it reaches the benchmark of 100,000 signees by September 16 - within the 30 day period.

The author of the petition said anti-fascists should be recognized as terrorists because of their "violent actions in multiple cities and their influence in the killings of multiple police officers throughout the United States." He added that "terrorism is defined as the use of violence and intimidation in pursuit of political aims," and urged the Pentagon to be "consistent in its actions."

"Just as they rightfully declared ISIS a terror group, they must declare Antifa a terror group - on the grounds of principle, integrity, morality, and safety," the wording of the petition said.

Comment: If you create situations to perpetrate terror and act on them, by definition you are a terrorist. What worked to destabilize other countries is now happening in the USA. Antifa movement may only be the beginning.

Update August 20, 2017: There appears to be signs of sanity as people come to realize Antifa is a fascist movement. As of this time, the number of signatures has more than doubled since this article was written!

Update August 21, 2017: RT reports:
A call on the Donald Trump administration to officially classify the Antifa movement as a terrorist organization has reached the 100,000-signature threshold for a mandatory response from the White House.

The petition was launched on Thursday, August 17, and in just three days, by Sunday evening, topped the minimum of 100,000 signatures required to prompt a formal response from the White House.

The previous US administration had committed to respond within 30 days to any petition that gains over 100,000 signatures, and in some form, answered to over 300 of them since 'We the People' was launched in 2011. Donald Trump's administration, however, has left almost a dozen petitions unanswered since he assumed office in February, and even considered closing the service down.

The Antifa movement is on the rise in the wake of Charlottesville tragedy earlier this month, where a man drove his car into a crowd of counter protesters at a "Unite the Right" rally, killing one person and injuring 19 others.

[...]

Although it has already reached the necessary benchmark, way ahead of the 30-day expiration deadline, the petition continues to attract signatures of Americans who want the White House administration to classify the far-left Antifa political movement as a terrorist organization.
Update (Aug. 23): The petition has now passed 250k, currently standing at just over 277,000.


Alarm Clock

As Russia-gate story stalls, cue Trump neo-Nazi scandal

protesters
The political opponents of President Trump have found a new lever for sabotaging his presidency - his alleged embrace of white supremacists and Neo-Nazis. He is now being labelled a "sympathizer" of fascists and bringing America's international image into disrepute. Cue the impeachment proceedings.

Notably, the same power-nexus that opposed Trump from the very outset of his presidency is vociferously condemning his alleged racist leanings. Pro-Democrat media like the Washington Post, New York Times and CNN can't give enough coverage to Trump "the racist", while the intelligence community and Pentagon have also weighed in to rebuke the president. Former CIA chief John Brennan said Trump's comments on racial violence were a "national security risk".

This is not meant to minimize the ugliness of the various Neo-Nazi fringe groups that have lately rallied across Southern US states. Trump's wrongheaded remarks which appeared to lay equal blame on anti-fascist protesters for deadly violence last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia, were deplorable.

However, the concerted, massive media campaign to nail Trump as some kind of new Fuhrer seems way over the top. The media frenzy smacks of Deep State opponents scouring for a handy new pretext for ousting him from office.

Nuke

China desires Russia's 'unique technologies' to build new nuclear power plant

Construction of Tianwan NPP in China
© Sputnik
Commenting on Beijing's desire to see Moscow helping to build a new nuclear power plant in China, a Russian expert told Sputnik that it is Russia's unique technologies that prompted Beijing to make its choice.

According to Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, Beijing has invited Russia to take part in the construction of a new nuclear power plant (NPP) in China.

In an interview with Sputnik, Sergei Kondratyev of the Moscow-based Institute of Energy and Finance said that it is only natural that China gives preference to Russian technologies.

"The competition in this market is quite tough despite the fact that there are not many global players [in this sector]. Therefore, there is a serious struggle for new orders. As for Beijing's latest proposal, it is very attractive for Russian suppliers and Rosatom," Kondratyev said.

Bad Guys

Soft coup succeeds? Wall Street and military-industrial complex run US Presidency

Trump Generals and advisers
Now that Steve Bannon is out, and Trump's non-interventionist, America first advisors have been picked off one by one, a Goldman Sachs/Military Generals US run White House is gearing up for more war, starting with Afghanistan.

Neocons like Lindsey Graham and John McCain are ecstatic...


The mainstream liberal media is so happy with the Afghanistan ramp up they refused to lay down any criticism of a "Trump decision"...which is rare indeed, considering the liberal media finds fault in just about anything Trump says or does.

Eye 2

The untrustworthy U.S. - Case XXXIV: Trump cheats on China sanction deal

US china eagle flag
© The Regiser
During the ramp-up to new UN sanctions on North Korea the Trump administration threaten to sanction China if it would not commit to further pressure. Trade measures against China were held back while the discussions about the resolution were ongoing:
An opportunity to hit North Korea with new United Nations sanctions has sidelined President Donald Trump's bid to punish China for its alleged unfair trade practice.
...
[O]n Thursday afternoon, senior administration aides postponed the announcement [of trade measures against China] at the urging of United Nations and State Department officials, who are in the sensitive final stages of convincing China to sign on to a U.N. resolution that would impose new sanctions on North Korea. U.N. and State Department officials warned that the trade announcement could kill their chances of winning Beijing's buy-in, according to the officials.
Trump himself implied that he was willing to go for a quid pro quo:
While past presidents have tried at least ostensibly to keep security and economic issues on separate tracks in their dealings with China, Mr. Trump has explicitly linked the two, suggesting he would back off from a trade war against Beijing if it does more to pressure North Korea. "If China helps us, I feel a lot differently toward trade, a lot differently toward trade," he told reporters...

Comment: