RUSSIA BANS SOROS GROUP, ‘THREAT TO RUSSIAN NATIONAL SECURITY’

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN6kHQIwOwHFDvt4ywhaP8neIIqFMWs-kCT57jQfQjlcMI6cme6W_kgQvA0ZcZigvsxgR87ZKrT0H9iTMKaTzi5971HZya1HuNWkQmTqRgMCP2xClpyOE_d1eykwhDF16BYUwqFpl9cmM/s1600/00000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN6kHQIwOwHFDvt4ywhaP8neIIqFMWs-kCT57jQfQjlcMI6cme6W_kgQvA0ZcZigvsxgR87ZKrT0H9iTMKaTzi5971HZya1HuNWkQmTqRgMCP2xClpyOE_d1eykwhDF16BYUwqFpl9cmM/s640/00000.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div class="article__summary summary " style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Gill Sans Light', Helvetica; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"> <br /></div> <div class="article__summary summary " style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Gill Sans Light', Helvetica; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"> The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has recognized George Soros’s Open Society Institute and another affiliated organization as undesirable groups, banning Russian citizens and organizations from participation in any of their projects.</div> <div class="article__text text " style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Gill Sans Light', Helvetica; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> In a statement released on Monday, prosecutors said the activities of the Open Society Institute and the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation were a threat to the foundations of Russia’s Constitutional order and national security. They added that the Justice Ministry would be duly informed about these conclusions and would add the two groups to Russia’s list of undesirable foreign organizations.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> Prosecutors launched a probe into the activities of the two organizations - both sponsored by the well-known US financier George Soros - in July this year, after Russian senators approved the so-called “patriotic stop-list” of 12 groups that required immediate attention over their supposed anti-Russian activities. Other groups on the list included the National Endowment for Democracy; the International Republican Institute; the National Democratic Institute; the MacArthur Foundation and Freedom House.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> In late July, the Russian Justice Ministry recognized the US National Endowment for Democracy as an undesirable group after prosecutors discovered the US NGO had spent millions on attempts to question the legitimacy of Russian elections and tarnish the prestige of national military service.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> The Law on Undesirable Foreign Organizations came into force in early June this year. It requires the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Foreign Ministry to draw up an official list of undesirable foreign organizations and outlaw their activities. Once a group is recognized as undesirable, its assets in Russia must be frozen, its offices closed and the distribution of any of its materials must be banned.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> If the ban is violated, the personnel of the outlawed group and any Russian citizens who cooperate with them could face heavy fines, or even prison terms in the case of repeated or aggravated offences.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> The Soros Foundation started working in Russia in the mid-1990s, but wrapped up its active operations in 2003.</div> </div>

RUSSIA BANS SOROS GROUP, ‘THREAT TO RUSSIAN NATIONAL SECURITY’

The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has recognized George Soros’s Open Society Institute and another affiliated organization as und...

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MAKE NO MISTAKE, US SPY SATELLITES SEE EVERYTHING

<div class="post_box top post type-post status-publish format-standard category-articles-2015" id="post-76579" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Article" style="border-top-width: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 16px 16px 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <div class="post_content" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPcn-CtlaMQI2nYqxhrfmwDu5M4EShJOllwf-CAOAB1Rfwm7VSvAcvkwasZBQdOsHYv35fkAKMxzQPI8j29TC8GhDhS39kQ0mplA8-fC6JlfgcPjIGcG9WQpdjD7TuwGyCZ-8WF5Kogk4/s1600/000001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPcn-CtlaMQI2nYqxhrfmwDu5M4EShJOllwf-CAOAB1Rfwm7VSvAcvkwasZBQdOsHYv35fkAKMxzQPI8j29TC8GhDhS39kQ0mplA8-fC6JlfgcPjIGcG9WQpdjD7TuwGyCZ-8WF5Kogk4/s640/000001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div style="color: #111111; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 560px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">There is something fishy going on in the way the US is talking about civilian plane crashes that are in some way linked, or said to be linked to Russia.</span></div> <div style="color: #111111; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 560px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the case of the latest tragic mid-air break-up of Russian Metrojet Flight 9268, which killed all 224 people aboard on a flight from Egypt back to Russia a few days ago, CNN is reporting US that intelligence sources say US spy satellite showed a “heat signature” that could indicate an explosion aboard the plane.</span></div> <div style="color: #111111; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 560px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here’s the CNN report:</span></div> <blockquote style="border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; color: #888888; margin: 0px 0px 16px 20px; max-width: 500px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 8px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <div style="color: #111111; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 560px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A U.S. military satellite detected a midair heat flash from the Russian airliner before the plane crashed Saturday, a U.S. official told CNN.</span></div> <div style="color: #111111; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 560px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Intelligence analysis has ruled out that the Russian commercial airplane was struck by a missile, but the new information suggests that there was a catastrophic in-flight event — including possibly a bomb, though experts are considering other explanations, according to U.S. officials.</span></div> <div style="color: #111111; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 560px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Analysts say heat flashes could be tied to a range of possibilities, including a bomb blast, a malfunctioning engine exploding or a structural problem causing a fire on the plane.</span></div> </blockquote> <div style="color: #111111; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 560px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now note that this information about a spy satellite image comes just days after the crash.</span></div> <div style="color: #111111; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 560px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, it’s been over a year and a half since the 2014 crash of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine — an incident that also saw a civilian airliner destroyed in midair. In this case, the US insists the crash was caused by a Russian-built BUK anti-aircraft missile provided to, and launched by pro-Russian separatist forces in Eastern Ukraine.</span></div> <div style="color: #111111; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 560px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The US has made this claim ad nauseum, but has never provided a shred of evidence to support its charge. Meanwhile, as a number of critics have pointed out, with Ukraine in a hot civil war in which one side — the post-coup Ukrainian government forces — were getting NATO backing, and the other, the two breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, were receiving Russian backing, it is a certainty that the US had moved not one but multiple spy satellites into position to monitor the region around the clock by the time of the Flight 17 shoot-down.</span></div> <div style="color: #111111; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 560px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So where are the satellite images to support a claim that a BUK missile fired from rebel-held territory and by rebel forces downed that plane, killing all 298 people aboard?</span></div> <div style="color: #111111; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 560px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As critics like award-winning journalist Robert Parry and retired CIA analyst Ray McGovern have pointed out, if the US had satellite imagery showing a BUK missile contrail — and this large, fast-moving rocket leaves a dramatic contrail all the way from its launch site to its high-altitude target (see below), making assessing of blame quite easy — it would long since have been released or leaked to a US corporate media that have been quick to rub with anti-Russian assertions and propaganda put out by the US government.</span></div> <div style="color: #111111; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 560px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This leaves us with two possibilities to ponder:</span></div> <div style="color: #111111; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 560px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Either there simply are no satellite photos showing a BUK launched by ethnic Russian rebels in Eastern Ukraine at Flight 17, or those photos that exist show something quite different, like a BUK being launched by Ukrainian government forces, or else, perhaps the current claim that satellite images show a heat signature around the Russian plane in Egypt are false (no image has been provided to back up the assertion of a heat signature).</span></div> <div style="color: #111111; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 560px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Of course, there may eventually be evidence pointing to a bomb – the Russians are now looking for signs of explosive residue on the wreckage. But until such evidence is found, why, one might ask, would the US jump to make a false claim of a bomb being responsible for the Russian plane crash over the Sinai Desert, when it could as easily have been a fuel tank or engine explosion that wrecked the plane?</span></div> <div style="color: #111111; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 560px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Well, consider that at the moment, Russian president Vladimir Putin has been trumping the US in a number of conflict regions, stymying US plans to bring Ukraine into NATO, blocking a US plan to establish a no-fly zone over Syria by openly sending fighter-bombers and cruise-missile-equipped ships to Syria to attack President Bashar al-Assad’s Islamic State and Al Nusra enemies at Assad’s invitation, and backing Iran in its support of both Assad and the embattled Iraqi government. All the while, Putin’s popularity at home has been soaring into the high 80-90percent range <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/22/europe/russia-putin-poll/" style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">according to polls</a>.</span></div> <div style="color: #111111; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 560px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Perhaps the thinking at the White House is that by suggesting it was a bomb, and not a structural defect that brought down a Russian civilian aircraft, killing hundreds of Russian citizens, the Russian people might logically link that purported bombing to Putin’s actions in Syria and his antagonism of IS and Al Nusra, and might then turn against him.</span></div> <div style="color: #111111; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 560px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On one NPR program last week, the reporter was fishing for exactly that idea in an interview with a Washington analyst, saying, “Isn’t it likely that if it turns out to have been a bomb by ISIS that took down the plane Russians would get upset about Putin’s backing of Assad in Syria?” A listener couldn’t miss the unseemly enthusiasm the interviewer had for this gruesome notion.</span></div> <div style="color: #111111; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 560px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Whatever the investigation of Flight 9268’s flight recorders and wreckage concludes, one thing is clear: If the US has satellites monitoring the Sinai, where there is no war going on, it most certainly had satellites monitoring Ukraine at the time of the downing of Flight 17, and if it’s willing to announce that its satellite caught the moment of the explosion of Flight 9268 and is willing to talk about that, it should also be willing to show what its satellites saw when Flight 17 was downed.</span></div> <div style="color: #111111; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 560px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The American people, and the people of the world, should demand this of the US government.</span></div> </div> <div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <div class="author_description" style="border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-top-style: dotted; border-top-width: 1px; color: #111111; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 560px; padding: 16px 0px 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1e1e; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.872px;"><b>Article by: </b></span><span class="post_author" style="color: #1e1e1e; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 25.872px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; word-wrap: break-word;"><b>DAVE LINDORFF</b> of counterpunch.org</span></span></div> </div> </div> <div class="post_nav" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px 20px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> <div class="text_box" style="background-color: white; color: #1e1e1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.872px; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> </div> </div>

