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NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander General Philip Breedlove warns about militarization of Crimea, but not about NATO’s expansion and military activities

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General Philip Breedlove’s philosophy, along with the U.S. and British government, is that the U.S. and NATO can take any action they want, right up to a country’s borders, and no country is allowed to take a responsive action. Even raising an eyebrow is condemned. In July, there was repeated shelling of border posts and over the border into Russia by Ukrainian government forces . A Russian citizen was killed in a  town on the other side of the border, as well as several injured, but this causes no condemnation, though it is as act of war. [1]

Illogical? Absolutely.  This is American and Western entitlement and arrogance at its worst. Every country of the world must realize the threat of “manifest destiny” which is at the root of American history and values. Independent countries are perceived as an unallowable encroachment on American dominance — territorial, commercial, financial, militarial. “Sea to shining sea” means everywhere — full spectrum dominance.[2]

Americans who find this utterly repugnant, who want respectful and harmonious relations with all nations, must stand up, expose, and condemn these racist, ultra-nationalist, and predatory American values.

We must build something different, and we must do it now.

From NSNBC, November 27, 2014
By Christof Lehmann
http://nsnbc.me/2014/11/27/nato-saceur-breedlove-warns-militarization-crimea/

General Philip Breedlove, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and commander of the U.S.’ European Command warned against what he described as Russia’s militarization of the Crimean peninsula and provocative Russian military flights through NATO airspace. Breedlove did not mention NATO’s sustained expansion of its presence in eastern Europe, the Baltic and the Black Sea. 

USS Ross, participated in NATO’s Sea Breeze drills hosted by Ukraine in the Black Sea in September and used Turkish ports to circumvent the Montreux Convention.

After meetings with Ukrainian government officials in Kiev, NATO SACEUR Breedlove addressed the press, warning about Moscow’s military buildup which includes cruise missiles as well as surface to air missiles, adding that this upgraded profile projects military power and influence throughout the region. General Breedlove added:

“We are very concerned with the militarization of Crimea. We are concerned that the capabilities in Crimea that are being installed will bring an effect on almost the entire Black Sea”.

Breedlove also expressed concerns about what he described as “the provocative Russian military flights” being flown over NATO countries, but added, that these flights all took place in international airspace.

Not mentioning any legal arguments, Breedlove would rather make use of strategic argumentation, saying:

“The number and the pattern has changed, maybe as much as three times as much as we have seen before. … Also, we see that some of these flights have increased in size, normally before seeing only one or two airplanes and now seeing a group of airplanes”.

Breedlove stressed that there has been observed “an unusual spike” in Russian military flights over the Black Sea as well as over the Baltic and North Sea and over the Atlantic Ocean.

Asked by several reporters, Breedlove consistently dodged questions whether the U.S. administration of President Obama should supply Ukraine with arms and other questions about NATO’s eastwards expansion and its increased presence in the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea. Breedlove’s answer, coming most closely to a response to such questions was:

“We continue to look at the requirements here in Ukraine. We continue to advise and offer thoughts on these, and nothing at this time is off the table“. (emphasis added)

The Obama administration has approved of a $118 million non-lethal aid package for Ukraine which reportedly includes body armor, that can be used by offensive forces, night vision devices which can be used by offensive forces, as well as three portable anti-mortar radar systems, which also can be used by offensive forces.

The U.S. administration consistently alleged that Russia is “fomenting an insurgency” in Ukraine’s Donbass region and that Russian forces, including Speznaz (Special Forces) crossed the border and are among the local self-defense forces in the Donbass region.

Not one Russian soldier, however, has been captured, documented to be killed, nor has it otherwise been “documented” with evidence that was made available to independent media for independent verification, that could support these claims. This is particuarly noteworthy in a time and age where almost everybody has cell-phones with both photo and video cameras. Russia vehemently rejects these claims.

To understand the bearing of General Breedlove’s statement it is necessary to understand NATO’s structure.

The vast majority of western Europeans are unaware of of the actual structure of NATO and that all key decisions are made in Washington.

It is a common misconception, especially in western Europe, that NATO is led by its Secretary-General. NATO’s Secretary-General is usually a European, which leads western Europeans to assume that Europe plays a significant role with regard to NATO policy.

The actual command structure of NATO in Europe, however, is led by the SACEUR, which is, and which always has been a U.S. general. The role of the Secretay-General is ceremonial and to some degree diplomatic, with NATO’s diplomatic posturing being determined in and by Washington. The selection of a Secretary-General can, however, help to determine which policies NATO plans to implement over a given period of years.

Breedlove did not mention that NATO has increased its presence in Poland and the Baltic countries; has increased its patrol activities over the Baltic Sea in cooperation with Sweden; has deployed missiles and jest as close to the Russian border as possible, has violated the agreement not to expand NATO beyond East Germany; has chosen Poland as base for the newly established “Rapid Response Force” which is directed against Russia; and has significantly, and in circumvention of the Montreux Convention increased its Navy presence in the Black Sea.

UNA-UNSO Marching in Ukraine.

NATO’s Black Sea vessels are predominantly vessels of the Arleigh Burke Destroyer Class which is capable of launching cruise missiles.

The Russian naval base in Sevatopol has, in other words, come under an increased and direct threat of cruise missile attacks, which would explain that Russia is forced to deploy strategic countermeasures.

It is also noteworthy that NATO’s covert warfare and covert “stay-behind” armies in Europe, a.k.a. GLADIO, are under the supervision and command of NATO’s SACEUR,

It is a well known fact that the Ukrainian UNA-UNSO, which is associated to the overtly NAZI Pravy Sector, and which has been re-dubbed into “special regional military units” also works in liaison and under the command of the at any time functioning NATO SACEUR. That is, for the time being, General Philip Breedlove.

