Syrian SitRep- Israel Hits Damascus:Tishreen Dam Return: Israeli Settlments OK: Counterpunch, Still Servile.

9 diverse news article

 1- Israel Says Rockets From Golan, Resulting in “Retaliatory” Strikes on Damascus    Israel claims rockets were fired from Golan. So they attacked Damascus. You see the logic right?
What? You don’t? Nor do I.

2- The US Says Israeli Settlements are A-OK             

"President Trump and Secretary of State Pompeo come through again."

Notice the heavy handed spin throughout the article? The manipulative emotional language. Ya just gotta have contempt for mind control!
                   
Counterpunch continues to demonstrate it’s servitude to the empire

3- Erdogan’s Ethnic Cleansing of the Kurds is Still Happening

    Silence when the Usrael Kurds ethnically cleansed the area, but, now... we have our empire friendly ‘outrage’. Also notice the spinning of Rojova as something that exists vs the reality of it being annexed Syrian territory. Annexed and cleansed by the SDF/PKK/YPG with the help of the US?

"We know that Turkey’s pressure on the Kurds to leave Rojava"

Does Syria recognize Rojova?  Does Turkey? Iran? Russia? Rojova is Usrael construct. It exists in the language of the 5 eyes media. Does Assad recognize North Eastern Syria as Kurdish? No.
 In fact Assad say’s the North East of Syria  was majority Arab- Which it was as documented in very early reports covering the Syrian destabilization, until above mentioned and also documented ethnic cleansing, including the mass refugee outflow to Turkey took place.       

4-  Northern Syria is Arab, not Kurdish: Assad

“I would like to clarify that this area in northern and northeastern Syria is a majority Arab area. 70% of the residents are Arabs, not the other way around. Even the forces fighting there are a mixture of Kurds and Arabs," Assad said.

“The Americans, however, supported the Kurdish groups and gave them the leadership to create the image that the area is Kurdish to create a Kurdish rivalry with the other groups in Syria,” Assad claimed.

Notice how the 5 eyes alt media isn’t mentioning these Assad statements choosing instead to focus on Epstein, Baghdadi and Erdogan. Doesn't fit the agenda, I guess?
                       
5- YPG/PKK have attacked Russian military patrol as the patrolled with their Turkish compatriots

Russian Patrol attacked

Be sure to view the video available at the link. Looks well documented by a diverse number of people.

"Supporters of the YPG/PKK terror group on Monday assaulted Russian military vehicles conducting joint patrols with the Turkish military in northern Syria.

YPG/PKK terrorists tried to block armored vehicles with concrete blocks, pelting them with Molotov cocktails and stones as Anadolu Agency filmed the joint ground patrols conducted under a deal reached between Ankara and Moscow last month.

One of Russian vehicles was also targeted by Molotov cocktails, temporarily stopping before continuing on the patrol route"

 Again, be sure to watch the video at link # 5
                   

6- Turkey, Russia hold 8th round of joint patrol in N Syria

"Turkish and Russian troops held the eighth round of joint patrol in northern Syria under a deal reached last month for withdrawal of Syrian Kurdish fighters, said Turkey's Defense Ministry on Monday.

"Turkish and Russian units completed their eighth joint land patrol according to plan with the participation of UAVs in the east of the Euphrates. In the Ayn al-Arab region, where the land patrol was conducted, UAVs also took part and were accompanied by four vehicles from each side totalling eight," said a written statement by the ministry."

There are reports that Syria has control of the Tishreen Dam. Hope these reports are correct?  My hopes aside there are conflicting statements about this situation.  Tishreen has been held by Kurds for years now. They took it in 2015, conveniently, from ISIS.

7 -  2015 " Syrian Kurds take strategic Dam From ISIS" 

 The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a rebel alliance that includes the powerful YPG Kurdish militia and Arab rebel groups, wrested control of the strategic Tishreen Dam from "IS" on Saturday after making rapid advances south earlier this week, Kurdish media reported.

The Syrian Kurdish news agency ANHA reported that SDF forces backed by US-led coalition airstrikes continued the offensive after crossing to the west of the dam, one of three major dams on the Euphrates that provides power to northern Syria and acts as a major transport line connecting "IS"-controlled areas of Aleppo province with their self-declared capital Raqqa.

Brett McGurk, the US special envoy for the anti-IS coalition, said on Twitter the assault was part of a broader offensive against IS, including an Iraqi army assault to take back Ramadi.

Lawrence of Kurdistan aka Brett McGurk

#ISIL terrorists on verge of losing primary supply line into #Raqqa at #Tishreen Dam. Dam also impacts Euphrates water flow into #Iraq. 2/3

— Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) December 26, 2015

 By taking and holding the dam the Usrael Kurds have held vast swathes of Syria and her people hostage by denying electricity from the dam.

image from TASS

8-  TASS avoids mentioning which party has been holding the dam hostage. It was the Usrael Kurds.

