Iraq

With both Russia and Iran seemingly prepared to do what's necessary to ensure Bashar al-Assad isn't toppled in Syria, John Kerry admits that the US strategy of brining about regime change in Damascus is now in serious jeopardy. Speaking from London on Saturday, Kerry attempted to hang on to the “Assad must go” narrative, but in what might fairly be described as the most conciliatory language yet, Washington’s top diplomat essentially admitted that the timetable for Assad’s exit is now completely indeterminate. Meanwhile, Moscow and Tehran are set to hash out Syria's future seemingly without any input from the Americans.

Winston Churchill famously said in 1939: “I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key. That key is Russian national interest." In making ISIS, not Assad, public enemy No. 1, Putin has it right. It is we Americans who are the mystery inside an enigma now.

“The poll also confirms a deteriorating environment. A majority in both countries say things are heading in the wrong direction... In Syria, just 21% prefer life now to what life was like under the full control of Bashar al Assad."

For the second consecutive day, Bashar al-Assad pounded ISIS targets across Syria on Friday, serving notice that Russia's stepped up "technical" and "logistical" support may have turned the tide in the country's four-year civil war. With Moscow having called Washington's bluff, Obama instructs Defense Secretary Ashton Carter to liaise with the Russian military while in Tehran, Major General Qassem Soleimani lays bare America's ISIS strategy.

Ordinary Americans frequently ask why politicians and government officials appear to be so obtuse, rarely recognizing what is actually occurring in the country. That is partly due to the fact that the political class lives in a bubble of its own creation, but it might also be because many of America’s leaders actually accept that there is an unelected, unappointed, and unaccountable presence within the system that actually manages what is taking place behind the scenes. That would be the American deep state. America’s deep state is completely corrupt: it exists to sell out the public interest, and includes both major political parties as well as government officials.

"In the west, it is common knowledge to walk out of a room wearing the same pair of shoes that you wore while entering the room. Nay, it is common sense. However here in Sh?m, our Syrian brothers have a very peculiar philosophy whereby they believe that everyone can share each other’s footwear, irrespective of foot size."

Our current monetary system is the root cause of many evils of today. Let’s take war, a topic we discussed in this article, as an example. Without a monetary system that creates currency out of thin air, most of the wars that we have had and still have would simply not be financeable. This system is controlled by a few, who change the rules to their own benefit. And as we have seen they use their privileges to finance wars and to bribe politicians. By holding your wealth in precious metals you are rejecting the current system and also protecting yourself from “financial tyranny”. This includes: capital controls, expropriation, bail-ins, bailouts, negative interest rates, market manipulation on a wide scale and massive paper currency fluctuations.

"There are modern weapons that the regime didn't previously have, be they rocket launchers or air to ground to missiles."

"If you are worried about them, stop supporting terrorists. Can you feel sad for a child's death in the sea and not for thousands of children who have been killed by the terrorists in Syria?"

America Wanted War … Not a Negotiated Peace

There is no “war on police” happening in America today. What is happening is a growing movement of people who want police accountability, profess a desire to reform the justice system so that we stop incarcerating people for the oxymoron of “victimless crimes,” and an end to the widespread thieving of the public without due process via a practice known as civil asset forfeiture.

"The tourist group of 22 had parked their four four-by-four vehicles off road for a barbecue near the Bahariya oasis, a tourist site in the western desert, when army aircraft suddenly began shelling them from above"...

According to Reuters "Russia has positioned about a half dozen tanks at a Syrian airfield where it has been steadily building up defenses." The sources of this material escalation: two U.S. officials...  speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter. Just like the "sources" on all Greek developments over the past 5 years. We can only hope the "anonymous" US officials will soon provide photographic evidence of their claims.

Just as Europe is shutting its doors to Syrian refugees, the US is opening its own. The following map and list reveals the 180 refugee processing centers that will host some 10,000 Syrian refugees in the coming year.