Puppet MastersS


USA

Best of the Web: Video: Western Aleppo residents targeted by missiles and bullets from US-backed ISIS & Al-Nusra terrorists - UPDATE


RT
Mon, 10 Oct 2016 10:19 UTC
Western Aleppo
ISIS and Al-Nusra snipers ensconced in Eastern Aleppo are deliberately shooting at civilians trying to escape, letting no one out, local residents told RT's Murad Gazdiev. The snipers also frequently attempt to shoot at civilians, children included, in the government-controlled Western Aleppo, and randomly fire missiles into the area.

An RT crew has been to the front line inside the embattled city and brought back the grim picture of what it takes to live there.

The US government is steadfastly refusing to attack Nusra (al-qaeda in Syria) and ISIS because these two terrorist groups form the back bone of the US jihadi army that the US government has been using for the past 5 years to overthrow the democratically-elected Syrian government.

Comment: We hear endless fake stories in the MSM of the Syrians and Russians bombing hospitals. Here's a story we don't hear:



Read More...
Attention

Kashmir nuclear hot spot: Pakistan says 2 soldiers killed in what India calls 'surgical strikes' on militants - UPDATES


RT
Thu, 29 Sep 2016 12:40 UTC
Lt. General Ranbir Singh
© Bharatiya Janata Party / YouTube
India claims it carried out surgical strikes against Pakistani-based militants across the de facto border in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir - a claim which Islamabad denies, accusing India of firing across the border and killing two soldiers.

Referring to the alleged strikes, India's Director General of Military Operations Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh said in a Thursday statement that "some terrorist teams had positioned themselves at launchpads along the Line of Control."

"The Indian Army conducted surgical strikes last night at these launchpads. Significant casualties have been caused to these terrorists and those who are trying to support them."

"The operations aimed at neutralizing the terrorists have since ceased," he told a press conference in the Indian capital New Delhi, as quoted by AFP.

Comment: One of the world's longest conflicts sees no end in sight: World's longest conflict of Kashmir: 'We the people' should stand up.

Update: Pakistan claimed that India also suffered casualties in the fighting on Thursday - eight soldiers dead and one reportedly captured by the Pakistani army. India denied the report, adding that one soldier had "inadvertently" crossed the line of control. Pakistan also claims that the Indians never launched any "surgical strikes" on terrorist positions; the Indians stayed on their side of the line of control, but did engage in cross-border fire directed at Pakistani small arms and mortar positions for five hours. Pakistani general Bajwa:
"Where did all the dead bodies go?" he asked. "Where were the funerals? Why haven't the Indians produced any dead bodies if they took them back?"

"Where is the damage?" General Bajwa said of India's claims of "surgical strikes," adding that he welcomed an independent inquiry. "Our side is open to the United Nations observers and journalists."
Pakistan convened an emergency cabinet meeting on Friday regarding the deteriorating situation in Kashmir. India then evacuated its border region of some 10,000 villagers, citing fears of "military reprisals" from Pakistan for India's cross-border strikes.

Today, India has proven that its fight against terror is serious business indeed. Indian authorities have arrested a Pakistani pigeon carrying a mean letter written to Indian PM Modi, reading: "Modi Ji, do not consider us same people as we were during 1971 (Indo-Pak war). Now each and every child is ready to fight against India." Keep up the good fight, India. The world has had enough of pigeons.

Update (Oct. 13): Somewhat hilariously, the pigeon tale continues. Arrested on October 2, the anti-Modi-message-carrying pigeon has had its wings clipped to prevent it from flying back to Pakistan. An anonymous Indian police official told the Telegraph: "We have sent a preliminary report to the union home ministry, including an x-ray report of the bird, which did not reveal anything suspicious." The same official revealed that police aren't even sure that the pigeon is from Pakistan! Talk about hysteria...

