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Monday, 25 May 2015

U.S. admits to backing 'questionable actors' (i.e. Al Qaeda/ISIS) in Syria


Mindless U.S.-backed puppet troll in Syria.

    
Taking advantage of a Syrian military stretched thin to protect everywhere at the same time, high concentrations of well-coordinated Al Qaeda forces, based in NATO-member Turkey as well as in US-allies Jordan and Saudi Arabia, have attacked across several fronts. The tactical and strategic gains are minimal compared to the initial stages of the West's proxy war against Syria beginning in 2011, but the Western media is intentionally fanning the flames of hysteria specifically to break both support for Syria from abroad, and fracture resistance from within.

This latest attempt to overwhelm the Syrian people, its government, and its armed forces comes with several shocking revelations. Previously, veteran award-winning journalists foretold the coming conflict in Syria, warning how the US, Saudi Arabia, and Israel were openly planning to use Al Qaeda as a proxy force to overthrow Syria first, then Iran and how it would unfold into a cataclysmic sectarian war. There were also signed and dated policy papers advocating the use of terrorism and the provocation of war to directly target Iran after Syria and Hezbollah had been sufficiently weakened.

However, now, there is a US Department of Defense (DoD) document confirming without doubt that the so-called "Syrian opposition" is Al Qaeda, including the so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS), and that the opposition's supporters - the West, Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar - specifically sought to establish safe havens in Iraq and eastern Syria, precisely where ISIS is now based.

America is Behind ISIS

Looking at maps recently produced by the Western media and Western policy think tanks, it can be seen clearly that Al Qaeda/ISIS is streaming out of NATO and US ally territory, forming up in these two safe havens, and aimed both at the Syrian government and Iran.

Despite the Western narrative of "moderate rebels," the West itself has been increasingly admitting that such "rebels" do not exist. They also admit that to establish "stability," they must begin openly working with "questionable actors."

Michael O'Hanlon, a signatory of the Brookings Institution's "Which Path to Persia?" policy paper calling for terrorism and intentional provocations to overthrow the government of Iran, stated in a op-ed titled, "Michael O'Hanlon: American boots needed in Syria," that:

In the short term, this strategy requires an acceleration of our train and equip program for Syrian opposition fighters — including perhaps a bit less puritanical approach in who we are willing to work with. Most Syrian moderates are tired of waiting for us, or already dead given our delays in helping them. So we may have to tolerate working with some questionable actors to get things started.

"Working with some questionable actors," is O'Hanlon and US policymakers' way of saying they intend to provide open material support to terrorists, including Al Qaeda, as they've been covertly doing all along, and as was warned against as early as 2007 by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh in his article, "The Redirection: Is the Administration's new policy benefiting our enemies in the war on terrorism?" which explicitly stated (emphasis added):

To undermine Iran, which is predominantly Shiite, the Bush Administration has decided, in effect, to reconfigure its priorities in the Middle East. In Lebanon, the Administration has coƶperated with Saudi Arabia's government, which is Sunni, in clandestine operations that are intended to weaken Hezbollah, the Shiite organization that is backed by Iran. The U.S. has also taken part in clandestine operations aimed at Iran and its ally Syria. A by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda.

If Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists predicting verbatim the Syrian conflict and Western support for Al Qaeda terrorists years before these events unfolded, and US policymakers are now openly admitting they are willing to work with Al Qaeda isn't convincing enough, perhaps a signed and dated Department of Defense document admitting as much is.

DoD Document Admits Plot to Carve Out Safe Haven for ISIS

Judicial Watch, a US-based foundation seeking "transparency" in government, released a 7-page document dated 2012, detailing the background and status of the Syrian conflict. It admits that the Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaeda form the basis of the "opposition." It then admits that (emphasis added):

Development of the current events into proxy war: with support from Russia, China, and Iran, the regime is controlling the areas of influence along coastal territories (Tartus and Latakia), and is fiercely defending Homs, which is considered the primary transportation route in Syria. On the other hand, opposition forces are trying to control the eastern areas (Hasaka and Der Zor), adjacent to the western Iraqi provinces (Mosul and Anbar), in addition to neighboring Turkish borders. Western countries, the Gulf States and Turkey are supporting these efforts.

