Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
June 25, 2014

Obama's Selfmade Foreign Policy Problem

He is talking too much.

Kerry went to Egypt, delivered money and weapons and was shown the finger over his human rights laments. Kerry went to Iraq, delivered some military support and demanded a "unity government". Maliki's government already includes Kurds and Sunnis and he just won elections. So Kerry gets shown the finger. Kerry went to Erbil and demanded that the Kurds stick to Iraq. They have all the oil they want. Kerry gets shown the finger. Obama wants more sanctions on Russia but needs the Europeans to join. But why should the Europeans ruin their economies over this? Obama will be likely shown the finger.

The U.S. public dislikes Obama's foreign policies. There are two main reasons for this.

One might expect that Obama would by now have learned not to promise fancy foreign policy stuff he can not deliver on. But as there is no disincentive in Washington for being wrong on foreign policy - watch the recent neocon Iraq war revival shows - Obama can, for a while, go on doing such nonsense. There are two dangers evolving from this:

  • Obama might issue a warning or threat that is for once meant seriously and followed through but gets misjudged by an adversary because of his record (think North Korea).
  • Obama might feel, on a minor issue, to have to follow through on some of his unnecessary threats because he has to show that he is "serious".

In both cases unnecessary wars could ensue.

Someone better tell Obama and Kerry to just shut up. The U.S. public dislikes their hyperactive foreign policy. 58% do not want the U.S to take a leading role.

One does not need, even has "superpower", to have an opinion or policy position on every issue in this world. Intervening, even if only by words, in each and every minor issue is usually just an expression of a rather shallow understanding of the world.

Posted by b on June 25, 2014 at 15:45 UTC | Permalink

Comments

Well, as the masters of disaster,the neolibcon Zionist traitors,own the MSM,which of course wants more and more idiocy to protect their wacko Israel, you will find.as in 03,no voices or people to rally around as antiwar,other than Rand,whom the monsters will not fairly critique,and the internets.
The Graun had the story of Kim Il Jong being angry at the little Ziomonster Rogen,and his provocative little hit flick jab at NK,and the overwhelming majority of respondents lap up the official story,and refuse to see who actually are the bad guys,the west,and keep repeating all the prop about NK,when its not NK going around the world on a killing spree,and that NK minds its own business,unlike GB,US and the other usual suspects.A bunch of retards,hung up on a serial lying narrative of globalization,neolibcon military madness and greed.

Posted by: dahoit | Jun 25 2014 15:58 utc | 1

"One does not need, even has "superpower", to have an opinion or policy position on every issue in this world. Intervening, even if only by words, in each and every minor issue is usually just an expression of a rather shallow understanding of the world. " ~ b

Or, affirmation of their goal of complete hegemony.

Posted by: crone | Jun 25 2014 16:08 utc | 2

I keep hearing and reading that there is some sort of rift in the US Establishment between the neocons and the realists, the Republicans and the Democrats, red versus blue and on down the line both domestically and internationally but I really fail to see the differences.

Again, remember, what the American pissants want is COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT from any discussion although it might help TPTB in deciding how to propagandistically couch their lies/crimes.

Let's Review:

Neocons: American Exceptionalist
Obama/Realists: American Exceptionalist

Neocons: Pro-intervention - PNAC, etc
Obama/Realists: Pro-intervention - R2P, etc

Neocons: Pro-corporate Neoliberal economics
Obama/Realists: Pro-corporate Neoliberal economics

Neocons: Ardent Zionists
Obama/Realists: Ardent Zionists

I mean, I guess one could say such things as: on a scale of Zionist support from 0 to 100, the neocons are at 100 while Obama and the realists are at 99 but is that really saying much?

At the end of the day, whatever path is taken to help out the members of their criminal class the results are guaranteed to be the same from the vantage point of the peon: they win once again and we get shafted and/or killed/maimed/displaced, etc.

As a US citizen who has witnessed domestically the lies Obama has spewed about anything and everything all the while kowtowing to his corporate whorelords, I don't think I'd put much weight behind A WORD the O-man, Kerry, etc say about ANYTHING publicly in foreign policy arena.

They're going to do what they want anyways and it just might - surprise surprise - contradict 100% what they said the minute before.

Posted by: JSorrentine | Jun 25 2014 16:23 utc | 3

On the substance of this post, Obama needs to have a serious sit-down with Henry Kissinger (assuming his mind is still in operation, which I concede is a big if). Henry fully understood the dangers inherent in the sophomoronic actions that constitute Obama's so-called foreign policy. The man does deserve impeachment for incompetence.

Posted by: Knut | Jun 25 2014 16:23 utc | 4

Apparently the western establishment doesn't want the msm propaganda about poroshenko's "cease fire" being challenged.

Posted by: scalawag | Jun 25 2014 16:43 utc | 5

OT

Watched a foreign TV series on Netflix this weekend titled "Salamander" ~

It's about a 'deep state' in Belgium... it could just as well have been about USA

Highly recommend it.

Posted by: crone | Jun 25 2014 16:44 utc | 6

to have an opinion or policy position on every issue in this world.

Isn't that very nearly the textbook definition of totalitarian ideology?

Posted by: Jonathan | Jun 25 2014 16:44 utc | 7

Someone better tell Obama and Kerry to just shut up. The U.S. public dislikes their hyperactive foreign policy. 58% do not want the U.S to take a leading role.

Come on! Seriously? You're citing polls. Polls don't mean jack shit. First, there is no monolithic U.S. public. America is highly multicultural and multisubcultural. Polls, as faulty and misleading as they are, disinformationally suggest that the fabricated results speak for the entirety of the U.S. public when in fact there is no such thing.

There are sentiments out there, though, for those in America who are paying attention, and one such sentiment is that Obama's foreign policy has been ineffectively wishy-washy and indecisive. What this tells me is that the stage is being set for the next President to be a decisive foreign policy figure who takes it to America's so-called enemies. Who that will be isn't clear yet. It's a Dark Horse (not as dark in pigmented skin color as Obama) that's being held close to the vest right now until the time is right, maybe a year from now, to cart him (could be a her but highly unlikely) out and build momentum behind him in the press as he's sold to the American people and the world.

Posted by: Cold N. Holefield | Jun 25 2014 16:45 utc | 8

One does not need, even has "superpower", to have an opinion or policy position on every issue in this world. Intervening, even if only by words, in each and every minor issue is usually just an expression of a rather shallow understanding of the world.

Tell it to Colonel Mustard and some of the commentators here. That guy has it all figured out. There's not an issue he doesn't intervene in, so yeah, I like this statement when I apply it to the likes of Mustard. But man, he and his crowd sure make it seem like they have it all figured out as they call the play by play like it's a football game. It makes me laugh. They have nothing figured out and when they're wrong on their calls, which is most of the time, no one ever calls them out on it — they just keep arrogantly and authoritatively calling it wrong in perpetuity.

Posted by: Cold N. Holefield | Jun 25 2014 16:51 utc | 9

Adding:

And as we all now know, the "new" but improved/honed methods of intervention on the part of BOTH the neocons AND the realists are the false flag, the ginned-up "humanitarian crisis", the "color revolution" and every permutation on down the line that they've been putting into practice over the last 10+ years. How sneaky and cost effective!

