World Politics

[python]

a cant recall a european union and a nato member state telling the us to fork off as harshly as hungary just did...this effing of the us 'doings' sure happened in the verbalistics of the oft too temperamental south americans, in vlad's rhetoric, but in the middle of europe from a major us ally

'Hungary is not Guantánamo,' ruling party tells U.S.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014...IU1YS20141110?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

"Hungary is not Guantánamo," he said. "Nobody can be accused here without proof." Around 150 foreigners considered a threat to U.S. security are held by the United States at its base on Cuba, many without charge or trial, outside the protections of the U.S. justice system.

Jeez, what is going on with (in) hungary ?

 

[python]

the g20 just started in australia...

the 1st thing that jumped at me was that before they sat down to fix the world together, the bric countries had their own meeting and a photo op and the eu with america, not to be outdone, their own.

perhaps i am wrong, but in my strong opinion the right thing to do (for all 20 and the world) would be to keep those separate meetings private and rather (at least try) to be seen invoved in a common effort.

that they chose to literally parade their separate agendas is an indicator of further weakening of of the still west-dominated world order.

any ozzies there to report on how the meeting is seen from inside ??

 

[blackcat]

Ay. Stop animal farming which alone is more dangerous than all transportation, mainly because of it's high methane emitions. Now add the transportation required for animal farming. This issue has been reported by the U.N and other agencies as early as 2006, yet most could not care less. Who would have guessed...

As Peter Singer put it, “We are, quite literally, gambling with the future of our planet- for the sake of hamburgers”.

hey, i saw Peter Singer twice in the suburb next to me in the last next months, and once in a cafe I was having lunch at! ofcourse, none of the hipsters who were there had a fricken clue who he was.

 

[blackcat]

the g20 just started in australia...

the 1st thing that jumped at me was that before they sat down to fix the world together, the bric countries had their own meeting and a photo op and the eu with america, not to be outdone, their own.

perhaps i am wrong, but in my strong opinion the right thing to do (for all 20 and the world) would be to keep those separate meetings private and rather (at least try) to be seen invoved in a common effort.

that they chose to literally parade their separate agendas is an indicator of further weakening of of the still west-dominated world order.

any ozzies there to report on how the meeting is seen from inside ??

abbott is not getting much political lift from this, the commentariat thinks the Sinos and Seppos are playing him and he is getting verballed. both Ebola, both CO2 global warming emission decreases...

actually, I would not be surprised to see a Boston marathon type bomb go off atm, if there will ever be something to go kaboom in Australia, because our culture has never had any genesis of this type. Would be disaffected youth from supposed salaffi/wahabbi sunni sect that seek meaning that has zilch to do with islam religion

 

[blackcat]

Ay. Stop animal farming which alone is more dangerous than all transportation, mainly because of it's high methane emitions. Now add the transportation required for animal farming. This issue has been reported by the U.N and other agencies as early as 2006, yet most could not care less. Who would have guessed...

As Peter Singer put it, “We are, quite literally, gambling with the future of our planet- for the sake of hamburgers”.

pulses/legumes/vegetables/grains opportunity cost to substitute animal product, still be, estimation tells, 25% of fossil fuel use thru transport. I dont know what other manufacturing use of fuel in legumes/pulses/grains, but assume there is some, but not significant, most is just the equivalent weight for nutritional requirements to substitute calories

 

[python]

abbott is not getting much political lift from this..

he made a joke of himself by the idiotic 'shirtfronting' rhetoric...only to be delivered (the guardian reported) by the canadian pm.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...e-minister-shirtfronts-vladimir-putin-instead

actually, I would not be surprised to see a Boston marathon type bomb go off atm, if there will ever be something to go kaboom in Australia, because our culture has never had any genesis of this type. Would be disaffected youth from supposed salaffi/wahabbi sunni sect that seek meaning that has zilch to do with islam religion

i read the demonstrators are relatively few and the police outnumber them many fold...

 

[blackcat]

hi read the demonstrators are relatively few and the police outnumber them many fold...

was pretty locked down P

 

[python]

was pretty locked down P

understood...
means the intensity and the extent of demonstrations was far from the previous meets of the 20

...still the whole meet seems like a waste of time at the expense of the real solutions we need. rather, as i already said, it was the underscoring of differences between the west dominating nations and the emerging power players.

