Puppet Masters

Syria carries out air strikes on Islamic State

Tom Perry
Reuters
Fri, 18 Sep 2015 06:30 UTC

Syrian army jets carried out at least 25 air strikes on the Islamic State-held city of Palmyra on Friday, a group monitoring the war said, the second intense bombardment in two days of territory held by the militants.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was one of the most sustained government bombardments of Palmyra.

The air strikes killed at least 26 people, including 12 Islamic State fighters, the British-based Observatory said.

On Thursday, Syrian jets had carried out at least 12 air strikes on Raqqa, Islamic State's de facto capital in the north.

Comment: More info:

Syrian refugees in Europe, regime change in Damascus, and the mass migrations still to come,

Vladimir Putin's realpolitik: Foreign policy objectives, desires for alliance with U.S. in opposing jihadists

Do you know which nation spends more on its military: Iran or Israel?

James North
Mondoweiss
Thu, 17 Sep 2015 23:19 UTC

Your average American who followed the debate over the Iran deal would have gotten the impression that Tehran is a military giant, with a Wehrmacht that even without nuclear weapons is capable of unleashing a blitzkrieg across the entire Middle East.

The hard facts are different. In a valuable recent article in Foreign Policy, Trita Parsi and Tyler Cullis point out:

* Iran spends $15 billion a year on its military.

* By contrast, Saudi Arabia spends $80 billion — five times as much — and the United Arab Emirates budgets another $23 billion.

Comment: It is easy to see that Iran's military budget is targeted for defense whereas Israel and other Middle East countries greater military expenditures are for offensive weapons. Bloody bazaar: Who's buying at the London Arms Fair?

Prolonging the collapse, Fed keeps rates near zero

Barry Grey
World Socialist Web Site
Fri, 18 Sep 2015 12:59 UTC

The US Federal Reserve on Thursday again delayed its promised increase in the benchmark federal funds interest rate, which has remained at zero-to-0.25 percent since the height of the financial crisis in December of 2008. The US central bank has for months been signaling its intention to begin raising rates this year, but has repeatedly put off such action under intense pressure from Wall Street and global financial institutions.

Thursday's meeting of the Fed's policy-making Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) was the object of intense and nervous concern internationally, coming in the midst of a marked slowdown in global growth and extreme volatility on financial markets. The focus of international attention on the Fed meeting reflects the degree to which the entire world economy has become dependent on infusions of cash from the major central banks into the financial markets.

Trillions of dollars have been funneled to the banks and finance houses that dominate the markets—some $4 trillion from the Fed alone—to pay off the bad debts of the financial elite and facilitate its further enrichment on the basis of speculative and parasitic activities. These massive subsidies for the super-rich have done little to revive the real economy, which has never truly recovered from the September 2008 Wall Street crash. Instead, they have underwritten a nearly three-fold rise in stock prices and a further growth of financial activities such as mergers and acquisitions, stock buybacks and stock dividend increases that divert resources from productive investment. Investment levels in the major capitalist countries are at least 25 percent below pre-crisis levels.

Polish ambassador summoned to Moscow over dismantled Soviet-era monument

RT
Fri, 18 Sep 2015 21:05 UTC

Russian authorities have summoned the Polish diplomatic mission's highest-ranking officials to account for the dismantling of a monument in the Polish town of Pieniezno which honored a Soviet Army World War II general.

Both Russia's Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry have condemned the dismantling of the monument to General Ivan Chernyakhovsky, who was one of the leaders of the Soviet campaign against Nazi Germany in Poland.

The Polish Ambassador Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz was called in by the Foreign Ministry on Thursday to provide an insight into what has happened in Pieniezno, the press service of the Polish embassy in Moscow said.

"Remembering history is what differentiates humans from animals," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a press-conference on Wednesday. She also criticized the Polish government for allowing for the demolition of some other Soviet-era monuments.

Comment: Poland is following in the rest of the West's footsteps in attempting to either rewrite or wipe from the history the actions of Russia during WWII:

Highlights from Assad's rare interview: Terrorism, the refugee crisis, and Western propaganda

RT
Fri, 18 Sep 2015 13:31 UTC

In a rare interview with Russian media, including RT, Syrian President Bashar Assad opened up about terrorism, the refugee crisis, and Western propaganda. He went back in history, saying the US invasion of Iraq had set the scene for Syria's unrest.

On the cause of the Syrian civil war

The Syrian president said it might come as a surprise if he mentioned the "crucial juncture" in what happened in Syria, saying it is "something that many people wouldn't even think of."