CH/L – nsnbc 27.11.2014

Source:

[1] http://www.uacrisis.com/ukrainian-army-shoot-at-russian-territory-again-trying-to-provoke/

[2] from the American patriotic hymn, “America the Beautiful”

Video: “Overkilled” by Isao Hashimoto

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Can we afford a nuclear war?

In this short, simple, and powerful video, the filmmaker drops a bead for Hiroshima, then another bead for Nagasaki, then a bead for each nuclear weapon in the global arsenal onto a glass table.

2:10

http://youtu.be/PMweTJAe2u8

The United States wants to spend billions to update and expand its nuclear arsenal. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/29/congress-nuclear-weapons-new-mexico-radioactivity

How wise is that?

If you care about the earth, if you care about your family and friends, put this on a disc and show it at public meetings, including city meetings. Show it to your friends, to classes, to children. Share this with elected officials. It’s a conversation starter and a wake-up call.

We must stop this madness.

Ron Paul: Reckless Congress Declares War on Russia

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From Strategic Culture Foundation, December 5, 2014

Today the US House passed what I consider to be one of the worst pieces of legislation ever. H. Res. 758 was billed as a resolution “strongly condemning the actions of the Russian Federation, under President Vladimir Putin, which has carried out a policy of aggression against neighboring countries aimed at political and economic domination.”

In fact, the bill was 16 pages of war propaganda that should have made even neocons blush, if they were capable of such a thing.

These are the kinds of resolutions I have always watched closely in Congress, as what are billed as “harmless” statements of opinion often lead to sanctions and war. I remember in 1998 arguing strongly against the Iraq Liberation Act because, as I said at the time, I knew it would lead to war. I did not oppose the Act because I was an admirer of Saddam Hussein – just as now I am not an admirer of Putin or any foreign political leader – but rather because I knew then that another war against Iraq would not solve the problems and would probably make things worse. We all know what happened next.

That is why I can hardly believe they are getting away with it again, and this time with even higher stakes: provoking a war with Russia that could result in total destruction!

If anyone thinks I am exaggerating about how bad this resolution really is, let me just offer a few examples from the legislation itself:

The resolution (paragraph 3) accuses Russia of an invasion of Ukraine and condemns Russia’s violation of Ukrainian sovereignty. The statement is offered without any proof of such a thing. Surely with our sophisticated satellites that can read a license plate from space we should have video and pictures of this Russian invasion. None have been offered. As to Russia’s violation of Ukrainian sovereignty, why isn’t it a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty for the US to participate in the overthrow of that country’s elected government as it did in February? We have all heard the tapes of State Department officials plotting with the US Ambassador in Ukraine to overthrow the government. We heard US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland bragging that the US spent $5 billion on regime change in Ukraine. Why is that OK?

The resolution (paragraph 11) accuses the people in east Ukraine of holding “fraudulent and illegal elections” in November. Why is it that every time elections do not produce the results desired by the US government they are called “illegal” and “fraudulent”? Aren’t the people of eastern Ukraine allowed self-determination? Isn’t that a basic human right?

The resolution (paragraph 13) demands a withdrawal of Russia forces from Ukraine even though the US government has provided no evidence the Russian army was ever in Ukraine. This paragraph also urges the government in Kiev to resume military operations against the eastern regions seeking independence.

The resolution (paragraph 14) states with certainty that the Malaysia Airlines flight 17 that crashed in Ukraine was brought down by a missile “fired by Russian-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.” This is simply incorrect, as the final report on the investigation of this tragedy will not even be released until next year and the preliminary report did not state that a missile brought down the plane. Neither did the preliminary report – conducted with the participation of all countries involved – assign blame to any side.

Paragraph 16 of the resolution condemns Russia for selling arms to the Assad government in Syria. It does not mention, of course, that those weapons are going to fight ISIS – which we claim is the enemy — while the US weapons supplied to the rebels in Syria have actually found their way into the hands of ISIS!

Paragraph 17 of the resolution condemns Russia for what the US claims are economic sanctions (“coercive economic measures”) against Ukraine. This even though the US has repeatedly hit Russia with economic sanctions and is considering even more!

The resolution (paragraph 22) states that Russia invaded the Republic of Georgia in 2008. This is simply untrue. Even the European Union – no friend of Russia – concluded in its investigation of the events in 2008 that it was Georgia that “started an unjustified war” against Russia not the other way around! How does Congress get away with such blatant falsehoods? Do Members not even bother to read these resolutions before voting?

In paragraph 34 the resolution begins to even become comical, condemning the Russians for what it claims are attacks on computer networks of the United States and “illicitly acquiring information” about the US government. In the aftermath of the Snowden revelations about the level of US spying on the rest of the world, how can the US claim the moral authority to condemn such actions in others?

Chillingly, the resolution singles out Russian state-funded media outlets for attack, claiming that they “distort public opinion.” The US government, of course, spends billions of dollars worldwide to finance and sponsor media outlets including Voice of America and RFE/RL, as well as to subsidize “independent” media in countless counties overseas. How long before alternative information sources like RT are banned in the United States? This legislation brings us closer to that unhappy day when the government decides the kind of programming we can and cannot consume – and calls such a violation “freedom.”

The resolution gives the green light (paragraph 45) to Ukrainian President Poroshenko to re-start his military assault on the independence-seeking eastern provinces, urging the “disarming of separatist and paramilitary forces in eastern Ukraine.” Such a move will mean many more thousands of dead civilians.

