Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
Back to Main

March 29, 2015
Open Thread 2015-16

News & views …

Posted by b on March 29, 2015 at 17:08 UTC | Permalink
Comments

Further to the ongoing discussion about quarrels amongst Banderastani oligarchs, the Kyiv Post reviews the state of play with a convenient compendium of statements by Kolomoisky, ​Kolomoisky speaks of his inner tug-of-war and patriots from the Opposition Bloc. A small sampling.

“I still consider my team to be the Dnipropetrovsk people, the Ukrainians. We don’t want any rebellion to start. Throughout the past year, we united the country and don’t want to separate….”
“We are preparing for the local elections, which have strategic value after the implementation of decentralization. If decentralization isn’t started by the higher government, it will begin on a lower level. We have already seen what aggression this caused last year.”
“If the Opposition Bloc begins running around with tricolors in Dnipropetrovsk, they will have made themselves betrayers and separatists.”

Backing down, but only so far.
And regrettably once again, war news. Not only Avakov’s regrets about the past, ‘We should have blown up Donetsk regional administration’. There are reports from Col. Cassad, via Fort Russ, that the junta has put Shirokino, near Mariupol, under attack.

Posted by: rufus magister | Mar 29 2015 17:41 utc | 1

http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/sanctions-and-fate-nuclear-talks-908442964
Sanctions and the fate of the nuclear talks
Gareth Porter
Friday 27 March 2015 16:09 GMT
The US and its allies have made no effort in hiding their intention to maintain the “sanctions architecture” in place for many years after a nuclear agreement
~~~
Part of the problem is the West’s myopic perspective on the issues. The Obama administration clings to the belief that the only reason Iran is negotiating is that it was so seriously hurt by the sanctions. It fails to grasp the depth of Iranian commitment to removing the sanctions as a matter of national pride as well as to be able to achieve a higher level of economic development.
~~~
Last November, administration officials explained that US sanctions would only be removed after the International Atomic Energy Agency had verified that “Tehran is abiding by the terms of a deal over an extended period of time” in order to “maintain leverage on Iran to honour the accord”.
In adopting that policy, the Obama administration is following precisely the course outlined by Mark Dubowitz, the executive director of the Foundation for the Defence of Democracies (FDD), the neoconservative think tank whose outputs align completely with Israeli interests. Dubowitz was the architect of the sanctions against Iran passed by Congress in late 2011 and strongly influenced the administration’s sanctions policy for the entire Joint Plan of Action period. Dubowitz called in a June 2014 paper for “careful sequencing of sanctions relief tied to Iran meeting its obligations under the agreement” and for suspension of only those sanctions that could be quickly “snapped back” as part of sanctions relief.
~~~
According to a European source briefed by a P5+1 diplomat involved in the discussion of the issue a few weeks ago, the coalition was planning to offer to unfreeze overseas assets worth $100 billion that have been unavailable to Iran because of the banking sanctions as its primary sanctions relief, and to do so early in the process. That sounds like a tempting offer, but the cost to Iran of accepting it would be very high. It would mean that Iran is accepting the maintenance of the “sanctions architecture” in place.
~~~
Further casting suspicion on the P5+1 position on sanctions is the suggestion that sanctions relief would depend on judgments about whether Iran has complied with its commitments under the agreement to be made by the IAEA. That agency – once an independent and politically neutral party in the politics of nuclear proliferation – has been acting as an arm of US policy for the past several years. This has been keeping Iran under suspicion on the basis of intelligence documents provided by Israel that have never been authenticated and show many indications of having been fabricated.
~~~
Iran is well aware that accepting the superficially tempting offer of upfront access to cash does nothing to solve its sanctions problem. Although they are not rejecting the idea of suspension of certain sanctions under certain circumstances, the Iranians insist that any irreversible concessions by Iran must be “reciprocated with termination of sanctions”.
So a political framework is possible in the coming days, perhaps in the form of principles that have been agreed to on both enrichment capabilities and on sanctions relief. But the Obama administration won’t get the signed agreement that it is seeking with the quantitative limits to which Iran has agreed if a detailed agreement on lifting sanctions has not reached as well. And that won’t happen unless the P5+1 makes an extraordinary climb-down from its starting position on the issue.

Posted by: okie farmer | Mar 29 2015 18:22 utc | 2

See https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/03/27/revealed-tsas-closely-held-behavior-checklist-spot-terrorists/
It seems that possession of duct tape is a key indicator that you may be a terrorist. Another is looking the TSA screener in the face. Another is looking away from the screener, or at the floor.
According to a former TSA supervisor the list of behaviors “was designed in such a way that virtually every passenger will exhibit multiple ‘behaviors’ that can be assigned a SPOT sheet value,” the former manager said. “The signs of deception and fear are ridiculous,” the source continued. “These are just ‘catch all’ behaviors to justify [law enforcement] interaction with a passenger. A license to harass.”

Posted by: diogenes | Mar 29 2015 18:27 utc | 3

El Salvador: Prof. Karl highlights the recent decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals ruling that former Salvadoran Defense Minister Vides Casanova could be deported from the US for his responsibility for human rights abuses during the civil war…

Posted by: Maracatu | Mar 29 2015 18:55 utc | 4

rufus magister @ 1
Here another piece on the subject
Ukraine’s Power Struggles Are Just Beginning
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/ukraines-power-struggles-are-just-beginning/518187.html

Posted by: ALAN | Mar 29 2015 19:26 utc | 5

@4 Thanks for posting that one. Very interesting.

Posted by: guest77 | Mar 29 2015 20:34 utc | 6

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_29/03/2015_548624
Moscow expects progress from Tsipras visit
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s planned visit to Moscow on April 8 will be a “big event” in the course of relations between Greece and Russia, according to the Russian ambassador in Athens, Andrey Maslov, who told Sunday’s Kathimerini that his government would examine any request from the SYRIZA-led coalition for a loan.
“The new Greek government is aiming to strengthen Greek-Russian ties,” said Maslov. “Russia is prepared to progress in this direction,” he added, referring to recent meetings between officials from the two countries, including foreign ministers Nikos Kotzias and Sergey Lavrov, who met in Moscow on February 11.
“We are certain that the Greek prime minister’s working visit to Moscow will be a big event for our bilateral relations,” said Maslov. “The possibility of further cooperation in trade, energy, technical military issues, education and culture will be examined.”
Maslov said that any request from Athens for a loan would have to be “examined very carefully” because of Greece’s euro membership. “If the Greek government submits a request for a loan, it will be examined – as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after meeting his counterpart Nikos Kotzias and as Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has said,” the Russian ambassador told Kathimerini.
Maslov played down the possibility of Moscow lifting the embargo on food imports from Greece or other European Union countries as long as the EU keeps its sanctions on Russia in place. However, the ambassador praised Athens for helping prevent a rift in the EU’s relations with Russia.
“We are grateful for Greece’s efforts in helping ease the tension in relations between Russia and the EU, which is mainly due to the sanctions,” he said. “The stance of our Greek partners and other EU member-states during the council of foreign ministers in January and at the EU leaders’ summit in February prevented the hawks… from creating a permanent rift in Russia-EU relations.”

Posted by: okie farmer | Mar 29 2015 20:42 utc | 7

Very Strange that in the case of the Ukraine, an elected President, Yanukovich is forced to flee a violent uprising, the UK Foreign Office say the Ukrainian constitution was observed [a blatant lie] This is part of the letter I received at the time from the FO “As you know, the Foreign Secretary’s statement on 4 March said “The House will recall from my statement last Monday that, on Friday 21 February, former President Yanukovych and the opposition in Ukraine signed an agreement to end months of violence. Shortly afterwards, Mr Yanukovych fled Kiev, the 2004 constitution was restored, early presidential elections were called for 25 May, and an interim Government were appointed”. This accurately reflects what happened and the Foreign Secretary is therefore not misleading Parliament”. Now that Hadi [the only candidate in the last election] has fled Yemen a different set of rules are applied, Hadi must be reinstated, and unless he is, a Saudi led coalition will ensure he is. The UN is silent. What hypocrisy

Posted by: harry law | Mar 29 2015 21:36 utc | 8

Military sources claim Saudi Arabia has sent 5,000 Takfiri terrorists to Yemen. http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=203366&cid=23&fromval=1&frid=23&seccatid=31&s1=1

Posted by: harry law | Mar 29 2015 21:42 utc | 9

Alan at 5 — Good stuff. “Dressing up Ukraine in attire suitable for civilized society is an ongoing process. Those baggy trousers, high deerskin boots and forelock are very interesting, but only for a folk festival. That is why the West insisted that Ukraine change into “gentlemen’s” clothing in the form of presidential elections, parliamentary elections and reforms — albeit, all of questionable legitimacy.”

