Breaking News: Syrian Forces Liberate All Cities of Syria's East Ghouta

Sputnik

The Syrian army's command  has said that its forces have liberated all the territory of Eastern Ghouta, including cities and settlements.

"After a series of carefully planned battles and military operations conducted by our armed forces with the help of friendly and allied forces, control over all the cities and settlements of the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta has been restored," the statement said.

The army command stressed that the operation had secured the Syrian capital and the main routes leading into the city.

A source in the military told Sputnik earlier that the cities of Irbin, Jobar, Zamalka and Ain Terma had been fully freed with the government troops being deployed there in order to check if the cities are mined.

"A large warehouse with ammunition and small arms belonging to the militants has been found in Ain Terma," the source added.

The militants' southern outpost in Eastern Ghouta which included the four cities was considered the most dangerous for Damascus, as militants launched their attacks against the city from there.

According to the source, the last convoy consisting of 65 buses is preparing to evacuate 2,935 people from the four cities, including a thousand militants to the Idlib province. With all the terrorists being evacuated from the four cities, the last city under the control of militants will be Douma.

Good news for Syria and Syrians. Definitely good for the residents of Damascus!

Clarity as the Dust Settles: Coalition Deaths/One American/Manbij. Provocation?

 So far the US media is continuing to be mostly vague on the location of these deaths- The UK media is reporting an American soldier among two killed in roadside bomb attack in Syria which also wounded five.
 The explosion occurred at Manbij. Pivotal area.Link

• The U.S. military announcement came after a Syrian official said a roadside bomb had exploded in the Arab-Kurdish town of Manbij near the Turkish border
• A U.S. defense official has said one of the two troops was an American.
• The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because details had not yet been publicly released, did not give the nationality of the second military member.
• The U.S. military did not say where the incident occurred but it came hours after a local Syrian official said that an improvised bomb exploded in the tense, mixed Arab-Kurdish town of Manbij that is not far from the border with Turkey.

Fighters from the U.S-backed Syrian Manbij Military Council rest on their kiosk at a front line position against the Turkish-backed fighters at Halawanji village, north of Manbij town, Syria

Defense Post

The Pentagon said one of two Coalition personnel killed was American, AFP reported.

The Los Angeles Times’ Special Correspondent in the Middle East Nabih Bulos tweeted that one activist said the bomb was carried in an “SDF pickup” truck.

Carried in an SDF pick up truck- How interesting. Of course, that specific tweet cannot be found by yours truly. Wonder why that might be? Was it scrubbed like the images of the "presence patrol" were?

Coalition Forces Outpost front lines Manbij

Linking back, again, to yesterday’s post  Syria's North: Is the US Readying A Provocation Or Deterrent for Turkish Forces?

 Where I'd stated, based on reports & documentation of “presence patrols” taking place and then being scrubbed, the possibility that the US was up to no good seemed quite apparent.

Yesterday's conclusion: "It seems to me the US has something planned outside of Manbij. The fact that they've scrubbed images, and appear intent on sending mixed messages to the outside world and Turkey, simultaneously, indicates they are attempting to create a state of confusion which they can take advantage of"

 Earlier today: 2 Coalition Forces Killed by IED In Syria. In The Process of Deploying Them?

This morning a question was asked to readers if it was coalition forces deploying IED’s
I was completely unaware that the explosion/coalition deaths had taken place near Manbij when I published yesterday's post. My impression was that the US had something to hide or obfuscate.

- Did the US military scrub the images of the “presence patrols” because of this explosion?

-Would the images have shown us all that coalition forces were the only forces present in that area?  

- If so would that have implicated coalition troops/partners in the deaths of their own?

To my knowledge there is no one else present between the heavily guarded coalition/ SDF fortress. And the Turkish Forces that are watched and watching all the time

“Mohammed Abu Adel, head of the Manbij Military Council, an Arab-Kurdish group in the town backed by the U.S., said the bomb went off hundreds of yards from a security headquarters that houses the council just before midnight on Thursday”

100's of yards from the Security headquarters in Manbij, the explosive in back of an SDF pick up truck- Potentially as little as just a few hundred feet away. In an area that is undoubtedly surveiled 24/7. And if anyone other then coalition forces was present they would have been shot dead. I’m sure there are snipers on duty. Always.

SDF fighter peers through binoculars at Turkish Forces

"The front line has grown more tense in recent days as Turkey threatens to advance on the town to clear it of the U.S-backed fighters"

As stated in today’s earlier post:

"Interesting that this occurred yesterday 21:00 GMT, but, the US is not blaming ISIS.
Nor a re they claiming these personnel were engaged in battle. (which they shoul d be know)Rather they are withholding details until further investigation.In fact they aren't even going to let it be known where this incident occurred. Odd"

 Conclusion based on information available is that the presence patrol (scrubbed info)  was up to no good, perhaps they were intending to provoke an attack? Perpetuate a false flag?  Set a trap for Turkish Forces- Unsure of their plan. But their own IED took them out. 
I was suspicious yesterday that something was occurring at or in Manbij- these deaths only serve to confirm my suspicions  What do you think?

UPDATE #1: A British Soldier is confirmed as the second death

Telegraph:

"A British soldier with the anti-Isil coalition has been killed by an improvised explosive device in Syria.   The attack in Manbij, a city where US personnel are stationed, happened late Thursday.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack"

Most likely because there was no attack

Sky News

"A MOD spokesperson said: "It is with regret that we must confirm that a member of the UK Armed Forces was killed by an improvised explosive device in Syria yesterday".