"The Syrian government forces have taken control over the second-most powerful Tishrin hydroelectric rock-fill dam (Aleppo Province), spokesperson for the Russian command of the armed forces in Syria Boris Fomichev told reporters.

On November 18, the Russian military police will launch patrolling operations in the area surrounding this facility of strategic importance.

The Tishrin Dam is situated 90 km away from Aleppo and was built on the Euphrates jointly by Russian and Syrian engineers 20 years ago. As the civil war in the country erupted, it was captured by Islamic State militants who controlled the facility for a long time.
                                           
"Now, it [the dam] is liberated thanks to efforts and bravery of the Syrian people. The power plant was liberated as well as adjacent territories. It is now back up and running, it is supplying electricity to the Raqqa and Aleppo Provinces. People are working as normal, there is no terrorism here," Fomichev said.

The Aleppo Province’s electricity supply is of critical importance as its capital is an economic and industrial center of the country. The Syrian authorities are currently making every effort to restore it.

SDF acknowledges they've given the dam over but claim they are keeping their governmental structures in place and they have NO agreement with Damascus regarding the dam

9- Kurdistan 24

There was no political agreement with the Syrian government.

Hassan underlined that the institutions of the Kurdish-backed, multi-ethnic Self-Administration of North and East Syria would remain intact and continue working as before.

What the reality of this situation is....??  It's anyone’s guess.

Venice Floods: Earth Changes & Earth/ Moon Tidal Interaction

It's not a mystery why Venice has a flooding issue- It's not an unknown. It's not even a new occurrence. And the proof that this has a thing to do with "climate change" is non existent. Though the spin is always and ever present. In fact, the record high tide was set in 1966. Long before AGW was claimed to have been occurring.  Facts and reality have to reign over spin and perception management.


Another High Tide Hits Venice

Reeling from devastating floods this week, Venice suffered another exceptionally high tide on Sunday, with the water peaking at 150 centimeters (4.9 feet)

Though lower than the water peak of 187 centimeters on Tuesday - the highest level in 50 years, the third major flooding was still dangerous.

"Maximum attention for today's tide," Luigi Brugnaro, the Italian city's major, tweeted.

Water flooded St. Mark's Square and hundreds of voluntary workers were helping citizens cope with the emergency.

The city beloved around the world for its canals, historic architecture and art, was hit by the week's highest tide on Tuesday. That was just seven centimeters lower than the record 194 centimeters set in 1966 and caused the city's worst flooding in 50 years, submerging nearly 80 percent of the city.

In 1966 the tides hit a peak of 194 centimeters- higher then highest tidal wave that occurred last week.  The fact that Venice is pretty much a floating city built on many small islands and has been sinking for years (shifting plate tectonics) doesn't get mentioned in the indoctrination media.

How many Islands make up Venice?

The city of Venice is the capital and the administrative center of the Veneto region in northeastern Italy. It consists of 118 small islands linked by 400 bridges.

Venice Sinking as Tectonic Plates Shift

Venice's subsidence (the gradual caving in or sinking of an area of land) was recognized as a major issue decades ago, when scientists realized that pumping groundwater from beneath the city, combined with the ground's compaction from centuries of building, was causing the city to settle.

Still sinking

The team use data from 2000 to 2010 to track changes in the elevation of Venice and its surrounding lagoons and found that the city of Venice was subsiding on average about 1 to 2 millimeters a year (0.04 to 0.08 inches per year). The patches of land in Venice's lagoon (117 islands in all) are also sinking, with northern sections of the lagoon dropping at a rate of 2 to 3 mm (0.08 to 0.12 inches) per year, and the southern lagoon subsiding at 3 to 4 mm (0.12 to 0.16 inches) per year.

Venice has been sinking, slowly, for decades now.

"Our combined GPS and InSAR analysis clearly captured the movements over the last decade that neither GPS nor InSAR could sense alone," said study team member Shimon Wdowinski, associate research professor of marine geology and geophysics at the University of Miami.

And tilting

The team also found that the area was tilting a bit, about a millimeter or two eastward per year, something never noticed before. That means the western part — where the city of Venice is — is higher than the eastern sections.

What's causing the sinking?

The forces causing the subsidence now are likely natural ones that have been impacting the area for a long time, particularly plate tectonics. The Adriatic plate, on which Venice sits, is subducting beneath the Apennines Mountains and causing the city and its environs to drop slightly in elevation. The compaction of the sediments beneath Venice also remains a factor

The Moon and Tides

So simple even a child, including Greta Thunberg, can and should understand..

