World Politics

[blutto]

....find below an interesting read peened by Mike Whitney....

...a key paragraph....

"As the US continues to abuse its power, these changes become more and more necessary. Foreign governments must form new alliances in order to abandon the present system–the “dollar system”–and establish greater parity between nation-states, the very nation-states that Washington is destroying one-by-one to establish its ghoulish vision of global corporate utopia. The only way to derail that project is by exposing the glaring weakness in the system itself, which is the use of an international currency that is backed by $15 trillion in government debt, $4 trillion in Federal Reserve debt, and trillions more in unpaid and unpayable federal obligations. Whatever steps Moscow takes to abort the current system and replace the world’s reserve currency with money that represents a fair store of value, should be applauded. Washington’s reckless and homicidal behavior around the world make it particularly unsuitable as the de facto steward of the global financial system or to enjoy seigniorage, which allows the US to play banker to the rest of the world. The dollar is the foundation upon which rests the three pillars of imperial strength; political, economic and military. Remove that foundation and the entire edifice comes crashing to earth. Having abused that power, by killing and maiming millions of people across the planet; the world needs to transition to another, more benign way of consummating its business transactions, preferably a currency that is not backed by the blood and misery of innocent victims. Paul Volcker summed up the feelings of many dollar-critics in 2010 when he had this to say:


“The growing sense around much of the world is that we have lost both relative economic strength and more important, we have lost a coherent successful governing model to be emulated by the rest of the world. Instead, we’re faced with broken financial markets, underperformance of our economy and a fractious political climate.”

America is irreparably broken and Washington is a moral swamp. The world needs regime change; new leaders, new direction and a different system..."

....if this is indeed the strategy it sort of explains why Putin seems to be directing his pronouncements to the EU rather than the world at large or the US...he seems to be saying , looks those guys over there are mad and why don't we adults get together and do stuff....just a wild-assed thought which kinda draws from the fact that original Putin proposal to help The Ukraine was to be a joint venture with the EU and the feeling that a EU partnership of some form would give Putin a winning end result ...

...would be interesting what thoughts anyone here may have on how they think Merkel will move to reconcile this situation...

...from.. http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/03/12/big-oils-sore-losers-lead-the-drive-to-war/

Cheers

 

[python]

...would be very interesting to rewatch the video that the CBC showed of the "glorious revolutionaries'" sniper nest in view of this new information...

Cheers

full interview (in english) with the former head of ukraine’s security service, Aleksandr Yakimenko. the agency he headed is the equivalent of american fbi
http://rt.com/op-edge/mercenaries-at-maidan-ukraine-558/

it is a facinating read. . he either knows what he said by virtue of his office, or he was given a russian script. as i watched the interview live, it did not seem to me scripted...many interesting details as to how and where the militant rioters were trained, financed and tracked. he leaves no doubt that it was an american-polish inspired and organized pusch.

according to him, the top 3 members of the new security apparatus were directly appointed from the united states embassy, he based it on the daily visits of the said revolutionaries to the embassy. must read.

 

[Amsterhammer]

PARIS – In a move that stunned the diplomatic world and added a new complication to the crisis in Ukraine, French President Francois Hollande announced today that he had been in contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin to surrender.

“There are times to fight and times to stand down,” Hollande told Reuters after announcing the surprising waving of the white flag.

“We French know the difference.”

http://thelapine.ca/france-preemptively-surrenders-to-russia/

 

[blutto]

http://thelapine.ca/france-preemptively-surrenders-to-russia/

...thank you Mr Hammer for introducing me to this site...finally a site that acknowledges the centrality of Canada, and its leading lights, Rob Ford and Little Stevie Harper, to world politics....

...especially liked the following line from the article...yes there is something very funny right there...especially funny given the "very serious" MSM responses that are based on real-like facts and stuff....

"The crisis in Ukraine is 1,357 miles (2,184 k) away from France and all experts agree that there was absolutely no threat to France. As Donald Croft, political reporter at the New York Times, put it in summing up the general consensus of the threat: “Hahahaha.”
Dan LeHomme "

...all that being said the site doesn't hold a candle to the comedy gold that is the now famous "I am a Ukrainian" video...mined from the same special vein that gave us the Kuwaiti baby incubator story, the Kony video and the surreal stand-up comedy of Judith Miller, that is real professional stuff that the wonderful "The Lapine", though certainly inspired, simply cannot compete with ( they are simply amateurs by comparison...gifted, but still amateurs...)...

