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Again? 'Powerful Russian weapons?' Boogeyman Putin's 'October surprise'


Sputnik
Wed, 31 Aug 2016 00:57 UTC
Putin bat
© themoderatevoice.com'Mwa·ha·ha·ha!"
In yet another instance of what has become an all-too-common attempt to blame a Russian boogeyman for political failings in the United States, the Washington Post has published a dire op-ed warning of an 'October surprise' from the Kremlin. When WikiLeaks released internal emails from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) earlier this year, the US media's first response was to blame the leak on Russian hackers — instead of focusing on the content of the documents, which revealed that the DNC actively worked to ensure that former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was victorious over Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

There is no evidence to show that the Russian government was involved in any way, but of course, when a hack occurs in the United States, officials are quick to blame Moscow. These false accusations are then parroted by the media, even when senior US intelligence officials and cybersecurity experts dispute the claims.

"We don't know enough to ascribe motivation, regardless of who it might have been," US National Intelligence Director James Clapper cautioned last month. On Monday, Dana Milbank published an op-ed with the Washington Post, entitled "A Putin-sponsored October surprise?" The piece suggests that the Kremlin could release doctored intelligence in an effort to smear Clinton, ahead of the presidential election in November. "Perhaps they'll show that the Clinton Foundation has been funding the Islamic State, or they'll have Hillary Clinton admitting that she didn't care about those Americans who died in Benghazi after all," the op-ed reads.

Comment: The bandwagon is out of control. Media accountability and savvy reporting have gone down the drain and been replaced by unfounded mass hysteria, follow-the-leader articles and top-down propaganda. Yes, the media that accuses Russia and the Kremlin of biased coverage should check their own reflection, get off the easy chairs and do some old-fashioned, fact-checking work! That, in itself, would be an 'October Surprise'!!!

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Network

US Democrats inquire as to possible Russian hacking of voting systems


Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Wed, 31 Aug 2016 00:00 UTC
Harry Reid
© www.libertylawsite.orgUS Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid
U.S. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid and other congressional Democrats are asking the FBI to investigate concerns that the Russian government may be attempting to undermine the U.S. presidential election through cyberattacks.

"The prospect of a hostile government actively seeking to undermine our free and fair elections represents one of the gravest threats to our democracy since the Cold War," Reid said in a letter to FBI Director James Comey published by The New York Times on August 30 after revelations that the FBI found state online voting systems were hacked, possibly by Russia.


Comment: There is nothing free, nor fair about the US elections. This in itself is a threat to democracy. But wait...there is no democracy (government by the people).


Reid said the threat of Russian government tampering in the election was "more extensive than widely known and may include the intent to falsify official election results." He also voiced concerns about possible Russian government efforts to manipulate Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign ahead of the November 8 election and to use it as a vehicle to advance the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Comment: See also:

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Arrow Down

Clinton's unpopularity skyrockets, now on par with Trump


PressTV
Wed, 31 Aug 2016 19:30 UTC
A combination photo shows U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (L) and Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump (R)
© Reuters/Lucy Nicholson (L) and Jim Urquhart/File Photos
US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's unpopularity among American voters has reached a new high, according to a new poll, putting her on par with her Republican rival Donald Trump.

The latest findings by the ABC News/Washington Post poll solidify Clinton and Trump's positions as the two most unpopular presidential nominees in more than 30 years.

Among all adults, 56 percent now have an unfavorable view of Clinton, an increase of 6 points in three weeks, compared to 63 percent who have the same view about Trump.

Among registered voters, the two nominees have near-identical unfavorable ratings -- 59 percent for Clinton and 60 percent for Trump.

Clinton's growing unpopularity follows renewed focus on her use of a private email server while she served as secretary of state, as well as alleged conflicts of interest over her connections to the Clinton Foundation fundraising.
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Eye 2

Local source reports Daesh terrorists behead 13 civilians in northern Iraq


PressTV
Wed, 31 Aug 2016 19:28 UTC
Takfiri Daesh terrorists
Takfiri Daesh terrorists
Takfiri Daesh militants have reportedly executed more than a dozen people in Iraq's northern province of Kirkuk on charges of facilitating the escape of civilian families from an area under the extremists' control.

A provincial security source, requesting anonymity, told Arabic-language al-Sumaria television network on Tuesday evening that Daesh terrorists decapitated 13 people in the Riyadh district of the town of Hawijah, located about 282 kilometers (175 miles) north of the capital, Baghdad.

The executions came over the allegation that the victims had helped local residents flee to other areas in the province or the neighboring Salahuddin Province.

