New seals have to be used until all known flaws are redundant. AKA "Air pressue matters"

Reusable space vehicles have problems with their reuse. We witnessed the trouble with the Shuttle program. It was suppose to be an ECONOMICALLY efficient vehicle that was actually going to turn a profit for the country. That was under Reagan. We all know what happened there with the Challenger disaster and it's frozen O rings.

September 23, 2016

By Loren Grush

...Though SpaceX (click here) is narrowing down the possible sources of the explosion, it still has yet to determine what caused the breach in the helium system. "All plausible causes are being tracked in an extensive fault tree and carefully investigated," SpaceX said in a statement. The company's Accident Investigation Team is still conducting its investigation, which involves analyzing 3,000 channels of data, according to SpaceX. The team is also looking at video and audio recordings of the event. But despite all this information, the team is reviewing an accident timeline that boils down to just 93 milliseconds.

While this most recent explosion is not connected to what brought down SpaceX's Falcon 9 in 2015, the problems for both failures originated in the vehicles' upper liquid oxygen tanks. And both involved the vehicle's helium system in some way. However, the Falcon 9 failure last year was caused by a faulty strut in the liquid oxygen tank, used to hold down one of the helium pressure vessels. These vessels help to pressurize the rocket....

Reusable space vehicles have a challenge, they have to work going up and then coming down only to go back up again. There is considerable stress during every rocket launch on the vehicle and the pattern of stress is not consistent. The weather and climate are different. There are some stresses such as frozen O rings that are as plain as the nose on anyone's face, but, for the most part the launch within Earth's oxygen environment is unpredictable on the vehicle.

I have said this over and over through the years, there is no such thing as an economic space program.

Space X has an incredible investigation tool, but, we don't everything about everything. It is called exploration for a reason. It seems to me the most predictable break down in any space vehicle are all the seals that contain the liquids and fluids that keep the vehicle powered. These vital parts of a space vehicle have to be taken apart and replaced with every launch.

The removed seals can be gone over with intense investigation to realize the stress each one has received. Maybe then the vehicles will be more predictable, but, until a few dozen sets of seals are examined there really can't be a predictable outcome with these stressed components.

The government of Saudi Arabia had nothing to do with the success of September 11, 2001.

The "W" administration ignored the intelligence reports and parlayed the attack into an illegal and immoral war in Iraq.

Saudi Arabia is not responsible for the incompetency of the "W" administration and it's subsequent corruption.

When there is a threat to the USA the President is suppose to act to protect the country. "W" didn't.

The lawsuit to take rights away from Saudi Arabia is a political stunt and nothing more.

September 23, 2016
By David Welna

President Obama (click here) made good today on earlier threats by vetoing legislation passed unanimously by the House and Senate. The rejected bill would waive sovereign immunity protections for Saudi Arabia and allow victims of the Sept. 11 attacks or their relatives to sue the Saudi government for allegedly helping at least some of the 19 hijackers who carried out those attacks. Fifteen of the attackers were Saudi nationals.

The veto, the 12th of Obama's presidency, sets the stage for likely showdown votes next week in both the House and Senate. If two-thirds majorities of each chamber vote to override the president's veto, it will be the first time that's happened during Obama's nearly eight years in office.

It's a strange turn of events for a president who is widely seen by congressional Republicans as an unreliable ally of Saudi Arabia — and for a GOP-led Congress that is more typically a dependable supporter of that kingdom.

This time Obama is siding with the Saudis, who vehemently oppose the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, or JASTA. The Saudis have threatened to dump hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. assets that could possibly be frozen by any American judge hearing a lawsuit. Lawmakers from both parties have chosen the interests of the Sept. 11 families seeking justice over those of the House of Saud....

Penalizing for the actions of terrorists is a very, very poor policy. The USA should know the threats coming at it from every direction, even allies.

The USA had no right and has no right to hold Saudi Arabia responsible for the actions of terrorists. The world would be at each other's throats if a country was held responsible for terrorists that had citizenship. That is crazy.

Americans don't stop to realize how many Americans have joined al Qaeda or Daesh? There is no way a country can control every aspect of behavior of it's citizens. In the case of the USA, citizens can only be held responsible after they have committed a crime or were about to execute a plan that is a crime, not before.

This is a ridiculous bill that was passed. It makes no sense. It allows to much wiggle room to declare war in the future.

Have Americans gone mad? The country is suppose to protect them. It doesn't matter the source or the attack, the country is suppose to protect citizens.

