Puppet MastersS


Jet3

Russian Su-33 skids off Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier


RT
Mon, 05 Dec 2016 17:47 UTC
Su-33 fighter on the deck of Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier
© Ministry of defence of the Russian Federation / SputnikSu-33 fighter on the deck of Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier
A fighter jet based on the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov skid off the deck during landing and became lost at sea after an arrestor gear line snapped and failed to stop the aircraft, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

The pilot ejected from the plane and was rescued unharmed, the statement said.

"Naval aviation sorties are continuing in accordance with their tasks," the ministry added.

The Su-33 is the second aircraft that has been lost from the Kuznetsov fleet during its ongoing mission in the Mediterranean. Earlier, a Mig-29 fighter jet was not able to land and ran out of fuel because the deck crew of the carrier failed to fix a broken arrestor gear.

Comment: See also: Russian Mig-29 crashes into the Mediterranean; pilot unhurt

Update: The Kremlin considers it important that the pilot survived the crash during landing on the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov in the Mediterranean Sea, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
"This is very tense, hard and heroic work," the Kremlin spokesman said in reply to a journalists' request to comment on the crash of a Russian fighter jet in the Mediterranean Sea.

According to the spokesman, this is precisely how this should be assessed.

"The talk, in the first place, is about the fact that the pilot has remained alive," Peskov said.

Russia's Sukhoi-33 fighter jet crashed in the Mediterranean while landing on The Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, with the pilot ejecting to safety, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement obtained by TASS.

"After performing a combat mission over Syria a Sukhoi-33 fighter-jet overran the runway while trying to land on The Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier. The arresting cable's rupture was the reason," the report says.


Read More...
Arrow Down

Euro plunges to 20-mth low as Italians reject PM Renzi's policy


RT
Mon, 05 Dec 2016 18:22 UTC
Supporters of the
© Tony Gentile / ReutersSupporters of the "No" faction for a referendum on constitutional reform hold a banner that reads: "Did you want to change the constitution? See you"
The European common currency plunged on Monday, as Italy voted against constitutional reforms proposed by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who is resigning.

The 'No' vote won by 60 percent, and the outcome is seen as a rejection of Renzi and his leadership. Ahead of the referendum, Renzi promised that he would step down if his proposed constitutional reforms were not approved.

The euro slid to $1.051 against the US dollar during early morning trading before rebounding to $1.0647.

Market reaction in Italy has been muted with the FTSE Italia All-Share Index up 0.53 percent after plunging in early trading.

The most immediate concern is Italy's banking sector with the country's major lenders drowning in bad debt.

Comment: See also: Italy's PM Renzi cedes defeat and plans to resign after decisive 'No' vote in constitutional referendum

Read More...
Pistol

Merchant of doubt: Did the DEA nail an international weapons dealer, or hang a CIA asset out to dry?

Trevor Aaronson and Murtaza Hussain
The Intercept
Mon, 05 Dec 2016 17:06 UTC
DEA agent
In the late evening of December 15, 2014, agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration descended on a hotel in Podgorica, Montenegro, to take into custody a man arrested by local authorities for arms trafficking.

Flaviu Georgescu, an American citizen from Romania, had been in the DEA's sights for years. A tall, heavyset man in his mid-40s with close-cropped hair, Flaviu worked as a private security contractor in Bucharest.

Over the past several months, Flaviu had been meeting with a Colombian man who claimed to be a member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. This man had sought Flaviu's help setting up a multimillion-dollar arms deal to help rearm FARC in Colombia. Arrested with Flaviu in the hotel that night was another man, Cristian Vintila, then a high-ranking government minister in Romania and another participant in the alleged arms deal. It seemed like a high-profile nab for the DEA.

Robert J. Scott was among the DEA agents who came to the hotel room that night in Montenegro. Flaviu immediately motioned with his head that he wanted to talk to the DEA agent.

"I'm with the CIA," he told Scott.

He was working undercover to provide more information, he told Scott that night. Scott wasn't interested. He'd heard excuses before. A 17-year veteran of the DEA, he knew handcuffed criminals would say just about anything to escape punishment.
Read More...
Attention

Libyan army seizes control of the country and declares state of emergency


Sputnik
Mon, 05 Dec 2016 17:04 UTC
Libya conflict
© Sputnik/ Andrey Stenin
In an apparent attempt to restore stability in the beleaguered country, Libyan armed forces have declared a state of emergency, temporarily putting all democratic processes on hold.

