#1, I agree
#2 Sure there can be winners a nuke war, it will be Mother Earth as she will finally have shaken off it’s mortal enemy. HUMANS;)

Posted by: jo6pac | Mar 21 2015 21:37 utc | 4

ALAN I saw a similar article on Strategic Culture. I don’t know what to make of it. Certainly Denmark is full of far-right fascists. But I’m not sure Russia should be provoking them – they’re reactionary as hell. Denmark now has a chance to start WWIII.

Posted by: okie farmer | Mar 21 2015 22:24 utc | 6

2
The U.S. Has No Defense Against The Defense (sic) Department. Really.
There, fixed it for you.
That includes the now rogue Homeland Security Department, and now this:
FEDBIZOPS – DEFENSE CONTRACTS: TransGen Energy Inc., Rockville, Maryland (W912DY-15-D-0016), and New Generation Power Inc., Chicago, Illinois (W912DY-15-D-0002), will share a $7,000,000,000 multiple award indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity firm-fixed-price contract for power purchase agreement task orders. The first contracts under this appropriation were awarded in 2013. TransGen Energy and New Generation Power will be awarded funding for biomass technology under this contract. Exact funding and work location will be determined with each order with an estimated completion date of Sept. 22, 2023. Bids were solicited via the Internet with 52 received. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity.
The RINO-RINO Congress of 1000 Years has discovered you can grift ‘Green Grants’ over to the Defense (sic) Department, away from Department of Energy, then metastasize those ‘Green Grants’ by 1000%, while at the same time cutting -8% across the board from health and human services. DoD? Now it’s Under the Radar, Nothing to See Here, Citizen, Move On.
?How many gigawatts of ‘renewable green energy’ do Americans get for that $7B? None. It’s a ‘technology grant’. ?New Generation Power’s qualifications in biomass technology? None. They’re a former solar marketing front company with projects in India.
This is Solyndra on steroids! Green Front Companies stacked with former Mil.Gov on their Boards, appropriate principle officers pulled in by executive search firms, unknown source of VC funding, IDIQ contracts, no deliverables, no terms of completion, Pure Profit™. Just read their bios!!! Marketing expert; venture capitalist; aerospace; HMOs; retail sector!, ..these folks have NO EXPERTISE in renewable technology. It’s a VC Front Company ‘bust-out’ operation on America, Inc, and not one word in the business media. $7B technology grant, front company, NOT ONE WORD~!
Hey, nobody ever said the NeoCons were stupid.
Netanyahu lectured the US Congress like retarded school children about more sanctions against Russia, then the RINO-RINO Congress duly extended those sanctions for another year, that have already cost American business $7B (hey, there’s your New Generation Power reach-around!), then Netanyahu flew back to Hebron to cut the ribbon on Israel’s new Special Free Trade Zone … with RUSSIA!
It’s a Global ShakeDown Game. Black is White, War is Peace, Lies are Truth. Power Rules.

Posted by: NoReply | Mar 21 2015 22:34 utc | 8

NBC fears viewers learn what Iran’s Foreign Minister said to Ann Curry? tweet @JZarif ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj8tKd-LHG0&list=PLfrlsC1yJ2dTXqES5XlujpcwBNwCBwS67 There is something seriously wrong with the media in America. And what NBC did with the interview with Iran’s foreign minister is the latest example of that.

Posted by: Tom Murphy | Mar 22 2015 0:06 utc | 10

@10
Thanks for the link … I wasn’t able to watch the video but I did find the transcript and put it up here.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 22 2015 1:37 utc | 12

Forgot the link for the first one: Here it is

Posted by: guest77 | Mar 22 2015 2:24 utc | 14

Not doing too good tonight – this is the important part:
Federal judge rules images showing abuse of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan must be released after long court battle.

Posted by: guest77 | Mar 22 2015 3:11 utc | 16

@16
Yeah … but he stayed his action for 60 days to give the CIA more time to come up with reasons not to release the pictures. Didn’t he?
Thanks for the links to Covert Action Information Bulletins! I see just those 2 at archive.net?
I did find and email a guy in DC who has (multiple copies) copies of the the entire sequence for $165. Id be happy to send you his email if you’re interested. I think the whole run ought to be scanned, OCR’d, and made available over the wire. If you’re in the US maybe we could ship a run to yourself and then you could forward them to me one at a time for scanning, OCR’ing, and html formating here. Meanwhile I’ll see how it goes with these two issues.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 22 2015 5:17 utc | 18

Russia warns Denmark its warships could become nuclear targets
Posted by: ALAN | Mar 21, 2015 6:04:28 PM | 5 & Okie @ 6
Russia doesn’t give a toss about ‘threats’ from Denmark. Denmark, like US-NATO’s other friends, especially Israel, is a soft-target specialist and a bigger danger to itself than any countries with a sustained defense and retaliation capability.
It was a telegraphed warning to Obama. The so-called warning made the connection between NUKES and NAVIES, of which the spendthrift Yankees have more than 40. The dumbass Yankees idea of a Naval Defense “strategy” is for any fleet which comes under threat is to clump together for mutual defense – meaning each navy can be threatened and then vaporised with 1 nuke.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Mar 22 2015 5:24 utc | 20

This is worth a read, being more direct and less circuitous than the oft politically correct mildness usually on offer at TomDispatch.
Is A New Political System Emerging in This Country?
(The New American Order)
Perspectives examined:
1. 1% Elections
2. Proliferation of the National Security State
3. Delegitimisation of Congress & Status of President (Bibi etc)
4. Rise of NatSec State as the 4th (unaccountable) Branch of Govt
5. Demobilisation of the American People
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175970/tomgram%3A_engelhardt%2C_is_a_new_political_system_emerging_in_this_country/

