Puppet MastersS


Sherlock

SOTT Focus: The Ridiculous Farce Of The US Intelligence Report On Russia Hacking The US Election

Beau Christensen
Sott.net
Sun, 08 Jan 2017 13:26 UTC
russia hackers
Elite Russian hackers hell-bent on influencing the US presidential election
Two days ago, the US government released its report on "Russian interference in the US presidential election", claiming that Russia allegedly used hackers to release data that made Hillary Clinton look bad in order to allow Donald Trump to ascend to the presidency, a choice that Putin favored because, according to the Obama/Clinton coterie, Trump is a mind-controlled stooge of the Kremlin at worst, or a (shudder) "friend of Putin" at best.

The report itself is a complete farce as an example of an "intelligence" report. It runs around in circles and makes laughable claims about Russia's goals in the alleged "interfering". The report supposedly "assesses specific findings" rather than presenting any actual evidence, because apparently there is no actual evidence. The claims that the evidence can't be presented because it would compromise national security are transparently laughable. Appropriately then, the report begins by giving a sorry excuse for why it offers absolutely no evidence for its claims:
"The Intelligence Community rarely can publicly reveal the full extent of its knowledge or the precise bases for its assessments, as the release of such information would reveal sensitive sources or methods and imperil the ability to collect critical foreign intelligence in the future."
How convenient, "national security": the last refuge of liars and scoundrels. Next we're regaled with something called 'key judgments'. These are apparently plucked out of thin air as zero evidence is offered to substantiate them.
"We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russia's goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump. We have high confidence in these judgments."
The first thing that stands out here is that the report assumes that the American public had faith in the US democratic process before the election, or that the USA actually has a real 'democratic process'. Clearly the US government is completely out of touch with the thoughts and feelings of the average US citizen with regards to the country's political process and the presidential election. A poll conducted back in May 2016 found 55% of Americans felt helpless about the 2016 presidential election. Only 13% said the two-party system works, while 38% considered it seriously broken. Another poll conducted in early October found that 40% of the public had lost faith in American democracy.
Read More...
Jet4

Collective punishment: US jets destroy last remaining power plant in Deir Ezzor


Deirezzor24
Sun, 08 Jan 2017 12:10 UTC
US fighter jet
US jets: committing crimes against humanity since 1945
The power plant in the Omar oil field, which is the main plant in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, was recently targeted by the International Coalition. The airstrikes also targeted the gas turbines which are necessary for the water plant to function. This has led to a power outage in the entire countryside of Deir Ezzor, as the bombed plant is considered the main power supplier of the province.

The Omar oil field is the biggest field in the province of Deir Ezzor, consisting of both oil and gas. The gas is transported to the Koniko gas factory where it is treated and sent back to the Omar field, where gas turbines transform gas into power which supplies the countryside.

Because most of the power plants has earlier either been destroyed or badly damaged, the plant located in the Omar field was the only remaining plant supplying the entire countryside with electricity. It is linked with the 7Km Power Plant, the Mayadin Plant, the Duwar Plant, the Kranij Plant, the Sur Plant and the Bukamal Plant, meaning that it is now the only source of electricity for the province.

The reason behind the targeting of that plant is apparently to cut off electricity in the entire province of Deir Ezzor, which will worsen the civilian situation to an alarming level.

Comment: What a vindictive thing to do. Don't be surprised though; bombing civilian infrastructure in Syria has been consistent US policy there since 2012.

Read More...
Candle

Turkey blames sabotage, cyberattacks from United States for power cuts


RT
Sun, 08 Jan 2017 08:07 UTC
Power cut means reading by candle
© Ilyas Akengin / AFP FILE PHOTO: A student works in a dark room in Diyarbakir, while a massive power cut.

Sabotage of underground powerlines and cyberattacks originating in the US were contributing factors in the power outages which Istanbul and other parts of Turkey have been experiencing since last week, the country's energy minister said.

"Yesterday, we faced an intense, US-originated cyber attack. These attacks have been carried out systematically on different parts of the Energy Ministry, but we have repelled them all," Turkish Energy Minister Berat Albayrak said in an interview with A Haber TV.

He added that ministry staff responding to power cuts discovered sabotage of underground lines in three districts of Istanbul.

Turkey's largest city faced rolling power outages since last week, when the country was hit by unusually cold weather and snowstorms. The energy ministry initially reported that the cuts were due to damage to the power grid caused by the snow.

Last Saturday, a source in the ministry told state news agency Anadolu that hacking was part of the problem as well.