Cheers

 

[blutto]

full interview (in english) with the former head of ukraine’s security service, Aleksandr Yakimenko. the agency he headed is the equivalent of american fbi
http://rt.com/op-edge/mercenaries-at-maidan-ukraine-558/

it is a facinating read. . he either knows what he said by virtue of his office, or he was given a russian script. as i watched the interview live, it did not seem to me scripted...many interesting details as to how and where the militant rioters were trained, financed and tracked. he leaves no doubt that it was an american-polish inspired and organized pusch.

according to him, the top 3 members of the new security apparatus were directly appointed from the united states embassy, he based it on the daily visits of the said revolutionaries to the embassy. must read.

....interesting read/view, thank you...

found the following attached comment interesting...

"So if CNN got hold of a Russian willing to say terrible things about their former country, they would be believed on their word? But I'm sure the security chief brought along documents, samples, and incriminating correspondents to support his case? Oh wait, I forgot, this is RT."

....I guess the commentator had never heard of either "curveball" or Ahmed Chalabi...pity...

Cheers

 

[blutto]

....following on the introduction of Canadian points of view here is a look at the possibility of yet another version of a wee bit of a recurring "kerfuffle" that has popped a few times in recent Canadian history....

" March 12, 2014 "Information Clearing House - There has been a great hue and cry by the USA, Ukraine and other countries about the supposed illegality of the proposed referendum by Crimea on its future political status. They indignantly proclaim that this is a violation of international law.
Amazingly, have Obama and the leaders of these other countries never heard of the situation in Canada with regard to Quebec? Quebec, as a province of Canada, has held two referenda (1980 and 1995) on the matter of independence from Canada . . . and a third referendum may be in the works in the near future.

Quebec never had to get permission from Canada’s federal government to hold a referendum, and no one ever questioned the legality of Quebec’s referendum.

Crimea is an autonomous region within Ukraine and seems to have the same rights as a Canadian province. So if it is perfectly legal for a province such as Quebec to hold a referendum on independence, why would it not be legal for Crimea to do the same? At no time did the USA object to Quebec holding a referendum on independence, so why the big brouhaha over Crimea? Moreover, what business would it be for the USA to have such objections – for Quebec or Crimea?

The UN charter gives people the right to self-determination and by virtue of that right they are free to determine their political status. Quebec in Canada has exercised that right, and there should be no reason why Crimea could not do the same.

John Ryan, Ph.D., Retired Professor of Geography and Senior Scholar, University of Winnipeg, Canada."

...wonder if Quebec does separate does anyone here think its ok for Little Stevie Harper to send in the army or maybe to ask the US military to come in and re-establish the present territorial boundaries ( I mean there is lots of power and mineral wealth and fresh clean water there that could use some IMF inspired free market magic to fully exploit....and the socialistical Quebec is like socialistical and like an enemy of job creators and stuff....so an invasion would seem to be the democraticistical thing to and so on and so forth...)...

Cheers

 

[RetroActive]

....following on the introduction of Canadian points of view here is a look at the possibility of yet another version of a wee bit of a recurring "kerfuffle" that has popped a few times in recent Canadian history....

" March 12, 2014 "Information Clearing House - There has been a great hue and cry by the USA, Ukraine and other countries about the supposed illegality of the proposed referendum by Crimea on its future political status. They indignantly proclaim that this is a violation of international law.
Amazingly, have Obama and the leaders of these other countries never heard of the situation in Canada with regard to Quebec? Quebec, as a province of Canada, has held two referenda (1980 and 1995) on the matter of independence from Canada . . . and a third referendum may be in the works in the near future.

Quebec never had to get permission from Canada’s federal government to hold a referendum, and no one ever questioned the legality of Quebec’s referendum.

