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Biohazard

Russian military finds rebel chemical weapons-producing warehouse in Douma

Seraphim Hanisch
The Duran
Tue, 17 Apr 2018 18:01 UTC
syria douma
Sputnik News reported a very interesting find that brings up new questions for the West, and, more specifically, the Trump Administration, regarding a chemical weapons storehouse find in Douma, Syria, today.

From this report:
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian troops found a warehouse of substances necessary for the production of chemical weapons in Syrian Douma, media reported Tuesday, citing chemical defense specialist Alexander Rodionov.

"The discovered substances, such as thiodiglycol and diethanolamine, are necessary for the production of sulfur and nitrogen mustard gas. In addition, a cylinder with chlorine, similar to that used by militants for setting up the wide-spread fake story, was found in the warehouse. It can be concluded that this laboratory was used by illegal armed groups for the production of poisonous substances," Rodionov said, as quoted by the Zvezda TV channel.

On Saturday, the United States, the United Kingdom and France launched 103 missiles on multiple targets in Syria in response to the alleged chemical attack in Eastern Ghouta's Douma that reportedly took place on April 7. The Syrian government has denied the accusations of chemical weapons use and said that the Jaysh al-Islam terror group staged the attack to justify potential foreign intervention in Syria.
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Clock

Why I had to finally leave the state of California: crazy one-party liberal politics

Chuck DeVore
Fox News
Mon, 16 Apr 2018 16:24 UTC
California Gov. Jerry Brown
© 2018 The Associated Press
In this Wednesday, March 7, 2018, file photo, California Gov. Jerry Brown speaks during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif.
Twitter's CEO, Jack Dorsey, infamously tweeted a link in early April to a story calling for a bloodless civil war to solve America's problems. The piece, "The Great Lesson of California in America's New Civil War: Why there's no bipartisan way forward at this juncture in our history - one side must win" was authored by Peter Leyden and Ruy Teixeira.

The duo assert that this new civil war will follow a path blazed by California 15 years ago, namely, the crushing of the Republican Party. "The Democrats won; the Republicans lost," they intone, "California is the future..."

Living and working in places like Washington and San Francisco as Teixeira and Twitter's Dorsey do, tends to distort the view of the real world.

Comment: So much for California as a liberal utopia. It seems it won't be long before the entire state is made up of illegals and blind, ideologically possessed liberals.

See also:

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Bad Guys

Skripal poison delivered in 'liquid form', says UK officials


RT
Tue, 17 Apr 2018 16:33 UTC
Salisbury, United Kingdom
© I-Images / Global Look Press
Salisbury, United Kingdom. Forensic officers remove a vehicle in Gillingham, Dorset,United Kingdom
The chemical weapon used to poison ex-Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia was delivered "in a liquid form," according to the Department for Environment.

The department said that one primary location was targeted by their attackers - the Skripal's Salisbury home. The London Road cemetery, where the remains of the former Russian spy's wife and son are buried, was not targeted.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has detailed efforts being made to decontaminate areas of Salisbury where the chemical agent has been found, as well as more details on the poison itself. The clean-up operation is expected to take months.
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Hearts

Russian military sends humanitarian aid to Douma residents


Al Masdar News
Tue, 17 Apr 2018 19:20 UTC
Russian military delivers humanitarian aid to Douma residents
Russian military police distributed humanitarian aid in Eastern Ghouta's Douma on Sunday, following the city's liberation from militant control.

"The rest of militants have left Douma today. The Russian Federation is the first to give a helping hand," a Russian official said.

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Attention

More retail companies going bankrupt than ever

Gene Marks
LMT Online
Mon, 16 Apr 2018 17:17 UTC
sears retail bankrupt
© Lori Van Buren
Sears Holdings is ranked 2nd most likely retail company to declare bankruptcy in 2018. Sears Holdings is the parent company of Sears and Kmart
According to last week's report, bankruptcies in the retail sector were at a record high during the first quarter of 2018.

Ask anyone running a store and they'll tell you that it's tough to be in the retail business. Merchants big and small are struggling to meet the demands of a customer base that is demanding better service, lower prices and products both in-store and from the comfort of their homes. A new report from investor research firm Moody's certainly confirms that.

According to last week's report, bankruptcies in the retail sector were at a record high during the first quarter of 2018.

There were nine defaults in the sector -- including Sears and Claire's - during the three months ended March 31. Tops Friendly Markets, a supermarket chain, and the Bon-Ton, department store chain, also filed for bankruptcy during the period. The only non-U.S. default that occurred in the first quarter was Britain-based BrightHouse Group, which sells rent-to-own refurbished sofas, televisions and refrigerators.
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Info

Russian FSB: Leader of ISIS cell supporters blows himself up to avoid arrest in Russia


RT
Tue, 17 Apr 2018 19:07 UTC
FSB members
© Andrey Stenin / Sputnik
The leader of a terrorist cell, which had connections to the jihadist group Islamic State, has killed himself with an improvised explosive device in order to avoid being arrested, Russian law enforcement said.

The cell was planning bomb and gun attacks in Russia's Rostov region, but was identified and thwarted before they could act, the Federal Security Service (FSB) reported on Tuesday.


Comment: See also: FSB chief Aleksandr Bortnikov: Russian special services thwarted 6 terrorist attacks in 2018

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Vader

The FUKUS trio bombs Syria: All bravado and bluff

Finian Cunningham
The Strategic Culture Foundation
Sun, 15 Apr 2018 16:57 UTC
us warship fire weapons
After unleashing over 100 missiles on Syria at the weekend, the US, Britain and France strained to declare self-righteousness in the name of the "international community".