"Many infiltration attempts to the systems controlling our transmission and electricity producing lines were determined and prevented. The infiltration attempts are indicators of a major sabotage preparation against Turkey's national electricity network," the anonymous senior official was reported as saying.
Read More...
Black Cat

Underwhelming intel report shows need for congressional investigation of DNC hack

Sam Biddle
The Intercept
Sat, 07 Jan 2017 23:10 UTC
DNC headquarters
After President Obama and Donald Trump were briefed on a classified report explaining the United States Intelligence Community's belief that Russia hacked the Democratic Party, the public has received its own, declassified version. Unfortunately for us, it appears virtually anything new and interesting was removed in the redaction process, leaving us without the conclusive, technical evidence we were hoping for — and that the American people are owed. Failing a last minute change of heart, the next best (and perhaps last) hope for the government to show us its work would be a formal, bipartisan probe.

Comment: Keep in mind that the Warren Commission (which investigated John F. Kennedy's murder) and the 911 Commission produced what amounts to reports that were created to fit "the desired storyline." In other words, not entirely truthful and missing loads of relevant facts that run counter to the official stories.

Read More...
Magnify

2016: A year of Russian bear-baiting

Neil Clark
RT
Sat, 07 Jan 2017 21:23 UTC
Russia bear baiting
© Sputnik / ReutersFrom left to right: Military engineers of the Russian Army's international counter-mine center are seen in an Aleppo street with children, Hillary Clinton, U.S. President Barack Obama, The Syrian diaspora hold banners in front of the Russian Embassy in London (file photo).
Lock up your daughters! Batten down the hatches! The Russians are coming! 'New Hitler' Vladimir Putin has invaded Ukraine, is threatening the Baltics, and is behind Brexit and the victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential election!

When he's not bombing hospitals for fun, propping up the 'evil Assad,' hacking into Democratic Party emails, or ordering the doping of Russian athletes, the sinister Russian President is orchestrating hooligan attacks on England football fans at the European Football Championships!

Does the blighter ever take a break from acts of villainy?

Well, that was the news in brief for 2016, as brought to you by 'liberal' and neocon media outlets in the West. Now let's take a closer, month by month look at how the anti-Russia, anti-Putin hysteria built up.
Read More...
Black Cat

In State Houses won by Republicans, the first move is to consolidate power by weakening unions

Lee Fang
The Intercept
Sat, 07 Jan 2017 23:00 UTC
labor unions
Republicans stormed to power in state elections across the country in November on a promise to take on the establishment and return government to the average citizen.

But in state capitals where they gained control, they moved quickly to do something else entirely: They've consolidated their newfound power — and rewarded their corporate donors — by delivering death blows to a longtime enemy: organized labor.
Read More...
Star of David

Netanyahu openly boasts of Israel's war on Africans

David Sheen
The Electronic Intifada
Tue, 03 Jan 2017 20:49 UTC
Benjamin Netanyahu
© Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
Donald Trump's election as US president has given closeted racists the license they have long sought to openly advocate against Muslims, refugees and people of color.

As progressive Americans strategize on how to defend victims of bigotry, they would be wise to take stock of how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is already carrying out ethnic cleansing similar to that which Trump has promised to implement.

Two incidents bookending the year capture the zeitgeist of Israel's war on African refugees in 2016. In January, an African refugee family, whose 1-year-old baby, Kako, had been stabbed in the head, departed Israel after the Netanyahu government refused to help them defer the child's medical bills.
Read More...
Eye 2

FBI caught letting pedophiles go free rather than revealing their investigative techniques

Jack Burns
The Free Thought Project
Sat, 07 Jan 2017 00:00 UTC
FBI distributes child porn


The Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Department of Justice would rather let hardened pedophiles go free than to turn over information related to their methods of gathering evidence against such suspects. In some cases, the FBI has reportedly run porn sites in order to gather information on child porn seekers. And in other instances, the FBI has infected suspects' computers with malware, all in an effort to gather the evidence necessary for a conviction.

Labeled "The Playpen," the FBI's kiddie porn sting operation on Friday saw the latest suspect to walk free. His name is Jay Michaud. His lawyer successfully argued in court that the FBI must turn over to his team of lawyers information regarding the Network Investigative Technique (NIT) it used to gather evidence on Mr. Michaud. The FBI said it would not turn over any information regarding NIT to the defense team, and the judge in the case, Judge Bryan then ruled all evidence gathered from NIT must be therefore suppressed.

As a result of the FBI's refusal to turn over any information about the NIT used to gather information on Michaud, the FBI then chose to let Mr. Michaud go free. According to Techdirt, this is a common practice for the FBI when forced to choose between handing over technical data or letting a suspect walk free.