"It was the Iraq war in 2003, when the United States invaded Iraq. We were strongly opposed to that invasion, because we knew that things were moving in the direction of dividing societies and creating unrest. And we are Iraq's neighbors. At that time, we saw that the war would turn Iraq into a sectarian country; into a society divided against itself. To the west of Syria there is another sectarian country - Lebanon. We are in the middle. We knew well that we would be affected. Consequently, the beginning of the Syrian crisis, or what happened in the beginning, was thenatural result of that war and the sectarian situation in Iraq, part of which moved to Syria, and it was easy for them to incite some Syrian groups on sectarian grounds."

He went on to mention that the West "officially" adopted terrorism in Afghanistan in the early 1980s, calling the terrorists "freedom fighters," and that it didn't fight Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) when it appeared in Iraq under American sponsorship in 2006.

Comment: For more background information, read the transcript of the entire interview:

Full Assad interview with Russian media: 'Westerners are crying for the Syrian refugees with one eye, aiming their guns with the other'

Obama folds again, to begin Syria military talks with Russia "Very Shortly"

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Fri, 18 Sep 2015 11:05 UTC

Ever since Russia began stepping up its technical and logistical support for Bashar al-Assad's forces at Latakia, Washington has insisted that Moscow's intentions "aren't yet clear."

Essentially, that's the excuse the US is giving for why it won't join Russia in what would ultimately amount to an all-out push to rout ISIS in Syria.

The problem with that excuse, is that it creates a problem in terms of how the public perceives the situation. That is, the more explicit the Kremlin became about its aims in Syria, the harder it became for The White House to explain why the US isn't on board.

The West has gone to great lengths to create a bogeyman par excellence in ISIS and it has, from the public's perspective anyway, largely succeeded. However, Russia's presence in Syria now means that the US will no longer be able to sit back and wait for ISIS (or anyone else for that matter) to overrun Assad. Russian military intervention has effectively taken that eventuality off the table, putting Washington in the extremely awkward position of having to either i) explain to the public that in fact Assad and Russia are the greater threats and therefore it's in the US's geopolitical interests to see if ISIS can finish the job even with the Russians on the ground, or ii) cave and admit privately that unless the US intends to go to war with Russia, Assad, and ISIS all at once, achieving the original goal (i.e. routing ISIS once ISIS routs Assad) is no longer possible, and say publicly that the US is willing to partner with Russia to defeat ISIS and the two nations will then negotiate for the future of the Assad regime.

Comment: It cannot be highlighted enough the role the US has played, directly and through client regimes, in the creation and support for ISIS/ISIL and the Syrian civil war from the beginning.

The US has no real desire or intention to work with Russia in any shape or form. It goes against the psychopathic reality creators' very essence to do so. The will to dominate and control is all there is and all there ever will be until they are either removed from power by the people or the 'universe' has its say and does it for the good of creation and the balancing of the system of life from the entropy that has come to dominate reality on earth.

Thus far the entropy has only increased, especially since 9/11, and with it a response from Mother Nature in kind with increasingly extreme weather.

The cabal of psychopaths in power in the USA seem like they are going to try to buy time in the case of Syria with these latest developments and try to see if they can turn the tables and suck Russia into a quagmire or corner them in some fashion.

Thus far Putin and Russia has the US backpedaling and stymied in the Ukraine and now Syria with well planned and executed moves. With the US and world economy teetering, and with it the US's reserve currency status in jeopardy by the actions of China and Russia, perhaps the US will make a wrong move. Perhaps in their desperation, the anglo-American 'elite' will make an error which will allow Russia and China to check and then checkmate the Empire of Chaos.

One can only hope for some kind of just and reasonable solution to the destruction and death Western psychopathic leaders have caused for so long. We await further geopolitical chessboard moves and reactions.

Russian and American military chiefs restore contact after 13 months of silence

RT
Fri, 18 Sep 2015 16:07 UTC

Leaders at the Russian Defense Ministry and the Pentagon have agreed to restore military contacts and continue consultations, Russia's military officials said in a statement.

Russia's Minster of Defense Sergey Shoigu and his US counterpart Ashton Carter talked by phone on Friday to discuss the situation in the Middle East and the Syrian crisis, among other issues. They agreed to restore contacts between the ministries.

"The ministers noted the restoration of military-to-military contacts and agreed to continue consultations," spokesperson for the Russian Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov, said.

The "detailed" discussion that lasted over an hour revealed that Moscow's and Washington's views "are close or coincide" on most of the issues considered, Konashenkov added.

The ministers also talked on the need to coordinate "bilateral and multilateral efforts to combat global terrorism".

It was the first contact between the ministries since last August, as the relations between Russia and the US remain soured by the conflict in Ukraine.