"Tides are really all about gravity, and when we're talking about the daily tides, it's the moon's gravity that's causing them.

“High tides and low tides are caused by the moon. The moon's gravitational pull generates something called the tidal force. The tidal force causes Earth—and its water—to bulge out on the side closest to the moon and the side farthest from the moon. These bulges of water are high tides.

As the Earth rotates, your region of Earth passes through both of these bulges each day. When you're in one of the bulges, you experience a high tide. When you're not in one of the bulges, you experience a low tide. This cycle of two high tides and two low tides occurs most days on most of the coastlines of the world. “

Greta says listen to the scientists. Are you? I certainly am.

The science says tides come in and go out. The science says the moon affects the Tides.

Venice is built on more then a hundred small islands, which are sinking due to plate tectonics. It's a shame that's for sure, but, it's the way of the earth and the larger system having zero to do with "climate change" as spun. Still the planet is not on fire. 

Could US Force Regime Change in Turkey? The Short Answer is Yes.

The longer answer is below. Bearing in mind this has been an ongoing process. 
 Pay attention to the fact that Istanbul's mayor is going to London to meet the banksters.  Recall my reporting here that there were anomalies in the Istanbul mayoral election? And that the candidate positively reeked of western backing. Called that one correctly. I'll relink to one previous mention.  And will highlight the upcoming meeting. Are we seeing the early seeds of a divided Turkey being planted? I'd say... YES.

The interview is with David L. Phillips, director of Columbia University’s Programme on Peace-building and Rights. It was featured originally on Ahval News (which is an American outfit masquerading as Turkish news- Always with a specific bias) The link here is to Arab weekly

Facts below- no spin

"The United States should initiate policy moves that could help oust Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said a former top US official."

This is the already mentioned David L Phillips:  Phillips served as a senior adviser at the US State Department under Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

"Phillips outlined policy moves that would marginalise the Turkish government and potentially lead to a regime change.

First, the United Nations or other independent body should be urged to hold Erdogan to account."

If the UN or some other "independent" body is truly independent (free from influence) how then could they be "urged"(try earnestly or persistently to persuade (someone) to do something)  to hold Erdogan to account?  Urged would suggest the use of influence. Which suggests non independence.  Which makes Phillips statement blatantly contradictory. Or only believed by those suffering extreme cognitive dissonance. (mental discomfort experienced by a person who holds two or more contradictory beliefs)

 "Second, the US Congress should move forward with measures against Turkey for its S-400 purchase under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act and a second sanctions bill for its Syria offensive.

A third step would be for the United States to get its nuclear weapons out of the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey"

“Losing Turkey is not such a big deal,” he said. “We’re prepared to bear that cost, in order to galvanise the public in Turkey in service of an alternate regime.”

Losing Turkey is a big deal and the US won't go that route unless they can galvanize the public in service of an alternative regime- Which they are working on present time.

"Might Turkey’s leader of more than 16 years be vulnerable? “His power at home is diminishing as new generations of Turks demand more freedoms and splinter groups from his own party are entering politics,” Asli Aydintasbas wrote in the Washington Post.

Erdogan and AKP are polling higher then ever.

Erdogan’s likeliest challenger, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, soon takes his first steps onto the world stage, visiting London November 20-21 to meet with top officials including London Mayor Sadiq Khan and executives from Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Barclays and sitting down for a high-profile interview with Bloomberg News"

 July 2019

 Stated here in July and prior to that :  Yup, AKP is under pressure from the 'leftist' opposition that won the election in Istanbul who have been playing the divisive identity politics card.  Sowing the seeds of discontent. Perfect for destabilization.

Recall my writing about the opposition in Istanbul that looks to have some serious western backing?

Off the suspiciously western friendly mayor goes to London- to visit the bankers... what are the odds? Something is already afoot. Get it? The coup failed. Usrael is going to up it's game.

Last paragraph below:

“We’ve already lost Turkey and as long as Erdogan stays as head of government the prospect for US-Turkey relations to improve will remain limited,” said Phillips. “We need a regime change, not only in Turkey, but in the United States, to put this relationship back on track.”

Trump is no issue for the US. He's been a good servant to elite and Israeli interests. This is about Erdogan and Turkey, but it's been dressed up in Democrat friendly language.  Remaking the region. Creating the Israeli desired Greater Kurdistan. Balkanizing Iran. Weakening Russia and China. It's all right out in front of us. In plain sight. And it has been for years.

Kurdish Smuggling Of Oil From Syria has Been Supporting Global Terrorism & Israel

Saved in September of this year. More pertinent then ever in light of the fact that the US and their Kurdish proxies are intending to stay and continue stealing Syria's oil. Denying Damascus badly needed rebuilding revenue.

