Puppet MastersS


Bomb

Russian MoD: Bomb disposal unit departs for Aleppo on de-mining mission


RT
Fri, 02 Dec 2016 21:00 UTC
Russian army sappers work at the historic part of Palmyra, Syria, on April 9, 2016
© REUTERS/ Russian Ministry of DefenceRussian army sappers work at the historic part of Palmyra, Syria, on April 9, 2016
A Russian bomb disposal unit has departed for Syria to help clear the liberated eastern part of Aleppo from the mines left there by the militants, the Russian Defense Ministry has said in a statement.

"An advance unit of the international anti-mining center of the Russian Armed Forces has flown to Syria to participate in the humanitarian demining of districts in eastern Aleppo liberated from the militants," the statement said.

The servicemen from the task force initially underwent special training before being dispatched to the war-torn country and have now been sent to the Russian Khmeimim airbase in Syria.

The bomb disposal unit "is fully autonomous and is equipped with the most advanced demining tools and means of protection," the statement added.

The unit has also been joined by a squad of mine-detecting sniffer dogs. The Russian sappers have aided Syrian forces previously in demining the territories liberated from the militants.

Comment: See also:

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Gear

You're fired? Companies planning to leave U.S. receive warning from Trump


RT
Fri, 02 Dec 2016 20:25 UTC
factory worker
© Rebecca Cook / Reuters
US President-elect Donald Trump has warned American companies to think twice before shifting jobs abroad.

"Companies are not going to leave the United States anymore without consequences. Not going to happen. It's not going to happen, I'll tell you right now," Trump told workers at the Carrier air-conditioning company in Indianapolis.

Carrier had planned to outsource 2,000 jobs from the US but changed its mind after receiving $7 million aid from the state. Carrier's parent company United Technologies will keep 1,100 jobs in the US, but about 700 will still move to Mexico.

On the campaign trail, Trump blasted the company and other American businesses investing in Mexico as unpatriotic. As a candidate, he threatened to raise tariffs on goods produced in Mexico to put "America first."

Trump says he wants to cut US corporate tax from the current 35 percent to 15 percent. "It's terrible for business," Trump said about the existing rate.

Comment: See also: The New CEO's First Moves (and Trump)

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Blackbox

Is Trump really only a conman prepping the U.S. for war?

The Saker
The Unz Review
Fri, 02 Dec 2016 19:55 UTC
trump
© Scott Olson/Getty Images
Let me begin by immediately say that I have the utmost respect for F. William Engdahl and that I consider him a person far more knowledgeable of US politics than myself. Furthermore, I want to also make it clear that I am not going to refute a single argument Engdahl makes in support of his thesis simply because I believe that his arguments are fact-based and logical. I strongly urge everybody to read Engdahl's article "The Dangerous Deception Called The Trump Presidency" in the New Eastern Outlook and carefully consider each of his arguments. Of course, Engdahl only offers indirect, circumstantial, evidence and only time will really show whether he is right or wrong. What I propose to do today is to consider the other possibility, that in spite of all the evidence presented by Engdahl, Trump might not be a fraud and a showman. You will see that this conclusion is not necessarily more optimistic than Engdahl's.

My main argument is much more primitive than Engdahl's and even more circumstantial: I see clear signs of a *real* struggle taking place inside the US elites and if, indeed, such a struggle is taking place, then I conclude that Trump is not a showman who has been "selected" (to use Engdahl's words) by the US elites but that quite to the contrary, his election is a nightmare for these elites.

Comment: In support of the Saker's view: Trump promises "new era of peace", end to regime change during Thank You tour. See also: Will General Flynn roll back post-9/11 intelligence reforms, re-focus on actual intel?

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USA

Trump promises "new era of peace", end to regime change during Thank You tour


RT
Fri, 02 Dec 2016 20:14 UTC
trump
© Mike Segar / ReutersU.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a USA Thank You Tour event at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S., December 1, 2016.
Donald Trump promised a "new era of peace" during the first stop of his "Thank You" tour in Cincinnati, Ohio, vowing that the US will stop trying to overthrow world governments and will cooperate with countries fighting terrorism.

The president-elect also promised to cooperate with any country interested in destroying Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).

