World Politics

[blutto]

...Biden goes to Turkey to make nice, met at the airport by the "chief dog catcher"....

From the minute he stepped off the plane on Wednesday, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s trip to Turkey seemed ill-fated.

Intended to smooth relations frayed by last month’s botched coup, Biden’s visit instead showcased acrimony with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey sent low-ranking officials -- including Ankara’s deputy mayor -- to greet Biden at the airport. And even before the vice president’s visit ended, the Daily Sabah, a pro-Erdogan newspaper, declared that "Biden wasted a trip, Turkey wasted time."

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-08-25/biden-met-by-snubs-as-he-seeks-to-mollify-turkey-s-angry-erdogan

Cheers

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

....here is an article from someone who I read at every opportunity....he doesn't speak ex cathedra like but he has a pretty good track record....some good background maybe ?

http://www.unz.com/tsaker/assessing-the-russian-military-as-an-instrument-of-power/

Cheers

Interesting article. I have also found his TV interviews worth watching.

 

[blutto]

....ok....this is going to be a wild ride ....as to eventual good or bad end point, I couldn't say yes and I can't say no, could I say maybe, I might....

So Turkish President, a.k.a. Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan is about to make a high-profile visit to Tehran – the date has not yet been set - to essentially kick start the ATM (Ankara-Tehran-Moscow) coalition in Syria

.

The ‘policy shift’ is a direct consequence of the failed military coup in Turkey. Russian cyber-surveillance aces – in action 24/7 after the downing of the Su-24 last November – reportedly informed Turkish intelligence a few hours before the fact. NATO, as the record shows, was mum

.

Considering Erdogan’s notoriously erratic record, his embrace of ATM may be just a gigantic illusion, or may open yet another unforeseen can of worms. But there are signs this may be for real

.

....soooo.....python's caution is justified though there is a tentative direction being mapped out....time as always will tell the tale...

....but its the last bit that is the biggie....

It’s this enticing SCO-enhancing possibility that’s freaking Washington out big time. Russia pivoting East, Turkey pivoting East, Iran already there, and China now also actually involved in a stake in post-war Syria, that’s a geopolitical reconfiguration in Southwest Asia that once again spells out the inevitable; Eurasia integration.

....do remember that the Maiden fueled glorious revolution was in large part instigated to prevent the possibility of that integration....

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article45373.htm

Cheers

 

[python]

Re:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article45373.htm

Cheers

this was an interesting article indeed, but unlike his earlier linked analysis re. the south china sea, i though pepe wasn't as crisp and clear on the bigger ramifications of atm (what a term, i must say).

perhaps he could not b/c it is impossible at this point ?

one of the instantly obvious problems for forming the so called viable atm (ankara-tehran-moscow axes for those who had't read the article) is erdogan.

i just cant see any sober politician, much less such sophisticated political actors as vlad or the ayatollahs, take erdogan as anything other than a hysterical whore desperately trying to sell itself to the highest paying client !

i though for a minute about the multiple erdogan '180s' before and post coup and think it does describe him accurately. his visits to tehran and moscow imo signify NOT the formation of a new coalition, but a crucial need to climb out of the terminal hole he stupidly dug himself. and he almost would stay in it (read: the coup failure) if not for a blind chance and (more likely) the russian intelligence tip off.

here, i agree with pepe 100% - it was likely vlad who saved erdo azzz b/c it would be his worst nightmare to see another putschist gov't (in addition to the ukis) subservient to nato in the black sea next to crimea...

i sea only more mess ahead anywhere the erdogan whore goes...

 

[Brullnux]

I agree with you completely that Putin and Iran can't really trust Erdogan at all in the long run, so I expect them to see some value in him in the short term. He is just too erratic. I guess taking away a key US ally is enough for the atm to happen.

I guess Biden's last ditch bid to prevent this failed.

