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Bad Guys

Two former Sierra Leone child soldiers threaten to sue British mercenary firm


RT
Fri, 18 Nov 2016 18:14 UTC
Two child soldiers
© JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK / AFP
Child soldiers who were forced to fight in Sierra Leone's brutal civil war say they will sue a British military firm that later recruited them in adulthood to perform mercenary work in Iraq in place of expensive Western contractors.

Two of the men involved, who were recruited by Sierra Leonean militias in 2002, say their existing psychological wounds were compounded by their later involvement in Iraq with private military firm Aegis.

Aegis is chaired by Tory MP Nicholas Soames, grandson of Winston Churchill and himself a former soldier. The firm won millions of pounds' worth of contracts to guard US bases during the Iraq conflict.

The pair have sent a letter to the company, a move that their lawyer Rebekah Read, of the law firm Leigh Day, says is the first step toward further legal action.

"They are quite haunted young men who were children under the age of 13 when they were fighting [in Sierra Leone]," Read told the Guardian on Friday.

Comment: See also: Snakes in suits: British military firm hired ex-child soldiers from Sierra Leone for Iraq operations

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Eye 1

White Helmets Behind Latest "Reports" About Russia Bombing Hospitals in Rebel-Held Syrian Territory


Sputnik
Fri, 18 Nov 2016 16:06 UTC
Eastern Aleppo district
© Sputnik/ Mikhael Alaeddin
The so-called reports about "hospitals" and "schools" allegedly located in terrorist-held Syrian territory were created by the "White Helmets" group financed by London, the Russian Defense Ministry's spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashekov said Friday.

"After three days it is absolutely clear for everyone that the allegedly bombed "hospitals" and "mobile clinics" in Aleppo exist only in US State Department spokesman John Kirby's imagination. This "information blooper" will certainly remain a stain on Admiral Kirby's biography," Konashenkov said.

The defense ministry spokesman added that if all the "bombed" "hospitals" and "mobile clinics" were counted, that would mean there is nothing else in Syria apart from them.

Recently, John Kirby blamed the Russian Aerospace Forces for allegedly "bombing hospitals" in Syria.

The Russian side has often requested international organizations to provide data on the presence of any medical facilities and schools in terrorist-held territories in Syria but the organizations said they did not have information on the existence of any of such facilities.

"We have repeatedly asked representatives of the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, other countries and international organizations to provide any information on the location of medical aid posts ['hospitals'] or schools in Syrian areas controlled by terrorists," Konashenkov said.

"The answer is always the same — no one has such information," he said.

Comment:

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Info

Turkey coordinating operation in Syria's Al-Bab with Russia and US


Sputnik
Fri, 18 Nov 2016 17:10 UTC
Turkish soldier in armored vehicle
© REUTERS/ Umit Bektas
Ankara is doing its utmost to coordinate its activities with Russia and the United States during an operation near the Syrian city of Al-Bab, Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik said Friday.

"Regarding Al-Bab, we have ideas, just as Russia and the United States do. We are in coordination with them as much as possible, and are doing our utmost to solve these issues by talks," Isik said on Turkey's NTV television channel.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan earlier said that the opposition Free Syrian Army, which, under support of Turkey's Armed Forces, is pursuing an offensive against the Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh) terrorist group, aims to take Al-Bab to push Daesh militants further to Syria's south.
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Info

'The first line of defense': Peshmerga to stay in Iraq's liberated Kurdistan areas


Sputnik
Fri, 18 Nov 2016 16:59 UTC
Kurdish Peshmerga forces
© AP Photo/ Hussein Malla
Peshmerga forces entered key areas liberated from Daesh terrorists in Iraq's Kurdistan and will stay on there in the future, Kemah Makhmud, advisor to the President of the Kurdistan told Sputnik Arabic.

In an exclusive interview with Sputnik Arabic, Kemah Makhmud, advisor to the President of the Kurdistan said that Peshmerga forces, who entered key areas liberated from Daesh terrorists in Iraq's Kurdistan, will remain there in the future.

According to the agreements between the Defense Ministries of Iraq and Kurdistan as well as the Pentagon, Kurdish militias can stay in the areas where they were stationed before the terrorists' seizure of the Iraqi city of Mosul in June, 2014.
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Eagle

Flashback Trump adviser Michael T. Flynn discusses dinner with Putin and why Russia Today is just like CNN

Dana Priest
Washington Post
Mon, 15 Aug 2016 15:50 UTC
Michael Flynn Trump
© Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesRetired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn delivers a speech at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland on July 18.
The Washington Post's Dana Priest recently interviewed retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn twice — once in person, once by phone — and conducted follow-up email exchanges. The following is a condensed transcript of the in-person interview.

DANA PRIEST: You weren't such a public person in the military. Was it your idea to become more public?

MICHAEL FLYNN: I consciously made a decision once I felt the country was at such risk and I was advising five of the candidates running for president. They all reached out to me ... Carly Fiorina, Scott Walker, Ben Carson Ted Cruz, and Donald Trump. ... They would ask me about national security, what's happening in the world, my thoughts on particular issues.

