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February
26, 2016
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Russians Ride Fast
By Israel Shamir |
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"You can
follow the lead of your
Israeli Lobby, or you can
have peace and security, but
you can’t have both, it is
that simple."
Continue |
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Syria ceasefire
comes into force under US-Russia deal:
A landmark United Nations-backed
ceasefire has came into effect in Syria
- the first major truce in a five-year
civil war that has claimed more than
270,000 lives.
Syria factions
agree on truce plan as raids intensify:
Opposition alliance says 97 factions
will respect ceasefire as Russian jets
reportedly target rebel-held areas.
Nusra Front
rejects Syria truce, urges stronger
attacks: audio statement:
The al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front rejected
on Friday the cessation of hostilities
in Syria due to begin at midnight, and
urged insurgents to intensify attacks
against President Bashar al-Assad and
his allies.
The Joint
US-Russian Statement on Syria is not a
declaration of a ceasefire.
It is an attempt by the Russians to
split the Free Syrian Army - and its US
backers - from the jihadi terrorists
Russia is bombing.
Turkey drops
ground offensive option from policy on
Syria:
Turkey said Friday that a
ground offensive in Syria is not
"binding" and prepared, apparently
backing out from a possible unilateral
intervention into Syria that it might
have considered several weeks ago.
Turkish troops
taking on Isil in 'secret battle' in
Iraq:
Exclusive: More than 1,000 soldiers are
engaged in covert ground war with the
Islamic State near their stronghold of
Mosul, against Iraq's
Iraqi security
forces kill 19 ISIS militans:
The source said in a statement received
by IraqiNews.com, “This morning the
security forces carried out a military
operation to cleanse the areas around
al-Amiriyah, liberating Albu Daeig area
after fierce battles and killing 19 ISIS
members.
15 killed by
suicide bombers in Iraq:
Suicide bombers hit a religious building
and a military checkpoint in a
Shiite-majority neighbourhood of Baghdad
on Thursday, killing 15 people, an Iraqi
security official said.
Hundreds of
thousands of Shiite Muqtada al-Sadr
supporters protest corruption in Baghdad:
Protesters in Baghdad's Tahrir Square
shouted slogans of "no to corruption and
the corrupt" and speaking on stage Sadr
told the masses they should be prepared
to continue their protest movement.
Israeli troops
shoot dead Palestinian who tried to stab
them-army:
A military spokeswoman said the
assailant was the only casualty in the
incident and a Palestinian official and
family members identified the dead
person as 17-year-old Mahmoud Shaalan, a
Ramallah resident who also held U.S.
citizenship.
PA collaborates
with Israel’s torture agency:
Palestinian prisoners are being held in
painful positions for up to 35 hours,
according to a new report. The Israel
Security Agency, known as Shin Bet, is
confining detainees to filthy cells
smaller than the size of an adult body
stretched out, the report also reveals.
The ancient ‘Silk
Road’ is back in business as new train
connects China to Tehran:
The 5,900-mile trip from eastern
Zhejiang province took 14 days, or 30
days less than a typical sea voyage
between Shanghai and the Iranian port of
Bandar Abbas, according to the head of
the Iranian railway company, Mohsen
Pourseyed Aqayi.
7 Libyan soldiers
killed as army presses gains in Benghazi:
Seven soldiers were killed on Friday in
clashes with Islamist militants in the
eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, where
military forces are pressing to
consolidate recent gains, an army
commander said.
Egypt security
forces kill 2 protesters:
Egypt's Interior Ministry says security
forces have clashed with Islamist Muslim
Brotherhood protesters in northern
Egypt, killing two of them and arresting
six.
Two blasts,
gunfire target hotel in Somalia's
Mogadishu:
Two loud explosions rocked the centre of
Mogadishu on Friday followed by
automatic gunfire, police and an AFP
correspondent said, with Somalia's
Shebab Islamists claiming they had
attacked a hotel.
U.S. Plans to Put
Advisers on Front Lines of Nigeria’s War
on Boko Haram:
The Pentagon is poised to send dozens of
Special Operations advisers to the front
lines of Nigeria’s fight against the
West African militant group Boko Haram,
according to military officials
Hunting Boko
Haram:
News analysis -
The U.S. Extends Its Drone War Deeper
Into Africa With Secretive Base
Pak military
trains IS in Afghanistan: Ex-IS man:
Pakistan's military provides weapons and
training to ISIS militants in
Afghanistan and instructs them to kill
the "infidel" Afghan forces, according
to the terror group's fighters who laid
down their arms.
Philippine Army
Kills 42 Islamist Militants In Battles
In South:
Three soldiers were killed and 11
wounded when the forces seized the
bastion of an affiliate of Jemaah
Islamiah, a Southeast Asian network of
Islamist militants, in the province of
Lanao del Sur.
Demonizing China:
Australia
Announces Rise in Spending for Military:
Responding to the military challenge
from China, the Australian government on
Thursday announced a robust increase in
military spending, including the biggest
expansion to its navy since World War
II.
Breedlove: US
Ready To "Fight and Defeat" Russia in
Europe:
"We are ready, if necessary, to fight
and win," — said Breedlove at a hearing
of the Committee on armed services of
the U.S. house of representatives, to
discuss measures to counter "Russian
aggression" in Europe.
NATO can’t fight
Russians in Europe, says leading US
think tank:
A report by influential US-based think
tank the Atlantic Council says NATO’s
European members can’t fight a war
against Russia. Earlier, the commander
of US European forces said Americans
were ready to “fight and win” against
Russia.
Turkey uses
refugees to blackmail EU into compliance
– ex-MI6 agent:
Will sober heads prevail, or will the
bloodshed in Syria just open another
chapter? We ask former a MI6 agent and
EU foreign policy adviser. Alastair
Crooke is on Sophie&Co today.
Greece struggles
under weight of mass refugee influx:
Despite refugee camps being fully packed
in Greece, signs are eastern EU states
are preparing for its total isolation.
Emails show
Michigan Gov. Snyder's aides warned
about degraded water quality in Flint
early on:
The emails also showed that an effort
was made at the time to keep the state’s
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
out of the loop so that tainted-water
worries would not be subject to
discovery via the Freedom of Information
Act
Trump wins
Christie backing:
Christie said the billionaire had the
best chance of beating Democrat Hillary
Clinton in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential
election. His endorsement gives the
front-runner Trump a further lift before
the March 1 Super Tuesday nominating
contests.
Marco Rubio waged
an all-out verbal assault on Donald
Trump Friday morning:
"A con artist is about to take over the
Republican Party and the conservative
movement, and we have to put a stop to
it," Rubio charged on CBS' "This
Morning."
The Story Behind
Donald Trump’s Undocumented Polish
Workers:
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) took some
unexpected digs at billionaire Donald
Trump during the CNN Republican
presidential debate on Thursday, the
most provocative of which surrounded
Trump’s past employment and alleged
mistreatment of undocumented immigrants.
Rubio Attacked
Trump For Running a ‘Fake School.’ But
There’s Just One Problem.:
Rubio’s hands are not clean either,
since he has supported a for-profit
college chain that has hurt far more
students than Trump University has.
Corinthian Colleges, which actually
offered degrees and was regionally
accredited, damaged far more students’
lives.
Donald Trump Out
Front in Florida, Besting Marco Rubio in
New Poll:
Trump takes 45 percent of
Florida Republicans with Rubio in second
with 25 percent. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz,
R-Texas, cracks double digits with 10
percent while Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio,
garners 8 percent and Dr. Ben Carson
takes 5 percent.
