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Brandon Turbeville
Activist Post
As al-Qaeda forces seize power over the city of Idlib in Syria and begin to install a reign of Sharia terror on what is left of the population that was unable to evacuate, bombs rain down upon Houthi rebels in Yemen. Interestingly enough, both fronts are those for which the United States, NATO, and the GCC are able to hold their heads high in the Mockingbird mainstream media as examples of how the US and its allies stand for freedom and democracy across the world...
Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary for Policy in the Reagan Treasury Department. He could be called the conscience of the Reagan Republicans. The other day in a radio interview Roberts said America has become Murder Incorporated. America has spent trillions of dollars killing millions of Muslims for no rational reason.
You might remember the 7 nations General Wesley Clark said America was to invade beginning with Iraq in 2003. That list came from PNAC (Project for a New American Century) which originally received it from the Israelis. PNAC also received fake intelligence reports on Iraq's non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) which they passed onto the White House through the Office for Special Plans in the Pentagon. The OSP was a group created by PNAC for the purpose of getting America to fight a war for Israel in Iraq to do regime change.
How is it possible to expand something that is, by definition, immeasurable? Such length of string arguments are bound to dog Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's opinion that the air campaign against ISIS needs expansion, lengthening, and deepening. "ISIL has made it clear that it targets, by name, Canada and Canadians."
Following Vladimir Putin's demands for an "immediate cessation of military activities" in Yemen, AFP reports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's comment during a recent interview that "with complete confidence that we welcome any widening of the Russian presence in the eastern Mediterranean and on Syrian coasts and ports," including the port of Tartus. Amid the Western-backed opposition National Coalition's planned boycott of talks, Assad pointedly remarked, "the negotiating parties must be independent and must reflect what the Syrian people want... people would not accept that their future, their fate, or their rules are decided from outside."
In what should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the Syrian crisis, the top US commander in the Middle East, General Lloyd Austin, has apparently recommended that the US military "shield" the new death squad terrorists being trained by the United States who are soon to be deployed across the country.
Gen. Austin told Congress on Thursday that he was currently waiting on the White House's response to his recommendation...
The Pentagon has dropped 60,000 leaflets warning people in the Syrian town of Ar-Raqqa not to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The leaflets depict a grisly image: An ISIS recruiting office with new recruits lining up to join, but then being put through a meat-grinder.
Evidence about the presence of U.S. special forces in the Syrian town Ayn al-Arab a.k.a. Kobani emerged. Troops are guiding U.S. airstrikes as part of U.S support for the Kurdish separatist group PYD and the long-established plan to establish a Kurdish corridor.
A photo taken in Ayn al-Arab shows three U.S. soldiers. One of them "Peter" is carrying a Bushnell laser rangefinder, an instrument designed to mark targets for U.S. jets, reports Ceyhun Bozkurt for Aydinlik Daily.
This idea that we can run an Empire with military threats, missiles, and economic sanctions is a fallacy.
The Civil War in Yemen is rapidly expanding. We have been forced to close our embassy and military base located there. It is now clear that Obama's optimism for fighting terrorism in Yemen was misplaced. It hardly sets a standard for dealing with constant conflict and chaos throughout the Middle East.
So far the various factions that we have supported over the years have been poor choices, as usual.
Hopefully someday our government officials will wake up. The counterinsurgency doctrine that was supposed to be the answer to all our military shortcomings is a total failure.
Smith, who heads the Institute for Research: Middle East Policy, reportedly said he thinks this is the first time the US government has officially confirmed that Israel is a nuclear power, a status that Israel has long been widely known to have despite being undeclared.
In a development that has largely been missed by mainstream media, the Pentagon early last month quietly declassified a Department of Defense top-secret document detailing Israel's nuclear program, a highly covert topic that Israel has never formally announced to avoid a regional nuclear arms race, and which the US until now has respected by remaining silent.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper presented a motion to parliament Tuesday endorsing the extension of Canadian military operations in Iraq for a further twelve months, and their expansion into Syria.
Here's your rifle, Stephen!
Reality crashed down on those who had hoped the March 17 Knesset elections might lead to a more moderate future Israeli leadership.
The election returns brought the news, Benjamin Netanyahu had won again.
He won in large part by revoking his earlier pledge to support a Palestinian state, and by using last-hour racist warnings to bring out hard right voters.
"Something like scales" must be made to fall from the eyes of the American public which has been endorsing, funding and supporting a brutal military occupation for almost five decades. How will that be accomplished?
God works in mysterious ways, and sometimes She causes scales to fall and opens the eyes of those who do not yet see.
Conference organizers are the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy.
This unprecedented gathering will focus on the Israel lobby in America. How big is it? How fast has it grown? How interconnected are the organizations and individuals? How much revenue does it raise and where does the money go? What are the common objectives of the lobby? What laws apply to lobbying to benefit a foreign government and are they vigorously enforced? Do coordinated campaign contributions cause American policymakers to act more on behalf of Israel than the United States? What fallacies underlie the assertions that U.S. and Israeli interests are the same? What are the Israel lobby's public and private, short-and-medium-term policy objectives? And what can Americans who do not believe pro-Israel slogans, activities and policy objectives do?
Netanyahu has established the fact that Israel and its people embrace a racist ideology and receive the endorsement of most Western leaders, and mass media and the unconditional support of its overseas fifth column.
There is no question that the majority of Israeli Jewish leaders and parties support Netanyahu's racist pronouncements and 'no-state' solution and joined him in a coalition government. But the larger issue is the positive mass response to Netanyahu's call to action. Nearly three quarters of the electorate turned out (73%) to elect him. Moreover, Netanyahu has been elected prime minister for four terms: between 1996-99 and more recently 2009-20.
What is more, the opposition has not differed from the Netanyahu coalition regime's Judeo-centric policies and pronouncements. In other words, 'racist' ideology per se is not what drives the Israeli majority to repeatedly support Netanyahu.
Because Netanyahu's Likud party won the largest number of seats (30) in the new Israeli parliament (120 total), he will play the major role in organizing the next government.
Even liberal Zionist Thomas Friedman had to acknowledge that Netanyahu won with "dirty" politics and the use of "dog-whistle" language. Friedman wrote in his New York Times column that "You cannot win that dirty and just walk away like nothing has happened".
God works in mysterious ways, and sometimes causes scales to fall and opens the eyes of those who do not yet see.
Sorry to be so flippant, but is this the waiting list for DHS funding or…?
Most of these places we've never even heard of to be honest. Some make sense, like well known cities such as Seattle, Washington or Reno, Nevada or Colorado Military-Industrial Complex Springs, Colorado. Ft. Hood, Texas has a large military base. I could maybe even see Dearborn Heights, Michigan with its vast Muslim population…but…
New Braunfels, Texas? Really? Do the terrorists hate water parks and kolaches?
Western power trying its best to destabilize foreign countries on the cheap...
With only weeks to go to the British national election and the re-election of a Conservative-led government in doubt after five years of brutal economic austerity, Cameron made the bizarre announcement last week that Britain is going to fund «free market reforms» and «good governance» in eastern European countries. The move invited comparisons with Cold War era British premier Margaret Thatche++r who at the end of the 1980s launched a similar programme to assist former Soviet Bloc countries adopt «free market reforms».
The April 10 conference "The Israel Lobby: Is It Good for the US? Is It Good for Israel?" at the National Press Club will present the following panels:
1.0 What Is the Israel Lobby and How Does It Work? 9:00 AM
2.0 Are Critical Voices Silenced? 10:10 AM
3.0 Is Freedom of Speech Encouraged on American Campuses? 11:35 AM
4.0 Is the Lobby Good for Israel? 1:15 PM
5.0 How Does the Lobby Influence Congress? 2:25 PM
6.0 Is There an Iraq-Iran Continuum? 3:50 PM
Speaker biographies are available at http://IsraelLobbyUS.org/speakers/.
Find out why neither Egypt was the land of the Israelites' Exodus nor Palestine their promised land.
"The Zionist paradigm is founded on the distorted story of the Israelites' Exodus from Egypt and their persecution by the Assyrians and Captivity by Babylonians. But the truth is that the Israelites never set foot in Egypt or Palestine. Actually they never left Ancient Arabia and North Yemen, their origin land, before the Babylonian Captivity"
Canada will deepen its military mission in the Middle East with a one-year extension that will now allow air strikes against ISIL in both Iraq and Syria.
The new military plan was announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper Tuesday morning in the House of Commons, where the government was to introduce a motion later in the day.
The hollow-eyed inhabitants of the land of the free and the home of the brave now robotically sing a twisted tune that is not under any circumstances to be believed. The manic echo of its "war on terror" anthem reverberates down the trash strewn corridors of the insane asylum the United States of America has become, where independent thought is now a crime and blind allegiance to a fabricated history and an artificial reality is required for social acceptance in a nightmare world turned absolutely upside down.
Leaders of various militant groups operating against the Syrian government have sent congratulatory messages to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his victory in the Israeli elections, urging Tel Aviv to continue its support.
Sure, America's closest allies support ISIS.
And admittedly, the U.S. has repeatedly fumbled, so that arms got into Al Qaeda and ISIS' hands. Here, here, here and here.
And poor U.S. policies have undoubtedly created more terrorists then they've neutralized.
And it's true that the U.S. knowingly supported Al Qaeda in Libya in order to topple Gaddaffi. But that was on the QT.
But now – for the first time – mainstream flacks are publicly calling for the United States of America to support ISIS and Al Qaeda …
"We're always been at war with Eastasia!"
In the latest of a string of incidents that call into question the West's real intentions in the battle against the Islamic State, an alleged asset of Canadian Intelligence was caught red handed smuggling Islamic State sympathizers into Syria.
Maram Susli
Activist Post
The CIA-backed and armed Syrian rebel group, Hazm brigade disbanded and its members have defected to Al Qaeda-linked Jabhat Al Nusra (JAN) and ISIS. Hazm brigade also left behind a warehouse of US-provided weapons, including anti-tank TOW missiles, which JAN has seized.