To that end, the resolution directly involves the US government in the conflict by calling on the US president to “provide the government of Ukraine with lethal and non-lethal defense articles, services, and training required to effectively defend its territory and sovereignty.” This means US weapons in the hands of US-trained military forces engaged in a hot war on the border with Russia. Does that sound at all like a good idea?

There are too many more ridiculous and horrific statements in this legislation to completely discuss. Probably the single most troubling part of this resolution, however, is the statement that “military intervention” by the Russian Federation in Ukraine “poses a threat to international peace and security.” Such terminology is not an accident: this phrase is the poison pill planted in this legislation from which future, more aggressive resolutions will follow. After all, if we accept that Russia is posing a “threat” to international peace how can such a thing be ignored? These are the slippery slopes that lead to war.

This dangerous legislation passed today, December 4, with only ten (!) votes against! Only ten legislators are concerned over the use of blatant propaganda and falsehoods to push such reckless saber-rattling toward Russia.

Here are the Members who voted “NO” on this legislation. If you do not see your own Representative on this list call and ask why they are voting to bring us closer to war with Russia! If you do see your Representative on the below list, call and thank him or her for standing up to the warmongers.

Voting “NO” on H. Res. 758:

1) Justin Amash (R-MI)
2) John Duncan (R-TN)
3) Alan Grayson, (D-FL)
 4) Alcee Hastings (D-FL)
5) Walter Jones (R-NC)
6) Thomas Massie (R-KY)
7) Jim McDermott (D-WA)
8 George Miller (D-CA)
 9) Beto O’Rourke (D-TX)
 10 Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA)

Source:

http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2014/12/05/ron-paul-reckless-congress-declares-war-on-russia.html

Lack of coal may bring Ukraine to its knees this winter

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This situation endangers the nuclear reactors in Ukraine.

Posted at Strategic Culture Foundation, 11/27/14
http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2014/11/27/lack-of-coal-may-bring-ukraine-to-its-knees-this-winter.html

A shortage of coal, rather than gas, is likely to plunge Ukraine into freezing darkness this winter as conflict in its east seals off supplies that used to make it self sufficient.

Kiev has said any hopes it had of Russian coal coming to the rescue were dashed when Moscow suspended exports.
 
Ukraine has declared a state of emergency in its electricity market and blackouts are imminent unless it can import coal, analysts and industry officials say.
 
“We have no energy reserves now, everything works on maximum and every technical problem can lead to sharp power cuts,” said Andrey Favorov, managing director of energy investment company Energy Resources of Ukraine.
 
“The only way to avoid freezing this winter is to negotiate, to pull out politics: we need to look at buying coal from reliable traders, import coal from South Africa, Australia, Vietnam, other countries.”
 
While EU officials have spent months brokering a deal to try to avert a supply crisis following Russia’s cut-off of gas to Kiev in June, fighting in east Ukraine has shut down mines and rail links used for transporting coal to power plants.
 
Ukraine was self-sufficient in coal, producing more than 60 million tonnes last year, but since June separatist fighting in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions has halted production from 66 coal mines, leaving only 60 running, European coal association Euracoal said.
 
It is estimated that Ukraine needs 1 to 2 million tonnes of imported coal a month between now and April. [Ed.: A South African company shipped only 500,000 tons, and then refused to send more]
 
Hydroelectric and nuclear power plants are running flat out to help cover the shortfall but the country’s old electricity grid and infrastructure to do not guarantee reliable supply.
 
LIMITED OPTIONS
 
Ukraine is one of Europe’s biggest coal producers and gets roughly 40 percent of its electricity from coal. The rest comes from nuclear (45 percent), gas (10 percent) and hydroelectric power (5 percent), the International Energy Agency says.
 
Russia cut off its gas because of a row over pricing and unpaid bills. A fragile deal last month which could lead to the restoration of supplies, but so far that has not happened as Ukraine has been avoiding making any upfront payments for new deliveries.
 
Ukraine’s gas storage sites currently hold around 3.5 months’ supply, depending on the weather.
 
“While emergency measures might ease the severity of a power shortage, both domestic and industrial users will have to be prepared for rolling outages over this winter,” said Ganna Korniyenko, analyst at Thomson Reuters Point Carbon.
 
Emergency measures include cutting consumption and public information campaigns to save energy, while in the long term the Kiev government is trying to raise energy prices to market levels to end a culture of energy waste based on decades of unrealistically cheap energy.
 
Anthracite, or hard coal, is used in Ukranian power plants but it makes up around only 1 percent of world coal reserves and is only mined in just a handful of countries. Ukraine’s ability to pay for that coal is also hampered by its weak currency.
 
Ukraine can import electricity from Russia and the energy ministry said on Wednesday it will allow this, but in limited quantities. (Additional reporting by Svetlana Burmistrova in Moscow, Pavel Polityuk in Kiev and Peroshni Govender in Johannesburg, editing by William Hardy)
 
Reprinted under Fair Use Rules.

6,000 Ukrainian Jewish refugees to be granted Israeli citizenship, as Israel and West support neo-Nazi regime

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From NSNBC International
By Dr. Christof Lehmann, November 19, 2014
http://nsnbc.me/2014/11/19/6000-ukrainian-jews-may-be-granted-israeli-citizenship-while-west-supports-nazi-parties/

The Israeli government is holding closed-door meetings about receiving some 6,000 Jewish citizens who have been displaced due to the Ukrainian civil war, reports the Israeli Maariv newspaper. Meanwhile, western support for overtly National Socialist and Ultra Nationalist parties and militants in Ukraine continues. 