Posted by: rufus magister | Mar 29 2015 22:13 utc | 10

Just watched a Simon Reeve travelogue/documentary on BBC2 in Britain which had been following his travels in the Caribbean. He was sympathetic to glowing on most of his destinations including Columbia, but his script for Venezuela could have been written by Victoria Neuland herself and it was the only country where he spent most of his time attacking the government. Watch it if you can. It’s an excellent example of propaganda in a programme where an ostensibly friendly and sympathetic young man that will deceive many more.

Posted by: Ffidel Bennett | Mar 29 2015 22:33 utc | 11

Iran Nuclear Talks Deal on Centrifuges at Fordo NOT using Uranium: https://youtu.be/5wmca7gS7Fw

Posted by: Tom Murphy | Mar 29 2015 22:43 utc | 12

Remember this one?

The CPA maintained one fund of nearly $600m cash for which there is no paperwork: $200m of it was kept in a room in one of Saddam’s former palaces. The US soldier in charge used to keep the key to the room in his backpack, which he left on his desk when he popped out for lunch.
The Guardian | Christian Parenti

Posted by: guest77 | Mar 29 2015 23:53 utc | 13

@13 oops, second link: “The Freedom” in Iraq

Posted by: guest77 | Mar 29 2015 23:54 utc | 14

HL@9
The Saudis and their pals have no legal or moral right to attack the Houthis but parroting Hezbollah propaganda about the conflict will not help anyone including Iran in this conflict.
BTW the Takfiri terrorists, as you call them, are already in Yemen they are called AQAP and they are Yeminis who don’t need or want any Saudi assistance.

Posted by: Wayoutwest | Mar 30 2015 0:00 utc | 15

@8 harry.. bingo..
@15 wow.. thanks for the translation back to propaganda central. i was worried for a moment you had lost your touch.. why not find a compliant crowd cause this ain’t one to swallow any of your bullshit..

Posted by: james | Mar 30 2015 0:53 utc | 16

@15: “BTW the Takfiri terrorists, as you call them, are already in Yemen they are called AQAP and they are Yeminis who don’t need or want any Saudi assistance.”
Again, a falsehood – another romanticization of the fanatic groups by WayOutWest. AQAP are hardly some local Yemeni patriots looking to protect their country against some sort of Iranian invasion. Saudi citizens are key to its functioning. AQAP has a large contingent of foreign fighters from all over the world. And has huge numbers of Saudis – about 37% of its membership active in it as well. Amongst the leadership itself, Yemeni’s are actually in the minority. And funding comes from Saudi Arabia as well.
Long War Journal: The Yemeni Ministry of Defense has reported that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leaders and fighters from Pakistan, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and Russia were killed, and two operatives from France were captured over the past several days.
Stanford University: AQAP is comprised of Yemenis, Saudis, and foreigners. Roughly 56% of the group is Yemeni, 37% is Saudi, and 7% is foreign. The group’s fighters are veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but are also international recruits who attended religious schools in Yemen. This gives the group a more “international outlook” with connections abroad, as foreigners come from Pakistan, Sudan, Germany and at least one from Australia.
Wikipedia: Leadership is mixed between Saudis, Yemenis, and foreigners.
Australian Government: AQAP is self-funded and raises money through the collection of zakat (religious donations) by both willing and unsuspecting donors in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and other countries

Posted by: guest77 | Mar 30 2015 1:08 utc | 17

guest, Christian Parenti: “What would happen if a wider war broke out the region.” That speech was in 2005, and exactly what’s happened.

Posted by: okie farmer | Mar 30 2015 1:42 utc | 18

TRNN on Yemen: http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=13530

Posted by: ben | Mar 30 2015 1:50 utc | 19

“The US was forced to change its mind over cooperating with the China-led development bank after its allies refused to join a boycott, which is a sign that dollar hegemony is not lasting, Lew Rockwell, chairman of the Ludwig von Mises Institute told RT.”
http://rt.com/op-edge/243897-us-china-bank-infrastructure-economy/

Posted by: ben | Mar 30 2015 2:15 utc | 20

03/29/2015
In addition to incessant clashes in Shirokino, a settlement between Novoazovsk (combatants’) and Mariupol` (Ukrainian), that left two combatants wounded yesterday, Kiyev district of Donetsk was bombarded by the Ukirainian artillery, which was working “at areas” (without specific target).
Under Elenovka, south-west of Donetsk, the Ukranin troops fired mortars and light cannons for one and half hours.

Posted by: Fete | Mar 30 2015 3:37 utc | 21

Conversations with Harold Channer: Gilad Atzmon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsWfYF2Le7U

Posted by: guest77 | Mar 30 2015 3:58 utc | 22

@okie – absolutely. Nearly every danger described by the anti-war movement has come to pass. Which shows why the pro-war campaign had to be so vigorous.
The anti-war movement made one mistake – they assumed that the powerful characters possessed a moral compass. The anti-war movement was happy to watch the failures and say “I told you so” assuming that those designing these failed policies would face embarrassment and change course. In fact, they had absolutely no compunction about destroying the whole country and murdering approximately 1M people even if it could be shown to have been working with wrong assumptions. In fact, they were working with a pack of lies and they knew it all along.

Posted by: guest77 | Mar 30 2015 4:09 utc | 23

@20
It is interesting that Australia has joined the AIIB before the March 31 deadline. As a US lackey mostly, it is good to see that Australia is sensitive to its dependent relationship with China.
The lines are being drawn between the world of private finance and totally sovereign finance. The showdown cannot come too soon for me. Someone is going to force this issue. Will it be Greece? Will they tell private finance where they can stick their austerity mindset?

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 30 2015 4:24 utc | 24

I posted the Atzmon because I know people here are interested in him, though I’ve never much listened to him. I’m surprised to discover he holds what seem to be hard-right ideas. I guess I assumed he’d be making a left-wing critique. He actually coins a phrase: “Stalin’s Willing Executioners” – which is more than a little bit ironic because of course we all know where he drew that phrasing from (the Goldhagen that Norman Finkelstein destroys in, I believe, “The Holocaust Industry”).

Posted by: guest77 | Mar 30 2015 4:27 utc | 25

Which isn’t to disagree with him entirely. HIs point about Chomsky and the Mearshimer & Walt book is well-taken.

Posted by: guest77 | Mar 30 2015 4:34 utc | 26

G@17
The bulk of AQAP members in Yemen are from the Yemini tribes but the group is al Qaeda an international group with leaders and fighters from many countries. They also operate in Saudi Arabia with the stated intent of overthrowing the House of Saud so the claim of the Saudis sending anyone resembling AQAP to fight the Houthis is nonsense. This may be why Hezbollah used the general slur ” Takfiri terrorists” to confuse the easily misled readers.

Posted by: Wayoutwest | Mar 30 2015 4:53 utc | 27

Something not being discussed in this crisis is the fact that the US Drone War against AQAP has been shut down or at least curtailed by the Houthi’s advances and this could be part of the reason the Saudis were encouraged by the US to begin bombing. The Iranian connection with the Houthis is pretty thin and it may have been a huge mistake for Iran to open relations with them so early in their conquest. This miscalculation opened the door to intervention with the easy excuse of Iran interfering and seeking expansion of their influence.

