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China poised to use US air base and invest in Portugal's Azores


Sputnik
Fri, 14 Oct 2016 13:42 UTC
Lajes Field air base
© AFP 2016/ JOSE ANTONIO RODRIGUES
A year after the US decided to roll back its presence in the Azores, it looks like China is ready to step in and use the Lajes Field air base on the Portuguese-run mid-Atlantic island chain.

In an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said that China was likely to use the Lajes Field air base on the island of Terceira for scientific purposes.

The islands are "very important both logistically in the Atlantic Ocean but also in terms of technology and research, in the field of climate change and deep water research," Antonio Costa said.
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War Whore

John McCain: 'It's time for a new strategy in Syria'

John McCain
Wall Street Journal
Wed, 12 Oct 2016 17:23 UTC
John McCain with ISIS and FSM
'They make a desert and call it peace," wrote the Roman historian Tacitus, quoting an enemy of Rome about its brutal conquests. The same could be said today of Bashar Assad and his ally Russian President Vladimir Putin in Syria.

At this moment, Syrian and Russian forces, together with Iranian and Hezbollah militia fighters, are preparing to finish their siege of Aleppo. The 275,000 people who reportedly remain in the city are being told to flee. Thousands will do so, choosing to become refugees. The poor souls who remain in Aleppo will suffer a surge in relentless, indiscriminate bombing. And when Mr. Assad, Mr. Putin and their allies have slaughtered all that stand in their way, they will proclaim peace in the bloody sands of the Syrian desert.


Comment: What about the tens of millions killed, wounded, or forced to flee their homes because of the US bombing campaigns against Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan, Syria, and Somalia? Washington has far more blood on its hands than either the Russian or Syrian governments, so McCain's crocodile tears over 'the blood of the innocent' in Syria are hypocritical and despicable. The difference is Russia and Syria are actually targeting terrorists whereas the US pursues the total destruction of Muslim societies. Here is the crux of the issue: McCain isn't flying into a rage over civilian deaths. He's howling at the loss of his terrorist demon spawn and thwarted domination .


The collapse of the most recent cessation of hostilities is not surprising. It failed, as did the Obama administration's previous efforts to work with Russia in Syria, because as former Secretary of State George Shultz once said, "diplomacy not backed by strength will always be ineffectual at best, dangerous at worst."


Comment: Responsibility for the collapse of the ceasefire agreement lies entirely with the US and its moderate rebels terrorists.


Comment: The Obama administration's approach to Syria has produced a humanitarian crisis that spans continents. McCain's call for a 'new strategy' of direct US involvement in the Syrian conflict with continued arming of the 'moderate' terrorists would produce even more of the same death and destruction. Thankfully, Russia anticipated this not so 'new strategy' and took steps to make it an impossible one. All the US and its war-mongering politicians like McCain can do now is watch their plans fall to pieces, cry over the loss of their jihadi proxies, and possibly throw a very destructive tantrum.

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Info

Are the US, France and Britain the real terrorists in Syria? Actions speak louder than words


The Mind Unleashed
Sun, 09 Oct 2016 00:00 UTC
Putin wink

Uncle Volodya says, You must remember, my dear lady, the most important rule of any successful illusion: First, the people must want to believe in it”.”
The hypocrisy of the West and it's corresponding mainstream media outlets is continuing to escalate. Although instead of convincing us that Vladimir Putin of Russia and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad are the terrorists, the US, France and Britain are showing the world that it is they themselves that are the terrorists as they now openly and desperately support other terrorist groups in Syria.

As has been suspected, the rhetoric coming specifically from the U.S. is taking a nasty turn into outright lies as Putin's and Assad's forces, along with Iranian and Iraqi forces, are inching closer to victory in purging ISIL and Jabhat al Nusra from the strategic city of Allepo, Syria.

This has been made even more apparent by recent events, namely the bombing of a Syrian army base at Deir ez-Zor on September 17th. Over 60 Syrians were murdered and over 200 more wounded when US, Australian and British jets bombed the military base. The US then stated that it was an "accident." Sure. Accidentally bombing a base that was in a strategic location, which then allowed ISIL forces to launch an offensive immediately after the strikes were conducted.

Comment: See also No 'Hot War', only dirty tricks as U.S. Imperialists go to the wire against Russia over Syria

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Chess

Russian-Chinese security alliance deepens in response to US expansion, militarization

Ting Shi and Ilya Arkhipov
Bloomberg
Fri, 14 Oct 2016 06:57 UTC
Putin and Xi Jinping
© Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, will have more than vodka shots and gifts of ice cream to show for their warming relationship when they meet this weekend on the sidelines of a developing nations' summit in India.

