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SOTT Focus: Cooperation between US and Russia in Syria finally a reality?

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© Abdalrhman Ismail / Reuters
After 14 hours of marathon talks in Geneva, Russia and the USA agreed on a new ceasefire deal in Syria. A key difference to the February cessation of hostilities deal is that the US and Russia have agreed to coordinate airstrikes on Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS, formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra). There is a catch โ€” and here is where we get the first signs of the agreement unravelling: pre-conditions of a seven-day cease fire need to be met before strikes can commence.

Under the deal an initial 48-hour ceasefire commences as of yesterday, 12 September. This ceasefire then extends to at least 7 days. Should the ceasefire hold, a Russian-US Joint Implementation Centre (JIG) will be set up to delineate territories controlled by JFS and opposition groups in areas of active hostilities. This amounts to separating terrorists and "moderate" or "sane" opposition.

Russia and the US will share targeting data and coordinate air strikes against JFS and ISIS. To ensure the effectiveness of airstrikes, the US is to persuade opposition groups it supports to separate themselves from JFS forces. Up to this point this has been an exercise in futility, or perhaps intransigence, and is another potential pitfall to unravel the agreement in its embryonic stage.

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SOTT Focus: SOTT News Snapshot: September 12 edition - Conspiracists vindicated, Hillary sick as a dog

It was bound to happen. After months of alternative news coverage over Hillary's poor health - and the predictable mainstream denials and search-engine manipulation (we've covered it before, but Sputnik published a study today with even more examples and analysis) - Hillary's health is now mainstream news after her fainting spell after a 9/11 memorial in New York City. She had to hole up in Chelsea's NYC apartment to recover, but also ended up cancelling a fundraiser trip to California. You've probably seen the video by now, but here it is anyway:


Just 4 days ago Killary tweeted: "The most important quality in a president and Commander-in-Chief is steadinessโ€”an absolute, rock solid steadiness." Nice try! Just look at some of the coverage (culled from the Drudge Report): from NBC and CBS News to Fox, Politico and more: The last article asks an important question. Just what will happen if Killary's health continues to be an issue, or, God forbid, she kicks the bucket before the election?

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SOTT Focus: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - August 2016: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

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© Sott.net
While TV audiences were distracted by the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the farcical build-up to the US presidential election, the relentless pace of increasing extreme weather events around the world continued in August. Among the trends in environmental upheaval last month, we observed...
  • A record-breaking number of tornadoes in the US for August
  • Another '1-in-1,000-year flood event', this time in Louisiana
  • A destructive earthquake in central Italy
  • The fastest comet ever recorded
  • Lots more lightning deaths, including an entire herd of reindeer in southern Norway
  • Three massive sinkholes opening up to swallow (and kill) people in China
  • Intense storms hitting many world capitals, including record rainfalls in Macedonia and Moscow
  • Raging wildfires across the western Mediterranean and western US
These were just some of the signs in August 2016:


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SOTT Focus: SOTT News Snapshot: Weekend edition - Syria ceasefire signed, the 9/11 wars continue

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John Kerry being a good sport after diplomatically being beaten into submission during marathon Syria negotiations.
Syria ceasefire update

The ceasefire is supposed to go into effect tomorrow at sundown. So far at least, most sides are expressing their intention to honor the ceasefire, which is to be expected. FSA says they're ready for ceasefire - IF the Syrian government complies:
"The upholding of the ceasefire by the armed opposition depends on being upheld by the regime and by Russia, the previous agreement was not upheld by the regime, which attacked moderate opposition under the pretext of fighting the Islamic State," Abu Zeid told RIA Novosti. "For us, the protection of the civilian population is important, and we want to establish a real truce in order to protect civilians, but our experience of interacting with the regime totally precludes us from such optimism," the representative said.
The Syrian government approved the agreement, according their state news agency. Somewhat improbably, the FSA also say they support the fight against al-Qaeda/al-Nusra/al-Sham: "Regarding the clauses of the agreement on carrying out strikes against Jabhat Fatah al Sham, of course we do not want al-Qaeda to have a presence in Syria," FSA legal adviser Abu Zeid told RIA Novosti. Which is patently untrue, but they say what they're expected to say.