Posted by: Wayoutwest | Mar 30 2015 5:10 utc | 28

@25 – guest77
I thought “Stalins willing executioners ” came from Yuri Slezkine’s book The Jewish Century, then singled out by Kevin McDonald in a review of the book.

Posted by: Cahaba | Mar 30 2015 5:17 utc | 29

psychohistorian, Michael Hudson had another thought about the countries joining, that ,at least, the Europeans were looking to get in on contracts for their biggest construction companies. It could be true of Australia as well, but I suspect it’s more than that – a 5th column inside the AIIB.

Posted by: okie farmer | Mar 30 2015 7:17 utc | 30

Iraqi Forces in No Hurry to Expel ISIS From Tikrit

TIKRIT, Iraq — Here at the headquarters of Iraqi ground forces, after three days of American airstrikes that at times witnesses here described as “carpet bombing,” Iraq’s military seemed in no great hurry on Saturday to press its advantage.

Carpet bombing. We had to destroy the village, city, country in order to save it. Nothing has changed in my lifetime from the US MIC’s point of view. The ‘save it’ refers to saving the resources beneath it for themselves – the MIC and their local compradores (NOT! suckers…) – and from the village’s, city’s, country’s citizens and inhabitants.
Gosh, can there be anyone in this world – other than the Israelis – who does not hate and despise us Americans? Come to think of it the Israelis surely do despise – if they cannot summon the energy to hate – us. Everyone pities a sucker, but comes to despise one who keeps coming back to be played again and again, until he’s all played out.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 30 2015 8:11 utc | 31

In Stephen Lendmans blog today ‘Obama, Rogue Arab states support mass murdering Yemenis’ He speculates what would happen if John Bolton was appointed as ‘Secretary of State’ or ‘Defence’,After Bolton’s bloodthirsty call to bomb Iran. I can think of a worse scenario, John McCain as President and Bolton at State or Defence. Two genuine 100% Psychopaths.

Posted by: harry law | Mar 30 2015 8:29 utc | 32

This is an interessting development, wonder if Turkey will stick to it.
Turkey Denies Passage of LNG Tankers to Ukraine

Turkish Ambassador in Ukraine cites potential danger to Istanbul’s population as the reason – says Ankara would not allow passage to any Black Sea nation

This should put some cramp into the US/Ukrainian gas plans.

Posted by: Fran | Mar 30 2015 11:30 utc | 33

@guest77 #23
No, the mistake the anti-war movement made was to become a puppet of the Democrat party – despite the presence of the Clintons. As was shown when Obama came in – once Dubya and the Republicans were gone, all of the “anti-war” financial support evaporated as did the movement.
As for Australia and the AIIB – China is Australia’s largest single trading partner with 27% of all Australian exports. China, Japan, India, and South Korea comprise 51% of all of Australia’s exports.
It would be exceedingly stupid for Australia not to participate in, and reap the benefits of, being a member of AIIB.

Posted by: ǝn⇂ɔ | Mar 30 2015 12:57 utc | 34

Just now published in Dutch papers … a call for witnesses and information. Two scenarios, the BUK missile launched from separatist territory and the air-to-air missile launched from a fighter plane.
○ JIT investigation MH-17

Posted by: Oui | Mar 30 2015 13:18 utc | 35

@ 24: “Someone is going to force this issue. Will it be Greece? Will they tell private finance where they can stick their austerity mindset?”
I, for one, hope so. The world and it’s workforce needs it to happen.

Posted by: ben | Mar 30 2015 14:39 utc | 36

Hard to believe:
Ukraine ‘Lost Without Trace’ Five Indian Warplanes During Planned Upgrade / Sputnik International

Five of India’s 40 AN-32 military transport aircrafts being upgraded in Ukraine have gone missing “without a trace”; Ukrainian diplomat says the government is unable to help.

Posted by: Fran | Mar 30 2015 15:26 utc | 37

@36
The world needs to deal with population “control” over the objections of the Xtian folks.
The world then needs to deal with the fact that there are not now, nor in any future going to be enough “jobs” for all that need/want them. The world needs to redefine responsibility to and reliance on governments for life support……which is what governments should do rather than service corporations who are not people but are owned by the 0.001%.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 30 2015 15:28 utc | 38

Forgot that one can not link to Sputnik here. They have a story about the Ukraine have lost 5 of 40 Planes from India without a trace. The were supposed to upgrade them

Posted by: Fran | Mar 30 2015 15:28 utc | 39

Wonder if RT can be linked to.
​‘Reuters lied’: MH17 witness says reporter falsified testimony — RT News

A Lugansk Region resident, whom Reuters cites as saying he saw evidence of a surface-to-air missile launched from rebel-held territory on the day MH17 was downed, told RT the news agency gave a false report of his interview.

Posted by: Fran | Mar 30 2015 15:31 utc | 40

And from the land of the chosen we have;Olmert?ex PM, was convicted of bribery,and will be sentenced up to 5 years,to run with the 6 year sentence he got last year for the same crime.
Has any past or present leader of Israel escaped criminal charges?
The NY lying Times had it in tiny letters at its website.

Posted by: dahoit | Mar 30 2015 15:44 utc | 41

Kolomoisky-Petroshenko.
I think what happened here is that the Americans gave their full support to Petro, their man, the orginal, anointed, President of Peace, and put a kind of damper on Kolomoisky, without so to speak doing him in as deprived of any influence / financially destroyed, as he has some support as an active J. etc.
That the oligarchs would fight amongst themselves was evident before day one, 21 Feb. 2014.
Viewed under one angle the coup was the triumph of one set of oligarchs (more nationalistic / fascistic / violent / rapacious, etc.) over another (though these ppl form loose circumstantial alliances …), with the US choosing some above others: Yats, and Petro as the PoP, vs. braided Julia, and hunk Klitschko, Merkel’s cosy long-term sweetie favorites, knocked away or side-lined. Which was a show of domination over Germany that Angie swallowed without a bleat of complaint.
Afaik all the oligarchs have lost huge chunks of money and power (except maybe minor figures and Petro?) because their very indivualistic, competitive nature and co-optation of violent factions prevents any cooperation. The US policy has been the usual divide to rule and it has been successful so far.
The EU, IMF, World Bank, ostensibly in their policies as on paper, and as partially attempted or implemented on the ground by Jaresko, who was recently abroad drumming up investments and loans, without much success, I listened to her speech at Brookings, link, it it quite interesting (not recommended specially, as expected ..)
The aim (imho) is to reduce oligarchic control and participation and straighten out the budget (no more giving money to a bottomless pit of corruption), delimit who owns what, and subsequently get busy with privatization, land deals, and so on, which can’t be carried out with success when one has to deal with 17 oligarchs, 17 regional / other potentates, 17 separatist leaders with arms, 1,700 furious locals and their followers, 170 plus killers on a spree, etc. (The no. 17 fanciful just to illustrate.)
The risk of social ‘unrest!’ – Ukraine is a failed state, but within this view it might deteriorate further, if ‘things’ are not managed properly. Jaresko supports help for the poor and an all-new police force (plus ca change..)
Note the obvious divergence, between the supposedly rational elements, ignoring, denying, the war and trying to get, a-hem, some part of ex-unitary Ukraine peaceful enough to rob it without bloody corpses in the street which might lead to riots, and those who want to kill Russians and/or provoke Russia as much as possible, even escalate to war. The divergence may be an illusion, but the actors have belief, and/or a mandate.
March 17, 2015, audio
http://www.brookings.edu/events/2015/03/17-ukraine-finance-natalie-jaresko

Posted by: Noirette | Mar 30 2015 17:28 utc | 42

A Saudi led coalition of the subordinates in Yemen.
Pakistan

Saudi Arabia lent $1.5 billion to Pakistan last year [2014] to help Islamabad shore up foreign exchange reserves.

Sudan

Sudan’s two largest creditors are Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Sudan owes the Kuwaiti government roughly $6 billion and the Saudi Government over $3 billion.
…25 percent of Sudan’s crippling $35 billion debt burden.

