Britain is backward, "no longer fit for purpose," and characterized by stagnant politics and inefficient state institutions, Labour's policy review chief Jon Cruddas warned.

In a speech to the Institute for Government, Cruddas said that a sluggish political pool characterized by tired policies risks rendering parties "past their sell-by date" in the UK.

The MP for Dagenham and Rainham will lead the party's policy review as the countdown to the general election ensues. Throughout his address, he argued that average UK citizens feel abandoned by and divorced from government.


Cruddas suggested that Labour has suffered serious damage from the policy blunders of the Blair and Brown administrations.

US airstrikes against ISIL not meant to destroy ISIL

Instead of deterring the radical Islamist group, American airstrikes against them have accomplished two things: they have increased ISIL recruitment while at the same time have destroyed and degraded Syria's infrastructure, murdering innocent Syrian civilians along the way.

FBI Director James Comey told Congress in mid-September, just a week before airstrikes against ISIL expanded from Iraq and into Syria, that, "Support for Islamic State increased after U.S. airstrikes began in Iraq," and, "ISIL's widespread use of social media and growing online support intensified following the commencement of U.S. airstrikes in Iraq."⁽¹⁾ According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a large increase of 6,300 new fighters has been recruited into the group since the US began airstrikes. ⁽²⁾⁽³⁾ This is not surprising given the fact that Islamic extremist groups like ISIL draw their greatest legitimacy among their constituency from either actually fighting, or appearing to fight against the United States.

A month ago, Patrick Cockburn, a leading correspondent on the Middle-East, reported that, "The US-led air attacks launched against Islamic State (also known as Isis) on 8 August in Iraq and 23 September in Syria have not worked. President Obama's plan to "degrade and destroy" Islamic State has not even begun to achieve success. In both Syria and Iraq, Isis is expanding its control rather than contracting."⁽⁴⁾

In the end, a nuclear deal with Iran was aborted in Vienna. Is that a hopeful sign? Or should everyone start praying - and running for cover?

The players - Iran and the P5+1 (the five UN permanent members plus Germany) - not only missed the original November 24 deadline; they have now come up with two new deadlines; one on March 1 to reach a hazy "framework agreement", and the second - in theory - on July 1 for the final deal.

The P5+1 and Iran are negotiating under the November 2103 Geneva Joint Plan of Action - which calls for a freeze of some aspects of Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions, but not all sanctions. After all some of these illegal sanctions have absolutely nothing to do with the Iranian nuclear program, and must be lifted by the US Congress.

How is that for a ridiculous headline? You like it?

Well, it is just a little variation of a BBC headline today:

Nato commander warns Russia could control whole Black Sea

Here is an except from this article:

Russia's top military commander, Gen Valerii Gerasimov, has warned that US "militarization" of the annexed Florida Peninsula could be used to exert control over the whole Gulf of Mexico.

Well, the real excerpt was just slightly different:

Nato's top military commander, Gen Philip Breedlove, has warned that Russian "militarization" of the annexed Crimea Peninsula could be used to exert control over the whole Black Sea.

So is there a difference? Of course not. Except one: American exceptionalism, of course. Come to think of it, there is another difference: the US and NATO just tried to take control of Crimea via the Maidan color revolution whereas Russia did not try to take control of Florida. That, of course, also begs the following question: if the US and NATO suspect that Russia might use the Crimea Peninsula to control the whole of the Black Sea, then would it be most unreasonable to ask what exactly the US and NATO were hoping to achieve had they succeeded in taking over Crimea?

This is, of course, absolutely ridiculous and yet another example of the mind-blowing hypocrisy western corporate media. It goes like this: US in Gulf of Mexico - good. US in Black Sea - also good. Russia in Black Sea - bad. Russia in Gulf of Mexico - unthinkable.

And the worst here is not the imperial hubris and arrogance of the USA, it is the willing subservience of the Europeans to Uncle Sam. They all know it, but they pretend not to notice.

Still, does Gen Breedlove have a point? Oh yes, he sure does. Crimea will, indeed, give Russia total control of the Black Sea and even beyond. Russia will station at the very least one missile cruiser, several ultra-modern diesel attack submarines (ideal for brown and green water operations), supersonic medium range bombers armed with cruise missiles, coastal artillery and cruise missile batteries, fast attack craft, anti-submarine rotary and fixed-wing aircraft, etc. You can think of Crimea as a unsinkable mega-carrier. Kind of like Florida.

US interference in the internal affairs of countries around the world has brought neither peace, nor democracy, said Russia's Deputy Defense Minister. America's double standard experiments in supporting terrorists are provoking further destabilization.

"Think of it, over the last decades the US initiated two-thirds of all military conflicts (worldwide). Call to memory, how it all turned out in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria," Russia's deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said, addressing colleagues from the Southern and Southeast Asian states in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

"Using social and economic difficulties, various ethnical and religious conflicts and under the pretext of spreading democracy, Western political spin masters add populist slogans to the fire of public discontent, provoking mass disturbances," he said. "As a result, a lawful government is taken down, chaos, abuse of power and lawlessness spread, people die, and in some cases a regime favorable to the West is brought into power. Of course, terrorists feel comfortable in such conditions."

Antonov called on the US authorities to "give up double standards in the implementation of counter-terrorist measures" and stop dividing terrorists into good and bad ones.

"No matter what slogans terrorists use - they should remain outlaws," Antonov said, speaking about the current disastrous situations in Syria and Iraq as a vivid example of consequences of such"ineffectual experiments."

