International Relations: The Calm Before The Storm?

All international problems are currently suspended, awaiting the results of the US mid-term elections. The partisans of the old international order are gambling on a change of majority in Congress and a rapid destitution of President Trump. If the man in the White House holds fast, the protagonists of the war against Syria will have to admit defeat and move on to other battle fields. On the other hand, if Donald Trump should lose the elections, the war on Syria will immediately be revived by the United Kingdom. The current situation – extending from the Russian response to the destruction of its Ilyuchin-20 to the US mid-term elections on 6 November – is uncertain. All the protagonists of the war in Syria are waiting to see whether the White House will be able to pursue its policy of breaking away from the current international order, or if Congress will become the opposition and immediately trigger the process for the destitution of President Trump.

The origins of the war

It has become clear that the initial project by the United States, the United Kingdom, Israël, Saudi Arabia and Qatar will not be realised. The same goes for France and Turkey, two powers that entered the war against Syria somewhat later. What we need to remember is not the way in which we were informed about the start of the events, but what we have discovered about them since. The demonstrations in Deraa were presented as a « spontaneous revolt » against « dictatorial repression », but we now know that they had been in preparation for a long time. We also need to free ourselves of the illusion that all the members of a Coalition, united in order to achieve the same goal, share the same strategy. Whatever the influence of one or the other, each State conserves its own history, its own interests and its own war objectives.

The United States pursued the strategy of Admiral Arthur Cebrowski, which was the destruction of the State structures in the Greater Middle East. For this they relied upon the United Kingdom, which implemented Tony Blair’s strategy aimed at placing the Muslim Brotherhood in power throughout the region. And also on Israël, which rebooted the strategy of Oded Yinon and David Wurmser for regional domination. The necessary weapons were stored in advance by Saudi Arabia in the Omar mosque. Qatar stepped in by inventing the story about the children whose nails were torn out. At that time, Saudi Arabia was not seeking to impose a new form of politics on Syria, nor even to overthrow its government. Riyadh’s intention was exclusively to prevent a non-Sunni from becoming President. By some strange historical evolution, the Wahhabites, who, two centuries ago, considered both Sunnis and Chiites as heretics and called for their extermination if they failed to repent, are today presenting themselves as the defenders of the Sunnis and the killers of the Chiites. As for the tiny emirate of Qatar, it was exacting its revenge after the interruption of its gas pipeline in Syria.

France, which should have taken part in the conspiracy by virtue of the Lancaster House agreements, was sidelined because of its unexpected initiatives in Libya. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alain Juppé, attempted to push France into rejoining the conspirators, but the ambassador in Damascus, Eric Chevallier, who could see the distortion of facts on the ground, resisted as far as humanly possible. When France was once again admitted to the group conspiracy, it continued its 1915 objective of the colonisation of Syria, pursuing the Sykes-Picot-Sazonov agreements. Just as the French mandate over Syria was considered to be transitory compared with the lasting colonisation of Algeria, it is considered, in the 21st century, as secondary to control of the Sahel. Besides which, while attempting to realise its old engagement, Paris pushed for the creation of a national home for the Kurds, on the model used by the British in 1917 for the Jews in Palestine. In order to do so, it allied itself with Turkey which, in the name of Atatürk’s « national oath », invaded the North of Syria in order to create a State to which the Turkish Kurds could be expelled. While the war objectives of these first four aggressors are mutually compatible, those of the latter two are not compatible with the others. Besides which, France, the United Kingdom and Turkey are three old colonial powers. All three are now trying to impose their power over the same throne. The war against Syria has thus reactivated their old rivalries.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-13/international-relations-calm-storm

FBI Steals Treasure Hunters' Civil War Gold Worth Up To $250 Million

Dennis and Kem Parada have spent years prospecting for a legendary stash of Civil War gold in Dents Run, Pennsylvania. They aren’t the first to search for the cache. Generations of treasure hunters have tried to find the gold, which is believed to have been lost or stolen around the time of the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, when the Union Army was attempting to transport it from West Virginia to Philadelphia. The Paradas spent five years digging in a cave on state land and two more years drilling atop the cave before going to the FBI in January with their evidence. Last March, feeling quite certain they had found the treasure’s hiding place, the Paradas led the FBI to the spot. They showed agents how their sophisticated metal detector went crazy when aimed at the spot where they believed the gold was hidden.