Link

This report is from the Syrian Network for Human Rights- For the purpose this post we're going to focus on one aspect of this report. That is the Kurdish smuggling of oil- with no accountability- Not including their sales to Damascus. Which I take issue with for entirely different reasons. Reasons such as- this is Syrian oil. Which should not be controlled by Usrael Kurds at all. It’s the sales elsewhere we’re going to deal with. It’s a subject I’ve delved into previously. Though I'd be remiss to not state that indeed the sales to Damascus are also funding Global Terrorism- SNHR is mostly concerned with the sales to Damascus as a source of terror funding. Which they are. But so are the sales to Israel and others. Because Syrian oil went many places... I maintain still that this oil belongs to Syria and all of the Syrian people and should be used by them for cooking, heating, transport and rebuilding. Not to fund PKK activities.

" SDF has used the financial gains from its operations without any accountability or transparency, with a large proportion of that money possibly reaching the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is classified as a terrorist organization. This implicates the SDF in supporting and financing global terrorism.

In this context, as the report states, in April 2019, several villages and towns in Deir Ez-Zour witnessed public outrage over poor service conditions; although this is an oil-rich region, its inhabitants have not witnessed the restoration of infrastructure or hospitals and have not been provided with basic services since the SDF took control of the region.

This report highlights the SDF’s control of Syria’s oil fields, and its accompanying failure to disclose any information or show any transparency in revealing where millions of dollars in oil and gas sales revenues have gone and where these funds have been disbursed.

As the report explains, the governorates of Raqqa, Hasaka and Deir Ez-Zour contain nearly 20 oil fields, 11 of which are under the control of Syrian Democratic Forces; these 11 fields have a productive capacity far larger than that of the fields under the control of Syrian Regime forces, meaning that Syrian Democratic Forces control 80 percent of Syria’s oil and gas production.

The report relies on investigative and statistical reports by specialist agencies specializing in energy, and compares oil productivity between 2010 and 2018, revealing that the SDF oil fields produce approximately 14,000 barrels of oil per day.

The report calls on the US government and the governments of countries participating in supporting the International Coalition against ISIS to open an immediate investigation into the involvement of Syrian Democratic Forces in oil-smuggling operations benefiting the Syrian regime, which is on US sanctions lists, to ensure disclosure of all the money it has received from selling oil and gas since 2012 to date, to provide a financial statement on where and how the money was spent, and to stop supporting the SDF and the PYD fully and immediately if it is proven that they are transferring funds from Syria’s oil and gas revenues to the terrorist PKK.

 “the involvement of Syrian Democratic Forces in oil-smuggling operations benefiting the Syrian regime, which is on US sanctions lists, to ensure disclosure of all the money it has received from selling oil and gas since 2012 to date”

       
Usrael Kurds PKK/YPG has been smuggling oil since 2012. I am way less concerned about what they’ve sold to Damascus- for the simple reason, already stated, though it funds terror,  this is Syria’s oil. Thanks to America, France, Israel etc., The Kurds have zero right to claim control of it, as they have. Additionally Damascus has used this oil to assist the rest of the residents of Syria- Providing them with much needed fuel.

 What I want to know is since 2012- how much oil and oil profits found there way from the SDF/PKK to the PKK at large. Enabling all sorts of benefits to accrue to a terrorist organization, of which the SDF is just a rebrand of.

 It's obvious that the smuggling would have enriched the PKK at large as America's terrorist hero. Mazloum Kobane,  is PKK

• Spectacular ISIS Attack On Western City "Just Around the Corner" Says PKK Mazloum Kobane- America's Hero, The Terrorist

Israel Buys Most Smuggled Syrian Oil......

“Kurdish and Turkish smugglers are transporting oil from ISIS controlled territory in Syria and Iraq and selling it to Israel, according to several reports in the Arab and Russian media. An estimated 20,000-40,000 barrels of oil are produced daily in ISIS controlled territory generating $1-1.5 million daily profit for the terrorist organization.

“Israel has in one way or another become the main marketer of ISIS oil. Without them, most ISIS-produced oil would have remained going between Iraq, Syria and Turkey. Even the three companies would not receive the oil if they did not have a buyer in Israel,” an industry official told the newspaper "al-Araby al-Jadeed."

