(1) Philip Giraldi (ex-CIA) says US may have hacked Transponder to Provoke Iran Shootdown(2) Malaysia rallies Islamic countries against Saudis & UAE - accomplices of Israel(3) Claims (by Larouche writers EIR, Tarpley, Engdahl), that Tibetans & Uighurs are funded by CIA(1) Philip Giraldi (ex-CIA) says US may have hacked Transponder to Provoke Iran ShootdownFrom: chris lancenet <chrislancenet@gmail.com>https://www.globalresearch.ca/who-targeted-ukraine-airlines-flight-752-iran/5700765Who Targeted Ukraine Airlines Flight 752? Iran Shot It Down but There May be More to the StoryBy Philip GiraldiGlobal Research, January 16, 2020The claim that Major General Qassem Soleimani was a "terrorist" on a mission to carry out an "imminent" attack that would kill hundreds of Americans turned out to be a lie, so why should one believe anything else relating to recent developments in Iran and Iraq? To be sure, Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 departing from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport on the morning of January 8th with 176 passengers and crew on board was shot down by Iranian air defenses, something which the government of the Islamic Republic has admitted, but there just might  be considerably more to the story involving cyberwarfare carried out by the U.S. and possibly Israeli governments.To be sure, the Iranian air defenses were on high alert fearing an American attack in the wake of the U.S. government’s assassination of Soleimani on January 3rd followed by a missile strike from Iran directed against two U.S. bases in Iraq. In spite of the tension and the escalation, the Iranian government did not shut down the country’s airspace. Civilian passenger flights were still departing and arriving in Tehran, almost certainly an error in judgment on the part of the airport authorities. Inexplicably, civilian aircraft continued to take off and land even after Flight 752 was shot down.Fifty-seven of the passengers on the flight were Canadians of Iranian descent, leading Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to point the finger both at the Iranian government for its carelessness and also at Washington, observing angrily that the Trump Administration had deliberately and recklessly sought to "escalate tensions" with Iran through an attack near Baghdad Airport, heedless of the impact on travelers and other civilians in the region.What seems to have been a case of bad judgements and human error does, however, include some elements that have yet to be explained. The Iranian missile operator reportedly experienced considerable "jamming" and the planes transponder switched off and stopped transmitting several minutes before the missiles were launched. There were also problems with the communication network of the air defense command, which may have been related.How Iran’s Soviet Era Air Defense System Shot Down America’s Global Hawk UAV over Strait of Hormuz The electronic jamming coming from an unknown source meant that the air defense system was placed on manual operation, relying on human intervention to launch. The human role meant that an operator had to make a quick judgment in a pressure situation in which he had only moments to react. The shutdown of the transponder, which would have automatically signaled to the operator and Tor electronics that the plane was civilian, instead automatically indicated that it was hostile. The operator, having been particularly briefed on the possibility of incoming American cruise missiles, then fired.The two missiles that brought the plane down came from a Russian-made system designated SA-15 by NATO and called Tor by the Russians. Its eight missiles are normally mounted on a tracked vehicle. The system includes both radar to detect and track targets as well as an independent launch system, which includes an Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system functionality capable of reading call signs and transponder signals to prevent accidents. Given what happened on that morning in Tehran, it is plausible to assume that something or someone deliberately interfered with both the Iranian air defenses and with the transponder on the airplane, possibly as part of an attempt to create an aviation accident that would be attributed to the Iranian government.The SA-15 Tor defense system used by Iran has one major vulnerability. It can be hacked or "spoofed," permitting an intruder to impersonate a legitimate user and take control. The United States Navy and Air Force reportedly have developed technologies "that can fool enemy radar systems with false and deceptively moving targets." Fooling the system also means fooling the operator. The Guardian has also reported independently  how the United States military has long been developing systems that can from a distance alter the electronics and targeting of Iran’s available missiles.The same technology can, of course, be used to alter or even mask the transponder on a civilian airliner in such a fashion as to send false information about identity and location. The United States has the cyber and electronic warfare capability to both jam and alter signals relating to both airliner transponders and to the Iranian air defenses. Israel presumably has the same ability. Joe Quinn at Sott.net also notes an interested back story to those photos and video footage that have appeared in the New York Times and elsewhere showing the Iranian missile launch, the impact with the plane and the remains after the crash, to include the missile remains. They appeared on January 9th, in an Instagram account called ‘Rich Kids of Tehran‘. Quinn asks how the Rich Kids happened to be in "a low-income housing estate on the city’s outskirts [near the airport] at 6 a.m. on the morning of January 8th with cameras pointed at the right part of the sky in time to capture a missile hitting a Ukrainian passenger plane…?"Put together the Rich Kids and the possibility of electronic warfare and it all suggests a premeditated and carefully planned event of which the Soleimani assassination was only a part. There have been riots in Iran subsequent to the shooting down of the plane, blaming the government for its ineptitude.Some of the people in the street are clearly calling for the goal long sought by the United States and Israel, i.e. "regime change." If nothing else, Iran, which was widely seen as the victim in the killing of Soleimani, is being depicted in much of the international media as little more than another unprincipled actor with blood on its hands. There is much still to explain about the downing of Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752.(2) Malaysia rallies Islamic countries against Saudis & UAE - accomplices of IsraelFrom: "Sandhya Jain" <jsandhya@gmail.com>http://www.vijayvaani.