Crimea is an autonomous region within Ukraine and seems to have the same rights as a Canadian province. So if it is perfectly legal for a province such as Quebec to hold a referendum on independence, why would it not be legal for Crimea to do the same? At no time did the USA object to Quebec holding a referendum on independence, so why the big brouhaha over Crimea? Moreover, what business would it be for the USA to have such objections – for Quebec or Crimea?

The UN charter gives people the right to self-determination and by virtue of that right they are free to determine their political status. Quebec in Canada has exercised that right, and there should be no reason why Crimea could not do the same.

John Ryan, Ph.D., Retired Professor of Geography and Senior Scholar, University of Winnipeg, Canada."

...wonder if Quebec does separate do you think its ok for Little Stevie Harper to send in the army or maybe to ask the US military to come in and re-establish the present status quo ( I mean there is lots of power and mineral wealth and fresh clean water there that could use some IMF inspired free market magic to fully exploit....and the socialistical Quebec is like socialistical and like an enemy of job creators and stuff....so an invasion would be the democratic thing to and so on and so forth...)...

Cheers

Ripe for the picking; tasty.
http://www.hydroquebec.com/en/

 

[python]

....interesting read/view, thank you...

found the following attached comment interesting...

"So if CNN got hold of a Russian willing to say terrible things about their former country, they would be believed on their word? But I'm sure the security chief brought along documents, samples, and incriminating correspondents to support his case? Oh wait, I forgot, this is RT."

....I guess the commentator had never heard of either "curveball" or Ahmed Chalabi...pity...

Cheers

..i almost forgot of the guy. was he the one predicting that the american invasion in iraq will be met by flowers and kisses ?

anyways, i just realized, the english translation of the interview i linked to above, was missing some important statements by the ukrainian ex-chief spook.

...specifically, he several times emphasized that the coup was planned for the 2015 election and was actually expedited as the events developed. he also specifically referred to (not reflected in the translation)that the american involvement drastically accelerated when there were tentative signals that the eu, following yanukovich's rejection of the association agreement, was considering softening its categorical postion on russia's role in the bilateral eu-ukraine treaty...


this makes sense in light of the statements by some south european politicians at the time that the eu should have been more considered towards the traditional economic links between russia and ukraine and that russia does have legitimate economic and trade concerns.

if true, the us inspired and implemented the coup to prevent being squeezed out of the european decision-making makes perfect sense.

in light of the above, if we are to drop all the ideological and rhetorical fluff on either side, the russians behavior seems to pursue the strategy of preventing the us and eu coordinated position - something they may perceive as the us have tried to force on europe by accelerating the putsch.

if this theory is correct, i see the the tension as follows.

the us will bluster and threaten attempting to protect their investment in the ukrainian putsch, the russians responding likewise each time, including the militarily posturing, each time the us is going to ratchet up the tensions. the russian calculation is - the eu will blink first and thus will have to curb the american hawks.

if one considered the mirror moves by the russian military to date - this is exactly what is going on.

the crap shall hit the fan on march 17 - one day after the crimean plebiscite.

 

[blutto]

..i almost forgot of the guy. was he the one predicting that the american invasion in iraq will be met by flowers and kisses ?

anyways, i just realized, the english translation of the interview i linked to above, was missing some important statements by the ukrainian ex-chief spook.

...specifically, he several times emphasized that the coup was planned for the 2015 election and was actually expedited as the events developed. he also specifically referred to (not reflected in the translation)that the american involvement drastically accelerated when there were tentative signals that the eu, following yanukovich's rejection of the association agreement, was considering softening its categorical postion on russia's role in the bilateral eu-ukraine treaty...


this makes sense in light of the statements by some south european politicians at the time that the eu should have been more considered towards the traditional economic links between russia and ukraine and that russia does have legitimate economic and trade concerns.

if true, the us inspired and implemented the coup to prevent being squeezed out of the european decision-making makes perfect sense.

in light of the above, if we are to drop all the ideological and rhetorical fluff on either side, the russians behavior seems to pursue the strategy of preventing the us and eu coordinated position - something they may perceive as the us have tried to force on europe by accelerating the putsch.

if this theory is correct, i see the the tension as follows.

the us will bluster and threaten attempting to protect their investment in the ukrainian putsch, the russians responding likewise each time, including the militarily posturing, each time the us is going to ratchet up the tensions. the russian calculation is - the eu will blink first and thus will have to curb the american hawks.

if one considered the mirror moves by the russian military to date - this is exactly what is going on.

the crap shall hit the fan on march 17 - one day after the crimean plebiscite.