The source added that Daesh is currently in a state of despair and dismay in the wake of heavy blows that the Iraqi army and volunteer forces have been inflicting on it.
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Biohazard

Libya reportedly has all remaining chemical weapons removed by British and Danish Navy


RT
Wed, 31 Aug 2016 19:21 UTC
british ship mounts bay
© Michael Q. Retana, U.S. Marine Corps / WikipediaRFA Mounts Bay
British sailors, alongside the Danish Navy, have helped to escort the last chemicals that could have been used to make toxic weapons out of Libya, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) reports.

Libya was largely disarmed of chemical weapons in 2014 but the last remnants have now been taken out of the war-wracked North African state after a request by the country's UN-brokered unity government to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

"RFA Mounts Bay will help ensure chemical weapons precursors do not fall into the hands of extremist groups, including Daesh [Arabic pejorative term for IS]. This contribution underlines our support to the Libyan Government of National Accord," Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said in a statement.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson also applauded the effort.

"The UK, in close cooperation with our international partners, is taking practical and effective action to eliminate chemical weapon risks in Libya," he said.
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Eye 2

Corruption justification: "Outrage over Clinton's pay-to-play is attempting to criminalize normal behavior" according to new DNC Chair

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Mon, 29 Aug 2016 18:57 UTC
DNC chair Donna Brazile
© ABC NewsDNC Chair Donna Brazile
Yesterday, Donna Brazile, the new DNC Chair, appeared on ABC's "This Week" and declared that pay for play like "someone who is a donor...saying I want access" is just an attempt to "criminalize behavior that is normal." Specifically, when asked about pay for play allegations against the Clinton Foundation, Brazile responded as follows:
"First of all, Martha, the way I look at it, I've been a government official. So, you know, this notion that, somehow or another, someone who is a supporter, someone who is a donor, somebody who's an activist, saying I want access, I want to come into a room and I want to meet people, we often criminalize behavior that is normal. And I don't see what the smoke is."
Brazile also took the opportunity to ramp up the rhetoric against Julian Assange saying that the DNC was a "victim of a cyber crime led by thugs" seeking to "destabilize our democracy."
"There was Russian involvement in this to destabilize not just our institution, the Democratic Party, but our democracy itself."

Comment: The character of an organization and the quality of its associates is determined by those heading the organization. It's clear that the corruption surrounding the Clintons has damaged or destroyed whatever moral fiber the Dems may have once had.

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Gold Coins

Cameron cronyism: Former PM gave 24% pay raises to political buddies while public sector workers only saw 1% increase in wages


RT
Wed, 31 Aug 2016 19:00 UTC
david cameron
Former prime minister David Cameron offered inexplicable pay rises to his special advisers mere months before they were given post-Brexit 'golden handshakes.' According to figures from Civil Service World, Cameron lifted seven of his staff's incomes by as much as £18,000 (US$23,600) - a 24 percent rise.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said the ex-PM should be "ashamed" of hiking the pay of his workers, also known as 'Spads,' when public sector pay increases have been capped at 1 percent.

"Cameron talked a lot about cutting the cost of politics over the last few years. This shows how utter empty this rhetoric was," Farron told the press. "This is triple whammy - honors to cronies and a whacking great pay rise and then a bumped up severance package. Compare this massive rise in a select few's pay to a 1 percent pay rise given to nurses, teachers and public sector workers and the 2 percent average pay award across the private sector in 2015." "This is frankly utterly shameless and the former PM should be ashamed."

The newly exposed taxpayer bill comes barely a month since it emerged Cameron had willingly ignored a senior civil servant's advice and waved his special advisers goodbye with a £282,000 severance package after his resignation.
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War Whore

Is Clinton's support of "Kiev hardliners" a push towards large scale escalation of combat operations in Ukraine?

J. Hawk, Daniel Deiss, and Edwin Watson
South Front
Fri, 26 Aug 2016 18:22 UTC
Recent weeks have seen a series of incidents, mainly on the Donbass, suggesting a large-scale escalation of combat operations cannot entirely be ruled out. Ukrainian forces have stepped up bombardments of frontline LPR/DPR positions and of Novorossia cities and towns. There have been a number of efforts by regular UAF forces and by "volunteer battalions" to seize key terrain features and occupy abandoned villages located in the "no-man's land" separating the warring parties.