The Flint River water project.

Ongoing research.

Thank you.

More oppression of minority communities by political corruption and positioning for power.

July 31, 2016
Bu Maggie Severns

...But for the many people of Missouri, (click here)) especially the approximately 600,000 Republicans who expect to vote in the GOP primary Tuesday, the lesson of Ferguson is not that the police used too much force, it’s that it used too little. Ferguson, to them, was an embarrassment: preventable chaos that tarnished the name of the otherwise orderly St. Louis suburbs. Those nightly images of lawlessness, in their eyes, were an indictment of the weak-kneed way Democratic Governor Jay Nixon let protesters and outside agitators run amok, looting without apparent consequence. This governor’s race, the first major statewide contest since the unrest, is the first chance Missourians have had to register anger that has only grown since the summer of 2014....

If I understand the Missouri state race, there is a chance for the Republicans to hold the state legislature across the board. If there is a Republican majority in Missouri in all the state houses and governship, it is anyone's guess what the legislature will establish to control minority communities.

There are a lot of problems in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This is the city where a citizen deputy killed Eric Courtney Harris.

September 22, 2016

By Manny Fernandez

Tulsa, Okla. — The white police officer (click here) who fatally shot an unarmed black driver here last week as he stood outside his vehicle overreacted during a confrontation captured on video and was charged on Thursday with first-degree manslaughter, the authorities said.

According to court documents, the officer, Betty Jo Shelby, 42, was overcome with fear that the man, Terence Crutcher, 40, who was not responding to her commands and was walking away from her with his hands up, was going to kill her.

An investigator with the Tulsa County district attorney’s office said in an affidavit that Officer Shelby became “emotionally involved to the point that she overreacted” and fired her weapon even though she “was not able to see any weapons or bulges indicating” that Mr. Crutcher had a gun.

Prosecutors have charged the officer with committing manslaughter “in the heat of passion.” Oklahoma law defines such passion as a strong emotion, such as fear or anger, that exists to such a degree in a defendant that it affects “the ability to reason and render the mind incapable of cool reflection.” Those found guilty of first-degree manslaughter face a sentence of no fewer than four years in prison....

Tulsa's Robert Bates (click here)

These issues continue to occur in Tulsa. This is a policing problem and citizens die because of it.

It was an unnecessary death. Keith L. Scott did not pose a danger to himself or others.

That is somewhat poorly worded. Mr. Scott was not a danger to others. If he was a danger to himself the police are more dangerous.

Washington beltway Republicans have linked arms with Governor Snyder and Michigan Republicans.

Lump everything into a Supreme Court hearing and tie up the funding for Louisiana flooding FOREVER! The City of Flint can join the lawsuit and bring it all under scrutiny.

September 21, 2016
By Kelsey Snell

Democrats believe (click here) they have finally found the leverage they need to force Republicans to approve funding to address the water crisis in Flint, Mich.: historic flooding in Louisiana.

Democrats are pushing for a Senate-passed aid package for Flint to be linked to flood relief funds in a stop-gap spending bill that would prevent a government shutdown at the end of the month. Republicans say they want to give the House more time to consider passing funding for Flint, but Democrats have refused to sign off on the spending bill until the issue is resolved.

“We have been trying to fund Flint for I think it’s eight months now,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters Tuesday. “People in Flint are still drinking water out of bottles. They still have children who are sick with lead poisoning. And the Republicans have refused to do anything.”

Flint aid has emerged as one of the final sticking points as negotiators continue to bicker over the remaining details of the stop-gap spending bill, which would keep the government funded through Dec. 9 and also provide more than $1 billion to combat the Zika virus. Party leaders also continue to clash over whether the United States should give up control of a non-profit that governs the internet domain system and make it easier for the Export-Import Bank to approve more deals. But the stand-off over aid for Flint is proving to be among the hardest issues to resolve....

Put a Democrat into office and receive justice in the way of actual help. Sometimes voting your best self-interest means looking to the Democratic Party for REAL and SUSTAINABLE change.

This is not a joke or a campaign issue so much as one of survival and justice. We live in a country that is suppose to solve problems through a democratic process. Lately, that democratic process is stalled for everything from Flint Clean Water to Supreme Court Nominees. When are the American people going to wake up to a day when the work of the government actually gets done?

Every pipe in Flint needs to be replaced. Let me state that again.