Additionally, focusing back on the neocons for a second, by purposefully ensuring that - IMHO - the Iraq/Afghanistan debacles would be seemingly SUCH DISASTERS (from a conventional wisdom POV, that is) - which the neocons back in 2003 just had NO IDEA would happen, remember - they have completely disallowed the utilization of major force by the US as an option anyways and the Yinon Plan etc can now carry on apace.

Again, not that it matters but the US populace IS war-weary but more importantly so is the US military and THAT DOES MATTER.

Gee, too bad things in Afghanistan and Iraq hadn't worked as rosily as the neocons had retardedly predicted they were going to back in '03 or future POTUS's - Obama et al - MIGHT have had an arrow or two left in their quiver to stop the current dismantling/balkanization of the ME according to the Yinon Plan, Clean Break and other plans those very same neocons had either authored or signed onto a few years before they were out their - including the DefSec during the 1st Iraq War - PURPOSEFULLY making such utter fools of themselves.

Oh well.

Posted by: JSorrentine | Jun 25 2014 16:59 utc | 10

@7 'the stage is being set for the next President to be a decisive foreign policy figure who takes it to America's so-called enemies.'

Dick Cheney with a new Pacemaker?

Posted by: dh | Jun 25 2014 17:00 utc | 11

b quote "....there is no disincentive in Washington for being wrong on foreign policy...."

actually there's an incentive to be wrong! it is called feeding the military/financial machine they have going..

when there is no ''accountability'' - they can be wrong as much as they want, as no one will be holding any of them accountable!

Posted by: james | Jun 25 2014 17:14 utc | 12

The whole time that Obama was babbling about the "red line" in Syria I was waiting to see what would happen if that line was ever crossed, knowing that it almost certainly would be and that Obama would be at a complete loss as to what to do about it. It was furiously embarrasing to watch him trying to bail out of having to do anything about it and then grasping at the life preserver thrown to him by the Russians. The whole thing was a result of, as you say, him simply talking too much.

Posted by: Bill H | Jun 25 2014 17:28 utc | 13

>(1)What this tells me is that the stage is being set for the next President to be a decisive foreign policy figure who takes it to America's so-called enemies.
(2)Who that will be isn't clear yet.
Posted by: Cold N. Holefield | Jun 25, 2014 12:45:38 PM | 7

(1) Wrong.
America's 'enemies' must, by definition and precedent, be small and defenseless in order to become targets of Yankee military 'might' (might win a war one day).

(2) Wronger.
We know with irrefutable certainty who the Yankees won't dare attack or threaten ... anyone who can sink all of their navies and make strategic chunks of the continental USA glow in the dark on 2 hours notice, or any country with friends who can do so.
America has snookered itself by threatening Russia and China simultaneously.
I don't know where Russia/China's Red Line is, but if they haven't got their nukes ready to launch the moment the dumbass Yankees cross it, then they deserve whatever fate their lack of vigilance and resolve allows to befall them.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Jun 25 2014 17:54 utc | 14

DOnt agree one bit,

Why would Kerry be snubbed by Egypt? Makes no sense
Why would Kerry not get eu on with more sancitons, make no sense, just today germany said more sanctions is planned.

Posted by: Anonymous | Jun 25 2014 18:00 utc | 15

We know with irrefutable certainty who the Yankees won't dare attack or threaten

No duh. They're a baseball team. Of course they won't dare attack or threaten anyone. What does baseball have to do with this, anyway?

As for the rest of your steroidal rage, thankfully Russia and China prefer prosperity over flash-frying, unlike you, so there will be no chance of a nuclear conflagration. There are no red lines — only shifting sands. If you don't shift with the sands, you'll be buried under a dune. In fact, you may already be buried and may not know it.

Posted by: Cold N. Holefield | Jun 25 2014 18:10 utc | 16

Kerry is a growing embarrassment. Hopefully the disdain his interlocutors greeted him with in Cairo, Baghdad and Erbil will be matched in Brussels where a decision will be made whether to join the U.S.-led effort to ratchet up sanctions against Russia. If Europe says no then we can look forward to a solution in Donbass.

Posted by: Mike Maloney | Jun 25 2014 18:26 utc | 17

@12 That's the old accuse the President of weakness gambit. Ruthless Dictator Thumbs Nose At America! We need a line in the sand! It usually works. I think this time Assad, Maliki....even Putin...are proving a little difficult to demonize so nobody is sure who to bomb.

Posted by: dh | Jun 25 2014 18:36 utc | 18

This is a pretty good article from Asia Times:

Iraq and the emerging regional disorder
By Zorawar Daulet Singh

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel last week expressed a truism when he remarked, "recent crises in Iraq and Ukraine remind us all how quickly things can change in the world, and not for the better."

Since 1980, the Carter Doctrine (America reserves the right to use force to defend its interests in West Asia) has been the dominant image of the regional security system. The US took West Asia into its sphere of influence, and, Washington could be relied upon to ensure a modicum of geopolitical leadership. After all, this was the implicit contract between America and the world. The US would supply public goods via geopolitical stability and receive the consent of regional and global stakeholders to a US-led regional order. Yet the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the impasse with Iran, NATO's strike on Libya, the Syrian civil war, strengthening of radical Islam in Egypt, and Turkey's drift away from its secular moorings collectively suggest that the US can no longer credibly present itself as a regional security provider.

If there is one stark contradiction in US foreign policy it is this: A relative power decline and the weakening of the domestic base for a superpower role suggest that America would seek to craft a new role, one consistent with its means and body politic.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-02-240614.html#Séquence_1

Posted by: okie farmer | Jun 25 2014 18:36 utc | 19

And remember, kids, just for the record a la gatekeeper Chomsky vis a vis Syria last year:

Israel is just sitting all this ISIS/IRAQ/SYRIA blah blah blah SHIT OUT!!!

He [war criminal Bibi] replied that both the radical Shi’ites allied to Iran, and radical Sunnis, led by Al Qaeda and ISIS, were enemies of the US. “When your enemies are fighting each other, don’t strengthen either one of them,” he urged. Instead, the US should “take the actions that you deem necessary to counter the ISIS takeover of Iraq,” but must not “allow Iran to dominate Iraq the way it dominated Lebanon and Syria. So you actually have to work on both sides. As I say, you try to weaken both.”

In the same vein, during a press conference following Monday’s military attack, Netanyahu said in conflicts like Syria, it is best for Israel to sit back and let its enemies weaken each other. “This is a fault line between civilisation and savagery,” he said.

Work both sides and play one group of mercenary jihadists against another. Man, that sure sounds familiar....

Yup, just sitting it all out and just luckily having their 30+ year-old plans of ME balkanization look more and more like reality everyday.

Those fucking apartheid genocidal Israelis, they so lucky.

Posted by: JSorrentine | Jun 25 2014 18:48 utc | 20

@3 There are two main rifts. On the one hand, there is the military rift, and officers and weapon producers don't want to be seen on CNN after the cheap Russian counter measures work. Libya and Iraq along with our drones attacks in the desert are done because it's easy.