...some interesting developments re. mh17.

the us officials (imo reasonably so) have rejected the moscow tv satellite images of a military plane shutting down the liner (i am not rejecting the possibility but the immediate subject evidence) . the satellite images were attributed to an american source. yet, it did not explain the previously floated images that seemed to suggest attacks by 2 planes.

today and yesterday the fragments of the plane have been collected and readied for a journey to holland. interestingly, many larger pieces were cut up on the direction of the netherlands supervising officials. the official sttaed reason was ease of transportation. i wonder the wisdom of such a practice.

also, and this seems most critical, would be the collection of small fragments of the projectile that exploded the liner. everything i read points to a different 'filling' of a surface-to-air missile compared to an air borne missile or an aircraft cannon.

 

[blutto]

....well things are stumbling along in The Ukraine....Porky has issued a decree that "cuts" socio-economic ties with the east....but it also does the following...

"Kiev has suspended the protection of human rights and ordered the withdrawal of its institutions from areas controlled by local militia in the nation's east. Rebels have branded the decree, which hits the population on winter’s eve, an ‘act of genocide.'


The move was prepared by the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council last week and enacted by a presidential decree signed on Friday. It has yet to be ratified by the newly-elected parliament, but the decree explicitly says that this procedure must be expedited – so there is little doubt that the new governing coalition will adopt it next week.


Arguably the most controversial part of the decree is the suspension of the European Convention on Human Rights in rebel-held areas. The convention, which guarantees basic human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe, has a provision which allows some of its articles to be derogated by a signatory “in time of war or other public emergency threatening the life of the nation.”

Kiev has been insisting that the military campaign it launched against the dissenting provinces is not a war, but an “anti-terrorist operation.” Apparently the operation threatens the life of Ukraine, which will now observe only those provisions of the convention, which cannot be derogated under any circumstances. In particular, they are the right to life, the prohibition of torture and slavery, and the right not to be subjected to unlawful punishment.


In practical terms, the decree orders that many social and economic ties with the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics be severed. Kiev will withdraw all its officials and evacuate its offices in rebel-held areas. The order covers all public services, including crucial ones, such as schools, hospitals, and emergency services."

....from... http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-...s-sever-socio-economic-ties-separatist-held-r

....not really a great portend for the future of the Ukrainian situation but then what do you expect from a government rife with Nazi sympathizers and supported by that bastion of freedom, the one, the only, the exceptional, the US of A...

Cheers

 

[python]

it remains grossly under reported that the spy war btwn the west/nato good-good fellas and the evil-evil vlad boiz has literally gone thru the roof..during the last just 3-5 days, and we're talking only about what became public - 3 nato countries exchanged 'mutual expulsions' or a 'one-sided' trip with vlad.

the poles kicked out some diplomats to be instantly retaliated with the unknown ## of their own. the poles tried to keep it quiet but the russians made it public

more significant, the germans - vlad's main moderators in europe vis-à-vis america - silently kicked out an unknown number of russians. again, somewhat surprisingly, not only they let the news out, but they made sure the symmetrical response was made public...

and finally, vlad's boiz had arrested a latvian they said worked for cia. of course, he was paraded on their tv sets.

again, all these spy stories are real, and became public in the space of just one last week...what does it mean in the context of the ukraine events ?

my read: if we add the spy stories to the the recently intensified vlad's strategic nuclear bomber forays across europe, it is clear he's signalling lack of readiness to bend over.

despite the threats of western sanctions, he is being perfectly consistent with his earlier actions - ukraine was and is the red line he's ready to risk big, very big, for.

does it include russian tactical nuclear threats in europe ? imo, yes. b/c vlad has a 10 fold advantage in the tactical nuclear warheads plus he counts on virtual parity in the strategic nukes.

his calc is - the us political cowards (who in reality would only rely on the prevailing public sentiment), wont dare to face an all-out big conflict.

the recent historical record indicates that america invoked its militarily only against decidedly weaker opponents...and even then, it lost more often than won.

if obama's international ineptitude continues, i see trouble ahead. a big one.

 

[blutto]

....yeah, this makes sense...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How the Israel Lobby Protected Ukrainian Neo-Nazis

Rep. John Conyers wanted to block U.S. funding to neo-Nazis in Ukraine. But the ADL and Simon Wiesenthal Center refused to help.

