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Turkish hackers admit targeting Austrian Foreign Ministry's web site


RT
Sun, 27 Nov 2016 18:36 UTC
Aslan neferler tim
© David McNew / Reuters
The Austrian Foreign Ministry's website has been subjected to a massive DDoS attack, which was reportedly carried out by a Turkish group of hackers. The attack was allegedly provoked by Austria's tough stance on Turkey. The DDoS attack took place on Friday evening, when the ministry's site registered "thousands" of online requests that quickly made the web page inaccessible. The site subsequently was offline between 6:30pm and 11:00pm (local time) (5:30pm and 10:00pm GMT) because of the attack, the ministry's spokesman told Austria Press Agency (APA).

A Group of Turkish hackers called Aslan Neferler Tim claimed responsibility for the attack by posting screenshots of the inaccessible website on Facebook and saying that it was retaliation for the Austrian parliament's decision to adopt a motion imposing an arms embargo against Turkey. "We impose an embargo against the [Austrian Foreign Ministry's] website for a while," the group said in its Facebook post.

Comment: The feud between Turkey and Austria has been heating up. See also:

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Bizarro Earth

Ex-PM John Major: 'Tyranny of the majority' can't decide Brexit terms


RT
Fri, 25 Nov 2016 16:59 UTC
MajorBlair
© MirrorMore nonsense from those who just won't stay retired.
Yet another former prime minister has come out arguing Brexit does not necessarily mean Brexit and that the referendum result could still be overturned. Former Conservative leader Sir John Major told guests at a private dinner that Remain voters should also decide on the terms and conditions of Britain withdrawing from the European Union.

"I hear the argument that the 48 percent of people who voted to stay should have no say in what happens," Major said during a speech commemorating the 100th anniversary of David Lloyd George's premiership. "I find that very difficult to accept," he added. "The tyranny of the majority has never applied in a democracy and it should not apply in this particular democracy."

Major also said that although he knew Britain would not remain a full member of the EU, he hoped it would still be allowed access to the single market, which he described as "the richest market mankind has ever seen." The former PM also believed there was a "perfectly credible case" for a second referendum. Major's comments follow several interventions by his Downing Street successor, Tony Blair, who has insisted Brexit could be halted.


Comment: Maybe the public will change its mind? The people decided. Done. This is a typical case of British backwash, similar to Killary and her twinkle band of snowflakes. It is over. You Lost. Go Home. The question we should be asking is why these two despicable gents have surfaced at this time for this particular issue.

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Sheriff

Philippines: Duterte to seek peace

Marjorie Cohn
Consortium News
Fri, 25 Nov 2016 00:00 UTC
President Rodrigo Duterte
© Inquirer Global Nation - INQUIRER.netRodrigo Duterte, leader of the Philippines
In April 2016, Rodrigo Duterte won the Philippine presidential election by a landslide, with more than 6 million votes. He openly declared that he was the nation's first Left president, calling himself a socialist but not a communist. So far, his regime has been controversial, to put it mildly.

The U.S. press has focused on Duterte's vicious war on drugs that claimed upwards of 2,000 lives and led to the incarceration of tens of thousands of people. His decision to allow former Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos's burial in the National Cemetery of the Heroes also has drawn the ire of those who recall Marcos's brutal two-decade regime that killed more than 3,000, tortured tens of thousands, and stole $10 billion from the Philippines.

But, significantly, Duterte is engaging with revolutionary forces in the peace process that aims to end 47 years of armed struggle against the repressive Filipino government. And Duterte has taken actions that, for the first time, challenge the longstanding military and economic power of the United States in the Philippines.

Comment: Provocative bravado may be what it takes to get a country's attention and steer it in a new direction. No lackey of the US, Duterte believes it is through him and he is willing to trail blaze against the grain of political reality.

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Light Saber

Historically 'resonant' 1979 US diplomatic cables on Europe & Middle East affairs released by WikiLeaks


Sputnik
Mon, 28 Nov 2016 16:45 UTC
Wikileaks
© Flickr/ Chris Wieland World
WikiLeaks released on Monday more than 500,000 US diplomatic cables starting from 1979, a year called resonant for the world politics by the whistleblowing organization's founder Julian Assange.

Assange promised reveals on the Iranian revolution, siege of Mecca, the coups in the South America, nuclear weapons in Europe, Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty II and a number of other historical events.

"Today, 28th November 2016, marking the six year anniversary of "Cablegate", WikiLeaks expands its Public Library of US Diplomacy (PLUSD) with over half a million (531,525) diplomatic cables from 1979,' Assange said in a press release.


Comment: Whether or not Wikileaks is in fact, a cognitive infiltration operation,

Wikileaks a "COGNITIVE INFILTRATION" Operation

or a limited hang out,

Wikleaks and Imperial Mobilization - The CIA's "Mighty Wurlitzer"

the world has benefited more than not from having some of the workings of the Deep State laid bare.

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Info

Trump to meet General David Petraeus as secretary of state fight continues with huge backlash for Romney consideration

Kevin Cirilli
Bloomberg
Mon, 28 Nov 2016 16:43 UTC
General David Petraeus
© KKR
President-elect Donald Trump is considering retired General David Petraeus to be secretary of state and plans to meet with the former CIA director Monday in New York, according to a senior official with the transition.

The celebrated four-star general, who left government under a cloud for sharing classified documents during an extramarital affair, is meeting with the president-elect amid infighting among Trump's advisers about who to pick for the post. The possibility that Trump might instead tap former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has fueled an extraordinary public lobbying campaign against him.

Kellyanne Conway, who managed Trump's campaign and is now a senior adviser to his transition, said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that she is "just astonished at the breathtaking volume and intensity of blow-back that I see" toward the possibility of Romney serving as the nation's top diplomat.