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Mar 22 2015 6:45 utc | 22

uh oh!
Syria has retaken Golan border crossing expelling AlQaeda (Jabhat Al Nusra). And Israel can’t come to AlQaeda’s rescue this time for fear of Hezbollah retaliation!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=616154468514505&set=a.118282211635069.19554.100003598729905&type=1&theater

Posted by: brian | Mar 22 2015 7:50 utc | 24

Posted by: Fran | Mar 21, 2015 7:56:32 PM | 9
the title usi a classic eg of Goebbels style Big Lie…Crimea was never ‘annexed’..saying it was leaders the readers to believe russia used force to take over crimea

Posted by: brian | Mar 22 2015 7:53 utc | 26

@Hoarsewhisperer #22:
Tom Engelhardt wrote:

we could be watching the birth of a new American political system and way of governing for which, as yet, we have no name.

But it does have a name, and everything Engelhardt considers in that post has been analyzed and theorized already. See inverted totalitarianism. I was surprised at Engelhardt’s ignorance.

Posted by: Demian | Mar 22 2015 9:40 utc | 28

South Korea, Japan, China Hold First Trilateral Talks Since 2012

SEOUL (DPA) — South Korea, Japan, and China brought together their foreign ministers Saturday for the first time in nearly three years to try to strengthen their relations, which have been battered by territorial disputes and historical conflicts.
South Korea’s Yun Byung Se, Japan’s Fumio Kishida and China’s Wang Yi expressed in a joint statement their hope that the “trilateral cooperation mechanism” would again go into effect. The mechanism formalized cooperation among the three countries, and a secretariat was established for it in 2011.
The ministers also indirectly called upon North Korea to cease developing nuclear weapons.

Obama continues to flail and flail away, taking divot after divot in Asia.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 22 2015 10:16 utc | 30

EU Ukraine policy: “stupidity on a grand scale”

The point of departure was the Malta conference in December 1989. … So our fate on this side of the continent was settled without our participation.
[W]e took the worst possibility of them all: an enlarged NATO, that now begins encircling Russia on all sides and yet excludes Russia. You don’t have to be a strategic genius to understand that Russia, a nuclear power, would sooner or later oppose this.
A “chaos regime” has brought a new style of realpolitik to Europe, and we let it happen. What’s the point of the EU if it can’t even prevent a war on its own continent?
The current government in Kiev is making the problems worse rather than addressing them.

Clearly the problem is not Russia, it is the USA. The Europeans must know this now, if somehow they did not before.
The Europeans need to rise up on their hind legs and just explain the lay of the land to the USA. European participation in the AIIB is instructive, so too is the CHK Trilateral conference in Asia. But Ukraine must to be straightened out.
The Europeans don’t really give a damn about the Ukrainians of whatever stripe … but Victoria Nuland has put them in a position where the very fact of their independent existence is at stake. Actually of their existence period, as they know it. Uncle Sam’s bankruptcy is apparent to everyone. It needs to be acknowledged, and made a part of the official narrative. The lecherous, drunken old Uncle Sam taken account of. Still a part of the family, but keep an eye on him – get paid in cash, hide his bottle, and keep him away from the children.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 22 2015 10:56 utc | 32

I’m reading Michael Parenti’s Make-believe Media and he refers to Englehardt’s Ambush at Kamikaze Pass – written 44 years ago. I enjoyed reading it today.
I think it was Sheldon Wolin who coined the term Inverted Totalitarianism. I certainly appreciate the concept, although I don’t really think inverted totalitarianism does it … maybe inside-out totalitarianism or enantiomeric totalitarianism … but totalitarianism by any name will smell as rank.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 22 2015 12:38 utc | 34

NATO Ready To Welcome Ukraine As Full Member: Stoltenberg

KYIV: NATO is ready to consider the Ukraine’s bid for membership in the alliance, if Ukraine decides to submit it.
This has been stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels at the forum organized by the German Marshall Fund.
“It is up to Ukraine decide whether to submit the bid for NATO membership or not. Ukraine should decide that. If it submits, we will consider the application in the same way as we consider the application of any other country,” Ukrainian media telegraf.com.ua quotes him.
In 2015, the units and the individual officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will take part in 237 events of the individual partnership program [Individual Partnership Action Program] with NATO.

If the Europeans are still not up to tossing out their lecherous, drunken uncle’s NATO, they can at least throw out his stooges, starting with the Prussian from Plön.
Jens Stoltenberg

Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, took the initiative to appoint Stoltenberg as Secretary-General, securing the support first of the United States, then of the United Kingdom, and then of all other member states.

That was then, this is now. Not a moment to waste. Wake up! You’re sleepwalking into WW III.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 22 2015 13:24 utc | 36

What is going on here? Yesterday, looking for a new posting, there wasn’t one. Not only that, but the comment section on this was closed, not taking anew comments. By the way, seeing that Asia Times seems to have sold out to Facebook, (you can only comment if you have a facebook account-the response to why-because of spam and on social networks like facebook, it doesn’t happen, because everyone is in harmony). Is this going to happen to M o A too?