Egypt

Gulf Arab allies pledged a further $12 billion of investments and central bank deposits for Egypt at an international summit on Friday [14th March 2015], a big boost to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as he tries to reform the economy after years of political upheaval.
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates each offered $4 billion to Egypt

Morocco

Morocco, along with Egypt, is one of the closest allies of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC) in North Africa. Four countries from GCC – Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and UAE – pledged $5 billion aid to Morocco from 2012 to 2017..

Jordan

The Jordanian government signed on Tuesday [February 4th 2015] five financing agreements (grants) with the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) worth $176 million as part of the Saudi $1.25 billion-commitment within the Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) $5 billion grant to finance development projects in Jordan.

Lucky them..

Posted by: Pat Bateman | Mar 30 2015 17:42 utc | 43

@Fran #33
Meanwhile,
Ukraine Arrests Turkish Cargo Ship Over Crimea Port Call, Threatens Crew With Jail
How to win friends and influence people…

Posted by: Pat Bateman | Mar 30 2015 17:51 utc | 44

Pat@43 – I read about that situation, but it did not register with me that it was a turkish cargo. How stupid can you be – the Ukrainians surely would receive an award if there was one.

Posted by: Fran | Mar 30 2015 18:08 utc | 45

So, it turns out that the Germanwings crash is not so straightforward after all. The Marseille prosecutor only opened a criminal case after the NY Times published a story based on a leak of the berserk copilot theory. That undermined the separate technical investigation. And it is strange that the data card is missing from the flight data recorder. From an intriguing Web site I did not know about before:
sott.net: Germanwings crash: Not the full story?
@Pat Bateman #43:
Interesting story. I think it’s fair to say that Ukraine is now a rogue state. Nevertheless, I don’t think the Ukies would have done that without getting permission from USG. Maybe this was even USG’s idea. In any case, nice way to treat a NATO member.

Posted by: Demian | Mar 30 2015 18:15 utc | 46

@38: Ukies trying to force the Turks to let LNG tankers through the Straits?

Posted by: lysias | Mar 30 2015 18:43 utc | 47

Sorry, should have been @43.

Posted by: lysias | Mar 30 2015 18:44 utc | 48

For time reasons I don’t watch too many interviews, but check out this video of Stratfor’s George Friedman spilling barrels of beans as to US Imperial geostrategic perspectives and goals over on The Saker (NB: it’s “Friedman,” not “Freeman”); suffice it to say the ghosts of Mackinder and Mahan still haunt the US Deep State. Cordon Sanitaire vs. Russia, phobia over German-Russian cooperation, extension of Mahan’s “control of the seas” to “control of space,” setting other countries against each other and “spoiling attacks”… “The United States… controls all the oceans of the world. Because of that, we get to invade other people and they don’t get to invade us–it’s a very nice thing…”
On youtube:
Short version, English with German subtitles (12:52):
George Friedman: “Europe: Destined for Conflict?”
And the complete video, English only (1:12: 30):
George Friedman: “Europe: Destined for Conflict?”

Posted by: Vintage Red | Mar 30 2015 18:57 utc | 49

jfl@31
Thanks for the update on the still stalled operation outside Tikrit. Dropping one or two bombs every half hour can hardly be called carpet bombing and the half hour delay between identifying a target and bombing it gives the IS fighters time to move to another position and avoid the hit.
The Iraqi forces seem unwilling to jump into the slaughterhouse that awaits them inside Tikrit and we will have to wait even longer to see if Coalition bombing changes the situation.
The assault on Mosul has been effectively canceled by this small group of IS fighters in Tikrit and I wonder what the next great plan for defeating the IS will be.

Posted by: Wayoutwest | Mar 30 2015 19:07 utc | 50

@VR #48:
The short version is well worth watching. (The same clip is available with Russian subs.)
BTW, Friedman, a Hungarian Jew born in Hungary, has been called a Russophobe. TBH, he doesn’t come across as a Russophobe to me: he seems to be an international relations realist and treats Russia as a rational actor. When he was in Moscow a few months back, he gave an interview to a Russian paper in which he said pretty much the same things.
I looked for a transcript, but one is unlikely to be forthcoming. This link, with extensive quotaions, was the best I could find.

Posted by: Demian | Mar 30 2015 19:10 utc | 51

@Demian #45
The author of article at sott [sign of the times] … John Quinn
This part is clear, the prosecutors in France and Germany have multiple leaks to boulevard press like Bild about the “insanity” of the co-pilot. In the meantime every day another girlfriend is breaking the news and the latest is pregnant with his child. Plenty of insanity to go around. Due to the crash only traces of DNA will be found, no bodies, limbs or parts. The cover of the DFR was found but the equipment inside is still missing. Most of the plane is shredded, obliterated.
My early impression of the crash @Booman.

Posted by: Oui | Mar 30 2015 19:10 utc | 52

See http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/vladimir-putin-says-russia-will-fight-for-the-right-of-palestinians-to-their-own-state-10141902.html
The question is will Putin wake up tomorrow and change his mind, like Netanyahoo on the same issue? I doubt it. And what does that tell us about who is likely to prevail in the long run?

Posted by: diogenes | Mar 30 2015 20:21 utc | 53

@52 Netanyahu didn’t change his mind. He just changed the wording to suit the audience.

Posted by: dh | Mar 30 2015 20:43 utc | 54

Fascinating piece by Thierry Meysann: The Arab Civil War

What do the targets of the Western powers have in common – Zinedine Ben Ali (Tunisia), Hosni Moubarak (Egypt), Mouamar el-Kadhafi (Libya), Bachar el-Assad (Syria), Nouri al-Maliki (Iraq), Sheikh Ali Salman (Bahrein), and Abdul-Malik al-Houthi (Yemen)? Nothing, except that they have all opposed polygamy. What do the supporters of the West have in common – the member States of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Muslim Brotherhood? They are all in favour of polygamy.
This is the one single dividing line that splits the Arab world today, with the exception of Iraq and Egypt. …
We think, wrongly, that the dress codes of Iran are the equivalent of those of the Saudis. And yet in Iran, women toook control of their fertility in the first years of the Revolution – in other words, before the women of most European States. They strongly outnumber men in the universities and they also excercise the highest responsibilities. On the other hand, in Saudi Arabia, they have no personal rights.

Maybe that is why WoW hates Iran so passionately? Because it is a Muslim society which gives women equal rights?

Posted by: Demian | Mar 30 2015 20:45 utc | 55

Way out West conceived a child with a Yazidi women in a cave in the Poconos as part of a satanic ritual. The high priestess Lindsey Graham presided over the union bathed in blood. Nine months later Al Bagdadi was hatched out of an egg in the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and Isis was born. So it goes.
Somewhere in the desert of the southwest United States a figure roams the plains, with a lions body and the head of a man, with a gaze as blank and pitiless as the sun. He decorates Christmas trees with dead babies and eats tacos made of coyote meat. He’s way out there, and he won’t rest until his hour is at last at hand.

Posted by: Nana2007 | Mar 30 2015 23:01 utc | 56

Noirette at 41 —
I think you have summed it up. Poroshenko is clearly Comprador-in-Chief; it quickly became clear as soon as Minsk II happened. Poroshenko’s election gave him political legitimacy, and DC was not going to squander that at this time. It made sure some cash came Kiev’s way via the IMF, made a show of giving Poroshenko that recent shipment of humvees. Poroshenko has made other moves vs. opponents.
Kolomoisky was the first to try to back his unhappy talk with action. He has not really lost that much. He still has Privat Bank and his media holdings, I think he still owns his minority share in refining and distribution, just doesn’t control the management (and hence the cash flow). His stock as a political figure has risen, at least on the local exchange in the Donbas. Politics is fluid, things will change, perhaps to his advantage.
Dissatisfaction continues. If this comes after the offer of a senior post in defense, Poroshenko might have problems. In a long interview with a Ukrainian site, Yarosh repeats what he says he told Poroshenko after Ilovaisk: “We toppled Yanukovich, and can topple you”.