The cabinet of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly plans on the construction of “refugee camps” to receive the “6,000 displaced” Ukrainian Jews, reports Maariv. The construction of refugee camps to receive the 6,000 Ukrainians is reportedly being planned under the supervision of Israel’s Minister of Economy, Naftali Bennett. Maariv didn’t specify where these 6,000 Ukrainians should be settled.

The news comes as the death toll of a recent attack on a Jewish Synagogue in Jerusalem has risen to five and a row between the Netayahu government and the Palestinian government under President Mahmoud Abbas. While Netanyahu blames Fatah and Hamas for terrorism and for the attack, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas responded, blaming Israel’s occupation of Palestine for causing conflict and driving people into terrorism.

The rapid spread of ultra nationalism, overtly Nazi Parties and militia, and their rapid rise to power during the Western-backed “Euro-Maidan” protests in Kiev has resulted in pogroms and threats against Jews and Jewish communities throughout Ukraine with the exception of the areas in the rebelling Donbass region which are firmly under the control of the rebelling regional governments, as well as with the exception of Crimea, which acceded into the Russian Federation after a referendum in  Crimea on March 16, 2014.

Ukranian M.P. for Svoboda, Oleg Tyahnbok, here after his reelection as Svoboda “Leader”.

Ukraine risks becoming a failed state after the pogroms, wrote contributing editor of Route magazine and nsnbc contributor Igor Alexeev as early as December 2013. Alexeev forecast the detrimental effects of the developments on Ukraine’s economy which has ground to a halt. Alexeev also warned about the rise of Ukraine’s Svoboda party to power.In his December 2013 article Alexeev warned:

Originally known as the Social-National Party, Svoboda is rooted in Nazi collaboration. Svoboda also honors “Ukrainian veterans” who fought with the Nazis against the Soviet Union during the Second World War in the Waffen SS-Galicia and the party is fighting against a threat which they describe as “Jew Communism.” The issue has been described in an article by Michael Goldfarb in the Global Post, titled “Ukraine’s nationalist party embraces Nazi ideology“.

The also overtly National Socialist paramilitary UNA-UNSO, associated to Ukraine’s Pravy (Right) Sector, has since morphed into the so-called “special military units” or ADS corps which are operating semi autonomously, and are associated to command structured within Pravy Sector, the Interior Ministry, the Defense Ministry as well as foreign and NATO intelligence. The UNA-UNSO has been linked to NATO’s so-called stay-behind a.k.a. “Gladio” network.

Senator John McCain (r) here with Svoboda leader Oleg Tyahnbok (m) and current Ukrainian PM Arseniy Yatzenyuk (l).

The U.S. and other western governments have consistently passed their “partners” in Ukraine off as “moderates and rejected allegations about cooperation with Ukrainian parties and organizations with Nazi ideology.

In May 2014, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Victoria Nuland, however, admitted during a two-hour hearing before the House of Representatives, that the U.S. Administration cooperates with Ukrainian Nazis.

The cooperation with Ukrainian Nazis was, however, not limited to official members of the Obama administration. Among those directly involved in cooperating with e.g. Svoboda “leader” Tyahnbok was U.S. Senator John McCain, who is also known for making “deals” with ISIS “Caliph Ibrahim“, a.k.a. al-Badri or al-Baghdadi.

Israeli military units were reportedly also involved in the coup d’état in Ukraine that lead to the rise of Nazi ideologists and the threat against Jewish citizens and communities in Ukraine.

In an article from march 14, 2014, the director of the Canada-based Centre for Research on Globalisation, Dr. Michel Chossudovsky, noted that the Jewish News Agency JTA reported about the presence of units associated to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in Ukraine. JTA quotes “Delta”, a member of the IDF’s Givati Infantry Brigade as confirming the presence of Israeli forces during the coup d’état.

The Givati Infantry Brigade was, among others, involved in Israel’s 2009 “Operation Cast Lead” against Palestine’s Gaza Strip as well as in massacres in Tel El-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza, reports Chossudovsky.

While the threat against members of Ukraine’s Jewish community is real, the situation poses the question whether the Netanyahu administration participated in creating the threat with the purpose to create potential new Israeli immigrants and citizens. Over the last two years, Israel experienced a marked increase of Israeli citizens who are leaving Israel for Germany, the USA, and other western countries. 6,000 new Ukrainian Jews could help the Netanyahu administration with maintaining Israel’s policy of aggressive settlement expansion in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories.

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  – Dr. Christof Lehmann is the founder and editor of nsnbc. He is a psychologist and independent political consultant on conflict and conflict resolution and a wide range of other political issues. His work with traumatized victims of conflict has led him to also pursue the work as political consultant. He is a lifelong activist for peace and justice, human rights, Palestinians rights to self-determination in Palestine, and he is working on the establishment of international institutions for the prosecution of all war crimes, also those committed by privileged nations. On 28 August 2011 he started his blog nsnbc, appalled by misrepresentations of the aggression against Libya and Syria. In March 2013 he turned nsnbc into a daily, independent, international on-line newspaper. He can be contacted at nsnbc international at nsnbc.wordpress@gmail.com

Nuland says Americans are ready to die for Latvia

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Worrisome increase in war hype from the West.

From the Institute of Modern Russia[i]
Paul Goble, November 22, 2014

Staunton, November 22 – When the Ukrainian crisis began, some commentators in the West suggested that NATO would not in the end fight to defend the Baltic countries even though the latter are full members of NATO by asking “who is prepared to die for Narva?” But now a senior US State Department has given a clear and unequivocal answer: Western countries are.