MAKE NO MISTAKE, US SPY SATELLITES SEE EVERYTHING

There is something fishy going on in the way the US is talking about civilian plane crashes that are in some way linked, or said to be ...

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EU's ANTI-RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA IS NOW FALLING APART

<div style="background-color: #fbfbfb; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; line-height: 16.25px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-zlqLEDiwTtQZgFBnyuzDs7DmmbMPj8f_rsmAvEd6_63CjCgYSuHvSW3WPy3aUOJKjGcR6gs6oOknIjggouW1skIBTeFZmof3zi-d4Sz35O-5KxMHtXRclo8ohMwOsb-eZ-Udn3-1h3A/s1600/00000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-zlqLEDiwTtQZgFBnyuzDs7DmmbMPj8f_rsmAvEd6_63CjCgYSuHvSW3WPy3aUOJKjGcR6gs6oOknIjggouW1skIBTeFZmof3zi-d4Sz35O-5KxMHtXRclo8ohMwOsb-eZ-Udn3-1h3A/s640/00000.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"> <b style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 19.2px;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Bundestag members break ranks and visit Moscow to talk business.</span></span></i></b></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">German politicians, despite sanctions, try not to break off the thread of dialogue with Moscow. Representatives from all parties headed by the chairman of the Bundestag Committee on Economics visited Moscow to discuss gas business. After the initiative of their colleagues, Berlin reacted with condemnation and stressed that it was not a visit by an official delegation.</span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What is happening shows that the EU anti-Russian front begins to fall apart, according to the outlet of the German correspondent Oliver Mayer-Ruth.</span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Red Square. Great St. Basil's Cathedral. Kremlin. It is true: in the Russian capital, has many attractions, and it's definitely worth a visit. In principle, this can be done against the background of political tension between East and West, bilateral sanctions and a cold style of communication, says ARD / Das Erste, in the lead article for InoTV.</span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Since everything has changed, diplomatic, tourism has become subject to its own rules. Now, a group of deputies of the Bundestag traveled to Russia to prevent the break off of Russian-German economic relations. However, against the background of the general political situation, Moscow has almost become for them the Forbidden City.</span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Russian parliament. Duma. When it comes to business with the Russians, the influential chairman of the Committee on Economy and Energy Bundestag Peter Ramsauer, apparently, is not afraid to make contact. He pays no attention to the sanctions. For Ramsauer next speaker on political and economic issues of all the parties of the Bundestag. The delegation met with members of the Duma to discuss the promotion of the Russian-German gas business.</span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"We are all familiar with the problems of economic sanctions. But, in my opinion, because of this you can never break off the thread of the political dialogue ", - says the chairman of the Committee on Economy and Energy of the German Bundestag, Peter Ramsauer.</span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Back in Berlin, is a deep belief not shared by all. The president of the Bundestag Norbert Lammert, skeptical about the trip to the politicians in Moscow, which is connected, apparently, with the anti-Russian sanctions. In a written address to the Ramsauer he emphasizes:</span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"Exceptionally, in order to clarify the situation, I would like to point out that in any case we need to avoid giving the impression that we are talking about an official delegation of the German Bundestag."</span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ramsauer is not much worried. He justifies his actions, referring to the vice-chancellor. Two weeks ago, the head of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Sigmar Gabriel, was also in Moscow for a personal meeting with Vladimir Putin and said that sanctions will be phased out when the conditions will be performed in Minsk agreements.</span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Apparently, he did it all without the consent of Brussels and the German Chancellery.</span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is similar to what was done by the head of Siemens, Joe Kaeser. Shortly after joining the Crimea to Russia in the spring of 2014, he ignored the plans for the adoption of anti-Russian sanctions, and pointedly met with Putin in Moscow.</span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Chairman of the Bundestag, Ramsauer wrote that the German government will not cover the cost of this trip. Ramsauer says he knows nothing about the position of Lammert.</span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"That was the first time I heard about it. I thoroughly discussed this with the President of Parliament and my friend Norbert Lammert ", - he said.</span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Action anti-Russian sanctions will last at least until the end of January, but the front is falling apart now.</span></div> </div>

EU's ANTI-RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA IS NOW FALLING APART

Bundestag members break ranks and visit Moscow to talk business. German politicians, despite sanctions, try not to break off the threa...

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U.K. PROPAGANDIZES RUSSIA AS NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWNBv8VYjjxaLD9sVWxP-OXgmpDryB643KJVA163hQrngPPK2SE3D580lMcwfBBZXUyjYvAPT-NrQ7vbpRDOPHI1mVcfGxJFVRL2o07gT7H1F7ONin-Ewqx0uhrqyy99kHuCPwSA3oaI/s1600/00000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWNBv8VYjjxaLD9sVWxP-OXgmpDryB643KJVA163hQrngPPK2SE3D580lMcwfBBZXUyjYvAPT-NrQ7vbpRDOPHI1mVcfGxJFVRL2o07gT7H1F7ONin-Ewqx0uhrqyy99kHuCPwSA3oaI/s640/00000.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Britain’s security services have published a new list of what they believe pose the greatest threat to the country. International terrorism from ISIS and the threat of returning UK jihadists from Syria are among the top concerns.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The risk of terrorism has been intensified since the ‘bombing’ of the Metrojet flightcrash in the Sinai that killed 224 passengers on board.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And Russian aggression, in particular Putin’s “willingness to display force”, has unnerved Britain’s defense network, according to the security draft.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The report, which will be released by David Cameron on 23rd November, mentioned Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and the country’s soaring military budget as cause for worry.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Britain’s defense experts are also known to be concerned over Russia’s increased involvement in the Middle East.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The risk of terrorism has been intensified since the ‘bombing’ of the Metrojet flight crash.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The report states: “The last five years have seen a range of international developments, ranging from the growth of radicalization and fundamentalism to growing concerns around our energy supply, and rising aggression from Russia.</span>

U.K. PROPAGANDIZES RUSSIA AS NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT

Britain’s security services have published a new list of what they believe pose the greatest threat to the country. International terrori...

