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The larger context of the jihadi attack on Aleppo

b
Moon of Alabama
Mon, 01 Aug 2016 17:36 UTC
Nusra Front
© File photo. Hosam Katan / ReutersMembers of al Qaeda's Nusra Front carry their weapons as they walk near al-Zahra village, north of Aleppo city.
Al-Qaeda in Syria and associated forces are currently driving a large-scale attack from the south-west into Aleppo city. Their aim is to create a new corridor between the Idleb/Aleppo rural areas they occupy and the besieged al-Qaeda-controlled areas in east-Aleppo. Between 5,000 and 10,000 al-Qaeda fighters, using U.S.-supplied equipment, are taking part in the battle. Formally some of the fighters are "moderates" but in reality all these groups are by now committed to implement Sharia law and to thereby suppress all minorities. They made some initial progress against government forces but are under fierce attack from the Syrian and Russian air forces.

The Russian General Staff has warned since April that al-Qaeda in Syria (aka Jabhat al-Nusra aka Fateh al Sham) and the various attached Jihadi groups were planing a large-scale attack on Aleppo. An al-Qaeda commander confirmed such long-term planning in a pep-talk to his fighters before the current attack.

This shines a new light on the protracted talks Secretary of State Kerry has had for month with his Russian colleague. The U.S. tried to exempt al-Qaeda from Russian and Syrian attacks even as UN Security Council Resolutions demanded that al-Qaeda and ISIS areas be eradicated. Then the U.S. tried to make an "offer" to Russia to collectively fight al-Qaeda should Russia put its own and Syrian forces under U.S. control. We called this offer deceptive nonsense. All this, it now seems, was delaying talk to allow al-Qaeda to prepare for the now-launched attack.

Comment: It's really telling that al-Qaeda, a terrorist group, is trying to lift the siege on Aleppo, which is held by other al-Qaeda-affiliated groups. But even that isn't enough to break through the propaganda put out by the West. Just take a look at these tweets.


Even CNN is whoring itself out to al-Qaeda propagandists:




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Bullseye

Chechnya's Kadyrov dismisses Daesh threats against Russia, suggests West involved


RT
Tue, 02 Aug 2016 17:20 UTC
kadyrov
© RIA Novosti/Said TsarnaevHead of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Kadyrov has said members of the Islamic State terrorist group are not capable of carrying out their threat of a jihad on Russia made in a recent video, adding he suspected that Western special services had a role in making the footage.

The acting head of the Chechen Republic also chided journalists for reporting on the nine-minute video circulated on the internet. "I see with great surprise that the mass media in our country are circulating the news about some statement made by the 'Iblis State' [Islamic State/IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL], practically helping the threats of just one bandit to reach millions of people," Kadyrov wrote on Instagram.

His reference to IS as 'Iblis State' follows a move suggested some time ago by Muslim scholars who claimed that terrorism had little to do with real Islam, but was the work of the devil Iblis.

"This scum [making the video] has received his goal. He wanted to be heard and this wish was granted to him in the shortest time possible," the Chechen leader added.

Comment: Kadyrov may be colorful, but he also happens to be right.

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Snakes in Suits

Warren Buffett joins the billionaires-for-Hillary club, challenges Trump on tax returns

Daniel Halper
New York Post
Tue, 02 Aug 2016 17:11 UTC
Buffett and Clinton
© Left: Getty Images; right: AP
Hillary Clinton will get a helping hand at a fundraiser in Omaha, Nebraska, Monday from deep-pocketed investor Warren Buffett — the third billionaire in less than a week to jump to the Democratic presidential nominee's aid.

The two will hold a public rally together at Omaha North High Magnet School, where Clinton "will discuss her commitment to building an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top," according to the Clinton campaign.

