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A top U.S. general just said 4,000 American troops are in Syria. The Pentagon says there are only 500.
A senior U.S. military commander said Tuesday that 4,000 American troops are on the ground in Syria, a figure far greater than the 503 personnel the Trump administration says are deployed there.
Army Maj. Gen. James B. Jarrard, who heads the U.S.-led Special Operations task force targeting the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, offered the surprising figure while briefing Pentagon-based reporters via satellite from Baghdad.
Canadian certified gold bar exposed as fake: how many more are out there?
Link: https://www.rt.com/business/408310-fake-gold-rbc-canadia-mint/
Ottawa jeweler Samuel Tang purchased a wafer, which was supposed to be 99.99 percent pure gold from the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) branch located across the street from his shop.
Tests carried out by the jeweler apparently revealed the small bar contained no gold. RBC has reportedly taken the wafer back and returned it to the mint for internal testing. The bank refunded Samuel Tang the $1,680 purchase price.
Dollar should not dominate the world – Russian PM Medvedev
Link: https://www.rt.com/business/408425-dollar-dominance-russia-medvedev-yuan/
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev: The international financial system needs to balance which is why there is no place for a dominant currency.
“The balanced system of financial relations should be based on the use of various reserve currencies, various forms of settlement. There should be no domination of any one currency,
Breeding dogs to have muscular dystrophy for medical research sparks outcry
An online petition signed by more than 200,000 people is demanding a halt to a taxpayer-funded research project at Texas A&M University that studies muscular dystrophy’s debilitating effects in golden retrievers, arguing that it is cruel and scientifically useless.
Two Texas A&M students are behind the Change.org petition, which seeks an end to the experimentation led by Dr. Joseph Kornegay, in which the dogs are bred to develop different types of muscular dystrophy, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy -- a particularly severe form of the disease that causes progressive muscle wasting and weakness.
"Studies with these dogs haven't led to a cure or even a treatment to reverse disease symptoms, even after experimenting for 30 years," states the petition.
'Can't Last Over Two Months': JFK Files Reveal CIA Efforts to Kill Castro
Among the more interesting releases are files relating to the US Central Intelligence Agency's long-running campaign to assassinate Fidel Castro.
Fabian Escalante, retired chief of Cuban counterintelligence, estimates the agency targeted him on no fewer than 638 separate occasions: 38 times under President Dwight Eisenhower, 42 under John F. Kennedy, 72 under Lyndon B. Johnson, 184 under Richard Nixon, 64 under Jimmy Carter, 197 under Ronald Reagan, 16 under George H. W. Bush and 21 under Bill Clinton. Document summarizes the CIA's plan to use James B. Donovan — the US lawyer and negotiator to give Castro a contaminated diving suit as a gift, while the two negotiated the release of Bay of Pigs prisoners.
"It is known Castro likes to skindive. The plan is to dust the inside of the suit with a fungus producing madera foot, a disabling and chronic skin disease, and also contaminating the suit with tuberculosis bacilli in the breathing apparatus," the paper said.
Donovan didn't go through it, giving an uncontaminated suit as a genuine gesture of friendship instead.
Another plot documented in the files involved a "booby-trap seashell" that would be submerged in an area Castro liked to dive in — the eye-catching shell was to be loaded with explosives, and detonate once lifted. After investigation, it was determined "there was no shell in the Caribbean area large enough to hold a sufficient amount of explosive, which would be spectacular enough to attract the attention of Castro."
Another scheme involved a CIA agent in Cuba recruiting a high-ranking Cuban government official in 1963. The agent offered the would-be recruit a ballpoint pen equipped with a hypodermic needle — when the pen's lever was pushed, "[a] needle came out and poison could be injected into someone."
The offer was turned down, because it would have required the killer to get too close to Castro, removing all chances of escape.
Uruguayan Deputy Sheds Light on Decades-Long CIA Backed Espionage
Link: https://sputniknews.com/analysis/201710271058607052-uruguay-espionage-cia/
A massive CIA-backed espionage network operated for decades in Uruguay, deputy Gerardo Nunez, chairman of the parliamentary commission investigating the plot has told Sputnik, unveiling the details of systematic leaks of classified information that took place in the Latin American country after the end of the dictatorship.
