Puppet MastersS


Attention

'Position of strength': NATO to deploy 4,000 troops as a 'deterrent' near Russia's borders by May 2017


RT
Sun, 18 Sep 2016 23:35 UTC
Nato
© Kacper Pempel / Reuters
NATO is set to deploy a "deterrent" and possible "fighting" force of some 4,000 troops to the Baltic region by next May. The chief of the European Command has called on the alliance to approach Russia from a "position of strength."

The announcement of the 4,000-strong contingent took place as military leaders from the military bloc gathered in Split, Croatia over the weekend. At the summit, Czech Army Gen. Petr Pavel said four battle groups will be sent to the region at different times in the first half of 2017.

"With these four battle groups, we are not talking about exclusively about a training presence," he said, according to Wall Street Journal.

"This force is to serve as a deterrent and if necessary as a fighting force. The rules will be different," Pavel added.

Comment: See also : Crimea votes to leave Ukraine and 'no one has complained about referendum'

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Magnify

Doctors weigh in on Killary's health issues

Lawrence K. Altman, M.D.
NY Times
Sun, 18 Sep 2016 19:22 UTC
hillary clinton
© Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images
The disclosure last week that Hillary Clinton was being treated for pneumonia thrust the health of both of the major parties' presidential candidates and their running mates to the center of the campaign, and led to the release of more detailed medical histories from the two candidates seeking what is widely regarded as the world's most demanding job.

Mrs. Clinton, 68, the Democratic presidential nominee, who has had serious medical problems in recent years, released on Wednesday an update of a July 2015 letter from her doctor attesting to her overall good health and ability to serve a full four-year term as president. However, the doctor, Dr. Lisa Bardack of Mt. Kisco, N.Y., noted that Mrs. Clinton had developed two new medical conditions in 2016: a sinus and ear infection in the winter and pneumonia this month.

Dr. Bardack wrote that she had regularly examined Mrs. Clinton this year for routine care and that she had been closely monitoring her pneumonia, which is improving.

But doctors not connected with the candidate's care say that the letters omit basic information like height and weight, and that a more detailed history of her blood clots and a 2012 concussion should be disclosed. Still, the information Mrs. Clinton has made public is more extensive than the details and assessments that Dr. Harold N. Bornstein, the doctor for Donald J. Trump, 70, the Republican presidential nominee, provided on Thursday, saying that Mr. Trump has had no serious illness and "is in excellent health."
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Star of David

Israel's illegal settlements increased during Obama's 8 years in office


RT
Mon, 19 Sep 2016 19:10 UTC
israeli settlements
© Baz Ratner / Reuters
Israel's settlement expansions have increased under president Barack Obama despite Washington's repeated assertions that Israel's settlements in Palestine are both illegal and a barrier to peace.

The Associated Press reports that Israeli government data shows Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu's push for the expansion of illegal settlements have surpassed the level of building under George W. Bush.

According to the documents, which go up to June 30, 12,288 new settlement buildings started in the West Bank since Obama entered the White House.

In the first six months of this year, construction on 1,195 new settlement houses began, a 40 increase on the previous six months, Peace Now reports.

If settlement building continues at this rate, the numbers will surpass 13,000 by the time Obama steps down.

In east Jerusalem, Peace Now estimated 3,915 houses were built from Obama's start date to December 2015. In July alone, Israel announced over 1,000 new settlement homes.
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Stormtrooper

Ex-soldier claims SAS planned shoot-to-kill operation against Real IRA


RT
Mon, 19 Sep 2016 18:05 UTC
war peace sign
© Dylan Martinez / Reuters
Special Forces soldiers planned a no-questions-asked shoot-to-kill operation in response to a bid by Republican dissidents to gun down British troops at an ATM in Northern Ireland's County Tyrone, a former soldier has claimed.

The unconfirmed allegations have been made by an Irish-born former soldier who worked as a surveillance expert attached to an SAS unit in Northern Ireland between 2001 and 2004.

Sean Hartnett - an assumed name - detailed the operation in his new book 'Charlie One', which is being serialized on the Irish News website. The title refers to the status of a 'most wanted' target.

Hartnett describes how a vicious game of cat and mouse ensued after Real IRA dissidents spotted soldiers regularly using a free cash machine near St Lucia Barracks in Tyrone in defiance of orders. The ATM in their camp charged them for withdrawals.

The terrorists planned a drive-by shooting using a motorbike. They did not realize that surveillance experts such as Hartnett from the North Det, the local surveillance and special operations base, were already listening in on them.
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Newspaper

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Iran must stand strong against US on region conflicts


Yahoo! News
Sun, 18 Sep 2016 00:00 UTC
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
© AFP PhotoIran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addresses the commanders of Revolutionary Guards during a meeting in Tehran, on September 18, 2016
Iran's supreme leader said the Islamic republic must stand strong against Washington on the region's conflicts, in an address Sunday to commanders of the elite Republican Guards force.

"The Americans insist we negotiate with them on regional issues, especially on Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in the speech published on his official website.

"What is their main goal for requesting these talks? They have no aim but to prevent the presence in the region of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the main factor of America's failures," said Khamenei.
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Chess

Offensive Defence: Balochistan is now officially an arrow in India's quiver against Pakistan

Manu Balachandran
Quartz India
Fri, 16 Sep 2016 00:00 UTC
Modi-Sharif
© Reuters/Narendra ShresthaLet's play a new game.
There are four ways of dealing with a recalcitrant rival, according to Chanakya, the ancient Indian political philosopher and economist. They are saam, daan, bhed, and dand, roughly translating into talks, material offers, division, and punishment.