Posted by: Norman | Mar 24 2015 17:38 utc | 38

The Tikrit offensive has devolved from a raft of excuses for its failure to recriminations between the involved parties reducing it to a near farce. First al Sistani called everyone involved unprofessional and unprepared then the head of the Bader Brigade called the Iraqi Army weaklings for begging the US for air strikes and now the Kurds are claiming that there are 30,000 Iranian forces involved in the fighting in Iraq.
This is what happens when an army lead by corrupt clowns and militias lead by the likes of Quasem Soleimani face off against the dedicated Jihadis of the Islamic State, they fail and then turn on each other.

Posted by: Wayoutwest | Mar 24 2015 18:47 utc | 40

Wayoutwest says:
This is what happens when an army lead by corrupt clowns and militias lead by the likes of Quasem Soleimani face off against the dedicated Jihadis of the Islamic State, they fail and then turn on each other
your unconfirmed version of events is getting quite predictable.
maybe the Iraqi command is just showing concern for the lives of civilians. maybe they just don’t feel compelled to cut off electricity and water to the towns inhabitants before dousing them with white phosphorus and depleted uranium incendiary bombs.

Posted by: john | Mar 24 2015 19:12 utc | 42

So Israel, the not so silent third party in Amerikan politics, has been accused of spying on US nuclear negotiations with Iran. How long before Jon Boehner is charged with treason? I’m not holding my breath.

The espionage didn’t upset the White House as much as Israel’s sharing of inside information with U.S. lawmakers and others to drain support from a high-stakes deal intended to limit Iran’s nuclear program, current and former officials said.
“It is one thing for the U.S. and Israel to spy on each other. It is another thing for Israel to steal U.S. secrets and play them back to U.S. legislators to undermine U.S. diplomacy,” said a senior U.S. official briefed on the matter…
The U.S. and Israel, longtime allies who routinely swap information on security threats, sometimes operate behind the scenes like spy-versus-spy rivals. The White House has largely tolerated Israeli snooping on U.S. policy makers—a posture Israel takes when the tables are turned.

spy vs spy

Posted by: Nana2007 | Mar 24 2015 19:25 utc | 44

@37 norman.. see the new post with explanation.. that is interesting about asia online being taken over by fakebook… fakebook seems to be a popular thing with the internuts.. i hate it myself and avoid using it at all costs..
@41 john.. yes.. sure seems like wow is more into the white phosphorous approach which is why he gets characterized a certain way among the posters here..
@44 jfl.. so true..
article from the saker – Is Uncle Sam “tossing” Kolomoiskii?

Posted by: james | Mar 24 2015 20:01 utc | 46

@ John #41
Well said indeed … unlike Falluja and the USMC.

Posted by: Outraged | Mar 24 2015 22:52 utc | 48

as if the usa has a shred of integrity with regard to truth in iraq or beyond LOLOL.. they are the same fuckers who unloaded du in iraq.. their own vets are suffering from it too, but do you think the usa would look after them with regard to that? no, they are too busy trying to think of the next war, when they are not creating havoc where-ever they set their gaze on.
the war of iraq in 2003 -made in the usa! it was supposedly over weapons of mass destruction which is really weapons of mass delusion – something the usa specializes in on a regular basis..the usa is going to let us know the iranians are not helping matters in iraq??? LOLOL… i would hate like hell to see what happens when they are not trying to HELP!

Posted by: james | Mar 24 2015 23:37 utc | 50

@#50
Sectarian violence in Iraq has been going on for years, long before Iranian forces entered the picture. Increasing sectarian violence in Iraq is simply not in Iran’s interest.
@#45
Kolomoisky has outlived his usefulness to Kiev, so the truce in the oligarchic feud is being revived. Kolomoisky will lose because his opponents have a trump card in the levers of government. The only question is how much he will lose. His only bargaining chip is the military situation in the Donbass, much like the move that got him the Governorship of Dniepropetrovsk. Kiev may decide that unseating Kolomoisky wouldn’t be worth the resources needed on the Donbass front.

Posted by: Thirdeye | Mar 25 2015 2:20 utc | 52

@wayoutIsrael AKA ‘Wayoutwest’ AKA ‘dummy’.
Dude, go get a job! Or is it your job to post the most brazen
falsehoods and stupidities here and elsewhere?
The Iraqi military is indeed quite weak but it was ZUSA that
put it together, trained it for years at the cost of billions of
dollars. Even the presstitute msm admits to that.
The biased presstitutes also have been forced to admit that the Shia
militias of Iraq, hastily put together and led by a few iranian military
advisers on the ground, have been instrumental in halting your ISIS
heroes and taking the battle to them, retaking much territory and
even helping the kurdish peshmerga.
For instance:

This is while the presence of Iranian military advisers is said to be
highly effective on the battlefield, according to CNN.
As several analysts say, Qasem Soleimani has been organizing and
directing the Shia militia in a more deliberate manner leading to
a better planned assault than previous operations.[98]

The CNN piece is titled:
‘Battle for Tikrit: Despite billions in aid, Iraqi army relies on
militia, and Iran’
Not bad for militias that had little time to train and only had
a relative few members with previous combat experience.
Such as those who fought in Syria.
Another CNN presstitute article states:
“The militia — called al Hashed al Shabi or Popular Mobilization Units
(PMU) — were trained, equipped and most importantly led by Iranian
military advisers and quickly became battle hardened. What they lacked
in military skills, they made up for in determination.”
Tikrit is encircled, actually most of the city already taken,
with the remaining die hard militants dug in the city center.
They’ll be eventually eliminated.
One should remember that in the second battle of Fallujah
elite zamerican troops(highly overhyped btw) took from Nov.7th to
Dec.23 to finish off the 2/3 thousand insurgents in the city.
This despite their use of massive firepower(artillery and air strikes).
And what a legacy they’ve left behind with all the horrific birth
defects and extremely high rates of cancer in the city.