WATCH: Muslim
refugees assure terrified Trump
supporter they’re not coming to chop off
heads:
Watch the video
Noam Chomsky on
Clinton vs Sanders:
Video - The US academic says Democratic
presidential candidate Bernie Sanders
has the "best policies", but little
chance of winning in a "mainly bought"
election.
In case you missed it:
Jimmy Carter:
U.S. Is An 'Oligarchy With Unlimited
Political Bribery'
: Jimmy Carter said that
the United States is now an “oligarchy”
in which “unlimited political bribery”
has created “a complete subversion of
our political system as a payoff to
major contributors.” Both Democrats and
Republicans, Carter said
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February
25, 2016
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How
US Helps Al Qaeda in Yemen
By Jonathan Marshall |
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The Obama
administration, has turned a
blind eye to Riyadh’s
savaging of Yemen, even
though that is helping Al
Qaeda militants expand their
territory.
Continue |
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50 Saudi soldiers
killed in Yemen's missile attacks:
Yemeni forces have managed to kill at
least 50 Saudi troops, including
commanders, in a ballistic missile
attack in the country’s northern Jawf
province.
13 killed in
Saudi airstrikes in Yemen:
The Yemeni al-Masirah television said on
Wednesday that the airstrikes, which
targeted trucks carrying foodstuff eight
times, took place in Jawf’s town of al-Matammah.
UAE pulls ground
troops from Aden, Yemen reports say
: According to the reports in AP, the
Emirates has withdrawn its soldiers out
of the airport in Yemen's second city
and pulled out all of its fighters in
one day.
European
Parliament calls for Saudi arms embargo:
The European Parliament called on the
European Union to impose an arms embargo
against Saudi Arabia Thursday, saying
Britain, France and other EU governments
should no longer sell weapons to a
country accused of targeting civilians
in Yemen.
Scores killed as
ISIL takes village in NE Syria:
Abu Shadi al-Safarani, an Aleppo-based
activist opposed to Syria’s Assad
regime, told Anadolu Agency that 95
regime troops had been killed -- and
scores others captured -- when ISIL took
the village.
Opposition group:
Senior Russian generals killed in Syria
car bomb
: Dozens of Russian generals were killed
on Sunday in a car bomb attack at their
base near the Syrian city of Latakia,
the Ahrar al-Sham opposition movement
claimed on Wednesday.
Syria army
retakes key town on road to Aleppo from
ISIS:
The road through the town of Khanasser
is the sole link between government-held
areas in and around Aleppo and those in
the rest of the country. State news
agency SANA hailed its recapture just
two days after its fall to the
extremists.
Russian jets in
Syria pound Latakia ahead of fighting
halt:
Russia bombed Syrian rebel-held areas in
northwestern Syria on Thursday as
government forces sought to take more
ground at the Turkish border, ahead of a
planned halt to fighting, which rebels
predicted Damascus and Moscow would
ignore.
Syrian opposition
accepts ceasefire for 'two weeks':
High Negotiations Committee temporarily
accepts US-Russia plan as UN efforts to
air drop aid encounter difficulties.
‘No Plan B for
Syrian settlement’ – Russian Foreign
Ministry:
“We’re perplexed by our Western
partners, the US included, mentioning
the existence of some kind of ‘Plan B,’
Nothing is known on that one, we are
considering no alternative plans,”
Bognanov told the ‘Middle East: From
violence to security’ conference in
Moscow.
Saudi jets to
arrive in Turkey to strike "ISIS":
Saudi jets are due to arrive at a
Turkish base this week take part in the
air campaign against ISIS in Syria,
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut
Cavusoglu said on Thursday. The planes
are to be stationed at the Incirlik
base, which is already hosting US,
British and French war planes
Infighting?
Turkey's General Staff Concerned with
Erdogan's Syria Policies:
The former head of the General Staff of
the Turkish Intelligence Agency told
Sputnik that the Armed Forces have been
growing discontent with the Syrian
policy of the Turkish leadership.
Turkey attacks
PKK targets in Northern Iraq, 12 top
figures killed in Sirnak:
Turkish jets launched an air campaign on
PKK targets, sources from the Turkish
Armed Forces (TSK) said, and also
reportedly killed 12 PKK terrorists,
some of whom were high ranking figures,
in the Idil district of the province of
Sirnak on the same day.
Iraq: Security
forces kill 19 ISIS militans:
On Thursday, a source in Anbar
Operations Command announced the
cleansing of Albu Daeig area in southern
Fallujah, while indicated to the killing
of 19 ISIS members during the operation.
Thousands face
starvation in Iraq's Fallujah as siege
tightens:
IS has started using food as a weapon
after tribesmen rose up against it last
week
Two suicide
bombers kill 15 at Shia mosque in
Baghdad:
At least 15 people were killed when two
suicide bombers blew themselves up at a
Shia mosque in Baghdad on Thursday. The
attack was claimed by the Islamic State
Security forces
kill 5 ISIS militants during clashes
north of Tikrit:
“The federal police in
Makhoul Mountains had launched, surprise
attacks on the ISIS headquarters in the
villages of Massoud in Makhoul Mountains
north of Tikrit, resulting in the death
of five ISIS elements as well as the
destruction of three defensive
positions.”
‘Cruel, inhuman
and degrading:’ Israel’s systematic
abuse of Palestinian detainees exposed
by NGOs
: Israel’s domestic security agency
systematically abuses Palestinians kept
at its Shikma detention facility, two
NGOs say, adding that “cruel, inhuman
and degrading” treatment is inherent to
the interrogation policy
Islamic State
militants kill 17 in Libya's Sabratha:
officials:
Islamic State militants briefly entered
the center of the western Libyan city of
Sabratha, beheading 11 members of local
security forces and killing another six
in overnight clashes before retreating,
local authorities said on Wednesday.
France waging
secret war in Libya - report
: France is using its special forces and
commandos to wage covert military
operations against Islamic State (IS,
formerly ISIL/ISIS) in Libya, the
country's media say.
Explosion at
police HQ in northeast Nigeria kills 4:
Bombs retrieved from Boko Haram exploded
accidentally Thursday at police
headquarters in Nigeria's northeastern
city of Yola, killing four people and
wounding a score of officers and school
children cut by shattered glass,
officials said.
Afghanistan:
Fourteen killed in clashes between
Taliban and security forces in Kunduz:
At least 14 militants, including a
commander, have been killed in
northeastern Kunduz provincey. However,
residents alleged the fighting had also
inflicted casualties on civilians and
forced them to leave the area for safer
places.
Death toll hits
28 in India's caste riots;
On Wednesday, the Punjab and Haryana
High Court asked the government to
investigate alleged incidents of sexual
violence after media reports said at
least 10 women were raped by Jat rioters
in Sonipat district.
'Trade Rules
Trump Climate': WTO Deals Blow to
India's Solar Program:
In an outcome described as an outrage
and a blow for local green jobs, the
World Trade Organization ruled Wednesday
in favor of the United States in its
challenge to India's rapidly growing
solar energy program.
US blocked talks
with North Korea before nuclear test:
The North Korean regime has long
demanded a peace treaty to formally end
the 1950-53 Korean War and open the way
for diplomatic relations, a call that
Washington has repeatedly rejected.