During a visit to Latvia this week, Victoria Nuland, US assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said that “when NATO and the US as part of NATO took new members into the alliance, this means that we are ready to participate in the defense of the security of these countries, and this means that we are ready to give our lives for the security of these countries.”

That is why there are young American soldiers in Latvia now, she continued, suggesting that there should be “absolute clarity” that if someone attacks Latvia, we will be here to help defend Latvia” because “no one has the right to shoot at Latvia because no one has the right to shoot at the territory of NATO.”

In other comments, Nuland said that the sanctions the West had imposed on Russia were having an effect, “unfortunately” on the Russian people as well as the regime. But she said that the reason for that lies “in the actions of the Russian government” and not in the ill intentions of the West. If Russia lives up to its commitments on Ukraine, the West will lift the sanctions.

The assistant secretary added that “not only Americans but all people who consider themselves part of the North Atlantic space, including the European Union, are extremely disappointed by Russian actions which have undermined the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” actions that have continued “even after the signing of the Minsk accords.”[ii]

Russia has continued to send “arms and fighters to Ukraine,” Nuland said, and now “Russia must make a choice” about what kind of a future it will have.

Source: http://www.interpretermag.com/americans-are-prepared-to-die-for-latvia-nuland-says/
See opinion below about the purpose of this organization before risking a visit to this website.

——————————————————————————————

[i] WikiSpooks says IMR “is a typical example of what is referred to in domestic Russian policy circles as “Russia’s 6th Column” – ie those ex-patriot organisations working against the domestic Russian establishment…The president of IMR is Pavel Khodorkovsky, the son of Russian former multi-billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky (who was released from prison in Dec 2013).

…A 2013 Commonwealth Club of California seminar-note said that Pavel Khodorkovsky (President, Institute of Modern Russia) maintains close relationships with many Russian opposition leaders and will relay his thoughts on the current political situation and how Americans can support the democratic process.”[1]

https://wikispooks.com/wiki/The_Institute_of_Modern_Russia

 

[ii] Who torpedoes the Minsk peace agreement?
See http://nsnbc.me/2014/09/22/ukraine-general-breedhate-another-sabotage-sortie/
Ukraine: General ‘Breedhate’ in Another Sabotage Sortie
A very different opinion.

 

OSCE observers say no Russian invasion, and CIA’s Radio Free Europe gives surprising evidence

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From Strategic Culture Foundation, Oct 31, 2014
By Finian Cunningham
http://nsnbc.me/2014/10/31/cia-mouthpiece-lets-slip-on-russian-aggression-in-ukraine/

For months now, Western mass media have been in lockstep with the US State Department and the NATO military alliance, promulgating claims of Russian aggression in Ukraine and towards Europe generally. The mantra-like repetition of these claims, with scant substantiation, resembles the Big Lie technique of Third Reich master propagandist Josef Goebbels. Told often and brazenly enough, the claims acquire normalcy as «accepted facts».

Western news media, from the BBC to the New York Times, uncritically peddle NATO and Washington claims that Moscow has «annexed» Crimea and infiltrated troops into eastern Ukraine to destabilise the pro-Western «government» in Kiev.

Last month at the NATO summit in Wales, outgoing secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen asserted: «So we continue to call on Russia to pull back its troops from Ukrainian borders, [and] to stop the flow of weapons and fighters into Ukraine».

Last week, that narrative was debunked by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The OSCE has been appointed to monitor the border between Russia and eastern Ukraine. The organisation’s monitoring chief Paul Picard confirmed that since the beginning of its observer mission at the end of July to present, it has not recorded any movement of military equipment or units from Russia into Ukrainian territory.

«The movement of military equipment has not been seen by the OSCE from our border point [of observation]», said Picard during a press conference in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don last week.

The OSCE monitoring chief did say that there was Russian military movement of airplanes, helicopters and drones inside Russian territory along the border, but that there was no cross-border incursion. «We observed their movement, but didn’t see them fly into Ukraine, so they did not cross the border», Picard said.

Tellingly, the OSCE assessment nullifying Washington and NATO claims of Russian invasion and infiltration of Ukraine was given negligible reportage in the Western media, which persists with the anti-Russian narrative that seems to operate on the basis of not letting the facts intrude on a convenient storyline.

However, the OSCE version of reality was surprisingly corroborated by an unlikely source – Radio Free Europe – albeit unintentionally, it would seem. Continue reading →

Ukraine’s new finance minister is an American; how the Ukrainian government is giving away citizenships so foreigners can run the country

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From Liberty Blitzkrieg, December 3. 2014
By Michael Krieger

Made in the USA – How the Ukrainian Government is Giving Away Citizenships so Foreigners Can Run the Country

I hadn’t written a single piece on the U.S.-Ukraine-Russia quagmire for the entirety of 2014, until Monday when I published: Tensions Between the U.S. and Russia Are Worse Than You Realize – Remarks by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Now I can hardly think of anything else.

The reason the geopolitical hot zone has so captured my attention is because I think we are much closer to a serious escalation than most people want to admit. I hope I’m wrong, but when I take a step back and look at what is being said and done under the surface, an incredibly dangerous tinderbox is now firmly in place and ready to be lit. We know from history that relatively minor catalysts can lead to unimaginable horrors. I fear the stage is set for some real nastiness, and hope cooler heads can prevail on both sides.

Claims that the new government in Ukraine is nothing more than a Western puppet Parliament have been swirling around consistently since February. Nevertheless, I think it’s very significant that the takeover is now overt, undeniable and completely out in the open. Nothing proves this fact more clearly than the recent and sudden granting of citizenship to three foreigners so that they can take top posts in the government.