Posted by: Luca K | Mar 25 2015 3:46 utc | 54

Further details on the conflict in Dnieprpetrovsk, from Fort Russ.
The latest posting says Kolomoisky has resigned, as per the Presidential website. Valentine Reznichenko is to be interim governor.
This seems to go against the fairly strong position he holds. Kolomoysky is holding Ukraine by its “Privat” parts notes his ownership of this major bank and other commercial assets gives him substantial power. Several articles (like this analysis) note this and the possibility that Kolomoisky could use his assets in the Donbas to buttress a third “Peoples Republic” in Dnieprpetrovsk.
Some details on the dispute over oil refining that set off the confrontation, as well as American involvement and Poroshenko’s softness in the opening round, can be found in Kolomoysky seizes Ukrnafta in Kiev, calls for federalization, hearts Novorossia, ignores US warning. The “oil war” has apparently spread to Odessa.
The ever-astute Yurasumy takes a look at the situation as Kolomoisky raises stakes. Four Poroshenko Bloc parliamentarians quit, with one, Gennadiy Korban (also Deputy Governor) noting in suitably nationalist fashio that “Putin broke his teeth on Dnepropetrovsk, Poroshenko will break them too.” He called for a demonstration on Wednesday. Yurasumay argues that:

Kolomoysky needs to raise the stakes and be half a step ahead. Otherwise he will lose. All Poroshenko has to do to win is to deflect his adversary’s moves in the next few days….
Poroshenko’s popularity is moving toward zero. The people are fed up with the war and everything that’s connected with it (death, poverty, the absence of a future). The army is fed up with constant betrayals, which they blame on senior military commanders loyal to the president. This means Kolomoysky has a chance. His assets include the Right Sector and other “volunteers,” for whom Kiev has other plans in store, and PrivatBank which could devastate Ukraine’s finances.

Should the Presidential announcement be true, despite Kolomoisky’s raising the stakes, Poroshenko’s stall has worked. It could imply a deal — come to heel, stay out of politics and keep (some of) your loot. Or Kolomoisky is ditch the junta-bestowed office prior to proclaiming his “Peoples Republic.” I lean towards a deal being made.
Hawk, the translator, notes that either Washington is powerless, or is quietly managing the neutralization of Kolomoisky. In both this piece and here Yurasumy reports that Korban and the other Rada members alleged a deal. “Poroshenko has decided to implement one of the decisions of the secret protocol of the Minsk agreements. In it was the item on the destruction of the ‘Right Sector.'”
The Col. Cassad piece that Third Eye cites at 51 argues that Kolomoisky cannot prevail, “The illusion that Kolomoisky can dictate the conditions for Kiev are reminiscent of Khodorkovsky’ illusions, who also thought that huge money and the political influence purchased for these money can overcome the security instruments and the state apparatus.”
Kolomoisky’s willingness to talk to the Russians and favorable comments on the Peoples Republics make him persona non grata in junta circles. Breaking away like the “colorados” is politically unpalatable. Noting that the Interior Minister Avakov and other security officials are firmly behind Poroshenko, Cassad argues that the moves are part pro forma, part improving his bargaining power.
I don’t recall where I saw it, but someone made the point — Kolomoisky was instrumental in the junta keeping Dnieprpetrovsk, but they don’t need his muscle now. The NYT (via Russia Insider) hints at it.
With it’s rear now more secure, will the junta renew operations after resupply and whatever of it’s latest mobilization it can scrounge up? Or has Kolomoisky played Poroshenko, who is going down?
We’ll see if anyone turns out tomorrow; does the demo go off as planned, does it get called off, or does it get transformed into a celebration of “unity”?

Posted by: rufus magister | Mar 25 2015 4:55 utc | 56

@51 Thirdeye
For another perspectives read Fort Russ:
Kolomoysky is holding Ukraine by its “Privat” (private) parts:
http://fortruss.blogspot.com/2015/03/kolomoysky-is-holding-ukraine-by-its.html
and Zakharchenko suggest “Kolomoysky create Dnepropetrobsk Republic”. I read somewhere Zakharchenko leaning toward Kolomoysky.
http://fortruss.blogspot.com/2015/03/zakharchenko-suggests-kolomoysky-create.html

