The big news this weekend has obviously been the U.S.'s massacre of 62 Syrian soldiers in Deir ez-Zor, in which they provided air cover for a Daesh offensive on the besieged city. The Americans reportedly dropped phosphorus bombs on the Syrians, killing many of them instantly. You can read all about it in our full coverage of the incident here:

• Russia-brokered ceasefire shattered as US airstrikes against Syrian Army in Deir ez-Zor leaves 80 soldiers dead, over 100 injured (UPDATES)

To give a brief recap of events leading up to it: the ceasefire went into effect on Monday. On Friday, it was extended for the final 72 hours, after which Russia and the U.S. planned to set up their joint implementation group, collaborating on targeting Nusra and Daesh. Despite hundreds of violations on the part of the U.S.-backed rebels, this was still the plan. But the U.S. was threatening to pull out because Assad wasn't letting UN aid into Syria - no mention of the fact that this was because the U.S.-backed rebels north of Aleppo refused to abide by the agreement to demilitarize the road on which the aid convoys were planned to travel. But the details were all worked out, with convoys planned for this morning. In other words, the U.S. would have no reason to call the ceasefire a failure. Now this.

The U.S. says it was targeting Daesh in the area, which is ridiculous for several reasons: 1) they've never provided air cover for Syrian troops in the past, 2) the Syrians were known to have held the area targeted, 3) if they had really been observing the 'targets' for days, they would have known exactly who they were targeting, 4) if they really wanted to attack Daesh, they could have waited 2 days in order to do so with Russian coordination. Unless they're just total idiots, this attack was deliberate, and it came just 2 days before the planned U.S.-Russian coordination. Someone is trying to sabotage the ceasefire, and it looks like the Pentagon is the guilty party.

So is the U.S. simply trying to derail the ceasefire? Are they trying to bait Russia into sending ground troops? Whatever their motivations, Moscow's response is so far a bit clearer. As Joaquin Flores wrote for Fort Russ:

Indeed, in standard Russian form, the truth which 'everyone knows' - that the US backs ISIS - is revealed in stages, piece by piece, strategically timed, taking into consideration any number of variables. Western media critics, as well as geopolitical trainspotters and public analysts alike, have for some time been wondering if and when the other shoe would drop. The Russians have gotten pretty close a few times to finally letting the cat out of the bag, and so here it goes ...

Today in Deir ez-Zor, a Syrian warplane was downed during a mission against Daesh, and the pilot was killed. Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack on social media. Two groups have attacked and killed a common enemy in the last few days: the USA and Daesh. Both groups have made no secret of the fact that they oppose the democratically elected Assad government. So can we finally say that the Islamic State and the U.S. government are partners? Thanks.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Syria the U.S.-backed rebels continue to violate the ceasefire. According to Russian Defense Ministry Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov:

"We still don't have contacts with representatives of the moderate opposition for the ceasefire. We have asked the United States to give us contacts of moderate opposition groups or pressure them, but there is still no result. Moreover, shelling of residential areas and positions of the Syrian Army by militants is intensifying," Konashenkov said. According to him, the most complicated situation is now in Aleppo. "Militants are using the ceasefire and the fact that the army is not responding to shelling. In areas they control militants move personnel and equipment at daytime and nighttime," he added.

Even Reuters is reporting the rebels' raids on Aleppo (the first in nearly a week):

The barrage of strikes on rebel-held districts of Aleppo risks reigniting battlefronts there and could be the most serious threat to the ceasefire so far. A halt to fighting around Aleppo and the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid were key components of the fragile deal that took effect on Monday evening.
...
But French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault accused Bashar al-Assad's government of undermining the ceasefire. "We must not forget that it is first of all the (Syrian) regime, and it is always the regime, which has jeopardised the US-Russian ceasefire," he said in New York.

Western policy in a nutshell, courtesy of Ayrault: "It is always the regime. Even when it's not."

As for the humanitarian situation, aid convoys were held up at the border once again due to the refusal of the FSA to leave the Castello road north of Aleppo:

"There has been no progress, which is immensely frustrating for the humanitarian community on the ground," said David Swanson, an official at the UN's regional humanitarian affairs office for the Syria crisis.
...
Due to the militant group obstinacy and their sporadic attacks, the Syrian Army Forces were required to return to the Castillo Highway in order to protect the Syria Red Crescent Society workers that were coming under fire. The humanitarian groups will further attempt to deliver the aid again, however, there is no guarantee that the militants will leave the highway.

