Puppet MastersS


Crusader

Putin offers Pakistan help in fighting terrorism after Quetta hospital blast


Sputnik
Mon, 08 Aug 2016 17:51 UTC
Pakistan hospital blast
© REUTERS/ Naseer Ahmed
Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered assistance to Pakistan in the fight against terrorism after a blast killed at least 70 people at a hospital in Quetta earlier on Monday.

The explosion ripped through the hospital in the restive Balochistan province as the body of recently-killed Bilal Anwar Kasi, the president of the Balochistan Bar Association (BBA), was being brought in. The majority of mourners were reportedly lawyers and journalists.

"We decisively condemn this cynical, inhumane crime... I'd like to reiterate that the Russian side is ready to bolster cooperation with Pakistani partners in the fight against terrorism," Putin said.

Comment: Russia and Pakistan are getting closer ties: Russia and Pakistan move forward on North-South gas pipeline. Will Pakistan start moving away from the US who keeps killing their people with drones and yet gives them billions of dollars of weapons?

Read More...
Handcuffs

Russian lawmakers propose canceling statute of limitations for corruption crimes


RT
Mon, 08 Aug 2016 10:28 UTC
anti-Corruption laws russia
© Iliya Pitalev / Sputnik
Lawmakers representing the center-left party Fair Russia have prepared a bill that would cancel the statute of limitations for a broad range of corruption crimes, including wasting state funds and the unlawful instigation of criminal cases.

The draft prepared jointly by the head of Fair Russia, Sergey Mironov, and lower house MP Oleg Mikheyev proposes to fully cancel the use of statute of limitation in cases involving bribery, graft and abuse of office as well as misuse of state funds, knowingly submitting tainted data to state registers and forgery of official documents. Illegal instigation or stopping of criminal cases and forgery of evidence in criminal procedure also fall under the definition of corruption crimes in the new document.

Commenting on the motion, Mironov said it was a continuation of the party's anti-corruption drive manifested in a previously submitted bill that canceled suspended sentences for those convicted of corruption crimes.

Comment: In contrast to the U.S., Russia is actively fighting corruption to build a country that truly serves the people:

Read More...
Info

Continuing to align with Russia: Turkey lifts ban on Sputnik News


Sputnik
Mon, 08 Aug 2016 18:52 UTC
sputnik re-opens in Turkey
© Sputnik/ Konstantin Chalabov
In an interview with Sputnik, Turkish politician and senior advisor to the chairman of the oppositional Republican People's Party, Erdoğan Toprak, commented on the recent Turkish decision to lift the ban on Sputnik Turkey's website.

According to the politician, this initiative is a very important positive step, especially on the eve of the Turkish leader's visit to Russia.

"As a representative of the party and as a citizen, I consider this kind of media censorship and ban of informational sources unacceptable," the politician told Sputnik. "I believe that lifting the ban on the website before the visit of Mr. Erdogan to Russia is a gesture of goodwill. This decision was not made by chance. This is a positive step that demonstrates a serious intention to open a new page in Turkish-Russian relations," he added.
Read More...
Eye 2

Trident nuke renewal plan blown out the water by govt's own watchdog, £200 billion in costs to taxpayers


RT
Mon, 08 Aug 2016 12:12 UTC
Trident Ballistic Missile Submarine
© David Moir / ReutersHMS Vengeance, a British Royal Navy Vanguard class Trident Ballistic Missile Submarine.
Britain's new multibillion-pound Trident nuclear submarine fleet may be in jeopardy after the government's own watchdog warned the project faces "major risks."

The Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) has cast doubt on the Trident renewal plan. The deterrent is expected to vastly exceed its budget and face technical and managerial problems.

"Successful delivery of the project is in doubt, with major risks or issues apparent in a number of key areas," an IPA report to the Treasury and Cabinet Office said.

"Urgent action is needed to address these problems and/or assess whether resolution is feasible."

Last month, a vote in the House of Commons saw 472 MPs rule in favor of Trident's renewal, which 117 parliamentarians opposed.

Labour Party leader and long-time anti-nuclear campaigner Jeremy Corbyn gave his party a free vote on the question, with leadership challenger Owen Smith among the Labour rebels who voted yes to renewal.

Comment: See also: Theresa May says "Yes," she's prepared to kill hundreds of thousands in nuke attack

Read More...
Treasure Chest

US Marshals to auction $16mn in bitcoin seized from various black markets


RT
Mon, 08 Aug 2016 17:35 UTC
Bitcoin digital currency graphic
© Benoit Tessier / Reuters
The US Marshals Service (USMS) is set to sell 2,700 bitcoins worth more than $16 million that were taken from several cases, including the prosecution of the creator of the 'Silk Road' black market.

The USMS said in a Monday statement that the bitcoins being auctioned are connected to a number of civil and criminal cases that the US government has pursued in recent years.

The highest profile of these cases is the one involving the Silk Road deep web marketplace, where members used bitcoin to buy and sell illegal items such as narcotics. Bitcoins confiscated from former Silk Road administrator Ross Ulbricht and corrupt DEA agent Carl Force IV, who tried to take currency from the site for himself, will be auctioned off.
Read More...
Bad Guys

'Moderates' fighting under 're-branded' Nusra means they're Al-Qaeda affiliates too


The New Atlas
Mon, 08 Aug 2016 17:19 UTC
Al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat Al Nusra
The current ongoing offensive in southwest Aleppo is admittedly being headed by designated terrorist organization and Al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat Al Nusra under which a milieu of militant groups are fighting. Just before the offensive was launched, and apparently specifically for the occasion, Nusra would announce that it was severing ties with Al Qaeda (with Al Qaeda's blessing) so as to unite all the armed factions fighting in Syria under one banner.