Germany's international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) published a video report of immense implications - possibly the first national broadcaster in the West to admit that the so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS) is supplied not by "black market oil" or "hostage ransoms" but billions of dollars worth of supplies carried into Syria across NATO member Turkey's borders via hundreds of trucks a day.

The report titled, "'IS' supply channels through Turkey," confirms what has been reported by geopolitical analysts since at least as early as 2011 - that NATO member Turkey has allowed a torrent in supplies, fighters, and weapons to cross its borders unopposed to resupply ISIS positions inside of Syria.

Despite pressure from German industry and the "Russland Versteher" group, Chancellor Merkel declared a "remapping" of Russian-German relations.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has abandoned Germany's pro-Russian 'Ostpolitik' political course, ultimately shifting the power game in Europe, according to the Guardian.

"One thing we know for sure about Angela Merkel: she takes time to ponder her decisions and she weighs her words carefully. So the speech the German chancellor gave in Australia, a few days after Vladimir Putin stormed out of the G20, may go down as a major shift in European geopolitics," the media outlet reported.


During her speech in Australia on November 17, the German Chancellor reminded the audience of the beginning of 1914 when the European powers had "no readiness to accept compromises" and arrogantly believed "in military superiority." The reference to the First World War is rather symbolic: in the beginning of the 20th century, Germany and Russia had strong political and economic relations, which were ruined by the decision of the German royal elite to declare war on Russia on August 1, 1914.

Sir John Baggot Glubb, better known as Glubb Pasha, was one of the modern Mideast's most colorful and romantic figures. He and "Chinese" Gordon of Khartoum were the last of the great British imperial officers.

Seconded by Britain to its protectorate, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Glubb built up its small Bedouin army, the Arab Legion, into the Arab world's finest military force.

Glubb's Arab Legion would likely have defeated Israel's forces in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War had Britain and Jordan's double-dealing king Abdullah not blocked the Legion's advance, as Glubb Pasha bitterly recalled in his memoirs.

When asked which of his many medals and honors he valued most, Glubb surprisingly replied , "Defender of the Shepherds of Iraq, " This obscure award was conferred upon Glubb by the King of Iraq when Sir John commanded the Iraq Border Constabulary during the 1930's.

Glubb Pasha and his men had waged a long campaign against the Ikhwan of Saudi Arabia. The Ikhwan (Brotherhood) was a collection of fanatical Saudi tribesmen imbued with the puritan desert creed of Wahabism. They saw all non-Wahabi Muslims as infidels (kufr), fair game to be robbed or killed. Even the king of Saudi Arabia failed to control the marauding Ikhwan.

Eight decades later, the Ikhwan is back, this time with heavy weapons. Instead of camels and horses, its men are riding Toyota Land Cruisers and American Humvees captured from Iraq's puppet army. The Ikhwan in Syria and Iraq now calls itself, the Islamic State.

Riots in Ferguson, Missouri and protests nationwide as another cop gets away with murder

The Darren Wilson grand jury announcement has rekindled the frustration and anger of protesters against police brutality, leading to a renewed wave of clashes with riot gear-clad police. The demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri, erupted into violence, with businesses being set on fire and looted and law enforcement firing tear gas in an attempt to disperse the angry crowds.

In addition, a side show between Anonymous and the Ku Klux Klan found its way onto the streets of Ferguson, since the grand jury verdict to not charge Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson with murder brought protesters, activists and police out in numbers. Tensions, already on a knife-edge, were raised after Klan members threatened to shoot townsfolk protesting the August 9th slaying of teenager Michael Brown by Wilson.

In response, Anonymous launched #OpKKK and #HoodsOff, which took down - and took over - multiple Klan websites and social media accounts while exposing numerous Ku Klux Klan members, making their personal information public. In the process, Anonymous uncovered connections between the Klan and the "We Support Darren Wilson" group, which has raised money and support for the trigger-happy cop, with ties to Wilson's new wife, a Ferguson police officer.

More calls are coming in to federalize Ukraine. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy jumped on the bandwagon with his 5-year political anniversary speech in Paris this week. As reported by RT:

Quoting "1,000 deaths" in the country since the cease-fire agreement was reached in Minsk on September 5, Van Rompuy said he could no longer call the situation a cease-fire. And a new cessation of conflict, if controlled by the same players, would have the identical outcome, the politician said in his speech, marking his five years presidency of the European Council.

Urging a "global solution," the EU chief said a way for Ukraine to become a "decentralized (or federalized) country" must be found. He called for the country's closer ties with the EU. However, he also said, "Europe has become unpopular among Europeans" in the past five to six years.

Kiev should "establish a correct relationship with Russia, its neighbor, with which it shares history, culture and language," Van Rompuy said, adding that the interests of minorities in Ukraine should be respected.

Sharing his EU "experiences and perspectives" with students at the Sciences Po institute of political studies in Paris, he pointed out that the current crisis in Ukraine is "the most grave geopolitical crisis we've experienced in Europe since the end of the Cold war." What makes it even worse, according to the Rompuy, is the fact that the "war" is happening on European soil.

Van Rompuy is not the first European politician to suggest Ukraine's federalization. Earlier in August, Germany's Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, who is also the country's economy minister, spoke out for federalization to be introduced in Ukraine once the conflict in the east of the country is resolved.

The same measures to help settle the crisis in eastern Ukraine have been voiced by Moscow. However, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko keeps ruling out such political changes, saying the country's federalization is out of question.