"We will partner with every nation that is willing to join us in the effort to defeat ISIS and radical Islamic terrorism," Trump told a large crowd at US Bank Arena in Cincinnati on Thursday evening, as quoted by TASS.

"We will destroy ISIS. At the same time, we will pursue a new foreign policy that finally learns from the mistakes of the past. We will stop looking to topple regimes and overthrow governments, folks," Trump said, as quoted by The Washington Examiner.

Comment: Peace is a dangerous word. See also: Is Trump really only a conman prepping the U.S. for war?

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Jet4

Seven US-led coalition airstrikes 'inadvertently killed' 54 civilians in Syria & Iraq


RT
Fri, 02 Dec 2016 20:29 UTC
A Syrian man rides his motorcycle past collapsed buildings in the northern Syrian town of Manbij
© Delil Souleiman / AFA Syrian man rides his motorcycle past collapsed buildings in the northern Syrian town of Manbij
The US-led coalition airstrikes in Syria and Iraq have left 54 civilians "inadvertently killed" in seven strikes between March and October, according to the coalition's official statement.

"Although the coalition makes extraordinary efforts to strike military targets in a manner that minimizes the risk of civilian casualties, in some cases casualties are unavoidable," the coalition said in a statement.

The deadliest strike happened on July 18, when the coalition hit a group of Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS/ISIL) fighters near Manbij in Syria. However, "up to 24 civilians who had been interspersed with combatants were inadvertently killed in a known [IS] staging area where no civilians had been seen in the 24 hours prior to the attack," the coalition statement said.

In a July 28 strike, also in Syria, 15 civilians died when a moving IS vehicle that had been aimed at slowed in a densely-populated area.

The latest figures bring the official coalition's civilians death toll to 173 since the start of the campaign two years ago.

Nevertheless, this figure is far from reality, as Airwars, a London-based group of activists, said to AFP: they estimate the number of likely civilian deaths from coalition strikes is minimum 1,915.
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Handcuffs

Russia seeks additional protections in prisons after snowflake cries torture after being reprimanded


RT
Fri, 02 Dec 2016 17:57 UTC
Ildar Dadin
© dadin.info
The Council for Human Rights and the Russian president have asked prosecutors to run an additional check on the penal colony where an inmate accused administration of torture and threats, but noted that their own probe found no basis to his allegations.

"The inspection could not find any objective proof of Dadin's claims of actions allegedly taken against him on September 11 and 12, as well as the claims that the penal colony workers acted within their responsibilities," reads the report presented by the council on Friday.

"We have not received any video records, and Dadin's personal file and the time that has passed from the alleged events and the inspection prevented us from detecting any bodily harm, apart from marks on both of Dadin's hands."

The human rights officials noted in the document that one of the senior officials of the Justice Ministry's Federal Service for Execution of Punishment had knowingly or unknowingly misinformed them about the length of time CCTV records are kept.

Comment: Dadin's view of Russia represents an exceedingly small portion of Russian society. It is his precise provocative behavior that has landed him in jail, and he clearly has an ax to grind. Karelia authorities state that use of force has been needed against Dadin on September 11th, who they say was combative:
"Dadin rudely refused to leave his cell, to assume the position for inspection, and he started to grab the guards by their uniforms, as a result of which force and special measures were used against him," the statement read, according to Novaya Gazeta.
Dadin is a part of an unpopular and desperate opposition. He represents no threat to Russia. This 'news' is more for the West who have been trained to rally behind all 'human rights abuses' except their own. A more likely story is that Dadin's provocative behavior landed him in more trouble, and instead of taking responsibility for his behavior he turned it into a story about being tortured.

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Bullseye

Dangerous precedent: Congress passes bill targeting Russian 'propaganda'

Kurt Nimmo
Another Day In The Empire
Thu, 01 Dec 2016 18:55 UTC
congress
H.R.6393, Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, passed in the House of Representatives on November 30.

The legislation deals with a number of intelligence related issues, including Russian propaganda, or what the government calls propaganda.

Section 501 calls for the government to counter "measures by Russia to exert covert influence... carried out in coordination with, or at the behest of, political leaders or the security services of the Russian Federation and the role of the Russian Federation has been hidden or not acknowledged publicly."