...thanks for the info...certainly makes Pepe Escobar look smart as he made that same call about a week ( the US trying to avert a Russia/EU agreement )....

...from the Pepe article mentioned earlier...

""As Immanuel Wallerstein has already observed, [2] Nuland, Kagan and the neo-con gang are as much terrified of Russia "dominating" Ukraine as of a slowly emerging, and eventually quite possible, geopolitical alliance between Germany (with France as a junior partner) and Russia. That would mean the heart of the European Union forging a counter-power to the dwindling, increasingly wobbly American power. "


...actually I think Putin will continue to do as he has to this point and act like an adult who has a lot of history to back his narrative...the US is reduced to childish military posturing fired in large part by hubris and very forgetting of course the importance of the fact that if the $hit hits the fan any major war will most likely engulf Europe ( the horrors of which the Euros know full well from their history and US only knows thru bad movies and stuff that happened way over there....and never really interfered with important stuff like NASCAR and the Super Bowel...)....

...and the more the US blusters the more Putin will look like a better choice...Putin is in the catbird seat and he knows it...

...the only wildcard here is whether the US ratchets up the hysteria at home and some suddenly inflamed born again lunatic in a missile silo decides its a good time to bring on the Rapture....

Cheers

 

[blutto]

....find below a couple of important quotes that help explain the Russian mindset heading into the present stand-off over The Ukraine...the first one has been kinda discussed, the second one breaks some new ground in so much it shows the EU more firmly in bed with the US than previously assumed ( me included here...I had hoped for some independent thinking on the part of the EU...but that doesn't seem like the case given the second quote ...)

"Is the Russian occupation of the Crimea a case of aggressive expansionism by Moscow or aimed at at blocking a scheme by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to roll right up to the Russia’s western border? WikiLeaks has revealed a secret cable describing a meeting between French and American diplomats that suggests the latter, a plan that has been in the works since at least 2009."

....and...

"The recent “bailout” offer to Ukraine by the European Union contained a clause that would have tied Kiev to the EU’s military organization.

In short, Russians feel like they are surrounded by hostile forces, a fact critics of Moscow’s moves in the Crimea should keep in mind."

...from... http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/03/13/wikileaks-ukraine-and-nato/

...this is troubling as I sort of hoped that the Euros were smarter than their hillbilly cousins....if the above is to be taken at face value maybe they are not...

Cheers

 

[python]

10 minutes ago, lavrov ended his press-conferences after 5 h with kerry.(that's a heroic fit in and of itself)

if his diplomatic 'differences remain' is translated, it means 'russia has not given up one inch on crimea..as if he meant, 'please shift from bluster to sanction, we are ready'

he repeated several times the concerns about a double standard.

he ended up by saying that in their private talks, he feels the leaders of the west understand that crimea means to russia more than the falklands to britain or (some remote island) to france...i thought lavrov looked exhausted.

earlier, i listened to the fiery press-conference by the crimea prime minister. that guy sounds like everything is decided and ready to merge with russia. the only remarkable news-worthy statement he made was that the crimean tatars, unlike what's written re boycotting the referendum, will be expected to show up - about 50%.

..17 of march all fans around the world will be clogged ...

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

Hm, interesting. The Norwegian foregin correspondent to Russia Hans Wilhem Steinfeldt apparently were on the show "Skavlan" earlier tonight. Some good insight into the sniper shooting in Kiev (where he was, and was shot after apparently)

 

[blutto]

Hm, interesting. The Norwegian foregin correspondent to Russia Hans Wilhem Steinfeldt apparently were on the show "Skavlan" earlier tonight. Some good insight into the sniper shooting in Kiev (where he was, and was shot after apparently)

....I think we are all curious as to what was said...

