Puppet MastersS


Igloo

Russia planning ahead: Warns France of Ukraine gas shortage


RT
Wed, 28 Oct 2015 11:21 UTC
pipeline station
© David W Cerny / Reuters
Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak has told his French colleague that Ukraine could face a gas shortage this winter. Moscow is trying to avoid a gas crisis similar to the winter of 2006 which left parts of Europe without heat.

"In relation to Ukraine's gas supplies; more than $400 million has been transferred by Naftogaz to Gazprom. The commensurate volume of gas has been supplied to Ukraine,"Novak told French Energy Minister Segolene Royal in Moscow on Wednesday.

Comment: See also:

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Play

South Front: ISIS advance in Syria, US bombs Iraqi serviceman, chaos continues in Yemen (VIDEOS)


South Front
Tue, 27 Oct 2015 20:27 UTC
south front
The Russian Air Force struck terrorists' positions in Daraa province for the first time in the past month. Russia's fighter jets hit the terrorists' positions in the strategic hilltops of Tal al-Harra and Tal Antar near Deir al-Adas. Then the SAA carried out attacks on the strategic hilltop of Tal al-Alaqiya and managed to fully destroy the terrorists' positions in the sector. Also, the Russian airstrikes targeted the ISIS and al-Nusra positions in the Golan Heights in Quneitra province.

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Magnify

Best of the Web: The myth of 'moderate terrorists': Deconstructing the NATO narrative on Syria

Eva Bartlett
ingaza.wordpress.com
Sat, 10 Oct 2015 19:35 UTC
Image
Over the past five years, the increasingly ridiculous propaganda against President al-Assad and the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has ranged from the scripted (OTPOR fomented -"revolution") "peaceful protesters under fire" rhetoric, to other deceitful lexicon like "civil war," and "moderate rebels."

As the intervention campaigns continue with new terrorist and "humanitarian" actors (literally) constantly emerging in the NATO-alliance's theatre of death squads, it is worth reviewing some of the important points regarding the war on Syria.

Million Person Marches

On March 29, 2011 (less than two weeks into the fantasy "revolution") over 6 million people across Syria took to the streets in support of President al-Assad. In June, a reported hundreds of thousands marched in Damascus in support of the president, with a 2.3 km long Syrian flag. In November, 2011 (9 months into the chaos), masses again held demonstrations supporting President al-Assad, notably in Homs (the so-called "capital of the 'revolution'"), Dara'a (the so-called "birthplace of the 'revolution'"), Deir ez-Zour, Raqqa, Latakia, and Damascus.

Mass demonstrations like this have occurred repeatedly since, including in March 2012, in May 2014 in the lead-up to Presidential elections, and in June 2015, to note just some of the larger rallies.

In May 2013, it was reported that even NATO recognized the Syrian president's increased popularity. "The data, relayed to NATO over the last month, asserted that 70 percent of Syrians support" the Assad government. At present, the number is now at least 80 percent.
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Snakes in Suits

FBI advises users locked out of computers by hackers to just pay ransom


RT
Wed, 28 Oct 2015 18:17 UTC
Image
© Kacper Pempel / Reuters
There is a particularly devious type of malicious software that locks users out of their own computer systems until an individual agrees to pay a ransom to the hackers. In these cases, the FBI has surprisingly suggested just ponying up the dough.

It's not the type of advice one would typically expected from the FBI, but that's exactly what was recommended by Joseph Bonavolonta, the assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's CYBER and Counterintelligence Program Boston office.

"The ransomware is that good," said Bonavolonta at the 2015 Cyber Security Summit in Boston, as quoted by Security Ledger. "To be honest, we often advise people just to pay the ransom."

Bonavolonta went on to say that ransomware incidents should still be reported to the FBI so that the agency can monitor how the hackers are advancing their schemes, which can trap user data behind encryption. But he said even when the Bureau is notified of ransom hacks - software such as Cryptolocker, Cryptowall and Reveton, for example - the encryption is too tough for officials to crack.

"The easiest thing may be to just pay the ransom," said Bonavolonta. "The amount of money made by these criminals is enormous and that's because the overwhelming majority of institutions just pay the ransom."

Comment: The hackers ought to give a portion of their ransom fees to the FBI with this kind of advice. Maybe instead of giving terrible advice the FBI should try and find ways to help people who get hacked in this way.

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Family

Vienna summit on Syria will be attended by Iran, Iraq and Egypt


RT
Wed, 28 Oct 2015 16:23 UTC
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif
© Lucas Jackson / ReutersIranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif
Iran says Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his deputies will attend Syria peace talks in Vienna on Friday, ISNA news agency reports. Egypt and Iraq will also be attending.

"We have reviewed the invitation, and it was decided that the foreign minister would attend the talks," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said.

"Deputy Foreign Ministers Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takht Ravanchi will accompany Zarif on this trip," Afkham added.

She stated that Zarif and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, spoke on the phone about the upcoming summit on both Tuesday and Wednesday.
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Light Saber

On South China Sea standoff, China is no longer a western colony and won't be bullied

John Wight
RT
Wed, 28 Oct 2015 17:55 UTC
USS Lassen
© John Hageman / ReutersThe US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen
While the world's attention has been focused on events in the Middle East and Ukraine and the US-Russia standoff, another crisis has been brewing in the South China Sea where Washington's writ is being contested by China.

It is a territorial dispute that goes back centuries, but which has become increasingly tense in recent years.