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PUTIN BEWILDERED OVER THE TARGETS OF US AIRSTRIKES

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0mXQpeaFJ7DUL8Hwhb43-k_R-TGxPx8uCX2DWbx6ZKZoudEN0VA35A-jDris52IDiWZIgUeQbHUt2lLQ38fT-bA9b78jFv423dRIswgZL6GItrhJc1p0olIpmYghV42kNRtH4Q23619A/s1600/00000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0mXQpeaFJ7DUL8Hwhb43-k_R-TGxPx8uCX2DWbx6ZKZoudEN0VA35A-jDris52IDiWZIgUeQbHUt2lLQ38fT-bA9b78jFv423dRIswgZL6GItrhJc1p0olIpmYghV42kNRtH4Q23619A/s640/00000.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed bewilderment on Tuesday over the targets of US airstrikes in Syria.<br /> <br /> "On Sunday, the American aviation bombed out an electrical power plant and a transformer in Aleppo. Why have they done this? Whom have they punished there? What’s the point? Nobody knows," the president said at a meeting with the Russian government members.<br /> <br /> <i style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Comment: There is nothing to be bewildered about. The targets of US and NATO in Syria are Assad and his government. Not Al-Nursa, Al-Qaeda or ISIS/ISIL. They are bombing infrastructure to make it more difficult for Assad to operate his military and to demoralize the civilians who still support Assad.</span></i><br /> <i style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-large;"><br /></i> Saying that the United States’ airstrike targets in Aleppo were strange, the Russian president said he was certain that "Everything will become clear and fewer mistakes will be made if direct and business-like contact is established with a view to settling all the problems, including those in the financial sphere."<br /> <br /> The president touched upon the issue of misunderstanding between different countries talking of another problem - the settlement of the Ukrainian debt to Russia. "These matters should be once again discussed in a calm working atmosphere with the aim of finding a solution so that all problems are not shifted to our shoulders again," Putin said, citing as an example the statements that Russia has allegedly aimed at the "wrong" targets in Syria.<br /> <br /> "We’re not going to do it, and our Syrian friends know about it," he told state TV. Putin also said Russia has no reason to get involved in Syria's civil war. "It is not about the foreign policy. Russian foreign policy is peace-loving without any exaggeration," Putin said. According to him, "If you look at the world map, and see what Russia is, it becomes obvious that we do not need any foreign territories or foreign natural resources. Russia is a self-sufficient country. We do not need someone to fight and conflict with."<br /> <br /> Putin also dismissed the West’s allegations that Russia is trying to wipe out Syrian dissidents who oppose Syrian President Bashar Assad. "In response to the accusations against us that we carry out airstrikes on the moderate opposition, and not on IS and other terrorist organisations, we respond: Let’s say you know better the situation on the ground. You've been there for more than a year illegally. Just give us targets, and we'll work them out."<br /> <br /> Russian aerospace forces launched pinpoint strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria on September 30 with a Syria-based group assembling more than 50 warplanes and helicopters. Air strikes are delivered at military hardware, communications centres, transport vehicles, munitions depots and other infrastructure. Military operations are conducted at the request of Syrian President Bashar Assad.<br /> <br /> From TASS News Agency

PUTIN BEWILDERED OVER THE TARGETS OF US AIRSTRIKES

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed bewilderment on Tuesday over the targets of US airstrikes in Syria. "On Sunday, the...

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ISLAMIC STATE (ISIS/ISIL) SEIZES U.S. MISSILES IN IRAQ - REPORT

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh19gU_HHvHgvSpRixlTReUfbyRYw5pOSVlAi5yA0FzYtn6n9vJjHZko0bqOoI_ORvOhcJk9ztBAxOTxw5mcIe6hjrmgNrw_UCW7DkSlvfgv_n7qwy-rvPncQlUU6rDBNc69RA3ZTwh1fY/s1600/00000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh19gU_HHvHgvSpRixlTReUfbyRYw5pOSVlAi5yA0FzYtn6n9vJjHZko0bqOoI_ORvOhcJk9ztBAxOTxw5mcIe6hjrmgNrw_UCW7DkSlvfgv_n7qwy-rvPncQlUU6rDBNc69RA3ZTwh1fY/s640/00000.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> The Pentagon acknowledged on Monday that Iraqi forces could have discovered a cache of U.S. weapons and missiles seized by Islamic State (IS) militants operating in the country, according to U.S. officials and regional media reports.<br /> <br /> Iraqi forces combatting IS (also known as ISIS or ISIL) are said to have found a stockpile of U.S. weapons, including ammunition and anti-armor missiles, hidden at sites controlled by terrorist forces, according to foreign military sources who spoke to Iran’s state-controlled Fars News Agency. This is said to include a “huge volume” of advanced TOW II anti-tank missiles.<br /> <br /> When asked to address the reports on Monday, a Pentagon official acknowledged that U.S. weapons had gone missing last year, but denied that the United States was intentionally arming IS or its affiliates in the region.<br /> <br /> “As you may recall, when ISIL overran Iraqi positions last year, we were aware of ISIL capturing some Iraqi weapons and equipment that had been supplied by the U.S. to Iraqi forces,” the official said. “However, the claims that U.S. and Coalition forces are directly supplying ISIL with any weapons, equipment, or ammunition are completely false.”<br /> <br /> Read the full article on the Daily Signal > <a href="http://freebeacon.com/national-security/report-islamic-state-seizes-u-s-missiles-in-iraq/" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #025ab4; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Read more</a>

ISLAMIC STATE (ISIS/ISIL) SEIZES U.S. MISSILES IN IRAQ - REPORT

The Pentagon acknowledged on Monday that Iraqi forces could have discovered a cache of U.S. weapons and missiles seized by Islamic State ...

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ARE THEY ACTUALLY TRYING TO START WORLD WAR 3?

