Puppet MastersS


Light Sabers

Russia to conduct naval drills in Mediterranean and Caspian Sea simulating battlefield conditions


RT
Thu, 11 Aug 2016 19:17 UTC
russia caspian fleet
© Ministry of defence of the Russian Federation / SputnikRussia's Caspian Fleet launches a massive attack involving 18 Kalibr-NK cruise missiles on 7 terrorist positions in the Syrian provinces of al-Raqqah, Idlib and Aleppo
Russia's naval force in the Mediterranean will begin a tactical drill to test its readiness on August 15, the Defense Ministry's press-service reported on Thursday.

The group of 10 warships is planning to engage in live artillery and missile fire "under simulated battlefield conditions." The force includes two fast attack guided missile craft, both armed with Kalibr-NK cruise missile complexes equipped with 8 missiles each.

Simultaneously, on August 15, a group of four attack guided missile craft (each armed with 8 Kalibr-NK cruise missiles) will be deployed in the southwestern part of the Caspian Sea to perform live artillery and missile strikes, the ministry says.

The warships are "fully combat ready" and capable of delivering strikes on targets inside Syria, according to Vladimir Komoedov, the head of the Russian State Duma's Defense Committee and former commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, as cited by Interfax.
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Jet5

Turkey to resume airstrikes agains ISIS in Syria, asks Russia for joint operation against common enemy


RT
Thu, 11 Aug 2016 19:10 UTC
turkish fighter jet
© Murad Sezer / ReutersA Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet lands at Incirlik air base in Adana, Turkey
Turkey will resume airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Syria, and has asked Russia to carry out joint operations against its "common enemy." Ankara halted strikes after the downing of a Russian plane by Turkish forces last year.

In an interview with Turkey's NTV television on Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusolgu said that Ankara "will again, in an active manner, with its planes take part in operations" against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) targets.

Cavusolgu also said that Ankara has called on Moscow to carry out joint operations against the "common enemy" of IS.

"Let's fight against the terrorist group together, so that we can clear it out as soon as possible," Cavusolgu said, adding that otherwise IS will continue to expand and spread into other countries.

"We will discuss all the details. We have always called on Russia to carry out anti-Daesh [IS] operations together," he said, adding that the proposal is still "on the table."
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Chess

Russian Black Sea Fleet holding underwater drills in wake of failed Crimean attack


RT
Thu, 11 Aug 2016 18:33 UTC
russian military
© Sergey Pyatakov / Sputnik
Russia's Black Sea Fleet command has announced three-day anti-sabotage drills to counter potential underwater attacks on naval installations. This comes after the Russian security service said it foiled a terrorist attack on Crimea from Ukrainian territory.

The training, conducted as part of broader military drills named Kavkaz-2016, "will repel an attack of underwater saboteurs from the sea on the Black Sea Fleet's home base," the fleet's command said in a media statement.

More than 10 warships, MI-8 and Ka-27PS helicopters are taking part in the training. The crews of the ships will perform counterterrorist activities, minesweeping and search and rescue operations out at sea. They will also rehearse operating with terrestrial navigation aids disabled, using hydrographical services for temporary navigation references.

President Vladimir Putin discussed additional security measures taken in the Crimea Peninsula with members of Russia's Security Council.

Comment: See also:

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Jet2

Russia's military base in Syria to become permanent


RT
Thu, 11 Aug 2016 18:18 UTC
Hmeimim Airbas
© Ministry of defence of the Russian Federation / SputnikThe first group of Russian aircraft from the Hmeimim Airbase departs for home bases in Russia.
Russia's military base in Khmeimim, Syria, will be converted to make it a permanent site, a Russian senator has said. After various questions are agreed with the Syrian authorities, the base will have extended operational capabilities. Moscow is committed to project its military power into Syria and transform the Khmeimim airfield into a full-fledged military base with a permanently deployed task force, Deputy Head of the Upper House Committee for Defense and Security Frants Klintsevich told Izvestia daily.