Within a month, the FBI had hired an outside firm to conduct an underground scan using a device called a gravimeter. The scan identified a large metallic mass with the density of gold, according to the Paradas and Warren Getler, an author and journalist who’s been working with them, reports the Associated Press. The Paradas and Getler said the FBI agreed to let them observe the excavation, but then confined them to their car so they were unable to watch the digging. At the end of the excavation, the FBI led the father-son duo to an empty hole, writes the AP: They gazed at the pit. Not so much as a glimmer of gold dust, let alone the tons of precious metal they said an FBI contractor’s instruments had detected. “We were embarrassed,” Dennis Parada told The Associated Press in his first interview since the well-publicized dig last winter. “They walk us in, and they make us look like dummies. Like we messed up.”

But is the FBI being truthful?

Local residents reported seeing late-night excavation work and FBI convoys, leading to suspicions the agency is hiding something. Now, the Paradas are challenging the FBI’s account of the dig, insisting that something had to have been buried in those woods, as Kem told the AP: After my years of experience here using equipment, there was something here, something here of value, some kind of precious metal. And whatever it is, it’s gone now. And that’s what I want to get to the bottom of, is what was in that hole. Naturally, the feds aren’t saying much about the dig, other than claiming they found nothing and adding that the agency’s work there was related to an “ongoing investigation.” An FBI spokeswoman told the AP that court documents related to the dig are sealed. You can only dig the gold up once, and that’s a historical moment. And here we were robbed of all that,” Dennis Parada said. “I don’t understand why they played that game on us.” “There was definitely some kind of precious metal based on the readings of the instruments at the site,” Cluck said. “The fact they wouldn’t let them be there for the dig, it’s suspicious as hell and it doesn’t have to be.”

In May, Bill Cluck, the Paradas’ lawyer, filed a Freedom of Information Act request for documents on the FBI’s investigation. The agency claimed it has no files it can share, so Cluck appealed to Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey for help. A few weeks ago, the Justice Department ordered the FBI to do a more thorough review. If the bureau determines there are documents it can turn over after all, it could still take months or years to reach that point. The Paradas probably shouldn’t hold their breath.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-13/fbi-steals-treasure-hunters-civil-war-gold-worth-250-million

The FBI Doesn’t Want Users To Know Who Hacked Facebook

The FBI has asked Facebook not to reveal who may be behind a recent hack that exposed highly sensitive personal information of 14 million users, according to a Facebook security update Friday. A hack on Facebook, which originally was reported to have affected 50 million users, now has been confirmed to have only affected 30 million. That said, the hack “appears to be the worst hack in Facebook’s 14-year history,” according to Business Insider’s Rob Price. Hackers took advantage of an intersection of three different and distinct bugs in Facebook’s website to gain “access tokens” to users’ accounts, according to Guy Rosen, the vice president of product management at Facebook. “We’re cooperating with the FBI, which is actively investigating and asked us not to discuss who may be behind this attack,” Rosen wrote in a post entitled “An Update on the Security Issue.” “Access tokens are the equivalent of digital keys that keep people logged in to Facebook so they don’t need to re-enter their password every time they use the app,” according to Rosen. Facebook’s security update breaks down the 30 million affected users by how much data was accessed by hackers.