"If passed, Conyers' amendment would have explicitly barred those found to have offered “praise or glorification of Nazism or its collaborators, including through the use of white supremacist, neo-Nazi, or other similar symbols” from receiving any form of support from the US Department of Defense.

The amendment was presented by congressional staffers to lobbyists from Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Simon Wiesenthal Center, two of the country’s largest established Jewish pressure groups. Despite their stated mission to combat anti-Semitism and violent extremism, the ADL and Wiesenthal Center refused to support Jeffries and Conyers’ proposal...."

....and Yats, Nuland's bum buddy, is in real deep here...

"During the national election campaign, Ukraine’s leading party, the People’s Front of neoliberal Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, was honeycombed with far-right militants. Andrei Parubiy, the co-founder of the neo-Nazi-inspired Social National Party and former chief of the Maidan defense committees, was among the extremists who won seats on the People’s Front ticket. "

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

...from...
http://www.alternet.org/world/how-israel-lobby-protected-ukrainian-neo-nazis

....and from the associated comments section...

"Karin Karejanrakoi • 12 hours ago

It will be one of the consummate ironies of history if the ADL and Simon Wiesenthal Centre - representatives of an ethnic group excoriated as untermenschen in Mein Kampf and slated for extermination - are complicit in the decimation, if not the outright annihilation, of Der Führer's *other* racial enemies, the "subhuman Slavs."

...the most unfortunate thing is this may not be irony at all....


Cheers

 

[blackcat]

it remains grossly under reported that the spy war btwn the west/nato good-good fellas and the evil-evil vlad boiz has literally gone thru the roof..during the last just 3-5 days, and we're talking only about what became public - 3 nato countries exchanged 'mutual expulsions' or a 'one-sided' trip with vlad.

the poles kicked out some diplomats to be instantly retaliated with the unknown ## of their own. the poles tried to keep it quiet but the russians made it public

more significant, the germans - vlad's main moderators in europe vis-à-vis america - silently kicked out an unknown number of russians. again, somewhat surprisingly, not only they let the news out, but they made sure the symmetrical response was made public...

and finally, vlad's boiz had arrested a latvian they said worked for cia. of course, he was paraded on their tv sets.

again, all these spy stories are real, and became public in the space of just one last week...what does it mean in the context of the ukraine events ?

my read: if we add the spy stories to the the recently intensified vlad's strategic nuclear bomber forays across europe, it is clear he's signalling lack of readiness to bend over.

despite the threats of western sanctions, he is being perfectly consistent with his earlier actions - ukraine was and is the red line he's ready to risk big, very big, for.

does it include russian tactical nuclear threats in europe ? imo, yes. b/c vlad has a 10 fold advantage in the tactical nuclear warheads plus he counts on virtual parity in the strategic nukes.

his calc is - the us political cowards (who in reality would only rely on the prevailing public sentiment), wont dare to face an all-out big conflict.

the recent historical record indicates that america invoked its militarily only against decidedly weaker opponents...and even then, it lost more often than won.

if obama's international ineptitude continues, i see trouble ahead. a big one.

its about the gas stupid*


western europe dont wanna get cold in winter



*(invoking Clinton's line on the economy, generic reference to comment of python)

 

[ScienceIsCool]

it remains grossly under reported that the spy war btwn the west/nato good-good fellas and the evil-evil vlad boiz has literally gone thru the roof..during the last just 3-5 days, and we're talking only about what became public - 3 nato countries exchanged 'mutual expulsions' or a 'one-sided' trip with vlad.

the poles kicked out some diplomats to be instantly retaliated with the unknown ## of their own. the poles tried to keep it quiet but the russians made it public

more significant, the germans - vlad's main moderators in europe vis-à-vis america - silently kicked out an unknown number of russians. again, somewhat surprisingly, not only they let the news out, but they made sure the symmetrical response was made public...

and finally, vlad's boiz had arrested a latvian they said worked for cia. of course, he was paraded on their tv sets.

again, all these spy stories are real, and became public in the space of just one last week...what does it mean in the context of the ukraine events ?

my read: if we add the spy stories to the the recently intensified vlad's strategic nuclear bomber forays across europe, it is clear he's signalling lack of readiness to bend over.

despite the threats of western sanctions, he is being perfectly consistent with his earlier actions - ukraine was and is the red line he's ready to risk big, very big, for.

does it include russian tactical nuclear threats in europe ? imo, yes. b/c vlad has a 10 fold advantage in the tactical nuclear warheads plus he counts on virtual parity in the strategic nukes.

his calc is - the us political cowards (who in reality would only rely on the prevailing public sentiment), wont dare to face an all-out big conflict.

the recent historical record indicates that america invoked its militarily only against decidedly weaker opponents...and even then, it lost more often than won.

if obama's international ineptitude continues, i see trouble ahead. a big one.