On the other side, The Syrian Foreign Ministry said the government authorities have done everything in their power to allow the passage of humanitarian aid into Aleppo's rebel-held east. "The Syrian government confirms that it has done everything possible to ease humanitarian convoy access to eastern Aleppo. Meanwhile, the convoy's security is not guaranteed as militants continue shelling the road which the convoy has to take," the ministry said in a statement.

Other newsbites for the weekend

Immediately after the U.S. airstrike on the Syrian army, these were the headlines across the U.S. media. Convenient coincidences?

• Suspect killed after injuring at least 6 in mass stabbing at Minnesota mall [Update]
• Pipe-bomb in garbage can explodes near Marine Corps race in New Jersey
• 2nd bomb goes off in US Northeast: At least 29 injured after 'intentional' explosion in Chelsea, New York City

And this, from the day before: 1 dead, 5 injured in 'bizarre' shooting spree in Philadelphia, crazed gunman killed

The Houthi delegation stuck in Oman, which we have covered in previous Snapshots this week, says they will refuse to leave Oman unless the safety of their UN flight is guaranteed. The flight was cancelled after Yemen's rightful government, led by President Saleh's General People's Congress, refused to sign a document saying the UN "does not bear responsibility" for the flight's safety. Can't blame them.

An odd dot to keep an eye one: US Anti-Daesh Operation Serviceman Dies in UAE in Non-Combat-Related Incident.

A US army soldier serving as part of the Operation Inherent Resolve in Syria and Iraq has died in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a result of a non-combat-related incident, the US Department of Defense said Sunday. "Warrant Officer Travis R. Tamayo, 32, of Brownsville, Texas, died Sept. 16 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in a non-combat-related incident. The incident is under investigation," the Department of Defense said in a statement published on its website. Tamayo was serving with 202nd Military Intelligence Battalion stationed at Fort Gordon in Georgia. The unit specializes in counterintelligence and its personnel are trained in counter-terrorist Human Intelligence Gathering.

CNN should be renamed Facepalm News Network:

Alexander Turchinov, post-Maidan Ukraine's first idiot president, said in an interview recently that after the coup, NATO made it clear in no uncertain terms that they would not defend Kiev militarily:

In 2014, when there was a huge lack of time, finance, material resources, weapons, everything... I had a lot of negotiations with our foreign partners. I reminded them of the Budapest Memorandum, told them that we needed help. But they just clapped me on the shoulder and said 'stay strong, we'll influence Russia through diplomacy. I was constantly asked not to saber-rattle, not to mobilize, basically "not to provoke Russia". They made it clear to me that if the Russian armed forces invaded the territory of continental Ukraine, we would not get military support...

Lucky for Ukraine, Russia never invaded, and had no intention of doing so.

Last of all this weekend, some recommended reads featured on SOTT:

• Not the Sharpest Jihadi in the Madrassa: US-backed Syrian Rebel Blows Himself and Friends Up While Taking 'Selfie' With Bomb Phone
• British Journalist: The Man Who Shot Me Now Works For The CIA
• Egyptian media op-ed: US invented ISIS and carried out 9/11 to justify 'war on terror'
• Tim Anderson: No, Syrian Campaign poll does not suggest "70% Syrian refugees are fleeing Assad"
• Alabama pipeline ruptures leaking 250,000 gallons of gas causing 'fuel emergency'
• Any hope left? Libyan rebels 'miss Gaddafi' after years of chaos created by Western intervention
• US Congress sees mounting national debt and looming fiscal crisis as a 'threat to national security' (maybe they can start bombing bankers?)
• Israeli soldiers killed dozens of POWs in past war, covered up
• The Bayer-Monsanto merger - The world's food supply now in the hands of very few globalist insiders
• Western cheats: Author of WADA report on Russia admits 'therapeutic use exemptions' prone to abuse

And finally, a few gems from the Clinton Corner:

• Former Haitian president of Senate exposes the Clinton Foundation: 'Clinton tried to bribe me!'
• Consider life under Clintonista Tim Kaine: More of the same
• Journalism disgraced: The mainstream media bet the farm on Killary - and lost
• Killary, LGBT rights champion, accepts money from countries that imprison and murder homosexuals

Yet again, US' 'diplomacy' threatens to further destabilize the Middle East. After NATO murdered Syrian soldiers in broad daylight - an act of war against Syria and, arguably, against Russia - by conducting airstrikes on behalf of ISIS, US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power had the gall to walk out of a emergency UN Security Council meeting on the matter. Instead of responding sanely to Russia's request for information, Power completely side-stepped the issue and, delusional as ever, demanded that Russia pressure Syria to 'push for peace'. Stunned, her Russian counterpart Vitaly Churkin called her walk-out an act of 'unprecedented contempt.'

Churkin went on to say: "What I saw today, unfortunately, was very concerning, as my American colleague Samantha Power behaved very strangely to say the least." It's obvious that things are bad when even seasoned diplomats like Churkin are compelled to comment on the strange behavior of their colleagues. But then, again, Power herself is a unique type of crazy. The 'asthenic' psychopath as described by Lobaczewski is relevant here.

Asthenic psychopaths are, among other things, hypersensitive and full of dreams of reforming the world, seeking to 'save it' in their own crazy way. The result is typically mass murder, which in no way deters them from pursuing their 'ideal world.' They are easily found in literary and political milieus, where they seek to impose their false idealism on others. There's also one to be found inside Samantha Power's head.

Individuals like Samantha Power, who advocated for the 'kill them to save them' bombings of Kosovo, the all-out genocidal 'humanitarian intervention' that led to the destruction of Libya, and more destruction in Syria, definitely fit the bill, as do many other 'neoliberal' warmongerers. But as Dan Sanchez wrote, Power seems to actually believe in her personal 'heroism' despite all evidence to the contrary. She likely does believe it - after all, psychopaths of all types live inner lives of the utmost delusional grandiosity:

Power's savior complex has provided a patina of righteousness to obscure the cynical avarice driving the U.S. empire's rapacious scramble for Africa. This new scramble has been effected through astealth invasion of the continent. Saving African women and children from terrorists, warlords, ebola, and poverty is the cover story for the drone bases, troop deployments, and built-up proxy armies. But, as always, resource extraction and military dominance are the real motivations.

But Power is to blame for more than merely being a useful idealistic naif. To soldier on with her crusades in spite of so much disastrous failure indicates a staggering degree of self-absorption. To be so oblivious to the men, women, and children who have been run over (sometimes literally) by her do-gooder campaigns speaks of an overwhelming concern with her own "heroic story" at the expense of the actual impact she is having on the lives of others.

The entire fiction that is the US' rationale for waging endless war is falling apart, and so are the 'masks of sanity' worn by psychopaths like Samantha Power. The US has been caught red-handed (yet again) providing air cover for ISIS in the Middle East, while Russia, it appears, has been patiently waiting for opportunities to call them out on it. And now that they have, at the 'highest court in the land', and Little Ms. Sunshine just lost it.

Just a day after bombing Syrian troops who were fighting Daesh, the Americans have bombed Afghan police who were fighting the Taliban. The officers were guarding a security checkpoint near Tarin Kot during the "double tap" (trademark held by the IDF) airstrikes. The first airstrike killed one officer, then when seven additional officers returned to the scene, they too were targeted and killed. Highway Police Commander Samunwal Rahimullah Khan told VOA, "we are unable to understand why Americans targeted our policemen."

The U.S. insists it was targeting "individuals" firing on Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. Perhaps the U.S. really is that incompetent. Or perhaps the U.S. really is that Machiavellian - staging a repeat of their "mistake" in Syria just in order to prove to the world that it really was an accident. Either way, the world should react by containing American idiocy and the destruction it causes, whether mistakenly or intentionally. Either way, people die needlessly.

Something odd is happening in response to the airstrike on Syrian troops. Some U.S. vassals are lining up to fall on their swords for their master. First it was the Australians, whose Defense Department said their jets participated in the massacre (despite the fact that the attack was reportedly carried out by F16s, and the Australians only have F18s in the fight). PM Turnbullregurgitated the U.S.'s official statement ("we would never intentionally... blah blah... regret... blah..."), adding that coordination with Russia in Syria is "desirable".

