On COI #207, Kyle Anzalone and Connor Freeman update the JCPOA talks’ recent developments and the Russians’ security proposals presented to Washington. Kyle discusses the Russians pulling 10,000 troops off the border with Ukraine and sending them back to their bases. This is potentially a show of goodwill before the upcoming talks with the U.S. next month. Kyle and Connor then cover some recent escalations that do not necessarily bode well for substantive diplomacy like the Americans flying spy planes over Ukraine not far from the separatist Donbas region. There is also talk of a...
region
Salafis Throwing Bombs: How American and British Planners Partnered With Al-Qaeda Affiliated Groups At the Start of the Syrian Civil War
Introduction In the mainstream view, al-Qaeda did not play a role in the Syria conflict until Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi dispatched his deputy, Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, to Syria in August 2011 to establish a wing of the group there, called Jabhat al-Nusra, or the Nusra Front. Additionally, al-Qaeda allegedly did not carry out any military operations until December 2011 and did not announce its establishment until January 2012. However, there is evidence that al-Qaeda affiliated militants were involved in the Syrian conflict much earlier. Saudi intelligence...
Shot By Cops, Thwarted By Judges And Geography
How qualified immunity works: U.S. courts show wide regional disparities in granting qualified immunity, the controversial legal doctrine now under fire for protecting officers accused of excessive force. The shooter was Fort Worth, Texas, police officer Hugo Barron. He and his partner had been looking for two shirtless Black men wanted for an armed robbery involving tennis shoes. When the cops spotted David Collie, they pulled into the apartment complex, got out of the squad car and started shouting commands at him. Police dashboard camera video shows that Collie was walking away from...
New SARS-CoV-2 Variant: More Infectious – Less Lethal
Genetic and Engineering News: A new variant of SARS-CoV-2 designated D614G is displacing the original variant D614 in all geographic regions. The new variant has been shown in laboratory studies to be more infectious but less lethal than the original D614 variant. "The laboratory results were detailed in an article that appeared in the journal Cell, in an article titled, “Tracking changes in SARS-CoV-2 Spike: evidence that D614G increases infectivity of the COVID-19 virus.” Besides addressing the question of infectivity, the article presents geographic information about the rise of the...
SFMTA: Improving Mobility or Blocking Competition?
"The point of different city transport agencies nationwide is to foster mobility. These MTAs run the local or regional transit service, and in some cases manage parking, taxis, roads, and other right-of-way issues. But many of them do a poor job. They manage transit services marred by misallocation and lack of innovation, helping explain why ridership has declined recently even as urban cores grow. But worse is that these MTAs, aiming to protect their fiefdoms, often stifle private competition that arises in response to these public failures. This double whammy perfectly describes the San...
Ron Paul asks: Why Was Soleimani Assassinated?
President Trump and Mike Pompeo told us that Iranian Gen. Soleimani had to be assassinated when he was in Baghdad at the end of last week because he was on a mission to plan and implement attacks on US military and diplomatic personnel in the region. But their story is not holding up very well, as reports surface that he was on a peace mission and other US claims are not adding up. So…why was he killed? Watch today’s Ron Paul Liberty Report: https://youtu.be/jkRSXW4swFk
Trump Declares Victory guest Phil Gibson
Phil Gibson returns to the show to talk about Trump's Syria speech and cryptos. Trump said the ceasefire the US created along the Turkish/Syrian border has become permanent and the US is to thank for the new peace in the region. Phil and Kyle explain how other forces are working to stabilize a region that is in part in chaos because of endless American wars. In his speech, Trump signaled his opposition to America being the world policemen and the forever wars. However, he also said some American troops will remain in eastern Syria to guard the oil.
Poll On Americans Attitude To Syria Pull-out
Of course their is a partisan divide among Republicans and Democrats. Among Democrats, 57 percent say they feel it was wrong to remove U.S. troops from the region. Despite criticism from leading Republicans, only 16 percent of GOP supporters think the withdrawal was the wrong call. Their is a large percentage of people that are undecided. Independents are fairly split on the issue but even among independents, a large percent were undecided. Of course polls are only a snap-shot in time. More at...
The Syrian War Drags On
On FPF #374, I discuss the Syrian War. The war crawls on as regional and global powers via to assert their influence in Syria. I update the ongoing battles in Syria and the geopolitical conflicts prolonging the war. The UK recently seized an Iranian oil tanker and alleged the ship was breaking European sanctions against Assad. Links How to Think About Internation Relations Caitlin Johnstone on opposing war Doug Bandow on...
Elijah J. Magnier: Iran And Trump On The Edge Of Abyss
Elijah J. Magnier reports that the Iranians have sent Trump a clear message. The first message is that Iran is ready for an all-out war, no matter what the consequences. The second message is that Iran is aware that the US President has cornered himself; the embarrassing attack came a week after Trump launched his electoral campaign. This is unbelievable if true. According to well-informed sources, Iran rejected a proposal by US intelligence – made via a third party – that Trump be allowed to bomb one, two or three clear objectives, to be chosen by Iran, so that both countries could...