Your analysis is spot on and only misses to items that give a bigger picture. First is the US adoption of the Brzezinski doctrine that to prevent any other powers from rising (i.e., Russia and China) you must control all strategic "transit" points. This would include the Ukraine for Russia as that is where a lot of its goods, including petroleum, must transit to reach western Europe. With China, the strategic transit point is the oceanic shipping lanes. That is why the US is forming all kinds of military alliances surrounding the South China sea and has "pivoted" the majority of its fleet to the south Pacific - it gives them the ability to shut down the shipping lanes if the need arises.

The second point is the US shift in nuclear doctrine to include strategic use of first strike capabilities. This is enormous. In all of US history, doctrine has been only to use nukes as a retaliatory measure. Combined with their "missile shield" in Poland and now possibly the Ukraine, the US is saying quite explicitly to Russia that "we might nuke you, and we have taken away your ability to retaliate". In other words, there are portions of the Pentagon that now believe a nuclear war can be "won". This is a huge existential crisis for Russia. Their response? To have bombers and submarines make a very visible display that the "missile shield" will not save Europe from being nuked - and that the US should rethink its nuclear posture. This is a very important message to send to prevent the US from escalating conflicts with Russia which would likely escalate to nuclear exchanges.

Russia really doesn't have many good options here, but showing the US that it has miscalculated Russian strength is vital to keep current tensions from escalating.

John Swanson

 

[blackcat]

Your analysis is spot on and only misses to items that give a bigger picture. First is the US adoption of the Brzezinski doctrine that to prevent any other powers from rising (i.e., Russia and China) you must control all strategic "transit" points. This would include the Ukraine for Russia as that is where a lot of its goods, including petroleum, must transit to reach western Europe. With China, the strategic transit point is the oceanic shipping lanes. That is why the US is forming all kinds of military alliances surrounding the South China sea and has "pivoted" the majority of its fleet to the south Pacific - it gives them the ability to shut down the shipping lanes if the need arises.

The second point is the US shift in nuclear doctrine to include strategic use of first strike capabilities. This is enormous. In all of US history, doctrine has been only to use nukes as a retaliatory measure. Combined with their "missile shield" in Poland and now possibly the Ukraine, the US is saying quite explicitly to Russia that "we might nuke you, and we have taken away your ability to retaliate". In other words, there are portions of the Pentagon that now believe a nuclear war can be "won". This is a huge existential crisis for Russia. Their response? To have bombers and submarines make a very visible display that the "missile shield" will not save Europe from being nuked - and that the US should rethink its nuclear posture. This is a very important message to send to prevent the US from escalating conflicts with Russia which would likely escalate to nuclear exchanges.

Russia really doesn't have many good options here, but showing the US that it has miscalculated Russian strength is vital to keep current tensions from escalating.

John Swanson

first strike capacity is just a boondoggle for the militaryindustrialcongressionalcomplex.

it aint taken serious. To actually intercept a BICM with a nuclear warhead, they would need to set off a nuke itself, out of the immediate atmosphere.

extrapolating on Zbigniew Zbrezinski's grand chessboard thesis, Assange has commented on optic fibre communication cable routes. first trade routes, then sea control, then railways and resources, and as you say, central asia, trade routes, who controls central asia, controls international geopolitik(sic).

I know that the Brazilian Pepe Escobar is popular in here. He riffed on the bases in Afghanistan, working up his inchoate thesis Pipelinestan, i've mentioned it before... heres a few links

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/CEN-01-310513.html
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/CHIN-01-190514.html
http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175845/tomgram:_pepe_escobar,_who's_pivoting_where_in_eurasia/

also, re: ADL and Foxman, its not either-or. The Russians might have some aggressive neo-nazis on their side too.