He speaks well of Kolomoisky’s people. And he’s ready with a classic fascist trope, the stab-in-the-back theory. “I can understand a lot… But what killed me was a truce in September. Debaltsevo. There was, for example, the moment when in Gorlovka only a company of the separatists was left, we could go in there. Debaltsevo could be prevented. And what? No orders. Lost a chance….”
He adds that their request for additional arms was denied, asserting Kiev is more fearful of the Right Sector than of Novorossiya. Or as he says, “the terrorists.”
Fort Russ also has a long but very interesting piece by Eduard Birov (originally in “Vzglyad”, a Russian business paper), arguing Poroshenko is Not Bandera, but a parody of a respectable Fuehrer. He discusses the high politics behind the recent Kolomoisky-Poroshenko mixup (Russia did not meddle, he says, as it wants stabilization, not complete fragmentation). He then draws these conclusions.

It would seem that Poroshenko is being transformed into a controllable little Fuehrer who will enjoy absolute power on his own territory. Not a sociopathic banderite leader, but an outwardly respectable, wealthy, and self-assured leader, with a trained army and an SS.
Hence Poroshenko’s military get-up… and the constant contacts with Biden and the representatives of Western elites…. Hence the campaign to establish order within the country, the sensational arrests of officials, lustration, struggle against oligarchs, against uncontrollable paramilitaries, SBU activities against the separatists. All of that is creating the image of a strong leader capable of making the hardest of decisions.
At least, that’s the intent. However, it is extremely doubtful it can be implemented. Ukrainians are not Germans, the Kiev regime does not have the level of effectiveness of Hitler’s Germany, and Ukraine’s economy cannot be transformed to run like German machinery no matter now much money IMF plows into it.

This may be a case where the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. If Wash. understands the limitations of its materiels, they’ll likely manage.

Posted by: rufus magister | Mar 30 2015 23:04 utc | 57

@VR #48:
An eye-opening piece which complements the Friedman interview:
sott.net: The Rise of Russia and the ‘End of the World’

over 100 years ago the Western banking/corporate/political elite … understood clearly that the only way they were going to rule the world was to ensure that Russia never emerged as a competitor to their center of operations – London, and then the USA. From a practical perspective, to achieve that goal they were going to have to perpetually marginalize Russia on the Eurasian continent and prevent European nations, in particular Western European nations, from ever forming an alliance with Russia. That task began in earnest in the late 1890s. It continues to this day, but it is failing.

And I wonder what guest77 thinks of the following:

During the 1920s Russian industry was effectively rebuilt by US corporations, with several of Lenin’s five-year plans financed by Wall Street banks. The aim was to prepare Russia for WWII …
By imposing the Bolshevik Revolution on Russia, Wall Street ensured that it could not compete with the USA.

Posted by: Demian | Mar 30 2015 23:12 utc | 58

@54
Passionately?! WoW is the MoA version of John Bolton at the NYTimes and Joshua Muravchik at the WaPost. ‘Subtler’ and more ‘reasoned’. Or at least that’s his profile. Doggedly putting in his time, after time – despite the inattention of his targets – he must be a salary man.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 30 2015 23:15 utc | 59

@48 vr.. thanks for that video on the bottom of your post…

Posted by: james | Mar 30 2015 23:20 utc | 60

WOW, after reading the last three comments addressed to me I’m beginning to think I may be breaking through the hubris of these commenters and making them think even if I never thought that was possible. Groupthink and deeply believed false narratives are extremely difficult to overcome but I do my best and I’m still waiting for that check in the mail for my efforts, I do receive a check from the Government but it’s not what you think, it’s SS.

Posted by: Wayoutwest | Mar 31 2015 0:30 utc | 61

I watched that Stratfor guy speech and it struck me as either a sort of semi lunatic confabulation in order to impress the lay public and sell his books, or a deliberate marketing campaign to the corporations he sells his info. I don’t even wanna go into the details of so many inaccuracies, misrepresentations, logical fallacies, sweeping generalizations and outright silly statements that he produced in it, but the gist of it being that the US is afraid of Germany alliance with Russia could be interesting if not the reality which is that Germany throughout the history invaded Russia several times, but each time was defeated. Germany has been and will be in the future Russia’s biggest trade partner, but I wouldn’t dramatize it into any kind of alliance of soulmates. It’s simply not gonna happen.

Posted by: Al | Mar 31 2015 1:01 utc | 62

Counterrevolution On The March by Hamid Dabashi at Alaraby is an interesting rant about the ME. I agree with some but not all of what he writes and especially enjoyed his evisceration of the crypto-Liberals who support the likes of Assad and Iran in their power plays.

Posted by: Wayoutwest | Mar 31 2015 1:02 utc | 63

D @ 57 — Stratfor seems to mix fact and fantasy.
Promote the Reds in the 20’s so you can trounce it decades later in the Golden Age of American Capitalism? Given the international capital strike vs. the Bolsheviks (Rapallo and ties to Wehrmacht a direct result, BTW), who did this and how? Most Western business comes after the Great Depression, when the counter-cyclical buying of the Five-Year Plan was suddenly quite welcome. The Soviets get into the League of Nations about then, as well. Accidental?
If this is their history, I suddenly doubt their analysis.

Posted by: rufus magister | Mar 31 2015 1:18 utc | 64

al @ 61 — That video sounds like some tough duty. I seem to have merely caught a fleeting glimpse of the very tip of the iceberg.

Posted by: rufus magister | Mar 31 2015 1:24 utc | 65

I could never take stratfor seriously after reading “Americas Secret War.” Straight up neo-con apologia in the guise of geopolitical analysis.

Posted by: Cpl. Cam | Mar 31 2015 2:08 utc | 66

“Rabbi Shlomo Riskin,rabbi of Efrat, on Saturday night compared US President Barack Obama to Haman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Mordechai.
Speaking at the Jerusalem Great Synagogue, the American-born Riskin said that he could not understand what was going through Obama’s mind.
“The president of the United States is lashing out at Israel just like Haman lashed out at the Jews,” he said.” – Jerusalem Post
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/American-Israeli-Rabbi-compares-Obama-to-Haman-395457

Posted by: nat judge | Mar 31 2015 2:17 utc | 67

Why They Hate Robert Mugabe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpCEgCDPmtA

Posted by: okie farmer | Mar 31 2015 2:39 utc | 68

A commenter at Kremlin Stooge highlighted some articles intimating that Yatsenuk is on the way out, having siphoned off 7.6 billion in government funds. His replacement could be Natalie Jaresko. Also rumors are circulating that he’s turned into a hamster. Links for anyone who reads Russian:
http://www.vzgliad.ru/world/2015/3/30/737141.html
http://www.politnavigator.net/yacenyuk-tyrit-ostatki-deneg-kak-khomyak.html

Posted by: Nana2007 | Mar 31 2015 3:01 utc | 69

03/30/2015 22:30
Russian Spring
According to Michael Bociurkiw, the spokesperson for OSCE mission in Ukraine, the combatants fully control settlement Shirokivo, (south of Donetsk Republic).
“In our report we are writing that settlement Shirokino is under full control of Donetsk Republic. It is so because they escorted us in the settlement.
Only Donetsk Republic military is present in the settlement. The Ukrainian military is installed in proximity of Shirokino, but not in the settlement.
It is noteworthy that separation line passes along the border of the settlement”, Borciurkiw commented to Ukrainian agency “Ukrainian National News”.
03/30/2015 15:19
Russian Spring
Aleksandr Khodakovskiy, the commander of battalion “Vostok” and the Secretary of Security Council of Donetsk Republic as a second job, expressed his views in interview to lenta.ru.
Next phase of the war?
Khodakovskiy: The opponent may begin offensive of course. But our agenda is different. We aim to save Donetsk Republic…. We will not risk the existence of the Republic, which such cost us such a high price…. Our goal is not to attack but preserve…
Ukraine has already demonstrated its leadership’s “kneeling position” to breach the Minsk agreements. Our position to fulfill the principle articles of the agreement is stringent – the cessation of fire and instilling the regimen of truce.