EU migration
system could 'completely break down' in
10 days: commissioner:
The EU has until a March 7 summit with
Turkey to curb the number of migrants
coming to Europe or else the bloc's
migration system could "completely break
down", migration commissioner Dimitris
Avramopoulos said Thursday.
Italy Summons US
Envoy Over NSA Spying Reports:
Italy has summoned the US ambassador to
Rome following reports that the US
National Security Agency (NSA) had
tapped the telephones of former Prime
Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his aides
in 2011
IMF warns global
economy is 'highly vulnerable':
The International Monetary Fund has said
that the global economy is "highly
vulnerable" and urged the United States
and other large nations to prepare
contingency plans that could be rolled
out quickly.
Demonizing Russia:
Army chief
recommends keeping brigade in Alaska:
Russia is not only acting aggressively
in Europe, they're also asserting
themselves in the Pacific, and
specifically in the Arctic," Milley said
during a Senate appropriations defense
subcommittee hearing.
U.S. Warns Banks
Off Russian Bonds;
The U.S. government has warned some top
U.S. banks not to bid on a potentially
lucrative but politically risky Russian
bond deal, saying it would undermine
international sanctions on Moscow,
people familiar with the matter said.
3 sick after
California employee opens suspicious
package:
- Firefighters and hazardous materials
teams have cleared a Northern California
federal building where an employee felt
ill after opening an envelope containing
a powdery substance
L.A. is seizing
tiny homes from the homeless:
Escalating their battle to stamp out an
unprecedented spread of street
encampments, city officials have begun
seizing tiny houses from homeless people
living on freeway overpasses in South
Los Angeles.
"WATCHDOG" Names
Hillary Clinton Most Corrupt Politician
of 2015:
As corrupt public officials go, Hillary
Clinton is in a league of her own.
That’s according to a Washington ethics
watchdog that just named the Democratic
presidential front-runner as the top
ethics violator of 2015.
Trump May Have To
Take A Break From Campaigning To Handle
Fraud Case Against Trump University:
Trump’s lawyers have denied charges that
Trump University defrauded students.
Lawyers also argued the plaintiffs can’t
successfully claim that the online
classes didn’t have value, according to
the Financial Times.
Political Science
Professor: Odds Of President Trump Range
BETWEEN 97% AND 99%:
A political science professor who claims
his statistical model has correctly
predicted the results of every election
in the last 104 years has forecast that
the odds of Donald Trump becoming
America’s next president currently range
from 97 percent to 99 percent. |
February
24, 2016
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Bush Haunts the GOP
By Eric Margolis
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“The evil
that men do lives after
them,” wrote Shakespeare. A
prime example, former US
President George W. Bush.
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Scores of
al-Qaeda militants killed in clashes
with Kurdish YPG forces north Syria:
Militant fighters of al-Nusra Front,
al-Qaeda wing in Syria, launched on
Tuesday a mortar attack on the Kurdish
district of Sheikh Maqsoud in Aleppo,
causing casualties among civilians,
local sources reported.
Proposed truce
accepted by Syrian government,
opposition:
Syria's government on Tuesday accepted a
proposed U.S.-Russian cease-fire that is
to go into effect later this week, but
reserved the right to respond to any
violations of the truce. The main
opposition and rebel umbrella group
approved the deal but set its own
condition
Syria truce
center launched at Khmeimim airbase,
Russia hands over hotline contact to US
: Opposition groups, who decide to
observe a ceasefire and launch peace
talks, will be able to apply to the
center 24 hours a day via a common
telephone number.
Syrian rebels see
flaws in U.S.-Russian truce plan:
The plan allows the Syrian army and
allied forces, as well as Syrian
opposition fighters, to respond with
"proportionate use of force" in
self-defense. It leaves a significant
loophole by allowing further attacks,
including air strikes, against Islamic
State, Nusra and other militant groups.
John Kerry says partition of Syria could
be part of ‘plan B’ if peace talks fail:
US secretary of state tells committee it
‘may be too late’ to keep Syria whole
and suggests Washington would support
partition if ceasefire is unsuccessful
Fighting must stop or Syria will split:
Kerry:
If a political
transition to a government to replace
the current administration does not
unfold in Syria, there are options,
Kerry said, in a reference to undefined
contingency plans believed to include
military action.
EU warns Russia
and Turkey are headed for open war:
EU foreign policy chief warns a 'hot
war' between Russia and Turkey may be
imminent as Syrian war spins into
'something bigger.'
‘OK, big
brother’: Turkish military cooperate
with ISIS on border, telephone calls
reveal :
Further proof of ties between the
Turkish military and Islamic State
fighters operating on the Syrian-Turkish
border has been revealed in the
Cumhuriyet newspaper, which published
more transcripts of telephone calls
between the jihadists and officers.
Turkey to
continue targeting Kurdish YPG inside
Syria:
Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus
told reporters that Turkey could carry
on shelling targets of the Syrian
Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG)
armed group inside Syria, and would
continue "if necessary" to hit back at
incoming fire from the neighbouring
country even after the truce comes into
force on February 27.
Turkey, Bulgaria
Expel Respective Diplomats for
Interference :
Turkey has retaliated to Sofiaâ?Ös
decision to declare a Turkish diplomat
"persona non grata" by expelling
Bulgarian consul in Istambul Zornitsa
Petrova Apostolova, causing both
diplomats to leave their posts in the
latest indication of heightened tensions
between the neighbors
Iraq: 9 ISIS
suicide bombers killed while trying to
attack security forces in Karma:
Nine suicide bombers belonging to ISIS
and wearing explosive belts were killed
while trying to attack the security
forces in Karma District in eastern
Fallujah (62 km west of Baghdad).
ISIS executes 12
people in central Fallujah:
A source in Anbar police announced on
Tuesday, that the so-called ISIS
executed 12 people by firing squad in
central Fallujah (62 km west of
Baghdad), while pointed out that the
victims were trying to escape from the
city.
Saudi and UAE ban
citizens from travelling to Lebanon:
The Saudi foreign ministry issued a
statement on Tuesday calling on "all
citizens not to travel to Lebanon, for
their safety, and asking citizens
residing in Lebanon or visiting not to
stay unless extremely necessary".
Yemen: Airstrike
kills three in Sana'a:
Three people have been killed by the
Saudi aggression bombing on citizens'
houses in Nehm district of Sana'a
province.
Yemen gunfire
kills Saudi border guard:
The corporal was hit during a patrol in
the Saudi border district of Najran, a
ministry spokesperson said.
Saudi-led
Invading Mercenaries Suffer Major Losses
in Yemen’s Taiz
(: Yemeni armyThe Yemeni army and
Popular Committees made major progress
on Tuesday in the southwestern areas of
Taiz province, as they managed to break
into the Al-Jreibat military sites in
the area of Karsh.
Yemen: Al-Qaeda joins Saudi-led
coalition force for battle for Taiz:
The BBC has found evidence in Yemen that
troops from a Saudi-led coalition force
and al-Qaeda militants are both fighting
Houthi rebels in a key battle.
Israeli Enemy
Consults with Arabs to Face Syrian Army
Advances on Ground:
Zionist mass media unmasked on Monday
confidential communications between Tel
Aviv and certain Arab governments,
following the significant ground
victories achieved by Syrian army and
allies.
Libyan forces
make key Benghazi gains:
Special forces on Tuesday retook the
Benghazi area of Lithi, which had been a
stronghold for hardline fighters
including the Islamic State of Syria and
the Levant (ISIL) group, after days of
fierce clashes.
