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Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 10/18/2016 2:31:08 PM
	LIVE UPDATES: Day 2 of the battle for Mosul Tue Oct 18, 2016 5:50AM Tuesday marks the second day of military operations by the Iraqi army, volunteer Shia and Sunni fighters as well as Kurdish Peshmerga forces to liberate the city of Mosul, the last stronghold of Daesh Takfiri terrorists in Iraq, which they overran in June 2014. Operations to free the city have been the subject of long planning, and the large-scale offensives are targeting the city from three different directions. Below is a series of live updates on the second day of the battle for Mosul. (To read about military developments on the first day of the operations, see here.) — Iraqi fighter jets have targeted a convoy of Daesh terrorists as they were fleeing Mosul. A military source told Arabic-language al-Sumaria television network on Tuesday that the Iraqi military aircraft had struck 30 vehicles the previous night in an area close to the border with Syria. The source added that the slain terrorists, mostly non-Arabs, were escaping Mosul toward Raqqah, which is Daesh’s so-called headquarters in Syria. — Fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units have shot and killed a senior Daesh operative, identified as Khalaf Salem, in a hilly area on the outskirts of Mosul as he was fleeing the pro-government forces. Salem was reportedly in charge of executions and “public treasury” in Mosul. — Hissam Abaar, a member of the Nineveh Provincial Council, has said that Kurdish Peshmerga forces are only 12 kilometers way from Mosul’s downtown and are making advances through Khazar region east of the city. — Iraqi fighter jets have also targeted a boat carrying several female Daesh operatives in the artificial man-made lake behind Badush Dam, located 16 kilometers northwest of Mosul. The women, among them a high-profile terrorist identified as Um Hafsa al-Omari, were using the boat to flee away from the area. — Iraq’s state-run al-Iraqiya television network also reported on Tuesday that government forces had wrested control over 56 oil wells in the Ain al-Jahash region, located more than 60 kilometers south of Mosul, following fierce clashes with Daesh militants. — Masoud Barzani, the president of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), has announced that up to 200 square kilometers were cleared in the first phase of the battle to liberate Mosul, thanks to close coordination between the Iraqi army and Peshmerga forces. Kurdish forces take up a position overlooking Daesh-held villages surrounding Mosul, in Khazer, about 30 kilometers east of Mosul, Iraq, October 17, 2016. (Photo by AP) — Meanwhile, a Peshmerga commander has said the Kurdish forces have brought their Mosul operations to a standstill after the recapture of a number of villages to the east of the city. Colonel Khathar Sheikhan said on Tuesday that his troops have accomplished their objectives, and “are just holding positions” in the Khazir region. — Camps in Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region are preparing for an influx of more internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Mosul. Thousands of IDPs are fleeing to the Debaga camp on the outskirts of Erbil following the launch of the Mosul operations. “The more civilians will feel protected inside Mosul, the less they will be displaced. And for those who feel they have to go because it is dangerous, they have to be treated with dignity, with respect in full respect of their rights,” Filippo Grandi, the United Nations (UN)’s High Commissioner for Refugees, said after visiting the camp and learning of the refugees’ situation. Tensions around the Turkish embassy Meanwhile, thousands of angry demonstrators have marched on the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad to condemn Ankara’s military presence in northern Iraq. The military deployment by Turkey inside Iraq has come without permission by Iraqi officials and has become a source of real tension between Ankara and Baghdad. Iraqi security forces later moved to close all roads leading to the diplomatic mission. Iraqi supporters of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr rally in front of the Turkish embassy in Baghdad to protest against the continued presence of Turkish troops in northern Iraq, October 18, 2016. (Photo by Reuters) Prominent Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr had called on his followers late on Monday to converge outside the Turkish Embassy in a show of support for the Iraqi army’s operations to retake and voice their outrage over the deployment of the Turkish forces at the Bashiqa military camp, located roughly 12 kilometers northeast of the militant-held city. Battles elsewhere Iraqi government forces are also making headways in operations against Daesh extremists elsewhere in the country. Iraqi warplanes struck militant hideouts in al-Harariyat region near the oil-rich city of Baiji, leaving 40 terrorists dead. Iraq’s Joint Operations Command said government forces had intercepted and targeted a