Russia: Israel Used Civilian Plane as Cover in Syria Attack

Civilian airliner nearly shot down over Damascus

An Airbus 320 passenger jet with 172 people on board was nearly shot down over the Syrian capital city of Damascus on Thursday morning, as Syrian missile defense systems activated to respond to an incoming Israeli attack on the Damascus airport.

Russian Defense Ministry officials suggested that they don’t think the incident was coincidental, but rather that the Israeli military is deliberately using passenger jets for cover while attacking Syrian targets.

Israel likely considers this a win-win strategy, because either Syria doesn’t contest attacking Israeli planes, letting them strike with impunity, or Syria accidentally hits a civilian plane and gets condemned internationally for that.

In the case of the Airbus, which was flying out of Tehran, Israeli F-16s were active in the air by the airport when it was hoping to land, and fired air-to-surface missiles at the airport. The civilian plane was escorted safely out of the area, and landed in Hmeimim Airbase, a base further west in use by Russian planes.

Israel’s attacks on Damascus that night were reported, with one monitor saying 23 people were believed killed. Israel has not commented so far, and probably won’t with Russia accusing them of endangering civilian planes.

Syrian state media confirmed the attacks, saying that their missile defense had intercepted a number of the Israeli missiles. State media did not appear to repeat Russian reports on the near-shootdown.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights suggested that the bulk of the slain in the Israeli attack were Iraqis from Jisr al-Baghdad, though a number of Syrian soldiers were also killed in an attack on their air defense system.

https://news.antiwar.com/2020/02/07/russia-israel-used-civilian-plane-as-cover-in-syria-attack/

24 California Marines Kicked Out Over Smuggling and Drug Charges

Dozens of Marines have been hit with less-than-honorable discharges – and one was sent to prison – in the months since federal agents swarmed their infantry battalion last summer on suspicion of human-smuggling operations.

Twenty-four members of the California-based 1st Marine Division have faced judicial or administrative action over human-smuggling or drug-related offenses associated with arrests made during a July battalion formation, Maj. Kendra Motz, a spokeswoman for the unit, told Military.com.

One of those Marines has been confined to the brig for 18 months, she said.

Nine of the most serious cases were sent to courts-martial. Eight of the Marines facing trial pleaded guilty, Motz said, and have since been dismissed from the military under less-than-honorable conditions, including two bad-conduct discharges.

One case is still pending. That Marine will face a general court-martial, considered the most serious level of military trials.

"All cases were handled at the appropriate level and with respect to the rule of law," Motz said.

Fifteen other Marines charged with lesser offenses faced administrative punishment at the unit level. Those Marines were also dismissed under less-than-honorable conditions, Motz said.

The arrests started last year when Lance Cpls. Byron Darnell Law II and David Javier Salazar-Quintero were picked up after being pulled over about seven miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Federal border agents found the two riflemen with 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, were transporting three unauthorized immigrants, according to court documents.

The Marines said they'd been recruited by Francisco Saul Rojas-Hernandez to drive people who'd crossed the border. Police arrested Rojas-Hernandez in San Diego County last month after several people told investigators he had orchestrated smuggling operations and paid them to transport people.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/02/08/24-california-marines-kicked-out-over-smuggling-and-drug-charges.html

Gaza rocket strikes open field in southern Israel

Projectile causes neither injury nor damage; earlier on Saturday, suspected explosive device lands in border community

Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired at least one rocket into southern Israel on Saturday night, striking an open field, the military said.

According to the Sha’ar Hanegev regional council, the projectile caused neither injury nor damage.

As the rocket was not heading toward a populated area it did not trigger sirens in Israeli communities. The Israel Defense Forces said the rocket set off alerts on cellphones in the area.

Earlier on Saturday, a suspected explosive device attached to a cluster of balloons that was apparently launched from Gaza was found in a field in the Merhavim Regional Council.

A group of foreign workers who were reportedly not aware the object could be a bomb picked up the balloons, but it did not explode.

The day before, terrorists in the Strip launched what appeared to be the warhead from a rocket-propelled grenade attached to balloons into southern Israel.

The suspected explosive was discovered in a field by Kibbutz Ruhama, northwest of Gaza and police sappers were called to inspect the RPG warhead, according to Hebrew media.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/gaza-rocket-strikes-open-field-in-southern-israel/

Trump Vows to DeClassify Intel from Obama DOJ’s Deadly Fast & Furious Mexican Gun-Running Scheme

The mother of Brian Terry, the federal border agent murdered by the Barack Obama DOJ’s & Eric Holder’s illegal Fast and Furious scheme, said President Trump vowed to her in a private meeting last week to unveil classified materials from the botched and illegal Mexican gun-running Operation.