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhypUuID6N-PRJw4_xDdwuKwLvXqap4BbBlZpQtloBeDnxUiCrTZQFsJDNr-VnzCf3wYH0afixYsyJUFaIMK74E3AijBuT7Xm3VOJlURdmkQYMEPcQugdP3_e_XIS6HtKcMR19rcRirQVI/s1600/00000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhypUuID6N-PRJw4_xDdwuKwLvXqap4BbBlZpQtloBeDnxUiCrTZQFsJDNr-VnzCf3wYH0afixYsyJUFaIMK74E3AijBuT7Xm3VOJlURdmkQYMEPcQugdP3_e_XIS6HtKcMR19rcRirQVI/s640/00000.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Why has Barack Obama airdropped 50 tons of ammunition into areas that “moderate rebels” in Syria supposedly control?</i></span></div> <br /> This is essentially the equivalent of poking the Russians directly in the eyes.  Much of this ammunition will end up in the hands of those that the Russians are attempting to bomb into oblivion, and so to Russia it appears that we are attempting to make their job much harder.  And of course the truth is that there aren’t really any “moderate rebels” in Syria at all.  Nearly all of the groups that are fighting are made up primarily of radical jihadists and/or hired mercenaries.  Personally, I don’t see anyone over there that you could call “the good guys”.  At the end of the day, the U.S. supports just about anyone that wants to get rid of the Assad regime, and the Russians are working very hard to keep Assad in power.  Just like the civil war in Ukraine, the conflict in Syria is in great danger of being transformed into a proxy war between the United States and Russia, and many fear that these conflicts could eventually be setting the stage for World War III.<br /> <br /> The ferocity of Russian airstrikes in Syria has surprised observers all over the planet, and over the past couple of days these airstrikes have been extended to include some new areas…<br /> <br /> <br /> Russian Air Forces have extended the range of their airstrikes on Islamic State positions in Syria to four provinces, focusing primarily on demolishing fortified installations and eliminating supply bases and the terrorists’ infrastructure.<br /> <br /> Over the last 24 hours Russian aircraft have attacked terrorist positions in the Hama, Idlib, Latakia and Raqqa provinces of Syria. In total, 64 sorties targeted 63 Islamic State installations, among them 53 fortified zones, 7 arms depots, 4 training camps and a command post.<br /> When I read reports like this, I am deeply troubled.  The Obama administration claims that it has been bombing ISIS positions in Syria for over a year.  So why in the world do these targets still exist?<br /> <br /> Was the U.S. military incapable of finding these installations?<br /> <br /> That doesn’t seem likely.<br /> <br /> So why weren’t they destroyed long ago?<br /> <br /> Did the Obama administration not want them destroyed for some reason?<br /> <br /> What seems abundantly clear is that the Russians are doing what the Obama administration was either unwilling or unable to do.  There is now mass panic among ISIS fighters, and thousands of them are fleeing the country…<br /> <br /> An estimated 3,000 Islamic State fighters as well as militants from other extremist groups have fled Syria for Jordan fearing a renewed offensive by the Syrian army in addition to Russian airstrikes, a military official has told RIA news agency.<br /> <br /> “At least 3,000 militants from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), al-Nusra and Jaish al-Yarmouk have fled to Jordan. They are afraid of the Syrian army having stepped up activities on all fronts and of Russian airstrikes,” the RIA source said.<br /> The mainstream media in the United States is not talking much about this, are they?<br /> <br /> But the U.S. media is reporting on this latest airdrop of ammunition to rebel groups in Syria.  For example, the following comes from CNN…<br /> <br /> U.S. military cargo planes gave 50 tons of ammunition to rebel groups overnight in northern Syria, using an air drop of 112 pallets as the first step in the Obama Administration’s urgent effort to find new ways to support those groups.<br /> <br /> Details of the air mission over Syria were confirmed by a U.S. official not authorized to speak publicly because the details have not yet been formally announced.<br /> <br /> C-17s, accompanied by fighter escort aircraft, dropped small arms ammunition and other items like hand grenades in Hasakah province in northern Syria to a coalition of rebels groups vetted by the US, known as the Syrian Arab Coalition.<br /> If you were the Russians, how would you feel about this?<br /> <br /> I know how I would feel.<br /> <br /> And just as Joe Biden has previously admitted, the “moderate middle” in Syria simply does not exist.  The following is an extended excerpt from a piece that was originally written by investigative journalist Nafeez Ahmed…<br /> <br /> The first Russian airstrikes hit the rebel-held town of Talbisah north of Homs City, home to al-Qaeda’s official Syrian arm, Jabhat al-Nusra, and the pro-al-Qaeda Ahrar al-Sham, among other local rebel groups. Both al-Nusra and the Islamic State have claimed responsibility for vehicle-borne IEDs (VBIEDs) in Homs City, which is 12 kilometers south of Talbisah.<br /> <br /> The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports that as part of “US and Turkish efforts to establish an ISIS ‘free zone’ in the northern Aleppo countryside,” al-Nusra “withdrew from the border and reportedly reinforced positions in this rebel-held pocket north of Homs city”.<br /> <br /> In other words, the US and Turkey are actively sponsoring “moderate” Syrian rebels in the form of al-Qaeda, which Washington DC-based risk analysis firm Valen Globals forecasts will be “a bigger threat to global security” than IS in coming years.<br /> <br /> Last October, Vice President Joe Biden conceded that there is “no moderate middle” among the Syrian opposition. Turkey and the Gulf powers armed and funded “anyone who would fight against Assad,” including “al-Nusra,” “al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI),” and the “extremist elements of jihadis who were coming from other parts of the world”.<br /> <br /> In other words, the CIA-backed rebels targeted by Russia are not moderates. They represent the same melting pot of al-Qaeda affiliated networks that spawned the Islamic State in the first place.<br /> It has been well documented that many of these so-called “moderate rebel groups” in Syria have fought alongside ISIS and have sold weapons to them.  So this false dichotomy that Barack Obama keeps trying to sell us on is just a giant fraud.  The following comes from a recent Infowars report…<br /> <br /> In September, 2014 a commander with the FSA admitted cooperating with ISIS and the al-Nusra Front.<br /> <br /> “We are collaborating with the Islamic State and the Nusra Front by attacking the Syrian Army’s gatherings in … Qalamoun,”Bassel Idriss said. “Let’s face it: The Nusra Front is the biggest power present right now in Qalamoun and we as FSA would collaborate on any mission they launch as long as it coincides with our values.”<br /> <br /> In July of 2014 a report in Stars and Stripes documented how the 1,000 strong Dawud Brigade, which had previously fought alongside the FSA against al-Assad, had defected in its entirety to join ISIS.<br /> <br /> The same month factions within the FSA — including Ahl Al Athar and Ibin al-Qa’im — pledged services to the Islamic State.<br /> <br /> Members of the Islamic State claim to cooperate with the FSA and buy weapons provided by the U.S.<br /> <br /> “We are buying weapons from the FSA. We bought 200 anti-aircraft missiles and Koncourse anti tank weapons,” ISIS memberAbu Atheer told al-Jazeera. “We have good relations with our brothers in the FSA. For us, the infidels are those who cooperate with the West to fight Islam.”<br /> U.S. anti-tank weapons are playing a critical role in the Syrian conflict.  As reported by the Washington Post, U.S.-made anti-tank missiles are being used by the rebels to destroy lots of Russian-made tanks that are being used by the Syrian army…<br /> <br /> So successful have they been in driving rebel gains in northwestern Syria that rebels call the missile the “Assad Tamer,” a play on the word Assad, which means lion. And in recent days they have been used with great success to slow the Russian-backed offensive aimed at recapturing ground from the rebels.<br /> <br /> Since Wednesday, when Syrian troops launched their first offensive backed by the might of Russia’s military, dozens of videos have been posted on YouTube showing rebels firing the U.S.-made missiles at Russian-made tanks and armored vehicles belonging to the Syrian army. Appearing as twirling balls of light, they zigzag across the Syrian countryside until they find and blast their target in a ball of flame.<br /> Like I said earlier, this is looking more and more like a proxy war between the United States and Russia.<br /> <br /> Could that be what Obama actually wants?<br /> <br /> Obama is poking China in the eyes lately too.  CNN is reporting that U.S. warships may soon be sailing into territorial waters around the Spratly Islands.  These are islands that the Chinese government claims ownership over, but the U.S. government disputes that claim, and Obama seems determined to flex his muscles in the area…<br /> <br /> The United States (US) may soon deploy war ships near China’s artificial islands in the South China Sea.<br /> <br /> It wants to send a message that it does not recognize China’s territorial claims over the area.<br /> <br /> This is according to a Financial Times report quoting a senior U.S. official who said its ships will sail within 12-nautical-mile zones that China claims as its territory around the Spratly Islands within the next two weeks.<br /> If Obama sends warships into that area, there is a very real chance that they could get shot at.  According to  Newsweek, the Chinese are saying that they will not permit U.S. ships to violate those territorial waters under any circumstances…<br /> <br /> “We will never allow any country to violate China’s territorial waters and airspace in the Spratly Islands, in the name of protecting freedom of navigation and overflight,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in response to a question about possible U.S. patrols. “We urge the related parties not to take any provocative actions, and genuinely take a responsible stance on regional peace and stability.”<br /> <br /> Such exchanges appear to be moving China and the U.S. toward a much feared, yet long expected, military confrontation. Just as unsettling, both sides seem confident they can prevail.<br /> Over the past couple of years our relations with China have really gone downhill very rapidly, and if the trading relationship between the two largest economies on the planet breaks down, that would have massive implications for the entire global economy.<br /> <br /> In addition to everything above, the civil war in Ukraine continues to rage on.  The United States funded, equipped, trained and organized the forces that violently overthrew the democratically-elected government in Ukraine, and then once those thugs (which actually included some neo-Nazis) took power, the Obama administration immediately recognized them as the legitimate government of Ukraine.<br /> <br /> The Russians were absolutely infuriated by this, and they have been providing soldiers, equipment and supplies to the rebel groups that are fighting back against this new government.  Of course the Russians deny that they are doing this, but it is exceedingly obvious that they are.<br /> <br /> The rebel groups that the Russians have been backing have been doing very well and have been steadily taking ground, and this is not how the power brokers in D.C. envisioned things playing out in Ukraine.  So in a desperate attempt to shift the momentum of the conflict, a bill is going through Congress that would provide “lethal military aid” to the government in Kiev.  Initially the bill would have provided 200 million dollars in lethal aid, but now it has been upped to 300 million dollars.  There are some that believe that the final figure will be significantly higher.<br /> <br /> Once this bill gets passed, it will be an extremely important event.  For the Russians, it will mean crossing a red line that never should have been crossed.  You see, the truth is that Ukraine is Russia’s most important neighbor.  Just imagine how we would feel if the Russians helped overthrow Canada’s government and then start feeding weapons to the new pro-Russian government that they helped install.  That is exactly how the Russians view our meddling in Ukraine.<br /> <br /> Earlier this year, I wrote an article in which I discussed an opinion poll that showed that 81 percent of all Russians now view the United States negatively, and only 13 percent of Russians have a positive view of this nation.  Not even during the height of the Cold War were the numbers that bad.<br /> <br /> The stage is being set for World War III, but most Americans are completely and totally oblivious to all of this because they are so wrapped up in their own little worlds.<br /> <br /> Most Americans still seem to assume that the Russians and the Chinese are our “friends” and that any type of conflict between major global powers is impossible.<br /> <br /> Well, the truth is that conflict has already begun in Ukraine and Syria, and tensions are rising with each passing day.<br /> <br /> It won’t happen next week or next month, but we are on the road to World War III.

ARE THEY ACTUALLY TRYING TO START WORLD WAR 3?

Why has Barack Obama airdropped 50 tons of ammunition into areas that “moderate rebels” in Syria supposedly control? This is essential...