Read More...
Eye 1

Pentagon joins Homeland Security, FBI in eyeing oversight and control of elections

Paul Bedard
Washington Examiner
Thu, 13 Oct 2016 17:34 UTC
voting in USA
Concerns about Russian hacking into the November 8 election have now reached the Pentagon where the military's top cyber official has outlined a plan to help the FBI and Department of Homeland Security to track an election altering attack.

What's more, Adm. Michael S. Rogers, commander of U.S. Cyber Command, has added his voice to that of Homeland Secretary Jeh Johnson who is considering whether the election system is critical infrastructure, like the power grid and financial sector, and subject to federal oversight.

"What is critical infrastructure in this digital age? Data, I would argue, is taking on a very different value in and of itself. And the ability of individuals to harness the tools of big data analytics now make access to large data concentrations...very attractive," Rogers said at Harvard University this month in a video released Wednesday.

"I look at the election sequence for example, as an example of, 'Do we need to step back and reassess this? Hey, look, this really is part of our critical infrastructure?" he said.

Comment: The louder the claims of Russian hacking based on no proof, the louder the claims to nationally control the elections it seems. Russia has no need to hack the elections because neither candidate will be friendly towards Russia. The US should be more concerned about their own voting procedures and how they are easily rigged.

Read More...
Evil Rays

Russia successfully develops and tests radio-electronic weapon unmatched anywhere in the world


RT
Thu, 13 Oct 2016 16:29 UTC
radio weapon
© Pavel Lisitsyn / Sputnik
Russia has developed and successfully tested radio-electronic weapons systems unmatched anywhere in the world, RIA Novosti reports, citing the manufacturer.

"Real prototypes of such weapons have already been created and they have proven their efficiency," a representative of Russia's United Instrument Manufacturing Company (OPK), which is in charge of the production, told RIA Novosti.

The new technology falls under the somewhat loose term "weapons based on new physical principles." The grouping includes armaments that employ physical processes and phenomena not generally used in modern weapons. Laser and sonic weapons are among other examples of such technology.

According to the OPK representative, the brand-new Russian system is as yet unrivaled.

"This is a completely new type of weapon, which has no analogues in our country, and I daresay, in the world."

Comment: Hmmm... Air Force investigates outage of secret computer network at major drone base

Read More...
Safe

Blame Brexit: UK may have to continue giving billions to EU even after leaving, may cause lower standard of living


RT
Wed, 12 Oct 2016 12:53 UTC
brexit
Britain may have to continue paying billions of pounds into EU coffers after withdrawal from the European Union, a government official has warned.

While the UK is unlikely to pay into the main EU budget after Brexit, a senior Whitehall official has suggested that the UK will have to pay into EU special funds to secure preferential trading terms, the BBC reported.

Vote Leave famously claimed that withdrawing from the EU would save the UK £350 million (US$428 million) a week, plastering the pledge to use the saved money for NHS funding all over campaign buses during the referendum. However, an unnamed cabinet minister told the broadcaster that Britain may end up paying much of that money into EU funds to secure favorable access to the single market.

Comment: It may very well be that the above, and other stories, are being propagated to scare the average Brit back into EU fold - and also lay blame on Brexit for further economic downturns that have nothing to do with Brexit (and everything to do with economic mismanagement).
See this for instance:
Britain's lowest earners, many of whom make just £7.20 ($8.83) an hour, will see their salaries plummet as Brexit triggers an economic downturn, experts warn.

According to a new report by the Resolution Foundation, leaving the European Union will hit increases to the national living wage, slowing down growth and setting back living standards far below current predictions for the coming years.

The newly established National Living Wage (NLW) will rise to £7.50 ($9.15) an hour - 10p ($0.12) lower than expected.

"While there is much uncertainty over Britain's long-term economic outlook, most economists agree that wage growth in the next few years is likely to be weaker than expected prior to the referendum,"said the think tank's policy analyst Conor D'Arcy.

"An increase to around £7.50 will deliver a welcome annual pay rise of up to £600 for full-time staff. Though that's less than the £800 raise previously forecast."