On the Thomas Paine Podcast, Josephine Terry revealed she and family members had a private conference with President Trump just days ago where he pledged to help unveil the still-hidden details of the wayward operation where Brian Terry, a U.S. Border patrol Agent, was gunned down by Mexican cartel members with one gun of thousands supplied by the Justice Department to Mexican criminals. The guns were ilegally trafficked as part of the DOJ’s deadly and illegal Fast & Furious scheme. Terry’s mother said she was relieved to receive President Trump’s pledge to uncover the facts in the case, which were classified and locked down by President Barack Obama. (Listen below)

Josephine Terry spoke about her son’s murder in a revealing and shocking interview where she talked about her recent White House meeting with President Trump. She also detailed harassment by the Justice Department and FBI after her son’s death, including the possibility that she was illegally wiretapped by the Feds.

“There are so many troubling and disturbing things in this interview that the public has never heard before,” said True Pundit’s Thomas Paine. “You have to wonder why no one in the Justice Department is in federal prison. And it was shocking to learn that Brian Terry not only feared for his life, but tipped off his superiors that something very wrong was going on at the border before his murder.

Terry said said her son feared for his life before his murder and knew the government was engaged in a wayward scheme. He also kept a secret journal with details of the scheme hidden away from the Feds, who raided his home after his murder. What was in the journal? Find out below or click here.

https://truepundit.com/trump-vows-to-declassify-intel-from-obama-dojs-deadly-fast-furious-mexican-gun-running-scheme/

Hunter Becomes the Hunted? NATO General Complains About Russia's 'Stalking' of US Spy Satellites

Last month, a Purdue University graduate student specializing in astrodynamics reported that Russia’s Kosmos-2542 satellite had begun shadowing USA-245, an American reconnaissance satellite. Kosmos-2542’s mystery mission quickly sparked hysteria among the US media, with some observers suggesting it could be preparing to “attack” its US counterpart.

Russian and Chinese satellites maneuvering near Western powers’ satellites in space are a threat to the NATO alliance, Allied Command Transformation Commander Gen. Andre Lanata has said.

“Of course, it is a threat to our allies,” Lanata said, speaking to The Washington Examiner. “Until now, space was considered by everybody as a safe haven. It’s not the case anymore,” he added.

According to the commander, the danger posed by Russia and China in this area is “a key question,” and NATO “need[s] to be sure that we give to our forces this space asset support.” Lanata clarified that NATO as an organization would not “own any space assets,” and that it was not the bloc’s responsibility “to take specific measures to protect such or such national assets.” The problem will have to be addressed by the bloc’s individual members, he indicated.

Recently, US media have reported on the activities of Russian inspector satellite Kosmos-2542, indicating that the satellite was stalking USA-245, a spy satellite used by American intelligence agencies. According to amateur satellite observer and Purdue graduate student Michael Thompson, the Russian spacecraft has come to within 150 and 300 km of its US counterpart, and viewed it from various angles. The researcher avoided jumping to any conclusions, saying that although Kosmos-2542’s behaviour might seem suspicious, he could not prove any malign intent.

However, US media rushed to alarming conclusions, suggesting the Russian satellite’s behaviour may be “some kind of preparation for an attack,” and that Kosmos-2542 may actually be a “killer satellite” getting ready to ram or shoot lasers at USA-245.

Kosmos-2542 was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in November 2019, with the stated mission of inspecting the condition of other Russian satellites orbiting the planet.

Last month, observers reported that the Kosmos-2491, another Russian satellite capable of maneuvering and inspecting other satellites in orbit, appeared to have broken up. Amateur observers suggested that that satellite, believed to have been dead for several years, may have deliberately self-destructed.

Russia isn’t the only country thought to engage in clandestine inspections of foreign satellites in orbit. In 2019, the Secure World Foundation reported that the US used its own secretive ‘Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program’ to approach and inspect Russian, Chinese, Pakistani and Nigerian satellites, both civilian and military.

In late 2019, President Trump formally ordered the Pentagon to establish Space Force, the sixth branch of the US armed forces. Observers have expressed fears that the force’s creation could lead to the militarization of space.

https://sputniknews.com/military/202002081078263004-hunter-becomes-the-hunted-nato-general-complains-about-russias-stalking-of-us-spy-satellites/

Virginia High Schoolers Told NOT to Display American Flags on Their Vehicles, What Happened Next Will Make You Proud

Students were told not to fly the American flag on their vehicles at a Virginia High School this week because the flag is potentially disruptive and offensive.

What?

Last time I checked a little patriotism was a good thing, unless you ask an America-hating liberal.

What did they do?

These kids don’t respect authority.

Thank God they don’t.

Authority in our school systems has gone way left.

They have gone so far left that it’s hardly recognizable that these schools are American schools these days.

Here’s the full scoop from BTW21:

FRANKLIN COUNTY – Franklin County High School students showed up in unity on Tuesday displaying American flags on their vehicles after an administrator allegedly told them to remove them.

“My son called me from school saying that he saw an administrator around his truck and is now being called to the office,” the mother of one of the students said.

On Monday, the mother said her son and two of his friends were told they could no longer fly their American flag on their trucks because it was potentially “offensive” and “disruptive.”

She says she received a call from the school principal Jon Crutchfield on that evening.

“He has apologized to the boys and told them that it is not against the rules to fly their flag on their truck. Apparently, it was a big misunderstanding that should have never gotten this far,” the mother said.