With no one left to arm against the Syrian state but JAN, the US State Department has attempted to rebrand JAN as a non-Al Qaeda moderate force. The next step of the plan is to allow US proxy Qatar to openly arm JAN. However, the audacious campaign has so far been an abysmal failure...
There have been unconfirmed reports from the Iranian news agency FARS that Britain and the US could be behind the ammunition drops. "A group of Iraqi popular forces known as Al-Hashad Al-Shabi shot down a US Army helicopter that was carrying weapons for the ISIL in the western parts of Al-Baqdadi region in Al-Anbar province" in late February, FARS claimed.
There also have been unconfirmed reports of US weapons and aid dropped from planes falling into IS hands. An undated video released by the unofficial IS mouthpiece "a3maq news" in October showed a jihadist displaying several boxes of munitions with English-language markings.
The former employee at US National Security Agency (NSA), Edward Snowden, has revealed that the British and American intelligence and the Mossad worked together to create the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Snowden said intelligence services of three countries created a terrorist organisation that is able to attract all extremists of the world to one place, using a strategy called "the hornet's nest".
NSA documents refer to recent implementation of the hornet's nest to protect the Zionist entity by creating religious and Islamic slogans.
According to documents released by Snowden, "The only solution for the protection of the Jewish state "is to create an enemy near its borders".
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations says Russia's vetoes against holding Syria's government accountable are "extremely disruptive" to the U.N. Security Council's ability to restore peace in the conflict, and have emboldened President Bashar Assad to do "almost whatever he wants."
"See? See? It's all Russia's fault! Russia is the bad guy here!" -- Official White Horse Souse
Neoconservative pundit Robert Kagan and his wife, Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, run a remarkable family business: she has sparked a hot war in Ukraine and helped launch Cold War II with Russia – and he steps in to demand that Congress jack up military spending so America can meet these new security threats. This extraordinary husband-and-wife duo makes quite a one-two punch for the Military-Industrial Complex, an inside-outside team that creates the need for more military spending, applies political pressure to ensure higher appropriations, and watches as thankful weapons manufacturers lavish grants on like-minded hawkish Washington think tanks.
Latuff is a riot. US and ISIS – best friends forever. Divided in politics, but united at heart.
A commander of Iraq's popular forces disclosed that wiretapping of ISIL's communications has confirmed the reports that the US planes have been airdropping food and arms supplies for the Takfiri terrorists."The wiretapped ISIL communications by Iraqi popular forces have revealed that the US planes have been dropping weapons and foodstuff for the Takfiri terrorist group," Commander of Iraq's Ali Akbar Battalion told FNA on Wednesday.
He noted that tapping on ISIL disclosed the terrorist group's regular contacts with the US army, and said,
"They exchanged sentences like if they would have a share of the ammunition dropped near (Spiker Military Base) or responses such as 'you will also receive your share'."
The photo substantiated previous BBC interviews with U.S. soldiers who are fighting alongside the Kurdish separatist group PYD in Syria.
When empires weaken, they don't merely withdraw. Rather, they leave behind a trail of broken promises and confusion.
When columnist Thomas L. Friedman suggests the U.S. should arm ISIS – thus joining the Saudi-Israeli regional war on Iran and the Shiites – it seems time to question the sanity of U.S. opinion- and policy-makers. But that is where the muddled U.S. post-9/11 strategy has led, explains Daniel Lazare.
The death of Danny Schechter, "the News Dissector," at age 72 from cancer marks a sad moment for independent journalism. Schechter's was a strong voice against the empty platitudes and blatant hypocrisies that have come to define modern American media and politics, as he explained in an article last year.
The word "Oligarchy" has finally come home. For years, it was a term only used in connection with those big bad and sleazy Mafioso-type businessmen in Russia. Russia had Oligarchs; we didn't. That became a big difference between the official narrative of what separated our "land of the free and the home of the brave" from "them" in the post-Soviet period.
Syria's military downed a US drone in the country's west because it was snooping in an area where "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL/ISIS) terrorists are not present, a military source said March 18.
Unfortunately, the prognosis is that if Merkel cannot see the glaring truth of the situation by now... then there is not much hope of the chancellor ever coming to a realistic political position on Ukraine...And, grimly, that means the outlook for further conflict is not good.
Kiev President Petro Poroshenko unveiled a new dimension of international sanctions against Russia this week, while being royally entertained by German leaders in Berlin. The oligarch-turned-politician now wants the Western allies of the Kiev regime to boycott the 2018 World Cup Finals to be held in Russia.
Why have Western countries only now decided to vote to recognize the state of Palestine? What will be the outcome? Will a legitimate Palestinian state bring peace to the region? Is an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan a dead end?
CrossTalking with Amir Oren and Norman Finkelstein (author of the new book 'Method and Madness: The Hidden Story of Israel's Assaults on Gaza').
Netanyahu's outright rejection of a Palestinian state and his promise to go on building more and more illegal settlements leave Obama without any wriggle room.
"Love him (Netanyahu) or hate him, this is the face of Israel." That's how Uriel Heilman concluded an article for the JTA (Jewish Telegraph Agency) on Netanyahu's election victory after noting that he had shown his true colours by declaring that there would be no Palestinian state while he is in charge. What President Obama now has to decide is whether or not he will allow Netanyahu to remain in charge of American policy for Israel-Palestine.
With the facades gone, Americans must decide if they will embrace this apartheid system or not...
Desperate to win reelection, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stripped off Israel's mask and exposed the ugliness that has deformed his country over the past several decades.He abandoned the subterfuge of a two-state solution, exposed the crass racism that underlies Israeli politics, and revealed Israel's blatant control of the U.S. Congress.
For years, U.S. politicians have rejected allegations of Israeli racism and excused mistreatment of the Palestinians as a temporary necessity that would be fixed by a two-state solution. But Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has destroyed those arguments in his panic to keep his job, reports Robert Parry.
One searches in vain for any detailed and highly competent writings or speeches on foreign policy, given by Obama, that go beyond idealistic platitudes, ever how souring the rhetoric.
Do not expect any significant progress engendered by the Obama administration for the rest of his term.
If there is to be any change in the configuration between the Palestinians and the Israelis, it will emanate from the International Court of Justice.
Putin offers a scathing put down in response to David Cameron's vain attempt to portray the Syrian "rebels" as honorable.
Leaks from Mohammed al-Rashed's police statement published in Turkish media outlets revealed how he aided three UK girls and other foreign nationals to cross into Syria to join the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
Rashed was apprehended on February 28 by Turkish security forces. Along with many documents and information found on his possession and in his laptop, a video showing Rashed aiding three missing British girls, Shamima Begum, 15, Amira Abase, 15, and Kadiza Sultana, 16, was also found.
According to the police statement, Rashed came into contact with Canadian officials in 2013 when he sought for asylum in Canada. Rashed said that Canadian officials asked for information regarding ISIS' operations in return for citizenship.
Benjamin Netanyahu's apparent re-election puts Israel on a course toward ever deeper confrontation with the world. To govern, his Likud Party would need to depend on ultranationalists – a recipe for neither stability nor bold moves toward Middle East peace.
The Syrian air force just dropped chlorine gas bombs on children. Their little bodies gasped for air on hospital stretchers as medics held back tears, and watched as they suffocated to death.
If at first you don;t succeed, lie, lie again. The US Government is once again screaming about bogus weapons of mass destruction to sell us a war. And again, to detect a lie, look for what should be there and isn't, and what isn't there is a REASON for Assad to gas his own people, especially children, knowing it would justify invasion by the US. Besides, Assad's enemy are the US backed mercenaries ... who left their own children safe at home.
With the situation in the Middle East seemingly spinning out of control, many political observers are left wondering what it all means. The war in Syria has been at the forefront of the news since 2011, and rightly so, as Syria has become the epicenter of a larger regional conflict, particularly with the ascendance of ISIS in the last year.
The recent hysteria surrounding John Kerry's remarks regarding the necessity of negotiating with Bashar al-Assad has provoked both criticism and praise from a number of very different quarters. Unfortunately, however, the opinions of those up in either arms or exaltation are largely the result of misreporting, war psychosis, and simply reading headlines instead of articles...
Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Foreign Minister of Turkey, told the Daily Sabah last week Canadian intelligence helped three British girls join ISIS.
The story went unreported by the corporate media in Canada and the United States. It was covered by the alternative media and several mainstream newspapers in Britain.
The CIA will claim that this is simply an unintended consequence, but is that really the case? You decide.
Back in 2010, Afghan officials came to an agreement to free one of their diplomats that had been captured and was being held hostage by al Qaeda. The deal involved the exchange of the diplomat for $5 million.
Afghan officials were able to make use of covert funds, which were quite literally bags of cash, the CIA was delivering directly to the Presidential Palace in Kabul, in their attempt to seek and maintain influence. $1 Million worth of this covert cash was siphoned off to the ransom fund. The remaining $4 million was 'provided from other countries'.
With Saudi Arabia funding al Qaeda in Yemen, it is possible their 'terrorism funds' were tapped into to make up the deficit?
Israel opened its doors with Syria in order to provide medical treatment to the gunmen of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), al-Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda Takfiri groups who were wounded in the ongoing fighting against the Syrian army, a prominent American newspaper reported.
On March 17, 2015, the Syrian military apparently shot down a U.S. Predator Drone drove over the Northwestern city of Latakia in Syria.
The United States has confirmed that it lost contact with a drone but has stated that it was unclear whether or not the drone had been shot down.
Syrian state media has described the drone as "hostile" but has not given any further details...
US foreign policy is becoming so easy and predictable, even Derek Zoolander can do it.