"We cannot confirm any further details at this stage."

Related: 

• FrontPage Magazine: Time to Get Tough With Turkey

• US Rebrands Their Kurdish Proxies in Syria "Syria's Future Party"

2 Coalition Forces Killed by IED In Syria. In The Process of Deploying Them?

My first thought upon reading this was... potential provocation? You'll notice the coalition is silent on where these deaths occurred, the situation in which they occurred and nationality/ies of the two deceased individuals. Or the five wounded.

Post published yesterday:  Syria's North: Is the US Readying A Provocation Or Deterrent for Turkish Forces?

 Conclusion: "It seems to me the US has something planned outside of Manbij. The fact that they've scrubbed images, and appear intent on sending mixed messages to the outside world and Turkey, simultaneously, indicates they are attempting to create a state of confusion which they can take advantage of."

Reuters:

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two personnel with the U.S.-led coalition battling Islamic State were killed and five were wounded by an improvised explosive device in Syria, the coalition said on Friday.

The casualties appeared to be the first to be killed or wounded in an attack this year on the coalition.

About 10 have been killed in non-combat-related incidents since Jan. 1, including seven in a helicopter crash, according to coalition statements and military sources.

“Details pertaining to the incident are being withheld pending further investigation,” the coalition said, adding that the explosion happened on Thursday at 2100 GMT. The wounded were evacuated for further treatment, according to the statement, which did not give the nationalities of the casualties.

Interesting that this occurred yesterday 21:00 GMT, but, the US is not blaming ISIS. 
Nor are they claiming these personnel were engaged in battle. (which they should be know)
Rather they are withholding details until further investigation.
In fact they aren't even going to let it be known where this incident occurred. 
Odd.

Syria's North: Is the US Readying A Provocation Or Deterrent for Turkish Forces?

Cause they sure aren't "fighting ISIS". Nor are they "fighting terrorism". 
But then again, they never were! 
It seems to me team USrael has made both provocative and suggestive of more to follow moves in Syria's north these past couple days- First the REBRANDing of SDF/PKK:

US Rebrands Their Kurdish Proxies in Syria "Syria's Future Party"

Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity.

SDF, really PKK, has become a toxic brand. Therefore a new presentation is necessary to justify the always desired balkanization of Syria for that Israel 2.0.  Earlier today I'd posted part of an oped from FrontPage Magazine. FrontPage Magazine: Time to Get Tough With Turkey. The earlier posting included yet another reminder of PKK child recruitment practices.

This latest information has me thinking that the US may be planning a provocation of sorts, which they will then be reported to the world as an unprovoked attack by Turkey (Turkish forces) against a democratic, freedom loving brave warriors who fought ISIS, and are all peace and love. Or some such gibberish like that.  At this point nothing that occurs between Turkey/Usreal can be considered as unprovoked. The US and Turkey have been at odds for years now. Should Turkey make a move to secure their borders the Usrael war machine via their media will present this as a completely unwarranted and irrational move by Turkey.

US officials say they’re not conducting ‘presence patrols’ in Manbij, Syria, but new photos show otherwise

Operation Inherent Resolve recently posted pictures of U.S. soldiers near Manbij, Syria, conducting what the captions called “presence patrols.”

But after Military Times reached out to U.S. officials, the photos were quickly removed from DVIDs, the Defense Department’s media distribution website.

“I have pulled those photos and cutlines for review and correction. I will release them for reposting at a future time to be determined,” Col. Thomas Veale, public affairs director for OIR, told Military Times.

You can read a discussion here regarding presence patrols- They seem to be both provocative and preventative- I guess, depending on the objective at hand? Or the reason for the presence patrol?

Additionally, Military Times was told by officials that the forces were only “conducting security within their area of operations” and the term “presence patrol" does not accurately describe what’s happening in the photos.

But according to Jennifer Cafarella, a senior intelligence planner at the Institute for the Study of War, Inherent Resolve is obscuring the purpose of these patrols by using ambiguous language.

“They’re trying to use terminology to manage the Turkish reaction,” she said. “The intended effect — regardless of the framing — is to deter Turkey from attacking.”

But is that really the intended purpose- Is it deterrent? Or is it provocation?

A big part of deterrence is ensuring a message has clarity, and by obscuring the point of a patrol, U.S. officials might not be ensuring their Turkish counterparts understand the point, she said. In this way, OIR’s shift in language could be poor messaging.

So deterrent or provocation? What is the US doing?

Another possibility, though, is that U.S. officials are changing their position on Manbij.

“Either they are failing at deterring or they are deciding to go with a different message,” Cafarella said.

Coalition forces have been in the vicinity of Manbij since around August 2016, when they supported locals in the liberation of the area from the Islamic State.

“We have maintained a relationship with the Manbij Military Council (MMC), which was created to defend Manbij from Daesh,” an OIR official said, using the Arabic term for ISIS.

In a statement last week, Inherent Resolve officials called the MMC a “mixed Arab and Kurdish council.”

Now, though, statements from Inherent Resolve describe the MMC as mostly Arab.

“The MMC is a primarily Arab force made up of Manbij locals,” the new statement reads.

It also notes that “the predominantly Arab council has maintained security and stability.”

The difference in ethnic makeup may seem innocuous to most Americans, but it is a linchpin in the dispute Turkey is lobbying the United States over.