BTW21 News reached out to the Franklin County Public Schools Administration and, as of noon, has not received a call back.

https://www.dcclothesline.com/2020/02/08/virginia-high-schoolers-told-not-to-display-american-flags-on-their-vehicles-what-happened-next-will-make-you-proud/

Did a NY Times Reporter Violate the Truth and Accuracy Code on a 5G Article? Press Council of Ireland Says Yes.

Last spring, The New York Times partnered with Verizon and launched a 5G journalism lab despite the fact that the telecom industry has provided NO scientific evidence that 5G is safe.

To explore what kind of storytelling opportunities 5G might enable, this year we’ve launched a 5G Journalism Lab. We’ve partnered with Verizon, which is providing us with early access to 5G networking and equipment for us to experiment with.

The publication has also defended 5G as being safe and that opponents have been influenced by Russian meddlers and/or they’re just nut jobs.

Thanks to Dr. Joel M. Moskowitz for alerting his email subscribers about accusations made by The Press Council of Ireland about how this is all starting to backfire in a big ugly way:

https://www.activistpost.com/2020/02/did-a-ny-times-reporter-violate-the-truth-and-accuracy-code-on-a-5g-article-the-press-council-of-ireland-says-yes.html

Pope Francis calls tax cuts for the wealthy a 'structure of sin' as he tells a Vatican conference the 'rich world can and must end poverty'

Pope Francis has called tax cuts for the wealthy a 'structure of sin' before telling a conference at the Vatican the 'rich world can and must end poverty'.

At a seminar on economic inclusion hosted by the Church on Wednesday, Francis insisted that poverty could be beaten if the world's rich play a full part in ending inequality.

'Today’s structures of sin include repeated tax cuts for the richest people, often justified in the name of investment and development,' Francis told the meeting organized by the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences.

'We are neither condemned to inequality nor to paralysis in the face of injustice,' he later added.

'The rich world and a prosperous economy can and must end poverty.'

The Pope told attendants, including IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, that hundreds of billions of dollars of taxes are not being paid, causing health care and education to suffer.

http://www.hideoutnow.com/2020/02/pope-francis-calls-tax-cuts-for-wealthy.html

Hand over all your riches and land then demon!

Dems demand Twitter, Facebook take down edited video of Pelosi ripping up State of the Union speech posted by Trump

Democrats are calling on Twitter and Facebook to take down an edited video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., ripping up the State of the Union address – claiming it's designed to “mislead” people.

“The latest fake video of Speaker Pelosi is deliberately designed to mislead and lie to the American people, and every day that these platforms refuse to take it down is another reminder that they care more about their shareholders’ interests than the public’s interests,” Drew Hammill, Pelosi's deputy chief of staff, said Friday.

more

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democrats-demand-twitter-yank-edited-video-of-pelosi-ripping-state-of-the-union-speech-posted-by-trump

Actor Orson Bean, Father-in-Law to Andrew Breitbart, Hit by Two Cars in Los Angeles and Killed

Actor Orson Bean was killed Friday in Los Angeles. Orson was 91. The conservative actor and comedian was hit by two cars while crossing a street in the Venice neighborhood.

Orson was father-in-law to former conservative star Andrew Breitbart. Orson was filmed with Andrew in the film Hating Breitbart released in 2013 after Andrew’s death.

The AP reported on his death.

Related: Larry Solov: Breitbart News Founder and President Reflects on Orson Bean’s Life and What He Meant to Breitbart Nation

Orson Bean, the witty actor and comedian who enlivened the game show “To Tell the Truth” and played a crotchety merchant on “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” was hit and killed by a car in Los Angeles, authorities said. He was 91.

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office confirmed Bean’s Friday night death, saying it was being investigated as a “traffic-related” fatality. The coroner’s office provided the location where Bean was found, which matched reports from police.

A man was crossing the road outside of a crosswalk in the Venice neighborhood when he was clipped by a vehicle and fell, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Drake Madison said. A second driver then struck him in what police say was the fatal collision. Both drivers remained on the scene, neither was impaired and Bean’s death was being treated as an accident, Madison said.

Bean appeared in a number of films — notably, “Anatomy of a Murder” and “Being John Malkovich” — and starred in several top Broadway productions, receiving a Tony nod for the 1962 Comden-Green musical “Subways Are for Sleeping.” But fans remembered him most for his many TV appearances from the 1950s onward.

“Mr. Bean’s face comes wrapped with a sly grin, somewhat like the expression of a child when sneaking his hand into the cookie jar,” The New York Times noted in a review of his 1954 variety show, “The Blue Angel.” It said he showed “a quality of being likable even when his jokes fall flat.”

Born in Burlington, Vermont, in 1928 as Dallas Frederick Burrows, he never lost the Yankee accent that proved a perfect complement to the dry, laconic storytelling that established him as popular humorist. He had picked the stage name Orson Bean “because it sounded funny.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/02/actor-orson-bean-father-in-law-to-andrew-breitbart-hit-by-two-cars-in-los-angeles-and-killed/