At the top of the list is American, Natalie Jaresko, who runs private equity fund Horizon Capital. She will now be Ukraine’s Finance Minister, and I highly doubt she will be forced to pay the IRS Expatriation Tax (one set of laws for the rich and powerful, another set of laws for the peasants). For Economy Minister, a Lithuanian investment banker, Aivaras Abromavicius, will take the reigns. Health Minister will be Alexander Kvitashvili of Georgia.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Ukraine’s parliament appointed a new, pro-Western government that includes a U.S.-born finance minister to take on the job of staving off financial collapse, overhauling the shrinking economy and ending the armed conflict in the country’s east.

The new cabinet includes Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko, the chief executive of a private-equity fund and a former U.S. diplomat, as well as two other nonnatives: Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavicius, a former investment banker from Lithuania; and Health Minister Alexander Kvitashvili, who held a similar post in Georgia.

Ukraine is dependent on the International Monetary Fund for financing, and officials and analysts say it will need more than the current $17-billion program from the lender.

Two senior EU officials said Tuesday that the IMF has in recent days shared a rough estimate of $15 billion in financing needs for Ukraine through the first quarter of 2016, although that could be revised as fund officials negotiate with the new government.

Shortly before the voting in Kiev, President Poroshenko signed a decree granting Ukrainian citizenship to the three foreign-born candidates. He said the dire economic situation meant Ukraine had to look for people outside the country with experience of dealing with “systemic crises.”

Valeriy Voshchevskiy, deputy prime minister for infrastructure and ecology, said he wanted to privatize state holdings such as the railway and road-building monopolies.

This is where American financial oligarchs will get paid. It’s all about looting at the end of the day, as always.

Some analysts praised the inclusion of outsiders in the government as a way to tap foreign experience, insulate against corruption and help push through unpopular economic overhauls. But opposition lawmakers slammed the decision.

“We don’t understand why from 300 coalition members and 40 million people [in the country], 10 minister candidates couldn’t be found who’d be Ukrainian citizens or at least ethnic Ukrainians,” said Yuriy Boiko, head of the Opposition Bloc and a former energy minister.

In a sign of early discontent, some lawmakers from the ruling coalition questioned the creation of a new Information Ministry, dubbed the “Ministry of Truth” by some journalists amid concerns that it could create another expensive layer of bureaucrats.

The newly appointed minister said earlier that it will be needed to counter Russian propaganda.

I don’t know much, but I know that people don’t like being ruled by foreigners. Ever.

Bearing that in mind, a bill known as H.Res.758 was recently introduced in the U.S. Congress. Here’s the full title: H.Res.758 – Strongly condemning the actions of the Russian Federation, under President Vladimir Putin, which has carried out a policy of aggression against neighboring countries aimed at political and economic domination.

Here’s how a summary of the bill starts off (click on the image for the full summary):

Screen Shot 2014-12-03 at 11.21.22 AM

This isn’t well intentioned diplomacy, these are demands. The last bullet point is particularly laughable. The U.S. government admonishes Russia for interfering in Ukraine’s internal affairs (a nation directly on its border), when Ukraine just granted an American private equity manager citizenship so that she can be Finance Minister. The hypocrisy will not be lost on Putin, or anyone else for that matter.

The danger of this bill was highlighted by former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich. Here are some excerpts via TruthDig:

U.S.-Russia relations have deteriorated severely in the past decade and they are about to get worse, if the House passes H. Res. 758.

NATO encirclement, the U.S.-backed coup in Ukraine, an attempt to use an agreement with the European Union to bring NATO into Ukraine at the Russian border, a U.S. nuclear first-strike policy, are all policies which attempt to substitute force for diplomacy.

The Western press begins its narrative on the Crimea situation with the annexation, but completely ignores the provocations by the West and other causal factors which resulted in the annexation. This distortion of reality is artificially creating an hysteria about Russian aggressiveness, another distortion which could pose an exceptionally dangerous situation for the world, if acted upon by other nations. The U.S. Congress is responding to the distortions, not to the reality. 

Tensions between Russia and the U.S. are being fueled every day by players who would benefit financially from a resumption of the Cold War which, from 1948 to 1991 cost U.S. taxpayers $20 TRILLION dollars (in 2014 dollars), an amount exceeding our $18 trillion National Debt.

Based on all I have read and observed, I’d have to say I generally agree with the conclusions of Mr. Kucinich.

Finally, I want to end the post with some very important words from Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer. They were published in the article, Crumbling Oil Makes Putin More Dangerous:

Russian President Vladimir Putin is being pushed “further into a corner” by falling oil prices, leaving him little option but to continue his aggression toward Ukraine and confrontation with the West, Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer told CNBC on Tuesday. Putin has “gone all-in on an anti-U.S., must-keep-Ukraine nationalist engagement,” Bremmer said on “Squawk Box .” He said it’s “completely inconceivable” for Putin to back down. “This is what is behind all his approval ratings. It’s behind who he now is as a leader,” Bremmer said, adding that capitulation would “erode a lot of his power.” Russia’s currency and economy are crumbling along with oil prices, the country’s main export and revenue source. On Monday, the ruble suffered its worst one-day decline since 1998, and it looks like Russia’s economy will tip into recession next year. As the ruble tumbles, what will Putin do next? “I think that lower oil prices simply squeeze him harder, pushes him further into a corner. He feels he has to fight as a consequence.

This echoes sentiments I expressed in my piece Monday. I wrote:

Lavrov also describes the negative impact that this behavior has had on the Russian psyche generally. He expresses dismay that the U.S. status quo sees the world as unipolar, and attempts to tackle every problem from the perspective that might is right. In no uncertain terms, Lavrov makes it clear that Russia will not stand for this. I don’t think the Russians are bluffing, so this is a very dangerous situation.