Turkey began a military offensive over its border into the Syrian city of Afrin in order to eliminate Kurdish fighters it considers terrorists — and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened that the operation will soon extend to Manbij.

Turkey considers the Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units, or YPG, to be linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which is considered a terror group by both the United States and Turkey. However, the YPG has been an key part of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in their fight against ISIS.

 Now, it appears that U.S. officials are attempting to ”de-emphasize the level of YPG involvement in military and governing structures in Manbij in order to portray the situation as predominantly Arab and to portray the Turks as the aggressor in any possible endeavor,” Cafarrella said.

In the end, Cafarrella said that the “United States is correct in that most of the Manbij Military Council in terms of volume is Arab, but they are subordinate to the YPG chain of command, or at a minimum are subordinate to YPG leadership.”

She added that there have been recent protests in the Manbij area by Arabs against the MMC, “for abuses against the Arab population.”

“Because that whole structure is still dominated by the YPG, its ideology and its goals,” she said.

It seems to me the US has something planned outside of Manbij. The fact that they've scrubbed images, and appear intent on sending mixed messages to the outside world and Turkey, simultaneously, indicates they are attempting to create a state of confusion which they can take advantage of.

FrontPage Magazine: Time to Get Tough With Turkey

The U.S. has lots of leverage – let’s use it. Kenneth R. Timmerman

FrontPage Magazine - A few excerpts:

"The Trump administration is trying to walk a fine line between Turkey, which it still refers to as a NATO ally, and our Kurdish allies on the ground in northern Syria, and it has become increasingly painful and disheartening to watch.

As I argued in these pages two months ago, Turkey has long since stopped behaving like a NATO ally. It’s time that the Trump administration faced these facts and got tough on Turkey.

There can be no doubt that the appeasement policy carried out by the outgoing national security advisor, H.R. McMaster, and Rex Tillerson, has failed miserably. How deeply SecDef Jim Mattis buys into that policy could be a factor in his survival on the Trump team.

Jim Mattis will likely be tossed to the curb in short order.

Erdogan is now threatening to unleash his Islamist allies on the remaining YPG strongholds further east, in Manbij, and even to push across the border into Mount Sinjar in Iraq to attack Iranian Kurds he considers to be allied to the PKK"

The United States needs to stand by our allies. In this battle, there can be no doubt who they are: the Kurds, not Turkey. The Kurds have built a secular, pluralistic, democratic government in northern Syria

 Like Israel has? What a farce! Speaking of the "wonderful Kurdish allies" Underage Girls Recruited to Kurdish Forces

PKK uses underage girls in hostilities.

 The case of a 12-year old Kurdish Syrian girl recruited to fight alongside local militias has highlighted ongoing concerns about the recruitment of child soldiers by Kurdish forces.

 Asayish forces [the police force of the autonomous Kurdish cantons] kidnapped Avin in an act of revenge over an issue related to the marriage of her sister Amina,” Avin’s uncle Aram Saroxan told Syria Stories. “Those militias recently kidnapped several young girls from Darbassiye, all aged between 13 and 14 years-old, handed them weapons, and threw them into the frontline battles in Deir ez-Zor province.”

Media activist Juwan Remmo said that although the Kurdish militias claimed that there was no compulsory draft, they routinely recruited young teenagers to their ranks.
“The PKK and its militias are renowned for committing such acts, it’s nothing new,” he said. “This is not the first case of that kind, as… many other similar incidents occurred in regions under the control of the PKK and its militias.”

FrontPage continues below:

 Next, we can accelerate the disengagement from Incirlik airbase in eastern Turkey, as Germany has already done. This is the NATO airbase that Turkey refused to let us use in the first battle against Saddam Hussein in 1991, and again in 2003, and again more recently for strikes against ISIS. This is the base where Erdogan loyalists besieged U.S. Air Force personnel during the August 2016 coup, treating their NATO allies (us!) as a hostile, occupying force.

I have long argued we should withdraw from Incirlik and move those air assets to Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan. Israel’s Debka.com believes such a move is already under way.

Next, the U.S. should go to NATO to seek sanctions against Turkey for violating the North Atlantic Treaty by conducting offensive operations beyond its borders without NATO approval and without having been attacked.

If Turkey does not withdraw from Syria and cease threatening Iraq within ten days, NATO should impose a series of increasingly severe sanctions against Turkey, starting with the suspension of all military cooperation and military sales to Turkey.
If Turkey still does not comply, NATO should suspend Turkey until it does.
After these NATO sanctions go into effect, and if Turkey remains defiant, the U.S. should seek United Nations sanctions against Turkey’s banking and defense sectors, nether of which is prepared for sanctions"

 That's from FrontPage Magazine- David Horowitz  A very pro Israel outlet. A very pro Israel 2.0 perspective. I'm struck by just how much of this type of spin is pushed forth on the net. In cyber space-
No mention of the US being a disloyal NATO partner. Of course.

The sanctions against Turkey are coming... I've talked about this repeatedly.
Last time:  Turkey/Halkbank: The Biggest (Conjured Up) Sanctions-Evasion Scheme in Recent History   Not coincidentally another very pro Israel think tank was the main player behind that scheme.

Foundation for Defense of Democracies- has conducted its research from a particular vantage point and with a relatively narrow focus. Its research and advocacy have centered on the Middle East and in particular on conflicts and issues that impinge on Israel.