As for the political establishment, the dyed in the wool hawks, most in line for cushy jobs, aren't a majority. They can't fund any kind of undertaking. The President lost that Syrian vote. Although the opponents came from different parties and reasons for their opposition, the Congressional majority is officially antiwar or anti-intervention. Moving against that position opens them up to losing, and they are motivated by their minor celebrity. 9/11 chants don't work.

I think the Kissinger era types aren't overly fond of these post Soviet era types. They may be thugs, but they tend to have a greater understanding of their goals and the means to achieve them. Obama's behavior is representative of a group who came up in a unchecked world. 41's behavior versus 43 is an example a rot through much of our elite. They were both hideous, but 41 seemed to grasp the concept of unknown unknowns to borrow from Rummy.

Posted by: NotTimothyGeithner | Jun 25 2014 18:55 utc | 21

via the Saker

June 25th IRAQ SITREP by Mindfriedo

http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.com/2014/06/june-25th-iraq-sitrep-by-mindfriedo.html

Posted by: crone | Jun 25 2014 19:13 utc | 22

For once the alakhbar article of yesterday about the suicide bombings campaign that was going to start was very exact

One of tosay's kamikaze is a Saudi. No surprise.

http://www.lemonde.fr/proche-orient/article/2014/06/25/liban-une-explosion-dans-un-hotel-de-beyrouth-fait-un-mort_4445341_3218.html

Posted by: Mina | Jun 25 2014 19:18 utc | 23

The Kerry-bot has already threatened Syria over it's air attack on Israel's ISIS assets just across the Syrian border in Iraq. An attack welcomed by the Iraqi government, BTW.

In other news...

GDP Disaster: Final Q1 GDP Crashes To -2.9%, Lowest Since 2009, Far Below The Worst Expectations

"Remember when in January 2014, Q1 GDP was expected to rise 2.6%? Well, here comes the final Q1 GDP revision and it's a doozy: at -2.9%, far below the -1.8% expected and well below the -1.0% second revision, it is an absolute disaster, and is the worst print since Q1 2009.

And while a bad GDP print was largely expected, the driver wasn't: personal consumption expenditures somehow crashed from 3.1% to just 1.0%, far below the 2.4% expected, meaning that all hope of a consumer recovery is dead. Finally, as a reminder, US GDP has never fallen more than 1.5% except during or just before an NBER-defined recession since quarterly GDP records began in 1947. Good luck department of truth propaganda machine, because even assuming 3% growth every other quarter in 2014 means 2014 GDP will be 1.5% at best!"

Posted by: scalawag | Jun 25 2014 19:22 utc | 24

b, what are the promises he can not deliver?

Posted by: slirs | Jun 25 2014 19:37 utc | 25

@20

Disagree only because I think your analysis is too "inside-baseball" as you haven't pointed out to me - a regular pissant peon - the real differences in OUTCOME which is the point.

Personally, I don't give a fuck as to what they TELL US they SEEM to disagree on or which INDIVIDUAL members of the war criminal elite get rewarded and which of them have to "settle" for 6? 7? figure jobs as lobbyists instead of Congresswhores, I wait to see what will happens.

Let's see:

The American exceptionalist, pro-intervention (were NOT talking about what they SAY publicly, remember), neoliberal, Zionist neoconservatives are going to push for more "non-intervention" intervention such as we have been seeing for years now and which will include the continued funding of this or that mercenary group, the creation of more false flags, the instigation of "humanitarian crises" and the formulation of more "color revolution/Arab Spring" type scenarios.

And...

The American exceptionalist, pro-intervention, neoliberal, Zionist realists are going to push for more "non-intervention" intervention such as we have been seeing for years now and which will include the continued funding of this or that mercenary group, the creation of more false flags, the instigation of "humanitarian crises" and the formulation of more "color revolution/Arab Spring" type scenarios.

See, I do not BELIEVE - for a million and two reasons - that there is ANY OTHER camp in the US Establishment. Sure, if one looks closely enough one can see different bios and stories for each of these "players" but at the end of the day it's a wash. They're a monolith war criminal class who protect each other and share 99.999% of the same goals.

Just like how someone interested in - let's say - professional sports could rattle off the stats and career high/lows of the teams/players they follow while others could accurately describe the entire profession as a bunch of overpaid fucking children whose careers/livelihoods are ultimately meant to distract people from thinking about how they are being mercilessly exploited day-in/day-out.

It boils down to perspective and when having to consider the needless slaughter/rape/theft/displacement of MILLIONS that these fuckers have caused I think a larger perspective - and NOT the "inside-baseball" one they would like us all engage in - is the more apt one.

Thus, I really don't see how one in year 2014 can read ANY action by Congress - i.e., any "successful" vote, any "failed" vote etc - as anything more than the very least bit of theater needed to keep their underlying murderous scams and schemes alive for their audience.

If a "vote" ever SEEMS to go along the lines of public opinion tis only an accident.

Posted by: JSorrentine | Jun 25 2014 19:39 utc | 26

ISIS suicide bomber in Beirut.

Savoir-ISIS, is EVERYWHERE!

Posted by: JSorrentine | Jun 25 2014 19:52 utc | 27

Posted by: JSorrentine | Jun 25, 2014 3:39:35 PM | 25

But...but...but, the drama over what the fearless leaders say is the foundation of western "democracy". If we cant be beguiled with the soap opera, we might actually look at what the war criminals are doing. neither Israel, nor the western oligarchy can allow that.

Posted by: scalawag | Jun 25 2014 19:53 utc | 28

@23

"The Kerry-bot has already threatened Syria over it's air attack on Israel's ISIS assets just across the Syrian border in Iraq"

Alleged attack- and bogus allegations at that
Made by 'a doctor' and an 'official'

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/06/25/syrian-warplane-airstrikes-kill-at-least-50-in-iraq-authorities-say/?intcmp=latestnews

"An official in Iraq’s Anbar province and Mohammed Al Qubaisi, a doctor in the area’s main hospital, told The Wall Street Journal that missiles fired from what appeared to be Syrian warplanes hit a market, a bank and a municipal building on Tuesday"

Making it most likely it is ISIS making the claims cause no one else is

Then there is the fact that the US controls Iraqs airspace
making it a no way in hell that Syria would do that

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/oct/25/us-departure-iraq-illusion

U.S. to leave Iraqi airspace clear for strategic Israeli route to Iran

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/dec/14/us-will-leave-iraqi-airspace-clear-for-strategic-i/?page=all

Good of US to leave Iraqi airspace all clear for Israel, no?

So, I am calling baloney on Syrian airstrikes into Iraq

Posted by: Penny | Jun 25 2014 20:09 utc | 29

Canada Winnipeg - Ukrainian Nationalists storm the Russian Children's Center June 20th, 2014

The description translated as this:

"They posted this video, and then removed, apparently octanol(?). Here admire the local Ukrainian patriots."

The word on the cake, "ХУЙЛО", means dickhead.