Posted by: Jack Smith | Mar 25 2015 6:08 utc | 58

The results of the French départementales elections are being brazenly mis-reported by the French MSM. If you read a short article in any language you will read that the UMP gathered …and tra la.. here the figures vary (on 23 March 2015, date of writing), from about 28 to 32%, the Front National, always 25%, and the Socialists third with…? …19 – 23. BBC (typical and short..) http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32006268
These are ‘district / county’ elections and there will a run-off next Sunday, who will actually hold which district is pretty unpredictable, some candidates are favored irrespective of party affiliation, not all parties ran in all districts, run off may be tight, etc.
These results are mainly seen as important as an indication of party adherence in view of the 2017 presidential elections. The spin and hoopla can take place because the final results are only of interest to locals and won’t be reported / paid attention to, and won’t be terribly indicative. The first round however is. Paris and Lyon did not vote (different status, schedules.)
The minister of the Interior gives these results, link, but if you access the main page it sends you to results by district (a map: click on your district), so that ppl don’t see the overall results.
http://elections.interieur.gouv.fr/departementales-2015/FE.html
Binome = the French voted not for one person, but a pair, a man and a woman. No independent candidates, etc.
In %, rounded off, for parties that got more than 500,000 votes (abstention about 50%)
National Front – Marine le Pen 25
*Union of the Right 21
Socialists – Hollande 13
*Left Union 8
UMP – Sarkozy 7
Left Front – Mélenchon 5
———
*Union of the Right is a coalition of right-wing parties, i.e. explicitly not UMP. Left Union, coalition, opposed to Mélenchon.
———
Various other left parties (communists etc.), added 8
Various other right (excl. UDI – 1% – who was officially allied to the UMP so one should add that one point to the UMP’s score), added 8
/tot = 96, as some parties ex. Greens not taken into account here./
Predictions went along these lines – collapse of the Socialists for ex. What the media did is add ‘left’ and add ‘right’ … Sometimes their wording skirts the issue. .. “Sarkozy and his allies…” (adding enemies!)
Socialists are dead in the water, the UMP (Sarkozy) is despised. The left could do far better if it could get a platform together. The National Front is indeed the first party in France, as published by the Ministry, for this vote. Le Pen’s triumphant stance is fully justified – imagine if she manages to split the Right Union and ‘other right’ and is facing Hollande. A new party (if that was possible, see analogy to Greece with PASOK defunct and Syriza) might also win.
An ersatz democracy and the media shaping the narrative and mashing the figures, etc. For sure the results are tabulated properly (France would not dare, no Diebold machines), but that doesn’t matter, hide the results, spin, hype, create confusion, have your pundits on TV spouting rubbish. This also explains why Sark, Socialists, and Le Pen are all crying victory, if for the Socialists in the sense of fantastically better than ‘expected.’
Extra remarks: these results don’t show a drift to the right, the right in all its forms has done better in the recent past. Of course, this left-right axis is severely outdated and masks the real issues (globalisation, sovereignity, the EU, the Euro, Brussel’s control, NATO, war, Russia, etc.) which is of course its function.
checked the link before posting, and the page of results was vaporised again (at one point it had an incorrect title, another time it posted the page as ‘partial result’!) hunted it up again => maybe the link won’t work.

Posted by: Noirette | Mar 25 2015 16:44 utc | 60

According to this article Kolomoisky is down but not out. He has retained the loyalty of Filatov and Korban, and Yatsenyuk has remained silent. He still has the economic power to ruin Poroshenko unless Poroshenko brings out the big guns of state power against him, the way Putin did against Khodorkovsky. But even then, Poroshenko would be much more vulnerable to countermoves than Putin ever was.

Posted by: Thirdeye | Mar 25 2015 18:57 utc | 62

U.S. provides support in Tikrit despite Iran’s role

The Pentagon said it would provide Iraq’s forces with airstrikes in Tikrit as well, but the Iraqi government has not requested that. …
Fighting in a dense city is difficult where defenders have an advantage and attackers cannot use heavy firepower.

U.S. Airstrikes on ISIS Reported in Tikrit for First Time

But in recent days, as the militants have continued to hold out in central areas of the city, Iraqi military officials have said that airstrikes would be needed to fully secure Tikrit — despite rebukes by Shiite militia commanders.
Surveillance flights by coalition aircraft over Tikrit began late Tuesday night, according to a spokesman for the Iraqi military’s Salahuddin Operations Command, which has responsibility for the military side of the Tikrit operation. And witnesses reported late Wednesday night that heavy bombing runs had begun in the city against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
Until Wednesday, American airstrikes had continued in other parts of Iraq, but not near Tikrit … American officials have said that was mostly because Iraqi officials had not yet asked for airstrikes.
The offensive began on March 2, with officials making repeated claims that the city would be reclaimed within days, as they did most recently last March 12. Then in recent days officials have said they preferred to consolidate their gains rather than risk more civilian casualties by continuing to press their attack.

Looks like the US has decided to waste Tikrit and its residents. The annihilation of civilians is standard procedure in US wars ‘liberating’ them.
It’s so standard that the US doesn’t think twice. Took them awhile to get an Iraqi to provide cover for them though. They found one …

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, in a speech broadcast on Iraqi state TV from an undisclosed location in Salahuddin Province Wednesday night, hailed the strikes, saying, “The time of freedom has just been started.”

I imagine the airstrikes that destroy Tikrit will also fall on the Iraqi militias engaged there, and ‘with luck’ on any and all Iranians in the vicinity.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 25 2015 22:10 utc | 64

Thirdeye at 62 —
I saw that article at lunch, and noted J. Hawk’s comment: “Poroshenko definitely won this one, though not decisively, and possibly it was a pyrrhic victory. To paraphrase LBJ, is Poroshenko better off with Kolomoisky in the tent pissing out, or outside the tent pissing into it?” Could be just the opening round, as you note, Kolomoisky has substantial economic and political/military power. What will the other oligarchs and independent battalions do?
Kyiv Post’s latest take, for those interested, Poroshenko sends shot across oligarchs’ bow by sacking Kolomoisky, does not mention today’s demo.
Nor does the Russian language Komsomolskaya Pravda v Ukraine but it reports that the feeling of Dnepropetrovtsii about Kolomoisky’s dismissal: “the same feeling as when Brezhnev died” (I’d recommend Google over Bing machine language if needed). The region feels it has lost its patron.
They also believe it’s an opening round, see Kolomoisky said goodbye, but did not go. They quote a Rada member, who says of Kolomoisky, “We should not forget that it was Kolomoisky who did a lot of the right things in the region, which helped to keep the situation stable, and he enjoys wide support that will also be used.”
KPvU quotes other commentators who believe he is escaping the constraints of his post as governor, will actively pursue alliances with other governors and oligarchs, and will compete politically in coming local elections. Kolomoisky, says one, will strike the pose of concerned patriot and “Robin Hood.” At least one of my earlier links noted his socialistic call for renationalizations.
We’ll have to see what moves Kolomoisky makes, and with what dispatch and vigor. Tough sledding, Wash. seems to have Poroshenko’s back on this.

