Puppet Masters
Held every year, the drills officially began on Friday in Bulgaria's territorial waters and exclusive economic zone, and on the coast off Burgas.
As many as 25 military vessels, two planes, two helicopters and some 1,700 personnel are taking part in the exercise conducted in the international waters, reports Sofia New Agency.
All NATO member states of the Black Sea region, namely Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, are taking part in the drills, also attended by warships from Greece and Spain. The exercise also involves NATO associates Ukraine and Georgia.
The bill was given the go-ahead by the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee last week, according to Haaretz. Arab members of the Israeli Knesset had criticized the initiative arguing this would violate freedom of expression. It comes amid the ongoing debate in Arab communities on whether Christians should in fact volunteer for military service.
"Everyone has the right to express their opinion, especially in view of the disagreement in the Christian community on joining the army," Osama Saadia, an Israeli Arab lawyer and politician, member of Knesset from The Joint List, told Haaretz on Sunday.
Comment: What 'right'? Israel is NOT a democracy.
"The fact that they held the discussion despite the agreement not to do so is suspicious and inappropriate," he added.
In doing so, she pushes two arguments that fail to convince: Russia's relationship to the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the human rights situation in Crimea. The discussion behind this leads to the question of whether we should opt to harden the bloc confrontation approach, or whether efforts should be undertaken to keep channels of communication and influence open with Russia in the interests of pan-European unity.
The attack on our diplomats and CIA officers in Benghazi on 11 September 2012 however, destroyed that dream. The dream became a nightmare and Hillary has scrambled to pretend that she was not the mover-and-shaker that destabilized Libya and made it a safe haven for ISIS, aka radical Islamists.

The Italian national flag flutters atop of the Quirinale presidential palace in Rome.
In the aftermath of UK's Brexit vote, the focus of attention has switched to Italy's banking sector, which has accumulated €360 billion in bad loans, and growing.
A former member of the ECB executive board Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, and now chairman at Societe Generale, has warned the banking crisis in Italy could spread to the entire EU.
"Europe is extremely sick and must start dealing with its problems extremely quickly, or else there may be an accident. I'm no doomsday prophet, I am a realist," he said in an interview to Welt am Sonntag.
The "West", including U.S. - led NATO, the Persian Gulf Monarchies, and Israel, are waging a proxy war against Syria. ISIS or Daesh is the designated enemy, but it has long been (publicly) acknowledged that the real enemy is President Assad of Syria, not ISIS. All of the invading, un-islamic mercenary terrorists are the West's "strategic assets," including ISIS. Engineered islamophobia is all part of the Western psy- op to demonize all Muslims, to create fear, to create racism, and to create hatred — vital components for illegal wars of aggression.
Comment: The international operations center is reported to house teams from Italy, Jordan, UAE, US, France and UK to operate drones for recon operations, train Libyan forces and collect intel data.
At least one air strike was heard being coordinated in the tapes, which total just under an hour in length, suggesting the operations room is being used not only for reconnaissance. The recordings were passed to MEE from the Benina air base, which is considered to be Haftar's most important military facility. The leaks could prove damaging for the international parties involved because Haftar has refused to support the UN-backed unity government in Tripoli and has been fighting some groups that have taken part in the Western-backed campaign against the Islamic State (IS) group.
Cameron announced he will offer his resignation to the Queen after chairing his final Cabinet meeting and attending his last Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday.
"We are not going to have a prolonged leadership election campaign. I think Andrea Leadsom made absolutely the right decision to stand aside. It is clear Theresa May has the overwhelming support of the Conservative parliamentary party," he told assembled press outside Downing Street.
"I'm also delighted that Theresa May will be the next prime minister. She is strong, she is competent, she's more than able to provide the leadership the country is going to need in the years ahead and she will have my full support."
A joint project aimed at producing Kalashnikov rifles in Greece seems to be of particular concern to NATO. The initiative, according to Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos, could get the green light as soon as anti-Russian sanctions are lifted.
"The fact that a strategically important NATO country like Greece is trying to build its own relationship with Moscow could seriously undermine the alliance's ability to present a united front to deter further acts of Russian aggression," an unnamed NATO official told the Telegraph.
Comment: In other words, they were undermined to do nothing. Russia, so far. has not displayed acts of aggression, only defense.
The bloc's senior officials and military commanders have cited the non-existent Russian threat and the country's purportedly "aggressive" behavior to justify the alliance's unprecedented military buildup in Eastern Europe, the Baltic region and most recently the Black Sea.
Comment: No Defections Allowed! NATO's reasons and excuses are but a thin veneer to keep the EU herd managed and united. Any deviance from the NATO mask of lies might just crack the whole thing open, to be seen for the sham it is. This is the one risk NATO isn't willing to take. None for one, and all for all. By accusing Russia of turning heads, it accomplishes at least two things: reprimand for the straying member, and another reason to publicly denounce and threaten Russia. If Russia acts, in NATO's mind it "proves" NATO was right...a scenario it desperately needs; one we hope it never gets.
From the ongoing refugee crisis triggered by NATO's own global-spanning and ongoing military interventions, invasions, and occupations, to its continued expansion along Russia's borders - violating every convention and "norm" that existed during the Cold War to keep it "cold," NATO has proven that it is to the populations it poses as protector over, in fact, their greatest threat.
In particular, the summit in Warsaw, Poland centered on NATO's expanding military presence along Russia's borders, particularly in the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as in Poland itself.
The summit also covered ongoing NATO involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq, two nations so far beyond the Atlantic states the alliance allegedly was founded to protect, it would be comical if the consequences of their far-reaching meddling weren't so serious.














Comment: Only the West would see Haftar's effect on IS as a problem. Apparently some Haftar-support coalition members do not.
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