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The West's toothless missile strike: chaos in place of policy; symbolism in place of action

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Mon, 16 Apr 2018 16:03 UTC
Russian troops Hmeimym airbase syria
© European Press Agency/Sergei Chirikov
Russian soldiers march during a rehearsal of Victory Day parade, in which they took part with a Syrian unit at Hmeimym airbase in Latakia province, Syria, 04 May 2016.
All the West has achieved is expose its fear of the Russian military, its lack of a plan for Syria, and its contempt for international law

Over the last few days the word has been the witness of one of the most grotesque and shameful episodes in the history of international relations.

Three nuclear powers, one of them the US, the world's erstwhile "hyperpower", and the other two like the US permanent members of the UN Security Council, after days of dithering and argument, launched a military strike on Syria which (depending on whose reports you believe) either failed dismally or which was preplanned to achieve nothing.

They launched this strike in utter disregard of international law, which vests the power to launch strikes of this sort exclusively with the UN Security Council.
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Stock Up

Demand for Russian military hardware soaring - expect even more after humiliating performance of FUKUS arms in Syria


RT
Mon, 16 Apr 2018 16:07 UTC
russian military hardware
© Mikhail Voskresenskiy / Sputnik
Exposition of military machinery shown as part of the Army 2017 International Military-Technical Forum at the Alabino training field
Orders for Russian-made weaponry surged significantly in 2017 with Russia's state weapons exporter clinching deals worth $15 billion with 53 nations, according to the company's director general and CEO Aleksandr Mikheev.

The company's order portfolio saw fresh growth after a 2016 decline, when Rosoboronexport signed contracts worth just $9.5 billion. The current stock of orders is reportedly valued at $45 billion.

"Rosoboronexport sealed nearly 1,100 deals with foreign customers in 2017. Last year, the company's representatives took part in work of international committees and working groups for military-technical cooperation with 48 countries," Mikheev said.

According to the official, foreign partners are ready to negotiate purchases of Russian combat planes, helicopters, armored force and combat engineer vehicles, as well as offshore, air and ground engagement systems.

"To retain positions in the international markets, Rosoboronexport is currently developing unique offers for our partners, including those connected to the transfer of technologies," Mikheev said, stressing that in 2017 orders for anti-aircraft defense and electronic weapon systems made up some 40 percent of the total portfolio.

Comment: This trend will only continue. Unlike the U.S., Russia actually makes good military gear, and they're proving it in Syria. In fact, the main effect of FUKUS' latest attack on Syria is the demonstration of how ineffective U.S. weapons really are, and how superior Russia's are. Buyers will be lining up. See:

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Boat

Russia sends reinforcements to Syria - tank-laden ship spotted in Bosphorus

Jessica Finn, Jennifer Smith and Lara Keay
Daily Mail UK
Sun, 15 Apr 2018 15:56 UTC
russian ship
© Yoruk Isik / Twitter
Two Russian warships laden with military vehicles have been spotted en route to the Syria after Friday's US-led airstrikes obliterated three suspected chemical weapons sites
Two Russian warships laden with military vehicles have been spotted en route to Syria after Friday's US-led airstrikes obliterated three suspected chemical weapons sites.

An Alligator-landing ship was pictured cruising down The Bosphorus on Sunday as the world awaits Vladimir Putin's response to this week's co-ordinated military action against Syria.

The vessel was spotted on its way to the Russian naval base at Tartus on the north Syrian coast.

On its fourth deployment of Russian military equipment to the war-torn country the ship was seen laden with tanks, trucks, ambulances and an IED radar.

A yellow RoRo Alexandr Tkachenko was also pictured heading for Tartus carrying high-speed patrol boats, a temporary bridge structure and several trucks. The images were posted on social media by Bosphorus-based naval observer Yörük Işık.

They come in wake of Friday's US-led campaign against Bashar al-Assad's regime and a chemical weapons attack that brutally murdered 75 civillians.


Comment: Just the facts, please. This should read, at the very least: "They come in wake of Friday's US-led campaign against Bashar al-Assad's government and an alleged chemical weapons attack that allegedly killed 75 civillians [sic]." Jessica, Jennifer and Lara are hacks.

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Heart - Black

Ecuadorian journalists reporting on escalating violence on border with Colombia kidnapped then murdered


teleSUR
Mon, 16 Apr 2018 15:53 UTC
vigil for two Ecuadorean journalists
© Reuters
People participate in a vigil for two Ecuadorean journalists and their driver in Quito, Ecuador April 13, 2018. The sign reads, "You don't kill the truth by killing journalists".
Journalist Javier Ortega, photographer Paul Rivas, and driver Efrain Segarra were kidnapped and killed by the Oliver Sinisterra Front.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) accepted a request from the Colombian and Ecuadorean authorities to recover the bodies of the team of journalists kidnapped and murdered by a criminal group operating on the border between the two countries.

The ICRC "confirms it received a petition from Ecuadorean and Colombian authorities, as well as from the families and the group led by Guacho, to recover the bodies of the two Ecuadorean journalists and the driver held against their will since March 26," the committee said in a press release Friday.

Comment: See also:

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Quenelle - Golden

Over 350K Catalan independence supporters flood Barcelona streets calling for release of political prisoners


teleSUR
Sun, 15 Apr 2018 00:00 UTC
pro-independence rally barcelona
© Reuters
Pro-independence supporters attend a demonstration in Barcelona, Spain, April 15, 2018
The march was called by a platform set up in March to "defend Catalan institutions" and "the rights and fundamental freedoms" of its citizens.