We know well, sooner or later, Ukraine may attempt some theatrical action, then will try to go offensive.
It situation like that, it is sufficient to wait in silence that the Kiyev leadership will expose itself as large as life…
Today everyone should tighten the belt and show patience…
It is of great importance to us that any diplomatic “kowtow” lows intensity of shelling… We are more to build the Republic and less to fight. We have to give people and economy time to recover from war.
A side result of behaving gentlemen is that we have concluded: regardless of playing noble, Ukraine sticks to its hard line…
Because Ukraine is extremely dependent. Our understanding that is that decision making comes elsewhere but not from Ukrainians…
One who wants peace be ready to war. Just want to warn: from August and on, the trend to advance the front line will continue. If we become active, it is only to farther on.
We do not want that because of inevitable sacrifices of population and infrastructure…

Posted by: Fete | Mar 31 2015 3:57 utc | 70

China is not allowing DPRK to join it’s new AIIB bank….Anyone know whats up with that?

Posted by: Fernando | Mar 31 2015 4:47 utc | 71

It appears the Ukraine War is becoming the Frozen Conflict supposedly desired by Putin and others in Russia with some diminishing possibility of further engagements. This may give the People’s Republics some time to begin rebuilding and strengthening their governments but we will have to wait to see what is in store for them vis-à-vis Kiev.

Posted by: Wayoutwest | Mar 31 2015 4:49 utc | 72

Posted by: Fernando | Mar 31, 2015 12:47:32 AM | 69
Possibly don’t want to scare ‘Western’ participants away before it’s up and running?

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Mar 31 2015 7:19 utc | 73

@69
Getting the loose nukes under control? If it works China might ask Washington why it doesn’t forget about Iran’s non-existent nukes and get Israel’s very real nukes under control. Israel is about on a par with North Korea.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 31 2015 8:03 utc | 74

Wikipedia tells me that the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) shares its acronym with the Anti-Imperialist International Brigade (AIIB) – the Japanese Red Army – a 1970s Communist militant group whose ideology was “anti-imperialism” and who aimed “to start a world revolution”.
A mere coincidence? I think not!
Meanwhile, President SISI is ISIS spelt backwards…

Posted by: Pat Bateman | Mar 31 2015 8:52 utc | 75

Saudi Airstrikes Hit Yemen Refugee Camp, 45 Civilians Killed

Saudi warplanes attacked the al-Mazzrak refugee camp in Yemen’s Hajjah Province today, killing at least 45 civilians and wounding some 200 others, according to aid workers on the ground.
Saudi officials were quick to deny responsibility for the killings, and declared that the Houthis they are at war with inexplicably attacked the camp. This was in spite of Saudi officials bragging only yesterday they’d destroyed every warplane in Yemen.

Gee, I read that and thought Sabra/Shatilla … and then the Ukrainian line about the people in the Donbass shelling their own villages.
Saker has a link, Israel participating in the bombing campaign and elaborates as only he can on the Zionist/Wahbist/Banderist identity.
I think religion has little to do with it, its just their common, ruthless evil to the bone. Presided over by patria mia, the USofA.

O fresche valli, o queto asil beato
  Che un di promesso dall’amor mi fu
Or che d’amore il sogno è dileguato
  O patria mia, non ti vedrò mai più.
Oh patria mia, mai più ti rivedrò!

Posted by: jfl | Mar 31 2015 9:24 utc | 76

Pat Bateman@73. SISI is ISIS spelt backwards. Correct, it is called a palindrome, like “NOTLOB” is “BOLTON” spelt backwards. Hej, See Monty Python parrot sketch.

Posted by: harry law | Mar 31 2015 9:30 utc | 77

Is Europe Pushing Greece Toward Russia?

Athens could run out of cash by April 20, sources have told Reuters, if the Western money is not approved. Which may lead to a wind change for Greece.
Reports from Der Spiegel and RT Monday say Greece may now turn to Russia for relief funds.
Greece’s Industrial Reform Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis and Syriza Parlimentarian Thanasis Petrakos are in the midst of a two-day visit to Moscow Monday and Tuesday this week. “This visit is very important for Greece. We intend to deepen our relationship with Russia in the energy sector and thereby hope to gain a significant advantage,” said Petrakos, according to RT.
In addition to this visit, Tsipras himself brought forward a visit to Moscow from May to April, which The New York Times assesses as a possibility to call Europe’s bluff and make the stakes higher if it doesn’t support Greece.
Russia could then “ride in as a white knight if Europe steps back.”

Yeah, that sounds like a good solution all around.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 31 2015 9:36 utc | 78

Just to confirm my psychopath analysis of John McCain, get this. “McCain suggests Israel “go rogue” blow up Iran negotiations by stating war. http://www.alternet.org/mccain-suggests-israel-go-rogue-blow-iran-negotiations-starting-war#.VRmKvrJ The ‘songbird’ not only has a big yellow streak up his back, he’s lost his marbles, should be locked up for his own, and our safety.

Posted by: harry law | Mar 31 2015 9:58 utc | 79

Middle East engulfed by war

In Yemen, the Obama administration has announced its full backing, with the provision of logistical assistance, arms (including cluster bombs) and targeting intelligence, to an intervention spearheaded by Saudi Arabia, the other Sunni oil monarchies and the Egyptian regime of Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
This coalition of dictatorships and crowned tyrants is waging a war against the most impoverished country in the Arab world. Their aim in bombing cities and killing civilians is to contain the influence of Iran, which has provided support to the Zaydi Shiite Houthi rebels who overthrew President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a puppet installed by Washington and Riyadh.
In Iraq, US warplanes have been bombing Tikrit, the hometown of the ousted and murdered Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, which is now controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). This operation is providing air support to a besieging force comprised overwhelmingly of Shiite militias operating with Iranian support and advisors.
While the Pentagon had conditioned the air strikes on the withdrawal of these militias, some of which had resisted the eight-year US occupation of Iraq, it is widely acknowledged that this was strictly for the sake of appearances. The Shiite forces remain the principal fighting force on the ground.
Meanwhile, across the border in Syria, Washington is pursuing a policy seemingly at odds with itself, on the one hand pledging to arm and train militias seeking to overthrow the government of President Bashar al-Assad, whose closest ally is Iran, and, on the other, carrying out air strikes against both ISIS and the Al Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front, which together are the principal armed opponents of the Assad regime.
At the same time, negotiations led by US Secretary of State John Kerry in Switzerland are going down to the wire in a bid to secure an agreement with Iran that would curtail its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting (or partial lifting) of punishing economic sanctions imposed by Washington and its European allies. Failure to achieve such a deal could spell a turn toward more direct US military aggression against Iran. Success could well prove to be a tactical preparation for the same thing.
The White House makes little or no attempt to explain these operations to the American people, much less win their support for them. In the case of Washington’s backing for the war in Yemen, the sum total of its explanation consists of a “readout” of a phone conversation between Obama and King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, in which the US president affirmed his “strong friendship” with the despotic monarchy, his “support” for its intervention, and his “commitment to Saudi Arabia’s security.”
Behind the reckless, ad hoc and seemingly disconnected policies pursued by US imperialism in the Middle East, there remains one constant: the aggressive pursuit of US hegemony over the Middle East and its vast energy reserves.
The strategy elaborated from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 onward, that Washington could freely employ its unrivaled military power to pursue its global interests, has only become more entrenched as American capitalism’s relative economic weight and influence have continued to decline.

Another American political first. The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate is the greatest fraud ever perpetrated, anywhere, at any time, on anyone.
Though now his flailing about, hie erratic jerks at the end of the strings of the Odd Fellow puppeteers who put him in office are not in the least embarrassing to him … he’s kept his eyes on the prize for 2260 days, just 662 days more, till the door revolves for this revolving-door revolutionary.