Two weeks ago, when discussing the relentless attempts to provoke, or at least greenlight another quasi war with Syria's president Assad, we wrote "one can be confident that the ISIS "campaign" will continue and get ever closer to Damascus until yet another appropriately-framed YouTube clip appears and leads to another war with Assad." Moments ago Reuters reported that "a group monitoring the Syrian civil war said on Tuesday government forces carried out a poison gas attack that killed six people in the northwest, and medics posted videos of children suffering what they said was suffocation."
According to reports this morning from SANA, the Syria State News Agency, announced that a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft, most likely a Predator drone, was shot down in Syrian air space just north the city of Latakia.
'Syrian air defense systems shot down U.S. UAV north of Lattakia Province,' says state-run Syrian Arab News Agency ?Syrian forces have allegedly shot down a U.S. drone in the country, according to reports from the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency on Tuesday.
The whole story, complete with dramatic video, was about replicas…
That didn't stop another wash of mainstream media attention given to the idea that ISIS the almighty and powerful was tromping the countryside, destroying precious, ancient, irreplaceable 2700-year-old artifacts and robbing the world of them forever.
Remember the brouhaha a few months ago when it was revealed that fighters of the Nusra Front, the al Qaeda affiliate in Syria, had seized territory adjacent to Israel? The "let's intervene in Syria" crowd was up in arms: this supposedly proved the absolute necessity of going full-bore into the region, with US bombing raids and unrestrained support for "moderate" jihadists out to overthrow Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad. After all, we can't leave our loyal ally, Israel, at the mercy of Osama bin Laden's heirs, can we?
As it turns out, however, Nusra has left the Israelis alone – and, indeed, it looks like there is a de facto alliance between bin Laden's boys and Bibi's bombardiers.
President Barack Obama Administration on Monday attempted to play down Secretary of State John Kerry's remarks that suggest the US would be ready to negotiate with the Assad regime in Syria.
This is not a clarification. It is a total reversal of what Kerry said.
Newly-elected Senator Cotton and neocon leader Bill Kristol are now doing the work of AIPAC, and their pro-Israel, anti-Iran funders are standing with a foreign leader on a foreign policy issue against their own president.
It could be Netanyahu again, even if he runs second in the final results. If the Herzog-Livni coalition is successful, they have already announced that they will rotate the office of Prime Minister.
Whatever the final outcome, AIPAC will be standing by, awaiting its marching orders.
Sky News reporter on the Syrian-Turkish border, Stuart Ramsay, obtained from Kurdish fighters in the Syrian city of Kobanê (aka Ayn al-Arab) some passports belonging to foreign militants from the Islamic State (IS, aka ISIL or ISIS). All those passports had the official exit stamp from the Turkish border control, indicating that these ISIL militants entered Syria with the full knowledge of the Turkish authorities and their facilitation.
In an interview Kerry voted to convince Assad and discuss a peaceful strategy.
America will have to negotiate with the Syrian President to end thecivil war in that country, which enters its fifth year, acknowledged the US Secretary of State John Kerry.
"In the end we will have to negotiate. We have always been willing to negotiate within the framework of the process (of peace) in Geneva I," Kerry said in an interview broadcast Sunday on CBS, adding that Washington works tirelessly to "reactivate" efforts to find a political solution to end the war.
Neo-Conning? Kerry Says US Will Have To Negotiate With Syria's Assad
Washington has long insisted that Assad must be replaced through a negotiated, political transition, but the rise of a common enemy, hardline militant group Islamic State, appears to have slightly softened the West's stance towards him.
A spy who worked for a country in the U.S.-led coalition that is fighting Islamic State had helped three British girls to cross into Syria to join the militants and has been caught, the Turkish foreign minister said on Thursday.
The minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, told broadcaster A Haber in an interview: "He was caught. It turned out to be someone who works for the intelligence of a country from the coalition."
I wonder if the plan was to get these girls into Iraq, photograph them there with ISIS, then bring them back home to set them up as patsies for another false-flag terror attack.
Japan Syria ?????? ????????? if you see a bunch of boxes or question marks its because your computer doesn't read Japanese characters.
Canada's embassy in Jordan, which is run by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's handpicked ambassador and former top bodyguard, is being linked in news reports to an unfolding international terrorism and spy scandal. The federal government refused to comment Friday on multiple Turkish media reports that a foreign spy allegedly working for Canadian intelligence – and arrested in Turkey for helping three young British girls travel to Syria to join Islamic State militants – was working for the Canadian embassy in Amman, Jordan.
ISIS could not be a more effective part of America's plans to overthrow the Syrian government and destroy the Syrian state if it had an office at the Pentagon.
Turkey has opened fire to stop a Syrian migrant ship from entering European Union waters.
The Turkish coastguard opened fire to stop a cargo vessel carrying 337 people heading towards European Union waters and arrested the suspected traffickers, a top local official said on 13 March.
The official Anatolia news agency reported 337 mainly Syrian migrants were on the ship, including 85 children and 68 women. The Syrian refugees were taken off it and housed in a sports hall in the nearby town of Gelibolu. Where the ship had been headed was not immediately clear.
The self-described "Don't Do Stupid Stuff" Obama administration, with its rambling foreign policy, is driving the real Masters of the Universe who control the current world system absolutely crazy.
A cliffhanger debate will take place this Wednesday at the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Picture Secretary of State John Kerry, new Pentagon supremo Ashton Carter, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey all testifying in the same room.
The meat of the matter: the House of Cards, sorry, US Congress mulling over what's the real deal behind the Obama administration's proposal to use "military force" in Syria, and whether to impose a no-fly zone to protect Syrian "rebels".
Turkish authorities say they have detained a spy for helping three British girls join Islamic State, and reports say the detainee worked for Canada's spy agency.
The US Department of Defense, Pentagon, started to investigate the video showing ISIS gunmen possessing weapons dropped by American planes that were to be delivered to Kurdish fighters in the city of Ain Arab (Kobanî), Syria.
"Yeah, yeah. Sure, sure! It was a mistake. Honest. Just a mistake!" -- Official White Horse Souse
Russia can perceive, rightly, the continuum of aggression.
NATO's Operation Atlantic Resolve paced ahead this week with the latest arrival of more US military forces in the Baltic region.
Under the guise of defending eastern Europe from «Russian aggression», more than 100 Abrams tanks and Bradley armoured personnel carriers rolled into Latvia. Last month, a similar motorised display of military support was deployed in Estonia – in the town of Narva – with American flags flown by the US Army's Second Calvary Regiment just 300 metres from the Russian border.
The bottom line is that AIPAC, which is a de facto agent for a foreign government, has influence on US policy out of all proportion to the number of Americans it represents. When a small group like this has disproportionate power, it hurts everyone—from Palestinians and Iranians to Israelis and American Jews.
Not sure if they really expect us to believe this.
The CIA now is so firmly entrenched and so immensely well financed – much of it off the books, including everything from secret budget items to peddling drugs and weapons – that it is all but impossible for a president to oppose it the way Kennedy did
The Obama administration appears to be growing increasingly frustrated as its request for congressional authorization for its war in Iraq and Syria stalls on Capitol Hill amid continued criticism from foreign policy experts and grassroots activists.
However, the political roadblocks appear to be having little impact on the war itself, which is stretching into its eighth month, including at least 15 airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition on Tuesday and Wednesday alone.
The Council on Foreign Relations, a Washington DC think tank with large influence over U.S. foreign policy, is once again calling on the Obama administration to support Al Qaeda terrorists under the guise of defeating the Islamic State.
Let's be perfectly clear. The United States is not actually at war with ISIS. As Global Research director, economist and author Michel Chossudovsky plainly points out recently, Obama is simply waging "a fake war" against the Islamic State forces, putting on another propaganda show for mainstream media to keep his flock of American sheeple asleep in echo-chambered darkness. With a mere cursory review of recent historical events, one can readily realize that virtually everything Big Government tells us is happening in the world, you can bet is a boldface lie.
Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in late 2010, I have been writing repeatedly that there are no "moderate rebels" in Syria. Many other credible researchers and even mainstream news organizations, albeit significantly after the fact, have made similar statements in their own writings. In fact, I have even gone so far as to suggest that, if such a thing as a moderate rebel in Syria actually exists, then he must be brought forward for analysis.
After all, such a rare and mysterious being must be thoroughly studied so as to determine if he is a freak of nature or if there are more than just one of him.
Apparently, however, neither myself nor the other researchers mentioned above ever fully understood the process in which one becomes an alleged "rebel" and/or a moderate one...
It is writing such as this, which illustrates and illuminates the extent of Zionist infiltration in the "Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave," which will drive home to the "American" public what has happened to their "dream, which may eventually stir them to action of some sort to bring it to an end... if anything will!
It is certainly past time to push back against an organization that is brazenly promoting the interests of a foreign government at the expense of the American people.
Shutting Down AIPAC
I would like to concentrate on two issues. First is the nature of the special relationship between Israel and the United States and second is the role of the Israel Lobby and most particularly AIPAC in shaping that relationship.
Ian's Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, spoke with NBC News' Ann Curry Wednesday (March 5th 2015).
Iran's FM: I read the American constitution, I believe the– executive has the prerogative over foreign policy and for any foreign government, it has to lead with the executive. That's the only way you can have international affairs. So I will accept the commitment of the U.S. government, the U.S. administration, about what– going to do. And I will– I mean if they have an agreement, I will hold them accountable.
ANN CURRY: Where's the area of the major stumbling block?
So, did Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland mislead Congress or just play a propaganda game, asks Robert Parry.
An early skill learned by Official Washington's neoconservatives, when they were cutting their teeth inside the U.S. government in the 1980s, was how to frame their arguments in the most propagandistic way, so anyone who dared to disagree with any aspect of the presentation seemed unpatriotic or crazy.
During my years at The Associated Press and Newsweek, I dealt with a number of now prominent neocons who were just starting out and mastering these techniques at the knee of top CIA psychological warfare specialist Walter Raymond Jr., who had been transferred to President Ronald Reagan's National Security Council staff where Raymond oversaw inter-agency task forces that pushed Reagan's hard-line agenda in Central America and elsewhere.