Daesh surveillance drone as it was flying in the skies over al-Khanoukah district in the country’s northern province of Salahuddin. Elsewhere, in the town of al-Shirqat, located 100 kilometers south of Mosul, at least 50 Daesh members were killed as Iraqi army soldiers engaged them in two separate offensives. Daesh has been ravaging the northern and western parts of Iraq since June 2014. ‘EU should brace for return of home-grown extremists’ Moreover, the European Union (EU)’s security commissioner, Julian King, has warned that many European extremists fighting for Daesh in Mosul may return to their home countries once the Iraqi city is retaken by Baghdad. “The retaking of Daesh’s northern Iraq stronghold, Mosul, may lead to the return to Europe of violent Daesh fighters,” King told German national daily newspaper Die Welt. He said the return of even a handful of terrorists from Mosul would pose a “serious threat that we must prepare ourselves for.” (PRESS TV)
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
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Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 10/18/2016 4:41:35 PM
	North Korea warns UK to stay out of military drills Published October 17, 2016 SkyNews North Korea has said it is "close to the brink of war" with its southern neighbor - and Britain has been warned to stay out of the fight. The regime's foreign affairs representative for northern Europe, Pak Yun Sik, was speaking after the UK announced it would take part in joint military drills with South Korea and the US. The war games will be played out in November as a training exercise in case there is ever a need for real thing in the region. Mr Pak said angrily: "The situation on the Korean peninsula is close to the brink of war because of endless military exercises by American and South Korean forces targeting us. "Now, Britain has decided to send its Typhoon fighter jets to take part in joint US-South Korean military drills, in the south of Korea, from 4 to 10 November. "This is a hostile act, openly joining the US and South Korean forces in moves for a new war against us. "Britain claims that this military exercise is not targeting us, but the US and South Korea openly say that these military exercises are aimed at launching a strike against our military facilities and our command structure." (foxnews.com)
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
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Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 10/18/2016 5:18:44 PM
	‘Only China can help Philippines’: Duterte turns to Beijing as rift with US widens Published time: 18 Oct, 2016 01:45 Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte. © Erik De Castro / Reuters Historically one of the staunchest US allies, the Philippines is pivoting to China, as President Rodrigo Duterte prepares for his first state visit to Beijing, and has proposed not just an economic, but a military partnership with the country’s giant neighbor. READ MORE: Duterte snubs Washington, looks forward to historic China visit "My grandfather is Chinese. It's only China that can help us," Duterte, who was elected in June, told Chinese state news agency Xinhua before embarking on a four-day trip that begins Tuesday. "All that I would need to do is just to talk and get a firm handshake from the officials and say that we are Filipinos and we are ready to cooperate with you, to help us in building our economy and building our country." Read more ‘I don’t give a sht about human rights’ - President Duterte on Philippines drugs war Duterte said that the Philippines, whose GDP per capita has rapidly fallen behind that of its eastern neighbor since the turn of millennium, said that he had big infrastructure plans for his homeland, that couldn’t be realized “for lack of the capital stock.” "If we can have the things you have given to other countries by the way of assistance, we'd also like to be a part of it and to be a part of the greater plans of China about the whole of Asia, particularly Southeast Asia," said the 71-year-old leader. Duterte also promised to avoid inflaming the ongoing dispute about ownership of the South China Sea, over which both Beijing and Manila have a claim. “There is no sense in going to war. There is no sense fighting over a body of water,”* said Duterte of the lucrative shipping route, which could also become a major source of hydrocarbons. “It is better to talk than war. We want to talk about friendship, we want to talk about cooperation, and most of all, we want to talk about business. War would lead us to nowhere.” In a pointed remark, the Filipino leader said that any negotiations would take place without mediators hostile to China – presumably Japan and the US. Washington has realigned its own geopolitical strategy to confront Beijing’s growing regional might. READ MORE: ‘About time we change rules’: Philippines’ Duterte vows to chart independent foreign policy "We are not interested in allowing another country to talk. I just want to talk to China," said Duterte. Duterte has announced that the country would no longer stage