Let’s go back to 2015 when it was reported at PFYT’s the Kurds and ISIS were the oil smugglers

Crude Oil and ISIS

 I would love that everyone read the above linked pdf- But if you don’t wish to read all 16 pages please go to the conclusions drawn and read there. Pg 12 of 16

    “The authors of this paper would like to make it clear from the very beginning that this has not been the case of a ‘smoking gun’. The evidence  has been  inconclusive.  But even  if volumes of ISIS crude found their way, beyond any reasonable doubt, to the international crude oil  markets  via the Ceyhan  terminal,  this fact  would not conclusively  point  to collusion between the Turkish authorities and the shadow network of smugglers, let alone ISIS operatives"

 Who is shipping this oil from Iraq into Turkey- The Kurds

    Iraq has warned buyers of crude oil that any unauthorized oil purchases made from its territory could be used to fund activities by the extremist militant group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

    In a statement on Wednesday, Iraq’s Oil Ministry said: “International purchasers [of crude oil] and other market participants should be aware that any oil exports made without the authorization of the Ministry of Oil may contain crude oil originating from fields under the control of [ISIS]. The only seller of Iraqi crude oil authorized by the Ministry of Oil is [Iraq’s state-owned oil company] SOMO.”

     Speaking on condition of anonymity, an informed source told Asharq Al-Awsat that ISIS was indeed selling Iraqi crude from captured refineries and oilfields. He said the crude was being sold to Kurdish traders in the border regions straddling Iraq, Iran and Syria, and was being shipped to Pakistan where it was being sold “for less than half its original price.” He added that many oilfields and refineries in the country remained outside government control.

 Excerpt from FT's

     Since May, the Kurds have taken matters into their own hands and sold almost 40m barrels of oil to traders via the Turkish port of Ceyhan, all shipped via pipeline, providing Erbil with vital funds as they battle Islamist militants and shelter hundreds of thousands of refugees.

Syrian Kurds earning millions in Oil Revenue- stealing Syria's oil

    “Syrian Kurdistan has been exporting its oil from the Rmeilan refinery using a pipeline built by the Baath party government,” Iraqi Kurdish Rudaw news reported Monday.

    “[The oil is then] transferred to the Alyuka refinery in the [Iraqi Kurdish] Zumar area, from there to Fishkhabour, and then on to Turkey’s Ceyhan port.”

    A “well informed source” told the agency that “the revenue from importing this oil exceeds $10 million” a month, a massive boon for the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) that has overseen a dramatic expansion of territory as Kurdish troops have rolled back ISIS in recent months.

Arab Weekly- Syria's Oil and Gas Wealth being Shared by Kurds and ISIS-
Yet more of that KurdIShIS symbiosis!

    Syria’s oil and gas wealth is being shared by ISIS and Kurdish armed groups, which heavily rely on it to finance war efforts.

    At least 60% of Syria’s oil installations are in the east and north-east, in the areas around Raqqa, the capital of ISIS’s self-proclaimed caliphate, Deir ez-Zor on the Iraqi border and the Kurdish-held area of Al-Hasakah. These have been exploited by Islamist opposition groups and Kurdish militias for two years now.

    Syria’s oil and gas wealth is being shared by ISIS and Kurdish armed groups, which heavily rely on it to finance war efforts, according to an oil worker in al-Hasakah who spoke to The Arab Weekly on condition of anonymity. “The Kurds control 274 fields, producing some 40,000 bar-rels of oil per day (bpd) in addition to 397,000 cubic metres of gas,” he said.

    ISIS tightened its grip on the fields in the southern part of al-Hasakah after evicting the Free Syrian Army and other Islamic opposition groups. Some of the largest oil and gas fields — Shadadi, Marcada and al- Hol — are in ISIS-controlled terri-tory.

    According to an oil employee who asked to be identified as JJ, some 419 oil fields producing more than 35,000 bpd and 67 gas fields with a daily production of 1 million cubic metres are controlled by ISIS.

• 2019 Another report covering SDF/PKK oil smuggling

    " The residents of the town of al-Hassin launched popular protests against SDF in Eastern Deir Ezzur by blocking the roads to SDF's oil tankers destined to the Iraqi Kurdistan Region from Hasaka, the Arabic-language al-Youm reported."

 This was apparent in 2015. It was the PKK/ISIS shipping Syrian oil out- through Iraq’s Kurdish area by way of Northern Iraq through the Ceyhan pipeline- With it going onto Israel and elsewhere.- Check the external links in the years old post. Relinked, dated 2015, above.  It appears they are continuing to steal Syrian oil and exchange it for Usrael arms.

    "In a relevant development on Saturday, the US-backed Kurdish militants received state-of-the-art weapons and military equipment, including Israeli arms in Eastern Euphrates, the Arabic-language media reports said.

    It noted that the said military shipment included advanced missiles, US air defense systems, Israeli anti-Tank Spike missiles, shoulder-mounted surface-to-air Stinger missiles and drones.

• Raqqa’s Rockefellers              

Earlier today:

Wife Of White Helmet's Founder Can't Leave Turkey- Did She Want to Leave?

Wife Of White Helmet's Founder Can't Leave Turkey- Did She Want to Leave?