"In the last four years, I mean, has he been around the globe doing something on behalf of the U.S. of which we're unaware? Did he go and intervene in Syria where they're having a massive humanitarian crisis?" she asked on CNN's "State of the Union." "Has he been helpful to Mr. Netanyahu?" she asked, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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Map

Iraqi elite commandos kill some 1,000 terrorists, liberate 600,000 residents in Mosul operation


Sputnik
Mon, 28 Nov 2016 16:33 UTC
Iraqi soldier
© REUTERS/ Mohammed Salem
The Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service has liberated from Daesh militants over 600,000 residents in 25 districts of the city of Mosul, the service's commander Lt. Gen. Abdel Ghani Asadi said. He added that Iraqi special operations troops have killed about 1,000 Daesh terrorists since the start of the operation.

There is no concrete timeframe for liberation of the Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic State militants, but it will not take a long time, he said. "These are not regular battles with the enemy's army, this is a partisan war. It is impossible to say when it will end, but soon," Asadi told RIA Novosti. "According to our intelligence data, there are up to 6,000 Daesh terrorists in the city. But I believe this figure has been exaggerated despite the fact that our Golden Division has eliminated 992 terrorists and wounded 56 more," Asadi said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

Comment: Mosul appears to be completely surrounded: Shi'ite militia completes encirclement of Mosul, cutting off IS militants

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Stock Down

Here's why Trump's promised economic plan is not going to work

Mike Whitney
Global Research
Sat, 26 Nov 2016 03:16 UTC
trump uncle sam
© The Economist
Will Donald Trump be good for the US economy?

The American people seem to think so. According to a recent survey taken by Gallup "Americans have relatively high expectations (of) the president-elect... Substantial majorities (upward of 60%) believe the Trump administration will improve the economy and create jobs. A slim majority (52%) say he'll improve the healthcare system."

Even more impressive, the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index spiked to a 93.8 -high in November, signaling a significant improvement in overall consumer attitudes about the economy.

Analysts attribute this change in outlook to the recent presidential election which showed a marked uptick in optimism "across all income and age subgroups across the country."

"The initial reaction of consumers to Trump's victory was to express greater optimism about their personal finances as well as improved prospects for the national economy," said Richard Curtin, the survey's chief economist.

So, people are not just giving Trump the benefit of the doubt, they genuinely think their economic situation is going to get better under the new president.

The results are particularly significant when we realize that the economy not only topped the list of important issues going into the November elections, but that also (according to a survey conducted by Edison Research) "Three in five voters said the country was seriously on the wrong track and about the same number said the economy was either not good or poor. Two-thirds said their personal financial situation was either worse or the same as it was four years ago. About one in three voters said they expected life to be worse for the next generation."
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Propaganda

Press eagerly tags along for British military's Mosul propaganda drive


RT
Mon, 28 Nov 2016 16:00 UTC
British soldier
© Peter Muhly / AFP
British mainstream media have pounced on a Ministry of Defence (MoD) invitation to meet a misty-eyed sniper who yearns to take on jihadists from the UK's Camp Havoc base in Iraq.

Media outlets, including the Murdoch-owned Times and the Guardian, were invited to visit the base, where around 250 British infantrymen plus support personnel are stationed.

Previously known as Camp Cupcake when run by the US, the base has been used by the UK to train local forces.

The media outlets dispatched their security and defense reporters to meet, among others, a highly-rated sniper, who appears to yearn for war.
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Arrow Up

Draining the swamp: Putin dismisses government officials over Russian Academy of Sciences elections

Translated by J. Arnoldski
Fort Russ
Mon, 28 Nov 2016 00:00 UTC
putin
Vladimir Putin has dismissed employees of the office for presidential affairs, the FSB, the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Kremlin's press service has reported.

Last week, Putin publicly recalled that at the end of 2015, he asked government representatives to refrain from participating in elections to the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAN).

The president also promised that officials elected to the Russian Academy of Sciences would have the opportunity to deal only with scholarly activities.

As a result, the deputy manager of presidential affairs and head of the medical directorate, Konstantin Kotenko, the head of the FSB's directorate for registrations and archive funds, Lieutenant General Vasily Khristoforov, the head of the main military medical directorate of the defense ministry, Alexander Fisun, and the deputy minister of internal affairs and head of the investigative department of the interior ministry, Alexander Savenkov have been relieved of their duties.

Almost all of the officials agreed to be dismissed "at their own will", while Khristoforov was released for "surpassing the age limit for military service." President Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, confirmed that the officials' dismissal is related to their election to the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Comment: Putin in action:



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Jet5

Coalition general uses stalling tactics; calls for patience and restraint in re-taking Mosul


RT
Mon, 28 Nov 2016 15:59 UTC
soldier in tank
© Thomas Coex/AFP
The deputy chief of the US-led coalition in Iraq said outside observers need to show "patience" towards retaking Mosul, admitting there is no deadline, as ISIS militants vigorously defend it.

Major General Rupert Jones, Britain's most senior commander in Iraq and deputy commander of the US-led coalition in the region, told journalists on Monday the offensive to retake the Islamic State-held (IS, previously ISIS/ISIL) city may not go as smoothly as planned.

The terrorist group is fighting vigorously in the besieged city, he stressed, despite "an extraordinary amount of progress" made by Iraqi troops and coalition forces, the Guardian reported. Therefore it was necessary for the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) to "demonstrate restraint," Major General Jones insisted.

The strength of the IS forces defending Mosul is estimated at 4,000 to 9,000 militants, including 1,000 foreign fighters. The offensive force comprises a 100,000-strong alliance of the Iraqi Army, Kurdish Peshmerga, as well as Iraqi-backed Shiite militias, Turkish expeditionary forces, and Western commandos.
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