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More than 70 Syrian tribes unite and declare war on US-backed forces in Northern Syria

Leith Aboufadel
Almasdar News
Sun, 03 Jun 2018 00:00 UTC
Syrian tribes
Over 70 Syrian tribes issued a joint statement on Saturday that announced the formation of a new combined force that would fight the US-backed militias and foreign troops in northern Syria.

The tribesmen from the Al-Hasakah, Aleppo, and Al-Raqqa governorates reportedly met in the government-held city of Deir Hafer, where they all agreed that they will come together to expel the US and their militias from their provinces.

Given the size of these tribes, they could present a serious problem for the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria, if they receive military assistance from the Syrian Arab Army (SAA).

Comment: This story is reminiscent of another country where the indigenous tribes rallied together to decry the raping, pillaging and destruction of their country by the US and Western forces: Libya. See also:

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Airplane

Ideology trumps safety: Obama-era FAA modified hiring rules valuing air traffic controller diversity ahead of competency

Chris Enloe
The Blaze
Sat, 02 Jun 2018 00:00 UTC
FAA diversity hiring practices
© Andreas Rentz/Getty Images
Under the Obama administration, the FAA changed its rules for air traffic controller hiring, which now includes first passing a diversity test. (Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
For decades, the selection process for the Federal Aviation Administration's air traffic controllers was rigorous. After all, one minor mistake could cost hundreds of people their lives.

But a new report from Fox News host Tucker Carlson revealed the Obama administration modified the FAA's candidate selection process to value workplace diversity over competency, experience and skills.

What are the details?

According to Carlson, due to changes implemented during the Obama administration, air traffic controller candidates are now required to complete a "biographical questionnaire" before even being considered for a job with the FAA.

If they don't pass, they aren't considered for a position - no matter how much experience they have or how qualified they are.


Comment: Another example of diversity politics paving a road to disaster.

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Sherlock

Scotland Yard detectives still 'following multiple leads' in Skripal investigation


RT
Tue, 05 Jun 2018 16:51 UTC
skripal police
© FERNVALL LOTTE/ Global Look Press
Detectives are following multiple leads as they investigate the nerve agent poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, Scotland Yard has said.

Updating the press on the case, Dean Haydon, Deputy Assistant Commissioner and counter terrorism coordinator, said: "With such a sensitive and complex investigation, I am sure the public will appreciate that there are still a number of lines of inquiry being progressed that we cannot discuss at this stage.

"What I am able to say is that the team working on the investigation remain completely committed to finding out what happened and continue to follow every possible lead.

"Our enquiries are focused around the people and vehicles that were in the vicinity of the Skripal's address and leading up to where they fell ill in The Maltings. We would ask anyone who may have information, or who may have seen or heard something - however small - to contact police."

Comment: If the investigation hasn't looked at the complicity of the MI6 in the Skripal poisoning then it is a waste of time.

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Dominoes

Trump cancels WH visit by Super Bowl champion Eagles over snowflake players' refusal to attend


RT
Tue, 05 Jun 2018 16:33 UTC
trump
US President Donald Trump has called off a visit to the White House by Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, after a majority of their players and coaches refused to attend the event over the anthem protest controversy.

"The Philadelphia Eagles Football Team was invited to the White House," Trump wrote on his Twitter page. "Unfortunately, only a small number of players decided to come, and we canceled the event. Staying in the Locker Room for the playing of our National Anthem is as disrespectful to our country as kneeling. Sorry!"

Only 10 team members reportedly planned to attend the ceremony honoring the team's Super Bowl victory. The rest of the players turned down Trump's invitation over the president's rigid stance on anthem policy in the National Football League (NFL).
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Stock Down

Study: Trump's tariffs to kill thousands of US jobs instead of creating them


RT
Tue, 05 Jun 2018 11:52 UTC
steel worker
© Eric Thayer / Reuters
US President Donald Trump's trade war is supposed to create more jobs, but a recent study shows the reality may be more bitter for the 'America First' policy.

The US recently imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum coming from its allies in the European Union, Mexico and Canada. The trade penalties, 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on imported aluminum, took effect on June 1.

"The tariffs and retaliation would increase US steel employment and non-ferrous metals (primarily aluminum) employment by 26,346 jobs, but cost a net of 495,136 jobs throughout the rest of the economy, for a total net loss of nearly 470,000 jobs," said Joseph Francois and Laura M. Baughman, economists with consulting group The Trade Partnership.

Comment: In the end, the only people who will really be paying the price are the public, as businesses will pass the tariffs on to them by working it into their pricing.

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Heart - Black

'They bombed trapped civilians': Amnesty International's damning report on UK, US, France destruction in Raqqa


RT
Tue, 05 Jun 2018 16:08 UTC
Raqqa refugees
© Rodi Said / Reuters
A woman carries her child as they flee from Raqqa city.
UK, US, and French bombs inflicted mass loss of civilian life in ISIS-held Raqqa, according Amnesty International. A new report has also accused coalition forces of bombing areas where they knew civilians were trapped.