It also admits that terrorists are entering Syria from Iraq, hardly what one could call a "civil war," and clearly instead an invasion.

The document also admits that (emphasis added):

The opposition forces will try to use the Iraqi territory as a safe haven for its forces taking advantage of the sympathy of the Iraqi border population, meanwhile trying to recruit fighters and train them on the Iraqi side, in addition to harboring refugees (Syria).

If the situation unravels there is the possibility of establishing a declared or undeclared Salafist principality in eastern Syria (Hasaka and Der Zor), and this is exactly what the supporting powers to the opposition want, in order to isolate the Syrian regime, which is considered the strategic depth of the Shia Expansion (Iraq and Iran).

That "Salafist principality" mentioned by the DoD in 2012 is of course now known as the "Islamic State." The DoD at the time openly admitted that the opposition's foreign sponsors supported the creation of such a principality, and clearly ISIS must have had such support to maintain its hold on vast expanses of territory in both Syria and Iraq, while propping up a military machine capable of fighting the combined forces of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. Indeed, the DoD's admissions in this document explain precisely how ISIS has been able to perpetuate its activities throughout the region - with "Western countries, the Gulf States, and Turkey" supporting these efforts.

Narratives of a US "war on the Islamic State" are meant clearly to obscure this admitted and documented conspiracy, and serve as a means for US troops to directly violate Syrian airspace and territory incrementally until US forces are able to openly begin dismantling the Syrian military and government directly.

Appeasement and Accommodation are not Options

The Syrian war is not a localized conflict with limited goals. It is one leg of a much larger agenda to destroy Iran next, then move on to Russia and China. Combined with the Syrian campaign, the West has attempted to create arcs of destabilization across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and completely encircling China in Southeast Asia.

What this constitutes is a World War executed through the use of 4th generation warfare. At the same time, the West attempts to seek temporary appeasement and accommodation for itself so that it can more effortlessly advance its plans. Attempts to portray itself as interested in "negotiations" with Iran while it wages a proxy war on its doorstep is a prime example of this.

The corporate-financier special interests that have hijacked the United States and Europe have essentially declared war on all lands beyond their grasp, as well as on any and all among their own ranks who oppose their hegemonic aspirations.

The vile conspiracy now openly unfolding in Syria, seeing to its destruction at the hands of terrorists the US is openly backing after claiming for over a decade to be "fighting" is a harbinger of the destruction that complacency and failure to resist will bring all other nations caught in the path of these special interests. Nations not immediately caught in the grip of chaos created by this conspiracy must use their time wisely, preparing the appropriate measures to resist. They must study carefully what has been done in Syria and learn from both the mistakes and accomplishments of the Syrian government and armed forces in fighting back.

More important than backing other powers to serve as a counterweight to the West's global aggression, is to identify the consumerist foundation these special interests are built upon and perpetually depend on. By creating alternatives nationally and locally, the swamps from which this global pestilence is emitted can be slowly but permanently drained.

The Charlie Charlie Challenge - what is the spooky craze?

A bizarre new craze is sweeping the internet - but what is this Ouija-board inspired game about?

© The Telegraph, UK
If Charlie is there the pencils will move to indicate his answer.

    
A strange new game is taking over Twitter, fuelled by speculation that its players can connect with a dead Mexican spirit known as Charlie.

The Charlie Charlie Challenge has been played by thousands of young people after a number of videos purported to show supernatural goings-on.

The game entails placing two pencils on a piece of paper in the shape of the cross with the words 'yes' and 'no'. Participants then repeat the phrase "Charlie, Charlie can we play?" in order to connect with the demon.


If Charlie is there the pencils will move to indicate his answer.

One reddit user believes he has uncovered a full explanation of the game:

"The best explanation I have found is here.

You've probably heard of using a Ouija board to contact spirits, but I bet you haven't heard of using pencils to have your questions answered by supernatural beings! The Pencil Game, also called "Charlie, Charlie," is a traditional Mexican ritual wherein players (usually children) are said to contact the spirit of a child named Charlie.