Posted by: scalawag | Jun 25 2014 20:19 utc | 30

Im sure you just wanted to display the polls you referenced but after I clicked on the link to Wapo and read about 3 paragraphs of that screed by inside-the-beltway- cypher Dan Drenzler, I had to laugh and click it away. Reading that crap is like reading Big Brothers daily moral instructions and political enlightenment sheet. He's pissed that So few Americans now support the wars for peace. He says "Americans want a free pony" , By that he means we aren't "serious". For justification he says Americans "aren't happy about the disintegration of Iraq" or "Russia annexing parts of Ukraine" or "China Bullying its neighbors in the South China Sea"(Sic) Corporate media frames every statement within the fraudulent context of state propaganda. Iraq is "disintegrating " after 11 years of US interference war and occupation. Crimea (no other "parts" yet that I'm aware of) seceded from Ukraine after a neo Nazi

Posted by: Marc | Jun 25 2014 20:35 utc | 31

@ marc @ 30

I HATE microsoft

putsch backed arranged and directed by the US...

Posted by: Marc | Jun 25 2014 20:36 utc | 32

Posted by: Penny | Jun 25, 2014 4:09:33 PM | 28

Thanks for the correction. I looked at Syrian Perspective and see Ziad Fadel didn't mention the air attack in his latest, though it was discussed inconclusively in the comments.

Posted by: scalawag | Jun 25 2014 20:50 utc | 33

@scalawag #29:

Westerners have to begin to understand that the only content of Uki nationalism is hatred of Russians and all things Russian. Thus, Uki nationalism is only possible as a variety of racism and fascism.

Saying that the Ukraine has a right to exist is like saying that antisemitic Germans have a right to have their own little part of Germany or Austria carved away for them, or that American white supremacists or the Ku Ku Klan have a right to have their own territory in the United States, completely independent of the US government.

Unfortunately, in the West, genocidal hatred of Russians is treated with respect, whereas genocidal hatred of Jews or blacks is treated as completely beyond the pale.

The statement "the national borders of the Ukraine must be respected" is nothing but support for the most brutal, pathological kind of hatred of an (imaginary) Other.

Posted by: Demian | Jun 25 2014 20:53 utc | 34

Baghdad May Lose Its Drinking Water As ISIS Approaches Second Largest Dam

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-25/baghdad-may-lose-its-drinking-water-isis-approaches-second-largest-dam

Posted by: crone | Jun 25 2014 21:12 utc | 35

@ 9

the 'war-weariness' of the US populace, in its hampered state of awareness, would be better described as dismay of diminishing purchasing power which it is maybe starting to correlate with beyond the pale defense spending. any 'free' society that countenances the extreme war crimes we've seen in just the last dozen years or so committed on its behalf is pathologically tolerant. at best.

yes, neocons and obama/realists, are essentially cut from the same cloth. they are called fascists and they covet power. and they only relinquish that power when it is pried from their cold dead hands.

Posted by: john | Jun 25 2014 21:18 utc | 36

@john #35:

Here is what the preeminent American realist, John Mearsheimer, had to say about the Ukraine crisis:

President Obama has decided to get tough with Russia by imposing sanctions and increasing support for Ukraine’s new government. This is a big mistake. This response is based on the same faulty logic that helped precipitate the crisis. Instead of resolving the dispute, it will lead to more trouble.

The White House view, widely shared by Beltway insiders, is that the United States bears no responsibility for causing the current crisis. In their eyes, it’s all President Vladimir V. Putin’s fault — and his motives are illegitimate. This is wrong. Washington played a key role in precipitating this dangerous situation, and Mr. Putin’s behavior is motivated by the same geopolitical considerations that influence all great powers, including the United States.

The taproot of the current crisis is NATO expansion and Washington’s commitment to move Ukraine out of Moscow’s orbit and integrate it into the West.

That is realist thinking for you. I am not aware of a single realist currently being in the State Department or the White House. And to call Obama himself a realist is absurd. I doubt he even knows what the term means.

Posted by: Demian | Jun 25 2014 21:51 utc | 37

Damn it.
Poland government keep ruling after vote.
http://rt.com/news/line/2014-06-25/#64820

Posted by: Anonymous | Jun 25 2014 22:03 utc | 38

@Anonymous #37:

Speaking of Poland, here's a question I've been meaning to ask for some time.

I have heard that Poland does not have a real democracy, because there is no real opposition. Can someone give some details on whether this is the case, and how this situation emerged?

Obviously, naive searches on the anglophone internet are just going to yield disinformation, hence my asking here.

Posted by: Demian | Jun 25 2014 22:10 utc | 39

scalawag- the video-sadly- all Russian
the irony of the Ukies speaking Russian?
And what was the point other then a stupid stunt
all the nutty nationalists do is make themselves look foolish

Posted by: Penny | Jun 25 2014 22:10 utc | 40

Isis;The Egyptian goddess of nature.Funny name for an Islamic group.
Some dude said that a lot of Americans say Obomba has a wishy washy foreign policy;Let's see,first day in office,he sends in the drones.Then he surges in Afghanistan.Then he murdered OBL allegedly,then he helped take out Col.K. Then he tried to bomb Syria.Then he supported the Egyptian coup and still does.And last but not least,he has a proxy war going in Ukraine.All absolutely idiotic and counterproductive for American interests,but certainly not wishy washy.

Posted by: dahoit | Jun 25 2014 22:16 utc | 41

Just in;They can drink piss,it's a new development,humanity on the march!Cheaper than desalination.
And that wishy washy crap is just stinkin rethug talking points,of course they reach around under the table with the demoncrats for Zion.
Tranche;Bonds issued for sale in a foreign nation.A fitting new word for the vocab.
Yankee;doodle?Another name for Americans,sorry rebs,get over it already.

Posted by: dahoit | Jun 25 2014 22:22 utc | 42

36;The WH is insane then.Of course we started it.More of the we create reality sh*t from dweeb scum.

Posted by: dahoit | Jun 25 2014 22:25 utc | 43

Here's an interesting post I ran across on a Russian blog:

The real war is still ahead

Mortally important analytical warning for regions: Odessa, Kherson, Nikolaev, Zaporozhye.

Did you notice why today, at the conference DND said "we will try to deal with the Ukrainian occupiers ourselves"? Do you know why they said that? Because the Kyiv junta itself will begin in the coming days, to urgently withdraw troops from Donbass. If they are not completely suicidal, of course. Now is the worst...:

We all know that if Kiev junta mind especially not shine, then their American mistresses have serious analysts. Not as smart as in Russia, but still. Donbass is lost for the US, this is unambiguous. To spend more money, sending troops makes no sense. Because it really makes no sense, it will only lead to losses. But the United States will not give up that easily. They will now redirect Ukrainian forces into the strategically important regions: Odessa, Zaporozhye, Kherson and Nikolayev.

Why are these regions of total importance? […]

It is an interesting prognostication. It is hard for me to believe that the borders of Banderastan will be its current ones, minus just Donetsk and Lugansk.

Posted by: Demian | Jun 25 2014 22:34 utc | 44

#43 If Russia is forced to cross the border I am sure they will not stop in the Donbas. My guess is they will seize all of the land north and east of the Dniepr River plus Kherson, Odessa and Nikolayev. The reaction to such an invasion by the west would not be any more extreme than if they just seized Donbas. One of the reactions would be to move NATO into Ukraine so the Russians should make that as small as possible.