Italy approves
'protective' US drone strikes on Libya
from Sicily:
Under the agreement, US can launch drone
strikes that protect US and allied
personnel involved in fight against IS
Ethiopia: Govt
Accused of Bloody Crackdown On
Protesters:
Ethiopian security forces are carrying
out a brutal crackdown on peaceful
protests in the country's Oromia region
and thousands of people are being held
without charge, a human rights group has
said
Bomb attacks kill
more than a dozen in northern
Afghanistan:
The attacks occurred in
the Kunduz and Parwan provinces and
appeared to be targeted at police and a
pro-government figure.
Afghan troops
pull out of second Helmand district:
Afghan government forces have pulled out
of a second district in Helmand,
officials said on Monday, leaving the
Taliban in control of most of the
northern part of the province after
troops withdrew from Musa Qala district
last week.
12 militants
killed in Pakistan clash:
At least 12 militants were killed in a
fighting between insurgents and police
in Pakistan's southern port city of
Karachi, an official said. At least two
policemen were also injured during the
fighting.
IN COLD BLOOD:
Maidan Sniper Confesses 'I Shot Them in
the Back of the Head':
One of the snipers on Kiev's
Independence Square (Maidan) during the
2013-2014 protest-riots has now come
forward to openly confess his crimes.
And he thanks God for letting him kill
Clashes Erupt in
Greece as Macedonia Bars Afghan Asylum
Seekers:
A decision by the Macedonian authorities
to block thousands of Afghan asylum
seekers from crossing into the country
from Greece set off clashes between
migrants and the police on Tuesday,
Refugee crisis:
Europe border closures to cause 'chaos':
New UNHCR head warns of worsening
situation as thousands of refugees
remain trapped in Greece.
Italy summons
American ambassador to clarify reports
NSA spied on Berlusconi:
John Phillips summoned to Rome following
accusations that the US National
Security Agency spied on the former
prime minister and his close associates
How Italy Will
Fail And Drag Down The European Project:
Greece, Portugal and Ireland were mere
test subjects for what will come. Spain
would have been a challenge, but were
narrowly avoided. Italy will drag the
whole structure down if it continues on
its current trajectory
German government
to use Trojan spyware to monitor
citizens:
Intelligence agencies in Germany can now
use malware to track computers of people
under suspicion. The Trojan will be able
to track user chats and conversations on
smartphones and PCs.
New Court Filing
Reveals Apple Faces 12 Other Requests to
Break Into Locked iPhones:
Apple has objected to or otherwise
challenged at least 12 government
requests to help extract data from
locked iPhones since September,
bolstering its argument that its current
battle about a terrorist’s phone is not
as unique as the Justice Department has
maintained.
Pentagon names 13
possible sites in US to replace Gitmo:
The Pentagon officially submitted to
Congress a proposal to close the
military detention center at Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba. The plan refers to 13
unspecific prisons in the US where the
government could transfer up to 60
detainees at a cost of $475 million.
1 in 4 Americans
on verge of financial ruin:
“Not only do most of them not have
enough savings, they’ve all used up some
portion of their available credit — they
are running out of options.”
More Subprime
Borrowers Are Falling Behind on Their
Auto Loans:
Delinquencies on subprime auto loans
packaged into bonds rose in January to
4.7 percent, a level not seen since
2010, according to data from Wells Fargo
& Co.
Recession 2016:
In Some States, A Very Deep Economic
Downturn Has Already Arrived:
Did you know that there are some U.S.
states that have already officially
fallen into recession? Economic activity
all over the planet is in the process of
slowing down, and there are some areas
of the country that are really starting
to feel the pain.
Judge threatens
subpoena against Clinton over emails:
A federal judge warned Tuesday that he
may have to subpoena former Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton’s entire secret
email account, saying he has real
questions about whether the Obama
administration gave her special
treatment..
Trump gets a third straight win in
Nevada caucuses
:
Donald Trump convincingly won the Nevada
presidential caucuses here Tuesday
evening, the Associated Press projected,
accelerating his march to the Republican
nomination as his top two rivals fell
short here despite aggressive
campaigning in the closing days.
Donald Trump
declares that, should he win, he will
prosecute Hillary Clinton
: "So she's being protected, but if I
win, certainly it's something we're
going to look at," he said. |
February
23, 2016
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40 militants
killed in Iraq:
At least 40 militants were killed on
Monday when security forces repelled an
attack by the Islamic State (IS) terror
group in Iraq's Anbar province.
ISIS executes 36
militants for refusing to join
confrontations lines in southern Mosul:
“Today, ISIS executed 36 of its members
after refusing to join the combat axes
in southern Mosul.” “ISIS executed its
fighters by firing squad in Ghazlani
camp in southern Mosul.”
102 ISIS fighters
escaped from Mosul for not receiving
their salaries for 3 months:
The Kurdistan Democratic Party spokesman
in Mosul, Saeed Mamousini, said in a
statement obtained by IraqiNews.com,
“102 members belonging to ISIS fled from
the city of Mosul, right before the
beginning of the liberation operations
of the city.”
Iraq: Five,
including police chief, killed in Daesh
attacks:
Daesh terrorists launched two offensives
in eastern and western Ramadi, but the
attacks were repelled by army forces,
military officer Walid al-Duleimi told
Anadolu Agency.
Iraq Sends
Military Forces to Border With Saudi
Arabia:
Saudi Arabia started large-scale
military exercises close to the Iraqi
border. The military training known
under name "Northern Thunder" involves
ground and air forces from Egypt, Sudan,
Jordan and several other Arab and
Islamic countries.
US, Russia reach
deal on ceasefire in Syria to begin Feb.
27 – reports:
Islamic State (IS, former ISIS/ISIL) and
the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front are
excluded from the plan.. The document
has yet to be signed by all the parties
to the Syrian conflict – with an obvious
exception of IS and Al-Nusra, as they
are on the UN Security Council’s list of
terrorist organizations.
Syria opposition
says provisional agreement reached on
temporary truce: report:
Syrian opposition coordinator Riad Hijab
said there was a provisional agreement
on a temporary truce in Syria, the
pro-Syrian opposition Orient TV reported
Monday.
ISIS collects
millions in ransom for abducted
Christians:
-- The
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)
has collected millions of dollars in
ransom for a group of Assyrian
Christians it kidnapped in Syria a year
ago, Christian officials and an
opposition group said Monday, as the
last of the 230 hostages were freed.
US Firm's
Internationally Banned Bombs Are Killing
Civilians in Yemen:
A new HRW report has determined that the
attack involved internationally banned
cluster munitions that were manufactured
by Textron Systems, an aerospace and
defense manufacturing firm headquartered
in Providence, Rhode Island.
Palestinian
journo on hunger strike near death
: A
Palestinian journalist who went on
hunger strike 90 days ago over his
unlawful detention by Israeli
authorities is close to death. He has
almost lost the ability to speak and
hear, and is paying a high price for
freedom of speech, his lawyer says.
5 Libyan soldiers
killed in Benghazi in clashes:
Five security forces with Libya's
internationally-recognized government
have been killed in clashes with Takfiri
militants in the northern city of
Benghazi.
Libya: U.S.
Airstrikes Kill 2 Serbian Hostages:
U.S. airstrikes on a suspected ISIL
training camp in Libya have killed two
Serbian hostages. The hostages were a
communications officer and a driver on
staff at the Serbian Embassy who were
taken hostage in November.