On the other side, Hezbollah fighters support the deal: "The allies of Syria promise to fully abide by whatever the Syrian high command and the government decides with regard to the ceasefire. We fully support the ceasefire," an unnamed Hezbollah field commander for Syria operations said as quoted by Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen broadcaster.

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SOTT Focus: Behind the Headlines: America. Because 9/11. Because 'Murica.

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On that fateful day in the year two thousand...and one, the world changed forever. Well, actually, it didn't change that much, it just got "more" - more obvious, more ridiculous, more dangerous, more murderous, and more "pretty much everything objectively bad that you can think of". Foreign nations were bombed, invaded, and occupied for the flimsiest of reasons - a time-honored tradition among world elites. Faceless foreigners were arbitrarily detained and tortured by the thousands, murdered by the hundreds of thousands or even millions - another Western value. Society went even further down the toilet into hedonism, a strong embrace of abject ignorance, and obsession with the trivial, mindless, and inane - a freedom the terrorists allegedly hate us for. All embrace the new American century.

So today, if you see what we see, if you feel as we feel, and if you would seek as we seek, then we would ask you to imaginarily stand beside us this 11th of September, on the 15th anniversary of that fretful day, and we will give you a 9/11 retrospective discussion that shall never, ever be forgot.

Running Time: 01:58:09

Download: MP3


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SOTT Focus: The Easters: A case study in psychopathy and ponerization

Kent Jill Easter
Kent and Jill Easter
The constant anti-Russian hate propaganda that fills today's airwaves gives us an unprecedented glimpse into the creation of history and the mindset of those in positions of power. One could be forgiven for tuning out all of the noise and blather, but it is still a fascinating look at how history is distorted even as it's happening. And, thanks to an LA Times write-up, we have a perfect example that helps us understand the very nature of how the 'game is played at the 'common or garden' level.

In August of 2016 the LA Times began publishing an incredibly vivid case study of psychopathy named FRAMED: She was the PTA mom everyone knew. Who would want to harm her? It is certainly must-read material for people interested in the subject of psychopathy, and it is made even more valuable due to the fact that the journalist who wrote the story is apparently unaware of the subject.

The Easter case study

The story begins with the background of Kelli Peters, a popular PTA president who had worked into the position through volunteering countless hours in after-school care-giving activities. She was popular, loved by the community, and especially loved by the children.

Having spent years living and working in the peaceful city of Irvine, California, Kelli was ill-prepared when an otherwise normal day was interrupted by a surprise visit from a police officer. Kelli was initially puzzled but grew more concerned as the officer asked to search her car. When the officer came back with a 'Ziploc bag of marijuana, 17 grams worth, plus a ceramic pot pipe and two smaller EZY Dose Pill Pouch baggies, one with 11 Percocet pills, another with 29 Vicodin', she was horrified, but she knew the drugs weren't hers. In shock, she begged the officer to believe her.

Comment: For more on psychopathy check out SOTT Radio's The Truth Perspective: Introducing Political Ponerology, plus some odds and ends


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SOTT Focus: SOTT News Snapshot: September 9, 2016 edition - Korean nukes, creepy clowns, and Syrian solutions

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Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall kneels during the national anthem before Thursday's game with the Carolina Panthers.
Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall has joined Colin Kaepernick (as well as Eric Reid and Jeremy Lane) in his courageous protest against racism and police brutality, kneeling during the national anthem while his teammates stood. After the game, he told reporters, "I'm not against the military, I'm not against the police or America. I'm just against social injustice." He plans to continue refusing to stand for the foreseeable future, and like Kaepernick, will disclose money to charities that help veterans.

Given the hysterical response to Kaepernick's relatively benign form of protest, Marshall will surely face a firestorm of criticism from ignorant fanatics. Thankfully, other NFL athletes plan to join the protest, and members of Jeremy Lane's team, the Seattle Seahawks, are reportedly planning to make a unified statement on Sunday's game with the Miami Dolphins. Linebacker Bobby Wagner: "Anything that we want to do, it's not going to be individual. It's going to be a team thing because that's what the world needs to see. The world needs to see people coming together versus being individuals."

The game will take place on September 11th. Hopefully they go through with it. The U.S., and the world by consequence, has descended even further into madness since that day. 9/11 convinced Americans that the threat to freedom comes from the outside. It doesn't. America has enough problems of its own. It's past time they were brought to light.

