There are so many things going on right now that I’d be writing feverishly all day long if I hoped to cover everything. So for now, while we have so many ominous world events in the quest for global dominance and this kerfuffle of an election going on, we’ll do a quick weekday round-up to keep you apprised of the most important news items. Welcome to the first edition of Headlines & Headlies.
The UK and US are planning to sanction Russia. That should go over well.
At a meeting in London, American-born Boris Johnson, now British Foreign Secretary, agreed with John Kerry that further sanctions are needed against Syria and Russia over the continued bombing of Aleppo. Both agree that the conflict in Syria needs a political solution. (I have a suggestion: How about ‘the West’ conceding that, like it or not, Syria invited Russia onto their territory but did not invite the United States to put boots on the ground and did not invite the coalition forces to fly daily sorties through their airspace.) All hell would break loose if a foreign fighter even approached U.S and UK airspace, and really that says it all. I have no doubt that foreign fighter jets would be shot down if they entered U.S airspace and it’s a gamble every time one of “ours” flies in the skies above Syria that they will not be blown to pieces.
So what happens when these new and as-of-yet-unannounced sanctions fail? All the other sanctions have failed and it’s unlikely the next batch will have a different result. Albert Einstein defined madness as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result – I think we can all relate to that.
John Kerry, that beacon of integrity, (/sarc/) has reiterated that as far as the U.S is concerned, “no options are off the table.” (source)
So, not content with announcing that a major cyber attack against Russia is in the offing, and not content with imposing more sanctions, Big Mouth Boris is now dealing the ‘Russia is committing war crimes in Syria‘ card. This is surprising when a would-be presidential candidate in the upcoming presidential election said that her intention of imposing a no-fly zone over Syria if she is elected will mean “killing a lot of Syrians”. Huh. Go figure.
Meetings Between France and Russia Have Broken Down.
On Sunday, France changed the agenda of a meeting with Putin due to take place on October 19th and refused to discuss anything except Syria. Moscow said it was happy to continue with the meeting based on the planned agenda, but France said no and canceled the meeting.
PressTV reports:
While noting that “France is not so deeply involved in the settlement of the Syrian conflict,” Putin added that Russia is always prepared to talk about Syria, especially with France.
He also stressed that Putin’s Paris trip was canceled by French authorities who suddenly decided to change the agenda of the trip and raise the issue of Syria.
“We have other issues apart from Syria, we could have discussed other issues,” he said.
Paris-Moscow tensions escalated since Russia vetoed a French resolution at the United Nations Security Council which called for a halt to the bombing of the Syrian city of Aleppo.
Putin had accused France of deliberately pushing for the UN proposal to heap pressure on Russia as it knew that Moscow would veto the resolution. He said the move was aimed at “inflaming the situation and fanning hysteria around Russia.”
Japan called. They want their islands back.
Japan feels the time is right to once again raise the issue of the Kuril Islands, which became Russian territory at the end of WWII. Japan wants four of them back. Russia says nope. Under the terms of the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951, Japanese sovereignty over the 56 islands that form the Kuril chain was abolished. Japan argues the four islands in question are not part of the agreement.
Great timing, guys…could this have waited? No, of course not. It’s just something Japan can put on the table to point out they also have issues with the Big Bad Bear from the north.
That crazy little North Korean guy has warned the US of a “pre-emptive strike.”
North Korea have tested another missile. Well, kind of. It failed apparently, but that doesn’t stop little Kimmy from jumping up and down threatening a pre-emptive strike against the U.S. should he even get a sniff of any moves against him and his people.
North Korea has warned that it may carry out further nuclear tests and says it is prepared to launch a preemptive strike on the United States if U.S. nuclear forces mobilize against it.
“The U.S. has nuclear weapons off our coast, targeting our country, our capital and our Dear Leader, Kim Jong Un,” a top North Korean official, Lee Yong Pil, said in an exclusive interview with NBC News.
“We will not step back as long as there’s a nuclear threat to us from the United States,” added Lee, who is director of the Foreign Ministry’s Institute for American Studies.
“A preemptive nuclear strike is not something the U.S. has a monopoly on,” he said. “If we see that the U.S. would do it to us, we would do it first. … We have the technology.”
Such threats have been a staple of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un since he took power after his father’s death in 2011. U.S. officials do not believe Pyongyang possesses weapons able to reach the continental United States (source)
I like the last bit the best: “U.S. officials do not believe Pyongyang possesses weapons able to reach the continental United States.”
Let’s hope they’re right, shall we?
Gosh, I wonder who cut the internet service to Wikileaks?
The Podesta emails have stirred up a lot of poo, and the smell is wafting all over the Clinton campaign. The major highlight thus far is how the mainstream media has colluded with HRC and her buddies to steal the election and cover up evidence of corruption.
Today, an unknown (cough) “state party” intentionally cut the internet connection to Julian Assange. Never fear – they have a contingency plan and the leaks will continue to flow. According to a report by Zero Hedge, “the latest intervention “by a state party”, if confirmed would be a notable escalation in the status quo, and suggests that Wikileaks may have even more damaging revelations to come.”
Bring it on.
I thought I was listening to an SNL News skit from the late 70’s, except for the internet part.