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OBAMA AIR-DROPS 50 TONS OF AMMO TO ISIS JIHADISTS

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEUkvJ_4JTF_jUeEzK58lNg0BG5Vv2zLFzHL1iIREarVd9w6IWPf6JTHG7uoHoOvLU6hZSB_ZavntEq_KamHxTBDLQ7Zk5jcjaaPdYVtyUaZY66plJW-DtnHzNOdOnn_eLaHGhRvO2rQ/s1600/00000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEUkvJ_4JTF_jUeEzK58lNg0BG5Vv2zLFzHL1iIREarVd9w6IWPf6JTHG7uoHoOvLU6hZSB_ZavntEq_KamHxTBDLQ7Zk5jcjaaPdYVtyUaZY66plJW-DtnHzNOdOnn_eLaHGhRvO2rQ/s640/00000.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> U.S. officials confirmed on Monday the Obama administration has air dropped 112 pallets of ammunition to jihadist fighters in Syria.<br /> <br /> <span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Comment: All of this after Obama and his regime were promising last week to "not turn this into a proxy war with Russia in Syria" </i></span></span><br /> <br /> CNN reports:<br /> <br /> C-17s, accompanied by fighter escort aircraft, dropped small arms ammunition and other items like hand grenades in Hasakah province in northern Syria to a coalition of rebels groups vetted by the US, known as the Syrian Arab Coalition.<br /> The Syrian Arab Coalition consists of Jaysh al-Thuwar, Euphrates Volcano, Al Sanadid Forces, Brigade Groups of al Jazira and other groups said to be associated with the Free Syrian Army (FSA).<br /> <br /> <br /> In July Jaysh al-Thuwar denied it had a relationship with Jamal Maarouf, the military chief of the Syria Revolutionaries Front and leader of the Syrian Martyrs’ Brigade, both part of the FSA.<br /> <br /> Maarouf told The Independent last year the fight against al-Qaeda was “not our problem” and admitted the mercenaries he leads with U.S., Saudi and Qatari help conduct joint operations with Jabhat al-Nusra, the al-Qaeda spin-off that has joined forces with the Islamic State.<br /> <br /> Maarouf also admitted passing weapons on to al-Nusra. He said if “the people who support us (U.S., Saudis, Qataris) tell us to send weapons to another group, we send them. They asked us a month ago to send weapons to Yabroud so we sent a lot of weapons there. When they asked us to do this, we do it.”<br /> <br /> Euphrates Volcano is at best a junior partner aligned with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units. Al Sanadid Forces of the Shammar tribe are also associated with the Kurds.<br /> <br /> Ample Evidence FSA Cooperating with ISIS and al-Nusra<br /> <br /> In September, 2014 a commander with the FSA admitted cooperating with ISIS and the al-Nusra Front.<br /> <br /> “We are collaborating with the Islamic State and the Nusra Front by attacking the Syrian Army’s gatherings in … Qalamoun,” Bassel Idriss said. “Let’s face it: The Nusra Front is the biggest power present right now in Qalamoun and we as FSA would collaborate on any mission they launch as long as it coincides with our values.”<br /> <br /> In July of 2014 a report in Stars and Stripes documented how the 1,000 strong Dawud Brigade, which had previously fought alongside the FSA against al-Assad, had defected in its entirety to join ISIS.<br /> <br /> The same month factions within the FSA — including Ahl Al Athar and Ibin al-Qa’im — pledged services to the Islamic State.<br /> <br /> Members of the Islamic State claim to cooperate with the FSA and buy weapons provided by the U.S.<br /> <br /> “We are buying weapons from the FSA. We bought 200 anti-aircraft missiles and Koncourse anti tank weapons,” ISIS member Abu Atheer told al-Jazeera. “We have good relations with our brothers in the FSA. For us, the infidels are those who cooperate with the West to fight Islam.”<br /> <br /> In addition, in late 2013, a leader from the FSA’s Supreme Military Council announced he had defected to ISIS.<br /> <br /> “The Free Syrian Army and the Syrian National Council, the vaunted bulwarks of the moderate opposition, only really exist in hotel lobbies and the minds of Western diplomats,” writes Ben Reynolds.<br /> <br /> Earlier this month Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, told Rossiya 1 TV “I don’t think anybody has yet explained what moderate opposition is, and Putin demonstrated quite active interest in the issue and asked in which way the moderate opposition was different from the immoderate opposition.”<br /> <br /> Last October Vice President Joe Biden alluded to the truth about the so-called moderates fighting in Syria.<br /> <br /> Biden said U.S. “allies in the region” are “our largest problem in Syria.”<br /> <br /> What were they doing? They were so determined to take down Assad, and essentially have a proxy Sunni-Shia war, what did they do? They poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Assad – except that the people who were being supplied… were al-Nusra, and al-Qaeda, and the extremist elements of jihadis who were coming from other parts of the world.<br /> Biden’s remark was portrayed in the West as another of his infamous gaffes.

OBAMA AIR-DROPS 50 TONS OF AMMO TO ISIS JIHADISTS

U.S. officials confirmed on Monday the Obama administration has air dropped 112 pallets of ammunition to jihadist fighters in Syria. Co...

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SAUDI ARABIA DELIVERS 500 TOW MISSILES TO TERRORISTS

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBj1H3vAGqMTNSOGeH-1vtLZ3ipPWFXKPAw9UbM8O01CT1GN1fQiUwDXS-WeUMrAhbiNrMYdfuv2DqljRVhqTOthb_XS-egmgdBRPN5BcUHzCYQoSi3BZ_mDvlbs_q4UexQSnhs0ZidFE/s1600/00000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBj1H3vAGqMTNSOGeH-1vtLZ3ipPWFXKPAw9UbM8O01CT1GN1fQiUwDXS-WeUMrAhbiNrMYdfuv2DqljRVhqTOthb_XS-egmgdBRPN5BcUHzCYQoSi3BZ_mDvlbs_q4UexQSnhs0ZidFE/s640/00000.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> A Saudi Arabian official has reportedly disclosed that the Sunni kingdom sent Syrian rebels a new batch of one of the most effective weapons for battling against the Assad regime this week.<br /> <br /> BBC correspondent Frank Gardner tweeted that a Saudi official confirmed the delivery of 500 TOW antitank missiles to the Free Syrian Army (FSA).<br /> <br /> <span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;"><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Comment: The FSA is comprised mostly of foreign mercenaries who are not from Syria. It's about 90% foreign mercenaries. The FSA works hand-in-hand with the Nusra Front, which is basically Al-Qaeda's name in Syria. The Saudis were pretending to fight terror until Russia got involved and the US, NATO and Saudi Arabia's coalition of deception started to come down. I put forth that we change the name of "The War on Terror" to "The War OF Terror". Because essentially that's what America and our lackeys.. I mean allies, are engaged in.</i></span></b></span><br /> <br /> The FSA is currently being squeezed from all directions by the Syrian military, Russian airstrikes, and competition from jihadist fighters, including ISIS.<br /> <br /> The delivery of the TOW missiles — which have also been provided by the CIA — will increase the capabilities of the FSA against Syrian armor, and it would enable them to more effectively battle against Assad’s recent military advances.

SAUDI ARABIA DELIVERS 500 TOW MISSILES TO TERRORISTS

A Saudi Arabian official has reportedly disclosed that the Sunni kingdom sent Syrian rebels a new batch of one of the most effective weap...

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RAF PILOTS OK'D TO SHOOT DOWN RUSSIAN JETS

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz8riiZ17rxX7801vA6ZXSnx3XhdY_8zTbQKWJ9-Qye5rdBXGiFD-Fdi7olAXrPXafWkSJ1P4uzAgKsbn7QAYdhyp285ZDhmNVjDRpzDgArM0AL8h31ewh13xYXf1N881QJ9SoRGVWGn8/s1600/00000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz8riiZ17rxX7801vA6ZXSnx3XhdY_8zTbQKWJ9-Qye5rdBXGiFD-Fdi7olAXrPXafWkSJ1P4uzAgKsbn7QAYdhyp285ZDhmNVjDRpzDgArM0AL8h31ewh13xYXf1N881QJ9SoRGVWGn8/s640/00000.jpg" width="640" /></a>Following a report British defense officials have instructed fighter jet pilots to shoot down Russian jets over Syria, the military attaché at the British Embassy in Moscow was summoned to provide an explanation.<br /> <br /> “He was handed a note with a request to provide official explanations on information, published in the British media, citing high-ranking sources in the Defense Ministry of the country, on alleged directives to use weapons against Russian aircraft ‘in case of threat to their lives,’ received by Royal Air Force pilots,” the statement read., according to a Press TV report.<br /> <br /> <b><i><span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">UPDATE: As of the latest report that I have been hearing the British MOD (Ministry of Defense) says that these reports are false and that the MOD put out no such directive. But then again, even if it was true, I don't think they would admit it given the sensitivity of this topic. Secondly, I had a feeling the original report was nonsense anyway. For the UK to start shooting down Russian fighter jets makes no sense and they have no reason to do so. It would make more sense to arm the "rebels" with advanced surface to air missiles instead like the War Criminal John McCain had suggested on FOX News (oh yes he did, video below).</span></i></b><br /> <br /> <br /> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dx6s4jO9xNY" width="560"></iframe> <br /> On Sunday the Daily Star reported RAF fighter jets will be armed with air-to-air missiles and have been given the green light to shoot down “hostile” Russian planes.<br /> <br /> “We need to protect our pilots but at the same time we’re taking a step closer to war. It will only take one plane to be shot down in an air-to-air battle and the whole landscape will change,” a source told the tabloid.<br /> <br /> <br /> “No one knows what the Russians will do next. We don’t know how they will respond if they come into contact with a Western jet.<br /> <br /> “When planes are flying at supersonic speeds the airspace gets crowded very quickly. There could be a collision or a Russian pilot might be mistakenly shot down,” the source said.<br /> <br /> Earlier this month Russian and American aircraft came within 20 miles of each other near the Turkish border. The American pilots were able to identify the Russian aircraft with their targeting cameras.<br /> <br /> The British newspaper lauded the ability of supersonic RAF Tornado aircraft and its Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile that can reportedly fly three times the speed of sound.<br /> <br /> The Russian Ambassador in the UK Alexander Yakovenko told the UK Foreign Office to provide clarification.<br /> <br /> “We are concerned by media reports as far as they refer to senior members of the Cabinet. We urgently requested UK Foreign Office’s clarifications. At the same time, the hypothesis itself of a potential conflict between British and Russian aircraft in the skies over Iraq is incomprehensible. As it is known, the Russian jets are not involved in attacks on ISIL targets on its (Iraqi) territory,” Yakovenko said.