Cheers

 

[RetroActive]

Neocons Have Weathered the Storm
http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/...rimea_Neocons_Political_Putin-140314-257.html

Nuland was promoted to Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs and took personal aim at the elected government of Ukraine, which had become a choice neocon target because it maintained close ties to Russia, whose President Putin was undercutting the neocons' "regime change" strategies in their most valued area, the Middle East. Most egregiously, Putin was helping Obama avert wars in Syria and Iran.

So, as neocon NED president Carl Gershman wrote in the Washington Post in September 2013, Ukraine became "the biggest prize," but he added that the even juicier target beyond Ukraine was Putin, who, Gershman added, "may find himself on the losing end not just in the near abroad but within Russia itself."

In other words, the ultimate goal of the Ukraine gambit is not just "regime change" in Kiev but "regime change" in Moscow. By eliminating the independent-minded and strong-willed Putin, the neocons presumably fantasize about slipping one of their ciphers (perhaps a Russian version of Ahmed Chalabi) into the Kremlin.

Then, the neocons could press ahead, unencumbered, toward their original "regime change" scheme in the Middle East, with wars against Syria and Iran.

As dangerous -- and even crazy -- as this neocon vision is (raising the specter of a possible nuclear confrontation between the United States and Russia), the neocons clearly appear back in control of U.S. foreign policy. And, they almost can't lose in terms of their own self-interest, whichever way the Ukraine crisis breaks.

Relentless.

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

....I think we are all curious as to what was said...

Cheers

oh sorry

A summary is that he was watching out of his hotel window, and counted about 50 people shot.
That he saw the shooters on the top of the govenrment buildings (and that they shot on him and his friends, so he had to flee)
They ha 2 panzered veichels with them and if people belives that these people were not from the riot police you are "insert bad words here"

btw, this is the man Gorbatsjov called the most rude journalist he'd ever met

 

[python]

i just received an alarm from my the guardian rss feed - Kiev claims it repelled Russian troops in south Ukraine

looks serious enough...so i checked the ukrainian news agency unian. they claim that 80 russian paratroopers landed from 4 helicopters and occupied a vilage in southern ukraine just north of the crimean peninsula. ukrainian fm already has an official statement that they will respond . no russian news agency or source confirmed or denied or even mentioned the incident...

could be true or could be another round of disinformation .

 

[RetroActive]

i just received an alarm from my the guardian rss feed - Kiev claims it repelled Russian troops in south Ukraine

looks serious enough...so i checked the ukrainian news agency unian. they claim that 80 russian paratroopers landed from 4 helicopters and occupied a vilage in southern ukraine just north of the crimean peninsula. ukrainian fm already has an official statement that they will respond . no russian news agency or source confirmed or denied or even mentioned the incident...

could be true or could be another round of disinformation .

...and the Russians captured a US (armed) drone over Crimea apparently...an ongoing cyber attack on the Kremlin and Russian central bank...and Venezuela is heating up.

Venezuela calls John Kerry 'murderer'
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-John-Kerry-murderer/articleshow/32079081.cms

Kerry is a busy boy. This is ambitious, the empire's on full display.

 

[python]

...and the Russians captured a US (armed) drone over Crimea apparently...an ongoing cyber attack on the Kremlin and Russian central bank...and Venezuela is heating up.

yes, according to their official agency it was the second drone intercepted and they revealed the details of the american reconnaissance unit with the total 18 drones operating from the ukrainian territory.

also, not reported in any western media, was that there were pro and anti -russian clashes in 2 ukrainian eastern cities during the 2 days including today. at least 3 dead and several dozen wounded. all young people. the ukrainian sources claim they were agent provocateurs from russia and the russian sources claim they were locals furious with the armed western ukrainians sent by the Right Sector - a neo nazi organization. both sides reported that one group after barricading in a government building and being surrounded by the police, demanded buses that would take them to a western town as a condition for vacating the building...