Comment: Doesn't that make the whole operation pointless if they if they aren't willing to provide the evidence that will put these predators behind bars? As a result of their running of a child porn site for two weeks (as part of their investigative techniques) "the number of visitors to Playpen while it was under Government control [increased] from an average of 11,000 weekly visitors to approximately 50,000 per week. During those two weeks, the website's membership grew by over 30 percent, the number of unique weekly visitors to the site more than quadrupled, and approximately 200 videos, 9,000 images, and 13,000 links to child pornography were posted on the site,"

One wonders if the FBI has other agendas, such as furthering and even improving the distribution of child pornography.

Read More...
Info

Terrorists surrendering near Damascus, water may be restored soon

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Sat, 07 Jan 2017 20:51 UTC
Wadi Barada
© @A7_MirzaSituation at Wadi Barada pocket on January 6th
Russian brokered negotiations lead to agreement between various local Jihadi groups to surrender valley to Syrian army. However fighting with Al-Qaeda led forces in the area continues.

Reports from Syria suggest that the battle for Wadi Barada, and the water crisis in Damascus it is causing, may be coming to an end.

It seems that following Syrian army advances, and after negotiations brokered by a team of Russian officers, several Jihadi groups in Wadi Barada have agreed to lay down their arms.

The agreement appears to follow the usual lines well known from the battle of Aleppo, with local Jihadis being allowed to leave for Idlib, or to stay and surrender to the Syrian army.

The battle of Wadi Barada is not however fully over, with Al-Qaeda - which is responsible for the water crisis, and which is not covered by the Russian-Turkish ceasefire - refusing to surrender, and supposedly appointing a new commander. There are even some reports that some local Jihadi groups, under pressure from Al-Qaeda to continue the battle, are actually asking for help from the Syrian army.

In a sign of how seriously the Syrian government is treating the situation, there are reports that the Syrian troops in the area are being commanded by General Maher Al-Assad, who is President Assad's brother.

Comment: Canthama writes for Syrian Perspective:
The battle for Waadi Baradaa has been going on for 2 weeks since the day the terrorists started to blackmail 5 million people in the Damascus area. The initial approach by the SAA was to get closer to the main villages. There are some 11 villages which have been under terrorist occupation for over 4 years. When the SAA managed to control the southern hills overlooking some of the villages the SAA used pinpoint artillery and GRAD missiles hitting terrorists' headquarters and main gathering points. Little by little, the terrorists had to tolerate unsustainable losses in both killed and wounded. Surrounded on a larger hilly area without resupply and short on ammo, the terrorists started to blackmail the local civilians, forcing an estimated 2,000+ civilians to flee the area toward safer villages under Syrian government control.

Reinforcements arrived for the SAA and the final plan to liberate all Waadi Baradaa was finalized. In the last two days of battle, the SAA and its allies managed to break through from the northeast capturing vital hills such as Dhahrat Al-Nayla overlooking 6 key villages on the western end of the valley. In fact the SAA encircled and, thus, was able to control both the south and north high grounds resulting in checkmate.

In a matter of a few hours the terrorists called for reconciliation. The details are emerging but it is known that some terrorists will take the green buses to Idlib and several will apply for amnesty. At the moment, the SAA is already controlling the main water spring at 'Ayn Al-Feeja and water department technicians are on the scene in an attempt to restore the water supply to Damascus as rapidly as possible.

Wadi Barada was the last bastion of terrorists in the larger West Ghoutaa area. The implication of that is very important for what is coming which is the liberation of East Ghoutaa and the complete safety of millions of Syrians in Damascus Province. When all the Damascus area is free of terrorists, the number of battle-tested soldiers who would be freed to fight in other fronts is very substantial; very likely in the tens of thousands.
See also:

Read More...
Megaphone

French MP: Syria would easily be controlled by terrorists if not for Russian intervention


RT
Sat, 07 Jan 2017 21:41 UTC
french mps aleppo
© George Ourfalian / AFPFrench Les Republicains (LR - The Republicans) party MPs Thierry Mariani (C-L) and Nicolas Dhuicq (C-R) visit the ancient Umayyad mosque in the old city of Aleppo on January 6, 2017
Syria could easily have been controlled by terrorists if not for Russia's military intervention, French MP Thierry Mariani has said during a tour of Aleppo.

Mariani said what they saw contradicts what is being peddled by Western media, and pledged to convey the real picture to the French people and authorities, SANA and TASS news agencies reported.

Mariani was in the area as part of a French parliamentarian visit.

"If the Russian army wasn't here for a few months, Syria would have had a chance of falling into the hands of terrorists," Mariani said. "Fortunately, Russians came here, and this changed the [direction] of the war," he added.

"The war hasn't finished, but I think it's important that the Russians stay here until the end of the war," the French MP concluded, calling the liberation of Aleppo a game changer in the fight with terrorism in the world.
Read More...