I met with all of them. Some of them I met with more often. Two of them, I was advising right up to the time when the decision was made, when Trump won the primary.

PRIEST: So you were advising both of them?

FLYNN: Yes, and everyone knew, I wasn't secretly advising ... I was pretty open about it. Someone would ask me for advice on something, or if I saw something I thought was important I would share it with them.

PRIEST: How did you meet Trump in particular?

FLYNN: I got a phone call from his team. They asked if he would be willing meet with Mr. Trump and I did. ... In late summer 2015.

PRIEST: What was your impression?

FLYNN: I was very impressed. Very serious guy. Good listener. Asked really good questions. Was very serious about running. And this was all before, really, the primaries kicked in. ... I found him to be very attuned to what was going on around the world. We were going to meet for 30 minutes; we met for an hour and a half. His son Eric came in. He was really good.
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Info

China warns US not to meddle in Hong Kong affairs after Washington bashes Beijing in new report


RT
Fri, 18 Nov 2016 16:35 UTC
Chinese national flag and a Hong Kong flag
© Bobby Yip / Reuters
China has slammed a recent US Congressional report accusing Beijing of interfering in Hong Kong as "irresponsible," while strongly objecting "to any foreign institutions intervening" in what it insists "are purely China's internal affairs."

The US report "inappropriately commented [on] and smeared" the Chinese government's policies towards Hong Kong, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry commissioner's office in Hong Kong said, as cited by the South China Morning Post newspaper.

"The Chinese government is strongly discontent with the irresponsible comments made by the US," he said, adding that the 'one country, two systems' rule giving the city a high degree of autonomy has been followed since 1997 when Hong Kong was handed back to China.

Comment: The US acting like Hong Kong is not part of China is like saying New York City is not part of the US.

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Snakes in Suits

Keith Ellison is first Muslim man considered to lead Democrat Party, and strongly supports bombing Syria and Libya

Alex Christoforou
The Duran
Fri, 18 Nov 2016 16:12 UTC
Keith Ellison
© Lorie Shaull via Wikimedia CommonsRep. Keith Ellison speaks at a Hillary Clinton campaign event at the University of Minnesota in October 2016.
Keith Ellison has questionable funding sources and even worse foreign policy positions.

Yes, Donna Brazile must go.

Yes, Keith Ellison would be the first muslim man to leade the DNC.

Yes, Keith Ellison is a huge warmonger, and Jimmy Dore explains why...

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Rocket

Ankara considers buying S-400 air defense systems from Moscow


Sputnik
Fri, 18 Nov 2016 17:32 UTC
S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft system
© Sputnik/ Mihail MokrushinS-400 Triumf anti-aircraft system
Turkey is in talks with Russia on the purchase of S-400 missile systems, Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik said Friday.

"As for missile defense, work is continuing. We are negotiating on S-400 not only with Russia, but with other countries that have similar systems. Russia's position on this issue now is positive," Isik said in an interview with Turkey's NTV broadcaster.

Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said last month that Moscow and Anakara had agreed to work out the details of a possible cooperation on implementing the Turkish national missile defense system project.

"We hope that NATO member states would take this seriously, and our system will be compatible with the alliance's requirements. But we do not in any way reject the Russian proposal, and are actively working on it. Our ultimate goal is to manufacture these systems at home," Isik said.

Comment: See also: Russia mulls supplying air defense systems to Turkey

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Info

Putin: Russia will oppose any attempts to break global strategic balance, including NATO missile system


RT
Fri, 18 Nov 2016 16:22 UTC
Russian President Vladimir Putin
© Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters
Russia will oppose attempts to disrupt the strategic balance around the world, such as NATO's global anti-ballistic missile defense system, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"Our goal is to effectively neutralize any military threats to Russia's security, including those of the [NATO] strategic anti-ballistic missile defense system, the prompt global strike concept and information warfare," Putin told the Russian military.

"We will continue to do everything needed to preserve the strategic balance of power," he said, adding that the balance was what had prevented a major military conflict between the opposing camps during the Cold War.
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Snakes in Suits

Last hurrah: Obama, EU leaders agree to keep anti-Russian sanctions over Ukraine


RT
Fri, 18 Nov 2016 16:09 UTC
U.S. President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi
© Kay Nietfeld / ReutersU.S. President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi meet at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, November 18, 2016.
US President Barack Obama and EU leaders have agreed to keep anti-Russian sanctions in place for a further year over the situation in Ukraine.

President Obama, who is on his final official visit to Europe, met with the leaders of Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK on Friday.

Among the main topics on the agenda were extending sanctions against Russia, cooperation within the framework of NATO, the rise of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Iraq and Syria, and possible new anti-Russian sanctions over Moscow's actions in Syria.

"The leaders agreed on the necessity of working collectively to move the transatlantic agenda forward, particularly on bringing stabilization to the Middle East and North Africa, as well as securing diplomatic resolution to the conflicts in Syria and eastern Ukraine," the White House said in the statement.

"The leaders also affirmed the importance of continued cooperation through multilateral institutions, including NATO," the White House added.

Comment: Obama and these EU leaders are on the way out so hopefully their ideas against Russia will wane.

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