• White Helmets Founder/ British Army Intelligence/OBE Recipient James Le Mesurier Found Dead- Timing?

  Not sure where it was I read some comment that the wife was Turkish. And this was supposed to signify something or another..  Le Mesurier's wife is Swedish.  She is a Swedish citizen.

 The claim is that she can't leave Turkey while an investigation is ongoing.. Which does makes sense, for the most obvious reason that she's the only person who was known to be in the company of LeMesurier at the time of his death.

Did she want to leave Turkey? I don't know. 
Why would she if there are questions about her husband's death?

Emma Hedvig Christina Winberg, the wife of British army officer James Le Mesurier who co-founded the “White Helmets” volunteer organization in Syria, leaves after being questioned by Turkish police, in Istanbul, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019. The Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said Tuesday an autopsy and other procedures were underway at Istanbul’s Forensic Medicine Institute to determine “the exact cause” of Le Mesurier’s death. (Associated Press)

Image from Washington Post

Anadolu Agency reports Thursday that James Le Mesurier’s Swedish wife, Emma Winberg, was questioned by police on Wednesday. Authorities imposed the travel ban in case she needs to be questioned again.

Le Mesurier was found dead outside his Istanbul home on Nov. 11. Police believe he fell to his death and are investigating the circumstances.

Private DHA news agency said police were examining the couple’s electronic devices.

Arabnews

ISTANBUL: Turkey has imposed a travel ban on Emma Winberg, the wife of James Le Mesurier, founder of the Mayday Rescue Foundation, who was found dead in Istanbul on Monday.
Speculation abounds over the circumstances of Le Mesurier’s death, with questions over whether the former British intelligence officer was murdered or committed suicide.
Though Turkish police sources believe Le Mesurier jumped to his death from his flat, his wife, 39, has not been allowed to return home because of Turkish law.

Le Mesurier had reportedly told his wife of suicidal thoughts two weeks before the incident. His wife notified the police that he was in a deteriorating psychological state and taking anti-depressants and medication for stress. His hospital records are also being examined.
Umur Yildirim, an attorney specialized in criminal justice, said that according to Turkish law, it was possible for Turkish authorities to impose a travel ban on people not of Turkish nationality of importance to an open investigation.  
Winberg will not be allowed to leave the country, as long as the investigation into her husband’s death continues.
Based on reports, Le Mesurier’s residence was only accessible via fingerprint, and in testimony released by Turkish authorities, Winberg claimed the pair had taken sleeping pills at around 4 a.m.the night before. She was woken by police after they were notified of a body lying outside the building.

Spectacular ISIS Attack On Western City "Just Around the Corner" Says PKK Mazloum Kobane- America's Hero, The Terrorist

Is this a threat? It certainly could be perceived as one.

Link

Turkey's aggression in northern Syria and the West's unwillingness to repatriate its foreign fighters could lead to a 'spectacular' ISIS attack on Western soil, a top Kurdish general has warned.

General Mazloum Kobane, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said that a combination of current events have created ideal conditions for the terrorist group to bounce back.

A 'spectacular' terrorist attack in a Western city could be just around the corner, he said.

'It's one of the expected things that may happen in the future,' he added.

"It's one of those expected things" Not a possibility but an expectation? Interesting wording. Sounds like a threat when stated that way.

Kurdish forces, who have been guarding 5,000 'extremely dangerous' imprisoned jihadists in jails across Syria, say they cannot keep the militants guarded on an ongoing basis. 

Kurdish forces cannot keep the militants guarded? Why can't they? They have the US embedded alongside them. They have France and German support. As well as Israeli.
What's the problem in keeping them guarded?

The changing balance in Syria means that the future is uncertain, Kobane said.

 The SDF general, who has held direct phone calls with US President Donald Trump and European leaders, said the release of the fighters would affect a number of countries, not just Syria and Iraq.  

Europe should take back their fighters... Go and get them. That would solve the problem. 
But they are choosing not to. Why? Looks to me as if they want them to stay right where the are. In Iraq and Syria. Where they are most useful.

Mazloum Kobani (nom de guerre) has been mentioned here previously- Let's take a better look at who this man really is: Our Kurdish Hero.... The Terrorist?: Scott Ritter 
Mr Ritter has written a carefully crafted presentation. Spin isn't my thing, so, we're cutting to the chase.

The leader of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, General Mazloum Abdi.

" In the past month, the name and image of General Mazloum Adbi, the commander of the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, has become well known to Americans. The decision by President Trump to precipitously withdraw U.S. forces from northeastern Syria, thereby greenlighting a Turkish military incursion which targeted Mazloum and his forces, prompted a widespread discussion about the American “abandonment” of its Kurdish allies, and General Mazloum quickly became the face of the Kurds.