To play The Pencil Game, you will need six pencils and a partner. Facing each other, each person must hold three pencils and arrange them as three sides of a box, with the open end facing the other person. It is best to use unsharpened pencils, or to hold the tips so that the eraser ends are pointed toward your partner. The ends of your pencils will need to touch your partner's to form a complete rectangle.

To begin the game, both players must chant: "Charlie, Charlie, can we play?" If the pencils move inward or up, the answer is yes. If they move outward or down, the answer is no. If one side goes one way and the other side goes a different way, it means maybe or the question can't be answered at this time. You can then ask the spirit of Charlie yes or no questions, and he will respond by moving the pencils. Charlie is kind of like the spirit world version of a Magic 8 ball. To end the game, both players must chant: "Charlie, Charlie, can we stop?" After the pencils move, both players drop all of the pencils on the floor to break contact with Charlie."

Needless to say the reaction to the craze has been mixed:

If it all gets too creepy, here's how to "say goodbye" to Charlie:

Tornado rips through northern Mexico border town killing 13 and damaging hundred of homes


Many residents have lost their homes in the tornado

    
At least 13 people have been killed by a tornado that hit the northern Mexico border city of Ciudad Acuna.

Hundreds of homes have been damaged or destroyed in the city, in Coahuila state, which is just across the border from Del Rio, Texas.

Images from the scene showed cars upended and leaning against buildings.

Dozens of people have been injured and officials warned that the death toll could rise.

Coahuila Governor Ruben Moreira, on a visit to the stricken area, said 10 adults and three children had died and a baby was missing. Another 150 people had been taken to hospital, he said.

The missing baby had been strapped into the child-seat of a car, local media reported.

"Most of the dead are people who were outside, not people who were inside their homes," said Ciudad Acuna Mayor Evaristo Lenin Perez.


Cars were blown on to properties by the force of the tornado

    
Rescuers were searching the 750 damaged properties for more casualties.

"There are cars on top of houses, there are dead people lying in the street, it is total chaos," said local resident Maria del Rosario Ramirez, quoted by Mexican newspaper La Jornada.

Victor Zamora, Coahuila's interior secretary, said an area of about seven blocks had been "devastated" by the tornado, which struck at about 06:10 (11:10 GMT).


A passenger bus was flipped over and twisted by the force of the storm

    
Civil protection officials said that eight temporary shelters had been set up for those made homeless by the disaster.

Severe weather is also affecting southern US states including Texas.

A dozen people are missing after flash floods struck the Blanco river in central Texas on Sunday. The floods also damaged hundreds of homes, some of them swept off their foundations.

A tornado damaged a block of flats in Houston over the weekend.

South Front Crisis News 25 May 2015: Ukraine talks and Syria vs. ISIS in Palmyra

    
Subgroups of the Contact Group for settling the civil war in Ukraine will have the next round of talks on June 2, Heidi Tagliavini, the plenipotentiary representative of the European security organization OSCE said on Friday. Notwithstanding the talking, Kiev government is continuing offensive actions in Donbass. During last night, firefights were observed in Donetsk Airport. Settlements Peski, Elenovka and Yasnoe were shelled by mortars and battle-tanks of Kiev's forces. The clashes are continuing in settlement Shirokino which pro-Kiev militants are trying to capture since winter. Apparently, it won't be any constructive dialogue If Ukraine's forces gain any preponderance in clashes before the talks.

The Syrian army is engaged in a "complicated" offensive to liberate the Syrian city of Palmyra from the Islamic State terrorists who overran the city last week. "We estimate that ISIL had over 1,800 militants in the attack. Less than 300 of them are locals but we are still on the outskirts of the city and once we regroup a substantial force things will begin to change," a Syrian army officer said at the Press TV's footage from the front line. On Sunday, the ISIS militants slaughtered 400 civilians, mostly women and children in the central Syrian city since it fell to the insurgents. The massacre came after the terrorists accused the victims of cooperating with the Syrian government and refusing to follow the orders of ISIS.