UN failed Syria, say aid groups
Beirut - Aid agencies said on Thursday that 2014 was the worst year of the Syrian conflict so far and that three United Nations Security Council resolutions aimed at alleviating the suffering had failed.
The UN resolutions passed last year demanded an end to arbitrary killing and torture, and the removal of barriers to aid access imposed by the Syrian government and insurgents.
"There have been more killings, more bombings, a massive increase in displacement and a huge increase in the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance," said Daniel Gorevan, a Syria policy advisor at British charity Oxfam.
The ideological arsenal of pretexts for US military interventions are depleted, redundant, spent or thoroughly disgraced.
Is the defence of world heritage sites in Iraq the new «responsibility to protect» (R2P) doctrine to justify Western intervention in the geo-strategically important region? The timing coincides with renewed admonitions from the United States and Saudi Arabia for a coalition of ground forces to defeat the Islamic State network in Iraq and Syria – and just when Iraqi and Syrian forces appear to be decisively pushing back the extremists in both countries.
The US and its Western allies have long used the doctrine of «responsibility to protect» or «R2P» as a flimsy pretext for military intervention.They found success with various tropes, including the «War on Terror», the elimination of «weapons of mass destruction», and the Responsibility to Protect» human rights.
In the United States we may be approaching a tipping point in the struggle against Zionist racism and Israeli oppression.
The struggle is against racism, discrimination, oppression, occupation and illegal colonization because they are evils no matter who perpetrates them.
The Israeli case has to be prioritized because Israel and its Zionist allies have bought and bullied our own government and political parties in a corrupting manner.
Putting its hypocritical and biased nature on full display once again, the alleged human rights organization, Human Rights Watch, was recently caught in an attempt to fabricate "evidence" of Assad's use of barrel bombs in civilian areas for the purposes of further demonizing the secular Syrian government.
This happened in Turkey today, they beat him up for allying with Assad.
As usual, popular right wing Murdoch-press-patsy Andrew Bolt – deflects us from the facts. In his recent article,"Silence Fails In The Face Of Evil", he prosecutes the Australian Greens, gay and lesbian organisations, Julian Burnside QC, Muslim leaders, Labor and others – for not enough condemnation of ISIS and it's recent destruction of the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud.
We all know and agree that ISIS is a new brand of terror and destruction. But Andrew, what did you say when Prime Minister John Howard followed Blair and Bush into the most egregious war in modern history – all based on fraudulent Intel and motivations. During the occupation 1,455,590 Iraqis were killed, and war crimes of the worst kind were committed by the West (and by all sides).
New photos from the Golan Heights further prove Tel Aviv's support for al-Qaeda-linked militants, especially al-Nusra Front, that have been wreaking havoc in Syria.
An Israeli officer has been injured in the occupied Golan Heights after shots were fired from the Syrian territory at one of the regime's military units, Israeli media say.
Legit, or a "vote for Bibi" false flag?
Despite the fact that ISIS is obviously being propped up by Western forces, a recent Pew Research poll discovered that a shocking 63% of Americans support using drone strikes against ISIS, and 47% would like to see a ground invasion of the region. I guess some things never change. History has shown us time and time again, that the vast majority of Americans are so dupable that it would be hilarious if it weren't so tragic. As the old saying goes, "fool me once" and well…you know the rest.
There is much idle chatter from liberals, leftists and progressives, claiming that Netanyahu's 'brazen intervention'would backfire;
There have been times when history has played tricks with man and…has magnified the features of essentially small persons into a parody of greatness--Rabindranath Tagore(on Benito Mussolini)
How is it that the ruler (Benjamin Netanyahu) of a puny country (Israel) of 8.2 million (6.2 million Jews) with the 37th biggest economy (GDP in current prices) in the world dictates war policy and secures the willing submission of the legislature of the largest economy and most powerful military empire in the world?
What significance does Netanyahu's speech to the US Congress have, beyond the fact that he uses it as a platform to attack the elected President of the US, to denounce US peace negotiations and to demand that Congress adopt policies designed to precipitate a war with Iran?
No, this is not a joke. Mainstream outlets are actually suggesting that climate change is responsible, albeit indirectly, for the creation of ISIS and the scores of Western-backed terrorists flooding Syria as well as the now international military involvement in the war.
This is merely the latest silly narrative being promoted by the likes of Slate, Wired, The Telegraph, NBC, and The Guardian among many others.Slate, by no means, is the sole purveyor of such abjectly stupid claims nor are the other media outlets listed above. Still, one need only read the Slate article to see how the "climate change is the real reason for the Syrian war" claim is being presented.
Slate, by no means, is the sole purveyor of such abjectly stupid claims nor are the other media outlets listed above. Still, one need only read the Slate article to see how the "climate change is the real reason for the Syrian war" claim is being presented.
Graham Peebles decries the intolerance, paranoia and hate that greets people from Africa and the Middle East who risk life and limb to flee the hell that has become their wracked countries.
Putting its hypocritical and biased nature on full display once again, the alleged human rights organization, Human Rights Watch, was recently caught in an attempt to fabricate "evidence" of Assad's use of barrel bombs in civilian areas for the purposes of further demonizing the secular Syrian government...
The revelations that US ally Abdelhakim Belhadj is now leading ISIS in Libya should come as no surprise to those who have followed US policy in that country, and throughout the region. It illustrates for the umpteenth time that Washington has provided aid and comfort to precisely those forces it claims to be fighting around the world.
Remarkably, if the Quinnipiac University numbers can be believed, a majority of Americans want to send U.S. combat troops to Iraq and Syria to battle ISIS.
I don't believe their numbers, and the proper question should have been, "Are you personally willing to go and fight ISIS in Syria and Iraq?"
Press TV has conducted an interview with Sukant Chandan, a filmmaker and political commentator from London, to discuss atrocities being committed by the ISIL militant group across the Middle East region.
The political commentator maintains that the US, Britain and France along with their regional allies have been in league with the ISIL in unleashing death squads to topple the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
A central myth is that Washington now arms 'moderate Syrian rebels', to both overthrow the Syrian Government and supposedly defeat the 'extremist rebels'. This claim became more important in 2014, when the rationale of US aggression against Syria shifted from 'humanitarian intervention' to a renewal of Bush's 'war on terror'.
A distinct controversy is whether the al Qaeda styled groups (especially Jabhat al Nusra and ISIS) have been generated as a sort of organic reaction to the repeated US interventions, or whether they are actually paid agents of Washington.
All it took for this miraculous turn in fortune was the creation of "ISIS," and serial provocations committed by these Hollywood-style villains seemingly engineered to reinvigorate America's justification to militarily intervene more directly in a war it itself started in Syria beginning in 2011.
The Syrian civil war has been completely lost in the quagmire that is ISIS and the wider problems stemming from Iraq and the war waged upon it by President Bush and the neoconservative establishment. The dangers of meddling in Iraq were clear to anyone who had read even a few pages of modern Middle Eastern history, but few in Western power circles were honest enough to question the policy and call on their governments to think twice before meddling in Middle Eastern affairs.
The US special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL said on March 2 that the United States "will protect" Syrian rebel fighters trained and equipped by the United States, adding that a US-enforced no-fly zone or protected corridor is "under consideration," as reported by Barbara Slavin for Al-Monitor.
Berlin and the rest of Europe need to move fast to underpin diplomacy with Russia and to head off Washington's death-wish plunge into the abyss.
Washington's reckless attempts to scuttle the shaky ceasefire in Ukraine are unnerving Germany. The German government feels, with good reason, that the Americans are trying to undermine its recent efforts to mediate a political solution to the nearly year-old conflict, which has caused at least 6,000 deaths and up to one million refugees. Not only that but the violence between the ultranationalist regime in Kiev and the pro-Russian separatists in the east is threatening to spillover into a wider war that could involve Russia and the rest of Europe.
Activists say US-led coalition airstrikes hit Syrian oil refinery held by Islamic State group
Activists say the strikes late Sunday night targeted a refinery near the Turkish-Syrian border outside the town of Tel Abyad.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the strikes, estimating they killed about 30 people. The other group offered no casualty figure.
The Islamic State group, which controls about a third of Syria and Iraq, sells black-market oil to fund its conquests. The U.S.-led coalition did not immediately report the strike
The Russians are worried that pro-Western neoliberal party will regain the positions they lost after 2000, and dead Nemtsov will indeed be more useful for his cause than alive one.
Anyway, while the mourning and the funeral did not cause any breach of peace, the march did not turn into a Maidan or Tahrir, and Bernard Henri Levi did not land on the Red Square, the Putin's government got cold feet. For a long eight days Russian police looked for the murderers, and meanwhile the Yeltsin's cadres, people of nineties assaulted Putin from within and the Western media and officials from without. President Putin is not a Genghis Khan, he is a non-confrontational bloke whose great ambition is to live in peace and harmony with the West while defending Russia's vital interests, and observing interests of Russia's wealthies and worthies. He also wants to be accepted as an equal among the world's great, East and West.
Iran and the West are close to accomplishing what so many in Washington and Tel Aviv are terrified of – a negotiated end to the Western standoff with Iran.
CrossTalking with Mohammad Marandi, Gareth Porter, and Chuck Freilich.
The enemy is not Russia or Vladimir Putin. The enemy is hypocrisy.
It has been just over a year of growing and escalating crisis in Europe since the Maidan Square protests in Kiev succeeded in toppling Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014.
It saw the likes of US Senator John McCain – a man whose quest for a new Vietnam War never ends – travelling to the country to personally urge on the demonstrators in Kiev alongside Britain's Catherine Ashton, representing the EU.
Iran has no intention of destroying Israel and has actually saved the Jews three times in history, but the current Israeli regime is a threat to Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said.
"Israel threatens to use force against Iran almost on a daily basis… Of course, if they did use force against Iran, we would defend ourselves, as we have done with great sacrifice in the past. But we are not invading, we are not threatening anybody. We have not threatened anybody for 250 years," the Iranian FM said.