Mexican tourism falls dramatically due to rising drug cartel violence
Link: https://www.rt.com/business/408333-mexico-tourism-cartel-war/
Guests in Mexican hotels have canceled 35,000 booked nights in the coming year, as hotel occupancy tumbled 10 percent this year. The reason is an outbreak of violence near tourist hot spots.
While the Mexican peso is weak, which is usually a sign for more bookings, American tourists still prefer to stay away from Mexico. Gunmen opened fire at a Cancun nightclub in November, and an ice cooler containing two severed heads was found at the resort of Cabo San Lucas.
Murders have quadrupled in Los Cabos and doubled in Cancun this year. Authorities in Mexico recorded 2,234 homicides in June. US State Department issued a warning, saying that “US citizens have been the victims of violent crimes, including homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery in various Mexican states. Mexico gets about $20 billion a year from tourism.
Trump orders 'extreme vetting' escalation in response to Manhattan terrorist attack
Link: https://www.rt.com/usa/408398-trump-extreme-vetting-manhattan-terrorism/
President Donald Trump has tweeted in reaction to the terrorist attack in Manhattan, "I have just ordered Homeland Security to step up our already Extreme Vetting Program. Being politically correct is fine, but not for this!"
In the wake of the vehicular terrorist attack in Manhattan that killed eight and injured at least 12 others on Tuesday, Trump has taken to Twitter to announce stricter restraints on granting entry to the US.
200 N Koreans killed at nuclear test site collapse – Japanese media (VIDEO)
Link: https://www.rt.com/news/408327-north-korea-nuclear-tunnel-collapse-deaths/
As many as 200 workers were killed in North Korea when a tunnel under construction at the country’s nuclear test facility collapsed, according to a Japanese TV report. The reports come as experts warned that if North Korea conducts another nuclear test at its mountainous test site, it could collapse the area and lead to a leak of radioactive materials.
Ex-Trump campaign manager Manafort indicted in US on 12 counts over Ukraine lobbying
Link: https://www.rt.com/usa/408208-paul-manafort-russia-probe/
Paul Manafort, the former campaign manager for Donald Trump, has been indicted on a number of counts regarding Ukraine lobbying in the US and related crimes between 2006-2016. Despite some media speculations, there is no Russia connection in the indictment.
A federal grand jury has indicted Manafort and his former business associate Gates on 12 counts related to their lobbying in the US for a Ukrainian political party. Both have pleaded not guilty, and have been placed under house arrest.
JFK Files: U.S. Officials Plotted Destruction Of Cuban Crops With Biological Agents
A special group of military generals and CIA officials met to discuss “sabotage operations” in Cuba on September 6, 1962. The group discussed “agricultural sabotage.”
General Marshall Carter suggested introducing “biological agents which would appear to be of natural origin” to destroy crops.
Judge resigns and youth court shut down after baby is taken from mother over unpaid court fees
The Youth Court of Pearl, Mississippi has been shut down and its judge, John Shirley (also a Republican Party activist) has been forced to resign after widespread disapproval of his decision to bar a mother from seeing her 4-month-old baby for 14 months over her unpaid court fees.
The story began when the mother, who is African American, was passing through Pearl on a job-hunt. She was pulled over by local police, who found that she and the car's driver had outstanding warrants for misdemeanor offenses. She and the driver were arrested and the baby was declared "abandoned" by the arresting officer, despite the baby's grandmother arriving "within minutes" of the arrest.
‘White Lives Matter’ rallies in Tennessee outnumbered by protesters & bystanders (VIDEOS)
Link: https://www.rt.com/usa/408099-white-lives-rallies-tennessee/
The first rally from 10am-1pm in Shelbyville, a town southeast of Nashville, attracted some 200 nationalists and at least 400 counter-protesters, according to local media. There were verbal exchanges, but no major incidents reported as police kept protesters and counter-protesters on opposite sides of the road.
At least one person, however, was detained and charged with disorderly conduct after he exhibited “threatening behavior,” police said.
24,000 Homicides: Mexico On Pace For Most Violent Year In History As Drug Wars Spiral Out Of Control
Mexico has recorded 24,000 homicides in 2017 through September with 73% of those murders being tied to organized crime. All high-impact crimes have increased during the current year, including abductions, homicides and grand theft auto at gunpoint. violent car robberies are at their highest point in the country’s history. Between October 2016 and September 2017, 85,943 insured cars have been stolen. Sixty percent of the robberies were violent. Recent arrest in Mexico of four men carrying a drone equipped with an improvised explosive device "ready to be detonated."