 

[python]

blullnux, the operative word i used was viable atm...

should such an axis/coalition/alliance get formed - and be functional at the same time - it must be based on a common set of well agreed and coordinated policies NOT just declarations or tentative intentions..

i just dont see such a set, even if a short term, with his sultanate whoeness in its midst . for instance, the 3 should clearly arrive at the assad fate. should he stay or should he go and most importantly which rebel groups should be supported and rejected by all 3. the russians will never give up on the idea of the kurds being sidelined from the geneva all-syrian talks vehemently opposed by erdogan. erdogan is also is too tied to the saudis by their sunni faith which is totally unacceptable to iran..and there are many more irreconcilable problems in the mess...

but if you look at the erdogan maneuvers as the tools to extract more concessions from the eu and the us ('give me the visa free travel', 'abandon the kurds', 'accelerate my ticket to the eu etc etc), it suddenly become clear what he's after.

only if turkey voluntarily leaves nato (or pushed out of it), there can be any serious dealing with her either short or long term.

everything else is posturing and wheeling...

 

[python]

as was obvious from several of my latest posts, i've been 'desperately' trying to understand the bigger picture around the turkish invasion of syria...i seem to have found an informative and knowledgeable source...

What comes next for Turkey after Jarablus victory?

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/08/turkey-syria-what-is-next-after-operation-euphrates-shield.html#ixzz4Io6O1yE4

the author (a turkish military expert turned analyst) tries to entertain turkey's grand strategy, the corresponding kurdish moves and the potential reactions from washington and moscow.

the summary of his thoughts is that if turkey keeps the invasion sufficiently anti-isis, they will be allowed to dominate the kurds and extend the invasion west by creating a 65 mile buffer in northern syria. if not, that is, if turkey will primarily go after the kurds, the author thinks the us and russia will take the kurdish side. the key he believes will be in the effectiveness of the turkish-armed rebels calling themselves a free syrian army..

i have some questions about his analysis but will pause for now...

the article is best followed with a syrian civil war map

 

[Brullnux]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/29/un-pays-tens-of-millions-to-assad-regime-syria-aid-programme-contracts

This shows the uselessness of aid in the world. Although, it would be hard to get aid to Syria without passing it through the govt, but as it happens so often the money ends up in the hands of the rich of that country.

 

[Brullnux]

The EU has forced Apple to pay the Irish govt 13 billion euros, enough to pay for their healthcare for one year, after they paid their taxes at a 0.005% rate.

However, here's the caveat: the Irish govt did not want this. They had created a tacit agreement with Apple to allow them to pay a miniscule amount of tax. They have similar agreements with other large corporations, just not to the same extent. This is blatant market rigging in favour of certain corporations, which is illegal under EU law - the law being that competition must be fair. The Irish government have actually been up in arms at this decision, despite €13 billion being a pretty large part of their GDP, as this could damage their attractiveness to corporations which potentially want to move their HQ there, creating jobs. This is an extreme lassez faire capitalism that is virtually unseen in the world - no corporation tax because they create wealth is the same argument the most extreme neo-liberals in the world use. However, this has not been the main talking point. The EU has intervened in a member states' tax affairs, to block an illegal manoeuvre (by Apple). This in itself is illegal. But because of the market rigging from the Irish government, the EU has been allowed to do so. It's a very fine line that the organisation is walking.

I think 100% that the EU has done the right thing - but the money shouldn't go to Ireland. Ireland should be punished in some way for breaking EU law, perhaps by not giving the money raised form Apple to them but to countries that have missed out because of this avoidance scheme.

 

[blutto]

....edit...this is essentially a double post, will gladly remove if it is a problem , but felt this, if true, needs more widespread coverage than putting it in a single thread would provide.....so, sorry, in advance, if I mucked up....

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

....not really sure where to post this but reading the following this morning came as a bit of a shock....

....file under legality, human shields, and acceptable collateral damage....

Legally speaking, human shields refer to the use of civilians as defensive weapons in order to render combatants or military sites immune from attack. The idea behind the term is that civilians, who are protected under international law, should not be exploited to gain a military advantage.

While most people will undoubtedly be familiar with this definition, less known is the fact that international law not only prohibits the use of human shields but also renders it legitimate for militaries to attack areas being “protected” by human shields.