Looking like a pattern. Has been for quite some time  now

US Rebrands Their Kurdish Proxies in Syria "Syria's Future Party"

When a specific brand has grown tiresome, controversial or too much truth has been told about that brand- A Rebrand becomes a necessity.  A big spoonful of sugar to make the toxic swill go down easier. And so it goes in eastern Syria.

Add caption

‘Syria's Future’ party is launched

A new political party named "Syria's Future" has been launched as part of a U.S. initiative in parts of northern Syria occupied by the YPG/PKK terrorist group.

According to sources in Syria's northeastern Al-Hasakah province, U.S. officials helped establish the so-called "Syria's Future" at a Tuesday congress held in Al-Hasakah. U.S. officials discussed the new party’s launch during recent meetings with YPG/PKK members, the sources said.

Syrian Observer: 

The new party has been met with much scepticism, with accusations of a cosmetic change implemented by Washington, Jiroun reports

The head of the Association of Independent Kurds, Abdel Aziz al-Tamou, told Jiroun that “the Syria’s Future Party comes at American instruction to the leaders of the Democratic Union Party [PYD] and the Syrian Democratic Forces militia, whereby the Americans required that the name be changed and all previous slogans removed in order to continue support, in order to avoid provoking Turkey. This step will be followed by the launch of other Arab parties in the eastern provinces, and then elections will be held to form an administration for the area under American influence.”

Tamou ruled out that there would be “a change in the behavior and methods of the SDF militia after changing its name, because Ocalan’s philosophy and the Qandil leaders are still in control of everything.

This step resembles the Nusra Front changing its name a number of times to deny its connection to Al-Qaeda.” 

 Qandil leaders are of course the PKK.. a globally recognized terrorist group the US has been cavorting with for decades

In summer 2003, the U.S. Army surrounded Mount Qandil and established checkpoints on the roads leading to the mountain [3]. The Coalition Provisional Authority refurbished small Saddam-era forts on some of the mountain's approach roads that are now manned by small PUK peshmerga detachments. These men do not interfere with the operations of the PKK or PJAK and their main aim appears to be to prevent non-Kurds from reaching the camps.

Like I said the US and the PKK have been cozy for a while. Far longer then 2003. However that date is interesting for it is the date, in my opinion, that the entire remake the region agenda kicked off with the attack on Iraq!   

The Americans  also KNOW this is NOT going to fool the Turks, they just want to sell a rebrand to the mindless masses who haven't been following the bouncing ball. Syria's Future Party.???  Promoting democracy and decentralization. Covering up for annexation, balkanization and displacement of the residents

The Americans are currently trying to secure areas of their influence east of the Euphrates in Hassakeh, Raqqa and Deir-ez-Zor after expelling the Islamic State (ISIS) organization through issuing a number of statements around reconstruction and the return of refugees.
However, it seems that this requires political administration which is able to achieve local agreement and international acceptance.

From another side, M.M., a teacher from the city of Manbij, said: “I can say that these performances have become trivial. I do not believe there is any value to this change. After seeing the real face of the SDF and its foreign project, one cannot expect a national project from them.”
He continued: “Before the SDF talks about the future, we need to inform more than 100,000 displaced people from Arab villages east of the Euphrates about their future after they were expelled from their homes!”

Adding a Kurdish source for same information- Rudaw 

 Ibrahim al-Qaftan was elected the first leader of the Future Syria Party (FSP) in a congress attended by 800 representatives from different parts of Syria and 100 guests from Kurdish and Arab political parties and other institutions. 

The FSP will “build good relations with neighboring countries – Turkey and Iraq – and their peoples on the basis of mutual interests and mutual respect,” Qaftan said in a speech closing out the congress that was held in Raqqa under the slogan “democratic, pluralistic and decentralized Syria.”

Syria's Future Party has been created to further sell/justify the destruction of Syria. Period.

Operation Damascus Steel:Syrian Army's Liberation of E Ghouta Almost Complete

Sputnik

 Last month, the Syrian Army and allied ground forces launched operation Damascus Steel to liberate the East Ghouta region from hardline Islamist militants who have occupied the area since 2012.

Upon completion of a transfer deal recently agreed between militants and the Syrian government, the Syrian Army will be in control of around 85 percent of the total territory of the initial pocket.

Militants from Erbeen, Zamalka, and other areas within this enclave are in the process of being transferred to the northwestern province of Idlib – one of the last remaining militant bastions in the country.

NEW MAP: #Harasta has been secured by #SAA forces. Remaining militants deployed in the #Damasucs suburbs of #Jobar, #Zamalka and #Erbeen are leaving East #Ghouta in accordance with an agreement with the Syrian state and under the supervision of the #Russia/n forces. #Syria pic.twitter.com/YvN1I8MdJv

— Peto Lucem (@PetoLucem) March 27, 2018

Negotiations to arrange a similar deal for the city of Douma reportedly broke down after militants from Jaish al-Islam (the army of Islam) refused to leave the area. The Syrian Army is likely to launch an offensive to retake the city in the coming days, to either entirely seize it, or at least pressure the militants to accept a transfer deal.

The deals have been negotiated by the Syrian Ministry for Reconciliation Affairs and the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria.

The ousting of militants from East Ghouta will massively improve the security of Syria’s capital, as militants have used the pocket as a launchpad to fire mortars and improvised rockets at government-held parts of the city, including residential areas, schools, cafes, restaurants and governmental buildings.

Additionally, securing and stabilizing the capital is a major step forward in attracting foreign investment to Syria to aid the post-war economic recovery.
Once East Ghouta is entirely liberated, the Syrian Army is likely to take aim at other militant-held areas in Damascus, such as the Yarmouk refugee camp.

