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Snakes in Suits

Change in policy, or doublespeak? U.S. State Dept. says committed to "unified" Syria, will not support autonomous Kurdish zone


Sputnik
Wed, 16 Mar 2016 17:50 UTC
kurdistan syria
© AP Photo/ Alexander Kots/Komsomolskaya Pravda via AP

Comment: Since when does Washington take the same stance as Russia and Syria? Have they changed their policy, perhaps in tandem with Russia's decision to withdraw from Syria? Or are they simply lying as usual?


US Department of State spokesperson Mark Toner stated that Washington remains committed to the unity and territorial integrity of Syria.


Comment: "Remains"? Wrong word, Toner. Remains means it has always been your policy. It hasn't. Shades of 1984: "Oceania was at war with Eurasia: therefore Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia."


The United States will not recognize a 'self-rule' semi-autonomous Kurdish zone in Syria and remains committed to the country's unity, US Department of State spokesperson Mark Toner told Sputnik on Wednesday.

A representative of the Syrian Kurdistan administration told Sputnik that representatives from various Syrian peoples, including Kurds, will discuss the possibility of Syria's federalization at the Geneva reconciliation talks later on Wednesday.

"We have not and will not recognize any 'self-rule' semi-autonomous zone," Toner stated. "We remain committed to the unity and territorial integrity of Syria."

The representative explained that a joint commission of about 100 individuals plans to discuss Syria's future, including the federalization of the country.
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Yoda

China PM: Relations between Russia and China will not be affected by external pressure


RT
Wed, 16 Mar 2016 17:50 UTC
putin xi
© How Hwee Yong / Reuters
Relations between Beijing and Moscow will not be affected by any changes in the international situation, according to Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, adding that the two countries are strategic partners.

"China is developing relations with Russia on the principles of mutual respect and benefits," he told reporters during a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

The prime minister says the regular meetings between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin strengthens political and economic cooperation between the two countries.

When asked about pressure from the US and other countries, the Chinese Premier said Beijing pursues an independent foreign policy and does not feel pressure from any countries.
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Pirates

Dangerous pro-Monsanto Food Labeling Law on the verge of passing the Senate

Andrew Kimbrell
Alternet
Tue, 15 Mar 2016 16:52 UTC
GMO senate bill
© arindambanerjee/Shutterstock
The GOP-sponsored bill would make it difficult to know which foods are genetically engineered—unless you own a smartphone.

What would you think of a law that clearly discriminates against rural Americans, lower income Americans, minorities and the elderly? No chance of getting passed, right? Wrong. The Senate is poised to pass such a bill.

The revised Dark Act, sponsored by Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), has been introduced as an amendment to S. 764, and would preempt the laws of Vermont, Connecticut, Maine and Alaska that call for the labeling of genetically engineered food and substitute an unconscionable, discriminatory alternative. The Roberts bill is so discriminatory it may be unconstitutional and a violation of equal treatment under the law.
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Yoda

Putin wisely avoids getting stuck in a Syrian quagmire

Ray McGovern
Consortium News
Tue, 15 Mar 2016 15:58 UTC
putin taking oath
© KremlinRussian President Vladimir Putin taking the presidential oath at his third inauguration ceremony on May 7, 2012.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's abrupt announcement that Russia would begin "the withdrawal of the main part" of its military "contingent" from Syria has been widely seen not only as a welcome surprise, but also as a hopeful fillip to serious negotiations to end the carnage in what is left of that beleaguered country.

As always, a modicum of skepticism is warranted the "morning after," but the pledge to pull out the bulk of the Russian force seems genuine and, at this writing, the withdrawal is already under way. Putin's announcement appears to mark the beginning of the end of Russia's key but limited military intervention - the game-changer that started on Sept. 30, 2015, with Russian air strikes that enabled the Syrian army to regain lost ground, sever jihadist supply lines to Turkey, and drive rebels from hundreds of towns and cities.