The US Air Force, for example, maintains that “lawful targets shielded with protected civilians may be attacked, and the protected civilians may be considered as collateral damage, provided the collateral damage is not excessive compared with the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated by the attack.”

Along similar lines, the 2013 document on joint targeting published by the US Joint Chiefs of Staff underscores the importance of the principle of proportionality, it also notes that, “otherwise lawful targets involuntarily shielded with protected civilians may be attacked … provided that the collateral damage is not excessive compared with the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated by the attack.” (PDF)

What all this means, quite simply, is that human shields can be legally killed so long as the deployment of violence does not breach the principle of proportionality – which requires belligerents to refrain from causing damage disproportionate to the military advantage to be gained.

It now appears that police forces the world over are adopting a similar perspective as they confront protests and riots.

The motivation behind the adoption of such guidelines by domestic and international actors is clear: It allows security forces to relax the rules of engagement, while framing those who deploy shields as morally deplorable and in breach of international law.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/08/31/human-shields-as-preemptive-legal-defense-for-killing-civilians/

Cheers

 

[python]

the us russia games in syria are getting entertaining...

a key isis figure, some say the no.2 mohammad al-adnani, is 100% confirmed dead.

the joke is both the us and russia claimed the sweet fruit.

Key Islamic State leader killed in apparent U.S. strike in Syria
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-islamic-state-spokesma-idUSKCN1152GG

Russia Says Its Airstrike Killed ISIS' Abu Mohammed Al-Adnani
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/russia-says-its-airstrike-killed-isis-abu-mohammed-al-adnani-n640581

it is unprecedented the observers say, yet, one of them is lying...why ?

any guesses ?

btw, i checked the available public details (the location, timing, the assassination method...). they differ drastically. what makes the claims even weirder is that aleppo was generally where the assad and vlad flyers operated against the rebels and where the us would not fly into. and even if they did, there must have been a coordination with the russians to avoid being shut out of the sky so close to their latakia airfield...

 

[movingtarget]

Assange and Wikileaks..........Interesting Article.

http://p.nytimes.com/email/re?location=4z5Q7LhI+KVBjmEgFdYACPLKh239P3pgyZ4A/A0UL78QircADBFvihfCk2qHJp4Ij+JoEqsWmqV2Sb2cqxndyvKDzPIbAUHp9qYL/ww8+A4jMTIRW8nAW8xWIPOYU0HYqmxpH5U8Wo0ofumKVUbCXL7qDvCbFGo6gqBZaeIkZXw=&campaign_id=129&instance_id=81361&segment_id=94406&user_id=12d98412e3bcc0522f6cfbf4c21c54e6&regi_id=42685115

 

[blutto]

Re:

Assange and Wikileaks..........Interesting Article.

http://p.nytimes.com/email/re?location=4z5Q7LhI+KVBjmEgFdYACPLKh239P3pgyZ4A/A0UL78QircADBFvihfCk2qHJp4Ij+JoEqsWmqV2Sb2cqxndyvKDzPIbAUHp9qYL/ww8+A4jMTIRW8nAW8xWIPOYU0HYqmxpH5U8Wo0ofumKVUbCXL7qDvCbFGo6gqBZaeIkZXw=&campaign_id=129&instance_id=81361&segment_id=94406&user_id=12d98412e3bcc0522f6cfbf4c21c54e6&regi_id=42685115

....yeah it was an absolutely magnificent piece of journalism until I got to the third paragraph.....

Mr. Assange proffered a vision of America as superbully: a nation that has achieved imperial power by proclaiming allegiance to principles of human rights while deploying its military-intelligence apparatus in “pincer” formation to “push” countries into doing its bidding, and punishing people like him who dare to speak the truth

.

....and then things went decidedly south....the article then promptly went comedy gold by paragraph seven...

United States officials say they believe with a high degree of confidence that the Democratic Party material was hacked by the Russian government, and suspect that the codes may have been stolen by the Russians as well.

.

....and continued in the now normal NYT job of writing ad copy for the nice people who run things....all in all a total waste of my time....like I will never get those minutes back....and like who do I sue ?....I was promised journalism and got some propaganda hack job....