Hundreds of thousands of Catalan independence supporters flooded the streets of Barcelona Sunday calling for the release of jailed separatist leaders after a supreme court ruling frustrated their latest attempt to elect a regional leader.

Around 350,000 demonstrators clogged several main city arteries waving flags and wearing yellow in support of separatist leaders jailed for their role in the region's banned drive to split from Spain last year.

Comment: See:

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Vader

Perception management: US, UK & France want after-the-fact endorsement from UN for illegal Syria air strikes


RT
Mon, 16 Apr 2018 15:44 UTC
Pierce, Haley Delattre UN syria attack
© Eduardo Munoz / Reuters
UK envoy Karen Pierce, French envoy Francois Delattre and US envoy Nikki Haley before the UN Security Council meeting on Syria, April 13, 2018.
Having set themselves above international law by bombing Syria without UN authorization, the US, the UK and France are now going calling on other countries to unite behind their fait accompli and endorse their actions.

American, British and French ships and airplanes fired over 100 missiles at Syria Saturday morning, claiming it was in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons in the Damascus suburb of Douma. The three countries did not wait for UN authorization, or even for evidence from the scene: the international team of experts from the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) had just arrived in Syria to investigate when the missiles began to fly.

As US President Donald Trump triumphantly declared "mission accomplished," his French colleague Emmanuel Macron called for the UN Security Council to step in and pick up the pieces.

"It is now for the UN Security Council to unite and take initiative on the political, chemical and humanitarian questions in Syria," the French presidency said in a statement after Macron's teleconference with Trump and British PM Theresa May on Saturday.
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Info

Poll: Nearly 90% of Russians find no need to participate in protests


RT
Mon, 16 Apr 2018 15:45 UTC
Kemerovo rally
© Alexandr Kryazhev / Sputnik
Participants in a spontaneous rally in memory of those killed in a fire at the Zimnyaya Vishnya shopping mall, in front of the Kemerovo administration building on Sovetov Square.
Almost 90 percent of Russians say they don't want to take part in protests, and three quarters of respondents claim they don't expect others to demonstrate either, according to the latest research by an independent agency.

In a poll conducted by the Levada sociological service in late March, 86 percent of respondents said that, regardless of their opinions, they were highly unlikely to participate in street protests. It represents an increase from the 81 percent who expressed this opinion last December. Only 8 percent of Russians told researchers that they were ready to protest - down from 13 percent last year.

When respondents were asked if they thought street protests over living standards were likely in the near future, 75 percent said they were not. Just 17 percent thought such demonstrations were likely. In the corresponding poll last December, these figures were 70 and 23 percent, respectively.
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Passport

Canadian govt. worried public debate could undermine overall support for immigration

Teresa Wright
National Post
Sat, 14 Apr 2018 15:28 UTC
canada immigration center
© Jean Levac / Postmedia
C.D. Howe building at 235 Queen St building in Ottawa, March 29, 2018. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is inside.
Internal department data suggests just over 50 per cent of Canadians believed the number of immigrants who come to Canada every year is 'about right'

The federal government has been warned to take a cautious approach to publicly debating immigration over fears of reaching a "tipping point" that could undermine public support for welcoming immigrants.

Internal data prepared by the Immigration Department for a committee of deputy ministers suggests a majority of Canadians supports current immigration levels, but this support drops when they are informed of how many immigrants actually arrive every year.

"Public support (often aided by a diversity of prominent stakeholders) in indispensable," the department told the co-ordinating committee of deputy ministers during a meeting in April 2017 to discuss immigrant outcomes.

"But there could be a tipping point that, once reached, undermines the history of relative Canadian consensus."

Comment: So the Canadian government feels it needs to 'manage' the debate around immigration. Sounds an awful lot like trying to sneak a potentially unpopular policy past its citizens.

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Card - VISA

More American restaurants are going strictly cashless

Zlati Meyer
USA Today
Sun, 15 Apr 2018 15:21 UTC
Credit card
© Philippe Wojazer / Reuters
If you're craving the Serrano Grilled Shrimp Bowl at the Tender Greens salad chain, don't bother bringing cash.

Tender Greens, with 28 restaurants on the East and West coasts, is one of a growing number of eateries that are either shunning cash and only accepting credit and debit cards and contactless payment systems, like Apple Pay, or experimenting with the strategy.

While no one has kept a running count of restaurants adopting the cashless policy, interest is clearly rising. A 2016 Federal Reserve study found the number of non-cash payments - including credit and debit cards - totaled 144 billion in 2015, having grown 5.3% annually between 2012 and 2015

Sweetgreen, another salad chain on the coasts and part of the Midwest, and some independent restaurants have adopted the same policy. Two national chains are exploring it.
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Light Saber

Pang of conscience: MSNBC host Chris Hayes tells truth about Gaza protests (VIDEO)

Jimmy Dore
Information Clearinghouse
Sat, 14 Apr 2018 00:00 UTC
Jimmy Dore show
"Israeli troops shot more than 750 Palestinians, killing at least 15"


Comment: How horrible that broadcasts like this one from MSNBC have to be pointed out as good or exceptional - when objective coverage of State-sponsored atrocities should be the rule among journos. But propagating wholesale lies is just how corporate mainstream media rolls now, and and an all-too-large percentage of the population still swallows the poison.

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