Putin was clear in noting the Russian military presence that will remain in Syria, but was not so clear on its future use: "Our naval base in Tartus and airbase at Khmeimim will operate 'as usual'. They are to be safely protected from land, sea, and air."
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Magnify

Syrian rebel spy chief: CIA ignored data showing rise of ISIS since 2013


RT
Wed, 16 Mar 2016 15:34 UTC
cia emblem
© Saul Loeb / AFP

Comment: The spy chief is being charitable. Not only did the CIA ignore data, they also helped facilitate the rise of ISIS with guns, money and training (not unlike the Free Syrian Army). Of course they ignored the warnings, they were instrumental in its rise!


The Free Syrian Army's 'spy chief' told Le Monde his agents had been gathering intelligence from within Islamic State's ranks since its emergence, but the CIA largely ignored data that could have helped suppress the terror group from the outset.

The Free Syrian Army's spymaster, codenamed "M", in an exclusive to Le Monde, told the newspaper he had been sending "very detailed reports" on Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), based on field data from his agents, to his CIA contacts for two years.

The intelligence gave critical insight into IS' pivot to Iraq and Syria, and included GPS coordinates, maps, photographs, phone numbers and even IP addresses, "M" said.

"From the moment Daesh (an Arabic pejorative acronym for IS) had 20 members to when it had 20,000, we have shown everything to the Americans. When we asked them what they did with this information, they always gave evasive answers, saying it was in the hands of decision-makers."
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Roses

Second batch of Russian jets leaves Khmeimim airbase in Syria


RT
Wed, 16 Mar 2016 14:16 UTC
Russian fighter jet
© Igor Kovalenko / SputnikPilots of Russian Su-34 bomber jets from Syria welcomed home at an airbase in Voronezh region.
The second group of Russian warplanes left the Khmeimim airbase in Syria's Latakia province on Wednesday morning, the Russian Ministry of Defense has announced.

"Another group of Russian aircraft took off from the airbase in Khmeimim heading to places of permanent deployment on the territory of the Russian Federation," the military statement said.

The ministry added that the new batch of planes comprising Su-25 fighter jets is led by a strategic airlifter, the Il-76. All planes returning to home bases in Russia are flying in "flocks" headed by a "leader" aircraft - either Tu-154 or Il-76 transport aircraft - that carries the technical engineering crew, along with other cargo.


Comment: Congratulations on a job well done! The world and the Syrian people thank you, and we hope you all enjoy your much needed and deserved time with family and friends.

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Pills

Western drug companies tested products on East Germans during Cold War, new report states


RT
Wed, 16 Mar 2016 13:03 UTC
pills
© Reuters
For the duration of the Cold War, Western drug companies tested medication on East Germans, a medical report reveals. The companies are accused of using GDR's dictatorship and low accountability to citizens to commercial advantage.

The report by the Berlin-based Institute of Medical History and Ethics details 900 experiments that took place between 1961 and 1989, as well as some 300 clinical trials. Of the companies involved, there were American, French and British firms, among others. A total of 75 companies from 16 different countries took part in the gargantuan project; these included heavyweights like Pfizer and Bayer.

Researchers had to use the help of a medical historian for two-thirds of the data, for which no documented evidence was available.

The scheme was apparently designed as a quick fix for the cash-strapped GDR, the authors write. Initially it was thought the main incentive was lower personnel costs.

"The GDR authorities gave their country's health system over to Western companies and a research laboratory, in order to finance their own cash-strapped planned economy," the authors claim. There were "considerable time and efficiency gains which the dictatorial GDR regime could offer."

Despite this ominous association with human experimentation, it turned out the trial meds were actually tested in accordance with international standards of the time.

In conclusion, the authors weren't able to find any evidence of systematic breaches of conduct.