The embarrassment, the shame, is our misfortune, ain’t none of his own. Whoop, ewyai, kiao, get along little doggies …. it’s our misfortune, ain’t none of his own.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 31 2015 11:33 utc | 80

@harry law #77:
One knows from Monty Python that a palindrome is a word or phrase that reads the same whether it is read forward or backward. So “madam” is a palindrome, whereas “Sisi” and “Bolton” are not.
Another palindrome is, “A man, a plan, a canal – Panama”.

Posted by: Demian | Mar 31 2015 11:45 utc | 81

Record oil tankers sailing to China amid stockpiling
china is stockpiling oil.price drop has cashed up china buying huge volumes
yemen,s civil war could lead to the closing of shipping through the suez canal.
mcdonalds has big mac on special

Posted by: mcohen | Mar 31 2015 12:21 utc | 82

I do receive a check from the Government but it’s not what you think, it’s SS.
Posted by: Wayoutwest | Mar 30, 2015 8:30:31 PM | 61
Oh noes, “SS” is exactly the label under which I filed your verbal diarrohea, a loooooooong time ago

Posted by: Quote/UN-Quote | Mar 31 2015 13:28 utc | 83

From the sott.net: The Rise of Russia and the ‘End of the World’ link @58
“Like the first World War, the plan for the overthrow of the Tsar and revolution in Russia was years in the making. In fact, it seems that the 1905 Russo-Japanese war was used by the aforementioned Jacob Schiff and Co. to sow the seeds of that 1917 revolution 12 years in advance.
In her book, Jacob H. Schiff: A Study in American Jewish Leadership, prolific Jewish-American author Naomi Wiener Cohen states:

“The Russo-Japanese war allied Schiff with George Kennan in a venture to spread revolutionary propaganda among Russian prisoners of war held by Japan (Kennan had access to these).
The operation was a carefully guarded secret and not until the revolution of March 1917 was it publicly disclosed by Kennan. He then told how he had secured Japanese permission to visit the camps and how the prisoners had asked him for something to read.
Arranging for the ‘Friends of Russian Freedom’ to ship over a ton of revolutionary material, he secured Schiff’s financial backing.
As Kennan told it, fifty thousand officers and men returned to Russia [as] ardent revolutionists. There they became fifty thousand “seeds of liberty” in one hundred regiments that contributed to the overthrow of the Tsar.”

While Schiff was a strident opponent of the Russian Tsar for his treatment of Russian Jews, it’s difficult to tell if sympathy for his co-religionists in Russia was the motivation for Schiff, and other Jewish Wall Street bankers and industrialists, to finance the Bolshevik revolution. After all, they all also reaped massive financial rewards as a result.
Russian General Arsene de Goulevitch, who witnessed the Bolshevik Revolution firsthand, stated: “

The main purveyors of funds for the revolution were neither the crackpot Russian millionaires nor the armed bandits of Lenin. The ‘real’ money primarily came from certain British and American circles which for a long time past had lent their support to the Russian revolutionary cause< . . . . I have been told that over 21 million rubles were spent by Lord [Alfred] Milner in financing the Russian Revolution

Milner was perhaps the preeminent agent of the British Empire at that time. As High Commissioner for Southern Africa, German-born Milner pioneered concentration camps and ethnic cleansing during the Boer War to expand British control of Africa. Milner was also the chief author of the Balfour Declaration, despite it being published in Arthur Balfour’s name.
In his book on Milner, Edward Crankshaw summed up Milner’s ‘ideology’:

“Some of the passages [in Milner’s books] on industry and society… are passages which any socialist would be proud to have written. But they were not written by a socialist.
They were written by “the man who made the Boer War.” Some of the passages on Imperialism and the white man’s burden might have been written by a Tory diehard. They were written by the student of Karl Marx.”

Milner’s ideological bi-partisanship – and utter indifference to his German roots – mirrored that of the Wall Street bankers. Speaking to the League for Industrial Democracy in New York on 30th December 1924, Otto H. Kahn, who was Jacob Schiff and Felix Warburg’s partner in Kuhn, Loeb & Co. and director of American International Corp., said:

” . . what you radicals, and we who hold opposing views differ about, is not so much the end as the means, not so much what should be brought about, as how it should, and can, be brought about”.

”

Posted by: Quote/UN-Quote | Mar 31 2015 13:44 utc | 84

Under Lenin and Trotsky, the Bolshevik ‘revolution’ had effectively shut down the Russian economy and its industry, allowing Western bankers to step in to ‘rebuild’. Consider the words of American journalist, labor organizer, and publicist, Albert Rhys Williams, who was both a witness to – and participant in – the October revolution, as he testified at the Senate Overman Committee (September 1918 and June 1919):

Mr. Williams: […] it is probably true that under the Soviet government industrial life will perhaps be much slower in development than under the usual capitalistic system. But why should a great industrial country like America desire the creation and consequent competition of another great industrial rival? Are not the interests of America in this regard in line with the slow tempo of development which Soviet Russia projects for herself?
Senator Wolcott: So you are presenting an argument here which you think might appeal to the American people, your point being this; that if we recognize the Soviet government of Russia as it is constituted, we will be recognizing a government that cannot compete with us in industry for a great many years?
Mr. Williams: That is a fact.
Senator Wolcott: That is an argument that, under the Soviet government, Russia is in no position, for a great many years at least, to approach America industrially?
Mr. Williams: Absolutely.

So even as early as 1919 some people clearly understood the aim of Wall St’s financing of the Bolshevik Coup in Russia. Amusing that a century later there are still some shills who are still desperately trying to hide what was acknowledged back in 1919

Posted by: Quote/UN-Quote | Mar 31 2015 13:55 utc | 85

85;Well the USSR sure produced a lot of great weaponry in WW2,was that non native?And someone said Israel and NK are equal?NK aint subjugating and murdering captive other peoples,and the people of NK are happy and smiling,a devoid human condition in Israel.(and US)
WOW;Do you like that SS?I mean it seems so many recipients rail against the socialist benefit,sort of like hypocrisy,eh?And I’m a recipient also,but I think they should defund the Pentagoons and give the people more of that stolen wealth.

Posted by: dahoit | Mar 31 2015 14:22 utc | 86

Demian at 55. Ha ha, was Meyssan serious? (I didn’t read the piece. Not that I dislike him but I can’t be bothered.)
Anyway there is something to the social-conservative issue: patriarchy, hierarchy, traditionalism, tight grip of religion which can be seen as linked to polygamy (remember the repression of adultery) vs. the more ‘modern’ mores of two-person marriage and equal, or better, rights for women.
In fact what happened is that the USisr have done everything to keep muslim lands from developing to ‘modernity,’ be it thru communism, socialism, baathism, pan-Arabism or a personally inspired type philosophy (Kadafi), because ‘modernism’ would strengthen these countries, notably it would put women in the working place and in some positions of power, and see to it that children including girls become educated, all this not so much because women are ‘bad’ in some way, but simply, they are half the population, and keeping them under authoritarian ‘religious’ grip (or for ex. to come back to polygamy, struggling dependent on a man in competition with other women) is a win. Other forces use the same tactic: Orthodox Jews and the Taliban for ex.
All of which goes far towards explaining the love the US has for the most traditionalist, conservative / hyper-religious / and then-and-now violent muslim factions (ISIS..)
All contrary to the discourse that is served at home: women’s rights, equality, a fair chance for all, etc. but no matter, nobody cares.
The repression and control of women is simply a tactic – one amongst others! – for ‘preventing advancement’, for scotching economic development, and making countries dependent on ‘their raw ressources’ and their clients and/or patrons, typically KSA, where the ruling princes adhere for their own rapacious hypocritical domination and survival.
One can see these schemas applied to Russia in a muddled way: supposedly, it doesn’t produce anything, it lives of its fossil fuel resources, is against gays, etc.
rufus at 57, thx for the links, yes.

Posted by: Noirette | Mar 31 2015 15:13 utc | 87

D@86
What’s not to like about a check every month but I don’t think you can describe SS as a true Socialist program, it is at best a social democratic savings system for retirement. You have to look to a country such as Venezuela to see a truly Socialist retirement fund offered to all regardless of their contributions.