 

[python]

Your analysis is spot on and only misses to items that give a bigger picture. First is the US adoption of the Brzezinski doctrine that to prevent any other powers from rising (i.e., Russia and China) you must control all strategic "transit" points. This would include the Ukraine for Russia as that is where a lot of its goods, including petroleum, must transit to reach western Europe.

by any sober analysis, the us is essentially lacking any VITAL, NATIONAL interests in ukraine to fight for, much less to risk a nuclear war... therefore, as you said, it is hard to imagine anything but the elements of the zbig doctrine driving the us current actions in the region. that said, i am not sure, how much such a long strategic vision is the only, much less the dominant policy currently at play. besides, as is well known to foreign affairs students, any country's specific policies, even if its a superpower, are less the results of some neat doctrines and more a RESPONSE to the immediate set of barely manageable circumstances.

leaving the european response and the motivations aside for a moment -which are quite different from american - i believe that obama's harsh, almost emotionally personal anti putin line is driven by a combination of the crimea shock and his own incompetence/inability to predict vlad's easily predictable red line post 2008 georgian war.

a combination of american superpower arrogance, obama/kerry amateurism and vlad's maneuvers...plus, russia still 'enjoys' a strong negative sentiment left from the cold war era and thus is easy to demonize domestically.

The second point is the US shift in nuclear doctrine to include strategic use of first strike capabilities. This is enormous. In all of US history, doctrine has been only to use nukes as a retaliatory measure. Combined with their "missile shield" in Poland and now possibly the Ukraine, the US is saying quite explicitly to Russia that "we might nuke you, and we have taken away your ability to retaliate". In other words, there are portions of the Pentagon that now believe a nuclear war can be "won". This is a huge existential crisis for Russia. Their response? To have bombers and submarines make a very visible display that the "missile shield" will not save Europe from being nuked - and that the US should rethink its nuclear posture. This is a very important message to send to prevent the US from escalating conflicts with Russia which would likely escalate to nuclear exchanges.

i agree, we are witnessing a new nuclear posturing.

only an insane wacko, imo, can think that a nuclear exchange can be winnable b/c both sides have perfected an annihilating triad strike... BUT, it does not mean that PLAYING the nuclear muscle to achieve certain political advantages is futile. quite to the contrary, and imo, that's what vlad is ready to do and seems better at...

 

[Bustedknuckle]

Your analysis is spot on and only misses to items that give a bigger picture. First is the US adoption of the Brzezinski doctrine that to prevent any other powers from rising (i.e., Russia and China) you must control all strategic "transit" points. This would include the Ukraine for Russia as that is where a lot of its goods, including petroleum, must transit to reach western Europe. With China, the strategic transit point is the oceanic shipping lanes. That is why the US is forming all kinds of military alliances surrounding the South China sea and has "pivoted" the majority of its fleet to the south Pacific - it gives them the ability to shut down the shipping lanes if the need arises.

The second point is the US shift in nuclear doctrine to include strategic use of first strike capabilities. This is enormous. In all of US history, doctrine has been only to use nukes as a retaliatory measure. Combined with their "missile shield" in Poland and now possibly the Ukraine, the US is saying quite explicitly to Russia that "we might nuke you, and we have taken away your ability to retaliate". In other words, there are portions of the Pentagon that now believe a nuclear war can be "won". This is a huge existential crisis for Russia. Their response? To have bombers and submarines make a very visible display that the "missile shield" will not save Europe from being nuked - and that the US should rethink its nuclear posture. This is a very important message to send to prevent the US from escalating conflicts with Russia which would likely escalate to nuclear exchanges.

Russia really doesn't have many good options here, but showing the US that it has miscalculated Russian strength is vital to keep current tensions from escalating.

John Swanson

There are 5 numbered fleets, 2/3/5/6/7
7th fleet is around asia, western pacific and hasn't
gotten any bigger or 'pivoted' for over a decade.

The US hasn't had a first strike mentality since Dubya, and does not have one now. To believe this is folly.

Russian aircraft have been visible for decades as well. I have flown on their wings dozens of times when the Soviet Union was in existence. Bears, Badgers, a few Mays..Now Russia has more $, can fly again, even using those tired old aircraft from the 60s/70s/80s. They haven't had a modern bomber or ship for again, decades. There Navy and air arm is a joke.

 

[blackcat]

any country's specific policies, even if its a superpower, are less the results of some neat doctrines and more a RESPONSE to the immediate set of barely manageable circumstances.

ones that can put in place and set and achieved contemporaneously. The long white paper doctrines, their policys are high theory and have a significant lag effect, and actually what occurs, the gap between theory versus ends and achievement is vast, and can at one time, conflict/contradict.