Every pipe in Flint, Michigan needs to be replaced. Why? Because of Governor Snyder. There is no other reason. Before he turned the Flint River into a drinking water source there were no problems with the pipes in Flint, Michigan. EVERY PIPE including those in homes. EVERY PIPE. 

I don't want this happening to me or my family. I don't want government to find purpose in denying judicial review of a lawsuit filed by a mayor responsible for lives in her town and I don't want a Congress that doesn't know it's job! It is time to realize the Democrats get the job done while Republicans deny they have a job to do.

September 22, 2016
By Editorial Staff of the Detroit News

All that stands between Flint (click here) and the federal funds it needs to push ahead the rebuilding of its tainted water system is approval by the House of an aid bill that has already sailed through the Senate. That chamber should move the package quickly, and help Flint put its water crisis in the past.
The legislation would send $100 million to Flint for its water infrastructure. While that’s not enough money to fully replace all of the city’s water lines, it would certainly help remove those most responsible for leeching lead into the water supply and complete other needed upgrades of the system.
The key piece of the package, negotiated by Michigan’s Democratic Sens. Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow, provides an additional $100 million to the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.
As written, the money is only available to communities that have received a federal emergency declaration from the president due to high levels of lead in their water supply. Currently, only Flint meets that requirement....

Amazing. Let's get the criminal cases going and end the pain of the State of Michigan with an incompetent governor.

September 20, 2016
By Monique Judge

The city of Flint, Mich., (click here) will not be able to file a lawsuit against the state of Michigan over the drinking-water crisis unless the state says it’s OK.

The Detroit Free Press reports that the five-member Receivership Transition Advisory Board, appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder, changed the rules under which Flint is governed so that the city cannot file a lawsuit without first getting approval from the state-appointed board.

Stated plainly, Flint will be unable to sue the state unless the state of Michigan approves the lawsuit first.

In March, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver filed a notice of intent to sue the state of Michigan in the Court of Claims in case the city decided to sue the state over lead contamination in the city’s water supply. Weaver and other city officials had no actual plans to file the suit, but because of a court rule that allows only 180 days to file the notice or lose the right to sue, city officials filed the notice on March 24, which was the 180th day.

State officials were upset about the notice and called for Flint to withdraw it. When that didn’t happen, the state used the Receivership Transition Advisory Board to put a stop to the threat....

Tesla is not a threat to the car industry in Michigan or anywhere else. It is a speciality market.

September 22, 2016
By Brent Snavely and Frank Witsil

Electric automaker Tesla (click here) filed a lawsuit today against state officials, escalating its multi-year battle to sell vehicles directly to consumers in Michigan.
The California automaker named Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, and Gov. Rick Snyder in its lawsuit filed in in federal court.
Tesla's action is part of an escalating conflict that is playing out nationwide – through legislatures, regulatory agencies and the courts – between the upstart The Palo Alto, Calif.-based automaker and dealers associations as states to sort out whether Tesla should be allowed to sell directly to customers....

They are killed if they don't carry a gun and they are killed when they do. That is the issue.

African American men are not safe in the USA. If they carry a gun they are automatic targets. If they don't carry a gun they are targets anyway. What do you suppose comes next?

African American men can carry a gun legally no different than their white men. But. Do they dare?

The issue is real. Denial of the dilemma African American men find themselves in is only adding to the problem.

September 23, 2016
By Michael Mathers

The loud crack of a gunshot (click here) startled protesters as they hurled objects and clashed with riot police in Charlotte, North Carolina, where racial tensions soared a day after a black man was killed by officers.

By the end of the day, Governor Pat McCrory had declared a state of emergency in the city, saying he was activating the National Guard and Highway Patrol officers to assist local law enforcement.

One man near the centre of yesterday's confrontation was on life support after being shot by another civilian, the city said in a tweet, reversing an earlier statement that the man had died....

I hope the civilian was apprehended for attempted murder of an unarmed demonstrator.

The unrest turned violent after a peaceful vigil to mark the previous day's shooting death of African-American Keith Scott at the hands of Charlotte police.
It was the latest in a long series of controversial police killings of black men - including that of Terence Crutcher in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday - which have inflamed tensions in several United States cities, and sparked a national debate about race and whether Americans can come together to reduce police brutality....

Ice is Earth's thermostat. I never underestimated it.