The U.S. establishment is used to bullying around anyone it wants and getting its way. This will not happen with Putin. It appears that the U.S. is attempting to put so much pressure on Putin that he does something reckless and loses all support on the world stage. I can’t stress enough how important, and dangerous, the current situation is.

In Liberty,
Michael Krieger

Reposted at
http://www.globalresearch.ca/ukrainian-elites-made-in-the-usa-kiev-government-giving-away-citizenships-so-foreigners-can-run-the-country/5417956

Posted under Fair Use Rules.

BREAKING: U.S. Representatives approve resolution condemning Russia, with update

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This is truly one of the lowest points ever taken in American conduct. The shocking vote of 411 in favor, 10 against, 13 not voting, took place this morning http://www.c-span.org/video/?323075-1/us-house-legislative-business — at approximately 2:02 on the video; includes transcript.

The vote roll-call is here: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2014/roll548.xml

The 10 “No” votes were:

Justin Amash  (MI) Rep
John Duncan  (TN) Rep
Alan Grayson  (FL) Dem
Alcee Hastings  (FL) Dem
Walter Jones   (NC) Rep
Thomas Massie  (KY) Rep
Jim McDermott  (WA) Dem
George Miller  (CA) Dem
Beto O’Rourke  (TX) Dem
Dana Rohrabacher (CA) Rep

Reputed peace advocates including John Conyers, Barbara Lee, Maxine Waters, Raul Grijalva, Jim McGovern voted for the resolution. The large Progressive Caucus http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/caucus-members/ approved the resolution, except for three members, and one who abstained.

Last night, there was this discussion.
http://www.c-span.org/video/?323042-3/us-house-legislative-business — at approximately 3:21 on the video.
No one in the House advocated for wisdom and truth. No one presented arguments against this resolution.  No one asked for proof for these accusations.

“,,,PUTIN’S CONTINUING MILITARY, ECONOMIC, AND POLITICAL AGGRESSION AGAINST UKRAINE AND OTHERS IS ON FULL DISPLAY. OF COURSE HIS MOST DRAMATIC ACTION WAS THE FORCIBLE OCCUPATION AND ANNEXATION OF CRIMEA EARLIER THIS YEAR. TODAY, AS WE CONSIDER THIS RESOLUTION, RUSSIAN FORCES ARE OPERATING ON UKRAINIAN SOIL

…UKRAINE IS CLEARLY IN NEED OF URGENT MILITARY ASSISTANCE. THE ADMINISTRATION MUST ACT QUICKLY TO EQUIP IT WITH THE MEANS, NOT JUST TO CLOTHE ITS SOLDIERS, BUT TO STOP TANKS AS WELL.

…THE UNITED STATES AND OUR FRIENDS AND ALLIES IN EUROPE AND AROUND THE WORLD ARE TAKING ACTION TO ENSURE THAT HE AND HIS REGIME PAY A HEAVY PRICE FOR THIS AGGRESSION. 

…WE CAN DEMONSTRATE TO PUTIN AND THE WORLD THAT WE WILL DO WHAT IS NECESSARY TO PROTECT UKRAINE AND OTHER COUNTRIES THAT ARE THREATENED BY HIS IMPERIAL AMBITIONS AND ENSURE THAT THEY CAN LIVE IN PEACE AND SECURITY.”  (Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen)

I left these in caps, because they are truly rantings. And there is more, including very dangerous and foolish statements by Congressman Eliot Engel of New York who, because he is Jewish, should be opposing this resolution and by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.  The accusations and statements actually describe US actions, not Russian ones.

Live in peace and security? I cannot imagine how the people of East Ukraine can live in peace with the attacks by the Kiev regime. This resolution is a very dangerous and arrogant step taken by United States leaders who are destroying the lives of many as well as peace and harmony.

Where are the people who will stand up for truth? Where are the people who will expose this charade by the US and NATO?

Breaking: Adoption of House of Representatives Resolution: Provides De Facto “Green Light” to Obama to “Declare War on Russia”
From Russia Today, December 4, 2014
Reposted by Global Research

The US House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved a document which strongly condemns Moscow’s actions against its neighbors, calling them a policy of aggression.

Passed with 411-10 votes, the resolution slams Russia’s “continuing political, economic, and military aggression” against Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova and the “continuing violation of their sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.”

“The US, Europe and our allies must aggressively keep the pressure on Mr. Putin to encourage him to change his behavior,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger, the resolution’s sponsor, said.

The resolution calls for Russia to stop supporting local militias in eastern Ukraine and for the cancellation of Crimea’s decision to join Russia. In addition, it calls on Moscow to withdraw its troops which the US claims are in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.

The House calls on President Barack Obama to provide Ukraine with defense equipment and training.

“Ukraine is clearly in need of urgent military assistance,” Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said as quoted by The Hill.

Previously Obama declined Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s plea for lethal military aid. During his visit to Washington in September, Poroshenko addressed Congress calling to provide Kiev with “more military equipment, lethal and non-lethal” drawing applause from the audience.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko addresses a joint session of the US Congress at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on September 18, 2014. (AFP Photo/Nicholas Kamm)
[ED: Congress’ effusive response to Poroshenko was very alarming. His speech can be seen on YouTube]

Thursday’s  resolution also urges NATO members and US allies to suspend military cooperation with Russia. Addressing Obama, the House urged him to review the readiness of US and NATO armed forces under the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE).

The lawmakers agreed that the president and State Department should also find a way to “distribute news and information” in Russian to countries with Russian-speaking populations.