Posted by: rufus magister | Mar 25 2015 23:33 utc | 66

Crimea: The Way back Home is now available with English subtitles. This full-length documentary is very slick and well worth watching for anyone who has an interest in the events of a year ago in the former Ukraine. Recommend this to all of your Ukrainian acquaintances!
It seems to me that this documentary has three main purposes. (1) Document the events leading to the reunification of Crimea with Russia. (2) For the Russian audience, recapture the euphoria that Russians experienced upon the reunification. Events in the Ukraine took a downward turn after that moment. (3) Send a strong, clear signal to the West that now that the Crimea has come back to Mother Russia, it will always stay there, so the US and the EU should learn how to live with this new (also old, as opposed to fleeting, from 1991–2014) reality.
h/t to Deep Resource

Posted by: Demian | Mar 26 2015 5:55 utc | 68

lol
http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/mar/26/hot-prospect-russell-brand-voted-worlds-fourth-most-influential-thinker

Posted by: Quote/UNquote | Mar 26 2015 9:08 utc | 70

In addition to moving against Kolomoisky, Poroshenko is also acting to curb the volunteer battalions. Fort Russs has J. Hawk asking whither The “Night of Long Knives” Cometh?. All units not under UAF or National Guard command are to leave the “ATO” area by April. Azov and some other battalions are National Guard units, but the Right Sector militia is not.

The Right Sector is protesting, claiming that once they leave, it will fatally undermine the defensive lines, and they are likewise opposed to their units being disbanded. Moreover, they are playing the “Putin card”, by claiming that Poroshenko has betrayed them at Minsk. It is easy to imagine that once they are out of the ATO, it will be difficult for them to justify their existence and, especially, their weapons. One other tangible effect will be the elimination of the Right Sector from the profitable smuggling operations between Ukraine proper, the Donbass, and Russia.
Poroshenko is clearly trying to take advantage of the firing of Kolomoysky, which was a useful demonstration of power, to press his advantage and take out a number of other potential rivals. Whether that will help him, or Ukraine, is another question. His nation-wide approval rating is now under 20%, according to a recent survey.

Hawk concludes by noting that, thanks to its support of Poroshenko, the SBU has gained in influence and is being reorganized into a political police against dissent. “So at long last Poroshenko will get himself a loyal (?) Praetorian Guard. But then again, that’s what the National Guard was supposed to be, and we know how that turned out… ”

Posted by: rufus magister | Mar 26 2015 11:31 utc | 72

Well, 48 hours after the crash, the mystery of Germanwings is cleared up:
the copilot went berserk
Note that already one day after the crash, there were reports about what was on the cockpit voice recorder. That Guardian story linked to above has quite a lot of detail about what’s on the recording. But with MH17, we still haven’t been told anything about what’s on CVR, other than that there’s nothing unusual.

Posted by: Demian | Mar 26 2015 20:20 utc | 74

@james #75:
Yeah. Everything concerning the MH17 investigation is treated like a state secret. Yet most Westerners are so brainwashed that few find that strange. The Germanwings investigation, in contrast, is totally transparent, as the investigation into an airliner crash should be.
And, again courtesy of DeepResource, some irony:
Aviation Business Gazette: FAA recognizes Andreas Guenter Lubitz

Transportation safety experts strongly recommend against flying with an uncertified pilot. FAA pilot certification can be the difference between a safe flight and one that ends in tragedy.

It will be interesting to see whether that Web page gets taken down.

Posted by: Demian | Mar 26 2015 21:01 utc | 76

Another development in the Ukraine the Western media will ignore:
Ukraine’s Chief Anti-Corruption Offical Fired after Uncovering Millions Stolen

Ukrainian State Financial Inspection uncovered 7.5 billion Ukrainian hryvnia (about $0.3 billion now, up to $1 billion at the time) that have been stolen from state funds under the new post-Maidan government

The official who fired the corruption investigator was Victoria Nuland’s darling Yats.

Posted by: Demian | Mar 26 2015 21:34 utc | 78

There are indications that Poroshenko is moving more broadly to consolidate his position. In addition to sacking Kolomoisky and beginning to rein in the “volunteer battalions” (see at 72), trial balloons about replacing Yatsenyuk are now aloft. Russia Insider asks, Is Yatsenyuk on His Way Out in Ukraine? The post originally appeared at OffGuardian.
After discussing Yatsenyuk’s vulnerabilities (war-weariness, corruption, failure of economic reform) and possible replacments (Speaker Groisman, Dep. Speaker Paruby, Jaresko, oligarch Sergei Liovochkin) it discusses the prospects. Vasiliy Stoyakin is a political scientist and directs the Ukrainian Center for Political Marketing.