During the four-month operation to eradicate the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) in the Syrian city of Raqqa, the US-led coalition - which includes British forces - killed hundreds of civilians and injured many more, says Amnesty International.

According to its damning report into the coalition forces, residents were trapped as fighting raged in the streets between IS militants and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who were supported by coalition airstrikes. Escape routes for civilians were riddled with IEDs, put there by Islamic State, which also positioned snipers to shoot those trying to flee.

Comment: See also: US completely destroyed Raqqa to 'liberate' city from a Western-created monster

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Attention

Time for a feminazi ambush? Qatar Airways CEO says women could not cope with his 'challenging' job


RT
Tue, 05 Jun 2018 12:23 UTC
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker

Akbar Al Baker says only a man could rise to the challenges of his job.
In a not so subtle comment Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker suggested that a woman would not be good for his "very challenging" job, instantly prompting a heated reaction on social media.

Asked about what steps have been taken to eliminate gender discrimination in the Middle East aviation industry, Al Baker emphasized that, although his company was moving in the direction of gender equity, no woman could sit in the CEO chair.

"Of course it has to be led by a man, because it is a very challenging position," Al Baker said at a press conference in Sydney.

On further reflection as to why being a woman was incompatible with the position of Qatar Airways CEO, Al Baker said that he was "only referring to one individual" and "not to the staff in general."
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USA

America celebrates Memorial Day without knowing what war really is like

Philip M. Giraldi
Strategic Culture Foundation
Thu, 31 May 2018 11:51 UTC
memorial day
Wednesday, May 30th, was Memorial Day in the United States. The commemoration began in 1868 shortly after the American Civil War, when townsmen in several communities came together to decorate the graves of the fallen on the last Monday in May. The practice began in the northern states but soon spread to the south and the annual remembrance ceremony soon took on the name Decoration Day. As wars proliferated in the twentieth century the commemoration eventually lost its association with the Civil War and was increasingly referred to nationally as Memorial Day, eventually becoming a federal holiday.

The American Civil war killed 655,000 soldiers, more than all other U.S. wars before or since combined. It was the first modern war in that it relied on railroads and steamships. The North also destroyed the livelihoods of and deliberately starved civilian populations to reduce the South's will to resist. It was a war fought on U.S. soil and experienced first hand by the American people.

Today Memorial Day has largely lost its connection with dead soldiers and is instead best noted for being regarded as the first day of summer for recreational purposes. Beaches open up, the lifeguards come out and the smell of barbecued meat fills the air. The declining number of veterans of World War 2, Korea and Vietnam work hard to remember the dead but there is little interest from a public that has become increasingly detached from its non-conscripted professional army.

Comment: See also: Memorial Day: The Pawn of War

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Stock Up

Chinese yuan on the rise as currency gains momentum around the globe


RT
Sun, 03 Jun 2018 19:08 UTC
yuan dollar
© Thomas White / Reuters
China is ramping up efforts to promote yuan as a global currency. After the crackdown on outflows and devaluation in 2015, the renminbi is once again gaining momentum.

The record share of yuan in global trade was at 2.8 percent three years ago, according to Bloomberg. Its share shrank to 1.7 percent in April, but is on the rise again. One of the reasons for that is China's foreign reserves, the world's biggest, have been boosted this year. Yuan also saw its biggest rally in 10 years in the first quarter.

"There will surely be more utilization of the currency in cross-border transfers this year. The exchange rate will be influenced by global financial markets more. Offshore investors will also become a more important driver for onshore bonds," Ji Tianhe, a China rates and foreign-exchange strategist at BNP Paribas SA, told Bloomberg.
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Pirates

UK's renewed counter-terrorism strategy targets jihadis and far-right extremists


RT
Mon, 04 Jun 2018 10:23 UTC
UK police
© Luke MacGregor/Reuters
Greater powers to intervene in terror plots.
The Home Office has announced an overhauled counter-terrorism strategy that includes the closer monitoring of British jihadists and a new approach to targeting the growing threat of far-right extremism.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid has announced the new measures as part of efforts to revamp the security service's Contest strategy, which will utilize a multi-agency approach in order to tackle terrorist threats that are becoming "increasingly diverse."

As part of the renewed strategy, technology companies will have greater responsibility in tackling cases of extremism online, while Javid has called for greater cooperation with businesses when they spot worrying buying-patterns, or suspicious behavior while hiring a vehicle, purchasing chemicals, or components that could be combined to make explosives.

An additional 1,000 security services staff will also be recruited to collect and analyze data as well as keep suspects under better surveillance, and powers will be granted with the intention to disrupt terrorist plots and jail suspects before an attack could take place.

MI5 and counter terrorism police are currently running more than 500 live operations involving roughly 3,000 'subjects of interest'.

Comment: UK continues to push its boundaries towards authoritarian control.

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