A lucky 1 million users had no information scraped from their accounts by hackers. For 14 million users, access tokens were used to access “username, gender, locale/language, relationship status, religion, hometown, self-reported current city, birth date, device types used to access Facebook, education, work, the last 10 places they checked into or were tagged in, website, people or Pages they follow, and the 15 most recent searches,” according to Rosen. The other 15 million users had only their name and phone number and, or email compromised. Facebook has promised to send “customized messages” to the 30 million users impacted by the breach to explain how and to what extent their personal information was compromised. Facebook also set up a Help Center where users can check the status of their account and see if their information may have gotten into the wrong hands.

https://www.dailycaller.com/2018/10/13/fbi-facebook-security-breach/

Court Memos Shed Light On Michael Bloomberg’s Role In NYC’s Climate Crusade

One of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s nonprofits appears is mixed up in the anti-ExxonMobil campaign. Oregon officials are questioning the legality of Bloomberg’s nonprofit as it attempts to place legal fellows inside attorneys general offices. New documents are raising concerns that Bloomberg’s money might be helping prop up New York City’s legal pursuits against energy companies.

One of the attorneys attached to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s environmental nonprofit was heavily involved in litigation targeting ExxonMobil, according to a document obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation. Gavin McCabe, a lawyer connected to Bloomberg Philanthropies, signed an amicus brief in June supporting New York City’s yearlong climate lawsuit against Exxon and Chevron. He’s one of at least eight attorneys hired by attorneys general across the country to work on environmental litigation. Bloomberg founded Bloomberg Philanthropies in 2017 in part to provide attorney general (AG) offices with attorneys to help push green energy policies. McCabe’s involvement suggests Bloomberg’s money is playing a role in the anti-Exxon campaign. He made himself a part of the lawsuit demanding energy companies compensate the city for the alleged damages from man-made global warming. U.S. District Judge John Keenan dismissed the case in July after months of arguments.

The city’s lawsuit is the third such claim brought against oil companies Exxon, Chevron, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Conoco Phillips. Another judge in Northern California struck down identical lawsuits in June brought by the cities of San Francisco and Oakland. The legal maneuvers are a boon for trial lawyers as well. Attorneys with Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, for instance, handled climate lawsuits on behalf of the two California cities and New York City in exchange for a percentage of any winnings, called a contingency fee. Hagens Berman stood to earn billions of dollars in contingency fees depending on the total winnings, from a favorable judgement against oil companies. The three cities claimed billions of dollars worth of damage from global warming induced by fossil fuels. Cities and trial lawyers argue the alleged effects of global warming, including sea level rise and extreme weather, violate public nuisance laws.

Bloomberg, a prominent Democratic donor and potential presidential contender in 2020, launched the foundation in 2017 with a $6 million campaign to embed attorneys in AG offices to push back against President Donald Trump’s efforts to roll back environmental regulations. Some critics believe Bloomberg Philanthropies is being used as a type of pass-through entity through which donors can support elected officials with resources that legislatures will not provide and which donors cannot legally provide directly. The foundation has not yet responded to TheDCNF’s request for comment. Oregon AG Ellen Rosenblum also raised alarms in June after her office hired environmental lawyer Steve Novick as a special assistant AG (SAAG). Rosenblum is a longtime Democrat and politician who has served as the state’s top law enforcer since 2012. “Are we sure it is correct to refer to him as a ‘volunteer.’ And not an employee,” Rosenblum asked her deputy AG in a June 17 email. “Can you be an unpaid employee of the State? As a SAAG doesn’t that make one an employee?” Her email was included in a June report from the Competitive Enterprise Institute detailing the extent of Bloomberg’s campaign. Rosenblum added: “I find it strange to call someone who is working under our supervision with the title of SAAG and who is getting paid (by a third-party) the same as he would if he were working for [the Department of Justice] as a regular [assistant attorney general] — a volunteer.” Senior Deputy Legislative Counsel Marisa James made similar complaints in a September memo that called the legal fellow position a “conflict” with the law. Novick and McCabe’s roles are characterized as voluntary despite their beefy salaries, which are paid for by the State Energy and Environmental Impact Center (SEEIC) at the New York University School of Law. Neither SEEIC nor New York City’s law office have responded to TheDCNF’s requests for comment about McCabe’s role in the litigation. SEEIC did direct TheDCNF to a page on its website explaining what responsibilities fellows are tasked with completing.