Next to fess up was Denmark, saying 2 of their F-16s were involved, and they too regurgitated the U.S. statement ("stopped immediately after the Russians reported"). Confused yet? There were only supposed to have been 2 F-16s involved, and we're already up to 4.

Finally, the UK "confirmed" that it too took part in the massacre, and it too regurgitated the U.S. lie ("never in a million billion gazillion years would we ever even remotely consider entertaining the tiniest fleeting thought about intentionally targeting the Syrian military...blah, blah...").

So the strike now involves the UK, the US, Australia and Denmark. Well gee whiz, it looks like there wasn't any room for Americans in this coalition of the shilling! Isn't it great to have your underlings take the blame and parrot your lies? Even if people were to believe the glaring lie that 'it was all a big mistake', it should still be obvious that the US coalition is ineptly dangerous and can't stop itself from aiding terrorists.

Germany for one, didn't follow suit. Foreign Ministry spokesman Jens Flosdorff called the attack "a very sad mistake; it is a great pity that it happened."

USA Today reported, citing "a US official", that the attack was of a "dynamic nature". In other words, the operation wasn't pre-planned; it was a "target of opportunity". Don't feel bad if that leaves you confused; it's nonsense. They're basically just saying they were flying around and decided to bomb something. Which is almost as stupid as their previous explanations.

Assad's adviser Bouthaina Shaaban appeared on RT, confirming earlier military source accounts of what happened Saturday:

The moment the American planes struck the Syrian army, the terrorists came from the same side that the Americans struck, and occupied the place [that] the Syrian army was in. So it was obvious to anyone in the field that there is an absolute coordination between the American planes who shelled the Syrian army and the terrorists who came in place of the Syrian army.

America the Exceptionally Self-Entitled then followed up their ignominious performance by flying another drone over Deir ez-Zor, which was reported by local media as having been shot down by Syrian forces yesterday.

In northern Syria, Erdogan says Turkish troops and Turkish-backed rebels are currently "moving south" in the hopes of establishing a much-longed-for "safe zone" spanning 1,930 square miles. He says one purpose of the safe zone will be to re-settle refugees. He also gave a slightly cryptic explanation for why U.S.-backed FSA rebels expelled U.S. special forces from al-Rai last week: "The FSA does not want the US special forces' assistance because of the US' behavior in relation to the Syrian opposition. Our troops led out 30 US special forces soldiers." Do they think they've been betrayed or something? Poor America just can't seem to make any friends out there. Must be hard.

Kerry continues to blame the Syrian government for the U.S. rebels' refusal to clear out from the Castello road and allow aid to pass through, saying "The regime, once again, is blocking it." Poor Kerry, he can't even tell the difference between U.S. rebels and the Syrian government anymore. UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O'Brien insists:

"Humanitarian aid must remain neutral, impartial and free of political and military agendas. The United Nations and our partners remain ready to meet people's needs regardless of who or where people are."

This guy must not realize that Nusra has rejected the aid offers, and would most likely ambush any such convoys. Meanwhile,Russia and Belarus successfully delivered 2.9 tons of milk, food and blankets to civilians in Latakia province. One hundred civilians managed to escape the jihadis in east Aleppo, and will also receive Russian-Belarusian aid.

The Russian General Staff responded to Kerry, blaming Washington of creating the situation in order to accuse Moscow and Damascus of disrupting aid delivery:

The issue of providing humanitarian access to besieged areas of Aleppo has also not been resolved, Rudskoy added, stressing that opposition fighters have failed to adhere to the agreement and to set up a checkpoint to allow aid convoys to pass through safely. "Armed groups under US control have not set up a checkpoint in the eastern part of the Castello road [north of Aleppo] and have not handed it over to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. Fighters, weapons and equipment have not been withdrawn from Castello."

Even though the state of the ceasefire was still shaky this morning (U.S.-backed rebels violated the ceasefire 50 times yesterday), the Russian Defense Ministry added four new locations to their livestream ceasefire monitoring/broadcasting: Jabal Zarzur on the eastern outskirts of Aleppo, Khalidiya in the city's northwest, Khai-al-Ansari, and the Nayrab village in the southeast. (One of the feeds died after its location was targeted by rebel fire.)