NATO Has a New
Problem! Aisha Gaddafi Is the True
Daughter of Her Father:
Aisha has every reason to send a "black
mark" to the West. She is the only child
of Gaddafi who today can have an impact
on the minds of Libyans and because the
West represents a real threat.
13 killed as
Taliban blast targets Afghan police:
A suicide bomber targeting a police
commander has killed at least 13 people,
including nine civilians, in
Afghanistan's northern Parwan province,
an official said.
9 killed as
Indian army ends deadly standoff in
Kashmir:
Fighting in town of Pampore leaves nine
dead, including three fighters, with
authorities blaming Pakistan-based
group.
India caste
unrest: Ten million without water in
Delhi:
More than 10 million people in India's
capital, Delhi, are without water after
protesters sabotaged a key canal which
supplies much of the city. The army took
control of the Munak canal after Jat
community protesters, angry at caste job
quotas, seized it.
Germany sets
two-week ultimatum for EU refugee plan:
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has
given Europe two weeks to implement
measures agreed last week's EU summit -
if not “other measures will be
necessary”. One possible consequence
would be “that protecting the Schengen
area would have to take place at
different borders,” he noted.
US sends 5,000
tons of ammunition to Germany ‘to help
NATO alliance’:
Washington has dispatched more than
5,000 tons of ammunition to Germany, the
largest amount in 10 years, the US
military announced, adding that the
shipment will help to “continue to
enable the NATO alliance” and to defend
its allies.
War criminals:
Tony Blair, Leon
Panetta to launch antiterrorism
commission:
Former British prime minister Tony Blair
and former U.S. Secretary of Defense
Leon Panetta are launching a commission
on violent extremism that will aim to
help the next U.S. administration
counter radicalization among Muslims.
Assange Lawyers
Ask Swedish Court to Overturn Arrest
Warrant:
Lawyers for Julian Assange asked a
Swedish court on Monday to overturn an
arrest warrant for the WikiLeaks
co-founder, following a ruling by a
United Nation panel that his asylum in
Ecuador's London embassy amounts to
"arbitrary detention"
Mexican President
Gets Highly Corrupt Politician Out of
Jail:
President Enrique Peña Nieto intervened
in favor of Humberto Moreira who was
arrested in Spain for his alleged links
with Los Zetas drug cartel and other
crimes.
Gaza is
laboratory for US-Mexico border tunnel
warfare:
No longer content with suffocating Gaza
by air, land and sea, Israel is
expanding its blockade below ground with
a new tunnel warfare system. The US
government is bankrolling the project to
the tune of $120 million, with hopes of
installing the technology at the US
border with Mexico.
US retains top
position as arms sales grew 27 percent:
The five biggest weapons importers were
India, Saudi Arabia, China, the United
Arab Emirates and Australia.
Weapons manufacturers support
Hillary Clinton more than any other
presidential candidate
Cornel West Says
Hillary Clinton is the Milli Vanilli of
US Politics:
The U.S.
philosopher Cornel West accused Hillary
Clinton of only giving “lip service” to
social justice policies, comparing her
to German duo Milli Vanilli, whose
Grammy award was revoked after it was
revealed that the pair had not actually
sung their songs, but lipsynched to
other singers.
Why Cruz is more
dangerous than Trump:
Video - Robert Reich breaks down why Ted
Cruz is more dangerous than Donald
Trump.
Utah Man Dies in
Police Custody — After Being Arrested
for Unpaid Medical Bills:
Rex Iverson was jailed for the alleged
crime of not paying an ambulance bill.
Legally, this should not be a jailable
offense, but that didn’t stop police
from arresting him placing him in the
Box Elder County Jail. The very next
day, Iverson was found dead
Life expectancy
gap between rich and poor is growing
: In the US, a rich man ? defined as
someone in the top 10 percent of income
earners ? who was born in 1920 could
expect to live about six years longer
than a poor man, in the bottom 10
percent, born in the same year. By 1950,
this gap more than doubled in size, as
rich men born in that year lived 14
years longer than their poor
counterparts. |
February, 22 2016
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The Saudi Slaughter
in Yemen
By Adil E. Shamoo |
 |
The United
States bears the moral and
legal responsibility for
facilitating a potential
genocide in Yemen. |
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Daesh bombings
kill over 150 in Syria:
Separate bombings claimed by Daesh
(ISIS) killed 155 in Syria Sunday,
marking the worst such attacks in over a
year in the conflict-ravaged country.
Syria: Homs and
Damascus blasts kill more than 100:
Bomb blasts in the Syrian cities of Homs
and Damascus have left more than 100
people dead. In Homs, at least 57
people, mainly civilians, were killed in
a double car bombing
50 ISIS fighters
killed in government Aleppo advance:
Since Saturday morning, Syrian
government forces have taken more than a
dozen villages from ISIS jihadists
around a stretch of highway that runs
east from the northern city of Aleppo to
the Kweyris military base.
Kerry:
Provisional deal reached on Syria
cease-fire:
Kerry said he discussed the terms of a
cease-fire with Russian Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov and said the two must now
reach out to the opposing forces in the
conflict. He declined to go into the
details of the agreement, saying it “is
not yet done.”
Russia's defense
minister arrives in Iran for talks:
Russian Minister of Defense Sergei
Shoigu has arrived in Tehran to hold
talks with senior Iranian officials on
the latest regional developments
Turkey has the
right to conduct operations in Syria,
elsewhere to combat terror threats:
Erdogan:
"No one can restrict Turkey’s right to
self-defense in the face of terror acts
that have targeted Turkey; they cannot
prevent [Turkey] from using it,” Erdogan
said.
Turkey accuses US
of arming Kurdish 'terrorists':
Erdogan said he told Mr Obama that plane
loads of weapons sent from the US had
aided Kurdish group - and had also ended
up in the hands of Isis.
40 ISIS militants
including suicide bombers killed in
Baiji, Iraq:
“Today, a force from the
Federal Police was able to repel ISIS
suicide attack on Km35 area west of
Ramadi, killing at least five suicide
bombers and destructing their vehicles,”
17 ISIS militants
killed in northern Ramadi:
Khalidiya Council in Anbar Province
announced on Sunday, that 17 members of
the so-called ISIS were killed during
the cleansing battles in northern Ramadi
(110 km west of Baghdad), while
emphasized the destruction of a number
of ISIS vehicles during the operation.
Iraq tribesmen
battle IS inside Fallujah:
Sunni Arab tribesmen battled militants
of the Islamic State group in their
Fallujah stronghold for a second day
Saturday in a major blow to the jihadis
in Iraq, officials said.
Tribes retreat as
Daesh detains Fallujah residents:
Clashes between Iraqi tribesmen and the
Daesh group in Fallujah have halted
after the militants detained dozens of
residents of the city west of Baghdad,
officials said on Sunday.
Saudi-Led
Coalition Airstrike Kills 30 in North
Yemen:
At least 12 children and 10 women were
killed during an airstrike by a
Saudi-led coalition against the Shiite
Houthis in Yemen, according to a local
source.
Al Qaeda
militants seize southern Yemen town,
kill militia leader: residents:
The coastal city and surrounding
district, in Abyan province, is home to
more than 30,000 people and is an
important geographic link between the
major port city of Mukalla to the east
and the smaller town of Zinjibar, both
of which Al Qaeda seized months ago.
Saudi military
base captured by Yemeni forces:
Yemen's Arabic-language al-Masirah news
website reported that as part of the
retaliatory campaign for relentless
Saudi military attacks against the
impoverished nation, Yemeni forces on
Sunday managed to seize control of
Nahuqeh military base.