joint war games with the US, the country that has several bases inside the country, and supplies almost all of its military equipment. "I have given enough time for the Americans to play with the Filipino soldiers,” Duterte told Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television. "This will be the last. It has been programmed. I do not want my soldiers to be humiliated." Read more Duterte the destroyer: Games modeled on Philippines President let you wage own war on drugs (VIDEOS) Instead, he told the TV station he was open to drills alongside Russian and Chinese troops. Since his election, Duterte has been engaged in a war of words with Washington focused largely on his hardline tactics in combating drug crime in the Philippines, which the US say violate human rights. He even called the US President Barack Obama a “son of a whore” when speaking to the media, but later downplayed the comment, saying it was not meant to be a personal insult. Duterte has already indicated that he was willing to turn to China if the West’s attitude toward his government would not change. During a speech in Brunei, Duterte said he was not “angry” with the US, the EU and the United Nations for challenging his approach, but in his interview he contrasted their attitude to that of Beijing’s. “Some other countries know we are short of money, but instead of helping us, all they had to do was just to criticize. China never criticizes. They help us quietly. And I said that's why it's part of the sincerity of the people,” Duterte told Xinhua. READ MORE: ‘Do not treat us like a doormat, you’ll be sorry for it’ – Philippines President Duterte to US (RT)
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
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Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 10/18/2016 5:45:58 PM
	After Profiting From Weapons Sales And Bombing Yemen, U.S. Calls For Ceasefire OCTOBER 16, 2016 By Nika Knight The United States, Britain, and the U.N. peace envoy to Yemen called Sunday for an unconditional ceasefire in Yemen to take place “within hours.” The two nations are trying “to seize on outrage caused by the killing of 140 people in a Saudi airstrike,” the Guardian reports. The newspaper describes the details of the proposed ceasefire: The US secretary of state, John Kerry, said if Yemen’s opposing sides accepted and moved forward on a ceasefire then the UN special envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, would work through the details and announce when and how it would take effect. “This is the time to implement a ceasefire unconditionally and then move to the negotiating table,” Kerry said after a brief meeting with the British foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, and other officials in London. “We cannot emphasize enough today the urgency of ending the violence in Yemen.” Kerry said he, Johnson and Cheikh Ahmed were calling for the implementation of a ceasefire “as rapidly as possible, meaning Monday, Tuesday.” Kerry and Johnson also met the Saudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir. The brutal Saudi-led bombing campaign against Yemen’s Houthi rebels has lasted for over 18 months, and the U.S. continues to sell billions of dollars worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia despite repeated reports that the kingdom has been targeting civilian sites. The U.S. also joined the war and bombed Yemen itself earlier this week, claiming self-defense. Johnson’s and Kerry’s ceasefire call “came after meetings in London with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and senior UAE officials,” Reuters reports. “Kerry met Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Saturday in Switzerland on the sidelines of Syria talks.” Reuters quotes Kerry’s statements on the ceasefire at length: “It is a crisis now of enormous proportions with an increasing economic, increasing humanitarian and health crisis, and obviously the military components are troubling to everybody,” Kerry said. He added that the release of two American prisoners by Yemen’s Houthi and the evacuation of Yemeni civilians wounded in a Saudi airstrike were “an important humanitarian gesture by the Saudis to address the humanitarian concern”. Kerry did not appear to mention the United States’ most recent $1.15 billion weapons sale to Saudi Arabia, nor address the U.S. airstrikes that struck Yemen Wednesday. The conflict in Yemen “has killed almost 6,900 people, wounded more than 35,000 and displaced at least three million since March last year, according to the United Nations,” AFP notes, adding that civilians “have paid the heaviest price in an increasingly dire humanitarian crisis.” This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. Nika Knight is a staff writer for CommonDreams.org, where this article first appeared. (activistpost.com)
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
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Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 10/18/2016 5:58:16 PM
