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U.S. Responsible for Two - Thirds of All Military Conflicts
Nov 28th, 2014
Daily NewsRT
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

More than 40 ships and submarines representing 15 international partner nations travel in formation in the Pacific Ocean during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2014 exercise in this U.S. Navy photo taken July 25, 2014. (Reuters/U.S. Navy) 

US interference in the internal affairs of countries around the world has brought neither peace, nor democracy, said Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister. America’s double standard experiments in supporting terrorists are provoking further destabilization.

“Think of it, over the last decades the US initiated two-thirds of all military conflicts (worldwide). Call to memory, how it all turned out in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria,” Russia’s deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said, addressing colleagues from the Southern and Southeast Asian states in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

“Using social and economic difficulties, various ethnical and religious conflicts and under the pretext of spreading democracy, Western political spin masters add populist slogans to the fire of public discontent, provoking mass disturbances,” he said. “As a result, a lawful government is taken down, chaos, abuse of power and lawlessness spread, people die, and in some cases a regime favorable to the West is brought into power. Of course, terrorists feel comfortable in such conditions.”

Antonov called on the US authorities to “give up double standards in the implementation of counter-terrorist measures” and stop dividing terrorists into good and bad ones.

“No matter what slogans terrorists use – they should remain outlaws,” Antonov said, speaking about the current disastrous situations in Syria and Iraq as a vivid example of consequences of such"intellectual experiments"

Russian top brass stressed their concern over the creation of terrorist organizations for serving the specific needs of certain states. A classic example is the Taliban movement in Afghanistan, created to combat the Soviet Union, but which ended as the Al-Qaeda terrorist network that bit back hard at the US.

Russia is always ready to cooperate in fighting terrorism and to coordinate activities to defeat the new challenge presented by the Islamic State, Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister said, pointing out that Moscow has never stopped supplying legitimate governments with weapons and military hardware to ease their fight against religious extremism.

A Dostum mujahideen fighter runs as he fires his AK-47 machine gun against advancing Hezb-i-Islami rebels at the Bala Hishar palace in Kabul on April 26, 1992. (Reuters/Richard Ellis)

Initially created to eliminate President Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria, it became a terror threat for the whole Middle East region, Antonov said.

Another global threat to world security and stability is the so-called global trend in “color revolutions” Antonov said, comparing the ongoing protests in Hong-Kong with the Maidan protests in Ukraine, which ended in chaos, mass murder, economic downturn, split of the country and eventually – a civil war.

The deputy defense minister blamed the US for “pushing Ukraine to the abyss” in an internal conflict, which has already killed thousands through the support of an unconstitutional power takeover.”

For those who doubt that “color revolutions” are not typical for the Southeast Asian states, Antonov highlighted the fact that “10 percent of Islamic State militants now fighting in Syria and Iraq come from the Southeast Asia.”

“What will happen in the countries of the region when those highly trained militants with battlefield experience come back to their home countries?” Antonov questioned.

It is a primary task of the national armed forces of Southern and Southeast Asian states to maintain regional security and neutralize the potential threat of color revolutions internally, Antonov stressed, proposing to develop closer ties between national defense forces.

The US foreign is now bringing instability to the Asia-Pacific (A/P) region, developing its global missile defense network under the pretext of a North Korean nuclear threat.

“In reality, American global missile defense is aimed at undermining regional and international security and poses a serious threat to the Asia-Pacific region,” Antonov said.

The US is beefing up its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region with nuclear air carriers and strategic bombers “under a vain pretext” in order to master other countries policies, Antonov said, noting that the region’s governments suffered unprecedented pressure recently when Washington forced them to “join illegal anti-Russian (economic) sanctions.”

The military potential being readied by Washington “considerably exceeds the level required to neutralize any existing or potential missile threat,” Antonov said.

Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister recalled President Vladimir Putin saying some time ago that America’s attempts to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs usually end up in a catastrophe.

Addressing a gathering on Lake Seliger in Russia’s Tver regionin in August, President Vladimir Putin said that he had an impression that “whatever Americans touch they always end up with Libya or Iraq.

Syria Says U.S. - Led Strikes Have not Weakened Islamic State
Nov 28th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Jerusalem Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

BEIRUT - Syria's foreign minister said US-led air strikes had failed to weaken Islamic State it in Syria and the jihadist group would not be tackled unless Turkey was forced to tighten border controls.

A US-led alliance started attacking Islamic State targets in Syria in September as part of a wider effort to destroy the al Qaeda offshoot that has seized large areas of the country and neighboring Iraq.

"All the indications say that (Islamic State) today, after two months of coalition air strikes, is not weaker," Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said in an interview with the Beirut-based Al Mayadeen TV broadcast on Friday.