Recent months have seen greater security cooperation between Russia and China as they find common ground against the U.S. The neighboring giants last month held their first joint naval drill in the South China Sea and both have condemned U.S. plans to deploy a U.S. missile shield in South Korea. A Russian general said this week the military was working with China to counter an expansion of U.S. missile defenses, which they see as upsetting the balance between the three nuclear powers.

"The fact that both countries started to talk about joint actions on the military level is a very serious development," said Vasily Kashin, a senior fellow of Russian Academy of Science's Far Eastern Studies Institute. "The threat from U.S. missile defense pushes both China and Russia closer to each other. For Russia and China, the policy of containment is the containment of the U.S. first of all."

Comment: China and Russia's G20 message: Choosing cooperation over confrontation

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Star of David

Netanyahu mocks UNESCO motion to name Temple Mount by its Arabic name


RT
Fri, 14 Oct 2016 13:16 UTC
Temple Mount in Jerusalem
© Ammar Awad / Reuters
Tel Aviv lashed out at UNESCO after they failed to recognize Israel's historic connection to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall, the holiest of holy sites for Jewish people. PM Netanyahu also joined the chorus of ridicule.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) passed a draft resolution on Thursday that maintains that the Western Wall and Temple Mount will be referred to by their Arabic names. The Hebrew terms for the holy sites will only appear in quotation marks in UN references.


Comment: UNESCO's Executive Committee on Thursday voted for the resolution, which acknowledges Jerusalem to be a holy city for Muslims, Christians and Jewish people, but names the Temple Mount a Muslim holy site.


The resolution was supported by 24 states, with six countries opposed and 26 abstaining in the vote that received massive condemnation in Israel. The draft resolution, submitted by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, and Sudan, will be referred to UNESCO's executive board for formal approval next week.


Comment: The United States, Britain, Germany, Holland, Lithuania and Estonia voted against the resolution, while none of the European states supported the motion following diplomatic efforts by Israeli diplomats.


Comment: UNESCO Resolution on Jerusalem 'Affront' to Jews - Chief Rabbi of Russia
"I must honestly and explicitly say: the latest UNESCO resolution on Jerusalem is an affront to the feelings of all religious Jews and completely undermines, in our eyes, the credibility of this organization," Lazar said, as quoted in a press release.

Lazar added that UNESCO was failing in its educational function by failing to recognize the findings of archaeological excavations, which "indicate that Jerusalem for dozens of centuries has been the unquestioned spiritual center of Judaism."

The Rabbi also noted his dismay at the vote of the Russian delegation in UNESCO in favor of the resolution.


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Gear

The deadly and acceptable racism of the 'anti-racist' liberal imperialist

Neil Clark
RT
Thu, 13 Oct 2016 07:00 UTC
Libyan youth
© Suhaib Salem/Reuters
A youth walks past destroyed weapons belonging to forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, after a coalition air strike, along a road between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah March 21, 2011.
When it comes to hypocrisy, the pro-war Western 'liberal' is in a class of his own. While professing opposition to racism, the pro-war liberal is cheerleader for the most dangerous and deadly form of racism in the world today - contemporary US/Western imperialism.

A racism that is scarcely reported, but which has laid waste to entire countries and killed millions - and which now threatens to drag us into potentially catastrophic military confrontation with Russia.

We can see this abhorrent racism on display again in the current debates in elite circles in the West over Syria. It's taken as a given that 'We' i.e., the US and its allies, have a right to declare who is or is not the legitimate government of Syria. We can demand 'Assad must go' but of course no Syrian government official can demand one of OUR leaders must go. The very thought of it!

We have the right to impose 'No Fly Zones' which of course won't apply to OUR aircraft - only to THEIRS. We have the right to bomb or illegally invade countries at any time we want to - for whatever fictitious reasons - but if the people of the targeted country dare to fight back, we'll call them "genocidal" and accuse their leader (and his allies) of war crimes and push for them to be sent to The Hague. Our leaders meanwhile can break international law and kill hundreds of thousands with total impunity.

Comment: The US Empire has been unmasked - it's time to speak out

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War Whore

Bluff or foolish hubris? Obama set to discuss direct military action against Syrian military at National Security Council meeting


RT
Fri, 14 Oct 2016 11:41 UTC
aleppo
© Abdalrhman Ismail / Reuters
A civil defense member runs at a market hit by air strikes in Aleppo's rebel-held al-Fardous district
US President Barack Obama is set to discuss further US action in Syria with his senior foreign policy advisers at the National Security Council (NSC) on Friday. US officials say military options are to be mulled over, among other possibilities.