Recent posts covering the Ghouta operation:

• Syrian army celebrates Ghouta Victory as "rebels" aka terrorists flee

• Ghouta: Syria Retakes As Terrorists Surrender

 From earlier today:

Putin & Erdogan Discuss Next Week's Syrian Summit

Putin & Erdogan Discuss Next Week's Syrian Summit

Link

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed plans for a summit on Syria next week during a phone call with Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, the Kremlin said in a statement.

The summit is due to be held in Ankara, attended by Turkey, Russia and Iran. 

Stormy CLOUD Act Darkens the Horizon--

Two days after publishing the post,  Cambridge Analytica "Scandal" CLOUDS Global Big Brother ACT (Cloud Act) , Futurism came out with a piece reporting on the many problems with the CLOUD Act.  Titled, "Everything You Need to Know About the CLOUD Act"
The article isn't exactly everything you need to know about the CLOUD act.

 Futurism "While you were reeling from the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica scandal, the U.S. government quietly passed a piece of legislation that has far bigger implications for your data."

As stated on Saturday...The passing of a Global Technocratic Big Brother bill was obfuscated by the nonsensical Cambridge Analytica  “scandal”

 Futurism: "The law is called the Clarifying Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act. It’s basically an update to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), a series of laws that regulate how U.S. law enforcement officials can access data stored overseas. Congress passed those laws in 1986, and both the U.S. government and major tech companies believe they are ill-equipped to handle today’s electronic communications. 

Through the CLOUD Act, U.S. law enforcement officials at any level, from local police to federal agents, can force tech companies to turn over user data regardless of where the company stores the data.

The CLOUD Act also gives the executive branch the ability to enter into “executive agreements” with foreign nations, which could allow each nation to get its hands on user data stored in the other country, no matter the hosting nation’s privacy laws. These agreements don’t require congressional approval.

Let’s say law enforcement officials in Canada want to get at your data. The Canadians can enter into an agreement with the U.S. President, the State Department, or the Attorney General granting Canada permission to directly contact Google, Facebook, or any other tech company to request access to data stored in the U.S. By skipping the step in which Canada sends every request through the U.S. government, both governments would the save time and money

 Through the CLOUD Act law enforcement officials can now gain far quicker access to data stored overseas., That could help them prosecute criminals or even prevent crimes before they happen.

Of course, though, there’s a trade off: your digital privacy protections. For now at least, legislators have determined that citizens’ safety is more important than claims to digital privacy"

As everyone who reads here knows.. "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety"

The Futurism article glossed right over the many important issues I had highlighted in my Saturday post. The CLOUD act gives the Tech companies freedom from economic boycott, legal fees, legal obligations basically a free pass on doing anything at all to protect personal data from exploitation.

It (Cloud Act)  avoids exposing multi-national U.S. corporations to potential reprisals and economic boycotts by foreign nations.

The CLOUD Act is designed to save Facebook, Google, and other companies the legal fees involved in dealing with the many different privacy requirements and legal obligations 

In terms of expansiveness and oversight, it has a lot in common with PRISM, the NSA’s vast surveillance network that quickly became heavily abused and was a massive privacy scandal during the Obama administration

Interestingly, since I published the Saturday post my visits have dropped off by about 30 percent. Could it be those google algorithms at work? Since GOOGLE is a big benefactor of the CLOUD act.

Add caption

I’ve Got the Google Algorithm Blues- Project Owl

 From earlier today:

Psychographics: Cambridge Analytica & The Trump/Russia "Scandal"

Psychographics: Cambridge Analytica & The Trump/Russia "Scandal"

Cambridge Analytica. This most recent "scandal" had me thinking about where I'd heard this name previously. This morning I headed over to James Corbett's site. And there it was! A presentation that James had done last year, which was thoroughly enjoyed by yours truly at that time. After listening again, it seems only appropriate to post this now- Because it's more timely then ever.
Additionally I sent James Corbett an email regarding the Cloud Act passage, Friday March 23, well hidden in the omnibus bill. As reported on in the post below:

Cambridge Analytica "Scandal" CLOUDS Global Big Brother ACT (Cloud Act)

Interview 906 – Social Engineering 101 with James Corbett
Time Reference:	05:27

Episode 145 – You Are Being Gamed
Time Reference:	05:33

B.F. Skinner’s “Walden Two” – FLNWO #17
Time Reference:	05:40

Episode 129 – CALEA and the Stellar Wind
Time Reference:	06:03

Corbett Report Radio 207 – 20 More Ways You Are Being Spied On
Time Reference:	06:15

How the Government Predicts The Future – Inside the “Sentient World Simulation”
Time Reference:	06:23

Episode 033 – Meet Edward Bernays
Time Reference:	06:46

DNA Shaming: Welcome to Orwell’s Nightmare
Time Reference:	07:00

Alexander Nix, CEO, Cambridge Analytica – Online Marketing Rockstars Keynote | OMR17
Time Reference:	07:40

What was the role of Cambridge Analytica in the EU referendum? – BBC Newsnight
Time Reference:	17:33

Company psychologically tailors ads to voters
Time Reference:	19:11

Ted Cruz using firm that harvested data on millions of unwitting Facebook users
Time Reference:	21:15

The Reclusive Hedge-Fund Tycoon Behind the Trump Presidency
Time Reference:	22:33