[embedded content]


United Nations talks to end the conflict in Yemen have been postponed just four days before they were due to begin, a UN official told AFP news agency. Underlining the difficulty of trying to get the rivals around the negotiating table, self-styled Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi laid out demands to attend the talks in a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, insisting Shia Houthi forces must withdraw from territory they have seized. The embattled leader demanded full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2216. The April resolution called on the Houthis to relinquish territory they seized and surrender weapons they took from the army and other state institutions. We remember, US-backed Saudi coalition is bombing Yemen since March 25 in order to support Mr. Hadi's political purposes.

The Russian government has considered and approved a draft free trade zone agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and Vietnam, the cabinet said in a statement. The document has been signed by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and posted on the cabinet's official website. The draft agreement in particular envisions liberalization of trade tariffs between the EAEU and Vietnam through reducing or setting to zero import customs duties on most commodity items included in the range of products of the deal's participants. The new integration association - the EAEU - started operating on January 1, 2015. Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia make part of the EAEU.

Volcano Wolf in Galapagos islands erupts for first time in over thirty years


The eruption of the volcano Wolf on Isabela Island, Galapagos on May 25, 2015

    
A volcano in the Galapagos islands erupted for the first time in more than 30 years Monday, sending streams of lava flowing down its slopes and potentially threatening the world's only colony of pink iguanas. The eruption of the volcano Wolf on Isabela Island, Galapagos on May 25, 2015

The Galapagos National Park warned on Twitter that Isabela Island, where Wolf volcano erupted at dawn, holds "the world's only population" of the iguanas, Conolophus marthae, also known as the Galapagos rosy iguana.

Park officials told AFP they were not immediately able to establish whether the iguanas were at risk from the eruption.

A tourist boat passing by the uninhabited island informed authorities the 1,707-meter (5,600-foot) volcano was erupting.

Park officials then flew over the area to assess the impact of the eruption.

Pictures released by the park show fiery streams of lava trickling down the side of the volcano as a puff of smoke rises into the air and tongues of fire dart from the crater.

Wolf volcano had last erupted in 1982.

Isabela Island is the largest in the Galapagos, the Ecuadoran archipelago made famous by Charles Darwin's studies of its breathtaking biodiversity, which was crucial in his development of the theory of evolution by natural selection.

The island chain, which sits about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) off the coast of Ecuador, is one of the most volcanically active regions in the world.

Isabela island, which strides the equator, also has four other volcanoes: Darwin, Alcedo, Cerro Azul and Sierra Negra.

Neolithic village uncovered near Mursalevo, Bulgaria

Image


The remains of 60 large houses - some two storeys high - have been discovered as part of a Neolithic village built 8,000 years. The image above shows the extent of the village, which is currently being excavated by archaeologists in south west Bulgaria.

    
The stereotype of Stone Age men was cave dwelling brutes rather than sophisticated town planners who lived in two-storey houses.

But archaeologists have uncovered the remains of 60 large houses built 8,000 years ago as part of a Neolithic village, in south west Bulgaria.

Thought to be built by farmers, the town has three parallel streets with homes spread over five acres (215,278 square ft or 20,000 square metres).

The village also features a canal, a port for boats and an unusual cemetery.

Excavation of the site, located near the town of Mursalevo, is underway and has so far yielded pottery and jewellery as well as the fascinating buildings.

It came to light as work began on the construction of the Struma Highway - a main road intended to link the Bulgarian capital Sofia, with the Kulata Crossing on the border with Greece.

Archaeologists from the National Institute and Museum of Archaeology of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences have unearthed prehistoric houses that would have stood 26 feet (eight metres) tall with two sloped roofs, Archaeology in Bulgaria reported.

Experts believe that the well-planned town, built between two gullies on the bank of the Struma River and consisting of 60 houses, was home to the earliest European civilisation.

The houses are made of wattle and clay with thin walls of eight inches (20cm) despite some of them being as large as 328 square feet (100 square metres), Professor Vasil Nikolov, lead archaeologist of the excavations told the Bulgarian daily newspaper, Standart.

Some of the 60 buildings had two storeys and stood 26 feet (eight metres) tall, 'which attests to high technological advancements at the time,' he said.