Connecticut's capital faces fiscal meltdown tied to union promises, default deemed likely
Connecticut's capital of Hartford is in the midst of a financial meltdown as the city considers defaulting on its debt as early as next month, a crisis fueled in large part by union promises and other decisions dating back years.
While the capital is hoping a state bailout can help, Moody’s Investors Services last week predicted Hartford will likely move to default by November -- and soon could run up deficits reaching $80 million per year without a change in strategy, due to the cost of pensions, benefits and debt service. The city has more than $500 million in outstanding debt. The city recently lost a major corporation that had called the state’s capital home since 1853—Aetna Inc.
The insurance giant crucial to Hartford’s economy announced this summer it would move its headquarters to New York City. The state also lost another critical corporation – General Electric. Both companies cited the state's high taxes.
US sending F-35 jets to Japan amid North Korea standoff
Link: http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/10/24/539712/US-Japan-F35-North-Korea-USAF-Okinawa-Trump-Kim
The US Air Force is planning to deploy12 F-35 Lightning II fighter jets to Japan, a move that is expected to kick up tensions with North Korea.
The aircraft are expected to arrive at the US military’s Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Pacific Air Forces (PAF) announced, according to a Defense News report on Monday.
More than 300 airmen from the 34th Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah — including pilots, maintainers and other personnel—will be accompanying the F-35As during the six-month deployment,
USS Theodore Roosevelt Arrives in Asia-Pacific Amid Korean Peninsula Tensions
Link: https://sputniknews.com/asia/201710241058505454-us-navy-nuclear-aircraft/
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US nuclear–powered aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and its strike group have arrived in the Asia-Pacific region. USS Theodore Roosevelt carries four strike fighter squadrons, an electronic attack squadron, an airborne early warning squadron and two helicopter combat and strike squadrons accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser Bunker Hill and the guided-missile destroyers Halsey, Preble and Sampson.
Boom: The Clintons, US Uranium, Putin, and the FBI
Link: https://www.activistpost.com/2017/10/boom-clintons-us-uranium-putin-fbi.html
April 23, 2015, NY Times: Cash Flowed to Clinton Foundation Amid Russian Uranium Deal.
Canadian company Uranium One controlled a great deal of uranium production in US. It was sold to Russia now controls 20% of US uranium production.
“Since uranium is considered a strategic asset, with implications for national security, the deal [to sell Uranium One to Putin] had to be approved by a committee composed of representatives from a number of United States government agencies. Among the agencies that eventually signed off was the State Department, then headed by Mr. Clinton’s wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton.”
Georgetown student group targeted for promoting ‘hateful’ Catholic views on ‘sexual integrity’
Link: https://www.rt.com/usa/407682-georgetown-hate-catholic-student-group/
A Catholic student group at Georgetown University has been accused by pro-choice activists of promoting hatred and intolerance for advocating a traditional view on marriage. If the organization is branded a “hate group,” it will lose its yearly funding of $250 from the university.
Love Saxa, the student group at Georgetown Catholic University promotes marriage as a “monogamous and permanent union between a man and a woman,” and therefore infringes on the rights of the LGBT community with such a “limited” definition, according to its critics.
Saudi Arabia plans to build $500bn high tech mega city 33 times bigger than NY
Link: https://www.rt.com/news/407677-saudi-high-tech-500-billion-mega-city/
The city, which has been named NEOM, will be built from the ground up on a massive greenfield site in northwest Saudi Arabia. It will span over 26,500 square kilometers, an area more than 33 times bigger than New York City. The city already has it’s own Twitter account and website. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the city will focus on industries including energy and water, biotechnology, food, advanced manufacturing and entertainment backed by $500 billion by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) – the kingdom’s largest sovereign fund – and other local and international investors.
"NEOM is situated on one of the world's most prominent economic arteries, through which nearly a tenth of the world's trade flows,” PIF said in a press release.
"Its strategic location will also facilitate the zone's rapid emergence as a global hub that connects Asia, Europe and Africa, enabling 70% of the world's population to reach it in under eight hours.”
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