Nebraska, a deeply Republican state, splits its electoral votes proportionally — and the Clinton campaign said it believes it can pick up the congressional district in which Buffett lives.
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Bad Guys

India considering legal case to force UK to return Koh-i-Noor diamond


RT
Tue, 02 Aug 2016 16:59 UTC
diamond
© Jayanta Shaw / Reuters
Indian legislators say they are exploring alternative channels to force the UK to return the priceless Koh-i-Noor diamond after the British government said it would not hand over the Crown Jewel to its country of origin.

During a recent three-day visit to India, the UK's Asia and Pacific minister, Alok Sharma, said there is no legal case for the gem's return.


Comment: Clearly the original 'exceptional' nation, the UK, feels like they deserve everything they've gotten through colonial pillaging. For the UK elites, there is no legal basis because in their minds, they created the legal system to protect them!


That view is not shared by some in the Indian government. On Sunday an anonymous senior source told the Times of India: "The government is considering both diplomatic as well as legal channels to get back the diamond.

"If India is able to get back the diamond through diplomatic efforts, then it would not go for the legal channel. But if that does not fructify, then the government will explore legal option," the source said.

India and a number of civil society groups have long fought for the diamond's return. Even neighboring Pakistan has staked its claim.
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Dollar

Brazilian oligarch whines: "It's hard being a mega rich oligarch when people like Sanders are popular"

Blake Schmidt, Fabiola Moura
Bloomberg
Mon, 01 Aug 2016 16:52 UTC
lemann
It's tough being filthy rich...
The popularity of Bernie Sanders in the U.S. is a sign that it has become "uncomfortable" to be a market leader and dialing back scale can have its benefits, Brazil's richest man, Jorge Paulo Lemann, said in a rare public appearance Monday.

Lemann is the co-founder of 3G Capital Inc, a New York-based private equity firm known for mega-deals followed by ruthless cost-cutting. He's a shareholder in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA, which is in negotiations with SABMiller Plc to create the world's biggest beer company with about half of global profits. He also teamed up with Warren Buffett to create Kraft Heinz Foods Co, the world's fifth-largest food and beverage company.

"Being the biggest isn't very popular in the world; no one likes it, even in the U.S.," he said in Sao Paulo at the 25th anniversary of the scholarship fund he co-founded, Fundacao Estudar. "When I see a candidate like Bernie Sanders having the popularity that he has and the resonance he has -- he's against all that is big, against all that is good."

Comment: Forgive us for not crying about your desperate plight, Mr. Lemann.

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Arrow Down

Price of crude oil drops below $40 a barrel for first time since April


RT
Tue, 02 Aug 2016 16:46 UTC
crude oil
© Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters
Price for US crude fell below the psychologically important level of $40 a barrel in early trading on Tuesday. Analysts warn oversupply could lead to a further $5 drop in the oil price.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dipped to $39.86 - its lowest level since April 20 - before settling at $40.75 a barrel as of 14:00 GMT. The North Sea benchmark Brent crude rose 89 cents to $43.03 per barrel.

"The world is so oversupplied and the pace of rebalance is so slow that even geopolitical factors such as the ongoing civil strife in Nigeria are not enough to offset the fall in prices," said Gao Jian, an energy analyst at SCI International as cited by the Wall Street Journal.

Crude prices rallied earlier in the summer on the back of wildfires in Canada and oil worker strikes in Kuwait. However in recent weeks, they have come under renewed pressure due to increased US oil drilling activities, Libya's expected return to the export market, and the possible output increase by OPEC members Iraq and Iran.

Comment: One has to wonder if the crude oil price is intentionally being kept low by Western agents in order to negatively impact the Russian economy. It's quite likely. Unfortunately, other countries are experiencing collateral damage in the West's Cold War against Russia, as Kuwait plans to increase the cost of gasoline by 80 cents starting September 1, along with increasing the cost of electricity and water at the same time. Market manipulation is also impacting the stock market, as Goldman Sachs told its customers to avoid stocks for the next three months. Is there something on the horizon in the coming months to leave financial prognosticators so cynical about the market? One can't help but be concerned after reading the tea leaves.