Now, after weakening Kolomoiskiy and the Rada’s adoption of amendments to the Law on Joint Stock Companies, Poroshenko’s position has strengthened, and, according to Stoyakin, “it is possible to weaken the political “party of war”, which opposed the president.”
“There is evidence of an American operation aimed at consolidating power,” the expert said.
Stoyakin reminded that current demonstrations for the resignation of Yatseniuk are by far not the first ones. “But now the situation is different. Following the resignation of Kolomoiskiy there is some kind of a theoretical possibility that the resignation may be pushed through. Will there be enough votes in parliament? Maybe there will be. Arseny Petrovich has sinned quite a lot. Justification can always be found,” the analyst said.
Stoyakin noted that already there were publications claiming Yatsenyuk steals big time, and is generally not a good person. “So the conflict continues to grow.”

It is worth underscoring that Yatsenyuk fired Nikolai Gordienko, the Chairman of State Financial Inspection of Ukraine (see D. at 78). After detailing various cases, Gordienko said “Corruption schemes in Ukraine are headed by the government of Yatsenyuk.” I would expect this would drive up his negatives and vulnerability.
K. Rus, the translator of the anti-corruption piece, summed it up thusly — “Kiev wanted to expose the fraud of the previous government of Yanukovich, but audits, which continued until a year after the Kiev junta took control of the government also uncovered their own fraud. The head of State Financial Inspection was fired for the findings.”
Yurasumy asks When will war erupt on the Donbass?. The junta is unlikely to be able to resume before July, if then. They are constrained by equipment limitations and personnel losses. They lost much of their transport and hence mobility. Numerous formations are going from mechanized infantry to foot soldiers. Engines are scarce, as is self-propelled artillery. Novorossiya might be ready by late April, but Yurasumy sees no need to rush.
There might be action on the part of the independent battalions, however.

The leadership of many “volunteer” units understands that long peace means their rapid demise (possibly in the physical sense too). The war can prolong their agony and even make their existence useful for the behind-the-scenes puppetmasters. They cannot pass up this chance….
At the same time, the situation will continue to grow more tense. The chaos within the junta (the Poroshenko-Kolomoysky struggle) may provoke a premature collapse of the junta, but even then it would be dumb for the NAF to attack, before it reaches full readiness. I think that the NAF command will not do something stupid. Besides, there’s no need to hurry. The junta is growing weaker with every passing month.

Should Poroshenko get the “volunteer battalions” out of the East, this source of provocation would of course fade.

Posted by: rufus magister | Mar 26 2015 23:03 utc | 80

@rufus magister #80:
Oops, sorry. I should read posts before I reply to them, instead of the other way around.

Posted by: Demian | Mar 26 2015 23:57 utc | 82

D @ 82 — I used to think it was so 20th. century, but I had to get into the habit of reading stuff after I once linked to and discussed an article that b. had ref’d. in his lead posting.
Let’s look at it this way — with multiple recommendations, it’s a must read, right?

Posted by: rufus magister | Mar 27 2015 1:59 utc | 84

@83
The co-pilot was stricken ill? Things didn’t work out as they were supposed to in that case?
Seems more likely than that the USG crashed a planefull of people to make a point that can only be savored by the tinfoil-hat crowd, or than the suddenly inspired mass-murder suicide of the co-pilot story, doesn’t it?
I remain open. Maybe there’s something more to this tragic end here. But I discount what I’ve heard so far.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 27 2015 4:22 utc | 86

>Posted by: jfl | Mar 27, 2015 12:22:59 AM | 86
IF it is a warning to Germany it has been handled exceptionally well.
“Blame the pilot” is the crash investigator’s most popular QED.
The day after the crash an “expert” reminded us that there was an incident in late 2014 involving a stretched version of an A320 (A321) which went into a shallow dive to ‘correct’ a non-existent nose-up attitude problem. The problem was caused by a faulty sensor. The crew couldn’t return the plane to level flight because they can’t over-ride the computer when it knows it’s right.
Eventually a crew member switched off a couple of computers and regained manual control.
According to the expert, Airbus published a bulletin in November 2014 which warned that the sensor is prone to blockage caused by ice (in unusual circumstances) and provided a Standard Operating Procedure to deal with the problem if, and when, it arises. The expert mentioned that Jetstar (Australia) received the bulletin and immediately acqainted its pilots with Airbus’s official workaround – which involves switching off the offending computer.
The above news story was told in the context of speculating on whether EVERY airline had time to implement the relevant procedure – the insinuation being that perhaps Germanwings had not.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Mar 27 2015 7:39 utc | 88

@ rufus magister | 66

Could be just the opening round, as you note, Kolomoisky has substantial economic and political/military power. What will the other oligarchs and independent battalions do?

Ukies oligarch have little say on the matter, despite their seemingly big local influence. Washington has full control over them, – it said to Kolomoisky to back-down, and he instantly did. Otherwise – his billions in Westerns banks would be frozen and/or confiscated, while Ukrainian assets would be nationalized or assimilated by other oligarchs. Exactly what happened to oligarchs who supported Yanukovich. Its better for Kolomoisky to lose some assets and influence than everything. He wont be rocking the boat, unlike some commentators assume, at least not where US is concerned.
Abouts Yats and Parasha, it doesnt really matter which puppets will sit these posts, you can bet they will be doing 100% pro-US policy.