September 23, 2016

Rapidly melting Greenland (click here) may be shedding its ice even faster than anyone suspected, new research suggests.
A study just out in the journal Science Advances finds that previous studies may have underestimated the current rate of mass loss on the Greenland ice sheet by about 18 billion tonnes per year.
Generally, scientists estimate ice loss in Greenland (and elsewhere around the world) using data from satellites. But the new study suggests these satellite studies may have included some incorrect assumptions, causing them to miscalculate the amount of mass actually disappearing from the ice sheet each year.
The assertion revolves around a concept known as "glacial isostatic adjustment", or the tendency of land to bounce back after a large weight of ice has been removed from it. Over the past 25,000 years, since the last great Ice Age, the planet's surface has been slowly springing back into place....

Ice is ice is ice is ice. It melts at below 0 degrees Celsius or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

Melting ice is like peeling back an onion. When one layer is gone the next layer is exposed to heat. And before you know it the ice is no more.

This is very bad news. American farmers are losing their pollinators.

By Reuters

...Named (click here) for the conspicuous reddish blotch on its abdomen, the rusty patched bumble bee — or Bombus affinis, as it is known to scientists — has plunged in abundance and distribution by more than 90 percent since the late 1990s, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.

The agency attributes the decline to a number of factors, including disease, pesticides, climate change and habitat loss.

Bumble bees, as distinguished from domesticated honey bees, are essential pollinators of wildflowers and about a third of U.S. crops, from blueberries to tomatoes, said Sarina Jepsen of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, which petitioned the government for protection of the insect.

Bumble bees’ annual economic value to farms is estimated at $3.5 billion, according to experts....

The USA hasn't learned it's lesson from Iraq. The rest of the world has.

The global community has to accept Assad as the legitimate leader of the Alawites. The Alawites are a unique ethnic group in Syria that have always lived there. 

September 20, 2016
By Jimmy Carter

The announcement (click here) this month of a new cease-fire agreement in Syria is good news. But a lack of trust among the Syrian belligerents and their foreign supporters means this agreement, like the one that came before it, is vulnerable to collapse.

It is already showing severe signs of strain. Over the weekend, the United States accidentally bombed Syrian government troops. On Monday, the Syrian military declared it would no longer respect the deal, resumed airstrikes on Aleppo, and even a humanitarian aid convoy was bombed.

Still, there is reason for hope. If Russia and the United States were willing to come far enough in their negotiations to reach this deal, these setbacks can be overcome. The targeting of the humanitarian convoy, a war crime, should serve as an added impetus for the United States and Russia to recommit to the cease-fire. The two parties were well aware of the difficulties as they spent a month negotiating the cease-fire’s terms.

The agreement can be salvaged if all sides unite, for now, around a simple and undeniably important goal: Stop the killing. It may be more likely than it sounds....

Stop the killing is a directive few people are interested in when it comes to Syria. An enforceable ceasefire ended because of the deaths of Syrian soldiers. The USA didn't honor the ceasefire it had agreed to.

Where was the failure of the ceasefire the USA was suppose to honor. Where in the US chain of command did someone decide it was okay to kill people in Syria? Who didn't get the memo?

The war in Iraq was a complete disaster. It created a faux government and military infrastructure. No one respects any aggressive actions by the USA anymore. There has been a change in the standing of the USA in the global community. The American press might exploit the bombing of a warehouse serving humanitarian needs, but, then it is not the entire truth, that is whitewashing of a truth that needs to be told.

In a ceasefire, "Oops," is a very big deal. During ceasefires, there is movement of military units and people and goods. All that movement is garnered by intelligence for the country and acted on when the ceasefire is over. "Oops" is a really lousy thing that ends the ceasefire before it was intended and all that movement is compromised at that very second. 

The USA killed Syrian soldiers. THAT is what needs to be contended with. Additionally, Assad saw the actions against his troops and retaliated. Now, a valuable warehouse of humanitarian aid, vehicles and people are gone. Why is the UN staging humanitarian anything, including precious lives, inside a war zone?

There are many questions that need answers and not just any populous answer; the truth would be preferable.

Legislative bodies comprising the people's interest are not prosecutors.

Since 2010 the use of congressional committees have taken on a tone of prosecution. The legislative committees have no power NOR the qualifications to prosecute anything.

If facts arise that have a potential for being criminal then a special prosecutor is named.

Legislative committees hold hearings regularly to bring issues before the agency involved and to find answers. If among those answers is composition of legislation then new bills or amendments are written in committee and eventually voted to move to the floor of the Senate or the House for a vote into law that then goes to the President for signature.