Cheers

 

[King Boonen]

Re:

The EU has forced Apple to pay the Irish govt 13 billion euros, enough to pay for their healthcare for one year, after they paid their taxes at a 0.005% rate.

However, here's the caveat: the Irish govt did not want this. They had created a tacit agreement with Apple to allow them to pay a miniscule amount of tax. They have similar agreements with other large corporations, just not to the same extent. This is blatant market rigging in favour of certain corporations, which is illegal under EU law - the law being that competition must be fair. The Irish government have actually been up in arms at this decision, despite €13 billion being a pretty large part of their GDP, as this could damage their attractiveness to corporations which potentially want to move their HQ there, creating jobs. This is an extreme lassez faire capitalism that is virtually unseen in the world - no corporation tax because they create wealth is the same argument the most extreme neo-liberals in the world use. However, this has not been the main talking point. The EU has intervened in a member states' tax affairs, to block an illegal manoeuvre (by Apple). This in itself is illegal. But because of the market rigging from the Irish government, the EU has been allowed to do so. It's a very fine line that the organisation is walking.

I think 100% that the EU has done the right thing - but the money shouldn't go to Ireland. Ireland should be punished in some way for breaking EU law, perhaps by not giving the money raised form Apple to them but to countries that have missed out because of this avoidance scheme.

I heard Tim Cook on 5Live this morning saying they had done nothing wrong, I'm very interested to see how this plays out. I think the ruling is correct, this must have other companies worried and Ireland must also be worried.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

Assange and Wikileaks..........Interesting Article.

http://p.nytimes.com/email/re?location=4z5Q7LhI+KVBjmEgFdYACPLKh239P3pgyZ4A/A0UL78QircADBFvihfCk2qHJp4Ij+JoEqsWmqV2Sb2cqxndyvKDzPIbAUHp9qYL/ww8+A4jMTIRW8nAW8xWIPOYU0HYqmxpH5U8Wo0ofumKVUbCXL7qDvCbFGo6gqBZaeIkZXw=&campaign_id=129&instance_id=81361&segment_id=94406&user_id=12d98412e3bcc0522f6cfbf4c21c54e6&regi_id=42685115

....yeah it was an absolutely magnificent piece of journalism until I got to the third paragraph.....

Mr. Assange proffered a vision of America as superbully: a nation that has achieved imperial power by proclaiming allegiance to principles of human rights while deploying its military-intelligence apparatus in “pincer” formation to “push” countries into doing its bidding, and punishing people like him who dare to speak the truth

.

....and then things went decidedly south....the article then promptly went comedy gold by paragraph seven...

United States officials say they believe with a high degree of confidence that the Democratic Party material was hacked by the Russian government, and suspect that the codes may have been stolen by the Russians as well.

.

....and continued in the now normal NYT job of writing ad copy for the nice people who run things....all in all a total waste of my time....like I will never get those minutes back....and like who do I sue ?....I was promised journalism and got some propaganda hack job....

Cheers

Yes it had it's comedic moments and Assange is definitely a strange character. Sorry for your lost time but there will be more opportunities I am sure to read interesting crap. I can see why Assange has been abandoned by many former friends some who worked for him and this happened before he went into seclusion or house arrest, whatever and it had nothing to do with his charges alleged ones in Sweden. But I don't think he is a stooge for the Russians no more than Snowden is. I think the Swedish charges won't stick to Assange but the threat of deportation to the USA is the obvious worry.

 

[blutto]

....updates from the glorious revolution....gosh how I just love Shillbilly for her role in this wonderful new chapter in human civilization....there is a part of me that wakes up each morning praying that she be elected and will bring to bear all of her vast experience ( like say helping shepherding the glorious revolution to this apogee ) on the exceptional country....in this scenario her election would be proof positive that there is a God in heaven, and that he keeps score ....but in the final analysis that is just foolish thinking since it would in the final analysis hurt a lot of innocent good people ( both inside and outside Merikah )...read, strong emotional responses to ugly situations don't often produce real pretty results....