RAF PILOTS OK'D TO SHOOT DOWN RUSSIAN JETS

Following a report British defense officials have instructed fighter jet pilots to shoot down Russian jets over Syria, the military attaché ...

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OBAMA LIES ABOUT UKRAINE ON 60 MINUTES TV SHOW

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW6N_wbVXZTRVfuw7X28FsdcThaUUC1bE0vuR1yNTrkaPAe_Kif69Nh3thoBKR4tuGO_wV5LNwD4PX4HXcLMr1TO8LQjkIFpBs3v3qm37WOcOCnV5Gi76Uav8wfOggfPVoHAA3XEAFLOw/s1600/00000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW6N_wbVXZTRVfuw7X28FsdcThaUUC1bE0vuR1yNTrkaPAe_Kif69Nh3thoBKR4tuGO_wV5LNwD4PX4HXcLMr1TO8LQjkIFpBs3v3qm37WOcOCnV5Gi76Uav8wfOggfPVoHAA3XEAFLOw/s640/00000.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></strong></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Defending himself against accusations that Russian President Vladimir Putin is challenging American leadership, President Obama erroneously told CBS’s “60 Minutes” that when he took office Ukraine was ruled by a Putin “stooge.”</span></strong></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.mrctv.org/embed/140136" style="box-sizing: border-box; height: 425px; overflow: hidden !important; width: 620px;" title="MRC TV video player" width="640"></iframe></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Questioning the premise that Putin’s foreign policy was succeeding, Obama cited the situations in Ukraine and Syria.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">“When I came into office, Ukraine was governed by a corrupt ruler who was a stooge of Mr. Putin,” he told interviewer Steve Kroft. “Syria was Russia’s only ally in the region.”</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Today, Putin is no longer able to count on those allies’ support, Obama continued, adding that the Russian leader instead was having to deploy his military “just to barely hold together by a thread his sole ally” – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18.2px;">The implication was that having lost one ally and at risk of losing another, Putin’s international position had in fact been weakened during the Obama administration, rather than the opposite as many Obama critics contend.</span></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">The president was incorrect, however, in his citing of the situation in Ukraine when he entered the White House.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">The Putin-backed “stooge” he referred to, Viktor Yanukovich, only became president in Kiev in February 2010, more than a year after Obama’s own inauguration.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">When Obama became president, his counterpart in Ukraine was not Yanukovich but Viktor Yushchenko, a pro-Western leader who, during his five years at the helm, had angered the Kremlin by seeking European Union and NATO membership.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">(The Russian-backed Yanukovich had sought the presidency in 2004, but amid accusations of vote-rigging that bid was foiled by the “Orange Revolution,” which brought Yushchenko to power instead.)</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Yushchenko’s policies were a major challenge to Moscow, which fretted about losing influence over a strategically-located country which, after Russia itself, was the biggest of the Soviet Union successor states.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Ukraine’s Crimea region was home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, based at the Soviet-era Sevastopol naval base under a long-term lease. Yushchenko’s call for Russian ships and personnel to leave when the lease expired in 2017 was another serious concern for the Kremlin.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Looking to Washington for support, Yushchenko found it from the Bush administration. President Bush visited Kiev in 2008, en route to a NATO summit where the U.S. backed membership plans for both Ukraine and Georgia. (In the end the issue was shelved, because some European NATO members were loath to antagonize Russia.)</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">The last year of Yushchenko’s presidency overlapped with the first year of Obama’s. During that period – from Jan. 2009 to February 2010 – Obama traveled to Europe six times, but did not visit Ukraine.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">At the time, the new administration in Washington was pursuing a “reset” in relations with Moscow, prompting prominent figures in eastern and central Europe to express concern that Obama’s attempts to improved ties could result in the U.S. making “the wrong concessions to Russia.”</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Vice President Joe Biden did visit Ukraine and Georgia in July 2009, and reiterated U.S. support for their NATO aspirations.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Campaigning for Ukraine’s presidential election in early 2010, Putin ally Yanukovich pledged to return Kiev to Moscow’s fold. After he won – an outcome viewed as a significant victory for Putin – he shelved Ukraine’s NATO application process and extended the Crimea lease for the Black Sea Fleet for at least another 25 years.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Yanukovich remained in power until February 2014, when he fled Kiev amid huge anti-government protests and sought shelter in Russia.  Moscow backed an armed separatist movement in eastern Ukraine, and after a referendum not recognized by the West, annexed Crimea.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Russia’s intervention prompted U.S. and E.U. sanctions. But the situation in Ukraine is unresolved and, despite the West’s refusal to recognize it, Crimea remains part of the Russian Federation.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">From CNS News</span></div>

OBAMA LIES ABOUT UKRAINE ON 60 MINUTES TV SHOW

Defending himself against accusations that Russian President Vladimir Putin is challenging American leadership, President Obama erroneo...

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US TO CHANGE SYRIAN REBEL TRAINING - PENTAGON

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaqp4rO3gn-gzjgS_e1S0lq5y2UanYnH30NgfX3SCJkzI5D7xbaBEEcHX2hg8PlVhaLGnCBaiDOmAgH2_DS8U42ipYPsgDs4m3HyHZ0iZEyKp1xR-Gp0SFjVdLG7jLWOBplw-1_i7-puo/s1600/000.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaqp4rO3gn-gzjgS_e1S0lq5y2UanYnH30NgfX3SCJkzI5D7xbaBEEcHX2hg8PlVhaLGnCBaiDOmAgH2_DS8U42ipYPsgDs4m3HyHZ0iZEyKp1xR-Gp0SFjVdLG7jLWOBplw-1_i7-puo/s640/000.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-top: 12px;"> LONDON (AP) — The U.S. will overhaul the failed Syrian rebel training program, working more closely with capable Kurdish and other forces in Syria, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Friday.</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-top: 12px;"> No details were immediately available, but the $500 million program to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels to fight the Islamic State group is widely considered a failure. It has produced fewer than 80 soldiers, many of whom had fled, been captured or killed in early fighting.</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-top: 12px;"> Carter said at a news conference in London that the work the U.S. has done with the Kurds is a good example of an effective approach with a capable, motivated ground combat force. He did not provide more details.</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-top: 12px;"> U.S. officials have said the new effort would focus more on embedding recruits with established Kurdish and Arab units, rather than sending them directly into front-line combat. Last week, a commander of one of the U.S.-trained rebel units turned over a half-dozen U.S. vehicles to extremist militants.</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-top: 12px;"> <br /></div> <table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="width: 210px;"><tbody> <tr><td align="center"><table border="1" bordercolor="#CBCBCD" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="width: 150px;"><tbody> <tr><td><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody> <tr align="middle"><td><a href="http://apnews.myway.com/image/20151009/263024301844-Belgium_NATO__20151009.html?date=20151009&docid=eu--united_states-syria-3f64976b53"><img border="0" hspace="4" src="http://ak.imgfarm.com/images/ap/thumbnails//263024301844-Belgium_NATO__20151009.jpeg" vspace="4" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,Sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(AP) U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter speaks during a media conference after a...</span></td></tr> </tbody></table> </td></tr> </tbody></table> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-top: 12px;"> "The work we've done with the Kurds in northern Syria is an example of an effective approach," Carter said. "That's exactly the kind of example that we would like to pursue with other groups in other parts of Syria going forward."</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-top: 12px;"> He called it a "more strategic approach" than what the U.S. has been doing from the beginning. "We have been looking for now several weeks at ways to improve that program," Carter said. "I wasn't satisfied with the early efforts in that regard."</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-top: 12px;"> Instead of fighting IS in small units, the U.S.-trained rebels would be attached to larger existing Kurdish and Arab forces. They would be equipped with U.S. communications gear and trained to provide intelligence and to designate IS targets for airstrikes in coordination with U.S. troops outside of Syria, the officials said.</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-top: 12px;"> The $500 million training program has been beset by a series of embarrassing setbacks. The first group of trainees largely disbanded soon after they were sent into combat; some were captured or killed, while others fled. A second class yielded only a small number of new fighters, drawing criticism from U.S. lawmakers who condemned the program as a joke and a failure.</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-top: 12px;"> The top U.S. commander in the Middle East, Gen. Lloyd Austin, acknowledged that the program got off "to a slow start" and he told Congress that he looking at options that would best employ the moderate forces.</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin-top: 12px;"> Officials have also said the new plan also scales back the number of rebels the U.S. expects to train from the initial 5,400 per year to a much smaller total. It also would streamline the vetting process designed to weed out terrorist infiltrators.</div> <div> <br /></div>

US TO CHANGE SYRIAN REBEL TRAINING - PENTAGON

LONDON (AP) — The U.S. will overhaul the failed Syrian rebel training program, working more closely with capable Kurdish and other forces...