Comment: Is there some sanity left in the U.S. military command? Or have they just been put into check by Russia's handling of the Syria crisis? See also: U.S. considering Russian anti-ISIS proposal? Kerry admits U.S. plan failing, but won't yet accept Russia's solution

Your move: Netanyahu to visit Putin next week for talks on Syria

Dan Williams and Lidia Kelly
Reuters
Wed, 16 Sep 2015 13:30 UTC

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Russia next week for talks with President Vladimir Putin on the expanding Russian military presence in Syria, an Israeli official said on Wednesday.

"The prime minister will present the threats to Israel emanating from the increased flow of advanced weaponry to the Syrian arena and from the transfer of lethal weaponry to Hezbollah and other terrorist groups," the official said.

Moscow has come under international pressure to explain its moves in Syria, where the Kremlin has been supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a 4-year-old civil war.

The Kremlin confirmed the visit, with Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling Russian media that Netanyahu will come to Moscow on Sept. 21.

"On Monday, there will be a short working visit and talks with Vladimir Putin," RIA news agency quoted Peskov as saying.

Comment: Netanyahu, like the US, are worried about the anti-aircraft missle system being placed in Syria by Russia. This will stop them from having free reign over Syria's airspace and ensure that ISIS is the main target.

Russian boots on the ground in Syria? Middle East mayhem intensifies
Russia steps up diplomatic offensive for Syria - but can they counteract Washington's endgame?

U.S. Justice Department decides big banks and 'financial psychopaths' have a license to steal

Jeff Nielson
Sprott Money
Thu, 17 Sep 2015 19:27 UTC

First we had "too big to fail". Then came "too big to jail". Now, finally, the U.S. Department of "Justice" is letting us know what it really thinks: U.S. Big Banks simply have a license to steal.

The most amazing thing about the Justice Department's new guidelines on prosecution of corporate crime is that the DOJ is effectively acknowledging there was a big problem with how it did things before.

Yes. As these criminalized institutions now perpetrate financial mega-crimes measured (literally) in the $trillions, we have the so-called Justice Department claiming it has been too hard on this financial crime syndicate. Yes. Presumably if the DOJ hadn't taken its previous, supposed "tough love" approach to these financial criminals, they would now already be perpetrating multi-QUADRILLION dollar crimes. And the U.S. government certainly won't stand in the way of "progress".

Supposedly, giving these fraud-factories microscopic fines as their sole punishment was being too harsh - when it comes to enforcing the law. Let me reiterate; we have the U.S. Department of Justice effectively implying that even its previous, token enforcement of laws against financial crimes was impeding the (crimes of the) financial sector. In the United States of Crime, any time there is a conflict between "law" (the Rule of Law) and "profit" (the proceeds of crime), the U.S. Department of Justice sides with profit -- i.e. the criminals.

Comment: It's a disgusting sort of society these snakes in suits move in.

MI5 chief doing his job: 3,000 domestic extremists plotting to attack Britain

RT
Fri, 18 Sep 2015 12:47 UTC

MI5 and counter-terror officers are screening more than 3,000 domestic Islamic extremists willing to conduct attacks in the UK as the government prepares to introduce sweeping new snooping powers.

British men and women, some of whom are in their teens, are being radicalized in a matter of weeks, security sources told the Times on Thursday.

The threat of domestic terror attacks was revealed after Andrew Parker became the first MI5 director-general in the agency's history to offer a live interview to a broadcaster.

Comment: Just to make sure the people hear his message "why they need us".

Intelligence officials foiled six plots in the past 12 months alone, he told BBC Radio 4 on Thursday, calling on internet firms to assist UK authorities in their fight against terrorism.

Comment: What better way to keep the door open for more surveillance by warning "the new legislation will not win the battle against terrorism".

Getting bored yet? 'Jihadi John' known to MI5 since 2008 - they 'let him escape'
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Puppet Masters

Syria carries out air strikes on Islamic State

Do you know which nation spends more on its military: Iran or Israel?

Prolonging the collapse, Fed keeps rates near zero

Polish ambassador summoned to Moscow over dismantled Soviet-era monument

Highlights from Assad's rare interview: Terrorism, the refugee crisis, and Western propaganda

Obama folds again, to begin Syria military talks with Russia "Very Shortly"

Russian and American military chiefs restore contact after 13 months of silence

Your move: Netanyahu to visit Putin next week for talks on Syria

U.S. Justice Department decides big banks and 'financial psychopaths' have a license to steal

MI5 chief doing his job: 3,000 domestic extremists plotting to attack Britain

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