....do note that my parents were Ukrainian and I retain an attachment to their place of birth, so my sentiments here are quite genuine but admittedly coloured heavily by some rather unsavoury responses to some rather unsavoury situations ( not especially proud of my feelings here but is very hard for me to think otherwise about people who sow so much mayhem and destruction just for mere political gain ) ....and btw I'm sure that many other Ukrainians and their descendants share those sentiments. as do people tied culturally to Yemen, Syria, Libya, Egypt, Iraq and Afghanistan ( and countless others who have received the full brunt of Killbilly's experience )....

Somalia on the EU

It is impossible to estimate how many people are still living in the Ukraine today, but most experts believe that the figure is somewhere between 35-40 million people. The vast majority of them are struggling to make a living and their future looks very, very bleak. Remember Dmitri Orlov’s five stages of collapse? They are:

Stage 1: Financial collapse. Faith in “business as usual” is lost.
Stage 2: Commercial collapse. Faith that “the market shall provide” is lost.
Stage 3: Political collapse. Faith that “the government will take care of you” is lost.
Stage 4: Social collapse. Faith that “your people will take care of you” is lost.
Stage 5: Cultural collapse. Faith in “the goodness of humanity” is lost.

Even a cursory look at what is happening in the Ukraine clearly shows that Stage 5 has already been reached, quite a while ago, really. What comes next is basically Somalia. But a big, really big, Somalia, with millions of assault rifles circulating in the population, with major industrial sites capable of triggering another Chernobyl-like disaster, with various death-squads (private or semi-official) freely roaming around the country and imposing their rule with armored vehicles and heavy machine guns. So if the always Euro-centric West could afford to ignore a Somalia in Somalia there is no way it can ignore a Somalia on the EU and NATO border. To put it simply: there is absolutely nothing standing between the Somalia in the Ukraine and the EU. Nothing. Once the inevitable, and this time catastrophic, final collapse happens the resulting explosion will simple take the path of least resistance.

To the east we have Russia, with her superbly capable state security agencies, the newly created National Guard, large military formations deployed along the borders and, most importantly, an excellent understanding of what is taking place in the Ukraine. To the west we have basically Conchita Wurst’s Europe, unable to formulate any policy at all (since all orders come from Uncle Sam), with parade-type military forces mostly hallucinating about the “Russian threat”, with security services that can’t even cope with the current flow of immigrants and, most importantly, with a ruling class and population that has no clue or understanding whatsoever of what is happening in the Ukraine.

http://www.unz.com/tsaker/the-case-for-the-breakup-of-the-ukraine/

Cheers

 

[blutto]

.....file under fiction that would never, in a reasonable world, ever pass as even remotely close to credible fiction....

What a mess! In the crazy Syrian war, US-backed and armed groups are fighting other US-backed rebel groups. How can this be?

It is so because the Obama White House had stirred up the war in Syria but then lost control of the process. When the US has a strong president, he can usually keep the military and intelligence agencies on a tight leash.

But the Obama administration has had a weak secretary of defense and a bunch of lady strategists who are the worst military commanders since Louis XV, who put his mistress, Madame de Pompadour, in charge of French military forces during the Seven Year’s War. The French were routed by the Prussians. France’s foe, Frederick the Great of Prussia, named one of his dogs, ‘la Pompadour.’

As a result, the two arms of offensive US strategic power, the Pentagon, and CIA, went separate ways in Syria. Growing competition between the US military and militarized CIA broke into the open in Syria.

Fed up with the astounding incompetence of the White House, the US military launched and supported its own rebel groups in Syria, while CIA did the same.

Fighting soon after erupted in Syria and Iraq between the US-backed groups. US Special Forces joined the fighting in Syria, Iraq and most lately, Libya.

The well-publicized atrocities, like mass murders and decapitations, greatly embarrassed Washington, making it harder to portray their jihadi wildmen as liberators. The only thing exceptional about US policy in Syria was its astounding incompetence.