Posted by: ToivoS | Jun 25 2014 23:08 utc | 45

@ToivoS #44:

My impression is that almost all Russian observers, both in Novorossya and in Russia itself, do not expect the RF to send troops into the former Ukraine unless the situation changes significantly. The same blogger I quoted from in my previous comment wrote a very good earlier post explaining why Russia sending troops in would be a very bad idea. The Saker has covered pretty much the same ground, and we've discussed it here, as well.

The Ukraine needs to fall apart on its own, with the US goading it on. The single circumstance that would be the most propitious for the continued existence of the Ukraine would be for Russia to enter into a war with it.

Posted by: Demian | Jun 26 2014 0:06 utc | 46

The war in the South East Online 25.06.2014 Chronicle of events (post updated)

"06-57, In the occupied junta areas where it is waged or deployed banderovskoe of the Sonderkommando, every day dozens disappear girls aged 13 to 19 years.
Where do they go and what now happens with them, perfectly understandable.
The police, although it takes statement, strongly hinting that hardly anything can help. The guards are afraid to contact the stronghold of the Kyiv mode - the national guard under, attended by criminals and thugs from all over Ukraine. It is noteworthy that, according to police reports, the best parameters now in Galicia. The crime rate dropped to Soviet figures, that is almost zero. All bondarovska bastard went to Rob, rape and kill in the South-East."

"06-34, On the eve of Slavic militia found under Karachun 180 dead guards with bellies ripped up, and a bit further - more than 300 bodies without internal organs.
Earlier in the evening, in the area, local residents was spotted machine "red cross".

They did the same thing in the former Yugoslavia. Probably are still doing it in Palestine.

Israeli Organ Harvesting

They never seem to be able to resist the urge...

Posted by: scalawag | Jun 26 2014 0:12 utc | 47

Apologies if a repost:

The ISIS parade continues!!!

Posted by: JSorrentine | Jun 26 2014 0:13 utc | 48

#45 demian I agree completely with your comment. I prefaced my comment with "if Russia is forced". So far Russia has been very careful and Putin must be feeling some pressure to do more to stop the killing in Donbas. He has so far resisted in being provoked.

Posted by: ToivoS | Jun 26 2014 0:17 utc | 49

@JSorrentine #47:

With all those terrorists neatly lined up like that in a parade, the US could of course have a turkey shoot with them, the way it did with the Iraqi army in the first gulf war, if it wanted to.

Posted by: Demian | Jun 26 2014 0:37 utc | 50

Racism: Alive and Well In the U.S. and Israel

"The media is reporting that three teenagers living in illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine are missing, and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated, on evidence he has not chosen to share, that they have been kidnapped by Hamas. In response, he has unleashed a new level of terrorism against Palestinians living in the West Bank, with mass arrests and a new level of harassment that is shocking even for his IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) terrorists.

At this point the whereabouts of the three missing people is unknown; how and why they left, whether or not there is a criminal component and, if so, who is responsible, are also unknown. One hopes they are found safely. However, the outrage that Israel and the United States is demonstrating by this event is somewhat puzzling at best, and wildly hypocritical at worst.

In an average year, between 500 and 700 Palestinian children are ‘arrested’ (read: kidnapped) by IDF terrorists. In most cases, they are asleep in their beds when these terrorists break into their homes and drag them out to waiting vehicles. Their parents are not told where they are being taken; they are often held for weeks or months without charge, and without access to parents or lawyers. Multiple sources report that children as young as 11 are arrested, held and tortured in Israeli jails.

Where is the international outrage? Why does the United States not only stand quietly by, but actually finance the activities of this criminal regime, to the tune of $9,000,000.00 every day of the year? Why are the lives of three Israel teenagers, living in settlements that the entire world recognizes are in violation of international law, worth so much more attention that the hundreds of Palestinian children arrested and tortured every year?

This doesn’t even include the children killed by IDF terrorists; Israel occasionally investigates these deaths, and always finds that the IDF was not negligent in any way.

Is this not racism in its ugliest and most basic form? One group of people (Israelis) is somehow seen as more valuable, more important, than another (Palestinians). The U.S.’s elected representatives, almost all of whom are bought and paid for by the American-Israel Political Affairs Committee (AIPAC), insist with a straight face that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. Is such blatant racism an indication of a democracy?

Before, during and following World War II, the world was horrified that Nazi Germany was exterminating Jews, believing that the Arian race was superior, the Jewish race inferior, and apparently feeling justified in killing Jews. Today it is Israelis who believe, somehow, that they are a superior race, chosen by God (by their bizarre interpretation of some Biblical passages) in ancient times, and that the Palestinians are inferior, and therefore killing them arbitrarily is completely acceptable."

Posted by: scalawag | Jun 26 2014 0:51 utc | 51

@ 46

Something I did not know... thank you for posting that.

Posted by: crone | Jun 26 2014 0:54 utc | 52

@scalawag #50:

"Today it is Israelis who believe, somehow, that they are a superior race, chosen by God (by their bizarre interpretation of some Biblical passages) in ancient times, and that the Palestinians are inferior, and therefore killing them arbitrarily is completely acceptable."

Actually, it's not a bizarre interpretation at all; it's the only reasonable interpretation. The unifying, main theme of the Old Testament is that the Jews are the Chosen People. This is why the only acceptable way of reading the Old Testament is to read it from the point of view of the New Testament and the Gospel in particular.

And, just so people don't think I'm a Russian Orthodox nationalist: no, I don't think that Luther was a heretic. (I was stunned to see him called that on a Novorossiya web site. Yes, the Roman Catholic church has perpetrated countless evils against the Russian people, but the Russian Orthodox have no quarrel with Lutherans.)

Posted by: Demian | Jun 26 2014 1:06 utc | 53

Posted by: crone | Jun 25, 2014 8:54:45 PM | 51

Cheers.

Muslim Brotherhood member sits at U.S. National Security Council

"A document obtained by Judicial Watch shows that a member of the U.S. National Security Council, Mehdi K. Alhassani (photo), is affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood.

We already knew for
• Huma Abedin, who was deputy chief of staff to Hillary Clinton at the State Department;
• Farah Pandith, the State Department delegate to Muslim communities;
• Arif Alikhan, assistant to Janet Napolitano, Department of Homeland Security;
• Imam Mohamed Magid, member of the DHS Countering Violent Extremism Working Group;
• Mohamed Elibiary, Department of Homeland Security advisor;
• Eboo Patel, member of the Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships;
• Rashad Hussain, advisor to President Obama on Sharia law, his Special Envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference;
• Salam al-Marayati, advisor to President Obama, member of the U.S. delegation to the OSCE.

Moreover, the renowned intellectual Louay Safi - a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and, as such, of the Syrian National Council - is a former Pentagon advisor."

See also:

Links between Muslim Brotherhood and Obama administration

"A number of elements have been revealed about the personal links between the Muslim brotherhood and the Obama Administration. They permit a better understanding of the role played by the Brotherhood during the ’’Arab Spring’’.

Tight little family there.

Posted by: scalawag | Jun 26 2014 1:08 utc | 54

The Soaring Profits of the Military – Industrial Complex And the Soaring Costs of Military Casualties

"Introduction: There are two major beneficiaries of the two major wars launched by the US government: one domestic and one foreign. The three major domestic arms manufacturers, Lockheed Martin (LMT), Northrop Grumman (NOG) and Raytheon (RTN) have delivered record-shattering returns to their investors, CEOs and investment banks during the past decade and a half.