Israeli soldiers
kill 15-year-old Palestinian near Beita
checkpoint:
Israeli forces on Sunday killed a
15-year-old Palestinian after he
allegedly attempted to stab an Israeli
soldier near Nablus in the occupied West
Bank.
Israeli forces
demolish sole school in Bedouin
community:
Israeli forces on Sunday demolished a
Bedouin school for children in the Abu
al-Nuwaar community near the town of al
Eizariya in the occupied West Bank, a
spokesperson for the Al-Jahalin Bedouin
community said.
Israeli winner of
Berlin Film Festival brands Netanyahu
government 'fascist':
The 56-year-old called Israel a
"democracy of white people" and
criticised German chancellor Angela
Merkel’s support for Israel, saying:
"Merkel does not mention the occupation
and sells submarines to Netanyahu to
continue such things."
Israel has More
Poverty than Any Developed Country:
The OECD, like Israeli protestors, turns
a blind eye to the occupation, which has
become the greatest drain on Israel's
welfare system
Richard Falk: An
Open Letter to Ban Ki-moon:
Ban Ki-moon protests Israel attacking
him for condemning the occupation, but
has himself attacked the messenger on
Israel's behalf politically expedient.
At least 14 dead
in clashes between army and Islamists in
Libya's Benghazi:
A spokesman for the military forces
loyal to Libya's eastern government,
Wanis Boukhamada, said fighting was
mostly in the neighborhood of Boatni.
The army has been battling Islamist
groups in the city for months.
Several killed in
clashes in Libya’s Benghazi:
Heavy clashes in the eastern Libyan city
of Benghazi have left at least 12 people
dead and 17 wounded, a hospital official
said on Saturday.
Roadside bombs
kill 11 civilians, injure 2 in southeast
Afghanistan:
Nearly a dozen civilians have lost their
lives and two others sustained injuries
in separate bomb explosions that struck
their vehicles in Afghanistan’s
southeastern province of Paktika in the
past few days.
Six rebels killed
in Afghan Northern province:
Six Taliban militants have been killed
and 10 others sustained injuries as
clash flared up in Tagab district of the
northern Badakhshan district on Friday,
spokesman for provincial government,
Ahmad Nawed Frotan, said Saturday.
Up to 30,000
flock to Japan parliament to protest US
base relocation in Okinawa:
Thousands of people encircled Japan`s
parliament to protest against the
relocation of a US military base on
Okinawa island. At the same time more
students marched through the streets
objecting the government`s plan to allow
Japanese military to fight overseas.
2 years after
revolution, corruption plagues war-torn
Ukraine:
Two years after a pro-Western revolution
provoked a conflict with Russian-backed
separatists, Ukraine faces a graver
threat from rampant corruption — the
problem that sparked its 2014 revolt in
the first place.
Ukraine
nationalists rally to demand
government’s ouster:
The demonstrators set up six tents in
Kyiv's Independence Square, known as
Maidan, and lit symbolic fires in trash
bins.
Cameron begins
campaign to keep Britain in EU:
Mr. Cameron returned from Brussels on
Saturday flush with victory over his
success at negotiating a
country-specific agreement with all 28
European Union heads of state that will
bring in the sort of EU ‘reforms’
Boris Johnson
Backs Campaign To Leave EU:
The London Mayor says he did not want to
go against David Cameron but after "a
great deal of heartache" felt he had no
choice.
San Bernardino
Says FBI at Fault for Losing Data in
Shooting Investigation:
San Bernardino officials contradicted
the FBI’s claims as to who was at fault
for a bungled effort at recovering Syed
Farook’s private data from six weeks
before the attack, stating that it
complied with the agency’s orders to
reset Farook’s iCloud password.
This Is the Real
Reason Apple Is Fighting the FBI:
If the FBI wins, it could open the door
to massive surveillance
Medical Bills Are
the Biggest Cause of US Bankruptcies:
Study:
Bankruptcies resulting from unpaid
medical bills will affect nearly 2
million people this year—making health
care the No. 1 cause of such filings,
and outpacing bankruptcies due to
credit-card bills or unpaid mortgages,
according to new data.
Trump wins in
South Carolina as Clinton takes Nevada:
Voters in South Carolina backed Trump in
the "First in the South" contest to pick
the Republican nominee for the November
8 US presidential election.
Hillary Clinton
Cries Crocodile Tears for Latin American
Immigrants:
The very prospect of Clinton in the
driver’s seat of the American empire
should trigger alarm bells in anyone who
has witnessed or lived through the
consequences of Central America’s “dirty
wars.”
Jeb Bush’s bid to
follow father, brother to White House
ends in failure:
In quitting, Mr. Bush, 63, a former
Florida governor, ended what once seemed
possible – that the two modern American
political dynasties, the Clintons and
the Bushes, would vie again for the
presidency. |
February
19, 2016
|
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U.S. kills 40
people in Libya:
The mayor of the Libyan city of Sabratha,
Hussein al-Thwadi, told Reuters the
planes struck at 3:30 a.m. (0130 GMT),
hitting a building in the city's Qasr
Talil district, home to many foreigners.
He said 41 people had been killed and
six wounded.
19 dead in double
suicide attack on Cameroon market:
Several other people were injured in the
attack on the market at Meme at around
0900 (0800 GMT) which was carried out by
two female suicide bombers, said the
officials, who did not wish to be named.
Clashes follow
Uganda opposition leader's arrest:
Kizza Besigye detained for third time in
a week as provisional election results
show incumbent President Museveni ahead.
20 Civilians
Killed In Air Strikes In Iraq’s Anbar:
It was not immediately apparent whether
the air strikes, were carried out by the
US-led international coalition, or Iraqi
air force planes, Al Jazeera’s Imran
Khan reported from the capital, Baghdad.
Security forces
advance into Karmat Fallujah, kill
dozens of ISIS fighters:
“The security forces advanced for three
kilometers into the depth of al-Karma
areas, and managed to kill dozens of
ISIS members.”
Coalition
warplanes kill 9 ISIS elements west of
Ramadi:
A security source in Anbar province said
on Friday, that nine ISIS elements had
been killed in an aerial bombing west of
Ramadi.
Syrian army says
it captured strategic town in coastal
area:
The capture of the town in the
northeastern mountainous region allows
the army and its Iranian-backed allies
to begin wider operations to regain
rebel held town of Jisr al Shughour,
northeast of Kansaba in Idlib province.
Kurdish-led force
takes ISIS stronghold in northeast
Syria: activists:
A Kurdish-led alliance backed by
U.S.-led strikes seized a stronghold of
ISIS in northeastern Syria on Friday,
activists said.
Russia to call
U.N. Security Council session on Syria
on Friday:
Russia's foreign ministry said it
intends to call a session of the United
Nations Security Council on Friday to
discuss the Turkish government's
statements about a possible ground
operation in Syria.
Turkish
intervention in Syria risks
Turkey-Russia war: Hollande:
"Turkey is involved in Syria... There,
there is a risk of war," Hollande told
France Inter radio. "That is why the
(UN) Security Council is meeting," he
added.
Ground troops
only solution to Syria conflict: Turkey:
“We want a ground operation. If there is
a consensus, Turkey will take part.
Without a ground operation, it is
impossible to stop this war... Turkey is
not going to have a unilateral ground
operation ... We are discussing this
with allies."