Despite the attempted re-branding, both the United States and Russia continue to recognize Nusra as a terrorist organization. The Washington Post would report in its article, "Syria's Jabhat al-Nusra splits from al-Qaeda and changes its name," that:
Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. described the split from al-Qaeda as "a PR move." Al-Nusra "would like to create the image of being more moderate," Clapper said in an appearance at a security conference in Aspen, Colo. "I think they are concerned at being singled out as a target," particularly by Russian strikes, he said.
Russia was even less ambiguous about the announcement. Russian news agency TASS would report in their article, "Russian Foreign Ministry calls Jabhat al-Nusra's attempts to change image vain," that:
Attempts of Jabhat al-Nusra to paint itself differently by changing its name are vain, the group remains an illegal terrorist organization, fight against it will continue until it is fully destroyed, a Russian Foreign Ministry commentary said on Friday.
Read More...
Snakes in Suits

Kaine on being Killary's VP selection: 'Feels like I got kidnapped'

Burgess Everett
Politico
Fri, 05 Aug 2016 17:10 UTC
Kaine
© Associated Press
“It feels like I got kidnapped," the Democratic vice presidential nominee quipped Friday.
Tim Kaine is feeling just a little bit like a hostage on the campaign trail.

Arriving here at a coordinated campaign field office for Hillary Clinton's campaign and local Democrats, Kaine was greeted by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) who asked: "Well, what is it like?"

The Democratic vice-presidential nominee quipped back: "It feels like I got kidnapped."

Indeed, Kaine has been a bit more buttoned-up than his normal self in his first two weeks as Clinton's running mate. He still lingers at events and talks to supporters, but has said little to the traveling press even while recording interviews with local and national outlets — belying his habit as a senator of holding long gaggles with reporters as he deals with the rigors of the presidential campaign trail.

Despite the claustrophobic nature of the campaign and wading through crowds with Secret Service agents clinging to him, Kaine does seem to be enjoying his time on the trail. In Milwaukee earlier Friday, Kaine stopped at Lakefront Brewery: "Friday afternoon at a brewery in Milwaukee, who says campaigning is tough?

Comment: Interesting choice of words.

Read More...
Network

Iran seeks development of trilateral ties with Russia and Turkey to solve regional problems


Fars News Agency
Mon, 08 Aug 2016 17:10 UTC
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ibrahim Rahimpur
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ibrahim Rahimpur
Iran is interested in cooperating with Russia and Turkey on a trilateral basis, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ibrahim Rahimpur said.

Tehran's main goal is to ensure peace in the region, according to the deputy minister.

"We are ready to cooperate in such a format," Rahimpur told RIA Novosti.

"Our main goal is to ensure peace in the region," he added. "We think that the countries in the region are the ones who need to take decisions regarding themselves, not countries outside the region. Compared to the Arabs and Western states, we could very easily solve regional problems."
Read More...
Footprints

Aleppo terrorists receiving intelligence and aid from US warships say Syrian and Hezbollah commanders


Fars News Agency
Mon, 08 Aug 2016 16:59 UTC
US warship
Several commanders within the ranks of the Syrian army and Hezbollah said the terrorists in Aleppo are both receiving logistical aid and intelligence support from the Western states, specially the US warships deployed in the Mediterranean Sea. The latest intelligence operations by the resistance forces showed that the warships of the western states, specially the US, deployed in the Mediterranean Sea send intelligence to Jeish al-Fatah militants in Syria.

"The western countries' warships are providing the terrorists with information and intel about the resistance forces' moves round the clock and they (the militants) continue their operations with the help of the very same information," sources in resistance forces said on Monday.

Meantime, the latest news said that the terrorists' trans-regional supporters have supplied them with hundreds of anti-armored TOW missiles through their allies in the region. "The Jeish al-Fatah members seek to break the siege of their comrades in Aleppo while the Hezbollah resistance forces are showing strong resistance against them with the least possibilities," a member of the resistance forces said. Meantime, sources disclosed on Monday that Jeish al-Fatah's non-stop attacks to break the government forces' siege of Aleppo were mostly aimed at evacuating a number of Turkish and Western officers trapped in militant-held districts in Aleppo.
Read More...
Cell Phone

Citing security concerns, Iran bans Pokemon Go


The New Atlas
Mon, 08 Aug 2016 16:42 UTC
Smartphone mit Pokemon Go,Pokemon Go Spiel
© Niantic
The BBC in their article, "Pokemon Go banned by Iranian authorities over 'security'," would report that:
Authorities in Iran have banned the Pokemon Go app because of unspecified "security concerns".

The decision was taken by the High Council of Virtual Spaces, the official body overseeing online activity.

Iran follows a number of other countries in expressing its worries over security related to the game.
While the BBC offers no insight into what security concerns Iran specifically had, PC Magazine offered a few theories in its article, "Iran is First Country to Ban Pokemon Go," which reported:
We have our guesses, though. Pokemon Go can encourage players to get creative with their sleuthing at all hours of the night, which can prove troublesome. Trespassing concerns are prevalent, too—so much so, there's even a class-action lawsuit in the works in the United States centered on that very issue.

It's also possible that Iran wants to stop the "Pokemon effect" of tens (if not hundreds) of people all hanging out in the same area for hours at a time, or even the few cases where Pokemon Go players are robbed or assaulted when walking around Pokestops in particular areas.
The disruptive ability of the game to create and manipulate large groups of people on the streets, and other concerns regarding malware and permissions required by the application, couple together with the fact that the game's developer, Niantic, has a somewhat nefarious pedigree.

Comment: The security permissions required to place such a dangerous time/mind waster on a mobile device are terrifying. No sane person, let alone sane country would allow this data vacuum to be installed.

Read More...