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2016/09/eric-margolis/usa-vs-usa/

Cheers

 

[movingtarget]

islam Karimov Dies

http://p.nytimes.com/email/re?location=4z5Q7LhI+KVBjmEgFdYACPLKh239P3pgyZ4A/A0UL7+FrsVx796OF3F409QiV2MHNUvZKBAXDT84S/F7/N/ijxGh60p3ktHpQRRxhiP9l50jMTIRW8nAW8xWIPOYU0HYqmxpH5U8Wo0ofumKVUbCXL7qDvCbFGo6hrAR5yXKipk=&campaign_id=129&instance_id=81516&segment_id=94549&user_id=12d98412e3bcc0522f6cfbf4c21c54e6&regi_id=42685115

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

....updates from the glorious revolution....gosh how I just love Shillbilly for her role in this wonderful new chapter in human civilization....I just wake up each morning praying that she be elected and bring to bear all of her vast experience ( like say helping shepherding the glorious revolution to this apogee ) on the exceptional country....her election would be proof positive that there is a God in heaven, and that he keeps score....

....do note that my parents were Ukrainian and I retain an attachment to their place of birth, so my sentiments here are quite genuine....and btw I'm sure that many other Ukrainians and their descendants share those sentiments. as do people tied culturally to Yemen, Syria, Libya, Egypt, Iraq and Afghanistan ( and countless others who have received the full brunt of Killbilly's experience )....

Somalia on the EU

It is impossible to estimate how many people are still living in the Ukraine today, but most experts believe that the figure is somewhere between 35-40 million people. The vast majority of them are struggling to make a living and their future looks very, very bleak. Remember Dmitri Orlov’s five stages of collapse? They are:

Stage 1: Financial collapse. Faith in “business as usual” is lost.
Stage 2: Commercial collapse. Faith that “the market shall provide” is lost.
Stage 3: Political collapse. Faith that “the government will take care of you” is lost.
Stage 4: Social collapse. Faith that “your people will take care of you” is lost.
Stage 5: Cultural collapse. Faith in “the goodness of humanity” is lost.

Even a cursory look at what is happening in the Ukraine clearly shows that Stage 5 has already been reached, quite a while ago, really. What comes next is basically Somalia. But a big, really big, Somalia, with millions of assault rifles circulating in the population, with major industrial sites capable of triggering another Chernobyl-like disaster, with various death-squads (private or semi-official) freely roaming around the country and imposing their rule with armored vehicles and heavy machine guns. So if the always Euro-centric West could afford to ignore a Somalia in Somalia there is no way it can ignore a Somalia on the EU and NATO border. To put it simply: there is absolutely nothing standing between the Somalia in the Ukraine and the EU. Nothing. Once the inevitable, and this time catastrophic, final collapse happens the resulting explosion will simple take the path of least resistance.

To the east we have Russia, with her superbly capable state security agencies, the newly created National Guard, large military formations deployed along the borders and, most importantly, an excellent understanding of what is taking place in the Ukraine. To the west we have basically Conchita Wurst’s Europe, unable to formulate any policy at all (since all orders come from Uncle Sam), with parade-type military forces mostly hallucinating about the “Russian threat”, with security services that can’t even cope with the current flow of immigrants and, most importantly, with a ruling class and population that has no clue or understanding whatsoever of what is happening in the Ukraine.

http://www.unz.com/tsaker/the-case-for-the-breakup-of-the-ukraine/

Cheers

What a depressing article but it's hard not to agree with the majority of it. I think the only future for Ukraine involves some type of partition. Crimea and East Ukraine it seems have gone for good. The neglect of East Ukraine by successive governments seemed to be the tipping point. Hard to believe when some of those Ukrainian presidents involved were pro Russian and the Donbass was important to Ukraine. There are no simple answers but fear and disillusionment about the future seems to be effecting many Ukrainians now. But if the mess gets a lot worse I fear for their future. The Somalian analogy does not bear thinking about.