The lawmakers specified that the resolution was targeting Putin and his policy, but not all Russian people.

The resolution follows Putin’s speech to Federal Assembly made on Thursday, where he criticized the “deterrence policy” conducted against Russia by other states.

“The deterrence policy was not invented yesterday, it has been always conducted towards our country, for decades, if not centuries,” Putin noted. “Every time somebody considers Russia is becoming too powerful and independent, such instruments are turned on immediately.”

He mentioned that the US has been manipulating foreign relations of Russia’s neighbors, adding that “sometimes you don’t even know to whom it is better to talk to: the governments of certain countries or directly with their American patrons.”

READ MORE: ‘House of Representatives’ resolution declares Cold War’

The relations between the two states have got colder in the past decade and will deteriorate even more following the adoption of the H. Res. 758, warns former Republican Dennis Kucinich.

“NATO encirclement, the US-backed coup in Ukraine, an attempt to use an agreement with the European Union to bring NATO into Ukraine at the Russian border, a US nuclear first-strike policy, are all policies which attempt to substitute force for diplomacy,” he said as quoted by Truthdig.

READ MORE: ‘NATO’s disastrous expansion at the core of the Ukraine conflict’

Kucinich explained that Russia had only responded to an appeal by the local population in Ukraine to protect them from the violence when Moscow agreed to Crimea joining the Russian Federation. It was “a reaffirmation of an historic relationship,” Kucinich said.

“The Western press begins its narrative on the Crimea situation with the annexation, but completely ignores the provocations by the West and other causal factors… This distortion of reality is artificially creating an hysteria about Russian aggressiveness,” he said, adding that the US Congress “is responding to the distortions, not to the reality.”

Kucinich also criticized US rhetoric, calling it “saber-rattling, which led to the initiation and escalation of the Cold War” and urged Washington to “employ diplomacy, not more military expenditures, in the quest for international order.”

Source:
http://rt.com/usa/211527-representatives-condemn-russia-aggression/

http://www.globalresearch.ca/breaking-adoption-of-house-of-representatives-resolution-provides-de-facto-green-light-to-obama-to-declare-war-on-russia/5418022

Nuclear accident in southeast Ukraine, says PM Yatsenyuk

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Below are several articles and links about this situation:

ENE News posted a compilation of reports, 12-3-14:
CNN: Urgent – Emergency repairs reported at largest nuclear power plant in Europe — Prime Minister: I know that a nuclear accident has occurred (VIDEO)
http://enenews.com/cnn-urgent-emergency-repair-reported-largest-nuclear-power-plant-europe-prime-minister-accident-occurred-video
ENE News is an excellent source for nuclear news — Fukushima, Hanford, WIPP New Mexico, USS Ronald Reagan contamination, and more . Many comments posted below the articles have further excellent resources. 
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“Nuclear accident” in southeast Ukraine, PM Yatsenyuk says
From Deutsche Welle — DW, December 3, 2014
http://dw.de/p/1DydT

Ukraine’s government says a nuclear accident has occurred in the country’s southeast. The incident is said to pose no threat, however.

A statement from Ukraine Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk on Wednesday said a nuclear accident had taken place in the country’s southeast.

Ukraine’s energy minister said a short circuit led to a drop in production energy production, and insisted it posed no danger.

“The accident happened in the third block of the Zaporozhiya nuclear power plant in the power output section. This is in no way associated with the reactor, Volodymyr Demchyshyn said at a briefing.

“There is no threat … there are no problems with the reactors.” He added the accident affected the power output system “in no way.”

He said the plant would be running at full strength on December 5.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Wednesday that it was informed of the short circuit by Ukrainian authorities that that the nuclear power plant’s reactor remained safely shut down.

Under an international convention, a country should notify the IAEA about a nuclear accident that could affect other nations. The convention was adopted after the 1986 Chernobyl accident in what was then Soviet Ukraine.

Nuclear power accounts for 44 percent of Ukraine’s power production, according to the IAEA.

jr/ksb (Reuters, AFP, AP)

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Extensive article on radiation spikes recorded in Latvia corresponding with the time frame for when this accident occurred in SE Ukraine.

https://allegedlyapparent.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/accident-confirmed-at-ukraines-zaporizhye-nuclear-power-plant-link-to-latvia-radiation-spike-possible/
Accident confirmed at Ukraine’s Zaporizhye Nuclear Power Plant. (Link to Latvia Radiation Spike possible)

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Accident at Ukraine nuclear power plant: reports
By Barbara Kollmeyer
From MarketWatch, December 3, 2014
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/accident-at-ukraine-nuclear-power-plant-reports-2014-12-03

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said Wednesday that an accident has occurred at a nuclear power plant in south-east Ukraine, according to media reports. “I know that an accident has occurred at the Zaporizhye NPP,” Yatseniuk said Wednesday, and he asked new energy minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn to be clear about when the problem will be fixed as it has worsened the power crisis currently in the country. Interfax Ukraine said the accident had occurred at a 1,000-megawatt reactor in bloc No. 3 at the power plant. Interfax said the bloc was due to come back onstream Dec. 5.

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DW article from June written with a definite Western perspective:
http://www.dw.de/ukraine-crisis-raises-risk-for-nuclear-reactors/a-17694776
Ukraine crisis raises risk for nuclear reactors

The article doesn’t explain why a Ukrainian citizen would want to damage a nuclear reactor so that would destroy his or her home. Ukrainian citizens live with Chernobyl and its ongoing damage. Why would they want to cause  more harm? 

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For an industry assessment of nuclear power in Ukraine:
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Country-Profiles/Countries-T-Z/Ukraine/
Nuclear Power in Ukraine