The U.S. Department of State designated the PKK as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997 under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act; in 2001 the U.S. Government followed up by designating the PKK as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Entity pursuant to Executive Order 13224.  These designations were designed to restrict fundraising opportunities by denying the PKK access to U.S. financial systems, as well as facilitate the capture and prosecution of persons affiliated with the PKK.

If the United States were to engage in a train and equip program with the YPG, the Department of Defense would run afoul of U.S. law, 18 U.S. Code sections 2339B and 2339A, prohibiting the provision of material support to designated foreign terrorist organizations.

As the saying goes, therein lies the rub; in order to defeat ISIS, the United States would need to ally itself with a terrorist group it was prohibited by law from doing so. Moreover, it would need to provide weapons and training to an organization which had, over the course of 30-plus years, killed tens of thousands of Turks through hundreds of terrorist actions.

From its very inception, the U.S.-SDF relationship was a study in contradiction and controversy. The sleight of hand rebranding ploy by the U.S. was a transparent gimmick that fooled no-one;  (I'd argue it fooled all those that wanted to be fooled and wanted to fool their audiences. Names have already been named) when the elite soldiers of the YPG’s anti-terrorism force (YAT) started using expensive U.S.-made equipment, such as night-vision goggles and specially fitted out M-4 assault weapons, the Pentagon was quick to note that it had not provided the equipment, since that would violate U.S. law (the equipment instead made its way to the Kurds via a circuitous route that by-passed Congressional oversight.)

Moreover, the U.S. backtracked from its assurances that it would recover the weapons it had supplied to the SDF, extending the timeline until it became obvious to all the weapons were there to stay. 

Most problematic of all was the fact that the U.S., through its interaction with the SDF, was working closely with personalities the Turks reviled as senior leadership figures within the PKK, including General Abdi. While the Turks were able to turn a blind eye to this cozy relationship, when the Kurds proclaimed their own autonomous region within Syria, which they called Rojava, in May 2016, the Turks were quick to condemn both it and the U.S.-Kurdish military relationship. (after the coup attempt)
Abdi, whose real name is Ferhad Abdi Şahin, participated in PKK attacks on Turkish villages and military outposts in the mid- to late-1990’s which killed dozens of Turkish civilians and soldiers.

After serving as a PKK fundraiser in Europe, Mazloum returned to northern Iraq where he commanded PKK special operations forces who were responsible for dozens of violent attacks against targets inside Turkey. In 2011 the Turks petitioned Interpol to issue a Red Notice on Mazloum, designating him as a top tier terrorist who should be detained on sight. Mazloum returned to Syria in 2013 to take command of the YPG.

Today General Abdi finds himself feted by President Trump, Congress and the U.S. media for his role in defeating ISIS and killing al-Baghdadi. Trump has indicated a desire to meet General Mazloum, while Senator Lindsay Graham has pushed the State Department to help expedite a visa so Abdi can travel to the United States. 
For its part, Turkey has drawn up a formal request that the United States arrest General Mazloum, citing the Interpol Red Notice, and extradite him to Turkey to face justice. In a world where hypocrisy and double standards are more commonplace than consistent application of the rule of law, the American relationship with General Mazloum—our man in Rojava—stands out: to wage a war against terror, the United States has allied with a man who, by any measure, meets the definition of terrorist. Consistency has never been the forte of American diplomacy, yet in the coming weeks and months the U.S. will have to decide whether it values its relationship with Turkey, a NATO ally, over a man the Turks revile as a terrorist, and yet has provided the U.S. with yeoman’s service in the fight against ISIS.

Ritter presents the official narrative about fighting ISIS. That's rubbish. Stinkin' rotting rubbish in my opinion. As for his claim about consistency not being the forte of American diplomacy. Bullbiscuits to that as well!  The US has shown a consistent willingness to work with terrorists- Going back to Afghanistan. Kosovo etc., To believe otherwise it to believe in a contrived reality that is far, far, far from truth. The very fact that the US engaged, armed,  and fought alongside a known terrorist/terror group tells us all we need to know about their standards.

Greta's Endless Hot Air Leaves Me Cold- Record Breaking Cold and Snow: Updated

  Did you spot the contradiction in the headline? Hot Air can't Leave me Cold.
And "global warming" can't be the cause of record cold and snow in the fall/autumn.
 As we bask in January like temperatures here, with 30 cms/ 12 inches of snow just outside, the question is ... where's the warming?- Cold being the absence of heat and it's unusually abnormally cold. And global warming, aka AGW, aka human caused carbon warming, cannot bring the cold. That's just spin for the gullible.

Weather Network

Tuesday, November 12th 2019, 8:20 pm - Frigid air descends on southern Ontario ahead of the next shot of snow.