 

[python]

not that i disagree with the opinions above, but for the sake of accuracy (as far as i have been following the events which disinterest me now) -only crimea is gone as in gone for ever...isnt it ? the eastern ukraine, or more specifically 2 of its regions, are currently split btwn the rebels and the central govt.

the 2015 minsk agreement, as far as i recall, was about germany, france and russia ALL guaranteeing that those 2 rebel regions should stay a part of ukraine. even the rebel leaders agreed under vlad's pressure. the key problem is that the putsch govt was supposed to implement amnesty and certain laws that would grant those regions more independence while technically a part of ukraine. no laws nor amnesty were implemented to this day. but i could behind the curve :Question:

 

[blutto]

Re:

not that i disagree with the opinions above, but for the sake of accuracy (as far as i have been following the events which disinterest me now) -only crimea is gone as in gone for ever...isnt it ? the eastern ukraine, or more specifically 2 of its regions, are currently split btwn the rebels and the central govt.

the 2015 minsk agreement, as far as i recall, was about germany, france and russia ALL guaranteeing that those 2 rebel regions should stay a part of ukraine. even the rebel leaders agreed under vlad's pressure. the key problem is that the putsch govt was supposed to implement amnesty and certain laws that would grant those regions more independence while technically a part of ukraine. no laws nor amnesty were implemented to this day. but i could behind the curve :Question:

....you are indeed correct....the joker in the deck right now is the Kosovo precedent that the West was so happy with when it played into their favour....and the more the UkraNazis keep acting like blood thirsty psychopaths and the reigning putsch leaders remain intransigent the more likely that card is going to be played ( and third parties like Germany France, Russia will have no standing in that decision )....

....as for the rest of The Ukraine ?....Somalia may be a bit of a stretch as an example but it may be a difference only in degree not in kind...read, still a massive mess that will really devastate the majority of the populace....nice work Hillary, really nice work...

Cheers

 

[blutto]

....oh this is going to be fun....wild fun...

When we reported on the stunning collapse of South Korea's Hanjin Shipping, the country's largest shipping firm and the world's seventh-biggest container carrier, which earlier today was granted court receivership after losing the support of its banks, we speculated that "the global implications from the bankruptcy are unknown: if, as expected, the company's ships remain "frozen" and inaccessible for weeks if not months, the impact on global supply chains will be devastating, potentially resulting in a cascading waterfall effect, whose impact on global economies could be severe as a result of the worldwide logistics chaos."

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-01/supply-chain-contagion-arrives-hanjin-bankruptcy-roils-global-trade-freezes-ships-ra

Cheers

 

[blutto]

....and even more fun...

An important election is coming up, and I’m not talking about the US presidential election. The upcoming referendum in Italy this fall will have a major macroeconomic impact on the world. But hardly anyone outside of Italy is paying much attention to it - yet.

I’ve been saying for some time in interviews around the country that the referendum in Italy could have even more of an impact than the Brexit vote did in the UK. And like the Brexit vote, it is rife with emotion and political turmoil, making the outcome too close to call.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-02/italian-referendum-could-result-death-euro

Cheers

 

[blutto]

....and now onto the war on another front, the BRICS front....

Washington is behind this coup because only a year ago secret talks between the IMF, the World Bank and the current coup organizers were held. Brazil is going to be handed over first to the IMF which will make sure that the austerity program is implemented like in Greece

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/latam/20160901/1044866432/brazil-coup-washington-involvement.html

Cheers

 

[roundabout]

Re:

....oh this is going to be fun....wild fun...

When we reported on the stunning collapse of South Korea's Hanjin Shipping, the country's largest shipping firm and the world's seventh-biggest container carrier, which earlier today was granted court receivership after losing the support of its banks, we speculated that "the global implications from the bankruptcy are unknown: if, as expected, the company's ships remain "frozen" and inaccessible for weeks if not months, the impact on global supply chains will be devastating, potentially resulting in a cascading waterfall effect, whose impact on global economies could be severe as a result of the worldwide logistics chaos."

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-01/supply-chain-contagion-arrives-hanjin-bankruptcy-roils-global-trade-freezes-ships-ra

Cheers

Well not really, no. It will not be nice short term, but with massive global shipping overcapacity things should return to normal both rates and capacity-wise fairly quickly,