At one point in time, the US want stability in the ME, and at the same point in time, they want instability and turmoil in then ME. Its a schizophrenic shroedinger FoPo.

 

[blackcat]

only an insane wacko, imo, can think that a nuclear exchange can be winnable b/c both sides have perfected an annihilating triad strike... BUT, it does not mean that PLAYING the nuclear muscle to achieve certain political advantages is futile. quite to the contrary, and imo, that's what vlad is ready to do and seems better at...

Netanyahu v the Persians.

Iran aint trying for a nuke. But Netanyahu is still on their rump over this, with everyone looking on full well knowing the Israeli Samson doctrine and their Dimona nuclear armament. ~200 nukes.

 

[python]

Netanyahu v the Persians.

Iran aint trying for a nuke. But Netanyahu is still on their rump over this, with everyone looking on full well knowing the Israeli Samson doctrine and their Dimona nuclear armament. ~200 nukes.

albeit an example of a nuclear posturing, the iran - israeli equation is a very different story from the us-russia nuclear gameswhich are based on virtual parity...(paks vs india may be a better example)

unlike israel, iran never had and (in the foreseeable future) wont have a deliverable nuclear strike, whereas, israel, as you said, owns at least 200 war heads that could be delivered by a standard triad - missiles, planes and likely by a sub (though this is NOT universally agreed on by expert observers).

essentially, israel has a devastating, infinity-to-zero , unilateral advantage, not a virtual parity the us and russia have...

iow, whereas the americans and the russians may engaged in a nuclear dance for a geopolitically limited advantage, everything israel did to postpone or deny iran's capability was strictly in their view (imo, neurotically & obsessively so) for shear survival.

in a way, vlad is playing a very risky game in which the odds imho are stacked against him 3/1 or 4/1 IF...the adversaries' ALL true potentials and capabilities (including the nuclear) are laid bare.

nukes aside, the us can impose on vlad 3 to4 times more pain than he EVER could dare to respond with...

via the dollar domination hammer, via the ever loyal saudi-suported tricks in oil and gas markets (as they did with the soviets and likely doing now), via the irresistible 'leadership' pressure on eu allies...and i have not even mentioned ratcheting up the direct military and political support of both vlad's domestic and external enemies - from the chechens and crimean tatars to the uki and baltic nationalists.

there is only one huge BUT... such sweeping measures measures would requires 3 things america lacks.

1. essentially committing a nation to ANOTHER war with a nuclear-armed-to-the-teeth state
2. a leadership (obviously over a dubious idea of protecting ukraine) to implement the commitment
3. an exit strategy from which there may not necessarily be an exit if things go uncontrolled and nuclear...

this type of brinksmanship (and a leadership by extension) i believe america is no longer capable of.

 

[Jagartrott]

Australia named worst performing industrial country on climate change
Not really very surprising.

Meanwhile, the economic value of renewable energy businesses in Canada surpasses that of oil sands. Still the latter gets more subsidies than the former. It's a f***ed up world we live in.

Ah, the ink hasn't dried up yet, and I see that you now can get killed in Israel for trying to plant trees. I'm sure that'll help the peace process.

 

[python]

if you are interested in an UNBIASED, intelligent step-by-step analysis of how the ukrainian crisis evolved, the following read is a must...the author, Raymond Smith, ( i admit i never read nor even heard of him) is not a politician. he's a professional diplomat who served for 25 years in the us foreign service. 6 years as a high-ranking diplomat in the us embassy in moscow.

From Da to Nyet: How U.S. Diplomacy Helped Transform Russia from Potential Ally into Strategic Adversary
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/da-nyet-how-us-diplomacy-helped-transform-russia-potential-11817

broadly speaking, he analyzed how the winners in various historical conflicts through wise and visionary diplomacy were able to achieve lasting security by considering core interests of the defeated (post-napolonic era for instance). conversely, he showed how the short-sighted, victory-obsessed winners utterly failed to achieve any international security (the post ww1 for ex).

not to bore anyone with long quotes i chose the one i found quite perceptive:

The United States responded by pocketing the concessions on the issues at the top of its diplomatic agenda. For the most part, it left out of the negotiations the question of the Soviet (later Russian) role in the new system that was taking shape.