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WESTERN FINGERPRINTS ALL OVER SYRIAN CIVIL WAR

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4OCgTWF5K84ZpGvkR4a1OuDkGa0KdOo9nirvyWcPIf31tJWHtmQ9wHZ4klSCO4iIsf2m0T6XTJLsatf4xYgpnZ4UwvPNhUkDuG0cFAUynVasCZPO4V7B8GfpMDx9BbO0iqHflz9goElg/s1600/00000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4OCgTWF5K84ZpGvkR4a1OuDkGa0KdOo9nirvyWcPIf31tJWHtmQ9wHZ4klSCO4iIsf2m0T6XTJLsatf4xYgpnZ4UwvPNhUkDuG0cFAUynVasCZPO4V7B8GfpMDx9BbO0iqHflz9goElg/s640/00000.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <h2 class="b-article__lead" itemprop="description" style="border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Western countries are willing to grant asylum to Syrian refugees, but are still unwilling to stop adding fuel to the fire of the Syrian civil war, Greece-based independent humanitarian journalist Fragkiska Megaloudi notes.</h2> <div class="b-article__videoclub_embed" style="border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 16.003px; margin: 20px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div class="b-article__text" itemprop="articleBody" style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div> <div class="b-inject m-inject-min" style="border: 0px; color: black; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 5px 0px 20px 40px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 330px;"> <div class="b-inject__media" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <img alt="US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate(MEF) meeting on September 29, 2015 in New York" height="375" src="http://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/images/102776/75/1027767523.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto !important; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" title="US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate(MEF) meeting on September 29, 2015 in New York" width="705" /></div> <div class="b-inject__copy" style="background-color: #f7961d; border: 0px; color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px 0px -30px; padding: 0px 20px; text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;"> © AFP 2015/ KENA BETANCUR</div> </div> The so-called Syrian opposition has not appeared out of nowhere: between 2006 and 2010 Washington spent 12 million dollars on supporting the protest movement in Syria and organizing demonstrations against the Assad government, Greece-based independent humanitarian journalist Fragkiska Megaloudi pointed out, citing WikiLeaks.<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"WikiLeaks released over 7,000 secret diplomatic cables that document that funding. The cables revealed that up to 6,3 million dollars was funneled to the Movement for Justice and Development, a Syrian dissident organization based in London. The Movement operated the Barada satellite channel that broadcasted anti-government propaganda in Syria and that played an important part in the 2010-11 anti-Assad protests," the journalist emphasized in her article for Information Clearing House.</span></div> <div class="marker-quote1" style="border-left-color: rgb(247, 150, 29); border-left-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0px 19px; font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 15px 30px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"The remaining 6 million were spent by the US in order to support rebels and activists and educate journalists in ways of manipulating the news about the Syrian crisis in a manner that would benefit the rebels," she added.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Remarkably, in April 2011, spokesperson for US State Department Mark Toner, confirmed that the WikiLeaks documents were authentic, Megaloudi stressed.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">However, the US was not the only one state who facilitated the anti-government turmoil in Syria. In 2012, France and Britain "pushed for a relaxation of the EU arms embargo to Syria" in order to supply "defensive arms" to "opposition fighters."</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div> <div class="b-inject m-inject-min" style="border: 0px; color: black; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 5px 0px 20px 40px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 330px;"> <div class="b-inject__media" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <img alt="In this Oct. 12, 2011 file photo, supporters of the Syrian government hold a pro-Russian banner to show their support for President Bashar Assad and to thank Russia and China for blocking a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Syria for its brutal crackdown, during a demonstration in Damascus, Syria." height="375" src="http://cdn4.img.sputniknews.com/images/102781/75/1027817560.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto !important; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" title="In this Oct. 12, 2011 file photo, supporters of the Syrian government hold a pro-Russian banner to show their support for President Bashar Assad and to thank Russia and China for blocking a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Syria for its brutal crackdown, during a demonstration in Damascus, Syria." width="705" /></div> <div class="b-inject__copy" style="background-color: #f7961d; border: 0px; color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px 0px -30px; padding: 0px 20px; text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;"> © AP PHOTO/ MUZAFFAR SALMAN, FILE</div> </div> Megaloudi referred to the fact that France was the first European country to recognize the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces as "the only representative of the Syrian people." The move was immediately hailed by Turkey and the Arab League who also declared the coalition "the legitimate representative of the Syrian people's aspirations."<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"In December 2012, at a meeting held in Marrakesh, the United States backed the National Coalition as the transitional government of Syria," the journalist reminded, adding that more than 100 other countries recognized the Syrian opposition despite fears that so-called Syrian "freedom fighters" might have certain links to al-Qaeda.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The US and France never hid the fact that they were arming and training Syrian opposition fighters. Unfortunately, it has always been a problem for the West to distinguish "moderates" from extremists.</span></div> <div class="marker-quote1" style="border-left-color: rgb(247, 150, 29); border-left-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0px 19px; font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 15px 30px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"In August 2013, yellow smoke rose over the rebel-controlled suburb of Ghouta near Damascus. A few hours later and the lifeless bodies of 1,000 people, including 300 children would be lying in the streets. It was one of the worst sarin attacks in the history of the Syrian civil war. President Obama accused the Syrian regime for allegedly crossing the 'red line' he had set in 2012 on the use of chemical weapons and announced US military intervention in Syria," Megaloudi narrated.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It was not the first time when the Syrian government has been accused for gas attacks. However, a United Nations investigation into human rights abuses in Syria indicated in May 2013 that at least two of alleged attacks (in Aleppo in March 2013 and Homs in December 2012) were most likely carried out by Syrian rebels. <strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Referring to evidence from casualties and medical staff UN international Prosecutor Carla del Ponte claimed that it was rebel forces who had used the deadly nerve agent sarin against the country's civil population.</strong></span></div> <div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">So, who was behind the sarin attack in Ghouta?</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Quoting Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh, Megaloudi noted that in 2012 American and Turkish intelligence service believed that the rebels could lose the war against Bashar al-Assad.</span></div> <div class="marker-quote1" style="border-left-color: rgb(247, 150, 29); border-left-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0px 19px; font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 15px 30px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"This prompted the Turkish national intelligence agency and Gendarmerie, the nation's paramilitary law enforcement arm, to work with al-Nusra Front in Syria in order to help them build their chemical development," Megaloudi elaborated.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Interestingly enough, US Defense Intelligence Agency was aware of that fact and knew about the Turkish and Saudi involvement into the affair.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div> <div class="b-inject m-inject-min" style="border: 0px; color: black; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 5px 0px 20px 40px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 330px;"> <div class="b-inject__media" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <img alt="A picture taken on September 30, 2015 shows damaged buildings and a minaret in the central Syrian town of Talbisseh in the Homs province. Russian warplanes carried out air strikes in three Syrian provinces, including Homs, along with regime aircraft on September 30, according to a Syrian security source" height="375" src="http://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/images/102780/56/1027805658.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto !important; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" title="A picture taken on September 30, 2015 shows damaged buildings and a minaret in the central Syrian town of Talbisseh in the Homs province. Russian warplanes carried out air strikes in three Syrian provinces, including Homs, along with regime aircraft on September 30, according to a Syrian security source" width="705" /></div> <div class="b-inject__copy" style="background-color: #f7961d; border: 0px; color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 30px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px 0px -30px; padding: 0px 20px; text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;"> © AFP 2015/ MAHMOUD TAHA</div> </div> In late August 2013 MintPress News reporter Yahya Ababneh, who was on the ground in Ghouta, spoke directly to the rebels, their family members and local residents. They narrated that some rebels received chemical weapons via the Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, and carried out the devastating gas attack.<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Citing Hersh, Megaloudi suggested that both Turkey and Saudi Arabia believed that the attack would prompt Washington to launch a full-scale attack against the Syrian government and topple Bashar al-Assad.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">However, "it would take years until the political and military games surrounding the Syrian conflict come to light," the journalist underscored.</span></div> <div class="marker-quote1" style="border-left-color: rgb(247, 150, 29); border-left-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0px 19px; font-family: Georgia; font-stretch: normal; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 15px 30px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"It seems that the bodies of the drowned Syrian children shocked a lot of consciences, but changed no policies," Megaloudi concluded.</span></div> </div> <span style="border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 16.003px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /><br />Article from Sputnik News</span>

WESTERN FINGERPRINTS ALL OVER SYRIAN CIVIL WAR

Western countries are willing to grant asylum to Syrian refugees, but are still unwilling to stop adding fuel to the fire of the Syrian c...

