Puppet MastersS


Rocket

Russian experts on N. Korean missiles: Impressive but ICBMs still decades away


Sputnik
Tue, 18 Apr 2017 21:46 UTC
NK Rockets parade
© Reuters/Damir SagoljRockets on Parade
Observers worldwide took note of the array of weapons put on display during Saturday's military parade in Pyongyang, including mockups of new long-range missiles. In a special commentary for Sputnik, analyst Vasily Kashin said that while the country's ICBM program is still far from the test phase, its leaders certainly aren't lacking in ambition.

On Saturday, marking the 105th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, founder of North Korea, Pyongyang showed off an array of missile weaponry, including mock-ups of very large, previously unseen ballistic missiles carried by transport-launch vehicles bearing a striking resemblance to the Russian RT-2PM Topol mobile intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system.

At the moment, along with a range of tactical and short-range missiles such as the Hwasong-6, a derivative of the Scud, North Korea is also known to be engaged in the testing of several medium and intermediate-range systems, including the liquid-fueled Hwasong-10 IRBM. Flight testing of the latter is ongoing, with operational range estimated at 2,500-4,000 km.

More impressive, analysts say, are North Korea's two solid-fueled medium-range missiles - the sea-based KN-11 Pukkuksong-1, and its ground-based cousin, the KN-15 Pukkuksong-2. These mobile systems' range is unknown, with intelligence services offering a wide range of estimates between 1,250 and 2,500 km.

In a special commentary for Sputnik, well-known Russian military analyst Vassily Kashin explained that the KN-11 and KN-15s are known to be among North Korea's most advanced missile systems. More importantly, however, they are the closest among the new missiles to actually being deployed.

Comment: Lucky no 'super power' wants to take North Korea under its wing...so far.

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Light Sabers

Another warning to U.S. warhawks? Russia unveils its Electronic Warfare systems

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Wed, 19 Apr 2017 15:03 UTC
Russian missile defense system
Following US missile strike on Syria Russia provides detailed information of its Electronic Warfare systems capable of jamming US systems

Following rumours - never confirmed and possibly false - that Russian electronic warfare systems jammed the guidance systems of the 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles the US launched at Syria on 6th April 2017, supposedly causing 36 of the missiles to miss, the Russians have provided an unusual amount of information about their normally highly secret Electronic Warfare (EW) systems.

The ostensible reason for doing this is that Russia celebrated EW workers' day on 15th April 2017. However that does not really explain why the Russians should be producing this information now, four days after that day.

As with the recent publication of the details of the test of the new hypersonic Zircon anti-ship missile, it is difficult to avoid the impression that this sudden flood of information about Russia's EW system is intended as a warning to the US. Specifically, the Russians are warning the US not to try the same sort of missile strike that they recently carried out against Syria against Russia.
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Propaganda

Be afraid! FBI investigating 'radical terrorists' in all 50 states

Adam Kredo
The Washington Free Beacon
Tue, 18 Apr 2017 12:08 UTC
John Kelly
© Getty ImagesU.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly
Terrorists inside America plotting attacks 'each and every single day'

Federal authorities have open investigations into radical Islamic terrorists in all 50 states, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which is warning that the threat of terrorism in the United States has reached an all time high with radicalized individuals in the country plotting to strike "each and every single day."

The FBI has "open terrorist investigations in all 50 states," according to DHS Secretary John Kelly, who disclosed on Tuesday that there have been at least 37 "ISIS-linked plots to attack our country" since 2013, a number that shows no signs of diminishing.

Kelly, in his first wide-ranging public address on the threat of terrorism in America since taking office, warned that America's borders remain wide-open and that there is evidence terror-linked individuals are exploiting these national security weaknesses and entering the United States.

"We don't know their intentions," Kelly said during an address at George Washington University. "We don't know why they're here or why they're coming. We are completely blind to what they're capable of."

Comment: See also: Libya Tribes leader: Trump's travel restrictions justified, terrorists using fake Libyan passports to enter U.S.

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Pistol

Bomb parts, AK-74 and ammo seized as 2 terrorist suspects 'neutralized' in Russia


RT
Wed, 19 Apr 2017 14:27 UTC
dead terrorists in Russia
© RT
Two men who sympathized with international terrorist groups and planned attacks in Russia have been "neutralized" during a standoff with security forces, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said. Bomb parts as well as an AK-47 assault rifle with ammo were seized.

The special operation took place in Vladimir Region, some 190km from Moscow, the FSB said in a statement.

The agency's officers "neutralized" two citizens from the Central Asian region, born in 1991 and 1987, as "a result of a standoff during an attempted arrest," the press release noted. Both men showed "active armed resistance," the FSB stressed.

"Those persons were in contact with recruiters from international terrorist organizations, showed interest in the technology of producing improvised explosive devices, and expressed their readiness to commit terrorist attacks on the territory of Russia," the statement further reads.
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Snakes in Suits

'Sword stands ready': Pence vows 'overwhelming and effective' response to N. Korean attacks


RT
Wed, 19 Apr 2017 14:13 UTC
US Vice President Mike Pence speaks aboard the USS Ronald Reagan
© Tomohiro Ohsumi / Reuters US Vice President Mike Pence speaks aboard the USS Ronald Reagan in Yokosuka, Japan, April 19, 2017.
US Vice President Mike Pence has issued a fresh warning to North Korea, saying that Washington will counter any potential attack with an "overwhelming and effective" response.