The task force currently deployed at Khmeimim "is sufficient, yet it could be expanded in accordance with bilateral agreements" with Syria, the senator noted. The Khmeimim base requires renovation of its infrastructure, the installation of new stationary air traffic control systems and modernization of the airfield to enable it to accommodate all types of military aircraft, including strategic aviation.

"Nuclear weapons and heavy [strategic] bombers will not be deployed there on a permanent basis, because it would contradict international agreements and raise repudiatory ire," Klintsevich said.
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Che Guevara

Turkish diplomats lash out at NATO for its attempts to dictate Turkey's foreign policy


RT
Thu, 11 Aug 2016 18:17 UTC
Turkish and NATO flags
© Fatih Saribas / Reuters
Turkey's ambassador to Russia has lashed out at NATO, saying the alliance has no right to dictate foreign policy to Ankara. Meanwhile, Turkey's foreign minister reiterated that his country has options outside of NATO when it comes to defense cooperation.

Turkish Ambassador Umit Yardim made his comments after a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Tuesday.

The two heads of state were trying to improve diplomatic relations between the two countries, which hit rock bottom after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane over Syria in November.

"In no way can NATO limit our contacts with other countries... It means NATO has no right to dictate its terms and tell us who we should or should not meet and communicate with," Yardim said on Thursday, as cited by RIA Novosti.
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Bullseye

Jill Stein: End all military funding to apartheid Israel


The Jerusalem Post
Mon, 08 Aug 2016 18:05 UTC
Jill Stein
© REUTERSPresumptive presidential candidate for the Green Party Dr. Jill Stein speaks at a cafe near the campus of the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio July 18, 2016.
US Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein says she would end all military aid to Israel and has recently called the Israeli government "very oppressive."

In an interview with Newsweek published Friday, Stein said that as an American Jew she has a relationship with Israel, but called that relationship "ethical" and blasted right-wing donors such as Sheldon Adelson who "contributes a huge amount of money to [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu." She said that if she were an Israeli citizen she would be "up in arms about it."

When asked about military aid to Israel, Stein responded she would end all military funding, adding that, "This would be decisively against our common values, to support apartheid, to support home demolitions, to support occupation, to support violations of international law."

As the Green Party candidate in 2012, Stein appeared on ballots in 36 states and received 469,000 votes, or some 0.36 percent of the ballots cast. Stein ran unsuccessfully for governor of Massachusetts in 2002 and 2010. Before entering politics, Stein, a graduate of Harvard Medical School, was a practicing physician for 25 years.

In line with the Green Party platform, Stein supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, or BDS. She places Israel in the company of non-democratic American allies Saudi Arabia and Egypt. In tweets, she has accused Israel of "the pillage of Palestine" and written that Israel's "war crimes & human rights violations are off the charts."

Stein needs to garner 15 percent support in election polls to be invited to participate in the presidential debates. She currently is polling at about 5 percent.
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Vader

Washington bombing Libya as way to save face after losing to Russia in Syria

Finian Cunningham
Strategic Culture Foundation
Thu, 11 Aug 2016 17:59 UTC
obama putin
The US air strikes on Libya this week mark a major escalation of American overseas military operations. A Pentagon spokesman said, the air campaign would continue indefinitely in support of the UN-backed unity government in Tripoli against Islamic State (IS) jihadists.

It was the first "sustained" aerial intervention in Libya since 2011 when US and other NATO warplanes conducted a seven-month bombing campaign in order to oust the government of Muammar Gaddafi.

The timing of the latest US air strikes on the Libyan port city of Sirte seems significant. For nearly two months, the Tripoli-based government has been making inroads against the IS brigades in Sirte. So why should US air strikes be called in at this precise juncture?