 

[blutto]

....the title...

The New Cold War Policy Has Backfired

....from the intro...

"One thing that is striking about the US decision to escalate against Russia is that it’s not at all clear what the trigger was. And that raises the possibility that these hostilities were instigated out of peeve, or what one might more politely call imperial reflex, reflecting the belief that Russia needed to be punished for its various sins, such as supporting Iran, outmaneuvering the US in Syria, and harboring Snowden. And the assumption appears to have been that Russia could be taken down a notch or two on the geopolitical stage at no cost to the US. Hudson explains that the reverse is proving to be the case. "

...an important bit...the Aegean Sea part is especially funny given its supposed to be free market and all...

"Rentier pipeline politics

The U.S. neoliberal plan has been to insist on non-Russian control of the pipelines that would carry Russian gas and oil to Europe. The idea is to use this pipeline as a tollbooth to siphon off the revenue that Russia had hoped to receive from Europe.

Here’s the best way to understand what has occurred. Imagine that the United States had a law that owners of buildings could not also own the elevators in them. This would mean that the owners of the Empire State Building, for instance, could not own their elevators. Some other investors could buy the elevators, and then tell the building’s renters or other occupants that they would have to pay a fee each time they rode up to the 40th floor, the 50th floor, the 60th floor, and so forth.

The result would be that instead of the landlord receiving the rental value of the Empire State Building, the elevator owner could demand the lion’s share. Without access, the building would be a walk-up and its rents would fall – unless renters paid the elevator tollbooth.

This is what would happen with an oil pipeline owned by parties hostile to Russia. It is to avoid this that Gazprom insisted on building its own pipeline, under Russian control, to prevent rent-extracting investors. When Europe sought to block this by pretending that “free markets” meant separating pipeline ownership from the gas suppliers, it was trying to carve out a rent-extraction opportunity to siphon off Russian gas revenue.

The European Commission earlier had pressed an anti-Gazprom policy last year, in the process of imposing its austerity program on Greece. It insisted that Greece pay the IMF for having bailed out foreign bondholders by selling off assets in the public domain. The largest asset was Greece’s oil rights in the Aegean and its commercial oil-related infrastructure. When Gazprom was the largest bidder, Europe blocked the sale. The result has been to impose even deeper austerity on Greece, polarizing that nation’s politics in an increasingly anti-EU and anti-IMF stance – and hence, anti-US Cold War politics.

What is occurring is a radical shift in U.S.-European diplomacy – in a way that according to textbook theory is inherently unstable and unworkable.

Europe has inverted the major textbook premises of how national diplomacy is conducted. Instead of basing this diplomacy on economic and commercial interests, it is subordinating these interests to U.S. control. And as for Europe’s membership in NATO, instead of viewing military policy as an arm of foreign diplomacy, it is subordinating economic diplomacy, trade patterns, gas and oil supplies, export markets for industry and agriculture all to serve NATO’s military ends."

....and the link...

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/12/michael-hudson-u-s-new-cold-war-policy-backfired.html

Cheers

 

[blutto]

....find below a couple of exhaustive ( and exhausting because they are very detailed and hence very long ) on the situation that is centered on The Ukraine crisis....

....the first is about pipeline politics....even has some nice diagrams and maps that help one understand the situation....it also shows that the chess mentality is much more better at playing the world politics game then checkers...do note this is from a site that I have little history with but the article contains a great deal of important information and connects a lot of previously known dots that up to now have just been hanging in the air looking for a "home"...

http://syncreticstudies.com/2014/12...deal-can-save-europe-and-the-world/#more-1576

...the second is an overview of the situation as it more or less stands today...this from a respected site ( and do note the article here supports the general thrust of the preceding article....read, they sit well together.. )

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/11/these_are_lies_the_new_york_times_wants_you_to_believe_about_russia/

Cheers

 

[auscyclefan94]

A Lindt Chocolate Shop has been held hostage in the heart of the Sydney CBD and there are images of IS flags being held up in the windows.

EDIT: It is a Shahada flag, not specifically linked to IS.

 

[Amsterhammer]

A Lindt Chocolate Shop has been held hostage in the heart of the Sydney CBD and there are images of IS flags being held up in the windows.

EDIT: It is a Shahada flag, not specifically linked to IS.

OMG, they're holding a chocolate shop hostage? Have they threatened to kill any chocolate?

Barbarians.