Definitions include media manipulation, covert broadcasting, disinformation and forgeries, and "funding agents of influence."

It's easy to see how this law, if passed by the Senate and signed by the president, could be used against "fake news" websites.

On November 24, The Washington Post published an article citing "experts" who claim Russian propaganda helped Donald Trump get elected.

Comment: See also:

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Stop

Russian MoD: UN stopped offering aid after 40% of east Aleppo liberated from militants


RT
Fri, 02 Dec 2016 19:36 UTC
Syrians that evacuated the eastern district of Aleppo gather to board buses, in a government held area in Aleppo,Syria in this handout picture provided by SANA on November 29, 2016
© REUTERS/ SANASyrians that evacuated the eastern district of Aleppo gather to board buses, in a government held area in Aleppo,Syria in this handout picture provided by SANA on November 29, 2016
The Russian Ministry of Defense says the UN stopped offering humanitarian aid deliveries to east Aleppo after more than 40 percent of the territory previously controlled by militants was recaptured by Syrian government forces.

The ministry added that it knows nothing about the UN humanitarian aid which 30,000 people have been allegedly receiving in Aleppo in the past few days according to Jan Egeland, humanitarian adviser to UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura, as reported by Reuters on Thursday.

Jan Egeland added that Syria and Russia have declined the UN's request for a pause in the fighting to evacuate 400 sick and wounded in need of immediate treatment.

"We had hoped to get the message that the Russian Federation and the government of Syria will allow a pause in the fighting for us to access east Aleppo and evacuate people out. We didn't get it," Egeland complained.


The Russian Defense Ministry added in a Friday statement that there is no UN humanitarian aid in the liberated neighborhoods of eastern Aleppo.

Comment: See also: Thousands of civilians trapped inside rebel-held parts of Aleppo, as Syrian forces advance

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Jet4

Pivot to Asia: UK will send fighter jets to the South China Sea by 2020


RT
Fri, 02 Dec 2016 18:31 UTC
jet fighter
© Adrian Dennis / AFP
British fighter jets and aircraft carriers will be operating in the South China Sea, one of the world's most volatile hotspots, by the year 2020, according to the UK's ambassador to the US.

According to Reuters, Ambassador Kim Darroch told a Washington-based think tank that UK Typhoon jets currently in Japan would likely overfly the region, though he gave no timeframe. He also claimed the UK's yet-to-be-completed Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers would be operating in the area by 2020.

While he insisted that British military force would continue to be focused on the Middle East, the country would certainly be operating in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Certainly, as we bring our two new aircraft carriers on-stream in 2020, and as we renew and update our defense forces, they will be seen in the Pacific.

"And we absolutely share the objective of this U.S. administration, and the next one, to protect freedom of navigation and to keep sea routes and air routes open," Darroch said.
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Wolf

Flashback Neocon elites united: Bush daughter Barbara attended Paris fundraiser for Killary with Huma Abedin


Daily Mail
Sat, 01 Oct 2016 15:51 UTC
huma abedin paris fundraiser
© danathomasparis/ InstagramHuma spoke to attendees
George H. W. Bush isn't the only member of the family who may be voting for Hillary next month.

His granddaughter Barbara Bush, one of George W. Bush's twins, 34, spent Saturday night partying with Huma Abedin in Paris at a Clinton gathering - and paid at least $5,000 for the privilege.

It's currently Paris Fashion Week and on Saturday Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and Huma hosted a Clinton Designed To Win fundraiser at a store followed by a private dinner at the home of a billionaire.

The pair radiated comfort as they posed for multiple photos together, also featuring man-about-town Derek Blasberg and dinner hostess Lauren Santo Domingo, far right

Photos from the exclusive dinner show Huma, Bush and actress Dakota Fanning, 22, who has been helping raise money for Hillary for over a year.Huma, along with Black Eyed Peas singer and producer Will.i.am and actress Fanning, spent Saturday afternoon at the Sonia Rykiel Paris store mobilize the expat vote with just five weeks to go. Will.i.am was a early and loyal Obama supporter in 2008, but this election has backed Clinton the whole time.

Tickets to the Sonia Rykiel event were $500 for entry and $1,000 for a photo.

Comment: Bushes and Clintons: two sides of the same coin.

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