"We never had the bomb. We will never have a bomb. We're not looking to have a bomb. We do not believe a bomb is in our interest. Whereas [Netanyahu] does have a bomb. He has 200 nuclear weapons," he said.
Churchill came to cement his alliance with the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who played a big part in the British war effort, while Netanyahu has come to spit in the face of the present president.
Iraqi counter-terrorism forces arrested four foreign military advisors from the United States and Israel who were aiding the Islamic State, Iranian Tasnim News Agency reports.
Three of the arrested military advisors are dual citizens of the United States and Israel, while the fourth advisor is from a Persian Gulf country, Iraq's Sarma News Agency said.
Ulson Gunnar
Activist Post
In August of 2013, even as the words came out of US President Barack Obama's mouth regarding an "impending" US military strike against the Syrian state, the impotence of American foreign policy loomed over him and those who wrote his speech for him like an insurmountable wall. So absurd was America's attempt to once again use the canard of "weapons of mass destruction" to justify yet another military intervention, that many believed America's proxy war in Syria had finally reached its end.
The counterstroke by Russia included Syria's immediate and unconditional surrendering of its chemical weapons arsenal and, with that, so evaporated America's casus belli.
Few would believe if one told them then, that in 2015, that same discredited US would be routinely bombing Syrian territory and poised to justify the raising of an entire army of terrorists to wage war within Syria's borders, yet that is precisely what is happening...
On Thursday, Press TV crew stationed in Syria near Israeli occupied Golan Heights released photos of Israeli soldiers speaking to Nusra Front militants. Our correspondent in the area Hamad Awidat now says he's been contacted and threatened by the Israeli army. He earlier spoke to Press TV's Waqar Rizvi.
The photos have already stirred a heated debate on social media. Hamad Awidat says an Israeli army officer asked him if he has taken more pictures and that from now on everything will change for him, the Israelis will not forget his name and he'd better be careful. According to Awidat, cooperation between militants who belong to al-Qaeda's official branch in Syria and the Israelis is nothing new and local people have witnessed several encounters between the two sides.
The gross interference by Washington in Britain's forthcoming election on the vital issue of budgetary priorities clearly demonstrates that British «democracy» is but an appendage to an American leash. And the leash is being yanked to pull the snarling bulldog into line.
In a brazen show of bringing-to-heel in their «special relationship», American political and Pentagon chiefs are openly rebuking the British government to maintain its huge military spend on the NATO alliance – to the possible detriment of already withering public services in austerity-clobbered Britain. The imposition by Washington raises serious questions about the nature of democracy in Britain – the self-proclaimed «Mother of all Parliaments».
The Deputy Foreign Minister of Syria, Faisal al-Miqdad, said airstrikes against ISIL are ineffective in combating the militants.
The deputy minister urged that "the most effective way to combat" Islamic state "are ground operations" similar to what Syria and Iraq are doing themselves in order to combat the militants.
The walls are thick and strong beyond imagining, but the elders who sleep in the bowels of Zion know that this rumbling at their foundation marks well their inevitable fall.
The first great stone has hit the ramparts of Zion. The elders within the walls, down in the bowels of the fortress, have sat bolt upright, as they have felt the unmistakable rumbling vibration. Their eyes, which are usually narrow with the self-regard of the power of their own devious cunning, have suddenly gone wide with fear, as instantly they know that the inevitable has arrived upon them.
As another great stone finds the wall, and shakes the very air, these elders fly from their beds with great alarm.
The walls are thick and strong beyond imagining, but the elders who sleep in the bowels of Zion know that this rumbling at their foundation marks well their inevitable fall.
Accept That Bashar al-Assad is Here to Stay, Says Syria to West
New York: Syria's envoy to the United Nations says it's time for the United States and other Western powers to accept that President Bashar al-Assad is here to stay, and to abandon what he suggested was a failed strategy of trying to split the Middle East into sectarian enclaves.
ISIS certainly is not what a great many people think that it is, if you judge what they think by what our corporate press proclaims incessantly.
As reported at Antiwar.com, the US and some of its regional client dictatorships are prodding the major al-Qaeda faction operating in Syria, a brutal terrorist group called al-Nusra, to "re-brand" so the US can openly arm it.
Wikipedia notes that al-Nusra:
…is a branch of al-Qaeda operating in Syria…
…has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Turkey.
…is generally made up of native Syrian mujahideen who adhere to Sunni Islam. Its goal is to overthrow Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria and create an Islamic Emirate under Sharia law.
Members of the group have referred to the United States and Israel as enemies of Islam, and warned against Western intervention in Syria.
al-Nusra is also, according to both the United States government and ISIS itself, affiliated with ISIS, formerly known as AQI – al Qaeda in Iraq.
The Council on Foreign Relations notes:
I am having a palm to forehead moment, at industrial-strength velocity, upon reading this.
Over and over again, this Administration has proven itself pathologically, and collectively, unable to think a scenario through to its logical conclusion.
Does this administration actually believe that after unseating Bashar Al-Assad, that al-Nusra will meekly, quietly throw down its arms, and give its assent to any western-centric puppet put into Assad's place?!?
I don't know the odds the bookies in Vegas would give to such a potential outcome here, but were I a betting woman, I would not bet that this will happen.
Upon gaining control of Syria, Al-Nusra will most probably have a far different geopolitical agenda for Syria from that which the US government thinks it can, and will, provide the US.
And most likely, it will be a far more vitriolically anti-US government than is that of the Al-Assad government.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has declared that military pressure may be needed to oust Syria's President Bashar Assad. It comes as knowledge has emerged that the US, along with Turkey, has started training Syrian rebels.
"Ultimately a combination of diplomacy and pressure will be needed to bring about a political transition. Military pressure particularly may be necessary given President Assad's reluctance to negotiate seriously," Kerry said at a Thursday meeting of Gulf foreign ministers at Riyadh Air Base, according to AFP.
"He's lost any semblance of legitimacy, but we have no higher priority than disrupting and defeating Daesh and other terror networks," he added, using "Daesh" – an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group (formerly known as ISIS/ISIL) that has seized large territories in Syria and Iraq.
Here's your rifle, John!
Bush, and his vice-president, Dick Cheney, are accused of having committed "terrorist acts and grave human rights violations" in Syria, Iraq and Vietnam.
Testifying today at the House Appropriations Committee, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey said it was likely that US ground troops would "eventually" be needed in the ISIS war inside Syria.
Here's your rifle, Martin!
After five years of intense fighting and destabilization raging across Syria, Western mainstream press has finally discovered the true cause of the so-called "civil war." It turns out that all of the analysts in the alternative media suggesting that the situation in Syria was the result of a NATO destabilization campaign and foreign-backed invasion of terrorists in the form of al-Nusra, al-Qaeda, and ISIS were wrong. In fact, even those mainstream analysts who have suggested that the foreign invasion was actually a legitimate rebellion were apparently mistaken.
Thankfully, the mainstream press has discovered the true cause of the Syrian crisis – global warming.
No, this is not a joke. Mainstream outlets are actually suggesting that climate change is responsible...
Turning to Syria, Israel would like you to believe it's neutral in the civil war. But it isn't. Israel has serially bombed Syrian targets and assassinated Syrian and Iranian generals (two) supporting the regime. Several media outlets and I have also reported Israel established a military encampment for Syrian rebels in Israeli-occupied Golan. Israeli media reports:
UN observers stated that tents were set up about 300 meters from the Israeli position for some 70 families of Syrian deserters. The Syrian army sent a letter of complaint to UNDOF in September, claiming this tent camp was a base for "armed terrorists" crossing the border into Israel. The Syrians also warned that if the UN would not evacuate the tent camp, the Syrian army would view it as a legitimate target.
The photos obtained by Press TV show Takfiri militants from the terrorist al-Nusra Front next to Israeli soldiers.
Israel is known to have been providing medical, intelligence and military support for militants fighting to topple the government of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. A number of militant commanders wounded in government attacks on terrorist have reportedly been hospitalized in the occupied territories.
The images obtained by Press TV shows Israeli soldiers speaking face-to-face with militants in Golan.
Brandon Martinez traces the roots of the conspiracy back to Israel's Oded Yinon plan which aims to fracture and balkanize the Middle East.
Syrian rebels launched a fierce attack Wednesday on the air force intelligence headquarters in Aleppo, leaving at least several dozen dead, days after the opposition rejected a U.N. cease-fire plan for the city.
At least 20 members of regime security forces and 14 rebels were killed in a powerful blast and attack targeting air force intelligence offices in the west of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The United States is pushing the UN Security Council to threaten tough measures against the Syrian regime over its alleged use of chlorine in attacks, according to a draft resolution circulated to members on Wednesday.
Two weeks ago, 21WIRE reported on how ISIS and other terrorists militants operating in Syria and Iraq are receiving regular weapons and 'supply drops' – forming a 'rat line' which seems to be playing a crucial role in keeping this highly profitable conflict going on both sides.
This week, it's been reported that Jabhat Al-Nusra fighters have been brandishing US-supplied TOW missiles, as well as posing for pictures in front of boxes with the 'U.S.' insignia (see full report below).
The Pentagon has announced that depleted uranium (DU) munitions have not, and will not, be used by US aircraft in the conflict against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The policy U-turn contrasts with statements made over previous months, where Pentagon officials claimed that DU would be used if needed; the decision reflects a growing stigmatisation of the controversial weapons.
Israel's Shin Bet rearrested Golani Druze Sedki al-Maket (age 48). Until his release in 2012 (Hebrew), he'd been the longest serving Israeli security prisoner, having spent 27 years detained. News of his arrest is under gag order by Israeli media. The gag is laughable since the arrest has been reported not only by Syrian media, but in a Hebrew Facebook post.