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?aid=5285https://mideastsoccer.blogspot.com/2020/01/ripples-of-1mdb-scandal-likely-to.htmlRipples of 1MDB scandal likely to complicate Malaysian ties to key Gulf Statesby James M Dorsey 	on 20 Jan 2020Disclosures of taped phone calls between embattled former prime minister Najib Razak and a person believed to be United Arab Emirate crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed go a long way to explain Malaysian efforts to counter UAE and Saudi influence in the Muslim world. The disclosures are the latest incident in what have been complex, if not strained relations with the UAE and Saudi Arabia since prime minister Mahathir Mohamad returned to office 19 months ago on the back of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.The scandal involves the siphoning off of billions of dollars from the government investment fund for which Mr. Razak is standing trial.Strains in relations between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the kingdom’s closest ally, were on display last month when Mr. Mahathir convened in cooperation with Turkey, Iran and Qatar - countries with which the two conservative Gulf states are at odds - an Islamic summit that did not involve the Saudi-controlled, Riyadh-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The OIC groups 57 Muslim countries and is the usual convener of Islamic summits.In line with the summit that called for Muslim nations to jointly confront problems Muslims face, Mr. Mahathir earlier this week, in contrast to the Gulf states, condemned the killing in Iraq of Iranian general Qassim Soleimani in a US drone strike as a violation of international law. Saudi Arabia and the UAE called for restraint in the wake of the killing but few in the two states mourned the commander’s death.Mr. Mahathir’s critical view of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, rooted partly in their alleged associations with the 1MDB scandal, was evident almost from the moment he assumed office. Mr. Mahathir appointed as defense minister Mohamed Sabu, known for his critical views of Saudi Arabia. Within a few months, Mr. Sabu closed the King Salman Centre for International Peace (KSCIP), a Saudi-funded anti-terrorism centre established together with the Malaysian defense ministry.Similarly, Mr. Mahathir re-appointed Seri Mohd Shukri as head of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). Mr. Shukri noted in one of his first statements that "we have had difficulties dealing with Arab countries (such as) Qatar, Saudi Arabia, (and the) UAE." Mr. Shukri initially resigned in 2016 as the government’s anti-corruption czar because he had been pressured by Mr. Razak to drop his plans to indict the then prime minister.Excerpts of tapes played by the MACC at a news conference this week suggested that Mr. Razak asked a person believed to be Prince Mohammed to assist in unidentified ways to resolve the scandal and as a "personal favour" help his stepson, Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz, evade charges of money laundering. The voice of the person Mr. Razak was speaking to on the tapes did not identify himself, but was addressed by the prime minister as "Your Highness." The MACC believes on the basis of the context of the conversations that the voice is that of Prince Mohammed.In the recordings, Mr. Razak advises the person that "it is important to resolve this impasse with respect to 1MDB… so that we put closure as soon as possible because it’s embarrassing to both countries, embarrassing Malaysia and embarrassing the UAE as well as personalities close to you." The person rejects a request by Mr. Razak to discuss the issue in person but delegates an associate to talk to the prime minister. He "has the full authority from me and I really, genuinely, want to find a solution…. It’s in our both interests, Mr. Prime Minister, to solve it," the person said.It’s not clear from the tapes whether the UAE actually stepped in a bid to help Mr. Razak and his stepson out of their predicaments.Approaching the UAE for help made sense for Mr. Razak not only because of the country’s alleged links to the scandal but also because it has established itself as a financial and/or physical safe haven for politicians, businessmen and others while in office or positions of influence as well as those who have fallen into disgrace like former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf and his former Thai colleagues Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra.A Pakistani court last month sentenced Mr. Musharraf to death on charges of treason. Mr. Musharraf lives in Dubai where he is receiving medical treatment. Mr. Shinawatra, who was toppled in a military coup in 2006, fled into exile in Dubai after escaping Thailand to evade serving a prison term for a conflict of interest conviction. Ms. Shinawatra, Mr. Shinawatra’s sister, followed him in 2017 after being removed in 2014 by another military intervention and having been charged with negligence while serving as prime minister.Political scientist Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, whose views are often seen as reflecting UAE government thinking, anticipating a possible change in relations, disparaged Mr. Mahathir and his election victory at the time. Mr. Abdulla focussed on Mr. Mahathir’s age as well as the fact that he had forged an alliance with his former deputy prime minister and rival Anwar Ibrahim, an Islamist believed to be close to the Muslim Brotherhood, a bête noir of Prince Mohammed."Malaysia seems to lack wise men, leaders, statesmen and youth to elect a 92-year-old who suddenly turned against his own party and his own allies and made a suspicious deal with his own political opponent whom he previously imprisoned after fabricating the most heinous of charges against him. This is politics as a curse and democracy as wrath," Mr. Abdulla said on Twitter, two days after the election.(3) Claims (by Larouche writers EIR, Tarpley, Engdahl), that Tibetans & Uighurs are funded by CIAFrom: Michaelhttps://www.globalresearch.ca/u-s-sponsored-uyghur-insurgency-in-xinjiang-70-years-of-u-s-destabilisation-in-china/5698425 Reply (Peter M.)Yes, I have seen that sort of thing before. Larouche writers (EIR, Webster Tarpley, F. William Engdahl) have been saying it for more than 20 years - about the Tibetans, so I guess they'd say it about the Uighurs too.That's probably why I kept quiet for so long. Now I feel bad about that. Why should we defend Chinese bullies?Don't forget, in the Uighur case, China started the problem when it trained Afghan Mujahideen in Xinjiang during the 1980s. And let some Uighurs fight in the war against the Soviet Union.Did Global Research mention that?Did the Larouche writers?Global Research published an article by Larry Romanoff, who vehemently denies the Tiananmen Massacre on 1989. He and I have had long debates about it.Webster Tarpley denies the Ukraine Famine.I checked Global Research a couple of weeks ago, wondering if I might send them an article to publish on the Uighurs, but when I saw their pro-China line, I did not bother.I am disgusted with the lot of them.