Speaking from the deck of the aircraft carrier 'USS Ronald Reagan', docked in Yokosuka, Japan, Pence told 2,500 American sailors that North Korea is "the most dangerous and urgent threat to peace and security in the Asia-Pacific."

"The United States of America will always seek peace, but under President Trump, the shield stands guard and the sword stands ready," he said, as quoted by AP.

Comment: Moscow Hopes US to Assess North Korea Issue First Before Acting
Moscow hopes that Washington will refrain from hasty decisions regarding North Korea.

Russia hopes that the United States will first of all assess the issue of North Korea and act later, amid threats against North Korea, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Wednesday.

"Our US colleagues have a very bad trait - they first do something and then begin looking into the issue ... It would be much desired if in this instance the situation developed completely differently - first assessment of the issue, then selection of the best strategy, and then actions and statements," she told a briefing.


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Info

MPs back Theresa May's call for a snap general election


RT
Wed, 19 Apr 2017 14:01 UTC
House of Commons building
© Peter Nicholls / Reuters
MPs have approved prime minister Theresa May's plan for a snap general election on June 8.

The House of Commons voted for an early election by 522 votes to 13 - a majority of 509.

May raised a motion calling for a poll in the House of Commons on Wednesday. She made an unexpected announcement on Tuesday that she would seek an early election less than halfway through her government's five year-term.

She said an election was needed to prevent opposition parties at Westminster "frustrating" the Brexit process and provide long-term "certainty and stability."
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Eye 1

Best of the Web: What Comes Next?

Richard Sauder
Event Horizon Chronicle
Sun, 16 Apr 2017 13:41 UTC
rider of apocalypse
© Unknown
In a word: change. Very big change.

All that remains to be determined is the nature of the change and its precise timeline.

Of course the threat of major warfare, possibly even nuclear warfare, looms large these days, not least on and around the Korean peninsula. The United States and its allies are right now building up a very large military force, and bruiting their plans to imminently "resolve" the North Korean "problem" via military means, though an objective observer strains to identify even one case of the allegedly war-like North Koreans invading another country, while the USSA has willy-nilly been destabilizing, invading and destroying one nation after another for the better part of two centuries now, directly or in league with proxies and mercenaries, beginning with the Native American peoples of North America, and then continuing on to menace the entire planet: the Philippines, Haiti, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador, Chile, Cambodia, Iraq, Vietnam, Laos, Korea, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, the Ukraine, (what used to be) Yugoslavia, Yemen ..... It never ends, and now the USSA is on the verge of launching another major war in East Asia.

So which country, in reality, most jeopardizes international law and order?

Clearly, it is the USSA which is by far the greater danger, rampaging around the world for well more than a century now, killing, wounding and impoverishing countless millions, as it imposes "peace" and "democracy" sarcasm at gunpoint and repeated carpet bombings.
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Info

Tillerson on Trump's review order: 'Iran complies with nuclear deal but sponsors terrorism'


RT
Wed, 19 Apr 2017 13:08 UTC
Rex Tillerson
© Joe Skipper / Reuters
President Trump has ordered a review of the Iranian nuclear deal, Rex Tillerson says. Writing in a letter that while Tehran was complying with its part of the deal, Tillerson questioned the lifting of sanctions, calling Iran "a state sponsor of terror."

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sent a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), confirming that Iran is compliant with its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA ).

The JCPOA is an agreement signed in 2015 under former US President Barack Obama along with China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK, and the EU, to ensure that "Iran's nuclear program will be exclusively peaceful."
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Attention

Maryland governor signs 'No means no' rape law that victims no longer need to prove resistance


RT
Wed, 19 Apr 2017 12:47 UTC
Pres Miller & Spkr Busch
© Larry Hogan‏ / Twitter
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) signed several bills that intend to make it easier to prosecute rape cases and protect sexual crime victims.

On Tuesday, Hogan signed 211 bills into law during a ceremony at the state house, including SB 217, or "Criminal Law - Sexual Offenses - Physical Resistance," which eliminates the requirement that victims of sexual crimes prove they physically resisted their assailants.

"Making Maryland safer begins with making sure that we have a criminal justice system that holds offenders accountable for their actions and the harm they cause, while also supporting victims and the community in the process of healing," Hogan said in a press release.
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Rocket

Iran shows off newest anti-aircraft missiles at Army Day parade


RT
Wed, 19 Apr 2017 12:15 UTC
Iran locally-developed anti-aircraft missiles
© Ruptly
Iran has showcased its latest locally-developed anti-aircraft missiles together with S-300 air defense systems at an annual Army Day parade. Some of the trucks carrying the weapons were decorated with banners featuring anti-Israeli slogans.

The Army Day parade was held in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Tuesday, with troops from all branches of the armed forces taking part. The ceremony also included tanks, armored vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), fighter jets, radar systems and air defense systems.

Certain parts of the parade drew particular attention, including anti-Israeli banners that read 'Death to Israel' in Persian and showed a fist punching through the Jewish Star of David.


Comment: But Jews live comfortably in Iran so this message isn't against Jews: Jews in Iran: A travelogue

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