Dozens of Turkish
military vehicles cross Syria border,
dig trenches – report:
Turkish military vehicles have crossed
into a Kurdistani area in Syria, Afrin,
just over the border, a Kurdish news
agency reported adding that the troops
started to dig a trench near Meidan
Ekbis, a town in Aleppo province.
Doctors Without
Borders decision may have contributed to
deadly strike on clinic:
MSF, asked the group not to provide the
GPS coordinates of some sites. This was
the case of the makeshift clinic run by
the charity in the Syrian town of Maaret
al-Numan, which was hit four times in
attacks on Monday, killing at least 25
people.
Kurdish militant
group Tak claims responsibility for
Ankara car bomb:
The claim contradicts the position taken
by the Turkish government, who said on
Thursday that the perpetrator had been
identified as Saleh Necar, a 24-year-old
Syrian national with ties to the
People’s Protection Units (YPG), a
Kurdish militia that has been supported
by the US in the fight against Islamic
State in northern Syria.
Shocking
aftermath from Kurdish Cizre where
scores allegedly torched to death (VIDEO):
Footage from the city of Cizre in
Turkey's southeast, where the military
reportedly let 150 people burn to death.
They were allegedly trapped in the ruins
of buildings destroyed during the army
hunt for PKK fighters.
Erdogan's War
Against Kurds in Southeast Turkey is
'Part of Business Plan':
Ignoring the people on the ground the
Erdogan government is planning to carry
out its lucrative building project in
southeast Turkey.
Saudi says Syrian
rebels should receive anti-aircraft
missiles:
Anti-aircraft weapons could be a
game-changer in Syria as they were in
Afghanistan in the 1980s, says Saudi
foreign minister
Saudi Arabia
halts $4B in Lebanon security grants:
Saudi Arabia has suspended two grants
worth a combined total of $4 billion to
the Lebanese Army and police over a
political dispute, official Saudi news
agency SPA reported Friday, dealing a
major blow to the poorly-equipped
security forces engaged in an open
battle with militants.
Young Palestinian
man killed by Israeli forces in
Bethlehem-area clashes:
A young Palestinian man was shot and
killed by Israeli forces during clashes
in the occupied West Bank village of
Beit Fajjar on Friday, the Palestinian
Ministry of Health said.
Palestinian shot
dead after alleged car attack near
Ramallah:
A Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli
forces on Friday after he allegedly
attempted to ram them with his car in
the occupied West Bank village of Silwad
northeast of Ramallah.
Israeli killed by
14yos in West Bank supermarket:
Two Palestinian 14-year-olds have
stabbed and killed an Israeli in a
packed supermarket in the occupied West
Bank, Israeli and Palestinian officials
say,
US airstrikes in
Afghanistan killing civilians at
greatest rate for seven years, new
figures show:
The rate at which civilians are being
killed by US airstrikes in Afghanistan
is at its highest point since 2008, an
analysis of newly published UN data
reveals.
U.S. military
returns to Iceland:
Keflavik Air Base outside Reykjavik is
to be base for U.S. military aircraft
again, nearly ten years after the last
forces left the country.
Upgrade Your
iPhone Passcode to Defeat the FBI’s
Backdoor Strategy:
What I’m going to focus on here is how
ordinary iPhone users can protect
themselves.
OECD Calls for
Urgent Increase in Government Spending:
Governments in the U.S., Europe and
elsewhere should take "urgent" and
"collective" steps to raise their
investment spending and deliver a fresh
boost to flagging economic growth, the
Organization for Economic Growth and
Development said on Thursday.
Drug Testing
Welfare Recipients Is A Popular New
Policy That Cost States Millions. Here
Are The Results:
Proponents of these programs argue that
they’re implemented not just to save
money, but to help people who may be
struggling with substance abuse. But the
data tells a different story.
Case against Ted
Cruz's eligibility to be heard in
Illinois
: Once again, Cruz will
have to defend his eligibility to serve
as president after Donald Trump revived
questions about his birth in Canada.
Cruz maintains he is indeed a
natural-born citizen since he was born
to an American mother, though it has
never been tested before in court.
Trump pledges to
be 'neutral guy' in Israel-Palestinian
negotiations:
Trump previously suggested that the
burden of peace rested largely on the
shoulders of the Jewish state, saying a
peace deal "will have to do with Israel
and whether or not Israel wants to make
the deal -- whether or not Israel's
willing to sacrifice certain things."
Hillary Clinton
just can’t win:
Democrats need to accept that only
Bernie Sanders can defeat the GOP
|
February
18, 2016
|
Russia Lances the Poison in
Syria
By Finian Cunningham |
 |
Russia has
saved Syria from a covert
war of aggression waged by
foreign powers who have been
using terrorist proxies for
the objective of regime
change.
Continue |
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10 Secret Armies of the
Central Intelligence Agency
By Justin King
|
 |
As more
evidence mounts that the US
government was secretly
assisting the Islamic State,
it might be time to point
out a few instances when the
Central Intelligence Agency
created secret armies.
|
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Beached America
By Robert C. Koehler |
 |
For at least
the last four decades now I
feel like I’ve been living
in Beached America: a nation
that has lost its values.
Continue |
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US-led strikes
kill 38 civilians in northeast Syria:
Pro-rebel activists: At least 38 people
were killed in airstrikes carried out by
a U.S.-led coalition in Hassakeh
province in northeast Syria in the past
two days, the Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights monitoring group said
Thursday.
6 killed, 1
injured as blast hits military convoy in
SE Turkey (VIDEO):
Six military personnel have been killed
and one seriously wounded in an
explosion that hit a military convoy in
the southeast of Turkey, the armed
forces said in a statement. The convoy
was traveling along a highway linking
Diyarbakir and Bingol.
Boots On The Ground:
U.S. has asked
Russians not to attack special forces in
Syria - military:
The United States has told Russia broad
areas in which U.S. special forces are
operating in northern Syria in order to
protect them from aerial attack, U.S.
military officials said on Thursday.
Turkey blames
Syria's YPG group for Ankara bombing:
Ahmet Davutoglu calls on countries to
pick a side after car bomb kills at
least 28 people in central Ankara.
Rebels cross from
Turkey to join Aleppo battles:
Hundreds of rebels prepared to head to
frontlines in northern Aleppo province
on Thursday, after crossing from Turkey
to reinforce fighters battling Kurdish
militia.
Syrian rebels say
reinforcements get free passage via
Turkey:
At least 2,000 Syrian rebel fighters
have re-entered the country from Turkey
over the last week to reinforce
insurgents fending off an assault by
Syrian Kurdish militias, rebel sources
said on Thursday.
Russia accuses
Turkey of helping extremists recruit
fighters:
Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said
in the letter dated February 10 that
recruiters from the Islamic State group
had reportedly established a network in
the Turkish city of Antalya for foreign
fighters from the former Soviet Union.
Report: Israeli
missiles hit Syrian army outpost near
Damascus:
Syrian military source denies strikes;
no immediate reports on casualties or
nature of targets
Saudi ground
forces would target ISIS in Syria:
minister:
"If they enter Syria, these forces will
work in the framework of the
international coalition to fight Daesh,
there will be no unilateral operations,"
he said in the interview at his
ministry.
Erdogan’s aims in
Syria curtailed by army:
The Turkish
government, in league with Saudi Arabia,
made a tentative decision to enter the
war on the ground in Syria – and then
got cold feet about it. Or more likely,
the Turkish army simply told the
government that it would not invade
Syria and risk the possibility of a
shooting war with the Russians.