Deepening tensions in the South China Sea involving a territorial dispute over the Paracel and Spratly Islands - in truth, submerged pieces of rock - are particularly delicate, given that the dispute involves multiple countries, including China, Vietnam, Singapore Malaysia, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

The waters around these islands are known to be rich in natural resources, and would constitute a significant boon to the economy of the state that has sovereignty over them.

Meanwhile, China - much to the consternation of the United States - has been actively constructing a man-made island in the area, which includes a runway big enough for military aircraft.
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Megaphone

Russian official: US ground operations in Syria illegal, will lead to unpredictable consequences


RT
Wed, 28 Oct 2015 17:50 UTC
Image
© Ramil Sitdikov / RIA Novosti
The consequences of potential US ground operations in Syria would be unpredictable, the head of Russia's parliamentary committee on foreign affairs told RT. He added that claims Russian airstrikes have targeted civilians are part of ongoing information war.

"If there ...[is] any evidence ...[it] should be presented and Russia is definitely open to making further investigations,"Chairman of the Russian Upper House committee for foreign affairs, Konstantin Kosachev told RT, while on a visit to Washington. "But there is no evidence [that has been] presented by the military experts to the Russian military experts."

Kosachev's comments come after the Russian Ministry of Defense summoned the military attaches of NATO countries and Saudi Arabia, asking them to clarify their allegations that Russian airstrikes in Syria had hit civilian targets.

The head of the committee blamed mass media for "deliberately circulating rumors" of Russian airstrikes killing civilian population in Syria. The same "rumors," Kosachev, said are being spread throughout social media.

"This is just an information war against Russia and nothing else," he told RT.
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War Whore

Free Syrian Army commander: Lots of our officers joined ISIS


RT
Wed, 28 Oct 2015 17:33 UTC
Free Syrian Army fighters
© Alaa Al-Faqir / Reuters
Lots of officers from Free Syrian Army (FSA) have joined Islamic State militants, one FSA commanders told RT. That's despite the rebels' centers repeatedly getting attacked by the extremists.

"But lots of our officers joined Islamic State because of ideology," Hussam Alawak, a commander of the Free Syrian army, told RT. He added that some extremists from the Islamic State's (IS, formerly known as ISIS/ISIL) branch in Iraq come to FSA centers and "cause trouble for them."

"They [IS] took lots of people from our army to achieve their goals of expansion, to control oil regions in Syria. They attacked us with very dense fire in the Al-Bab region [Aleppo province, northern Syria], so we had to tactically retreat to other places."

According to the Alawak, FSA also hopes that Russians and Syrians "can work hand-in-hand when it comes to counter terrorism and extremism in the region."
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Stop

Iraq PM spokesman: US ground operations against Islamic State not needed or asked for


Sputnik
Wed, 28 Oct 2015 16:13 UTC
US troops soldiers
© AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed
Baghdad has not asked and does not need the United States to conduct ground operations against Islamic State in Iraq, Prime Minister Haider Abadi's spokesman said Wednesday. On Tuesday, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said that the Pentagon had not ruled out conducting ground attacks against ISIL.
"This is an Iraqi affair and the government did not ask the U.S. Department of Defense to be involved in direct operations," Saad Hadithi told NBC News, adding that Baghdad had "enough soldiers on the ground."
Hadithi said the United States is required to coordinate through Baghdad any military activity in the country, including the airstrikes that an international US-led coalition is currently conducting against ISIL targets on Iraqi soil. The spokesman, however, admitted that US assistance was important to Iraq to arm and train its forces.

Some 3,300 US troops are currently deployed in Iraq to train local forces and protect US facilities, according to NBC News. US forces and Kurdish militia last week carried out an anti-ISIL operation in northern Iraq. The United States did not inform the Iraqi government of its actions in advance.

Comment: The Empire of chaos is quickly loosing influence all around the Middle East due to Russia's stand against terrorism. The US' illegal actions are becoming more and more exposed within the international community. Countries like Iraq, who have been abused and terrorized by the United States for well over a decade, are within their full right to say, "Enough!"

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Arrow Up

Russia to lead reconstruction efforts in war-torn Syria


RT
Wed, 28 Oct 2015 17:07 UTC
syria destruction
© Houssam Abo Dabak / Reuters
Syria's post-war reconstruction will be led by Russian companies, according to a member of the Russian Parliament Dmitry Sablin. The MP was part of last week's Russian delegation to Damascus.

Russian officials discussed economic matters with Syrian President Bashar Assad, including the issue of the country's revival, Sablin told Izvestia daily on Wednesday.

Talking about the reconstruction of Syria's war-torn regions, President Assad said companies from different countries have already offered their services in rebuilding Syria. While French and Swiss firms are among those ready to participate, the Syrian government will do its best to give Russian companies the best contracts, Assad added.

"There are areas in Syria that can be rebuilt. Syria is ready to provide Russian companies with all the contracts worth hundreds of billions dollars," Sablin quoted Assad as saying.

Comment: No doubt the West is apoplectic at this news, as Western corporations have likely been salivating over the possibility of endless Syrian 'reconstruction' opportunities once regime change enabled the US to install a puppet dictator, who would hand over control to the West. Quite fortunately, Putin's intervention has foiled their hegemonic ambitions thus enabling Syria to stabilize and facilitating the return of millions displaced by the US/NATO led proxy war.

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