The head of LPR Igor Plotnitskiy barely survived an assassination attempt. Most recently, the FSB has thwarted a terror plot in the Republic of Crimea hatched by infiltrators from Ukraine proper at the cost of the deaths of two Russian servicemembers and the wounding of several others. One of the detainees is a so-called "ATO veteran", and is reputed to be working for Ukraine's military intelligence. These events suggest that there indeed are parties interested in a military escalation. Who are they?
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Attention

Turkish tanks cross Syrian border in military op to retake city of Jarablus from ISIS with US air support - UPDATES


RT
Wed, 24 Aug 2016 12:29 UTC
Turkish army tanks
© Stringer / ReutersTurkish army tanks and Turkish-backed Syrian fighters make their way in the Syrian border town of Jarablus as it is pictured from the Turkish town of Karkamis, in the southeastern Gaziantep province, Turkey, August 24, 2016.
Turkey has launched a ground incursion into Syria targeting Islamic State and Kurdish fighters near the town of Jarablus. Ankara says it wants to take the town to stop cross-border attacks, while the Kurds warn that Turkish troops will get into a quagmire.

"At 4:00 this morning, operations started in the north of Syria against terror groups which constantly threaten our country, like Daesh [Arabic name for Islamic State] and the PYD [the Democratic Union Party of Syria]," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara.

The Turkish operation is focused on the Kurdish border town of Jarablus, which has been held by the Islamic State terrorist group since July of 2013.

Comment: So while Joe Biden is visiting Ankara, Turkey invades Syria without permission and is supported by US coalition fighter jets. This is getting ugly. What will Syria and Russia do in response? (See full article for previous updates.)

Update 8 - August 31

Iran's Foreign Ministry has finally made a public statement on Turkey's incursion into Syria:
"Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi on Tuesday evening expressed concern over the continuation of the Turkish military operation in Syria," the ministry's statement reads. They continued Turkish presence on Syrian soil will lead to further complication of the situation in the region, the statement cited Qassemi as saying. "The official said that adopting approaches that defy the political authority of a country's central government is not acceptable," the statement continued.
Lavrov reiterated the standard themes as well, in a conversation with Cavusoglu:
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu briefed Lavrov in a phone call on the progress of the Euphrates Shield operation to clear Syrian town of Jarabulus of the Islamic State jihadist group, outlawed in Russia. "The sides exchanged opinions on the situation in Syria. Lavrov expressed Moscow's concern over the actions by the Turkish army and Ankara-backed opposition units in northern Syria and their potential impact on peace efforts in the Syrian conflict," the ministry said in a statement. According to the statement, the ministers also agreed that the sides will continue expert consultations on coordination of actions in line with UNSC resolutions on Syria.
Meanwhile, Turkey pushed 8 more tanks into the fray, while airstrikes continue. According to Turkish Minister for EU Affairs Omer Celik, the majority of Syrian Kurdish militias have moved east of the Euphrates:
"Today's reports say that the majority of the Syrian Kurdish self-defense forces have left the west bank of the Euphrates River, however, their withdrawal is incomplete, and that is unacceptable," Celik was quoted as saying by the NTV broadcaster
Celik also denied U.S. reports, citing "U.S. diplomatic sources" that Turkey agreed to a ceasefire with the Kurds: "Turkey is a sovereign country. Therefore, there can be no talk of Turkey reaching any sort of deal with a terrorist group, considering it an equal. Syrian defense forces are not pursuing the interests of ethnic Kurds, but rather their own," Celik told Anadolu.

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Eye 2

Conflict in Syria has 'begun to resemble global war'


Sputnik
Wed, 31 Aug 2016 18:50 UTC
Syrian war damage
As the situation in Syria is steadily deteriorating, any kind of breakthrough in the Russo-American negotiations is needed to pave the way for halting the ongoing bloodbath in the region, Swedish journalist Gunilla von Hall writes, adding that events on the ground have begun to resemble a global war.

The situation on the ground in Syria has begun to resemble a global war, Gunilla von Hall, the foreign correspondent for Swedish daily newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet, reports.

According to Hall, the Geneva peace talks have become the focus of worldwide attention.

"It is here in Geneva that some sort of breakthrough could occur to stop the fighting in Syria, where the situation is seemingly spinning out of control. Since July, the situation has deteriorated and complicated dramatically," she writes.

Comment: The US still presumes that it can dictate to Russia how to handle its operations in Syria. As the US envoy to the Syrian Opposition Michael Ratney has stated,
"The United States and Russia have not reached an agreement, but we are working on understandings that, if they are achieved, can restore the cessation of hostilities, reduce the violence and save lives. These steps are not based on trust, they are specific, and we have set a high ceiling for Russia, the regime and its allies.

"The situation around Aleppo city is unacceptable to us," Ratney's statement said. "The United States deplores the regime's attempt to besiege Aleppo city and demands that full access to the city be maintained."
In other words the US wants Russia to give its terrorists free reign in and out of Aleppo, and demands a 'cessation of hostilities' in order to rearm them. Given their ludicrous demands it's a testament to Russian will that Lavrov can still negotiate with them.

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