Fact or fiction?
US Airstrikes
Destroy More Than $500M in ISIS Cash
: The U.S. believes that airstrikes in
Iraq and Syria have destroyed more than
$500 million in cash that ISIS used to
pay its fighters and fund its terror and
military operations.
32 ISIS elements
killed, 15 injured in coalition strike
northeast of Nineveh:
This evening, warplanes of the
international coalition bombed a
headquarters belonging to ISIS in the
area of al-Ghabat northeast of Nineveh,
resulting in the death of 32 ISIS
elements and injury of 15 others.”
More than 20
civilians killed in air strikes in
Iraq's Anbar:
Military yet to confirm who carried out
raids which claimed at least 24 lives,
including children, in province's west.
"We don't know yet if the air strikes
were carried out by the coalition or
Iraqi military."
13 ISIS members
killed in ambush in central Mosul:
The spokesman of al-Hashd al-Watani
Mahmoud Alsurja said in a statement,
“Unidentified men launched an attack in
Ghabat area in central Mosul, and were
able to kill 13 members of the ISIS.”
ISIS execute a
15-year-old boy by beheading after he is
caught listening to western music in
Iraq
: Ayham Hussein, 15, was arrested by
militants after allegedly being caught
enjoying pop tunes on a portable CD
player in the group's Iraqi capital
Mosul.
Daesh claims
suicide bombing at Yemen army camp:
Troops loyal to embattled President
Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi were in the midst
of a training session with Sudanese
forces in collaboration with the
Saudi-led coalition at the Ras Abbas
camp. A man disguised as a solider
joined them and then "detonated his
explosive vest
MSF says 18 dead
in South Sudan fighting, including two
staff:
“This attack on civilians is outrageous
and we demand that armed groups stop
these actions,” said Marcus Bachmann,
coordinator of MSF projects in South
Sudan, in a statement.
Leaked Document
Indicates There May Soon Be EU Military
Involvement in Libya:
The European Union is planning an
extension of its military operation
against human traffickers, which could
eventually include sending ground troops
to war-torn Libya. According to a
confidential document shared with VICE
Alps and with Wikileaks
Obama Refuses to
Hit ISIS’s Libyan Capital
: Weeks ago,
defense officials told The New York
Times that they were crafting military
plans for such strikes, but needed more
time to develop intelligence so that
they could launch a sustained air
campaign on ISIS in Sirte.Pakistani
Taliban kill nine paramilitary personnel
in attacks in northwest:
Pakistani Taliban militants on Thursday
shot and killed at least nine security
forces personnel in two separate attacks
in a volatile northwestern region,
security and government officials said.
‘Russia
a major military’: President Obama
backtracks on Moscow’s defense
capabilities:
Russia’s military campaign in Syria
seems to have changed President Barack
Obama’s opinion of its armed forces. He
now says it’s “the second-most powerful
military in the world.” Two years ago he
labeled Moscow as nothing more than a
“regional power.”
U.S. stationing
tanks and artillery in classified
Norwegian caves:"
Marines are prepositioning battle tanks,
artillery and logistics equipment inside
Norwegian caves as the U.S. pushes to
station equipment near the NATO-Russia
frontier.
Russian citizens’
extradition by third countries upon US
requests unacceptable:
The Russian Foreign Ministry's
spokesperson made this comment regarding
Norway’s recent decision to extradite to
the United States Russian citizen Mark
Vartanyan who has been under arrest
since 2014
EU says Austria
asylum cap plan illegal:
“Austria has a legal obligation to
accept any asylum application that is
made on its territory or at its border,”
Dimitris Avramopoulos wrote in a letter
to Austria's Interior Minister Johanna
Mikl-Leitner and seen by Reuters.
Sweden Plans To
House Migrants On Cruise Ship:
Sweden plans to house nearly 1,800
migrants on a luxury cruise ship, as it
struggles to cope with its share of the
huge migrant influx into Europe,
officials said today.
Hungary to shut
Croatia railway crossings used by
migrants:
The decree from Interior Minister Sandor
Pinter said the move would ensure "the
protection of public safety," without
mentioning migrants or going into other
details.
South Carolina
Senate Passes Bill to Withdraw
Participation in Refugee Resettlement
Program:
A coalition of seven senators introduced
Senate Bill 997 (S.0997) on Jan. 14. The
legislation would generally ban state
expenditures directly or indirectly
benefiting a refugee placed in South
Carolina under the Refugee Resettlement
Program
Beijing accuses
US of 'ulterior motives in hyping up'
South China Sea missile move:
China says facilities have existed for
years in response to anger from the US
and its allies after missile launchers
were installed on a contested island
Saudi Arabia says
it 'will not cut oil production':
The development, reported by the AFP
news agency, comes after an agreement
with Russia on Tuesday in which they
agreed to freeze output.
Wal-Mart Trims
Forecast:
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. lowered its annual
sales forecast in a move it blamed on
the strong dollar, adding another
headache for a retailer struggling with
slow U.S. traffic and decelerating
e-commerce growth.
This Is The Real
Reason For The War On Cash:
Policy makers in Europe and the U.S.
want to make it harder for the hoi
polloi to hold actual currency.
Venezuelan
gasoline prices jump 6,000%:
Starting from
February 18, the price of premium
gasoline is going rise from 0.1 bolivars
(less than 2 cents) a liter to 6
bolivars (87 cents) per liter; an
increase of over 6,000 percent. The
price for regular 91 octane gasoline is
set to jump from 0.07 bolivars (1 cent)
to 1 bolivar (14 cents) per liter,
reports the Associated Press.
Barack Obama to
make historic visit to Cuba:
Barack Obama, the US president, is
planning an historic visit to Cuba next
month, which will make him the first
serving US president to set foot on the
island in nearly nine decades.
US Border
checkpoint scans eyes, faces of
departing foreigners:
The federal government is using eye
scans and facial recognition technology
for the first time to verify the
identities of foreigners leaving the
United States on foot at a busy San
Diego border crossing with Mexico — the
latest move to close a longstanding
security gap
FBI wins court
order forcing Apple to install backdoor
in iPhone security systems:
The court decision, utilizing an obscure
and antidemocratic law from the 18th
century, is part of efforts to utilize
last year’s attack in San Bernardino,
California to intensify the assault on
democratic rights and expand the
police-state spying powers of the
government.
Study: 58,000
U.S. bridges found to be 'structurally
deficient':
Nearly 10% of the country’s bridges –
58,495 out of 609,539 – were considered
structurally deficient last year and
needed repairs, the American Road and
Transportation Builders Association
reported Thursday
Pope on Trump:
Anyone who wants border walls isn't
Christian:
Pope Francis said Thursday that Donald
Trump is "not Christian" if he intends
to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican
border. Trump immediately fired back,
saying it is disgraceful for a religious
leader to question a person's faith.
Watch: Trump
Responds to Pope's Attacks
: Video - "If
ISIS Attacks Vatican Pope Will Wish I
Were President"
American Voters
Feel The Bern
: American voters back
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont over
Republican candidates by margins of 4 to
10 percentage points in head to head
presidential matchups. The closest
Republican contender is Ohio Gov. John
Kasich who trails Sanders 45 - 41
percent.
Pope suggests
women threatened by Zika virus could use
contraception:
Pope Francis has suggested that women
threatened with the Zika virus could use
artificial contraception, saying there's
a clear moral difference between
aborting a fetus and preventing a
pregnancy. |
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