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Thu, 04 Nov 2021
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Syrian Army liberates al-Bagilya settlement following ISIS massacre

Syrian army
© AFP 2016/ GEORGE OURFALIAN
Governor of the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor said that Syrian Armed forces liberated al-Bagilya settlement, where the militants of Daesh militant group had killed 280 people.

Syrian Armed forces liberated al-Bagilya settlement, where the militants of the Islamic State (ISIL) militant group had killed 280 people, governor of the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor told Sputnik on Sunday.

"ISIL militants entered in the village of al-Bagilya... last night and perpetrated a massacre of whole families. For this reason the army headed to this region to save the population. There were clashes with ISIL militants, they suffered significant casualties, the rest succeeded to flee to the neighboring areas controlled by ISIL," Mohammad Qaddur Ajnyyja said.

Comment: Thank the US' psychopathic foreign policy for this massacre. Also see: U.S. starves Syria, media covers it up by blaming Assad


Bad Guys

U.S. embargo of Iran still in place despite lifting 'significant' part of sanctions

US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew
© AP Photo/ Pablo Martinez Monsivais
US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew
US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said that the United States will continue imposing sanctions on Iran for its sanctionable actions outside of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The United States will continue imposing sanctions on Iran for its sanctionable actions outside of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said in a statement.

On Saturday, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed Iran's compliance with the agreement on country's nuclear program and implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) came into effect. Soon after that, the regime of sanctions imposed on Tehran by the United States has been substantially weakened.

Comment: Also see:


Map

Changing narratives: Was U.S. Navy on spy mission near Iran's Farsi Island military base?

iran navy gulf
Your bullshit-ometer should be making an awful racket in response to the shifting explanations given for the twenty-four-hour Iranian hostage scare involving two US Navy boats intercepted in the Gulf.

First they told us "at least one of the boats" had experienced a "mechanical failure." Then they said the boats had run out of fuel, although it wasn't clear if they meant both boats. Then they said "there was no mechanical problem." Then they claimed that the two crews had somehow not communicated with the military command, although "they could not explain how the military had lost contact with not one but both of the boats." As the New York Times reported:
"Even as Mr. Kerry was describing the release on Wednesday morning, American military officials were offering new explanations about how the two 49-foot patrol boats, formally called riverine command boats, had ended up in Iranian territorial waters while cruising from Kuwait to Bahrain."
And they still haven't explained it - or any of the other distinctly odd circumstances surrounding this incident.

Comment: Further reading:


Briefcase

Investment analyst: A recession worse than 2008 is coming

Wall Street
© Benzinga
The S&P 500 has begun 2016 with its worst performance ever. This has prompted Wall Street apologists to come out in full force and try to explain why the chaos in global currencies and equities will not be a repeat of 2008. Nor do they want investors to believe this environment is commensurate with the dot-com bubble bursting. They claim the current turmoil in China is not even comparable to the 1997 Asian debt crisis.

Indeed, the unscrupulous individuals that dominate financial institutions and governments seldom predict a down-tick on Wall Street, so don't expect them to warn of the impending global recession and market mayhem.

But a recession has occurred in the U.S. about every five years, on average, since the end of WWII; and it has been seven years since the last one — we are overdue.

Most importantly, the average market drop during the peak to trough of the last 6 recessions has been 37 percent. That would take the S&P 500 down to 1,300; if this next recession were to be just of the average variety. But this one will be worse.

A major contributor for this imminent recession is the fallout from a faltering Chinese economy. The megalomaniac communist government has increased debt 28 times since the year 2000. Taking that total north of 300 percent of GDP in a very short period of time for the primary purpose of building a massive unproductive fixed asset bubble that adds little to GDP.

Comment: See also:


Dollar

Ultra-rich 'philanthrocapitalist' class subverting global democracy

Melinda and Bill Gates
© World Economic Forum/flickr/cc
Melinda and Bill Gates at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2009.
From Warren Buffett to Bill Gates, it is no secret that the ultra-rich philanthropist class has an over-sized influence in shaping global politics and policies.

And a study (pdf) just out from the Global Policy Forum, an international watchdog group, makes the case that powerful philanthropic foundations—under the control of wealthy individuals—are actively undermining governments and inappropriately setting the agenda for international bodies like the United Nations.

The top 27 largest foundations together possess assets of over $360 billion, notes the study, authored by Jens Martens and Karolin Seitz. Nineteen of those foundations are based in the United States and, across the board, they are expanding their influence over the global south. And in so doing, they are undermining democracy and local sovereignty.

Treasure Chest

Obama unveils wage insurance plan that somehow will spur job seekers

Obama
U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday laid out a plan to help support the income of workers who lose their jobs and end up in lower paying positions, as part of a push to get unemployed Americans back to work.

The proposal would offer experienced workers who now make less than $50,000 a form of wage insurance, allowing them to replace half of their lost pay. The benefit would cover up to $10,000 over two years.

"It's a way to give families some stability and encourage folks to rejoin the workforce - because we shouldn't just be talking about unemployment; we should be talking about re-employment," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address, broadcast on Saturday.

Comment: Federally-funded from our pockets. So exactly how does wage insurance provide an incentive for people to go back to work?

Since the FED stopped quantitative easing and actually raising interest rates, looks like it is time to give money directly to the people in a mad, desperate hope to fuel the economy.


Attention

About time: European Union, US lift nuclear program-related sanctions against Iran

Iran nuclear talks
© AFP 2016/ JOE KLAMAR
The United States and the European Union are lifting sanctions imposed on Iran due to its nuclear program.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said that the United States lifted sanctions against Iran.
"I hereby confirm that the International Atomic Energy Agency has verified that Iran has fully implemented its required commitments... The U.S. sanctions-related commitments described in Sections 17.1-17.5 of Annex V of the JCPOA are now in effect."

Bad Guys

'Horrific massacre': Daesh murders 280 people in Syrian Deir Ez-Zor

ISIS flag
© AFP 2016/ MARWAN IBRAHIM
The Islamic State (ISIL, or Daesh) murdered some 280 people in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor, where Russia had delivered a humanitarian aid earlier, local residents told Sputnik on Saturday.

"The horrific massacre carried out today by ISIL militants in al-Bagilya in Deir ez-Zor. 280 victims, including women, children and old people. Reason — cooperation with the Syrian army," the local source said.

According to the local source, militants of the group outlawed in Russia continue the massacre, "killing whole families."

Earlier it has been reported that the extremists had advanced into the northern tip of Deir ez-Zor.

Info

North Korea to US: Stop drills, sign peace treaty if you want end to nuclear tests

North Korean soldiers
© Damir Sagolj / Reuters
North Korea has set out a series of demands to end nuclear testing. Pyongyang wants a peace treaty to be signed with the US, but also wants Washington to stop conducting military drills with neighbor South Korea.

"Still valid are all proposals for preserving peace and stability on the peninsula and in Northeast Asia including the ones for ceasing our nuclear test and the conclusion of a peace treaty in return for US halt to joint military exercises," North Korea's official KCNA news agency cited a spokesman for the country's Foreign Ministry as saying, according to Reuters.

Vader

Austria suspends schengen, imposes border control amid refugee crisis

Immigrants
© AP Photo/ Ronald Zak
The Austrian government temporarily suspended the Schengen agreement, imposing full border control measures on everyone entering the country, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann told the newspaper Oesterreich in an interview.

"Everyone who is coming to us would be carefully checked at the border," Fayman told Oesterreich.

Chancellor Faymann said that from now on Austria would "similar to Germany" have a more strict border control and deport people who, lacking the proper refugee identification, out of the country.