Livestream ceasefire monitoring/broadcasting... Why, in all the decades in which it dominated technology, media and 'humanitarian interventions' did the US and its allies not once come up with that idea?

This comes as the U.S.-backed rebels unite with U.S.-backed al-Qaeda/Nusra/JFS to prepare for a new offensive. Wow, the U.S. sure is a "reliable partner". Not. This is what the Russians had to say about the situation earlier today:

"In the provinces of Aleppo and Hama, opposition units used the ceasefire to regroup, get more ammunition and prepare for an offensive to capture more territories, while the Syrian troops have ceased combat operations," Lt. Gen. Vladimir Savchenko said. "The joint US-Russian statement on the cessation of hostilities in Syria reached on February 22, 2016 says that our states 'will also work together...to delineate the territory held by Daesh, al-Nusra Front and other terrorist organizations designated by the UN Security Council.' Unfortunately, our US colleagues still have not made any real steps in this direction," the Russian Defense Ministry said. ...

"In the past 24 hours alone, the number of shelling attacks by militant groups reached 53 episodes. The cessation of hostilities regime has been violated a total of 302 times since it came into effect. During this period, 63 civilians died and 252 were injured, Syrian armed forces lost 153 service members," Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy, the head of the Russian Chief of the General Staff's Main Operational Directorate, said. The Russian reconciliation center said that militants' shelling of residential districts of Aleppo killed 10 civilians, including 2 children, and wounded 30 others. "They attack not only positions of the government's forces but also residential neighborhoods with civilian population. Within last 24 hours, ten civilians, including two children, were killed in the shelling from the militants-held areas. Thirty people were injured."

The Foreign Ministry denied reports about the closure of the Baghdad Information Center set up last year when Russia began its Syrian campaign in order to share intelligence between Russia, Iran, Iraq and Syria, calling the internet report "nothing but a piece of blatant disinformation":

"The Baghdad center remains an important tool of practical cooperation among all participants of the fight against the Islamic State [Daesh] terrorist organization...while all our partners have reaffirmed their interest in further development of such cooperation."

In fact, just today, the Russian and Iraqi Foreign Ministries discussed "the development of the situation in Iraq and Syria during":

"They particularly focused on the steps needed for a consolidated fight against Islamic State (IS) [Daesh] and other terrorist groups. A series of practical aspects of Russia-Iraq multifaceted cooperation have also been discussed."

Yesterday, Kerry was still calling for the joint implementation center to be created, but blamed Assad for the fact that it hasn't (and probably won't).

"So let me just say this clearly: Russia signed up to a cessation of hostilities. Assad said he would live by it. Then he needs to stop [blocking aid] and let the joint implementation center get set up so Russia and the United States can coordinate in order to avoid the kind of terrible thing that happened yesterday that we all acknowledge and regret," Kerry said.

The day that Kerry and his ilk admit that it is they who have broken the ceasefire - through their rebel proxies and through their massacre of Syrian troops - will be a cold day in Killary's kitchen (otherwise known as the seventh plane of hell).

The General Staff also responded to Kerry's claims that the Syrians have carried out "indiscriminate" airstrikes during the ceasefire:

"I feel we must respond to State Secretary John Kerry's ungrounded accusations concerning 'indiscriminate bombing' by the Syrian air force. Neither Russian nor Syrian air force carried out airstrikes in the past week against areas identified in the Geneva agreement," Lt. Gen. Rudskoi said.

There is no point in unilaterally abiding by the ceasefire regime for the Syrian government as the truce is regularly violated by militant groups, Rudskoi added. "Given the fact that militants do not abide by the ceasefire regime, we believe that there is no sense in unilateral compliance with the ceasefire by the Syrian government forces," Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi said at a briefing.

In addition to U.S. and rebel attacks, the U.S. couldn't even fulfill its bureaucratic end of the bargain:

"We have to note extremely low activity of US colleagues in addressing our legitimate concern. For instance, we submitted to Americans a total of 16 information requests since the first day of the truce, September 12, 2016," Col. Alexander Zorin, the Defense Ministry's special envoy to Geneva said.