After decades of trying the first, talks, India seems to have decidedly opted for the third strategy, bhed, with regards to Pakistan over its inclination to nose around in Kashmir. The entity India has chosen to focus on is Balochistan, a particularly restive, mineral-rich region that is also the neighbour's largest province.

"This is a country (Pakistan), which has systematically abused and violated the human rights of its own citizens, including in Balochistan," Ajit Kumar, India's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), said on Sept. 14.

Comment: Only time will tell the implications of this new strategy. See also:

Washington gets the Modi blues as India's leader keeps going off the Empire's script

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Bad Guys

Washington gets the Modi blues as India's leader keeps going off the Empire's script

M K Bhadrakumar
India Punchline
Mon, 19 Sep 2016 17:57 UTC
Modi India BRICS
© Ivan Sekretarev / ReutersIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Against the backdrop of the upheaval in Jammu & Kashmir and ensuing India-Pakistan tensions, Washington is unmistakably signalling to Delhi to calm down and get its act together as a responsible regional power. The US is walking a fine line, given the complexities of the overall situation.

First and foremost, from Washington's perspective, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the best thing that ever happened to the US-Indian relationship since 1947. Here is an Indian prime minister who is not obsessed with 'strategic autonomy' and is game to taking India into an alliance with the US. Part of the package is also lucrative US exports to India, civil and military exports.

Geopolitically, the prospects also look good for incrementally atrophying India's 'time-tested' relations with Russia, which would help isolate Moscow and hurt its principal source of income out of arms exports. Above all, the Modi government genuinely believes in the efficacy of the US' containment strategy against China and counts on advantages accruing to India.

However, just when things looked jolly good, Kashmir Valley descended into violence and anarchy and Delhi began blaming Pakistan. The nadir was reached when under the mistaken notion that the rhetoric would have a receptive international audience, PM Modi personally began a strident campaign demanding that Pakistan should be sanctioned as a state sponsoring terrorism, and even more astoundingly, that Pakistan should be held accountable for its human rights record in Baluchistan province.

Comment: India is dealing as best it can with a very complex situation as it attempts to balance between the failing Empire and multi-polar world of Russia and China.

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Snakes in Suits

Washington's unreported role in turning N. Korea into a military garrison state

John Wight
RT
Sun, 18 Sep 2016 17:37 UTC
North korea missle launcher
© Jason Lee / Reuters
Amid the ocean of analyses of North Korea produced over the years, you will struggle to find one that identifies US foreign policy as a key factor in the country's regressive development.

This is the point consistently abstracted when it comes to arriving at an accurate rendering of a state consistently depicted as a veritable hell, in which its 25 million citizens are kept in a state of permanent fear and terror, a state and society in which human rights are non-existent, along with any vestige of freedom of expression or conscience.

While this is certainly part of the story when it comes to North Korea, it is by no means the whole story. For that we need to understand the concrete historical conditions that have largely, though not solely, been responsible for its current mode of existence as a garrison state.

Comment: Maybe US foreign policy against North Korea is by design to keep a 'hot spot' between the US and Russia/China: Tension grows between North and South Korea: US Empire is the real enemy of both

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Eye 2

MPs to question top MI5 lawyer over UK involvement in Guantanamo torture


RT
Mon, 19 Sep 2016 17:33 UTC
guantanamo
© Lucas Jackson / ReutersChain link fence and concertina wire surrounds a deserted guard tower within Joint Task Force Guantanamo's Camp Delta at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
MI5's top lawyer is to answer questions in Parliament over whether the intelligence agency knew about the alleged use of torture at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

MPs will ask the lawyer to give evidence about the alleged torture and rendition of terrorist suspects during the 'War on Terror.

The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) is investigating claims MI5 held secret "torture meetings" in 2002 during which interrogation practices at Guantanamo were discussed.

Former attorney general and ISC chair Dominic Grieve said the inquiry would investigate "unanswered questions" in relation to Britain's role in rendition.

"Our longer-term priority is the substantial inquiry into the role of the UK government and security and intelligence agencies in relation to detainee treatment and rendition, where there are still unanswered questions," he said shortly after his appointment to committee chair last October.
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Evil Rays

West Bank violence intensifies as Israeli police kill two Palestinian attackers


RT
Mon, 19 Sep 2016 16:06 UTC
west bank stabbing
© Mussa Qawasma / ReutersIsraeli security forces gather at the scene of a stabbing attack in the West Bank city of Hebron September 19, 2016
Two Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops in Hebron after they attempted to stab border police officers. One attacker was killed at the scene, while the other died in hospital. In a separate incident, two Israeli officers were stabbed in Jerusalem.

The attack in Hebron took place near the Tomb of the Patriarchs, which is a holy site to both Muslims and Jews. The two assailants were from Hebron, and were aged 17 and 21, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. They approached border officials and took out knives reportedly with the intention of stabbing them.

However, Israeli troops opened fire, killing both the Palestinians. Both of the attackers suffered gunshot wounds with one dying at the scene. The second was taken to a Jerusalem hospital in a critical condition, but later succumbed to his injuries. No Israeli troops were injured during the incident.

The shootings came hours after two police officers were stabbed by an attacker in East Jerusalem A 38-year-old female officer is in intensive care after suffering stab wounds to the neck, while a 40-year-old male officer suffered moderate injuries.

Comment: It's hard not to blame Palestinians for resorting to violence after being surrounded and treated as less than humans by Israel for as long as they have:

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