Comment: The trials may have been done in accordance with international standards, but consider the following about how such standards are no guarantee of safety:

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Info

Turkey disrupting efforts in settling Syrian crisis and violating territorial integrity of Iraq and Syria


Sputnik
Wed, 16 Mar 2016 13:35 UTC
Lavrov
© REUTERS/ Maxim Shemetov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the international community is taking on the Syrian settlement and providing for full-fledged participation by all Syrian, ethnic, and religious groups in the peace negotiations.

Turkey's actions are disrupting efforts in settling the crisis in Syria, including the ceasefire and delivery of humanitarian aid, and requires the international community to respond, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.

"I believe that this demands efforts that the international community is taking on the Syrian settlement and providing for full-fledged participation by all Syrian, ethnic, and religious groups in the peace negotiations, as well as efforts to provide for halting military actions, and demands a tough and clear reaction from the international community because Turkey's activities are, as a matter of fact, disrupting these efforts that are being made, including with the UN Security Council's approval, and on issues of the ceasefire, and issues of delivering humanitarian cargoes, as well as issues on the beginning of the political process," Lavrov said during a joint press conference in Moscow with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.
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Attention

Syrian Kurds to declare federal system while Damascus opposes Syria federalization


RT
Wed, 16 Mar 2016 12:55 UTC
kurds protest turkey aggression
© REUTERS/ RODI SAIDKurdish people carry flags as they march during a protest in the city of al-Derbasiyah, on the Syrian-Turkish border, against what the protesters said were the operations launched in Turkey by government security forces against the Kurds, February 9, 2016
Kurdish-controlled autonomous areas in northern Syria are expected to declare a federal system, local media and RT's sources on the ground have said. The conference to declare the federation of three Western Kurdistan enclaves will be in Rmelan.

The areas will reportedly be named the Federation of Northern Syria and represent all ethnic groups living there, Idris Nassan, an official in the foreign affairs directorate of Kobani - one of three autonomous areas set up by Kurdish groups two years ago - told Reuters. The federal system would mean "widening the framework of self-administration which the Kurds and others have formed," Nassan said.

A newly established system would see the autonomous cantons in Syria Kurdistan (Rojava) replaced.

Syrian Kurds effectively control a stretch of 400 kilometers (250 miles) along the Syria-Turkey border, from the frontier with Iraq to the Euphrates River. They also control a section of the northwestern border in the Afrin area.

Comment: Damascus doesn't support federalization of Syria:
Damascus opposes Syria federalization initiative put forward by the Kurdish representatives, the head of the Damascus delegation to the Geneva proximity talks on the Syrian reconciliation said Wednesday.

"Betting on creating any kind of division between Syrians will be a total failure," Bashar Jaafari told reporters asked to comment on the initiative.

He added that the delegation arrived in Geneva to discuss "how to keep unity and independence of Syria."


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2 + 2 = 4

US gov't admits that the people they armed in Syria have committed genocide

Matt Agorist
Free Thought Project
Tue, 15 Mar 2016 00:00 UTC
Genocide ISIS
Monday night, the US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to declare that Islamic State is committing genocide against Christians and other minority groups in Iraq and Syria.

In a unanimous 393-0 vote, the House resolution comes just days before the State Department is legally mandated by Congress to determine whether Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) persecution of minorities in Iraq and Syria - Christians, Yazidis, Sunni Kurds and Shiite Muslims - constitutes genocide, reports RT.

"What is happening in Iraq and Syria is a deliberate, systematic targeting of religious and ethnic minorities. Today, the House unanimously voted to call ISIS's atrocities what they are: a genocide. We also will continue to offer our prayers for the persecuted," House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) said in a statement.

Comment: Perhaps the creation of ISIS is less a case of blowback than it is one of blowup. Yes, there are probably a number of individuals who have turned to extreme measures in response to Western brutality and imperialism - but how many of them could be doing what they are today in Syria and elsewhere without the massive support of the US and allied psychopathic governments? What's worse is that this is precisely what the West wants and the trap that has been laid for the oppressed - not unlike the desperation induced by Israel towards Palestinians.

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