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China's most recent move in the 'graveyard of empires'

Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
Fri, 09 Feb 2018 17:24 UTC
Wakhan Corridor Afghanistan
© Agence Frande-Presse
The rugged Wakhan Corridor of Badakhshan province in northern Afghanistan.
Beijing's strategic priority is to prevent ETIM fighters exiled in Afghanistan crossing the Wakhan Corridor to carry out operations in Xinjiang

The latest plot twist in the endless historical saga of Afghanistan as a graveyard of empires has thrown up an intriguing new chapter. For the past two months, Beijing and Kabul have been discussing the possibility of setting up a military base alongside Afghanistan's border with China.

"We are going to build it [the base] and the Chinese government has committed to help financially, provide equipment and train Afghan soldiers," Mohammad Radmanesh, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, admitted to the AFP.

"We are going to build it [the base] and the Chinese government has committed to help the division financially, provide equipment and train the Afghan soldiers," he added.

On the record, the Chinese Foreign Ministry only admitted that Beijing was involved in "capacity-building" in Afghanistan, while NATO's Resolute Support Mission, led by the United States, basically issued a "no comment."

Comment: Smart money would be on China's 'win-win' policy. It has already produced demonstrable positive results.

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Biohazard

Mexico has issued a massive alert after radioactive device stolen


RT
Sat, 10 Feb 2018 12:41 UTC
Radioactive device
© Reuters
Mexico's interior ministry has issued an alert across seven states following the theft of a radioactive device.

The item in question is a nuclear densometer which is used in geotechnical engineering to measure density. It contains radioactive material and there are fears such material could be used to make a "dirty bomb."

The theft of the device took place in the city of León in the state of Guanajuata on Thursday morning. It was stolen from a vehicle belonging to an engineering firm. The National Coordination of Civil Protection warned that the material in the device is highly dangerous if removed from its container.
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Heart - Black

Anti-fascists rally in Italian town of Macerata where migrants were targeted in shooting attack


RT
Sat, 10 Feb 2018 15:07 UTC
Anti-fascists march
An anti-fascist rally is underway in the Italian town of Macerata in response to the shooting of six Africans by a far-right attacker last week.

Local police say Luca Traini carried out a drive-by shooting last Saturday wearing an Italian flag wrapped around his body. A failed candidate for the right-wing Northern League Party, he reportedly made a fascist salute when he was arrested, and had attended anti-immigration marches. Police seized a copy of Adolf Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' and other Nazi-related publications from his home.

The anti-fascist march started at Diaz Gardens and will go around the medieval walls before returning to the gardens.

Earlier in the week, Macerate Mayor Romano Carancini said there should be no demonstrations, to avoid further flaming tensions in the wake of the attack. The anti-fascist rally was given the go-ahead by officials on Friday after organizers ensured it would be a peaceful demonstration, ANSA reports.
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Jet2

Emergencies Ministry outlines possibilities if Russia is attacked - says conventional strikes, no nukes most likely scenarios


RT
Sat, 10 Feb 2018 17:07 UTC
russian air defense
© Vasily Maximov/Agence France-Presse
Russia's Pantsir-SA air defense system are seen during the Victory Day military parade night training, May 3, 2017
Enemy commando raids and conventional strikes are the most likely scenarios of war against Russia. The use of nuclear weapons is an unlikely outcome, the Russian Emergencies Ministry said in a report.

The comprehensive 164-page paper released by the emergencies ministry (EMERCOM) describes in detail how the Russian authorities would respond to disasters caused by enemy strikes. One notable passage was hidden deep in the middle of the lengthy document.

In an armed conflict, "the use of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, is unlikely," the EMERCOM report states. The likeliest scenario would involve "the use of modern conventional weapons as well as operations by Special Forces."

While planning disaster relief operations, the authorities should take into consideration that "the potential enemy would not carry out targeted strikes [aimed at the] annihilation of Russia's population," according to the report.

Comment: "Generals prepare their forces to fight the last war." Putin and his advisors are well aware of this maxim. They are focusing their defense spending on the future

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Gold Coins

Volatile tokens: French and German finance ministers warn against Bitcoin


RT
Sat, 10 Feb 2018 17:07 UTC
Da li je Bitcoin projekt CIA-e?
Joining the chorus of regulators calling for a crackdown on cryptocurrencies, the French and German finance ministers said digital tokens "could pose substantial risks for investors" and potentially long-term financial stability.

In a letter to fellow G20 finance ministers - signed by French Finance Minister Bruno le Maire and his interim German counterpart Peter Altmaier, along with the heads of the two countries' central banks - they said that cryptocurrencies currently have "limited" implications for global financial stability.

"Given the fast increase in the capitalization of tokens and the emergence of new financial instruments" based on them, "these developments should be closely monitored," the ministers said.