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Airplane

Useless NATO war games in progress over Baltic Sea


RT
Mon, 01 Aug 2016 16:45 UTC
b-52 bomber
© Staff Sgt. Kate ThorntonA KC-135 Stratotanker from RAF Mildenhall, England, refuels a B-52 Stratofortress from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, in support of Operation Polar Roar over Scotland, Aug. 1, 2016
Three B-52 strategic bombers and two B-2 stealth bombers flew together from the US to the North and Baltic Seas, before being "intercepted" by other NATO aircraft in an ambitious aerial exercise.

"Exercises like POLAR ROAR enhance cooperation and reinforce NATO's credible and visible posture in preserving a safe and secure environment," said General Kevin Huyck, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations at the NATO Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) in a statement.

The bombers lifted off from different bases in Missouri, North Dakota and Louisiana, before meeting up over the Atlantic, and undertaking an uninterrupted flight over Europe, where they refueled mid-air, a key component of the exercise.

Once there, they were treated like intruders by local NATO jets, as part of the alliance's air policing training.


Comment: What nonsense. There is no one from whom to protect the Baltic states. Hyped threats of Russian aggression are wholly illusory. A real threat Europe faces is state-sponsored terrorism. Last time we checked, though, proxy terror groups don't have an air force. The real purpose of these exercises is to keep NATO relevant (when it's not), keep Europeans afraid (when they shouldn't be), threaten Russia (which is stupid), and justify bigger military budgets (which are only designed to make war whores rich).

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Stock Down

Trade Minister Bulent Tufenkci - Coup attempt 'cost Turkish economy $100bn'


RT
Tue, 02 Aug 2016 16:38 UTC
Turkey coup
© Baz Ratner / ReuterPeople walk past Turkish police officers sitting on a Leopard 2 tank in Istanbul, Turkey, July 16, 2016.
The failed bid to overthrow the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cost Turkey $100 billion (300 billion lira), according to Customs and Trade Minister Bulent Tufenkci.

"When we consider all those warplanes, helicopters, weapons, bombs and buildings, the cost is 300 billion liras minimum according to our calculations," the minister told Turkish media in Ankara. He stressed the figure is likely to rise after more detailed calculations are made.

Tufenkci said the full picture should be seen in a medium-term context even if some investors stayed away in the short-term, adding that the rebels had made Turkey look like a third world country.

"They are not coming after the images revealed tanks were deployed on the streets, parliament was bombed," Tufenkci said, pointing out that some foreign orders had been cancelled in the wake of the coup.
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Megaphone

Russian expert Stephen Cohen: Trump wants to stop Cold War with Russia, but media just parrots Killary narrative

Tim Hains
Real Clear Politics
Sat, 30 Jul 2016 16:38 UTC
trump putin
Stephen F. Cohen, professor emeritus of Russian studies at NYU and Princeton, spoke with CNN's 'Smerconish' Saturday morning about Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and the 'New Cold War.'

Cohen says the media at large is doing a huge disservice to the American people by ignoring the substance of Trump's arguments about NATO and Russia, and buying the Clinton campaign's simplistic smear that Trump is a Russian "Manchurian candidate."

"That reckless branding of Trump as a Russian agent, most of it is coming from the Clinton campaign," Cohen said. "And they really need to stop."

"We're approaching a Cuban Missile Crisis level nuclear confrontation with Russia," he explained. "And there is absolutely no discussion, no debate, about this in the American media."

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Light Sabers

Trump warns presidential election will be "rigged", calls Killary "the devil"


RT
Tue, 02 Aug 2016 16:33 UTC
trump
© Eric Thayer / Reuters
Donald Trump says November's US presidential election "is going to be rigged," making the claim twice on Monday. The property tycoon also called his rival Hillary Clinton "the Devil," adding that the system was also rigged against Bernie Sanders.

The Republican presidential candidate first spoke at a town hall event in Columbus, Ohio, where he said that election on November 8 might be "rigged."

"I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest," the Republican nominee told the crowd, as cited by AP. He added that he has been hearing "more and more" that the election may not be contested fairly, though he did not give any further details.
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