Ali Katrani, head of the Presidential Council at the Government of National Accord, told Sputnik that the state of emergency imposed by the military heralds the beginning of a transition period that will allow Libya to restore its territorial integrity.

The military, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, will take charge of the country during this time; once the country is united once again, the government will then focus its attention on reaching a political consensus within the nation.

Comment: This is the same Haftar that took over Libya's three main ports: Forces of Council of Deputies commander take all three key Libyan oil ports

Read More...
Jet4

Ramstein US air base and central relay for drone warfare "is in violation of federal and international law and must be closed"

Andrej Hunko, MP, interviewed by Armin Siebert, translated by Tom Winter
Fort Russ
Sun, 04 Dec 2016 00:00 UTC
Ramstein US base
Ramstein is illegal under international law and has to be closed - Hunko

The Federal Government has acknowledged that the US military base Ramstein is involved in American drone warfare. Ramstein is key in the monitoring and evaluation of drone strikes. This was put into motion by a request from Andrej Hunko from the Linkspartei. Sputnik has been following up on this.


Comment: Berlin finally admits US using Ramstein for 'extra-legal' drone killings


Mr Hunko, the Federal Government has admitted for the first time that Ramstein has been monitoring and evaluating American drone strikes. Why did that take so long?

This is really bizarre. For the last two and a half years, we've been asking about Ramstein's role in the US drone war. The public has long known from statements of drone pilots that Ramstein is a central relay station for this drone war. After many denials, there was finally the admission that Ramstein is fulfilling this function.

Comment: So refreshing to note that some German politicians see things clearly regarding the out-of-control carnage machine that is the deep state-directed US military - even if there is another body of politicians there that couldn't give a hoot about wanton murder and international law.

Read More...
Pharoah

Dem leaders' short-sightedness, ineptitude causes loss of entire generation of congressional leaders

Chris Cillizza
Washington Post
Sun, 04 Dec 2016 16:50 UTC
Becerra CA atty general
© Andrew Harnik/Associated Press
U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) will leave Congress to become California’s attorney general.
You might have missed the news this past week that Rep. Xavier Becerra will leave Congress to become California's attorney general. Becerra wasn't the highest-profile member of Congress. But his departure is a piece of a broader exodus of Democratic House members once regarded as the next leaders of the party in Washington.

For Becerra, the move makes sense. His stock in Washington had fallen somewhat in recent months, and with Rep. Nancy Pelosi's reelection as minority leader last week — and the retention of the two other top leaders for House Democrats — it would be at least two years before Becerra could move up the leadership ladder. Now he will be positioned to run for a statewide office (governor in 2022 or 2026, Senate in 2018) or be plucked by the next Democratic president as a Cabinet pick. Plus, he is being appointed to the job by Gov. Jerry Brown, meaning that he will run as an incumbent in 2018. (The job is open because Kamala Harris won election to the Senate last month.)

But for the Democratic Party in Washington, Becerra's decision is part of a troubling trend: young, ambitious lawmakers either falling by the wayside or giving up on the House entirely. Consider the fates of the handful of Democratic legislators seen, as recently as a few years ago, as the next generation of House speakers:
Read More...
Attention

Yemeni forces continue advances, capture military base in Southern Saudi Arabia


FARS News Agency
Mon, 05 Dec 2016 16:41 UTC
Yemeni army and popular forces
The Yemeni army and popular forces continued their advances in the Southern provinces of Saudi Arabia, and took control of a military base in Najran province.

"The Yemeni forces captured a military base with all its military equipment near the city of Najran," Senior Ansarullah Commander Ali al-Hamzani told FNA on Monday.

He said that the Yemeni army and popular forces have intensified their military operations deep inside Saudi Arabia as they are sustaining further losses and casualties.

Al-Hamzani said that the Saudi troops backed by African mercenaries intend to prevent the Yemeni forces' advances in the Southern parts of Najran province, adding that the Yemeni army's snipers shot dead a Saudi military man in al-Tabeh al-Hamra, while Saudi Arabia's Jabal al-Doud also came under Yemeni missile attack.