The Russian military requested data on terrorist-controlled areas, US plans of pulling out armed groups from the Castello Road, proposals to set up a round-the-clock "hotline" between the Russian military case in Syria's western Latakia province and their US counterparts, as well as investigation of ceasefire violations by Syrian opposition forces.

Konashenkov added: "After a week of ceasefire, it has become clear that the US side has neither influence nor even contacts with 'moderate oppositionists' acting on the ground in Syria rather than in western capitals."

Given all the above, it will not be surprising if the ceasefire fails to be renewed. The 7-day ceasefire is officially over today, asannounced by the Syrian army, and they made no mention of a renewal. The rebel offensive on government troops in Aleppo has reportedly begun:

After intense shelling, the Syrian Army is attempting to prevent the terrorist group from breaking through to the city's center. "The Syrian troops are engaged in heavy defensive fighting to prevent terrorists from breaking through to the center of Aleppo," the Russian Center for Syrian reconciliation said. The shelling by tanks, multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), and mortars continued for roughly half-an-hour.

At the same time, the first humanitarian aid has reached Aleppo, crossing the conflict line into the Big Orem area of the city, according to the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Kerry is pleased: "The basic ceasefire is holding, but fragile, obviously. Humanitarian assistance is moving today to some eight different locations, but we're waiting to get the full download from our team that is meeting now with the Russians in Geneva."

Terror distraction in the USA

Where to begin? The break-down of the Syrian ceasefire has been pushed off the front pages across the West in the wake of the "terror attacks" and "terror non-attacks" in the US Northeast this past weekend. The father of Somali-born Dahir Adan, 22, who was shot and killed after Saturday's knife attack in Minnesota claimed by Daesh, says his son didn't give any indication of being tied to the U.S. proxy terror group. Adan reportedly "made references to Allah" and asked potential victims whether or not they were Muslim.

But one victim, who was stabbed in the head (chipping his skull) said this: "Not a single word, not even like a grunt or like anything any emotion? Nope. He looked just blank in the eyes like he wasn't even there." Aside from the ISIS propaganda claim of responsibility, there doesn't seem to be any corroborating evidence as of yet to establish Adan's motive.

As covered in yesterdays Snapshot, this wasn't the only terror event in the U.S. on Saturday. In New Jersey, an unexploded pipe bomb was discovered in Seaside Park, where a military charity run was set to take place. One pressure cooker bomb exploded in Chelsea, Manhattan (injuring 29 - all of whom have now been released from hospital), and another unexploded one was discovered four blocks away, filled with explosives and shrapnel.

Naturally, police presence, i.e. "security", has been intensified, including 1,000 state troopers and National Guards. Expect "enhanced bag checks" (we assume that means your backpacks will be waterboarded and sent to a CIA black site). Incidentally, the explosion happened on NY Police Commissioner James O'Neill's second day on the job.

The Chelsea bomb contained a residue of Tannerite, an explosive often used for target practice that can be picked up in many sporting goods stores, a federal official said Sunday. Cellphones were discovered at the site of the bombings, but no Tannerite residue was identified in the New Jersey bomb remnants, in which a black powder was detected, said the official, who wasn't authorized to comment on an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Authorities initially identified a "person of interest" who they say appeared in several videos from the scene of both the explosion and the unexploded device. They also stopped a "vehicle of interest" with five occupants ("of Muslim descent"), who underwent questioning but were not arrested. The New York Post adds: "It is believed the men, who live in New Jersey, were heading to the airport when they were busted." USA Today reported that surveillance videos showed the same person moving both bombs into place. NBC reported last night that law enforcement warned that there may be an active terror cell in the NY/NJ area. The suspect was identified this morning as 28-year-old Ahmad Khan Rahami, a New Jersey resident and U.S. citizen originally from Afghanistan (he and his family live and work in Elizabeth, where the 5 devices were found today). "Officials say surveillance video placed Rahami at both of the city locations carrying some type of package. Sources told CBS2 that the video along with finger prints on parts of the device helped authorities identify Rahami." The five men detained are also reported to be associates of Rahami.