The great British Brexit robbery: how our democracy was hijacked
Time Reference:	23:43

Society Is Being Programmed By A Black Box
Time Reference:	28:04

“Propaganda” by Edward Bernays
Time Reference:	37:10

Cambridge Analytica – What We Do
Time Reference:	37:40

4 Ways The Crime Lab Can Frame You
Time Reference:	39:07

What was the role of Cambridge Analytica in the EU referendum? – BBC Newsnight
Time Reference:	40:41

The Information Commissioner opens a formal investigation into the use of data analytics for political purposes
Time Reference:	46:04

Trump’s digital guru on the winning campaign operation
Time Reference:	48:35

This data company knows all about you
Time Reference:	50:05

Why Data Analytics Is the Future of Everything
Time Reference:	51:38

The Real Making of the President: Cambridge Analytica
Time Reference:	52:09

“Propaganda” by Edward Bernays
Time Reference:	01:50

How Big Data is Engineering Your Life
Time Reference:	55:10

How to Boycott Big Tech
Time Reference:	55:23

The Hymn of Acxiom
Time Reference:	56:00

Introduction to Psychographics
Time Reference:	01:13

And don't think for one second that Canadian elections aren't free of this type of facebook manipulation courtesy of data mining. 
 

Cambridge Analytica "Scandal" CLOUDS Global Big Brother ACT (Cloud Act)

 I'm featuring highlights from one, two, three, four and finally a fifth article covering "The Cloud Act" which was passed in yesterday's Omnibus bill. The one Trump claimed he would VETO, but, then didn't!

Lifetime Actor

Zuckerberg surely engaged in some theatre on a massive scale- Oh poor fellow? He was really on the hot seat...... Not! Great acting job there Mark!

Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook had so much to gain from The Cloud Act, making  his  Cambridge Analytica/Facebook/ Russia "apology" a really small price to pay.

“The CLOUD Act part, according to the text in its Senate version, would "improve law enforcement access to data stored across borders, and for other purposes." At issue is what happens in the increasingly frequent instance in which law enforcement in one country is seeking data held on a cloud server in another country.

The bill would give the executive branch, specifically the Department of Justice, new powers to enter into information-sharing agreements with foreign governments. As of now, if a foreign law enforcement entity wishes to obtain data from a U.S.-based tech company, that government must have a specific mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) with the U.S., the kind that must be ratified by Congress. The CLOUD Act removes that provision, while also no longer requiring the need for a judge to sign off on such requests. It would allow the DOJ to enter into such agreements without the approval of Congress or the courts.

Spying on you in your home

Passage of the Act is critically important for modernizing (defined how?) our outdated data privacy laws, because it would provide legal clarity when a country serves a warrant to a domestic company to collect data from its customers residing in another country. The Act would streamline ( expedite) requests by law enforcement for digital data, while avoiding the delays and costs of litigation, (necessary protections) as well as avoiding potential violations of privacy laws (because there is no real data  privacy) in foreign countries.

Apple had pushed for the CLOUD Act, signing a letter to its four Senate cosponsors last month along with tech giants Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Oath (the Verizon subsidiary that owns AOL and Yahoo.) The letter, to Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Christopher Coons (D-CT)”

Republicans and Democrats, together, pushed for this- Any blaming Republicans is just more of that phony left vs right illusion

  It (Cloud Act)  avoids exposing multi-national U.S. corporations to potential reprisals and economic boycotts by foreign nations.

The CLOUD Act is designed to save Facebook, Google, and other companies the legal fees involved in dealing with the many different privacy requirements and legal obligations social networks and tech companies face around the world. Hidden in the omnibus bill, it essentially allows any government to request data from these companies, provided the attorney general signs off on it, regardless of where it happens to be stored. For tech companies, this is great! Of course, if you are, say, an activist campaigning against a repressive government, a journalist an intelligence service would like to discredit, or just somebody who would rather not have any jerk with a password looking through your camera roll for nudes, it’s not so great.

All Seeing

 

In fact, in terms of expansiveness and oversight, it has a lot in common with PRISM, the NSA’s vast surveillance network that quickly became heavily abused and was a massive privacy scandal during the Obama administration. That should be particularly worrying because, as the Daily Beast points out, this allows American authorities a backdoor to just go through your digital stuff.

Barack Obama Justifies Prism NSA Surveillance Programme, Saying It Has Saved Lives


 The passing of a Global Technocratic Big Brother bill was obfuscated by the nonsensical Cambridge Analytica  “scandal”. The Tech giants are pushing this as something that protects consumers. It doesn’t. Rather it protects the very Tech giants that successfully pushed for this bill, passed just yesterday.

Blitzkrieg Bolton, Trumps New National Security Adviser

I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2018

Gobsmacked best described my reaction to news of this man's appointment today! 

image from here

Bolton is the Hawks Hawk.

Wayback @ PFYT on  Wednesday, June 13, 2012- John Bolton: Syria, World War and the destruction of America

Keep in mind this is John Bolton. Former Ambassador to the UN. Promoter of "diplomacy via death squads" -How Bolton Armed Haiti's Thugs and Killers. Let's not forget the Iran/Contra scandal.

The man is a certifiable psychopath. Instead of being locked up, which he should be, he is free to reign terror on the planet and it's people. His latest call for bloodshed and death was available for reading at the National Review online. (the entire article is still available to read- I'm surprised)

It is lengthy, therefore, only the highlights will be quoted.
Written to bolster the Republican/Democrat divide, which Bolton knows doesn't really exist.
He is playing to the audience. Keep that in mind.