But former Chancellor George Osborne's previous aim to lift the NWL to £9 ($10.98) by 2020 is now well off the mark. A more likely scenario would see minimum pay reach £8.20 an hour ($10) by the end of parliament.

"Ambitious policy announcements need equally ambitious implementation plans to make them a success. With over four million workers set to be earning the new legal minimum by 2020, ministers need to work closely with employers to ensure that they're not just able to pay the legal minimum, but can offer staff a route out of low pay altogether," D'Arcy added.

If no further drops are registered in the NLW, an estimated 800,000 workers could be helped out of low pay by 2020. Yet the current number of low wage workers in Britain is nearly six million - three in every five of which are women.

Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Rebecca Long-Bailey commented that the "uncertainty" resulting from the Tories' "lack of plan for Brexit" was affecting the most vulnerable workers in Britain.

"This prediction that we will see a smaller living wage rise next year is bad news for workers who are already worried about their future due to a chaotic Tory Brexit and the impact this could have on our economy," she added.


Read More...
Vader

Pentagon hush-hush about intentions for $100 million drone base in Niger

Christina Sarich
The Underground Reporter
Thu, 06 Oct 2016 00:00 UTC
US drone
DARPA, or the secretive Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which works under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Defense, has created some spooky technology in its time — from tiny drones called 'Gremlins,' to 'implantable, wireless neuroprosthetics' that are lodged in a soldier's brain to offer a reprieve from PTSD and other brain injuries resultant of the DoD's war path. DARPA's latest investment stands to take advantage of ample real estate in one of the world's most impoverished nations.

DARPA has a publicly disclosed budget of at least $3 billion spent across 250 programs, as well as black budget programs with unknown financial figures. Now the government plans to spend $100 million building "one of the most important U.S. military construction efforts in Africa," according to once-secret files obtained by the Intercept through the Freedom of Information Act.

The base will be constructed in the center of Niger, one of the only countries that is allowing MQ-9 Reapers — the newer, larger, and potentially more lethal model of drone than its Predator predecessor.

Comment:

Read More...
Snakes in Suits

WikiLeaks: Clinton campaign mocks Catholics, Southerners and 'needy Latinos'

Ben Wolfgang
The Washington Times
Wed, 12 Oct 2016 16:25 UTC
Hillary Clinton
© AP
Long before Hillary Clinton called millions of Americans a "basket of deplorables," her top campaign advisers and liberal allies openly mocked Catholics, Southerners and a host of other groups, according to newly released emails that offer a stunning window into the vitriol inside the Clinton world less than a month before Election Day.

The emails, published by WikiLeaks after a hack of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta's private account, also show Clinton campaign officials and Democratic leaders disparaging supporters of Sen. Bernard Sanders as "self-righteous" whiners, calling Hispanic party leaders such as Bill Richardson "needy Latinos," labeling CNN anchor Jake Tapper "a d**k" and even lambasting longtime Clinton ally Sidney Blumenthal.

The sheer number of insults in the email trove has left the Clinton campaign, along with outside organizations such as the Center for American Progress that were routinely involved in the brutal bad-mouthing, unable or unwilling to respond. Instead, they have blamed the hack on Russia and have refused to even confirm that the emails are genuine, though they also haven't denied their authenticity.

Comment: And there is so much more being revealed from the WikiLeaks data dumps:

Read More...
Bad Guys

Get this: US tells Turkey to respect Iraqi sovereignty, LOL! - UPDATE


RT
Wed, 12 Oct 2016 00:54 UTC
Turkish soldiers
© Umit Bektas / ReutersTurkish soldiers
Washington has urged Ankara and Baghdad to work out their differences over the illegal deployment of Turkish troops in the north of the country. Turkey's president previously harshly rejected criticism from the Iraqi PM saying he was not in a position to make demands.

On Tuesday, Ankara escalated belligerent rhetoric towards its neighbor which has repeatedly asked Turkey to withdraw its forces from Northern Iraq's Bashiqa camp.