https://www.dailycaller.com/2018/10/13/michael-bloomberg-climate-exxonmobil-lawyer/

Kamala Harris books first trip to Iowa

Kamala Harris has booked her first 2020 ticket to Iowa. The freshman senator will travel for the first time this year to the first-in-the-nation caucus state on Oct. 22-23, as she prepares for a potential presidential run. Harris, a California Democrat, will make appearances in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, with other stops expected to be added. The trip will follow a visit to South Carolina, another early primary state, on Oct. 19, and to battleground state Wisconsin on Oct. 21. Following the visits to Iowa and South Carolina, Harris will have appeared in three of four early primary states this election cycle. She has yet to campaign in New Hampshire. First elected in 2016, Harris has helped raise or donated more than $6.5 million for Democratic candidates and causes across the country this year. She said recently that she will “seriously take a look at” 2020 after the November midterms. Harris will be joining a stream of likely 2020 presidential candidates into Iowa. She campaigned in the state for then-Sen. Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential primary campaign.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/13/kamala-harris-iowa-trip-898606

Bloomberg's New Hampshire event fuels White House bid talk

A quick stop by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Saturday in the state that holds the first primary in the race for the White House is sparking more speculation about a possible White House bid by the billionaire media company founder and gun safety advocate. Bloomberg was the main attraction at the get-out-the-vote rally for six candidates running for New Hampshire's state House of Representatives. The event was organized by Moms Demand Action, an arm of Bloomberg's Everytown for Gun Safety organization set up after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings. Bloomberg's trip came just days after he re-registered as a Democrat after years as a Republican and an independent. Asked by The Associated Press if he has any timetable for deciding on a presidential bid, he said "right now I'm focused on November 6, plain and simple." But he added that after the midterm elections, "we'll see what happens down the road."

Speaking in front of dozens of Moms Demand Action activists, many of them wearing the group's red T-shirts, Bloomberg told the crowd "together, Moms Demand and Everytown have landed some big punches against the NRA. We haven't knocked them out yet, not by a longshot, but we've got them on the ropes. And while we're getting stronger and stronger every day, they're getting weaker." He also thanked gun safety activists in New Hampshire for helping to defeat earlier this year in the Statehouse "two bad bills that would have forced colleges to allow guns on campus and punish cities and towns for enacting strong guns laws. You did that. You did stop them." Bloomberg, who's spent millions of his own money this year to help elect Democrats in the midterms, said "we've got to send a message to elected officials. Vote for commonsense gun laws or we will throw you out."

Prior to the event at Nashua City Hall, Bloomberg met with the city's longtime major, Jim Donchess, who's a member of Bloomberg's Mayors Against Illegal Guns group. He also met with Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, a supporter of tighter gun restrictions, and the six state legislative candidates who were endorsed by Moms Demand Action. While November's election and the issue of guns were the focus of Bloomberg's visit to the Granite State, the trip fueled speculation that the 76-year-old former three-term New York City mayor is serious about a 2020 presidential run. Bloomberg mulled, but decided against White House runs in 2008 and 2016. Asked if the party he left nearly two decades ago has become increasingly liberal, he said "I don't know that it's moved further left. I think that's conventional wisdom by some people." Instead, Bloomberg argued that "there are an awful lot of other people who say if you talk to Democrats, they're much more centrist than people understand." Donchess told The Associated Press that if Bloomberg ultimately decides on running for the Democratic presidential nomination, he may fare well in New Hampshire thanks to his advocacy on gun safety.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/bloombergs-hampshire-event-fuels-white-house-bid-talk-162805917–election.html

>>3471886

Water droplets are a dead give away imo, they appear to be on a window instead of a lens.

>>3471933

Because they are too busy wanting to find away to convince all it was Russia.

>>3472004

What about these guys returned from North Korea, Kim Dong-chul, Tony Kim and Kim Hak-song