The Israeli regime is the overwhelming foreign beneficiary of the war, expanding its territory through its dispossession of Palestinians and positioning itself as the regional hegemon. Israel benefited from the US invasion which destroyed Iraq, a major ally of the Palestinians; the invasion provided cover for massive Israel’s settler expansion in the Occupied Palestinian territories. In the course of its invasion and occupation Washington systematically destroyed Iraq’s armed forces and civil infrastructure, shredding its complex modern society and state. By doing so, the US occupation removed one of Israel’s major regional rivals.

In terms of cost to the United States, hundreds of thousands of soldiers who had served in the war zones have sustained severe physical and mental injuries, while thousands have died directly or indirectly through an epidemic of soldier suicides. The invasion and occupation of Iraq has cost the United States trillions of dollars and counting. Despite the immense costs to the American people, the military-industrial complex and the pro-Israel power configuration continue to keep the US government on a wartime economy – undermining the domestic social safety net and standard of living of many millions.

No peaceful economic activity can match the immense profits enjoyed by the military-industrial complex in war. This powerful lobby continues to press for new wars to sustain the Pentagon’s huge budget. As for the pro-Israel power configuration, any substantive diplomatic peace negotiations in the Middle East would end their naked land grabs, reduce or curtail new weapons transfers and undermine pretexts to sanction or attack countries, like Iran, that stand in the way of Tel Aviv’s vision of “Greater Israel”, unrivaled in the region.

The costs of almost 15 years of warfare weigh heavily on the US Treasury and electorate. The wars have been dismal failures if not outright defeats. New sectarian conflicts have emerged in Syria, Iraq and, now, Ukraine – opportunities for the US arms industry and the pro-Israel lobbies to make even greater profits and gain more power."

Posted by: scalawag | Jun 26 2014 1:20 utc | 55

I think Obama's problem is that - though his administration has been great at stirring up trouble around the globe - they've been abysmal at guiding events after the fact.

Libya was the turning point both in terms of garnering a semblance of international consensus (ie., China/Russia, not that litter of NATO poodles) for their schemes and in maneuvering outside the bounds of core allies like Egypt and Tunisia. Nowhere Obama has poked his nose has turned into anything remotely resembling something the American people would identify as a "success" (of course we can debate wether "success" was ever even plan "C" or "D"). And if the world's most media-saturated sheep, the American people, see these moves as pointless as best - imagine how those who actually are effected by it feel.

Obama's "political capital" (and he had a lot of it in 2008) is utterly used up. He floated on that as long as he could, but he accomplished nothing during his two terms, and there are only a tiny number of (probably paid) diehard idiots who don't see this. Everyone knows there is nothing to hope for, nothing to expect except a long, slow, interminable period of tension leading to the election of someone even worse. And this, I would guess, is the feeling both at home and abroad.

He is the lamest of lame duck Presidents, and the USA is starting to look like the lamest of lame duck Empires.

All that's left is to watch the policies built up over 100 years of empire (that they're the same policies isn't even debatable, here we are attacking Russia and containing China like it was 1920 and 1952 again) slowly play themselves into abject failures while at home things get worse and all the demons we conjured up start to threaten us.

Posted by: guest77 | Jun 26 2014 2:04 utc | 56

of course the worlds hippest toilet paper, VICE Magazine, is tlking about how moderate ISIS is, and how "calm" life is for those under its control:

Mosul Residents Enjoy Calmer Lives Under ISIS Control, For Now

By John Beck

June 24, 2014 "ICH" - "Vice"- - -When the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) overran Iraq’s second city of Mosul, many feared sectarian massacres and brutal violence from the extremist Sunni militants. As many 500,000 people fled the city on the first day, according to the UN.

Now, many citizens have returned. Instead of imposing its extreme interpretation of Islamic law and carrying out threats of killing Shiites wherever it found them, ISIS has remained more moderate. As a result, it has found support among local residents, some of whom told VICE News that they are happy with life under their new leaders.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article38919.htm

*cough*zionist rag*cough*

Posted by: guest77 | Jun 26 2014 2:14 utc | 57

Churkin has criticized the report of experts of the UN security Council on Iran

"The conclusions of the experts Committee of the UN security Council, which claimed that Iran was violating the sanctions, is not adequately supported by the data and can harm the negotiations on Tehran's nuclear program, said the permanent representative of Russia to the world organization Vitaly Churkin.

Speaking at the meeting, dedicated to the work of the Committee of the UN security Council on sanctions against Iran, the diplomat has subjected its members criticized for excessive activity "on this, very sensitive stage of the negotiation process on the nuclear program of Iran, transfers ITAR-TASS.

"In the conclusions and assessments of the experts should exercise the utmost care. Any not confirmed by specific information regarding the possible violations of the sanctions regime could negatively influence the course of negotiations "six" with Iran and its interaction with the IAEA and should not be included in the report", - said Churkin.

Russia's permanent representative also criticized the experts for speculations about "the future of the sanctions regime" after reaching a comprehensive agreement on Iran's nuclear program. According to him, this question is beyond the scope of the mandate of the" experts."Group should not interfere in this very delicate process, and, moreover, it is inadmissible to prejudge its outcome," said the diplomat."

The usual western characters playing their usual games against Iran. Israel is smiling, no doubt.

Posted by: scalawag | Jun 26 2014 2:21 utc | 58

After Opening Way to Rebels, Turkey Is Paying Heavy Price

...
“For three years, we have seen ISIS flags in Syria, and that is because of Turkey,” Mr. Aydin said, eyeing hundreds of Iraq-bound trucks that snaked in a line over the horizon. “Turkey let them in.”

Now, with the rise of ISIS, the Turkish government is paying a steep price for the chaos it helped create.


“The fall of Mosul was the epitome of the failure of Turkish foreign policy over the last four years,” said Soli Ozel, a professor of international relations at Kadir Has University in Istanbul. “I can’t disassociate what happened in Mosul from what happened in Syria, and Turkish foreign policy toward Syria has been unrealistic, hubristic, ideological and stubborn.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/25/world/europe/after-opening-way-to-rebels-turkey-is-paying-heavy-price.html

Posted by: Virgile | Jun 26 2014 2:44 utc | 59

Demian@49

The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) stopped the 1972 North Vietnamese Army (NVA) offensive. The book “Bright Shining Lie” includes a description of the B-52 attack in the Central Highlands air field that destroyed a NVA battalion. ARVN rout during 1975 offensive started in the Central Highlands without American air support which had been prohibited by the US Congress.

History repeated itself in 2014. The puppet Iraqi army collapsed without American air support. Baghdad will be shortly turned into another Damascus urban hell hole. The Sunnis could well recapture the Green Zone. The Americans had better be gone soon or they will shot by the Shiite militias when they do not provide air support to help them defend their homes.

Iraq is partitioned. The Sunnis have their Caliphate in the Levant. The Shiite crescent is split. The Sunni Shiite Jihad is on. The consequences will reverberate for years to come. Vietnam caused Americans to lose faith in their government. Ukraine and Iraq will force Americans to realize they are serfs to the New World Order.