Cryptocurrencies "are currently largely mislabeled as 'currencies' in the media and on the internet," they said, adding that a "lack of clarity" about the nature of tokens "can only fuel speculation."
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Attention

Court documents reveal London Bridge terrorists pumped themselves full of steroids prior to attacks


RT
Sat, 10 Feb 2018 08:42 UTC
London Bridge terror attacks
© Chris J Ratcliffe / AFP
Police patrol at the cordon near London Bridge near the scene of a terror attack in central London
Terrorists who killed eight people on London Bridge had pumped themselves full of steroids before launching their brutal van and knife rampage on Saturday night revellers, a pre-inquest hearing has heard.

Khuram Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, each had traces of Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in their system when they carried out the attack on June 3 last year, the Old Bailey heard.

The trio first rammed pedestrians with a white van before jumping out and attacking them with 12-inch ceramic knives.

The evidence given reflects similar findings about the terrorist who drove his car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing four, last March.

Comment: See: London attacks: Stabbing reports at multiple locations after van rams into people on London Bridge, May calls it a possible terrorist act - UPDATES

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People 2

Senior Saudi cleric says women shouldn't be forced to wear abayas


RT
Sat, 10 Feb 2018 16:57 UTC
saudi women abaya
© Faisal Al Nasser / Reuters
A Saudi cleric has said women should not be forced to wear the long cloak required by law in the conservative Gulf kingdom.

The abaya is a full length robe which women in Saudi Arabia are required to wear along with a headscarf when they are in public.

Sheikh Abdullah al-Mutlaq, a member of the Kingdom's religious body, the Council of Senior Scholars, made the comment on his radio program on Friday, Reuters reports. It's a marked departure from the Kingdom's strict dress code rules.

"More than 90 percent of pious Muslim women in the Muslim world do not wear abayas," Sheikh Mutlaq said on Friday. "So we should not force people to wear abayas."

While the statement doesn't indicate the country will ease its dress code, it comes after the Kingdom has announced a number of reforms to give women more rights.

Comment:

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Star of David

Despite historic Israel-Iran tensions, Iranian Jews say they feel safer there than in US or EU


RT
Sat, 10 Feb 2018 08:51 UTC
Iranian Jew
© Raheb Homavandi/TIMA / Reuters
An Iranian Jew prays at the Abrishami synagogue at Palestine street in Tehran December 24, 2015.
Iran boasts the largest Jewish community in the Middle East outside Israel with a population of more than 8,700. Despite tensions between Israel and Iran, Jews claim to feel safer there than they would in the US or EU.

"The Jews of Iran can freely worship and perform the traditional rights. They face no kind of pressure. Our synagogues here are safer than in the US or in Europe. The Iranian government supports us," Homayoun Sameyehead of the Iran Jewish Association told RT.

Decades after the exodus which followed the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran's is the only growing Jewish community in any predominantly Muslim country. The country boasts 65 synagogues, a 100-bed Jewish hospital and a Jewish cemetery established in 1933, while Tehran has a Jewish library with 20,000 texts, and an abundance of kosher restaurants.
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Cowboy Hat

Fugitive doping doctor and WADA darling Rodchenkov wears 'disguise' for 60 Minutes interview


RT
Sat, 10 Feb 2018 14:16 UTC
Grigory Rodchenkov
© Netflix / Global Look Press
Grigory Rodchenkov aka 'Dr. Death'
Fugitive anti-doping doctor Grigory Rodchenkov, whose testimony formed the basis of the anti-Russian campaign in sports, wore a bulletproof vest and a disguise for an interview with 60 Minutes. He claims the Kremlin is after him.

Rodchenkov, the former head of an anti-doping laboratory in Moscow, fled to the US in 2016, shortly after being accused of covering up for cheating athletes. On US soil he became a central figure in a massive scandal, in which the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accused the Russian government of running a clandestine doping program. Two years on, his saga is getting a detective story twist as the controversial doctor says he is constantly looking over his shoulder, because the Kremlin allegedly wants to silence him.

Comment: Moscow isn't after Rodchenkov because they 'want to silence him'. He's wanted on drug trafficking charges. He has a criminal history, yet he plays the key role in the US-led campaign against Russia for the Olympics. For more on this miscreant see:

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Stock Down

US Federal budget on track to be biggest-spending bill in history

Stephen Dinan
The Washington Times
Thu, 08 Feb 2018 10:04 UTC
Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer
© AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., left, walk to the chamber after collaborating on an agreement in the Senate on a two-year, almost $400 billion budget deal that would provide Pentagon and domestic programs with huge spending increases, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018.
Congress was rushing Thursday to to pass what some analysts said could be the biggest bill, by total dollar amount, in U.S. history, setting the stage for perhaps $2 trillion in new spending over the next decade.

Republican leaders said it was a victory for the Pentagon, envisioning a massive boost in defense spending. Democrats said they won tens of billions of dollars for their priorities, including research, infrastructure and an overall boost in domestic spending.

The 652-page bill was announced just before midnight Wednesday.

Comment: Will the average person see any benefit from this massive spending bill, or will it just be funneled to the corrupt swamp and more wars?

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