--
forgot to add that this was ignored by all western main stream media:
http://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-Features/Rabbi-injured-in-Kiev- attack-wife-calls-was-anti-Semitic-345399
Rabbi injured in Kiev attack, wife claims it was anti-Semitic

 

[achenk01]

political headache

 

[Echoes]

Don't know if mentioned already but a very good RT report on the role of NGO's in coups d'etat's and wars (including Ukraine, Syria, Lybia and both Iraq wars):

http://www.egaliteetreconciliation.fr/Les-ONG-au-service-de-la-guerre-24085.html

 

[blutto]

....the connection btwn the putsch in The Ukraine and energy has been mentioned here before in passing....find below an article that maps out the energy story in some detail....very interesting read....

...some key lines follow....note that the original EU agreement included provisions for streamlining energy exploration for Western energy producers...the competing other agreement with Russia would have effectively stifled access for those self same producers...

"Success by the majors and expansion of Ukraine’s domestic energy industry could also lure in foreign oil services groups and smaller independents. Cheaper energy, meanwhile, could help efforts to develop new sectors of the economy.

Some of that scenario may be threatened if Ukraine, as now looks possible, fails to sign an EU free trade deal this month, and turns instead to Russia. A big cut in Russian gas prices – say, to levels paid by neighbouring Belarus – could make new domestic production in Ukraine less competitive.

A price cut of that size, however, seems unlikely unless Kiev takes the extra step of joining a Russian-led customs union – to which Mr Yanukovich still seems resolutely opposed. As long as that remains true, Ukraine will hold increasing allure for western oil groups."

...so Yanukovich makes a U-turn and opts for the Russia-led customs union, a move that will really stymie Western energy producers and suddenly all hell breaks out....hmmm...gee could there be a connection?....

...also note the importance of Crimea to energy development in the Black Sea....

...brings to mind a line from the dark recesses of my mind...here very roughly paraphrased, wherein one tribesmen in some outback area turns to another and says..."Oh my gawd, we're doomed, the Americans have discovered oil on our land..."

...the full article is here.. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/abe8802a-4d0c-11e3-9f40-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2w67dIzPl

Cheers

 

[python]

if you like a real time political drama, in my view, nothing compares to what's happening in ukraine.

not only as an exciting thriller, bot mostly in terms of its impact on the future of europe and the world as a whole.

16 of march 2014 will forever be remembered as a date when the 2nd cold war begun as a prelude to the next hot world war..

those who still hold a conviction that the politician are a reasonable and rational bunch, shall recall that no one, NONE, could predict that only 23 years after the end of WW1, that war's unfinished business will lead to next WW.

then and now, a bunch of emotional, nationalistic and tribal connections (yes the eu is an ungoverned bunch of tribes ) step by step, almost automatically, results in the uncontrolled chain of events...

 

[Echoes]

Jacques Bainville predicted WWII and all that came before in The Political Consequences of Peace (1920).

 

[hrotha]

Well, Ferdinand Foch, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied armies, famously said about the Treaty of Versailles when it was signed: "This is not peace. It is an armistice for twenty years". Not to mention all the people who saw it coming in the 30s.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

those who still hold a conviction that the politician are a reasonable and rational bunch, shall recall that no one, NONE, could predict that only 23 years after the end of WW1, that war's unfinished business will lead to next WW.

then and now, a bunch of emotional, nationalistic and tribal connections (yes the eu is an ungoverned bunch of tribes ) step by step, almost automatically, results in the uncontrolled chain of events...

(1) There is nothing wrong with nationalism. I don´t know what happened to all of us (even those who use the own brain) buying the BS that it is bad.
Guys it´s the other way around. It´s good! (When everybody pi$$es in his own familys garden, all is peacful. It´s just the intruders from outside that spoil the party. I think it needs no hard thinking to get to that conclusion.)
The imperialists, neocons and greedy rich tell us this lie of "one tribe human kind". Because one group of same thinking (pro capitalism, gender mainstreaming, god beliving, paper money trusting), behaving, and same-"laws"-following morons are easier to control and enslave.

(2) Only the naive believe in reasonable politicans. I mean just take a look at almost-vice-president-of-USA Palin. She talked about nuke the "bad guys" (Russia) just last week, and people cheered. Just imagine the combo of McCain/Palin in power now. We´d already the WW3. It´s just a matter of time when the hillbillies of USA elect the wrong end (the republicans and tea-imbeciles that is) of the one party to power again...