US Welcomes Ceasefire in Syria's Idlib De-Escalation Zone - State Department

The United States welcomes the ceasefire in Idlib de-escalation zone in northwestern Syria and calls for action to end attacks on civilians and infrastructure, US State Department said in a statement on Saturday.

"The United States welcomes news that a ceasefire has been declared in Northwest Syria, but what is truly important is that attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure must stop. We will appreciate any efforts undertaken towards this important goal", the statement says.

The department also noted that it appreciated the efforts of Turkey and Russia in this matter.

"We commend efforts by Turkey and Russia working together to restore the cease fire they agreed in Sochi in September 2018. We also commend the UN Secretary-General for his personal engagement in the Idlib tragedy, including by establishing a Board of Inquiry on the Idlib situation from September 2018 forward", it said.

The state department stressed that a military solution to the conflict in Syria did not exist and that it was necessary to continue negotiations at international venues, including Geneva.

The Syrian Arab News Agency on Thursday cited a military source as saying that the Syrian government and opposition had agreed to the ceasefire.

The military source said the deal would come into force on Thursday night if the terms of the 2018 Sochi agreement are uphold, according to the report.

The Sochi agreement, agreed by Russia's President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in September 2018, created a demilitarized zone along the contact line between the armed opposition and government forces in Idlib.

Under the terms of the deal, radical militants such as the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) terrorist group, were supposed to withdraw from the demilitarized zone.

But in recent weeks HTS militants have stepped up their attacks in Idlib and neighboring provinces, prompting Syrian government forces to respond to launching strikes on terrorist targets in the province.

Most of the province of Idlib is controlled by HTS, an alliance of jihadi groups led by the Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front terrorist organization.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201908041076456426-us-welcomes-ceasefire-in-syrias-idlib-de-escalation-zone—state-department/

Harvard Scientists Funded by Bill Gates to Begin Spraying Particles Into the Sky In Experiment to Dim the Sun.

No, we are not a satire site. We are not a conspiracy theory site. The information you are about to read is factually accurate and 100% real despite the ostensible ‘skeptics’ who claim otherwise. The controversial subject of geoengineering or weather modification – which was popularized, and oversimplified with the term “chemtrails” – is once again stepping from the shadows and into the light of public scrutiny. And it may soon be a reality as Harvard scientists plan first ever experiment to spray particles in the sky to dim the sun.

What was once a conspiracy theory is now the subject of congressional debate, peer-reviewed studies, and now a Harvard experiment. Harvard scientists will attempt to replicate the climate-cooling effect of volcanic eruptions with a world-first solar geoengineering experiment. The university announced this month that it has created an external advisory panel to examine the potential ethical, environmental and geopolitical impacts of this geoengineering project, which has been developed by the university’s researchers.

According to Nature Magazine, Louise Bedsworth, executive director of the California Strategic Growth Council, a state agency that promotes sustainability and economic prosperity, will lead the Harvard advisory panel, the university said on 29 July. The other seven members include Earth-science researchers and specialists in environmental and climate law and policy.

What was once a conspiracy theory will soon be a reality—any day now.

Known as the Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment (SCoPEx), the experiment will spray calcium carbonate particles high above the earth to mimic the effects of volcanic ash blocking out the sun to produce a cooling effect.

The experiment was announced in Nature magazine last year, who was one of few outlets to look into this unprecedented step toward geoengineering the planet.

If all goes as planned, the Harvard team will be the first in the world to move solar geoengineering out of the lab and into the stratosphere, with a project called the Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment (SCoPEx). The first phase — a US$3-million test involving two flights of a steerable balloon 20 kilometres above the southwest United States — could launch as early as the first half of 2019. Once in place, the experiment would release small plumes of calcium carbonate, each of around 100 grams, roughly equivalent to the amount found in an average bottle of off-the-shelf antacid. The balloon would then turn around to observe how the particles disperse.

Naturally, the experiment is concerning to many people, including environmental groups, who, according to Nature, say such efforts are a dangerous distraction from addressing the only permanent solution to climate change: reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/harvard-geoengineering-particles-stratosphere/

Texas gunman kills 20, injures dozens in shopping centre shooting

https://www.timesofisrael.com/manifesto-linked-to-el-paso-gunman-rails-against-hispanic-invasion-of-texas/

AUS MSM

>>7333614 Wrong sauce

>>7333614

This

https://www.9news.com.au/world/el-paso-shooting-active-shooter-on-the-loose-at-shopping-centre-in-texas-town-usa-news/98f94513-92b3-41e7-bf58-d13c9c2f75ce

No Airstrikes in Syria’s Idlib Province as Ceasefire Takes Effect

Claims of 'violations' despite conspicuous lack of firing

A ceasefire reached in northwestern Syria’s Idlib Province on Thursday looks to be holding strong on Friday, with not a single airstrike reported against the rebel-held area, nor any battles on the ground claimed to have happened.

Al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front issued a statement giving tentative acceptance to the ceasefire, vowing they’d attack at the first sign of a violation, and claiming the deal proved they were holding off the military in the Idlib conflict of the past three months.

Which isn’t to say both sides aren’t accusing one another of violations, centered around some stray firing near Idlib Province. Yet without any big fights, this is just quibbling, and not a realistic threat to the newfound calm.

A long ceasefire could be huge for civilians stuck in this area, both the large number of civilians who were relocated into Idlib from rebel-held areas that were evacuated in the past, and the residents of government-controlled areas on the outskirts that are always subject to counterattacks.

https://news.antiwar.com/2019/08/02/no-airstrikes-in-syrias-idlib-province-as-ceasefire-takes-effect/

US Officials Falsely Claims ISIS Only Defeated Where US Troops Are Present

Claims ISIS is active south of the Euphrates River

In comments that seemed to have been designed to justify a continued US military presence in Syria, US Special Envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition James Jeffrey claimed ISIS in Syria are only defeated where US ground troops are, and that ISIS is still active in parts of Syria, particularly south of the Euphrates.

This narrative would make sense on a very superficial level, if true, because US forces in Deir Ezzor Province are in the Kurdish-held territory, further north, and the Syrian military and its allies took areas south, near the river itself.

The problems, however, are that there haven’t been reports of ISIS being active in this area of Syria south of the Euphrates. Even if there were, the US has one of its largest bases in Syria in al-Tanf, which is in this area, and the US has carved out much of that area as a no-go zone for the Syrian military.

ISIS presence in Syria is at this point virtually non-existent, and to the extent there are any at all, they are scattered about in the desert in Deir Ezzor Province. This spans both US-held territory and some areas where the Syrian military is, but so long as ISIS remains in the desert, no one appears to have any interest in coming after them.

https://news.antiwar.com/2019/08/02/us-officials-falsely-claims-isis-only-defeated-where-us-troops-are-present/