The deployment of US air power in Libya followed within days of the decisive offensive launched by the Syrian Arab Army and its Russian allies on the strategic city of Aleppo in northern Syria. As the Syrian and Russian allies move towards defeating anti-government militias holed up in Syria's biggest city, that victory portends the end of the five-year Syrian war.

Frustration in Washington over Russia's successful prosecution of its war against foreign-backed terror groups in Syria has been palpable since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered in his forces to the Arab country - a longtime ally of Moscow - nearly ten months ago.
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Bomb

Kiev defies ceasefire, shells Lugansk militia - LPR Defense Ministry


TASS
Thu, 11 Aug 2016 17:49 UTC
LPR Defense Ministry
The Ukrainian army has shelled people's militia positions in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) four times over the past 24 hours, a source in the LPR Defense Ministry told Lugansk Inform Tsentr news agency on Thursday.

"The Prince Igor monument came under fire from the area near Stanitsa Luganskaya village, the area was shelled with tank guns and 82-mm mortars. The area close to Slavyanoserbsk populated locality was shelled with 82-mm mortars from the Krymskoye village area, while the village of Nizhneye Lozovoye was shelled with tripod-mounted man-portable antitank guns and automatic grenade launchers. There are no casualties," the news agency quotes the source as saying.

Members of the Contact Group for the settlement of the situation in eastern Ukraine agreed at a meeting in Minsk on April 29 on a complete ceasefire in Donbass as of April 30. This is the eighth ceasefire agreement since the autumn of 2014. However, the Ukrainian side has repeatedly violated the ceasefire in the people's militia's area of responsibility, including by opening fire with mortars and tank guns that were to be withdrawn in accordance with the Minsk agreements.
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Stormtrooper

Police in Canada reportedly kill suicide bomber planning attack on major Canadian city


RT
Thu, 11 Aug 2016 17:10 UTC
canadian police
© Blair Gable / Reuters
Canadian police reportedly killed a lone suspect in a major anti-terrorist takedown operation on Wednesday. The suspect was linked to Islamic State and believed to be behind a suicide bomb plot on a major Canadian city.

The suspect was identified as Aaron Driver, 24, according to Canadian media.

Driver was killed during a dramatic Royal Canadian Mounted Police operation in the southern Ontario town of Strathroy, which is located around 225 kilometers (140 miles) west of Toronto.

The suspect, who was well known to Canadian intelligence and police as an Islamic State sympathizer, died inside a house on Wednesday. Police said that Driver was likely acting alone and that there was no longer a threat to public's safety.

Canadian media reported that he likely wanted to target a busy public area in Toronto with an IED to cause massive casualties.
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X

Russia's FSB busts online ISIS recruiting ring


RT
Thu, 11 Aug 2016 16:48 UTC
ISIS online
© Dado Ruvic / Reuters
Russia's Federal Security Service has uncovered and closed an internet community recruiting fighters for Islamic State and propagating terrorism on the web. It also seized weapons and explosives from the suspects during searches in three Russian regions.

The FSB's center for public communications reported on Thursday that the agency and Russia's Interior Ministry jointly liquidated the cells of an internet community called "The Guide for Joining the Islamic State" in the Tyumen, Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk regions. The community members are suspected of spreading terrorist propaganda and collecting funds for the banned Islamic State terrorist group (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), as well as recruiting new fighters and helping them reach terrorist bases abroad.

Security services seized three pistols, four hand grenades, plastic explosives and TNT, as well as detonators for them, during searches conducted in 27 locations. They also confiscated a large cache of extremist literature and videos. Criminal cases have been launched to investigate the head of the terrorist cell and three of its members who are suspected of organizing a terrorist group and participating in one - crimes punishable by five to ten years imprisonment, as well as large fines.

According to the FSB, the total number of members in the "The Guide for Joining the Islamic State" community based in the Russian Federation, Central Asian Nations, the Middle East, and North Africa could be as high as 100,000. The community has dozens of moderators who use encryption software and internet anonymizers to conceal their identities, the agency's press service said.
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