The Syrian government has said it was willing to join the fight against Islamic State, but the United States refuses to deal with President Bashar al-Assad, who it says has lost legitimacy and must leave power.

"If the Security Council and Washington do not force Turkey to control its borders then all of this action will not eliminate (Islamic State)," Moualem said, referring to foreign jihadists who have crossed into Syria from Turkey.

Let the Headlines Speak
Nov 28th, 2014
Daily NewsFrom the internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Will OPEC bankrupt US shale producers?
he OPEC's contentious decision to keep its production target, leaving the market with a supply glut, could trigger a wave of debt defaults by U.S. shale oil producers, warn analysts. The 12-member oil cartel on Thursday said it would stick to its output target of 30 million barrels a day, triggering a sharp decline in oil prices, with U.S. crude futures tumbling nearly $6 to $67.75 on Friday - the lowest since May 2010.  

Israel slams Ankara: This is no way for a NATO state to act
Israeli officials used diplomatic language on Thursday when responding to revelations that the Hamas cell uncovered in the West Bank received orders and training from operatives in Turkey, but this belied anger that Hamas has apparently moved the center of its overseas operations from Syria to Turkey.  

Japan’s Two-Year Note Yield Declines Below Zero for First Time
Japan’s two-year note yields dropped below zero for the first time as investors prepared for an auction of the securities today. The Ministry of Finance is scheduled to sell 2.7 trillion yen ($23 billion) of debt maturing in December 2016. Two-year yields reached zero on Nov. 19 after the Bank of Japan decided last month to expand the annual pace of its bond buying to 80 trillion yen. Yields at a sale of three-month treasury bills fell below zero for the first time on Oct. 23.  

Six killed in Kabul suicide attack on UK Embassy vehicle
Gunfire and explosions rocked Kabul as Taliban militants attacked a central district that houses several embassies and foreign compounds, hours after a suicide bomber targeted a British Embassy vehicle, killing six people. Attacks across Kabul have increased in recent weeks as US-led Nato forces prepare to wrap up their 13-year combat mission against the Taliban insurgents at the end of this year.  

Oil prices plummet as OPEC decides against output cut
Crude prices plunged Thursday after the powerful Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it wouldn't cut production levels to stem the collapse in oil prices that have fallen 40% since June.  

"Panicking" Ukrainians Face Soaring Prices, Warn "Inflation Is War"
With Ukraine, according to President Poroshenko, on the verge of World War III, it appears the people of the divided nation face another all too familiar war... on their living standards. As Hyrvnia continues to collapse to record-er lows, Ukraine's Central Bank warns of further stress and FX (think US Dollar or EUR) demand because the "population is in panic."  

ECB's Draghi: Euro monetary union 'incomplete'
European Central Bank head Mario Draghi says the euro currency union remains "incomplete" and needs to be strengthened with better oversight of member countries' economic policies to avoid future crises.  

Jordanians Protest Against 'Dangerous' Jewish State Law
Nov 28th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Jerusalem Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Islamist protesters shout anti-Israel slogans during demonstration in Amman

Reuters

Hundreds of Jordanians on Friday joined a rally organized by the Muslim Brotherhood to denounce Israeli plans to enshrine in law the country's status as the national Jewish homeland.

An estimated 1,500 protesters set off from the Husseini mosque in downtown Amman holding up signs saying "Al-Aqsa is in danger", according to AFP.

"There is a greater danger today, and that is the Jewish state draft law," Hamzeh Mansur, the former head of the Brotherhood's Islamic Action Front party, told the protesters.

"Where is Jordan's custodianship over Jerusalem and where is the promised Palestinian state?" he asked.

The protest comes amid tensions between Israel and Jordan in recent weeks, mostly around the Temple Mount, over which the Jordanian Waqf has control which it uses to restrict Jewish prayer and build illegal structures on the compound.

Jordan recently withdrew its ambassador from Israel, after violent Arab riots on the Temple Mount which it blamed on the Jewish state. There have also been calls by the Islamist dominated parliament to cancel the treaty with Israel in response to the tension on the Temple Mount. Jordan’s Prime Minister has rejected those calls.

Jordan has accused Israel of planning to change the status quo at the Temple Mount so it is not discriminatory against Jews. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, however, recently declared his intention to maintain the status quo at the site, emphasizing that Jews would continue to be allowed to visit, but a ban on praying would remain.

The Jewish State law, which was the subject of Friday’s protest, seeks to enshrine in law Israel’s being a Jewish state.

A Knesset vote on the bill has been postponed due to vehement opposition to it among coalition members, mostly by Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who has been a vocal opponent of the proposed law.