Tensions between the two neighboring countries escalated last December after Turkey beefed up its military presence on the outskirts of jihadist-controlled Mosul, allegedly to protect its advisers. Iraq called the unsanctioned move a "blatant violation" of sovereignty and demanded the immediate withdrawal of Turkish forces from its territory.

Anaka refused and has long argued that its forces in Northern Iraq have been instrumental in the US-led anti-ISIS (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) coalition, known as the Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF). Since 2014, Turkish servicemen provided training to anti-IS fighters, subject to the agreement of the Iraqi government.

The issue of the Turkish presence in Iraq has gained new attention when last month the Turkish parliament approved the extension of the mission to target what it considers to be terrorist organizations, namely the IS and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) based in Turkey and Iraq.

Comment: Iraq would like to keep Mosul a part of Iraq - while Turkey, the US and other countries have different plans for it...

See: SOTT Exclusive: Turkey-Iraq tensions on the rise as battle for Mosul inches closer

Update: According to one of Sputnik's "diplomatic sources", here's the story behind the U.S. response:
The United States asked Iraq to postpone requests for setting a specific date at the UN Security Council to discuss the Turkish intervention in Iraq, because they will handle the issue and call on Turkey to withdraw its troops immediately from Iraq.
Well, it doesn't look like Turkey has backed off an inch. But then again, a UNSC date hasn't been set either.

Read More...
Brick Wall

More proof the drug war is not over: Death penalty for heroin dealers?

Maya Schenwar
Truthout.org
Wed, 12 Oct 2016 20:49 UTC
heroin
© Ty Wright / The New York TimesA forensic drug analyst opens baggies contains various types of heroin which are being examined at the Hamilton County Coroners Crime Lab, in Cincinnati, Ohio, September 1, 2016. Some lawmakers have shifted their focus from prosecuting addicts to pursuing opiate dealers, some even going so far as to suggest the death penalty.
In April, former Attorney General Eric Holder told Frontline that the drug war "is over." Over the last part of his final term, President Obama has echoed that refrain, granting clemency to hundreds of people incarcerated for drug offenses and emphasizing that the US has relied too much on the criminal punishment system to address drug-related problems.

The rhetoric of many lawmakers across the country has also swung toward a more "rehabilitation"-oriented approach, particularly in response to the recent rise in opiate overdose deaths. Even many conservative politicians are arguing for treatment-based solutions. This is at least partly because most of those who've died in the recent spate of opiate deaths have been white.

However, the war on drugs is not over; it has simply shifted. And when it comes to opiates - the political arena's main drug focus right now - the shift is from prosecuting anyone who touches the drugs to a focus on aggressively prosecuting those accused of selling them. As one Ohio lawmaker put it, increasingly, "Jail is for the traffickers, treatment is for the addicts." Of course, such statements ignore the fact that those two categories often overlap, and that even people only convicted of possession still sometimes end up in prison. Still, it's those accused of selling drugs who are experiencing the brunt of the ramped-up penalties.
Read More...
Handcuffs

British MPs could be held responsible for war crimes in Yemen


RT
Thu, 13 Oct 2016 16:17 UTC
yemen destruction
© Khaled Abdullah / Reuters
British MPs supporting the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen could be liable as war criminals if they continue to supply arms potentially being used to carry out attacks in the increasingly bloody conflict.

In the face of repeated atrocities in Yemen, including an airstrike against a funeral which killed 140 people on the weekend, Britain continues to supply arms to Saudi Arabia. The UK has made over £3 billion ($3.6 million) from arms sales since the military campaign began.

Britain also assists in other ways - it has advisers in control rooms advising the Saudi-led coalition bombing raids across Yemen, and provides essential diplomatic protection through the UN Security Council.

According to respected journalist Peter Oborne, writing for the Middle East Eye, supplying arms for the Saudi campaign could make the UK a 'co-belligerent' in the conflict under international law.

This definition has widened considerably since a 2013 ruling in the trial of Liberian President Charles Taylor, and can now include "practical assistance, encouragement, or moral support" for war crimes.
Read More...