There are three main streets running parallel to each other, linking narrow streets with three to four houses on them, laid out to mirror the path of the sun.

Image


Experts believe that the well-planned town, built between two gullies along the banks of the Struma River, consists of at least 60 houses.

    
The layout is thought to be unique and it's even believed that there was a canal running through the settlement that was used as a port for fishing boats.

In order to build such as well-ordered town, the ancient people living there must have had a strong societal structure and specialist builders and planners.

But there is an unusual and destructive feature to the town too.

The Bulgarian archaeologists have found evidence that some of the houses were deliberately burned down, confirming suspicions of this prehistoric practice, even if they can't explain why it was carried out.

According to Professor Krum Bachvarov, an expert in prehistoric history at the National Institute and Museum of Archaeology, individual homes were raised to the ground at different times.

The researchers found evidence that homes were filled with firewood - a scarce resource in the region - meaning that groups of people would have had to work together to fetch it.

This suggests the burning was possibly ritualistic and must have been deliberately planned in advance.

Interestingly, the practice has helped preserve some of the houses because the heat from fires baked and hardened the clay walls.

The well preserved remains have enabled the archaeologists to build up a detailed picture of what the houses looked like, including their size and placement of beams.

The village was probably built by farmers who worked the land, raised livestock and sometimes went hunting.

Image


The houses are made of wattle and clay with thin walls of eight inches (20cm) despite some of them being as large as 328 square feet (100 square metres). You can see the boundaries of a house in this image

    

Image


It's likely the ancient farmers followed a religion concerned with fertility and there are graves dating to the end of the sixth millennium BC, with one skeleton buried in a foetal position and covered with stones (pictured)

    
It is likely they followed a religion concerned with fertility and there are graves dating to the end of the sixth millennium BC.

In one grave archaeologists discovered a skeleton buried in a foetal position with tools, figurines and ceramic vessels.

An Ancient Thracian sanctuary consisting of 20 burial pits hold the remains of people including three skeletons of children who were victims of Thracian sacrifice between the 5th and 1st century BC.

It is thought the settlement was later home to Slavs in the Late Antiquity and Middle Ages.

Archaeologists intend to dismantle the homes in order to look deeper underground.

A team of more than 130 people - 30 of whom are experts - are working 10 hours a day and at weekends, because the highway has already been held up by the work.

There are plans to modify the route of the road so that an open air museum can be built on the important archaeological site.

The lead archaeologists have been asked by Bulgaria's Ministry of Culture to propose a plan for the site and the remains may be housed under a protective glass canopy.

Those leading the project have also said that they hope to reconstruct some of the homes to their original size.

Image


Some of the buildings stood 26 feet (eight metres) tall, 'which attests to high technological advancements at the time,' one archaeologist said. The remaining stonework from one impressive building is shown above

    

FEATURES OF THE VILLAGE

Location: Near the town of Mursalevo in south west Bulgaria.

Size: The 8,000-year-old settlement was large, spreading over 20 dectares.

Plan: Its plan is unique in the area and it's arranged with three paralell streets and a network of smaller lanes.

Placement of the roads and houses mirror the path of the sun.

There was probably a canal that was used as a port for small boats, as well as a cemetary.

Houses: Some 60 houses have been revealed so far.

Some two-storey homes stood 26 feet (eight metres) tall and had two sloped roofs.

They were built from wattle and clay with thin walls of eight inches (20cm) despite some of them being as large as 328 square feet (100 square metres).

RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OF THE INHABITANTS

Archaeologists can only speculate about the daily lives of the farming inhabitants of the village 8,000 years ago.

But there's evidence they deliberately burned individual homes down, perhaps as some sort of sacrifice.

It's likely they followed a religion concerned with fertility and there are graves dating to the end of the sixth millennium BC, with one skeleton buried in a foetal position with tools, figurines and ceramic vessels.

A later addition to the village - a Thracian sanctuary consisting of 20 burial pits - hold the remains of people including three skeletons of children who were victims of Thracian sacrifice between the 5th and 1st century BC.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE TOWN?