Though Israeli security services haven't offered any reason for his arrest, it's likely they're angered because a week ago he followed Syrian rebels to a meeting inside Israeli-occupied territory. The rebels met with IDF forces who've previously been shown to receive logistical and intelligence support from Israel in previous reports here and in Israel and foreign media. Al Maket filmed a video while the meeting was underway, in which he described what he saw and offered it to Syrian TV. It was aired to the entire nation and likely monitored by Israeli security.
In pursuing the strategy of preserving the perception of the Iranian threat in order to maintain the special relationship with the United States, Netanyahu is pursuing strategies that sabotage America's own foreign policy interests...
By going over President Obama's head to Congress, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is taking a big gamble, apparently hoping that he can block any U.S. rapprochement with Iran and heighten tensions in the Middle East, a strategy that lacks both facts and logic, says Ted Snider.
Yet another extremist brigade in Syria presented by the United States and mainstream media outlets as "moderate" has now officially defected to the side of ISIS and al-Qaeda.
Harakat Hazm, propagandized to the American public as the face of the "moderate rebellion" in Syria has been the recipient of a large quantity of American weapons in the past including TOW anti-tank rockets and other arms...
It's evident where the British State-Funded BBC got their talking points from in this interview. When they're spewing exactly the same line as Western governments, is it any wonder that their legitimacy is constantly questioned?
The BBC tries to portray Syria's uprising as peaceful, yet it is evident that there was no such peace as snipers and trouble makers were around since almost day-one of the 'Arab Spring' reaching Syrian territory. A foreign terrorist army has been invading Syria for years now, and an attempt to frame these 'rebels' as 'moderates' has all but collapsed with the rise of ISIS.
Looks like Jabhat al-Nusra captured a good number of American-made BGM-71 TOW missiles from Harakat Hazm in #Aleppo:
Funny how the "bad guys" are getting US weapons to be bad with!
Just days after al-Qaeda's Jabhat al-Nusra faction declared war on the US-armed Syrian rebel faction the Hazm Movement, they began overrunning multiple Hazm bases near Aleppo.
Six Nusra fighters and 29 Hazm fighters were killed in the clashes over the course of the day, and the losses included a major former military compound Hazm has held since late 2012.
Syrian government forces have taken control of villages in southern Syria, state media said on Saturday, part of a campaign they started this month against insurgents posing one of the biggest remaining threats to Damascus.
Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and his French counterpart, Laurent Fabius, said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must not be part of any future government or participate in the US-led alliance against Islamic State.
One week ago, when reporting on the latest bizarre plan presented by the Pentagon, namely providing Syrian rebels (but only the moderate ones, not the jihadists like al Nusra, or, well, ISIS) with B-1B Bomber air support in their attacks on ISIS, when we wrote that this "means in the coming weeks and months look forward to a surge in false flag "attacks" blamed on the Assad regime, aiming to give Obama validation to expand the "War against ISIS" to include Syria's regime as well."
We didn't have long to wait: in an entirely unsourced Time article written today by Aryn Baker, the Middle East Bureau Chief, the stage for the second attempt at invading Assad regime is finally set.
Russia is outraged over the reports claiming that the Islamic State distributes humanitarian aid stolen from the United Nations with the terrorist group's logotypes, Russia's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Vladimir Safronkov told a meeting of the world organisation's Security Council on Thursday.
"We deeply resent the reports that the Islamic State actually steals relief aid from the UN agents and then distributes it with their own logotypes," Safronkov said. "We quite understand that all legal means for supplying the civilians, who are under the terrorists' control, with humanitarian aid should be applied but under the condition of ensuring relevant guarantees so that such incidents would never happen again."
Four soldiers were wounded and at least three jihadi militants killed Thursday in clashes on Lebanon's northeastern border with Syria, security sources and the Army said.
Islamic State militants have abducted at least 150 people from Assyrian Christian villages in northeastern Syria they had raided, Christian Syrian activists said on Tuesday.
Now the warhawks are playing the religion card, trying to rebrand the invasion of Syria as a new Holy Crusade of Christians against the Muslims!
Some European countries which withdrew ambassadors from Syria are saying privately it is time for communication with Damascus, even though that is staunchly opposed by Britain and France, which argue that Assad has lost all legitimacy.
Ankara had been dreading this scenario. On Feb. 16, the Syrian regime army launched an offensive to besiege opposition-controlled areas of Aleppo, lifting the opposition's 18-month siege on two Shiite villages and severing the opposition's supply lines to Turkey. If Aleppo falls, the next front to intensify will be Turkey's border. Beirut daily Al-Akhbar reported the situation with the headline: "A blow to Ankara: Syrian army makes advances in Aleppo offensive."
Ankara has nothing to say about it unless Syria crosses the border into Turkey. Complicating the issue is Turkey's incursion into Syria supposedly for the tomb of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the Ottoman empire's founder, Osman I.
Turkey has now officially proven that Israel and the United States are not the only nations that can brazenly violate the sovereignty of other countries, Syria in particular, without fear of reprisal due to NATO support and a blatant culture of aggression.
The Turkish invasion of Syrian soil on February 22 under the guise of protecting and securing the tomb of Sulayman Shah is case in point.
The tomb is largely recognized as a Turkish exclave since the early 1920s when, in 1921, it was agreed in the Treaty of Ankara that the Turks would be allowed to raise the Turkish flag over the tomb and place a small number of Turkish guards around the mausoleum given that Sulayman Shah bears such significance to Turkish history. The tomb is located about 23 miles from Turkey itself and thus is located inside Syrian territory.
Almost 600 Turkish troops made an unprecedented incursion into Syria on Saturday night, rescuing dozens of soldiers guarding a historic tomb which had been surrounded by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) jihadists.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, said he "personally monitored" the operation, and claimed that no shots had been fired.
The 38 soldiers were brought back to Turkey with the 13th century tomb, which contains the remains of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the Ottoman Empire's founder.
A security source in Diyala province said that ISIS terrorists have executed a citizen while trying to videotape an unidentified helicopter landing in one of the northern agricultural villages of Muqdadiyah through ISIS control over these areas in the past periods.
The source told "Shafaq News", that "We have received reliable information from residents of one of the farming villages that ISIS organization has arrested one of the citizens during filming the landing of an aircraft of the International Alliance with his mobile telephone, adding that one of the elements of the organization was able to detect the person who was hiding behind a one of the houses in farming village and took him to the leaders of the organization before he completed filming ".
The source asserts that ISIS elements beaten and left him clinically dead for several days before being executed, indicating that the plane landed in the village for 15 to 20 minutes and flew again, according to eyewitnesses.
As the conflict in Ukraine persists and as peace talks between Putin and western European leaders (Merkel and Hollande) continue, it is important to look at the economic actors/interests that benefit from conflict and regime change in the Ukraine and how this compares to situations like Syria, Libya and Iraq. There are under-reported angles and interests to these conflicts that we hear little about in western mainstream media and that many do not look for because they are too caught up in political or human dramas.
France has bolstered its contribution to the fight against "Islamic State." Its aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle will now operate from the Persian Gulf, allowing more combat jets to fight alongside the US-coalition.
Israel gave the go ahead to an American energy company to start oil drilling in disputed area of Golan Heights, seizing an opportunity as Syria remains occupied with fighting terrorism in the region, a political analyst tells Sputnik Arabic.
US historian Webster Tarpley says that the United States created the Islamic State and uses jihadists as its secret army to destabilize the Middle East.
Despite official denials, the US war on ISIS has been careening toward another ground war in both Iraq and Syria. The latest reports suggest the ground component of this war could be very soon to beginning.
Every last Town & Village taking by them in their ''Offensive'' has being Retaken Aleppo & Daraa SyrianGirl is blaming the Disaster of thousands of ''Turkish Troops'' they also sneeked in daraa too
The U.S. and Turkey have signed an agreement to openly train and arm Syrian rebels, the majority of whom have ties to ISIS.
The Syrian conflict continues to develop into a proxy war, pitting various foreign 'national interests' against one another, including US vs. Syria, US vs Iran, Saudi Arabia vs Syria, Qatar vs. Syria, Turkey vs. Kurdistan and Iran vs. Israel – to name only a few. So the support network behind Washington's 'Moderate Rebels' and terrorist groups fighting in Syria is comprised of many contributing covert intelligence agencies, including the CIA, MI5/6, Mossad, France, NATO, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Media reports based on eyewitness and opposition sources
saying that Turkey has become a party to the civil war in Syria have
found their way into court proceedings. During the trial of the Islamic
State (IS) militants who attacked Turkish security forces at Nigde last
year, court files revealed that Turkey, beyond supplying opposition
forces with weapons and ammunition, had also given artillery support to
the opposition groups that captured Kassab. The prosecutor obtained
striking admissions by tapping the defendants' phones. According to
documents obtained by Ahmet Sik of Cumhuriyet, the wiretapping
transcripts reveal that the opposition forces at Kassab inform people in
Turkey of the coordinates of Syrian army positions around Kassab, and
then Turkey shells those locations.
Since August 2014, the US Air Force with the support of a coalition of 19 countries has relentlessly waged an intensified air campaign against Syria and Iraq allegedly targeting the Islamic State brigades.
According to Defense News, over 16,000 airstrikes were carried out from August 2014 to mid January 2015. Sixty percent of the air strikes were conducted by the US Air Force using advanced jet fighter and bombing capabilities (Aaron Mehta, "A-10 Performing 11 Percent of Anti-ISIS Sorties". Defense News, January 19, 2015.)
The airstrikes have been casually described by the media as part of a "soft" counter-terrorism operation, rather than an act of all out war directed against Syria and Iraq.
In a military victory that may very well rival the liberation of Qusayr in terms of significance, on February 17, the SAA officially encircled the entirety of Syria's largest city Aleppo. In so doing, the SAA was also able to seal off the road leading into the city from the North which has been used as a supply route for the terrorist death squads receiving reinforcements and supplies from Turkey since the beginning of the crisis.