Posted by: VietnamVet | Jun 26 2014 3:03 utc | 60

By the way, Obama announced a 5 Billion counterterrorism fund on May 28th.

Why Obama's $5 Billion Counterterrorism Fund Will Actually Support Terrorism

Just take the case of Mali, where a U.S.-trained captain, Amadou Sanogo, carried out a coup in 2012, leading to the disintegration of the Malian military, a nearly successful Islamic extremist revolt, and the need for foreign intervention. The sudden appearance of a new security assistance program that seems to shift U.S. policy and program attention even more toward support for foreign security forces increases the risk of this outcome.

That was quick, wasn't it.

Posted by: somebody | Jun 26 2014 5:02 utc | 61

Posted by: Demian | Jun 25, 2014 5:51:35 PM | 37

its a mistake for anyone to call Kievs Junta a 'government'....im waiting till when the media remind FUKUSA regimes that Ukraine is now under neonazi control

Posted by: brian | Jun 26 2014 5:34 utc | 62

Posted by: ToivoS | Jun 25, 2014 8:17:45 PM | 49

its not up to russia
the way to stop the killing is for the voters of UK US EU to force their elected reps to stop supportint the kiev fascists! so far they have not done so

Posted by: brian | Jun 26 2014 5:36 utc | 63

Posted by: Demian | Jun 25, 2014 8:06:14 PM | 46
to repeat:
its not up to russia
the way to stop the killing is for the voters of UK US EU to force their elected reps to stop supporting the kiev fascists! so far they have not done so

Posted by: brian | Jun 26 2014 5:37 utc | 64

Posted by: brian | Jun 26, 2014 1:36:18 AM | 63

Posted by: brian | Jun 26, 2014 1:37:30 AM | 64

Yup.

Posted by: scalawag | Jun 26 2014 5:48 utc | 65

"I have heard that Poland does not have a real democracy, because there is no real opposition. Can someone give some details on whether this is the case, and how this situation emerged?"

It is well-known actually, "someone" killed their whole government in a plane "crash" a few years ago.

Posted by: T2015 | Jun 26 2014 6:37 utc | 66

The MoA censor is again preventing material from being posted that is critical of Israel and the USA.

Posted by: scalawag | Jun 26 2014 6:52 utc | 67

http://tinyurl.com/qxewfvs

Posted by: scalawag | Jun 26 2014 7:04 utc | 68

Sorry about the lack of description of the link in the previous post, but the MoA censors blocked posting of the actual material. Exposing the atrocities committed by western nazis not being approved by the western overlords...

I wonder, is it allowed to post a news report detailing the western nazi Israeli way of applying a cease fire? Let's find out.

http://tinyurl.com/p7c3t6w

Posted by: scalawag | Jun 26 2014 7:14 utc | 69

"Yes, the Roman Catholic church has perpetrated countless evils against the Russian people, but the Russian Orthodox have no quarrel with Lutherans.)"

Err... you really want to claim being russian? Doesn't sound so at all.

"Lutherans" (Protestants in general if you so prefer) is exactly what most british and americans are. Go figure.

Posted by: T2015 | Jun 26 2014 7:15 utc | 70

scalawag

Sometimes my posts also dissapear for no reason, it is most likely a bug in the blog itself.

Posted by: Anonymous | Jun 26 2014 7:51 utc | 71

@T2015 #70:

"Lutherans" (Protestants in general if you so prefer) is exactly what most british and americans are.

Lutherans are a sub-class of Protestants. Luther started the (Protestant) Reformation. The religion of virtually all British and Americans derives from Calvinism or Anglicanism, both of which are the two main branches of Protestantism besides Lutheranism.

Given that today in the EU, Sweden has been at the forefront of developing anti-Russian policies, together with the Baltic "countries" and Poland, you can find two Lutheran anti-Russian countries, Sweden and Latvia. But that's about it.

Posted by: Demian | Jun 26 2014 9:21 utc | 72

Posted by: Demian | Jun 26, 2014 5:21:32 AM | 72
Luther started the (Protestant) Reformation.

That is not true. These guys were first:
Wycliffe
Hus

Protestants did not think twice - if they knew it existed - about Russian/Greek Orthodoxy, they had a problem with the pope in Rome.

Posted by: somebody | Jun 26 2014 10:09 utc | 73

Demian: I said I generalizes the term there, they're all protestants. This or that branch, all the same basic line of thinking. but the many branches are not organized/united like Vatican, so there is no such centralized power, which could be used to mobilize "the masses". At least not via religion.


Sweden was always one of the more vocal opponents of Russia, it's been like that at least since the times of Alexander Nevski. They always tried to cut off russian access to the Balticum etc.

Posted by: T2015 | Jun 26 2014 11:49 utc | 74

Let me put it more clearly: all churches are actually anti-Christian. As a supposedly literal believer of every word in the bible, one would assume that they'll all remember the words of Jesus:

- "when you pray, enter into your closet and lock your door, and pray to your father who is in secret, and your Father who
sees in secret will reward you in public. And whenever you are praying, you shall notbe verbose like the heathen, for they think that they are heard by speaking much."

- "But you, whenever you do charity giving, let not your left know what your right is doing. So that your charity may be in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you in public."

- do not swear oaths

- "You shall not judge, lest you be judged"

- do not build "golden temples" - "for where your treasure is, there is your heart also."

And that's just a few minor examples where all churches do the opposite of what Christ actually commanded.

Or to put it shoort, ALL our churches are literally anti-christian.

Posted by: T2015 | Jun 26 2014 12:05 utc | 75

Barack Obama Swept Aside The Entire Free Syrian Army In One Sentence

“When you get farmers, dentists and folks who have never fought before going up against a ruthless opposition in Assad, the notion that they were in a position to suddenly overturn not only Assad but also ruthless, highly trained jihadists if we just sent a few arms is a fantasy.” - Barack Obama to CBS on June 22

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/barack-obama-and-the-free-syrian-army-2014-6#ixzz35kOLR1tT

Posted by: virgile | Jun 26 2014 12:22 utc | 76

LMAO, "farmers and dentists"... as we've seen in the many videos they themselves posted, there is not one farmer or dentist (which coincidentally is the proffession of president Assad!) among them, only stupid illiterate jihadists.

Posted by: T2015 | Jun 26 2014 12:34 utc | 77

@somebody #73:

Luther started the (Protestant) Reformation.

That is not true. These guys were first:
Wycliffe
Hus

Protestants did not think twice - if they knew it existed - about Russian/Greek Orthodoxy, they had a problem with the pope in Rome

The article on Wycliffe does not mention him having an influence on Luther. The article on Hus says he "was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century". So those two were reformers who preceded Luther, but that does not mean that Luther did not start the Reformation. Again, I can only see this comment of yours as an attempt to diminish the importance of Germany as a nation making positive contributions to world history.

Yes, Protestants did not think about Eastern Orthodoxy; as you say, "they had a problem with the pope in Rome". One of the Orthodox' main problems with Roman Catholicism is also with the Pope. Protestants and Eastern Orthodox are agreed on this issue. The two Protestant liturgical churches are the Lutheran and the Anglican churches. England is a long-standing, continual, and unrepentant enemy of Russia. Since Orthodox cannot imagine any kind of church other than a liturgical one, for all the reasons I stated, the only western church with which the Russian Orthodox do not have a problem is the Lutheran church (which unfortunately does not exist in a pure form in Germany, since the German Evangelical Church is affiliated with Calvinist churches).