Archaeologists intend to dismantle the homes in order to look deeper underground.

A team of more than 130 people - 30 of whom are experts - are working 10 hours a day and at weekends, because the highway has already been held up by the work.

There are plans to modify the route of the road so that an open air museum can be built on the important archaeological site.

The lead archaeologists have been asked by Bulgaria's Ministry of Culture to propose a plan for the site and the remains may be housed under a protective glass canopy.

Archaeologists have said they hope to also reconstruct some of the homes.

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Sudden onset of ice loss in Antarctica detected

© Jonathan L. Bamber
Research vessel deploying instruments on an Antarctic ice shelf.

    
A group of scientists, led by a team from the University of Bristol, UK has observed a sudden increase of ice loss in a previously stable region of Antarctica. The research is published today in .

Using measurements of the elevation of the Antarctic ice sheet made by a suite of satellites, the researchers found that the Southern Antarctic Peninsula showed no signs of change up to 2009. Around 2009, multiple glaciers along a vast coastal expanse, measuring some 750km in length, suddenly started to shed ice into the ocean at a nearly constant rate of 60 cubic km, or about 55 trillion litres of water, each year.

This makes the region the second largest contributor to sea level rise in Antarctica and the ice loss shows no sign of waning.

Dr Bert Wouters, a Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Bristol, who lead the study said: "To date, the glaciers added roughly 300 cubic km of water to the ocean. That's the equivalent of the volume of nearly 350,000 Empire State Buildings combined."

The changes were observed using the CryoSat-2 satellite, a mission of the European Space Agency dedicated to remote-sensing of ice. From an altitude of about 700km, the satellite sends a radar pulse to Earth, which is reflected by the ice and subsequently received back at the satellite. From the time the pulse takes to travel, the elevation of the ice surface can retrieved with incredible accuracy. By analysing roughly 5 years of the data, the researchers found that the ice surface of some of the glaciers is currently going down by as much as 4m each year.

The ice loss in the region is so large that it causes small changes in the gravity field of the Earth, which can be detected by another satellite mission, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE).


"The fact that so many glaciers in such a large region suddenly started to lose ice came as a surprise to us," continued Dr Wouters. "It shows a very fast response of the ice sheet: in just a few years the dynamic regime completely shifted."

Data from an Antarctic climate model shows that the sudden change cannot be explained by changes in snowfall or air temperature. Instead, the team attributes the rapid ice loss to warming oceans.


Many of the glaciers in the region feed into ice shelves that float on the surface of the ocean. They act as a buttress to the ice resting on bedrock inland, slowing down the flow of the glaciers into the ocean. The westerly winds that encircle Antarctica have become more vigorous in recent decades, in response to climate warming and ozone depletion. The stronger winds push warm waters from the Southern Ocean poleward, where they eat away at the glaciers and floating ice shelves from below.

Ice shelves in the region have lost almost one-fifth of their thickness in the last two decades, thereby reducing the resisting force on the glaciers. A key concern is that much of the ice of the Southern Antarctic Peninsula is grounded on bedrock below sea level, which gets deeper inland. This means that even if the glaciers retreat, the warm water will chase them inland and melt them even more.

Dr Wouters said: "It appears that sometime around 2009, the ice shelf thinning and the subsurface melting of the glaciers passed a critical threshold which triggered the sudden ice loss. However, compared to other regions in Antarctica, the Southern Peninsula is rather understudied, exactly because it did not show any changes in the past, ironically.

"To pinpoint the cause of the changes, more data need to be collected. A detailed knowledge of the geometry of the local ice shelves, the ocean floor topography, ice sheet thickness and glacier flow speeds are crucial to tell how much longer the thinning will continue."

Animation of the ice loss on the Southern Antarctic Peninsula, here

More information: 'Dynamic thinning of glaciers on the Southern Antarctic Peninsula' by Bert Wouters, Alba Martin-EspaƱol, Veit Helm, Thomas Flament, Melchior van Wessem, Stefan Ligtenberg, Michiel van den Broeke and Jonathan Bamber in : DOI

Journal reference: Science

Provided by University of Bristol