Rahami, the suspect of the Chelsea and Seaside Park explosions in New Jersey is reportedly in custody, hours after FBI, NYPD and NJ State Police issued bulletins and photos of him. He was allegedly sleeping in the doorway of a local bar, and the police officer who responded to the owner's call recognized the man as Rahami. A gunfight ensued; Rahami produced a handgun and shot the officer in the abdomen before walking away and "randomly discharging" his gun. Police caught up with him and shot him several times. He's reportedly alive and in hospital. Officials now say there is "no indication" of a wider cell at large, but it's interesting that that idea was initially 'put out there' yesterday, presumably to hype up the terror factor.

Before the shootout there was an interesting "false alarm". West Point military academy was briefly put on lock down after reports that a car matching the description of Rahami's was seen entering the base. The car was found, searched, and determined not to be Rahami's.

Interestingly, the FBI had issued a terror alert on Friday (allegedly in anticipation of the UN General Assembly meeting taking place this week).

Newsbites

WADA doping scandal continues
If you thought the hypocrisy over the Olympic doping scandals couldn't get any worse, a new release of hacked WADA drug tests shows the bottomless pit of Western deceit. The release has incriminated a list of high-profile athletes from Argentina, Germany, Australia, Spain, Belgium, Burundi, Canada, Denmark, France, Hungary and the USA. Included in the list are the UK's Olympic superstar Mo Farah and Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, who is widely considered 'the greatest clay-court player in history'. The reason for such doping to be allowed is that many of these player suffered illnesses that required steroid treatment. There's apparently an epidemic of illnesses among the world's top athletic performers!

US-Made Bomb Used in August Attack on MSF Hospital in Yemen
The bomb used to blow up a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Yemen in August, killing 11 and injuring 19, was proudly made in the USA, prompting Amnesty to say: "States - including the USA and UK - must immediately stop supplying weapons that could be used in the Yemen conflict." But that's what they sell them for? Amnesty is exposing itself as an anti-capitalist, bleeding-heart liberal, peace-loving, communist threat to national security! Maybe it's time the U.S. and UK sent a little freedom their way.

The IDF cooperates with Al-Nusra Front in Syria! - Druze Representative in Israel Knesset calls them out
In a television interview with Israel's Channel 2, Knesset member Akram Hasson stated that, according to local sources, the IDF actively cooperates and supports terrorist group Al Nusra in the Golan Heights, by bombarding Syrian Army positions to prepare them for Al Nusra attacks. Israeli Army Chief Gadi Eisenko denied the accusation.

Israel has right to exist, but so do boycotts against it - Labour leader Corbyn
Jeremy Corbyn picked his way through the minefield of party politics re: Israel in the last debate before the next Labour Party leadership election. "It is right that consumers can send a message to a government saying your products that are produced in the settlements, which are illegal, should not be sold in the open market," Corbyn told the audience. Nice.

Saudi Arabia head choppers arrest Daesh head choppers who were planning suicide attacks
Saudi Arabia arrested 17 members of a terrorist cell with links to the Islamic State. Security forces reportedly seized explosives, suicide belts, and roughly $160,000. The question remains on whether Saudi Arabia is trying to clean up their image, if they have lost control over their proxy terrorists, or if this planned attack is suggestive of a widening rift between the US and Saudi Arabia terrorist sponsors. Consider that two of the original reasons for the Saudis' support of al-Qaeda was to have them create chaos in other countries, and to get them out of Saudi Arabia. Mercenaries are bad enough. Nutjobs are worse.

Border conflict between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan peacefully resolved
Uzbekistan withdrew its police and border guards along the disputed Unkur-Too Mountain border after officials from both countries negotiated a peaceful resolution.

Trump shatters GOP records with small donors
Trump may be a demagogue, but we can't deny that he has the support of a significant portion of Americans. His small donor donations are breaking records. "All told, Trump is approaching, and has possibly already passed, $100 million from donors who have given less than $200, according to an analysis of available Federal Election Commission filings... It is a threshold no previous Republican has ever achieved in a single campaign. And Trump has done so less than three months after signing his first email solicitation for donors on June 21 — a staggering speed to collect such a vast sum." He's not doing too poorly in the (official) polls either...

(sott.net)