@T2015 #75:

all churches are actually anti-Christian. As a supposedly literal believer of every word in the bible, one would assume that they'll all remember the words of Jesus

That is fundamentalist rubbish. No real Christian is a "literal believer of every word in the bible". Knowing and loving Christ has nothing to do with literally believing every word in the Bible. Believing that scripture is literally true is heretical; the religion most associated with the view that scripture is literally the word of God is the Christian heresy known as Islam.

Posted by: Demian | Jun 26 2014 13:35 utc | 78

Posted by: Demian | Jun 26, 2014 9:35:07 AM | 77

ok, it depends on how you write history, if you start the history with Red Indians, with Christopher Colombe or the Vikings

Fact is Luther read and referenced these guys.

Posted by: somebody | Jun 26 2014 13:54 utc | 79

@someboody #78:

We seem to be arguing semantics. Nobody denies that Luther had predecessors. Even Erasmus was a kind of predecessor of Luther. Still, I believe that the standard historical account is that the Reformation began with Luther posting the Ninety Five Theses on the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg.

Sorry to be so conventional.

Posted by: Demian | Jun 26 2014 14:25 utc | 80

Posted by: Anonymous | Jun 26, 2014 3:51:02 AM | 71

"scalawag

Sometimes my posts also dissapear for no reason, it is most likely a bug in the blog itself."

Not a bug, a bugger. ;)

The host sets the filters to "catch" certain words and phrases, even links to particular sites. The posts are then held for manual review.

Posted by: scalawag | Jun 26 2014 18:32 utc | 81

@ Demian: "No real Christian is a "literal believer of every word in the bible". Knowing and loving Christ has nothing to do with literally believing every word in the Bible."

You got me wrong there - it's specifically in reference to some groups of protestants, which claim exactly that - that the bible is a literal word of god as delivered by God himself and must be taken as such. See Wikipedia. they had or still have internal conflicts about that detail, the bible being a literal word of god or a human interpretation of it or whatever in between.

Posted by: T2015 | Jun 27 2014 8:57 utc | 82

And of course, from the point of view of any given "christian" church, all the other churches are heretical. Just ask any of them ;)

I meant that they're all anti-christ in that they do the opposite of what Christ himself did/said/commanded regarding what I cited above. Their master is Mammon, I think there is no need to prove that, history shows it often enough.

Posted by: T2015 | Jun 27 2014 9:00 utc | 83

west cant stop can they?

eu/ukraine sign economic agreement
http://rt.com/business/168824-ukraine-eu-free-trade/

Posted by: Anonymous | Jun 27 2014 9:28 utc | 84

It seems the EU have opened their market to Ukraine, but Ukraine does not have to open their market to the EU - yet.

That would enable them to continue to trade with Russia without high tariffs - if Russia agrees - as EU membership would not mean Russia automatically opens her markets, too, or put up tariffs to goods from Ukraine.

If this is true

The EU says Ukraine is still free to trade with Russia, and it will provide support and funds to help meet EU rules. However, by agreeing to the EU accord, Ukraine can no longer join Russia's customs union, because members Belarus and Kazakhstan are not members of the World Trade Organisation.
then the solution would be Belarus and Kazakhstan joining WTO and both memberships are possible - which is something the EU desperately need.

Posted by: somebody | Jun 27 2014 12:11 utc | 85

Just the usual carrot that with "free trade", the stick comes after it's all signed etc.

Posted by: T2015 | Jun 27 2014 12:41 utc | 86

Posted by: T2015 | Jun 27, 2014 8:41:41 AM | 85

Nothing forces Ukrainians to follow through on the association agreement. Whatever they do, no one will dare let them default.

Posted by: somebody | Jun 27 2014 13:01 utc | 87

somebody

Well they just signed it so of course they are going to follow it?

Posted by: Anonymous | Jun 27 2014 13:09 utc | 88

Also georgia and moldavia signed it too. Big win for west today, unfortunately.

Posted by: Anonymous | Jun 27 2014 13:49 utc | 89

Posted by: Anonymous | Jun 27, 2014 9:09:01 AM | 87/88

Let's take EU country Poland as example and the main Maidan complaint - corruption

More recently, between 2006 and 2010, prosecutors said HP paid more than $600,000 in bags of cash and HP products as bribes in Poland.

Austerity means government employees are not paid more but less. Of course they are easy to corrupt.

It is not just Eastern Europe - Italians are quite creative,too

It is linked to mentality - an EU association agreement will not change most of the economy being black market.

The EU Association agreement presumably was a win of Europe and Russia. Let's wait for the text. But on their own - neither in Ukraine, nor in Moldova, nor in Georgia is anything to "win" for the EU.

Posted by: somebody | Jun 27 2014 15:12 utc | 90

@ 82

I've heard it stated that Catholics believe in the infallibility of the Pope...
While the Protestants believe in the infallibility of the Bible... the more fundamental, the stronger the belief in the infallibility. Is this sort of what you are speaking to?

Posted by: crone | Jun 28 2014 0:13 utc | 91

So now ukraine ended the ceasefire and threat with war!
http://rt.com/news/169512-ukraine-poroshenko-ceasefire-end/

shame on US, NATO, EU for supporting this!

Posted by: Anonymous | Jun 30 2014 22:32 utc | 92

Putin in the Austrian Chamber of Commerce

You think Europe will sanction, do you?

Posted by: somebody | Jun 30 2014 23:10 utc | 93

Der Spiegel reports here - in German - that, in the last minute, Poroshenko reneged on the cease fire deal negotiated on the phone with Merkel, Hollande and Putin, possibly because of resistance within his government/from the street.

Posted by: somebody | Jun 30 2014 23:18 utc | 94

somebody
94

Or more likely poroshenko himself decided that.

Posted by: Anonymous | Jul 1 2014 4:06 utc | 95

somebody

They have already sanctioned Russia you know? You think joking means no sanction lol?

Posted by: Anonymous | Jul 1 2014 4:41 utc | 96

Posted by: Anonymous | Jul 1, 2014 12:41:39 AM | 96
They sanctioned individuals. And that is unlikely to stand in law. No, the atmosphere in that video simply means there is no animosity whatsoever. It is hard to cut a new cold war when relations have come to this level.

It seems Poroshenko does not have much choice - except to be honest and tell people that there will have to be federalization and that there will have to be a Russian zone of influence.

But honesty seems to be something politicians just cannot do. I am amazed there is hardly any resistance to conscription in Ukraine. Presumably there are ways to avoid it.

Posted by: somebody | Jul 1 2014 5:46 utc | 97

somebody

You believe Putin and western leaders never have made a joke before 2014 (as for iran, iraq, syria etc) sanctioning indivuals are always the first step.

Posted by: Anonymous | Jul 1 2014 6:02 utc | 98

The US public dislikes Obama's foreign policy because they have a hard times themselves as well.

Posted by: Willy2 | Jul 2 2014 17:27 utc | 99

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