"In response, calls for U.S. military intervention of one sort or another to aid the opposition increase, while the Obama administration dithers ( there has been no dithering, only a media created perception of dithering) over whether to continue relying on the United Nations Security Council and former U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan.

 But what are the American interests at stake, and what is the best way to protect them?

Syria’s Assad family–Baath party dictatorship had nothing to recommend it before the current conflict, other than its being the devil we knew. Now, it is increasingly an Iranian satellite under Tehran’s growing regional influence. Syria remains a threat to Israel; has continuing aspirations to control Lebanon while serving as a conduit to supply and support the terrorist group Hezbollah; provides a base of operations for Russian military activity in the Middle East; and is quite possibly the site of ongoing, illicit nuclear-weapons activity by Iran and North Korea, despite Israel’s destruction of a Syrian nuclear reactor in September 2007". (the 2007 Israeli bombing was a crock of stinky stuff)- and oddly enought that was remaking the news rounds just this past week in typical wash, rinse, repeat fashion

"Accordingly regime change in Syria is prima facie in America’s interest as well as the interests of Israel and our Arab friends in the region, who see nothing but danger for themselves if Iran’s hegemonic ambitions unfold successfully.

It would have been one thing to work with the Syrian diaspora to remove Assad and the Baath party when we had a massive military presence in Iraq, right on Syria’s border. In the days just after Saddam’s ouster in 2003, conditions were optimal (if nonetheless imperfect) for overthrowing Assad and replacing his regime with something compatible with American interests. We would not have needed to use U.S. ground forces. Our mere presence in Iraq could have precluded Iran — or, what we see today, an Iraq under Iran’s influence — from trying to protect Assad.

Accordingly, we are blinking at reality if we do not recognize that, following Assad’s ouster, especially if the violence grew, the bloodlust would be high and the risk of large-scale massacres of Alawites all too real. How would we feel if U.S. weapons were used in such massacres? (How does Bolton "feel" now about them being used?) Without a substantial on-the-ground troop presence, we could no more prevent them than we can prevent the current killings of civilians.

Advocates of U.S. intervention argue that, if we are unwilling to supply weapons to the opposition, we can at least declare a no-fly zone along the Turkish border and continue to supply non-lethal assistance. This less visible approach implicitly acknowledges that Arab states determined to prevent Iran from consolidating its hold over Syria are now arming the rebels and will continue to do so. Of course, they will arm factions they believe are congenial to their interests, and not necessarily (spin) those congenial to ours, a fact we can do little to change. Indeed, any level of U.S. support, if it turns out to be effective, implies the same potential political and humanitarian problems as does U.S. support that is truly robust. The more effective our aid is, the more likely the opposition is to prevail.

Significantly, U.S. intervention could not be confined to Syria and would inevitably entail confronting Iran and possibly Russia. This the Obama administration is unwilling to do, although it should. In the case of Russia, such a confrontation would likely break the famous “reset” button beyond repair"

Yes, Bolton wrote that in 2012 folks- Six years ago

 "First and foremost, we should cut Syria off from its major supporters. The television images from Syria will not change permanently until the underlying strategic terrain changes permanently. Russia should be told in no uncertain terms that it can forget about sustained good relations with the United States as long as it continues to back Assad. We should resume full-scale, indeed accelerated, efforts to construct the limited missile-defense system designed by George W. Bush to protect American territory not against Russia but against rogue states such as Iran and North Korea. But we should immediately make it clear to Moscow that we will begin to consider broadening our missile-defense program to deal with Russian and Chinese ballistic-missile capabilities. (as if that isn't happening right now?)We should also announce our withdrawal from the New START arms-control treaty, and our utter disinterest in negotiations to prevent an “arms race” in space. Let Moscow and Beijing think about all that for a while.

-The magnitude of such a shift as a response to the conflict in Syria may seem startling, but each of these proposals is meritorious on its own terms. Wrapping several major policy redirections around the Syria problem thus advances multiple objectives simultaneously. 

Next, we should tell Iran that our patience with their decade-long ploy of using diplomacy to gain time to advance their nuclear-weapons program has ended. Tehran should face a stark choice, and we can leave to their imagination what will happen if they fail immediately to dismantle all aspects of their existing nuclear effort.

-We should also reverse the fantasy still trumpeted by Obama that, despite its repeated violations of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty over 20 years, Iran is somehow entitled to a “peaceful” nuclear program. Until there is a new, trustworthy regime in Tehran, (regime change for Iran!!!) there can be no claim to benefits or “rights” under a treaty Iran has grossly abused. (untrue) We should introduce this new reality to our European friends as well, perhaps by simply being unambiguous with them. (Bolton not happy with Europe)

-Finally, in Syria itself, we should do now what we could have begun to do ten years ago (and what the Obama White House at least says it is doing now): find Syrian rebel leaders who are truly secular and who oppose radical Islam; who will disavow al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, and other terrorist groups; and who will reject Russian and Iranian hegemony over their country"

Of course USrael presented the illusion of secular rebels via their Kurdish proxies.