Some people dislike SS because it sequesters huge amounts of money away from the Banksters but they are actually on both sides of the political divide and it can only be under a Democrat that SS will be dismantled, Obama tried with his Grand Betrayal but it was the Tea Party crazies who stopped that move.
Ever increasing funding of our War Machine is unstoppable and is the only Jobs Program we will see in our lifetime.

Posted by: Wayoutwest | Mar 31 2015 16:07 utc | 88

Railway takes war machines, tanks/trucks to Edmonton, Alberta, from there to Ukraine? https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=926742280678400

Posted by: TikTok | Mar 31 2015 16:16 utc | 89

N@56
I usually try to ignore bizarre and offensive comments but this is a special case. Your vivid, disturbing and grotesque visions are telling. Perhaps you should seek professional help or at least have your meds adjusted. There are excellent facilities where you can escape your paranoia with soothing music, pastel colors and isolation from the pressures of our troubling world.

Posted by: Wayoutwest | Mar 31 2015 16:46 utc | 90

@Noirette #87:
was Meyssan serious?
I guess he was only half-serious, in that he was making a pointed argument. Polygamy is one of the more extreme and canonical manifestations of conservative Islam, so it can serve to represent the other regressive tendencies of that movement. The points you make flesh out very well what Meyssan was getting at.
You’re completely right: the US and Israel support extremely conservative Muslim groups in order to keep the Muslim world from modernizing, which makes it easier for the AngloZionist empire to keep the Muslim world subjugated. (Afghan women enjoyed their greatest freedom just before the US started aiding the mujahideen.)

Posted by: Demian | Mar 31 2015 17:39 utc | 91

Sorry WoW, the side you root for ain’t going to make it:
Iraqi forces in ‘major advance’ against IS in Tikrit
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32137073

Posted by: Matt | Mar 31 2015 19:28 utc | 92

N@87
I think you need to better define what you mean by terms such as ‘Modernity’ and ‘Progress’ both of which you seem to be referring to through Western conditioning. The ME has had these Western ideals forced upon them for 100yrs, their nation-states, education systems, economies, judicial systems, and political hierarchies are all Western innovations along with our cultural and religious penetrations in the name of progress. All of these Modern tools were and are used to control and manipulate the ME for the benefit of the West.
Because these Western ideals have failed so miserably for the people West might the people of the ME be better off if they have the freedom to chose their own way to build a civilization?

Posted by: Wayoutwest | Mar 31 2015 19:44 utc | 93

This article in Counterpunch made me realize that it should come as no surprise that the West couldn’t care less about the Ukrainians deliberately shelling civilians and destroying infrastructure in the Donbass, since NATO did exactly the same thing in Yugoslavia. This is the American way of war, and Europeans have become so decadent that they accept it, even when it is waged inside Europe.

Posted by: Demian | Mar 31 2015 21:26 utc | 94

@94
Really, the Europeans have a history of slaughter longer than that of the upstart Americans … it’s just that it’d been held in abeyance by the US’ volunteering to be devastator in chief following the second European World War. Now that the power of the US is collapsing the Europeans are reverting to historic European slaughter. You are comical, at times, inside your custom built bubble of European exceptionalism. Ask the victims of 5 or 600 years of European exceptionalism how they view it.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 31 2015 22:14 utc | 95

@jfl #95:
Now that the power of the US is collapsing the Europeans are reverting to historic European slaughter. You are comical, at times, inside your custom built bubble of European exceptionalism.
Perhaps. But the narrative was that with the creation of first the Common Market and then the EU, wars were a thing of the past for Europe. Yes, France and Britain pushed for the bombardment of Libya, but those two countries don’t represent all of Europe. As for the Ukrainian civil war, I think it’s pretty clear that that is a US project, not a European one. So I think you need to substantiate your claim that “Europeans are reverting to historic European slaughter”. Even in Libya, the US did by far most of the bombing.
Re “the power of the US collapsing”: China is edging the US out of Afghanistan economically:
Tomgram: Dilip Hiro, Afghanistan’s China Card
I would say that Obama’s foreign policy has turned out to be surprisingly inept, but he is just a figurehead. Who is inept is his foreign policy advisers. Or maybe the problem is more systemic than that.

Posted by: Demian | Mar 31 2015 23:37 utc | 96

RT reports: “A parliamentary candidate for the UK Independence Party (UKIP) has stepped down after he said US President Barack Obama should be kidnapped and put on trial in Israel, it has emerged.
Jeremy Zeid, who was standing as MP for Hendon in northwest London, said Obama should be locked up like a Nazi war criminal.
His comments were in response to news the US government had declassified documents revealing the existence of Israel’s nuclear program, which is officially secret.
Zeid is a Jewish decorator from Kenton in northwest London, and a former Tory councilor who defected to UKIP.
Zeid bowed out of the general election race after writing on his Facebook page: “Once Obama is out of office, the Israelis should move to extradite the ba****d or ‘do an Eichmann’ on him and lock him up for leaking state secrets.”
His comments were linked to an article about the United States, which revealed Israel’s nuclear program from the right-wing Israeli news website Arutz Sheva.”

Posted by: nat judge | Apr 1 2015 1:36 utc | 97

Yemen Echoes of 1930s Aggression and Descent into Barbarism

Ominously, the lawlessness and outright aggression that has gripped international affairs – with the latest manifestation in the collective bombing of Yemen – is reminiscent of the 1930s.
That perilous period saw a series of international aggressions carried out by fascist powers with impunity. The League of Nations – a forerunner of the United Nations – facilitated these aggressions through its shameful silence and connivance. When Japan annexed large swathes of China’s Manchuria in 1931, the League of Nations, including the US, Britain and France, largely turned a blind eye. As they did when fascist Italy bombed its way into Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935-36, Franco’s Spain subjugated Catalonia in 1938, and Hitler’s Nazi Germany annexed Austria and Czech Sudetenland, also in 1938.
The complete breakdown in any semblance of international law during the 1930s and the rise of state-sponsored gangsterism paved the way for the Second World War.
A similar process of degeneration is also well underway in the present day, led largely by the US and its coterie of allies among the NATO alliance and oil-rich Arab dictatorships. Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen are but some of the evil fruit from the poison that is coursing through international relations. And yet, ludicrously, Washington accuses Putin and Moscow of behaving like Hitler with a malign 20th Century atavism.

Posted by: Nana2007 | Apr 1 2015 3:11 utc | 98

@98 nana.. i couldn’t agree more, especially with the hypocrisy described in that last line of your quote.. your link is not working btw..
@97 natjudge… jeremy zeid and robert h scales, the ex us army general who stated the usa needs to kill off russians to get more of a war going – both these losers typify the nations they find themselves living in at present.. ex empires, one that knows it, the other that hasn’t figured it out yet – both incapable of stopping there madness without murdering innocent people, while supporting head chopping royalty in saudi arabia that could give a flying fuck about the welfare of others on the planet, in spite of all the pretensions provided by WOW and other brain dead blathers…

Posted by: james | Apr 1 2015 3:32 utc | 99

03/30/2015 15:19
Russian Spring
In yesterday’s interview to news site lenta.ru, the commander of battalion “Vostok” (“East”) Aleksandr Khodakovskiy remarked when was asked what if U.S. weapons and NATO troops take part in helping Ukraine:
Some American weapons have been already in use. In essence, these are systems to counter armored hardware; recent generation of anti-tank radio-guided missiles. They allow for an operator to guide a missile from a shelter via an objective of viewfinder. Also the missile finds an initially captured target without operator. The trajectory is arched mitigating relief and obstacles.
True, these present a serious problem. Would Americans provide this kind of weaponry, we anticipate hard time. However, that the artillery is the goddess of war levels the battlefield.
And the NATO troops will not take part in the battle… Even calling it Russia’s aggression, the people of Germany and France are not enthusiastic of loosing soldiers on Ukrainian battlefields…
To engage in a war for Ukraine… Ukraine has been used and amortized.

Posted by: Fete | Apr 1 2015 3:42 utc | 100

Back to Main