The strain comes from the fact that the three attacking nations are not the international community. They are acting above the law and have no moral authority - despite their declarations of righteousness.

Their steely resolve is not so steely as they would like to project. There were mixed messages whether this was a one-off show of force, or whether there is more offensive force on the way.

The fact that a US aircraft carrier strike group is on its way to the Mediterranean - due to arrive next week - suggests that a full-blown war may be on the cards. There again, the American, French and British leaders showed signs of trepidation by trying to reassure that the strikes at the weekend were "mission accomplished".

Comment: Anyone in the military who is still connected to reality knows that a serious confrontation with Russia can only end badly.

Trump's big show flops in Syria
One of these days Trump and company will over bet in trusting the Russians not to punch back (and punch back hard) and the American people will be in for a rude awakening. They will discover that the Russians have a decided advantage over us when it comes to air defense.

A friend of mine who has expertise in these matters wrote me:
Any air defense engineer with a security clearance that isn't lying through his teeth will admit that Russia's air defense technology surpassed us in the 1950's and we've never been able to catch up. The systems they have in place surrounding Moscow make our Patriot 3's look like fucking nerf guns.
Finally there is the matter of the Russians as a second rate military masquerading as a world power. Another friend who has spoken with military commanders in the CENTCOM AOR told me:
All of the knowledgeable aircraft commanders are usually scared shitless about the prospect of a legitimate air-to-air skirmish with a SU-30 or any Russian air superiority fighter.


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Colosseum

Nîmes' re-enactment of gladiator Roman games dedicated to Spartacus this year

Jon Bryant
The Guardian
Tue, 17 Apr 2018 16:29 UTC
gladiators Rome Roman coliseum amphiteatre
© Vincent Chambon
Glad’ all over … re-enactors at Nîmes’ Les Grands Jeux Romains battle it out on the arena floor.


At one of Europe's biggest re-enactment spectaculars, this year's show is Spartacus-themed. So, take a seat in the mighty arena alongside 12,000 spectators (togas optional)

The first gladiator is down, flailing his gladius towards the emperor before being pummelled by a giant hammer (thankfully, into a furrow of sand left by one of the racing chariots). Two "slaves" rush on and drag his body off towards the spoliarium. Suddenly, everyone is up out of their seats: the retiarius (net man) has dropped his trident and the mirmillones (fish men) are closing in.

Nîmes' Les Grands Jeux Romains (Great Roman Games) is one of the biggest re-enactment spectaculars in Europe. Sitting among 12,000 handkerchief-waving spectators in the city's first-century Roman amphitheatre last year, I realised it makes for a mesmerising and charmingly-brutal event. Having already featured Hannibal (2015), Cleopatra (2016) and, last year, Boudicca, this year's games, which take place from 28-30 April, is devoted to Spartacus.
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Bizarro Earth

Unlikely scenario: Trump wants Arab nations to take over illegal occupation of Syria and pay to do it


RT
Tue, 17 Apr 2018 16:12 UTC
saudi air force graduates
© Fahad Shadeed / Reuters
Royal Saudi Air Force jets fly in formation during a graduation ceremony for air force officers at King Faisal Air Academy in Riyadh January 1, 2013.
Washington reportedly wants Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar to replace the US in terms of troop deployments and funding in "stabilizing northeastern Syria," according to the Wall Street Journal.

The US currently has two major points of military presence on the ground in Syria: one on the border with Jordan in the south and one in northeastern Syria in an area controlled by the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Force (SDF). President Donald Trump announced plans to withdraw American troops from Syria, apparently dismayed by the cost of the operation. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Trump administration wants to shift the burden of occupying northeastern Syria - which is touted as an effort to stabilize the area by the newspaper - to Arab countries.

Comment: The US currently has control of eastern Syria's richest oil fields through its proxies the Kurds and an IS group, but it doesn't want to pay the price of retaining it. Given the various domestic issues each country is facing, the idea of shifting the burden onto the neighboring Arab groups is delusional.

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Evil Rays

Russia's telecommunications watchdog throws down the gauntlet on Telegram ban


RT
Tue, 17 Apr 2018 16:19 UTC
telegram
© Kirill Kallinikov / Sputnik
Russia's telecommunications watchdog is banning millions of IP addresses in an attempt to enforce a court-ordered block of messenger app Telegram. Its own website has been brought down by a DDoS attack in apparent retaliation.

Telegram was blocked in Russia last Friday over its failure to provide the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) with access keys to its encrypted communications. Telegram says that since it offers end-to-end encryption to users, submitting to the FSB demand would have required an overhaul of the entire service.

The task of enforcing the court order in Russia fell to Roskomnadzor (RKN), the telecommunication watchdog authorized to order internet providers in Russia to blacklist online addresses. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov remained defiant and said his company will take measures to avoid the blocks.

Comment: France is following suit:
French politicians are reportedly trialing a secretive chat app in an effort to avoid encrypted messenger services which they believe could be compromised by international spies.

With data privacy concerns hitting corporate giants such as Facebook and Google in recent years, the French government appears to have had enough and is pulling its ministers off apps such as Whatsapp and Telegram.

According to Reuters, an unknown app developer has been brought in by the French government to design a messenger service to its specifications. It's an effort to move away from the reliance on Facebook-owned Whatsapp and the Russian entrepreneur-made app, Telegram.

"We need to find a way to have an encrypted messaging service that is not encrypted by the United States or Russia," a government spokesperson told Reuters. "You start thinking about the potential breaches that could happen, as we saw with Facebook, so we should take the lead."


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