Posted by: Harry | Mar 27 2015 8:35 utc | 90

I DO get more and more the imprssion that the Obama administration is fed up with Netanjahu. It’s NOT limited to the speech Netanjahu gave to Congress in march. That speech made it only worse. The first signs of a policy shift regarding Israel emerged after the november 2012 US elections.
It seems the Obama administration has chosen to discredit Israel & Netanjahu by leaking embarrassing information to the press. See this story. The source “Intercept” is a bit suspicious but it would fit the overall pattern I see emerging.
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/03/25/netanyahus-spying-denial-directly-contradicted-secret-nsa-documents/
and
http://www.thenation.com/blog/202129/its-official-pentagon-finally-admitted-israel-has-nuclear-weapons-too#

Posted by: Willy2 | Mar 27 2015 14:35 utc | 92

further to 93 —
There is apparently a “pro-Kiev” rally planned for Dnieperpetrovsk on Saturday, says the Kyiv Post. And some sort of “separatist plot” against it, as the Security Service prevents separatist-orchestrated ‘terrorist attack’ at Dnipropetrovsk rally.

Posted by: rufus magister | Mar 27 2015 16:24 utc | 94

@rm #95:
That Intercept piece is the last of a series of three; all three are written from a strictly Ukrofascist point of view. That means that the Intercept must be seen as a pseudo-alternative anti-Russian propaganda outlet, like VICE news or Bellingcat.
Needless to say, the idea of a “Christian Taliban” is self-contradictory (in the Orthodox context, at least). The Taliban engages in holy war. But Orthodoxy can have no concept of holy war, since unlike Western Christianity, Orthodoxy does not have a concept of just war, which it considers to be heretical. Thus, even when engaging in war is justified, to defend your land and your way of life from foreign invaders for example, engaging in war is still sinful. In other words, it is a necessary evil that one is sometimes forced to engage in.
That article is very confused. Consider this:

The religious thread is not entirely surprising — Korchynsky and his men are devout Orthodox Christians.

As I said, people who engage in holy war are not Christians. They are heretics.

Above her is the emblem of the Brotherhood, which is also pinned to the uniforms of fighters in the battalion. The emblem includes an early Christian Orthodox symbol of Jesus. Underneath is the Latin inscription: “In hoc signo vinces,” which means, “In this sign you will conquer.”

This is the Jesus of American dispensationalist Christian heretics, not the Jesus of Christianity. Jesus is not a warrior. And note that the motto is in Latin. Latin has nothing to do with Orthodoxy; the Eastern church stayed with Greek. This is a simple and unambiguous indication that the ideas of this “Christian Taliban” are alien to Orthodoxy.
Finally, people interviewed in this story say they are fighting for Orthodoxy. But the center of Orthodoxy is now the Moscow Patriarchate. The split-away so-called Ukrainian Orthodox Church is recognized by no Orthodox church. If these Ukrainians are fighting for Orthodoxy, why do they want to kill Russians and burn down Moscow, both of which are Orthodox? Clearly, their motivation has no basis in religion and is just a manifestation of the usual Ukrainian Russophobic racist fascism.
Now, to turn to that Russia Insider article (which is a reprint of this academic paper). I think the author gets everything right, and I fully approve of the concept of the Russian world as the author explicates it, in both its religious and its political meanings.
The only response I have to that paper is to point out that the concept of the Russian World fits hand in glove with Hegelian social philosophy. Thus, there is nothing specifically Russian about it at all. In the same way that the Russian world’s basis for morality is Orthodoxy, the basis for morality of Hegel’s rational state was Lutheranism. (According to Hegel, Roman Catholicism could not serve such a role, because it is inherently corrupt. But there is no reason for Orthodoxy not to serve it.) From the paper:

Putin began his speech by noting that the world has become a place where decency is in increasingly short supply. Countries must therefore do everything in their power to preserve their own identities and values, for “without spiritual, cultural and national self-definition . . . . one cannot succeed globally.”

This corresponds to the concept of Sittlichkeit:

Sittlichkeit is the concept of (“ethical life” or “ethical order”) furthered by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel in the Elements of the Philosophy of Right (PR). It is the third sphere of right (Recht) that he establishes, and is marked by family life, civil society, and the state. It attempts to bridge individual subjective feelings and the concept of general rights.

Both Hegelian social and political philosophy and Russian Orthodoxy are alternatives to Anglophone liberalism. In liberalism, all that matters are abstract rights and the satisfaction of individuals’ economic desires. People everywhere are the same; the concept of culture is a throwback to pre-modern times. According to Hegelianism and Orthodoxy in contrast, in order to feel fulfilled, individuals must be grounded in a particular culture, which provides their life with meaning, so that there is more to life than satisfying basic animal needs. The idea of particularity is very important here. There are universal human rights, but there is no universal culture. There are only particular cultures, and many different cultures exist which can provide communities with the basis for social life.
It would be interesting to see where the intellectuals who developed the ideaa of the Russian World got their ideas. It is very possible that the ultimate source is Hegel.

Posted by: Demian | Mar 27 2015 19:25 utc | 96

PS to 97 — Russia’s ties to Germany in early 1800’s quite good. Turgenev, e.g., studied Hegel in Germany, his fiction can be seen to be popularizing it in a sense.

Posted by: rufus magister | Mar 27 2015 20:39 utc | 98

It’s obvious, and I may have missed s.o. saying the same, but I find it really astounding that a Germanwings plane crashes in the Alps, and we have the story in 24 hours from the Voice Recorder(yes, the FBI leaks water like a sieve), but in the case of MH17, nothing has come out in nearly a year now from the Black Boxes. It takes a big effort to keep things so quiet.

Posted by: Laguerre | Mar 27 2015 21:31 utc | 100