Comment: Saudi Arabia is not looking too good on its southern border with Yemen.

Read More...
Bullseye

Snowden: Ex-CIA Director Petraeus, running for Secretary of State, 'shared far more classified info than I ever did'


RT
Mon, 05 Dec 2016 10:47 UTC
Edward Snowden, David Petraeus
© Brendan McDermid, Jason Reed / ReutersEdward Snowden, David Petraeus
Whistleblower Edward Snowden is surprised at the leniency shown to CIA Director General David Petraeus, who is in the running for Secretary of State. He "shared information that was far more highly classified than I ever did," he told Yahoo Global News.

By Snowden's account, Petraeus - who shared top secret military information with his lover and biographer - should have gotten far less leniency, especially given that he was doing it for personal benefit.

Nonetheless, it is Snowden who is being pursued under the Espionage Act on multiple felonies, including violations of the Act and theft of government property - and forced to live out his life in exile in Moscow.

Petraeus, by contrast, never "spent a single day in jail," Snowden told Katie Couric in an exclusive interview.

"We have a two-tiered system of justice in the United States, where people who are either well-connected to government, or they have access to an incredible amount of resources, get very light punishments, whereas people who're from more vulnerable populations, they live in more precarious situations, they're an inner-city youth, will be very much tread upon by our justice system."

The interview in Moscow comes as the disgraced former CIA Director finds himself in the running for US President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet as Secretary of State - making him the latest in a series of what many Americans consider to be disappointing cabinet picks.

Comment: See also: Snowden's lawyer: Upon close review, Trump's team will understand whistleblower 'acted in interests of US citizens'

Read More...
Snakes in Suits

'Lock Her Up': South Korea ponders next steps as scandal-ridden presidency dithers


RT
Sun, 04 Dec 2016 13:27 UTC
South Korea's President Park Geun-Hye
© Damir Sagolj / ReutersSouth Korea's President Park Geun-Hye
South Korea's Park Geun-hye is at the center of a political firestorm and under attack on multiple fronts over a devastating corruption scandal. The country's first female president faces impeachment and mass street protests calling for her arrest.

The bizarre scandal engulfing Park's government is rooted in allegations that her longtime personal friend and confidant, Choi Soon-sil, exerted an inordinate amount of influence on government policies, edited the president's speeches, and even influenced government appointments.

Choi, a civilian with no security clearance, was found to illegally possess confidential government documents. Park is also accused of personally lobbying corporations like Samsung and Hyundai to make massive financial contributions to charitable organizations controlled by Choi.

To add to the salaciousness, Korean media reports claim that Choi's father was a spiritual mentor to Park after the death of her parents because of his alleged ability to channel the spirit of her assassinated mother and induce trance-like experiences in the future president.

Park's approval ratings have plunged to five percent and she has agreed to resign in an effort to head off a pending impeachment vote. However, she has admitted no legal wrongdoing and called for the country's ruling assembly to decide the terms of her resignation.

Comment: Let's see here... "secretive leadership style","hawkish foreign policy", aiming missile systems at US-proclaimed "enemies", assisting "massive financial contributions to charitable organizations" controlled by cronies, suspension of cooperation with other countries, campaigning on reducing income inequality... Who the heck does Park Geun-hye think she is -- Hillary Clinton?!!

Read More...
Info

Despite Tory warnings of impending Russian threat, British Army only has 5 Russian language speakers


RT
Mon, 05 Dec 2016 15:39 UTC
British Army
© Ints Kalnins / Reuters
Despite frequent warnings by the government of an impending Russian threat, cuts to Britain's defense budget have left its military with just five Russian interpreters, according to the latest figures.

The Labour Party's defense spokesman has blasted the Tory government over the shortfall. However, some experts say the current practice of relying on private contractors is justified.

The Foreign Office has 163 employees possessing Russian language skills ranging from basic to advanced levels, while 637 people in the military can speak languages such as Arabic, Pashto, and Mandarin.

Labour Shadow Defence Secretary Nia Griffiths said the shortfall is the result of years of Tory-led defense austerity and "repeated failure to give our Forces the resources that they need."

The shortage of Russian speakers has emerged as Britain is sending troops and armor to Eastern Europe as part of NATO's buildup there.
Read More...