One scenario to be discussed involves direct US military action in Syria, including airstrikes on Syrian military, radar and anti-aircraft bases, as well as arms depots, Reuters reports citing high-ranking US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.


Comment: If the US decides to bomb Syrian military positions, they are essentially deciding to go to war against Russia, OR they think that Russia won't actually use their S-300 systems against American aircraft. Maybe they think the Russians are bluffing about protecting the Syrian military and airspace against foreign missiles and want to test it. But it would be foolish to think that Russia is ever bluffing at this point. They have proven that they can be taken at their word. Most likely the Americans know they have been checkmated in Syria and are just blustering about attacking the Syrian military because that is all that they can do now - talk. They have no moves left in Syria.


Another scenario to be considered is allowing coalition forces to provide the US-backed 'moderate Syrian opposition' with advanced ammunition and weaponry.


Comment: The US has already, for quite some time, been providing its proxy army of terrorists in Syria with weapons and ammunition. At this point the US probably figures since it's an open secret, they might as well come right out and admit it.


This would not include shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, as Washington fears they could be used against Western airliners.
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Light Sabers

No longer your concern: China warns Britain to stop interfering in Hong Kong's affairs


RT
Fri, 14 Oct 2016 10:59 UTC
xi jinping
© Bobby Yip / Reuters
Chinese President Xi Jinping
China has warned the UK against interfering when it comes to Hong Kong, telling London that the affairs of its former colony belong to Beijing. The remarks come after a UK report expressed concerns about the "integrity" of Hong Kong law enforcement.

Speaking at a daily press briefing in response to the half-year report on Hong Kong released by the British government on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang warned that "Hong Kong is China's domestic affair. Foreign countries have no right to interfere."

"We demand that Britain be discreet with its words and stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs," Geng added, stating that Beijing is "resolutely opposed" to Britain's report, and that it does not accept its "improper comments" and "unfounded criticism" of China.

Hong Kong's government also rejected the report, reiterating that foreign governments should not interfere in its affairs.

In the report, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he had specific concerns about the "integrity of Hong Kong's law enforcement."
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V

Serbian President: Western countries should question whether they are truly a democracy or just obey demands from one leader


RT
Fri, 14 Oct 2016 10:38 UTC
Tomislav Nikolic
© Dado Ruvic / Reuters
Serbia's President Tomislav Nikolic
Western countries should take a moment to question whether they are truly a democracy or simply obey demands from one leader, Serbia's president said, referring to nations who say "very bad things" about Russia but fail to understand reality.

Speaking to TASS on Thursday, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said he believes "many countries, including those very certain about their own democracy, should stop to think if they really match their own ideas of themselves or always obey orders from one leader."

"Today many say only very bad things about Russia, about threats allegedly posed by your country, but they do not know what really happens in reality," he added.

Referring to sanctions imposed by Western countries against Russia, Nikolic said that if Serbia followed in the footsteps of those nations, it would have "ruined everything that we have achieved of years and centuries just for the sole reason somebody ordered us to do so."

The leader said that "nobody will ever be able to issue any orders to my country," adding that Serbia has proven it is Russia's "true friend."

Comment: The Serbian president is pointing the reality that the majority of Western nations follow the orders of the US Empire, they do not in fact have their own sovereign foreign policy. The fact that these nations consider themselves to be "democracies" is rank hypocrisy.

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Magnify

Former Portuguese PM Antonio Guterres elected as next UN secretary-general


RFE/RL
Thu, 13 Oct 2016 10:20 UTC
Antonio Guterres
© Reuters
Antonio Guterres
The United Nations General Assembly has elected Antonio Guterres as the next UN secretary-general. The 193 UN member states elected Guterres, a former Portuguese prime minister, by acclamation on October 13.

The 67-year-old will take over from Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, who has served two terms, and begin a five-year term on January 1. Guterres pledged to work as a "convener, a mediator, a bridge-builder, and an honest broker" to confront global crises.

On Syria, the most pressing crisis on the UN agenda, "whatever divisions might exist, now it's more important to unite," Guterres told reporters after the vote. "It's high time to fight for peace."

"He is perhaps best-known where it counts most -- on the front lines of armed conflict and humanitarian suffering," Ban said on October 13. "His political instincts are those of the United Nations -- cooperation for the common good, and shared responsibility for people and the planet."

Guterres received the unanimous backing of the 15-member UN Security Council on October 6.

He was the prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002. He served as UN high commissioner for refugees from 2005 to 2015. Guterres will be the ninth secretary-general in the organization's 71-year history.
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