The record-breaking early November snow has moved on, but the record-breaking cold is just taking hold over southern Ontario. A blast of Arctic air will see temperatures plunge into the minus teens for some with wind chill values hitting -20 before dawn on Wednesday. The brisk north-northwest winds responsible will also spur continuing lake-effect streamers for some -- and that's ahead of the next widespread snowy system set to move in on Wednesday night. We look at where travel will still be tricky, and how long the bitter cold lasts, below.

Recorded temperature at this moment  is -15 C or 6 F ( 6: 15 am est)
Seasonal norms for this time would be a low of 2C or 34 F.  Instead we're sitting at minus 15C. That's a big temperature difference. Large deviation from seasonal norms..Where's that warming?

UPDATE 5:00 pm est Nov. 13/19

 Hamilton and Niagara break records for snow and cold in winter ( FALL, it's FALL) welcome

According to Phillips, Hamilton had never seen a snowier Remembrance Day. The last snowfall record for Nov. 11 was set in 1983 with just 8.6 cm of snow.

Phillips said that Hamilton International Airport recorded 17 cm of snow, while the St. Catharines area and Grimsby got even more, with places receiving anywhere from 20 to 25 cm of snowfall. 

"The closer you were to the United States, the more snow you got," he said. "[You would be] closer to the centre of the storm."

Frigid Nov. 12

And with the snow came the cold. As the storm moved away, Phillips said, it ushered in the colder, Arctic air behind it.  
It was brutally cold on Tuesday as people experienced temperatures that Phillips says are normally expected in the worst parts of winter. 
Environment Canada recorded a low of -14.1 C on Tuesday, which smashed the previous record of -7 C. Cold

Toronto Under Extreme Cold Alert as Temps Drop Significantly Overnight

The city’s chief medical officer has issued an extreme cold weather alert as temperatures are expected to drop significantly Tuesday night.

According to Environment Canada, temperatures should drop to -17 C with windchill late Tuesday evening into early Wednesday morning.

Temperatures are supposed to rise to -4 C by Wednesday afternoon.

The alert will be in effect “until further notice,” the city said.

Typically, the city issues an extreme weather alert when Environment and Climate Change Canada forecast a temperature of -15 C or colder, or a windchill of -20 C or colder.

“Exposure to cold weather can be harmful to your health. Hypothermia occurs when the body’s core temperature drops below 35 degrees Celsius and can have severe consequences, including organ failure and death. Frostbite can also occur in cold weather when skin freezes and, in severe cases, can lead to amputation when deeper tissues freeze,” the city warned in a statement.

The city is opening a warming centre at Metro Hall......

RECORD-BREAKING COLD TEMPERATURES

Even if your area escapes the snow on Wednesday morning, it won't escape the cold. Frigid low temperatures more reminiscent of mid-January are expected to smash records early Wednesday, as temperatures dip into the minus teens for much of southern Ontario. Bitter wind chill will make heading outside Wednesday morning even more unpleasant.

My American friends are chillin' as well- Arctic Blast ya know?

Forecast low temperatures for Wednesday.

A surge of frigid air is barreling across the eastern half of the nation, unleashing snow and, in many locations, the coldest weather on record for this time of year.
The National Weather Service is calling it "the coldest surge of arctic air so far this season," predicting 385 cold records to fall from the Plains to the East Coast through Wednesday.
In many locations, temperatures have bottomed out or will drop to 15 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit below average. For tens of millions, the cold will barge in suddenly, with temperatures plummeting 30 degrees F in 12 hours or less.
In Dallas, the temperature crashed 19 degrees F in a single hour Monday as the Arctic front moved through, from 65 to 46 F (18 to 7 degrees Celsius) between 10 am and 11 am local time, as winds gusted to 44 mph (70 km/h). Lows are predicted to drop into the 20s there on Monday night.

The cold first invaded the northern Rockies on Sunday. In Havre, Mont., the mercury tanked to a record low of -18 F (-27 C) on Sunday. Then, on Monday, temperatures in northern Montana fell as low as -30 F (-34 C).
The cold is rapidly expanding southeast and will even reach the zone from Galveston, Texas, to the Florida Panhandle along the Gulf Coast. By Wednesday morning, almost the entirety of the eastern half of the Lower 48 will see freezing temperatures, except for the Florida Peninsula.

How's the UK faring? 

UK weather forecast: Snow to slam Britain after -9C night - will it hit near you?

Britain is set to be slammed by up to 10cm of snow after temperatures plunge as low as -9C on the coldest night of autumn so far.
This week has brought the first cold snap of the season, with temperatures several degrees below normal, and nasty weather conditions are expected from Tuesday.

Cold is the absence of heat. Clearly the planet is not on fire. Can we stop with this nonsense already?