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SOTT Focus: The Health & Wellness Show: The Gift of Fear: Gut Feelings, Intuition and Situational Awareness

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© Daiana Lorenz/Flickr
It's a jungle out there, as the saying goes, and there are those who aim to do us harm. Have you had feelings that something is not quite right, had niggling doubts or red flags about certain people and situations? Each of us were endowed with gut feelings that we can either ignore to our peril or use to our advantage.

On this episode of the Health and Wellness Show we discussed the difference between true fear and everyday worry and anxiety, learning to spot danger signals that women, in particular, and society, in general, have been taught to ignore. How can we cultivate our sense of intuition to keep us safe and avoid becoming victims to the predators out there? Join us as we share eye-opening stories about how the gift of fear can save your life.

Have you ever wondered if your pet can understand you? Stick around for Zoya's Pet Health Segment to find out!

Running Time: 01:42:12

Download: MP3


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SOTT Focus: The Guardian view on Aleppo: More Western lies about Syria

guardian aleppo
© The GuardianIndeed, the West has failed in its proxy war to force regime change (or the break-up of) Syria, but that's not stopping Western media from painting a picture of what is happening there that is completely opposite to reality
Once again, without fail, as the Syrian army makes advances in fighting al-Qaeda in Syria โ€” aka Jabhat al-Nusra โ€” and the child-beheading 'moderate' terrorists of Nour al-din al-Zenki in districts of eastern and southern Aleppo, simultaneously a new bout of the same old tired and repeatedly disproved accusations of chemical weapons attacks by the Syrian Army is making the rounds.

The Guardian's September 6th article is embarrassingly (well, I would be) unsourced and, as per the norm, cites "unnamed activists" and the al-Qaeda-affiliated "rescuers", known either as the "White Helmets" or โ€” quite factually incorrect โ€” the "Syrian Civil Defence", as they are neither civil (many carry arms) nor rescuers (rescuers don't pose with dead Syrian soldiers). The article's fallacies are many and the propaganda as crass as ever. The Guardian must really think their readers are stupid.

Before diving into the problematic article and its unsubstantiated accusations, let's pause to ask the obvious: Logically, why would the Syrian army need to drop chlorine on a population when conventional bombs will do far more damage? Suggestion: If the Guardian wants to portray the Syrian government as mass-murdering its civilians, which is in fact the Guardian's, and NATO's, intent, then forget ineffective weapons like chlorine and start screaming that the Syrian government has nuked Aleppo.

As Stephen Gowans pointed out, in rebuttal to one of the earlier accusations of chlorine attacks by forces loyal to Assad in May 2015:

Comment: See also:

Eva Bartlett photo essay: The villages in Aleppo ravaged by the U.S.'s "moderate" rebels


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SOTT Focus: Eva Bartlett photo essay: Aleppo and nearby villages ravaged by the U.S.'s "moderate" terrorists

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The northern city of Aleppo has been one of the most grossly misreported-on cities in the Syrian Arab Republic, with Western and Gulf media and NGOs continuously ignoring the realities of life in this city of over 1.5 million civilians, instead launching coordinated propaganda campaigns against the Syrian government and army (SAA), and in favour of terrorists labelled as "rebels", and ignoring their firing of an array of missiles, rockets, Hell Cannon-fired gas canister bombs, explosive bullets, and more onto the civilians of greater Aleppo.

Terrorist factions occupying areas of Aleppo include Jabhat al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham, the so-called "Free Syrian Army", and child-beheading Nour el din Zinki mercenaries.

In July and in August, 2016, I traveled by car to Aleppo, to meet with doctors and ordinary civilians, and to hear their testimonies of life in a city which has many times been under terrorists' siege and is always under terrorists' bombings and snipings.

I was also able to visit Nubl, adjacent to Zahra'a, two villages just north of Aleppo which were under a devastating 3.5 year siege by terrorist factions until the SAA and allies lifted it in February 2016. Residents endured prolonged periods of hunger, were targeted by terrorists' bombings, and for want of medicines, medical treatment, and sanitary conditions suffered diseases that could otherwise have been treated.