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OBAMA ACCUSED OF TREASON ON THE FLOOR OF UN

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIGtWAYwrMKX_ZLqmyGOdlWljGt1hy-z8XGjHwuo_s1jkP08luqeA-EdgXihrMl_JkRfmkQYFfBrUL1kKDmLsgKxq2IXTEkLLgkDYB0lVLoeCCl7BBfzmNBxHW9q6jbFkknXc8ZwLomTM/s1600/00000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIGtWAYwrMKX_ZLqmyGOdlWljGt1hy-z8XGjHwuo_s1jkP08luqeA-EdgXihrMl_JkRfmkQYFfBrUL1kKDmLsgKxq2IXTEkLLgkDYB0lVLoeCCl7BBfzmNBxHW9q6jbFkknXc8ZwLomTM/s640/00000.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> Lost in the media hype surrounding the addresses of Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin to the United Nations General Assembly on Monday was a bombshell claim by the president of Argentina.<br /> <br /> President Christina Fernandez de Kirchener announced that her nation had been approached by an Obama administration official with a request that Argentina provide enriched nuclear fuel to the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2010.<br /> <br /> The official in question was Gary Samore, former White House Coordinator for Arms Control and Weapons of Mass Destruction, who did not dispute the seemingly outrageous claim and has been open about his opposition to the nuclear agreement currently worked out between Obama and Iran.<br /> <br /> Kirchener said that Samore wanted Argentina to provide nuclear fuel to Iran, ostensibly to counter Iran’s excuse that they needed nuclear fuel for their reactors, removing the impetus for them to continue their own uranium enrichment program.<br /> <br /> <br /> Kirchener stated that the deal fell through when her government asked for the request in writing, to abide by proper protocol, at which point the issue was dropped and Kirchener never heard from Samore again about it.<br /> <br /> For his part, Samore released a statement admitting that he had in fact traveled to Argentina in 2010 and made the request, though he insinuated the incident was no big deal.<br /> <br /> In fact, Samore went on to explain how after Argentina balked at the deal, he subsequently approached France and Russia with a similar proposal in which Iran would send their low-enriched uranium to Russia, which would further enrich it before sending it along to France.<br /> <br /> France would in turn finish converting the enriched uranium into nuclear reactor fuel, sending it back to Iran for its own use, ostensibly preventing the Islamic republic from weaponizing its uranium stockpiles.<br /> <br /> This deal fell through as well, according to Samore, leading to the 2010 U.N. resolution that increased economic sanctions on Iran, ultimately bringing them to the bargaining table for the horrible deal Obama eventually worked out with them this year.<br /> <br /> The White House did not immediately respond to the potentially treasonous allegations.<br /> <br /> from the Conservative Tribune

OBAMA ACCUSED OF TREASON ON THE FLOOR OF UN

Lost in the media hype surrounding the addresses of Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin to the United Nations General Assembly on ...

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WHO IS BEHIND SYRIAN OBSERVATORY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS?

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvnmC1PvSD4-qsrZ8vsZOymcL1DPAQiW0IJyW4VcQUqs85istEa1too2F5aKfg_Xm2SBdTE2O3KaEFAO7ZfSNlAxZp3m6P0ok8uilXrRUX1Hhytk3GsXiVYZat6K4K5q3WDvduvwChIEA/s1600/00000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvnmC1PvSD4-qsrZ8vsZOymcL1DPAQiW0IJyW4VcQUqs85istEa1too2F5aKfg_Xm2SBdTE2O3KaEFAO7ZfSNlAxZp3m6P0ok8uilXrRUX1Hhytk3GsXiVYZat6K4K5q3WDvduvwChIEA/s640/00000.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div class="article__summary summary " style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Gill Sans Light', Helvetica; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"> <span style="line-height: 1.4em;">The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has been the prime source for MSM-aired news from the Syrian battlefield. But how much does one truly know about this UK-based organization and its director? Journalist and prankster Nimrod Kamer went to find out.</span></div> <div class="article__text text " style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Gill Sans Light', Helvetica; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> The organization has been one of the sources for the mainstream media to build their reports on Syria since the start of the civil war four years ago. The organization claims to have a wide network of contacts in the region who feed their information to the head office, where it is processed and later posted on the website, Facebook and Twitter accounts.</div> <div class="article__cover" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> <div class="media" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; padding: 0px; position: relative;"> <img alt="" class="media__item" src="https://cdn.rt.com/files/2015.10/original/560e6f40c36188597c8b45b5.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; width: 813.229px;" /></div> </div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> Since the start of the Moscow anti-ISIS campaign Russia has started featuring in its reports as well  - and it was quickly picked up by major Western media outlets. One of the latest wires from the Observatory that "<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Russian warplanes [killed] 30 civilians in Homs including women and children”</em> quickly made it into major news sources.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“To the degree people choose to believe social media, they can be my guest. But quite contrary to what [US Secretary of State John Kerry] has said, it is a notoriously unreliable tool upon which to base judgments,”</em> former CIA officer, Ray McGovern told RT.</div> <h2 style="margin: 1.2em 0px 0.4em; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-size: small;">'I am not a media organization' - Rami Abdel Rahman</span></h2> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> RT decided to investigate who the man behind the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is and why the media outlet is so popular with MSM. Well-known journalist and prankster Nimrod Kamer took up the job.</div> <div class="rtcode" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="388" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2Kwd-8lJUhI" style="display: block; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" width="690"></iframe></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> The two-bedroom Coventry home of Syrian immigrant Rami Abdel Rahman has been the organization’s base and the source of information for major mainstream media on anything Syria-related from the past four years, including the death toll.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> Nobody quite knows who Abdel Rahman has on the ground in Syria, but information just keeps flowing on and on, usually in a dramatic fashion and with little detail.</div> <div id="inarticle_wrapper_div" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> <div id="inread1_26817" style="clear: both; display: inline-block; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> <div id="inread_26817" style="left: -99999px; margin-bottom: -9.0009px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; visibility: visible; z-index: 99999999;"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background: none !important; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 100%px;"><tbody style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> <tr id="zd_tr_26817" style="background: none !important; border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;"><td id="zd_td_26817" style="background: none !important; border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: 0; padding: 0px !important;"><div id="mainFrame" style="margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;"> <div id="passbackWrapper" style="margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;"> </div> </div> <div id="lastFrameWrapper" style="left: -99999px; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; position: absolute;"> <div id="lastframe" style="height: 1px; margin: 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px !important; width: 1px;"> </div> </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> </div> </div> </div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> Kamer walked around the English city of Coventry, approaching people with questions on Abdel Rahman and how he could be located. No one seemed to have a clue they had the prime source of news from the Syrian frontline living right there in their quaint British neighborhood.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> </div> <div class="article__cover" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> <div class="media" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; padding: 0px; position: relative;"> <img alt="" class="media__item" src="https://cdn.rt.com/files/2015.10/original/560e823dc461886a078b459d.png" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; width: 813.229px;" /></div> </div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> </div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> Kamer had no luck catching the director at home. Calling him on the phone, he found out Abdel Rahman went out to a shop. The journalist went about explaining that he had hoped to catch the organization’s director to quiz him on his “media organization” – but that term was met with hostility on the part of Abdel Rahman.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“I am not a media organization. I work from my home, my private home.”</em></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> The director of the Observatory seemed very distressed, talking about the dangers of meeting up for daytime interviews because <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“they are trying to kill me.”</em> It was difficult to identify who <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“they”</em> were, but Abdel Rahman clearly wasn’t in the mood. He asked Kamer to send him his name and details, which Abdel Rahman would then send to the police.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.6em; padding: 0px;"> <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“When you run a media organization you should expect journalists to come and ask questions, especially if it’s such a shady and unsourced media organization… I had a great time.”</em><br /> <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></em> <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">from RT</span></div> </div>

WHO IS BEHIND SYRIAN OBSERVATORY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS?

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has been the prime source for MSM-aired news from the Syrian battlefield. But how much does one t...

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