Legislative committees do not prosecute.

The Justice Department prosecutes and if it is believed there is conflict of interest a special prosecutor is assigned.

To carry out an impeachment of a qualified and dedicated person of the government there needs to be a special prosecutor to bring where exactly the law was broken. If the special prosecutor's report meets the standard of impeachment then the process begins.

Congressional committees are not supposed to be henchmen for the purpose of their politics. It disrupts the function of the government and removes very qualified people that have consented to service for the government. The politics alone is enough for a highly qualified person to leave their position or never accept it in the first place.

In the case of the IRS, there were refusals of non-profit designation on both sides of the aisle. The Republicans like to say they are the sole victims to the denials of the non-profit requests in question. This was not a hunt for Republican non-profits.

There is no reason to prosecute. 

It is not unusual for non-profits to go through lengthy approval processes. Understand such processes do not stand in the way of the organization's purpose. The organizations can start acting like non-profits the day they mail the forms to the IRS. THE DATE STAMP ON THE ENVELOPE is the only proof any non-profit needs to begin to act as a non-profit. The government assumes the application is prepared legally and fees included. The government does not refuse a non-profit status simply because an organization is a Republican organization. 

There may be reasons to reject an application, but, if lies are part of that it is illegal and there can be penalties imposed. So, the IRS expects all applications to be forthright and truthful as those preparing the application do not want to suffer penalties.

That said, the committee of the organization that prepared the application should review the rejection closely and adjust it's subsequent submission to meet the standards pointed out in the denial letter.

The IRS is not out to be punitive to non-profits. The non-profits often do good and necessary work in the USA.

Let me state this: There have been incredible organizations that have met the standard of non-profit without question. Why should any other organization be allowed to destroy that standard and/or slip through the approval process because it makes a lot of noise.

This is still going on?

i want budgets set at the beginning of any Congressional investigation. The committee will then have to live within that budget. The only way to add additional funding to a Congressional investigation is to PROVE there is a solid reason to continue. These are all witch hunts and reduce the efficiency of the department in question. Staff has to accommodate requests by the investigation and set their own work aside. Agencies can be crippled by these Congressional investigations. Enough.

There needs to be certain ETHICAL criteria set to even begin investigations. 

September 21, 2016
By Lynnley Brown

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen (click here) expressed regret Wednesday that the agency failed to preserve all the information congressional investigators sought in a 2014 probe of the agency, but told federal lawmakers it would be “improper” to impeach him.

During a hearing expected to be dominated by sharp partisan exchanges, Koskinen, 77, sought to persuade members of the House Judiciary Committee to stave off an impeachment drive by the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus. Koskinen’s appearance was arranged last week; congressional leaders promised the hearing after Freedom Caucus members backed off their demands for an immediate impeachment floor vote.

Representative John Conyers, the Michigan Democrat who serves as the Judiciary panel’s ranking member, decried “partisan attacks” that he said were cloaked in an impeachment process that he said was “doomed to fail” because of a lack of evidence of wrongdoing. Chairman Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican, said Congress has a “duty to serve as a check on the other branches, including against corruption and abuse.”|

“That is why this committee has scheduled this hearing today,” Goodlatte said....

The current armory, completed in 1958, has housed Engineer, Air Defense, Combat Service Support, and Infantry units.

September 20, 2016
By Jason Meisner

Sitting in a car outside the Joliet Armory last year, (click here) then-National Guard specialistHasan Edmonds stroked his chin and calmly sipped a soda as he described how a terror plot on the base would be most effective if higher-ranking soldiers were killed first.

"The first person to take the reins is going to be the first sergeant," Edmonds said to his cousin, Jonas, and another man as the three staked out the armory in March 2015. "And then if he steps off, it's gonna be the company commander. That's the head. Kill the head, body follows...See the stripes, take the shot."

Edmonds went on to describe in a matter-of-fact tone the layout of the building and where soldiers would be lining up for drills. He assured his accomplices that none of the victims would be armed and most would have their cell phones off, so warnings of the attack would be slow to spread. He even suggested a gunman position himself near a particular exit to ambush fleeing soldiers....

There was a 48 hour ceasefire. Where do these attacks fall, within or outside of the ceasefire?

18 September 2016

The US and Russia (click here) agreed to extend the cessation of hostilities in Syria for another 48 hours. So far both parties are content with the implementation of the temporary ceasefire which has been in force since Monday....