While not controlled by the Western-backed terrorist forces entirely, large portions of Aleppo have fallen under death squad control since NATO began backing jihadists forces in earnest in 2010. The Syrian military has long sought to establish control over the entirety of the city and, over the last several months, the SAA has been fighting to do just that. Over the last few weeks, however, the SAA was able to win a number of key battles and take control over a several key villages that enabled it to position itself all the way around Aleppo.
Iceland jailed their bankers. Iraq and Libya are kicking out their recently installed US puppet rulers. The plan to start a confrontation with Russia via Ukraine to protect the dollar from the Ruble is crumbling, and the plan to install a new government in Syria, now in its fourth year, by backing Al Qaeda against Assad is stalled as are the plans for war with Iran and China.
The US/PNAC plan to conquer the world and force it back to Bretton-Woods and the petrodollar is in serious trouble.
Message to the government watchers monitoring this site; I did warn you the US could lose this one, didn't I?
The US/PNAC plan to conquer the world and force it back to Bretton-Woods and the petrodollar is in serious trouble.
Message to the government watchers monitoring this site; I did warn you the US could lose this one, didn't I?
Has Russia's Vladimir Putin pulled Barack Obama's chestnuts out of the fire for a second time?
Will the shaky cease-fire in Ukraine that began this weekend hold up and end a conflict that was threatening a nuclear war between the United States and Russia?
The answer to the first question is yes. Remember back in 2013 when the Obama White House was threatening to attack Syria over allegations it was using poison gas?
As it turned out, the UN found it was the US-backed Syrian rebels who were likely to have used chemical weapons rather than the Damascus regime.
The Syrian army backed by allied militia has captured several villages north of Aleppo from insurgents and fighting has blocked a main supply route leading into the northern city, an activist group said Tuesday.
A U.N. mediator has been struggling to broker a ceasefire in Aleppo and government forces had long been expected to try to encircle it completely, aiming to drive insurgents from Syria's second city and take control of their main supply road.
Washington is working to install a new air base in Iraq's Kurdistan to be used in a campaign against Islamic State (ISIS), media report. This comes as the White House's special envoy on ISIS speaks of a ground operation in Iraq against the militants.
This time an American stronghold in the region will be deployed in Erbil, the capital of semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq that is expected to be used as a logistics hub to supply primarily munitions for warplanes of the US-led coalition against ISIS militants.
"The base is close to Erbil, the capital of the regional government…The warplanes will do surveillance, but the warplanes which will bomb ISIL targets will not take off from here," Helgurt Hikmet, spokesperson for the Ministry of Peshmerga (Kurdish self-defense forces) said, as cited by Anadolu Agency.
No matter what Obama has promised, we will see troops on the ground in Iraq, and most probably, Syria; the "good reason" will be to "conquer Isis" the real reasons will be to re-control Iraq, and create regime change in Syria.
We already have 4,000 additional ground troops about to begin staging in Kuwait.
As Congress mulls America's war with the Islamic State terror group, more than 4,000 Fort Carson soldiers prepared Thursday to leave for Kuwait, where they will take over as America's largest ground force in the troubled region.The 3rd Brigade Combat Team bid farewell to the post in a ceremony and soon will serve as U.S. Central Command's Reserve force in the Middle East - the first soldiers into battle if a major combat force is used to battle Islamic State fighters.
You cannot bring people 'in country' and expect them to "wait" before deployment. They must be utilized, and quickly.
And BTW, does anyone, except me, remember the cleric Muqtata Al Sadr, who demanded that the US honor their SOFA with the Iraqi government, or our troops would come under attack?!?
This guy is still alive and kicking.
I shudder to think about what he and the Mahdi Army will be willing to do, if he sees that US troops are back, on the ground, in Iraq.
President Obama hasn't gotten approval for his "intentionally vague" Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) against ISIS, but the Pentagon is already scrambling to escalate its military presence in the region in preparation of the ground war it would start.
Over 4,000 ground combat troops from Fort Carson's 3rd Brigade are being sent to Kuwait under this new deployment, where they will make up the region's largest collection of US ground troops, which will include heavy armored vehicles.
Even as President Obama continues to deny plans for a ground war, it's not a secret what the troops are being sent to Kuwait for, and officials say they're prepared for "any contingency," which in this context means a fight with ISIS.
IF Obama does not get the Congressional Authorization for a use of force, he will do what he wants with one, or several Executive Orders.
It is a fascinating component to his personality, as a former lecturer on Constitutional Law, to see that he believes, as President, he is absolutely and utterly above the law.
Extrajudicial assassinations in foreign countries? No problem! The sending of forces to the Middle East to project US military power and ultimately engage in ground combat without Congressional approval?!? No problem! To surveille everything everyone says or writes in a blog to determine if they are a "threat potential"? No problem!!
He just did the last one yesterday, via Executive Order.
As reported yesterday in zerohedge.com:
Here come the "information sharing and analysis organizations", or ISAOs. * * * In the aftermath of the Snowden whistleblowing scandal which has now all but been forgotten, there was a brief period when it seemed the growth of the US spying apparatus would be halted if not put into reverse. Those days are long forgotten and later today Obama is expected to to sign an executive order "that aims to make it easier for the government to share classified cyberthreat information with companies." The spin, as proposed by the WSJ, is that "this will be effort designed to spur collaboration and deter hackers, the White House said." In reality what Obama's latest executive order will do, is expand the universe of entities that has access to the trove of private confidential data contained in the vast government spying apparatus, which as has been made all too clear now focuses as much on US citizens as it does on legitimate foreign threats, and further eviscerate the concept of individual privacy in the US. From Reuters: The order sets the stage for new private-sector led "information sharing and analysis organizations" (ISAOs) - hubs where companies share cyber threat data with each other and with the Department of Homeland Security
"This is a completely fabricated enemy," he said in a phone interview with Press TV from Anaheim, California on Thursday.
"The funding is completely from the United States and its allies and for people to think that this enemy is something that needs to be attacked in Syria or Iraq is a farce because obviously this is something that we create it, we control and only now it has become inconvenient for us to attack this group as a legitimate enemy," Kelley added.
At long last, the Obama administration has submitted a draft resolution to Congress that would authorize the ongoing U.S.-led military intervention against the Islamic State, or ISIS.
The effort comes more than six months after the U.S. began bombing targets in Iraq and Syria. Since then, some 3,000 U.S. troops have been ordered to Iraq, and coalition air forces have carried out over 2,000 bombing runs on both sides of the border.
Better late than never? Maybe not.
"As Leader Pelosi often says, 'Everyone thinks that one more act of violence will end violence for all time, and it never does,'" he said. "In fact, there is no way to win this that is something that we would regard as even acceptable to us on a moral level."
"Of course we have the ability to go ahead and destroy ISIS – we could turn Iraq and Syria into molten glass. But that's something that's beneath us. That's something that shows that the terrorists would have won, because at that point, we would be them."
On December 28, US warplanes leveled the government center in the Syrian town of al-Bab, which is under ISIS control. Locals reported that a number of civilians were killed in the strike.
The Pentagon, as usual, is issuing a blanket denial of responsibility, confirming that they did in fact blow up the building, but insisting "no civilians" were among the slain.
Syrian Nusra Front rebel group releases slick new video, in attempt to take back the initiative from rival ISIS in the propaganda war.
And while ISIS are near Israeli border, Israeli troops never shoot at them...and they never shoot at Israel, interesting, isn't it...!
Israeli Druse in touch with Rebels tells 'Post': The Syrian opposition asked for me to relay a message to the Israeli Prime Minister that Israel should give Hezbollah and Iran another hard hit.
"Ooooh; now THERE is something I had not thought of!!!!!!!!!" -- Nodding Yahoo
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Wednesday morning that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton deserves a lot of blame for instability in the Middle East and the rising numbers of Islamic State (ISIS) recruits.
Paul said that Clinton's intervention in Libya and the assassination of Muammar Gaddafi created space for ISIS jihadists to flourish and grow.
In a new report from the UN, it is revealed that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were maintaining regular contact with members of the so-called Islamic State since May of 2013. Initial reports from the IDF stated that this was only for medical care for civilians, but that story fell apart when the UN observers identified direct contact between IDF forces and ISIS soldiers, including giving medical care to ISIS fighters. Observations even included the transfer of two crates from the IDF to ISIS forces, the contents of which have not been confirmed at this time. Further the UN report identified what the Syrians label a crossing point of forces between Israel and ISIS, a point of concern brought before the UN Security Council. This report from the UN strengthens the claims by the Syrian regime that Israel is heavily involved in operations within the nation.
The Telegraph reports that the CIA has been regularly polygraphing operatives to see if anyone is talking about a gun running operation that was taking place out of Benghazi prior to the 9.11.12 attack.
According to the report, 35 CIA operatives were working in Benghazi when the attack took place. They were allegedly in an "annex near the consulate [working] on a project to supply missiles from Libyan armories to Syrian rebels."
Sources say White House plan will bless anti-Isis war for three years and ensure that Obama, like George W Bush, will hand over two wars to his successor.
Several congressional sources familiar with the outlines of the proposal, all of whom expected the White House to formally unveil it on Wednesday, told the Guardian the so-called Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF) would bless the anti-Isis war for three years.
Congressional language to retroactively justify the six-month-old US war against Isis will not, they said, scrap the broad 9/11-era authorities against al-Qaida, as some congressional Democrats had proposed, meaning the two war authorizations will coexist.
Asked if the anti-Isis AUMF opens the US to a second worldwide war against a nebulous adversary, one congressional aide answered: "Absolutely."
The 3 year timeline in this authorization is a lousy "gift" with which to burden the coming administration, and seems to bring about the conditions leading to a perpetual state of war, something which appears to be what both parties want, in the names of those military industrial corporations which support, overtly, and covertly, both parties.
The establishment of perpetual war is a lousy principle from which create foreign policy, and really lousy for We the People.