The image that accompanies the National Review article of 2012 is to the right >>>>>>>

 From earlier today

• Syrian army celebrates Ghouta Victory as "rebels" aka terrorists flee

 Four from yesterday:

• Ghouta: Syria Retakes As Terrorists Surrender

• John Brisson: Fixing Your Gut- The Medical Machine & Plum Island

• E. Michael Jones: Sapiens, Metahistory, Metaphysics & Logos

• A Multinational Regional Remake was Impeded in Afrin

Syrian army celebrates Ghouta Victory as "rebels" aka terrorists flee

 Syrian army soldiers fired tracer bullets into the air to celebrate their victory.

Only one terrorist stronghold to go and Ghouta is cleared in a near replay of Aleppo

"It will leave only one remaining rebel pocket in eastern Ghouta - the city of Douma - and put Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on the brink of his biggest victory over the insurgents since driving them from Aleppo in December 2016.

Insurgents in one of those pockets - the town of Harasta - began withdrawing in a convoy of buses for opposition territory in northwestern Syria on Thursday. More buses left on Friday carrying fighters and their family members"
 

Covered the exit from Harasata yesterday:

Ghouta: Syria Retakes As Terrorists Surrender

"Meanwhile, rebels in a second pocket around the towns of Arbin, Jobar, Zamalka and Ein Terma said they had also agreed to leave.

Assad and his allies say their offensive in eastern Ghouta is necessary to end the rule of Islamist militants over the area’s people, and to stop them shelling government areas"

Very good news for Syria's war for her independence.

Ghouta: Syria Retakes As Terrorists Surrender

As government buses leave from Ghouta- Reuters
Yup, it's a 4 post day today! May not be one tomorrow- But for today? We've got news & interviews. I'll relink all the days posts at the bottom

- Syrian rebels withdrew in busloads from a town in eastern Ghouta on Thursday and handed it over to the army, the first such surrender since one of the fiercest campaigns of the seven-year war began more than a month ago.

The Ahrar al-Sham group’s decision to accept the army’s terms and abandon the town of Harasta puts the government on course for its biggest victory over rebels since the battle of Aleppo in 2016.

And in another part of the same region, the controlling rebel group, Failaq al-Rahman, said a ceasefire had been agreed, to start within hours at midnight local time (2200 GMT), to allow a “final negotiating session” to take place.

After dark fell on Thursday, around 30 buses carrying rebel fighters and their families left Harasta. Syrian state media said the buses carried 1,580 people, including 413 rebel fighters given safe passage to northwestern Syria.

A military media unit run by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s ally Hezbollah said 1,500 fighters and 6,000 family members had agreed to leave.
 

An army officer interviewed on state television said rebels who had not yet negotiated similar deals to evacuate from other towns in eastern Ghouta must quit or die.

“Death is coming for you if you do not surrender,” he said.

The army’s assault on (terrorist filled) eastern Ghouta , the last major rebel bastion near the capital, has been one of the most intense in Syria’s seven-year-old war, killing more than 1,500 people in a relentless bombardment with warplanes, rockets and shells.

Before boarding the buses out of Harasta, a small group were shown on television in the fading light kneeling in a line for Islam’s sunset prayer - perhaps the last they would perform in their hometown. Children ran among the adults waiting to board.

Between 18,000 and 20,000 people were expected to stay in Harasta under government rule, a military source said.

PROVEN TACTICS

The eastern Ghouta campaign has seen Syria and its Russian allies use the tactics that proved successful in other parts of the country since Moscow joined the war in 2015: lay siege to an area, bombard it, launch a ground assault and finally offer safe passage out to rebels who agree to leave with their families.

The government’s control of Harasta leaves eastern Ghouta’s rebels in control only of the town of Douma — under the control of Jaish al-Islam — and another pocket that includes the towns of Jobar, Ein Terma, Arbin and Zamalka — under the control of Failaq al-Rahman.

State television reported that more than 6,000 people (human shields held by terrorists) had fled Douma since Wednesday, crossing over into government-held territory.

SURRENDER

On Sunday, Assad drove himself to a newly captured battlefront in eastern Ghouta, a demonstration of his seemingly unassailable position in a war that has been going his way since Russia sent its air force to help him in 2015.

Flashback to Sunday- Ghouta: Assad Visits/ Terrorists Negotiate with UN/Deadline for Terrorist Exit has Passed

The deal to surrender Harasta began on Thursday with a prisoner swap. In an interview with state television, a Syrian soldier freed by rebels wept and thanked God and the army for his release.

 The Russian Defence Ministry website showed what it said was live footage from the al-Wafideen crossing point from Douma into government areas. Over a period of several minutes, it showed dozens of people in small groups coming around a corner and trekking along the dirt road past armed soldiers.

 Some bore bundles of possessions, others carried small children or pushed prams. Douma is the most populous area in eastern Ghouta, and for more than a week it has been entirely surrounded by the government. Jaish al-Islam has said it is determined to fight on. However, the Observatory said people leaving the area were doing so under an agreement between the group and Russia.

FEROCITY

The Syrian government and Russia accuse rebels in eastern Ghouta of preventing civilians from leaving to use them as human shields, which the rebels deny. Moscow and Damascus say their campaign is needed to end rebel shelling of the capital and other nearby areas. On Tuesday, a rocket struck a marketplace in a government-held town, killing dozens.

The Harasta rebels will be taken to Idlib province in the northwest, which has become the main sanctuary for insurgents who agree to quit territory under deals with the government. 

Enjoy the news and especially two great interviews!

• John Brisson: Fixing Your Gut- The Medical Machine & Plum Island

• E. Michael Jones: Sapiens, Metahistory, Metaphysics & Logos

• A Multinational Regional Remake was Impeded in Afrin