	Putin Sends Aircraft Carrier Group To Mediterranean As Syrian Powderkeg Poised To Erupt OCTOBER 17, 2016 By Jay Syrmopoulos Yesterday, Russia’s flagship, and only aircraft carrier — the Admiral Kuznetsov — left the port of Severomorsk en route to the eastern Mediterranean off the Syrian coast, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. The carrier will bolster the Russian anti-terror campaign in Syria and serve as a hedge against U.S. aggression, and is to be escorted by the battle cruiser Peter the Great, the Vice-Admiral Kulakovdestroyer, the anti-submarine vessel Severomorsk, and four other naval vessels from Russia’s Northern fleet. The move is not altogether unexpected, as just weeks ago Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the aircraft carrier would be sent to the eastern Mediterranean to boost the country’s naval forces in the region amid heightened tensions with the United States. This is the first deployment of the Soviet-era Kuznetsov since undergoing a complete refurbishment, and is a sign of the increasing tensions between the US and Russia in Syria. The U.S. activities in Syria are nothing less than a stealth form of regime change, while attempting to feign a humanitarian/anti-terror mission – a complete obfuscation of the truth. In reality, the US is arming, via proxy, a number of extremist Islamist jihadi groups and providing logistical support on the ground for Islamist fundamentalists. Of course, the US attempts to claim they only support the “moderate rebels” (as if any of those even exist at this point). Although the Syrian conflict began as a homegrown rebellion precipitated through a harsh crackdown by Assad, the fact is that the organic Syrian revolution has been almost completely co-opted by Western imperialist powers intent on installing a US/Western-friendly government in Syria – which, of course, doesn’t sit well with the current Syrian government nor their traditional allies, the Russians. Russian forces are involved in the Syrian conflict, helping government forces against militants including the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and the Al-Qaeda off-shoot Al-Nusra Front, which recently changed its name in an effort to brand themselves “moderate rebels.” Russia has maintained a base in government-controlled Syrian territory from which it has flown most of its bombing raids in the country since it became involved in the conflict – at the request of the Syrian government – over a year ago. The Russian military has long maintained a military presence in Syrian territory – long preceding the current conflict. Just this week President Vladimir Putin signed a law ratifying Moscow’s agreement with the Syrian government to deploy its military forces indefinitely, a move that confirms the long-term intentions of Russia/Syria partnership. In addition, the Russian Defense Ministry last week noted that Moscow was set to convert its current naval facility in Tartus into a permanent Russian base. In addition to providing logistics on the ground in Syria, Moscow has flown long-range bombing raids from bases in Russia and fired cruise missiles from ships in the Caspian Sea and a submarine in the Mediterranean in support of the Assad government. The reality in Syria is that the U.S. has essentially refused to cooperate with the Russians in fighting terrorism, and instead focuses on attempting to degrade the Assad government forces as a means of forcing regime change. The Russians, being invited as guests of the Syrian government, provide legitimacy under international law for their posture and position in the Syrian conflict. However, the U.S. attempts to forward some half-cocked humanitarian responsibility to protect (R2P) narrative to provide cover for their support of Islamist jihadi extremists in their attempted overthrow of the Syrian president without legal underpinning. The Russian maneuvers have to be seen within this context. There is nothing menacing about their behavior at all, as it’s actually defensive in nature. The White House is currently debating what moves to make next in Syria, claiming that “no options are off the table.” The Obama administration is rumored to be mulling targeting the Syrian government directly, which would essentially put them into automatic conflict with Russia due to the fact that Russians are likely to be killed in these assaults should they take place. Russia has responded by stating that if their positions come under attack they will target and take down any unidentified planes in Syrian airspace with their S-300 and S-400 system, which is rumored to be capable of targeting and taking out stealth aircraft. Make no mistake that there is a very dangerous game afoot that has the potential to careen out of control. Are Western imperial ambitions in Syria really worth the risk of an extreme escalation of the humanitarian crisis, and a potentially dangerous feedback loop that has the ability to devolve into nothing less than a World War? Jay Syrmopoulos writes for TheFreeThoughtProject.com, where this article first appeared. (activistpost.com)
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
	+1

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