The law has also been condemned by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which said this week that it “is a racist political decision that is built to negate the Palestinian rights and to control the land, and it contradicts international law...and the law institutionalizes racism and discrimination in all fields of life, by implementing (Prime Minister Binyamin) Netanyahu's plan to turn Israel into a country based on racism by law."

Japan Volcano Mount Aso Eruption Hits Flights
Nov 28th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Straits Times
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Smoke rising from Mount Aso at Kumamoto on Japan's southern island of Kyushu on Nov 26, 2014. -- PHOTO: AFP

TOKYO (AFP) - Flights in Japan were cancelled or diverted on Thursday to avoid a cloud of ash and smoke spewing from an erupting volcano in the south.

Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways warned passengers of "a number of cancellations and changed destinations" on routes involving Kumamoto airport because of the 800-metre column of debris from Mount Aso.

"Today we cancelled eight flights departing from Kumamoto and four flights arriving there," a JAL spokesman said.There was also one flight which changed destination to a nearby airport," he said, adding that more could be affected if the eruption worsens.

- See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/east-asia/story/japan-volcano-mount-aso-eruption-hits-flights-20141127#sthash.J64leJKC.dpuf

I'm Among the First Swedes With a Microchip
Nov 28th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy News Watch
Categories: Prophecy;Contemporary Issues

Canadian Planes Seeing Less Air Time in Fight Against ISISl
Nov 28th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Vancouver Sun
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Canadian military aircraft tasked with fighting the Islamic State in Iraq are spending most of their time on the ground.

Canada is contributing six CF-18 fighter jets, two Aurora military surveillance aircraft and a Polaris refuelling plane to the U.S.-led bombing campaign against ISIL.

The aircraft began flying sorties on Oct. 30, and by the end of the first week had logged a total of 42. Those included an airstrike that destroyed four ISIL construction vehicles.

But the pace has since slowed, particularly over the past week. While the CF-18s and other aircraft flew a combined 26 and 35 sorties in the war’s second and third weeks, only 13 sorties were flown between Nov. 20 and 26.  (The military counts a sortie every time one of its planes embarks on a mission. If two planes are involved in the same mission, it counts as two sorties.)

Of the 13 sorties, six were flown by the CF-18s, or exactly one mission per fighter jet over the entire six days. The Auroras flew four while the Polaris flew three. Each sortie is believed to run about four to six hours.

A U.S.-led command centre is responsible for assigning missions to all coalition aircraft, and the Canadian commander on the ground, Col. Daniel Constable, said Thursday that Canada accomplished everything asked of it.

But Constable also said two weeks ago that coalition forces were having a hard time finding ISIL targets, and the latest update indicates the situation hasn’t gotten any better.

This was the first week in which Canadian warplanes did not launch an attack against ISIL targets, after destroying the construction vehicles, an artillery piece, a warehouse and a bunker during the previous three weeks.

Constable said the most noteworthy Canadian mission of the past week was escorting an allied transport plane dropping water, tents, blankets and other supplies to Iraqi civilians.

He would not say which country was behind the humanitarian drop, how much aid was delivered, when the mission happened, or where, citing concerns the information would help ISIL. National Defence spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier later revealed the transport plane was Australian.

Le Bouthillier also said that when Canadian aircraft are not flying a mission, they can undergo “routine maintenance” to make sure they are ready for the next assignment.

With Canadian warplanes having little to do in Iraq, the discussion turns to the future of the six-month combat mission. In particular, the government will be faced with the question of whether to end operations or, conversely, expand into Syria.

Syria has been embroiled in a complex, bloody civil war since 2011, and unlike in Iraq, the Syrian government has not invited Canada or its allies to fight ISIL within its borders. That has created legal hurdles amid fears Canada could be drawn into a broader conflict.

While Syria has been off-limits to the Canadian military, the U.S. and some Arab allies have sidestepped the Syrian government to launch attacks against ISIL forces there since the summer. There has been speculation in recent weeks that Canada will follow suit.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s spokesman, Stephen Lecce, would not comment Thursday on the possibility of expanding the mission into Syria.

“Canada is focused on our current mission: air strikes against ISIL in Iraq, and soldiers performing an advise-and-assist function,” he said, referring to the several dozen Canadian special forces troops working with Kurdish and Iraqi government forces in northern Iraq.

Justice Minister Peter MacKay told the CBC last weekend that the government had discussed the idea of expanding the mission with other allies, and that lawyers in his department were working to eliminate the legal hurdles.

“We’re operating against an enemy (ISIL) that does not respect any borders,” he said.