...The Russian Foreign Ministry meanwhile noted that the during the phonecall, Lavrov stressed that the US should stick to its promise on the urgent dissociation of the US-backed rebels in Syria from Al-Nusra Front terrorists and “those groups who have basically merged with this branch of Al-Qaeda.”

The Russian General Staff on Wednesday also called for the extension of the ceasefire while outlining violations of it.

"In accordance with the Russian-US agreements, the existing 48-hour ceasefire is expiring today at 7pm [Moscow time – 16:00 GMT]. We note that recently the cessation of hostilities was observed in full. As of this morning the overall number of violations by the militants has reached 60,” Russian General Staff official Viktor Poznikhir said on Wednesday.

He added that Russia understands the necessity of the full implementation of the agreements reached, and that it is “in favor of extending the ceasefire across Syria for another 48 hours.”...

Reuters / Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Damaged Red Cross (click here) and Red Crescent medical supplies lie inside a warehouse after an airstrike on the rebel-held Urm al-Kubra town, western Aleppo city, Syria September 20, 2016.

This is a no brainer. This is rebel held land. There was a ceasefire. It was over and the attack came to end the aid moving into rebel held territory.

I want to know one thing.

Just one thing.

When is the USA going to withdraw from backing rebels so the civil war ENDS

Even after the attack on the UN convoy, there were diplomats scrambling to extend the ceasefire. There was no agreement on the ceasefire at the time of the attack. 

The ceasefire didn't accomplish anything, except, to tell either the Syrian government or Daesh or other groups where the warehouse is. The ceasefire set up a target (the warehouse) that could be destroyed when the ceasefire ended.

The USA needs to leave Syria. 

NOW!

Tell John McCain to go home!

September 15, 2015
By Bassem Mroue and Jamey Keaton

Beirut (AP) — The United Nations (click here) faces "a problem" in shipping humanitarian aid into Syria, the U.N. envoy for the war-torn country said Thursday, pinning the blame on the lack of authorization from Bashar Assad's government that has even disappointed Russia, the Syrian president's key backer.

Staffan de Mistura said a U.S.-Russia-brokered cease-fire deal agreed on last week has largely reduced the violence since it came into effect on Monday, but the humanitarian aid flow that was expected to follow has not materialized.

De Mistura said 40 aid trucks are ready to move and that the U.N. would prioritize delivery to the embattled, rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of the northern city of Aleppo.

However, the Syrian government has not provided needed "facilitation letters," or permits, to allow for the start of the convoys, de Mistura said. He said the government had agreed on Sept. 6 — before the cease-fire deal was inked — to allow aid into five areas, but the authorizations still haven't come....

The problem in Syria is the proxy war no one discusses. One government is better than anarchy and civil war.

The politics of The West is completely wrong. Stop making Syria a political discussion. It is not solving the problems.

September 10, 2016
By Olga Razumovskaya

MOSCOW—Russia on Thursday (click here) said it is airlifting military cargo and humanitarian aid to Syria, amid U.S. concern that Moscow is stepping up its military support of the Middle East nation’s embattled president.

“The planes the Russian Federation is sending to Syria are carrying military items, in accordance with the contracts we have, and humanitarian aid,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a televised news conference. “Depending on what cargo the plane is carrying, we request the proper clearance, in full accordance with international law.”

U.S. military officials have expressed concern in recent days that Russia is building up its forces in Syria and possibly taking a more active role in propping up President Bashar al-Assad against rebel forces.

Russia has denied its forces are participating directly in military operations on Syrian territory.

Responding to a question about whether Russian forces were engaged in combat, Mr. Lavrov said: “There are Russian servicemen in Syria, they have been there for many years.”...

The United Nations with a balanced committee needs to conduct an independent investigation.

September 20, 2016

The US has said it holds Russia (click here) responsible for a deadly attack on an aid convoy near the Syrian city of Aleppo on Monday.

The White House has called it an "enormous humanitarian tragedy".

Meanwhile, US officials have told the BBC that two Russian war planes were responsible for the attack.

Russia strongly denies involvement of its own or Syrian planes, and says the incident was caused by fire on the ground and not by an air strike.

"There are no craters and the exterior of the vehicles do not have the kind of damage consistent with blasts caused by bombs dropped from the air," a statement from the defence ministry said.

And the country's foreign ministry spokeswoman said the US government had "no facts" to support its claim, adding: "We have nothing to do with this situation."...