The truth at any cost lowers all other costs — curated by former US spy Robert David Steele.
Russia-US: President Putin's opinion piece which was printed by the New York Times is well-written, well-reasoned and insufferable. After their invasion of Georgia in 2008 and operations in Chechnya, the Russians have no standing to lecture anyone about international law and the use of force.
However, Putin helped reset the discussion about the 21 August attack. He admitted that “poison gas” was used without specifying the agent. He wrote that there is reason to believe that the rebels executed the attack to provoke western intervention. He also said that the report of a rebel chemical attack against Israel cannot be ignored.
In attempting to manipulate the US leadership, he spotlighted the unsettling prospect that the Syrian opposition groups are doing the same. The other side of the story that the Russians credit more than US is that the Syrian opposition groups are not gallant freedom fighters in any civilized sense.
Russia-US-Syria: For the record. Russian news agencies quoted a Russian source as saying: “We handed over to the Americans a plan to place chemical weapons in Syria under international control. We expect to discuss it in Geneva.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry and their delegations are scheduled to meet in Geneva on 12 September to discuss the proposal.
Comment: The Russians evidently do have a plan. Meanwhile, the UN Secretary General said the UN report of findings on the 21 August attack would be available next Monday, the 16th.
If the Syrian government judged it needed chemical weapons to defeat the opposition groups, it would seem unwise to agree to place them under international control pending destruction. Asad's advisors apparently judge they can win without these weapons provided the US does not intervene. Hmm…
Syria: Update. Opposition sources say government forces attacked the hills around Ma'aloula village early on Monday under the cover of heavy shelling. The Christian village is reported to be almost empty after most of its residents fled following the arrival of the foreign-backed militants last week. According to a resident, who left the area in the past days, only around 50 people remain there.
Militants from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front and the Qalamun Liberation Front are reported to be in control of some parts of the historic village, which is located about 70 kilometers northeast of Damascus.
Comment: Since 1999 this village has been on UNESCO's Tentative List of World Heritage sites.
Politics. The Syrian government has accepted a Russian proposal to put its chemical weapons under international control to avoid a possible U.S. military strike, Interfax news agency quoted Syria's foreign minister as saying on Tuesday.
Syrian Foreign Minister Mu'allim said, “We held a very fruitful round of talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday, and he proposed an initiative relating to chemical weapons. And in the evening we agreed to the Russian initiative.” He said Syria had agreed because this would “remove the grounds for American aggression.”
Before leaving Moscow, the Foreign Minister made several astounding announcements reported by Russian media. He said,
Berto Jongman: CIA Fabrication of Evidence
Berto Jongman: Critical Analysis of Obama Speech on Syria
Berto Jongman: Expert Views on Russian Proposal
Berto Jongman: Hearing on US Domestic Implications of Syria Confrontation
Berto Jongman: Israeli Bio-Chemical Program and Capabilities
Berto Jongman: Porter on Cherrypicking Intelligence
Berto Jongman: Rebels and Chemical Weapons in Syria
Berto Jongman: Syria Chemical Weapons
Paul Craig Roberts: Another False Flag in the Making?
Paul Craig Roberts: John Pilger on Hiroshima to Syria
Paul Craig Roberts: Washington's Use of Chemical Weapons Over Time
NIGHTWATCH:
“There are very dark storm clouds gathering around the country and North America as a whole. Things are about to get dark, very dark in just a few short weeks. In just over two months, on November 13-14, 2013, the lights are about to go out. Will the lights come back on? It depends on who you ask. Given the past behavior of those in power, it would behoove all of us to prepare for the fact that we could be living for an extended time with no electricity…The working scenario that has emerged is that World War III is on the horizon. Syria was to be the flash point. However, with American and international sentiment running so high against American involvement in the Syrian conflict, Obama needs a Plan B in order to get America into war, because it does not appear that Congress is going to give him the authorization that he needs to force our way in Syria culminating in a military stand off between the Russians and the Chinese and the United States. Subsequently, if Obama fails to obtain Congressional support to attack Syria, he could very well turn his attention to the take down of the power grid and he could still achieve his goals in under two months.
Continue reading “Owl: Dark Days in America — Mid-November?”
London surgeons help ‘children of Agent Orange'
Includes 4 Minute Video – Compelling
The Vietnam War ended nearly 40 years ago, but the casualties continue as birth defects plague the country.
There are claims that thousands of children continue to be born with horrific facial deformities due to the 20 million gallons of Agent Orange chemical sprayed by the United States.
The Vietnamese call the disfigured youngsters ‘the children of Agent Orange'.
Da Nang in central Vietnam is thought to have the highest level of congenital deformity in the world.
Inside Out's Mark Jordan joins a team of top London plastic surgeons on their unpaid mission to help these children through the charity Facing the World.
Inside Out is broadcast on Monday, 9 September at 19:30 BST on BBC One London and nationwide on the iPlayer for seven days thereafter.
Russia: Russia will send another large landing ship, the Nikolai Filchenkov, toward Syria's coast, a Russian navy source said Sept. 6, Reuters reported, citing Interfax. The ship will take special cargo on board in Novorossiysk before heading to Syria. No details about the cargo were provided.
Comment: This is the sixth large landing ship that Russia has deployed to the Syrian coast. That makes nine ships mentioned by name since 4 September and moving to Syria. Russia does not want a naval engagement with the US, but might not be averse to a non-shooting confrontation.
Russia is evacuating by air Russian passport holders who wish to leave. An aircraft arrived at Latakia for that purpose on 8 September.
Comment: In August Russia sent two flights to evacuate 116 Russians and citizens from ex-Soviet states. The large landing ships would be essential for a large scale evacuation, which Russia denies it has ordered.
Lebanon: The US ordered the evacuation of non-emergency official personnel and families from Beirut and offered to evacuate Americans from Adana, Turkey on Friday. It advised against travel to Lebanon and southeastern Turkey and for residents to be alert for violence in light of tensions in the region..
Comment: This evacuation aims to put the most vulnerable Americans beyond the reach of Hizballah which vows retaliation for any US attack against Syria. It also supposedly is a safety precaution before the anniversary of 9/11. Senior American officials have argued in public that Syria, Iran and Hizballah will not retaliate. On the other hand, spokesmen from each entity have vowed they will.
The inclusion of Adana in the order provides a little insight into the US war plan. Americans in Adana will be a risk from US operations. apparently. That implies that more than cruise missile launches will be involved.
Reassurances are fine as political science theory, but the vows of retaliation are real threats because they are backed up by capability. More evacuations and many more precautions will be necessary.