A week ago we explained that yet another conspiracy theory, one involving virtually every geopolitical hotzone, from Saudi Arabia, to Russia, the United States, Qatar, Syria, ISIS, and Ukraine, has become fact when our speculation from last September, namely that the plunge in oil was an choreographed move between the US and the Saudis (even if Kerry realized - we hope - that it meant a recession for the US energy producing states and a collapse in the only vibrant US industry of the past decade: shale), one seeking to dislodge Russian control over the Syrian government and to facilitate the passage of a Qatar pipeline under Syrian territory.
The Pentagon says American hostage Kayla Jean Mueller died at the hands of Islamic State and not in a Jordanian airstrike targeting the militant group.
Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby was asked Tuesday if there was any doubt who killed the aid worker.
He replied: "No doubt. ISIL," using the initials the group is known by.
Kirby says U.S. officials still don't know how Mueller died. But he added that officials are certain it was not in one of the airstrikes Jordan launched in retaliation for the killing of one of its pilots.
Get ready for another faked video from SITE!
After several months of sort of spinning its wheels in the war against ISIS, retired Gen. John Allen, who's become sort of the global ambassador to the war, says the Iraqi "ground offensive" will begin in a matter of weeks.
Gen. Allen, whose comments were made to Jordan's state media, said the coalition intends to provide "major firepower" for the offensive, and that the goal is to "take back Iraq."
The comments don't go on to say exactly what this offensive will include, but they certainly give the impression of this being the "big one" which Iraq has been hoping for to try to retake Mosul.
Please take a look at the map on the right hand side of this article.
Mosul, once retaken, would be a perfect staging area for a ground invasion of Syria, under the pretext of "fighting Isis" there.
And General Allen, sir, I have a bone to pick with you: this story should have been in all American outlets, rather than Jordanian outlets, and the coming actions confirmed first.
The UK will send 2,000 specialist troops and a spy plane to Jordan to aid its efforts to defeat the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), a government source has revealed.
The decision follows criticism from the Commons Defence Select Committee that the UK was not committing sufficient troops or resources to the area.
An initial group of 60 military planners will join a coalition HQ in Jordan, which will be used to co-ordinate support of Kurdish and Iraqi troops, followed by a further 2,000 who will mainly act in a training capacity, the source told the Express.
The UK's increased involvement follows Jordan's decision to extend airstrikes from Syria to Iraq.
This situation is escalating exponentially, and I have to wonder: will the RAF be bombing ISIS infrastructure, or that of the Syrian government, in order to "soften Syria up" for a UK/US/Jordanian ground strike in order to achieve regime change here?!?
Only time will tell, but I am seeing a massive increase in military activity in Iraq and beyond.
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MLB Matchups >> LA Dodgers vs. San Diego Preview 04/10/2013
The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres will meet on the field at PETCO Park on Wednesday in a battle of division rivals.
The Dodgers will pin their hopes on the pitching of righthander Chad Billingsley in this game. Billingsley has a 0-0 record and a 0.00 ERA this season.
Billingsley's opponent in this one will be Eric Stults. The Padres lefthander has a 0.00 ERA to go along with a 1-0 record this season.
Oddsmakers currently have the Dodgers listed as 119-moneyline favorites versus the Padres, while the game's total is sitting at 7.
Los Angeles lost its last outing, a 9-3 result against the Padres on April 9. Bettors who backed the Padres at +120 on the moneyline won on the day, and the total score (12) sent OVER bettors to the payout window.
TEAM RECORDS:Los Angeles: 4-3 SU
San Diego: 2-5 SU
LOS ANGELES MOST RECENTLY:When playing on Wednesday are 7-3
Before playing San Diego are 6-4
After playing San Diego are 4-6
After a loss are 7-3
SAN DIEGO MOST RECENTLY:When playing on Wednesday are 4-6
Before playing LA Dodgers are 4-6
After playing LA Dodgers are 5-5
After a win are 4-6
A FEW TRENDS TO CONSIDER:The total has gone OVER in 4 of LA Dodgers's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of LA Dodgers's last 5 games when playing on the road against San Diego
LA Dodgers are 11-4 SU in their last 15 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of LA Dodgers's last 6 games when playing San Diego
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Diego's last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Diego's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Diego's last 5 games when playing at home against LA Dodgers
San Diego is 16-7 SU in its last 23 games at home
NEXT UP:San Diego home to LA Dodgers, Thursday, April 11

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Posts Tagged 'travel'
Vigan named one of New 7 Wonders Cities
I just can't help but feel proud about learning from the news that we got another spot in New Wonders list and this time — for Vigan which is hailed as one of the New Wonder Cities.
Here's a snippet of the news courtesy of Rappler.com
MANILA, Philippines – Ilocos Sur capital Vigan has been selected as one of the New 7 Wonders cities. New 7 Wonders made the announcement via YouTube December 8, 3 am Manila time. (READ: Weekend in Vigan: 12 things to do)
These are the winning cities:
• Beirut, Lebanon
• Doha, Qatar
• Durban, South Africa
• Havana, Cuba
• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• La Paz, Bolivia
• Vigan, Philippines
Aside from the 7 winnners, decided via voting, the following cities rounded out the top 14: Barcelona, Chicago, London, Mexico City, Perth, Quito, and Reykjavik.
Eat My Dust Says Taal Volcano
I've been to Tagaytay for numerous times already but I never had the chance to personally see the beauty of Taal Volcano up close, an active volcano that is still open for tourists (no worries, it's being monitored by PhiVolcs) until last Sunday. We celebrated the birthday of my brother-in-law in Leynes Resort (where my Tatay usually bring his guests from abroad). At first, I'm a bit hesitant to go since I don't prefer walking under the strong ray of sun (who does?). Plus, I was also told that we will consume 30-45 minutes walk just to reach the Taal crater. But after few more conversations, I finally gave in. realized that I'm already there and all I need to do is to move my feet and ride the banca. So the journey started at 2PM.
My siblings, nieces and nephews are with us. We are all 9 in the banca (some only allowed 7 people) but since my Tatay knows the owner of the resort, they have allowed us. So the ride going to the island where the Taal volcano is located took us 30 mins. Then, we paid Php 50 for the entrance ticket and took some pictures. That Sunday has lots of tourists coming over, mostly Koreans. So I guess, they find more fun in the Philippines.
While at the lowland, we are all determined to go up with our feet. Some locales there are offering us tour guide services and horse back riding. The price for the guide, which you will not most likely need is Php 500 for the entire group and the horse rent is Php 500 (back and forth with tour guide). We did actually not mind them at the start of the trail as we have been warned about the prices.
I bought a mask to cover my face from dust and smelly shit of the horses. So we started walking but locales there are still persistent in getting us. At first, trekking is exciting but as we go along, I think after 10 minutes of walking under the sun, we've decided to be at halt. Then, after a few minutes of bargaining, we finally rented the horses. And we are all glad, we did! For non-hikers like us and especially there are children traveling with us, it's a way to go. The narrow road is shared by both walking tourists and the horses with their passengers. I think we can do the walking if there are no many tourists at that time.
After approximately 30 minutes, we finally reached the Taal Volcano crater. The first word I uttered is "awesome". It's my first time to see a volcano and it's definitely worth the effort. I suddenly felt that I've conquered the world. (O.A. though). We also played golf!
Some tips and notes when going to Taal Volcano:
1. As soon as you arrived in Tagaytay, locales there will welcome you with a sign board, Boat Ride and Taal Trekking. Some will price you with Php 1,000-1,500 per head (that not includes the entrance fee and horse riding). We literally did not do the trekking because we rode a horse. Our rent for the banca is Php 1000. Some says you could rent a banca for 1,500 (good for 7 people) so try to do some bargaining.
2. Gear yourself. If you have already planned to go to Taal, I suggest that you bring a face mask, wear shades and hat. While you can buy mask at the lowland for Php 20 pesos and rent a beach hat for 50 pesos, it's still advisable that you bring your own. I bet you during the sunny days, you'll need them.
3. Wear a thin clothes and comfy shoes/sandals. If you don't mind the sunburn, you can wear anything you want. I don't know what the proper attire would be but I wore a thin sweater that can be folded and jeans. While riding the horse, I still felt the heat of the sun penetrating in my skin. I'm actually wearing shoes but decided to borrow my Tatay's slippers because we will ride banca and I don't want my shoes to be wet, in case.
4. Play golf at the top. Why not? Well, my first impression is that what if the crater will be filled with golf balls? The locales there told us that it is being cleaned by PhiVolcs peeps so we don't have to worry about the environment. I think it's true since they were told that the golf balls from the crater is being sold to them again. It's Php 50 per ball but we got it for Php 25 each.
5. Bring water. Even if you decide to rent a horse, it's also recommended that you bring a bottle of water. The price of water and other sodas there is an oozing Php 50 (which is only Php 10). C'mon, it's hard to bring those up.
6. Give something for our tour guides. I interviewed our tour guide and I learned that they only earn Php 60 pesos for every back and forth horse back ride and the rest of the payment goes to the owner of the horse. It's sad to know that sometimes especially during weekdays, they only have one to two trips a day. Not really enough for the daily "baon" of their children. And that's her in red long sleeves shirt.
7. We were able to rent our horse for Php500 for two persons. Those horses don't have numbers and you can find those after a few minutes of walking from the lowland. Try to bargain them.
I'd say that trekking is for people who want to challenge themselves. If you only want to see Taal Volcano, ride a horse. You can still enjoy the journey without tiring yourself so much. We headed back to Leynes Resort at 5:30 PM — almost sunset. Here are more photos to look at.
Where Do You Buy Money When Going Abroad?
Money is first and most important thing to consider when going abroad. While most travelers are using their plastic money or credit cards, it's still a must to bring the currency of your chosen destination. This is the money you will use in small and emergency expenses like fare.
Each time I travel abroad, I usually bring US Dollars since it is the international money. Then, I have them exchanged in my destination country. How about you? Where do you usually get your money when going abroad. Cast your vote on my poll located at the right side of this page.
Oh by the way, here's the result of our last poll.