Puppet MastersS


Vader

Former Bush counterterrorism czar admits that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld all committed 'war crimes', but hedges by questioning if it would be 'productive'

Richard Clarke
Richard Clarke
President George W. Bush's former top counterterrorism official said this week that he is convinced that Bush, former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld all committed war crimes during the Iraq war.

In an interview that will air in full next week, Democracy Now's Amy Goodman asked former National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counter-terrorism Richard Clarke if "President Bush should be brought up on war crimes [charges], and Vice President Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, for the attack on Iraq."

"I think things that they authorized probably fall within the area of war crimes," Clarke agreed. "Whether that would be productive or not, I think, is a discussion we could all have."

People

Historic union: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan sign Eurasian Economic Union

Eurasian economic Council
© RIA Novosti / Michail KlimentyevRussian President Vladimir Putin, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko (from right to left) at the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan signed the historic Eurasian Economic Union which will come into effect in January 2015. Cutting down trade barriers and comprising over 170 million people it will be the largest common market in the ex-Soviet sphere.

"The just-signed treaty is of epoch-making, historic importance," Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

The troika of countries will cooperate in energy, industry, agriculture, and transport.

"In fact, we are shaping the largest common market in the CIS, with huge production, scientific and technological potential and enormous natural resources," the President added.

Citizens of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan will have the right to work freely throughout the member states without having to be issued any special work permits, Putin said.

Over the last three years, trade within the Customs Union has increased by $23 billion, or nearly 50 percent. At the end of 2013, it stood at $66.2 billion.

Belarus and Kazakhstan are in third place in foreign trade with the Russian Federation, after the EU and China, Putin said.

The Russian leader said that the document brings Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus to a new level of integration yes lets each individual state fully retain its sovereignty.

Magnify

America's wet dream of a cold war is the one Russia must deny

Lukashenko, Nazarbaev and Putin sign the EEU
© UnknownLukashenko, Nazarbaev and Putin sign the EEU
Introduction: the broader background to the Ukrainian crisis

Before looking at the latest developments in the Ukraine, I think that it is important to at least mention two major developments involving Russia. First, Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus have signed the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and they will soon be joined by Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. Second, China has officially called for a new security alliance with Russia and Iran thereby proving that all the naysayers who said that China did not really mean it to form an alliance with Russia were plain wrong. As I mentioned it in a previous SITREP the scope and nature of the recent economic agreements between Russia and China already constituted what I called a crypto-alliance and now we see the first official move by China to drop the 'crypto' part of it. Again, this is truly a major tectonic shift in world politics and, arguable, the creation of the most powerful coalition of countries in history. The title of Godfather of this new coalition should really go to the USA and Barak Obama who by his amazingly arrogant and hostile policies towards both China and Russia has greatly contributed to the forging of this alliance.

This process is far from over, by the way. Not only are there discussions to expand the BRICS to other countries (like Argentina), the SCO or CSTO could also be expanded to include countries such as Iran or Pakistan. AS for the Eurasian Economic Union, it will eventually morph into a single political entity, a Eurasian alliance which could include China in economic and/or security agreements.
The entire Eurasian landmass is slowly but inexorably becoming integrated into a zone free from AngloZionist control and free of the dollar. The writing is on the wall for the AngloZionist Empire.

Latest developments in the Ukraine

The Ukrainian offensive has seen yet another dramatic escalation with, for the first time, the use of "Grad" multiple rocket launchers on the city of Slaviansk. At least one Ukrainian helicopter, reportedly carrying a general and 12 other people, has been shot down by the Novorossia Defense Forces (NDF). Sporadic artillery fire, at times intensive, has been heard through the night and casualties continue to be brought into the local hospitals. Several Ukrainian units have put down their weapons and basically surrendered to the NDF. In Sebastopol special headquarters have been set up to deal with the flow of incoming refugees. In Kiev the Parliament is considering declaring martial law which would basically give unlimited power to the junta and suspend most civil rights.

Footprints

Don't be fooled by 'conspiracy theory' smears against conspiracies that turn out to be true

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© Unknown
CNN and Newsweek recently launched dubious tirades against what they called "conspiracy theories."

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal published "U.N. Considers Reopening Probe into 1961 Crash that Killed Dag Hammarskjöld", a report that broached the possibility that the United States may have been involved in the death of the secretary-general, who is shown in a file photo.

As a way to understand such varied messages, I urge readers to evaluate evidence with an open mind - and regard with special suspicion those commentators who slant their coverage with the loaded smear words "conspiracy theory" without citing specific evidence.

No one has time to investigate everything without preconceptions. For efficiency, we rely in part on slanted commentary by our favorite sources. But if the stakes are high and we want to be honest we should admit (at least to ourselves) that our preliminary conclusions should be subject to change based on new data.

My suggestions follow the spirit of the Justice Integrity Project's JFK Assassination "Readers Guide" last fall. That 11-part series began with a catalog of books, archives, reports and videos. Then it proceeded to assess various theories of President Kennedy's 1963 murder.

Comment: See also...
  • 33 Conspiracy Theories That Turned Out To Be True, What Every Person Should Know...
  • Be a proud conspiracy theorist, you're in the majority
  • New studies: 'Conspiracy theorists' sane; government dupes crazy, hostile



Pirates

Belgian government applies retroactive tax and removes funds from citizens' bank accounts

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© UnknownA new taxation on investment funds has been introduced in Belgium, effectively allowing the government to repossess funds from its citizens.
In the past, Belgian citizens and customers of French bank BNP Paribas had purchased an investment called Fortis B FIX 160 Equity. Because the investment was entirely made up of Belgian stocks, the capital gains on it were tax free.

But because of new tax laws passed by the government, these investments are no longer immune from capital gains taxes.

This law is retroactive back to July 2008, which means Belgian investors are now on the hook for a handful of new capital gains taxes about which they were never informed.

Mr. Potato

U.S State department incompetentence at display in Ukraine on all levels

Jen Psaki
© m.newsru.com
Jennifer Psaki has already become a symbol of Obama's cabinet weak foreign policy. Thus, unsurprisingly, some bloggers compare her dialogs with an AP writer Matthew Lee to live performances on Jon Stewart's satirical show.

Indeed, Jen Psaki's ludicrous notions regarding Victoria Nuland's bad habit of using foul language, or the mysterious 'carousel voting' in eastern Ukraine, or her embarrassing 'selfie' with #UnitedForUkraine hashtag, put into question the State Department spokesperson's professional competency and political sanity as well as of those who hired her.

On May 20, Jennifer Psaki reiterated the Ukrainian government's false allegations of terrorism against two Russian journalists for LifeNews, Marat Saichenko and Oleg Sidyakin, without thorough examination of the issue. "Reportedly, they were carrying manned portable anti-aircraft missiles in the trunks of their cars at the time of their detention," she said quoted by Reuters, "These are according to reports and our conversations with the Ukrainians on the ground," the spokeswoman added.


Handcuffs

U.S and Ukraine a master slave relationship: A picture says more than a thousand words

Normally, when somebody is presented a sword or another weapon, it is the person accepting the gift which is supposed to stand on his knees to receive it, not the person giving it. But in Banderastan, things are always the opposite of what they should be.

Check out the photo below. It shows a Ukie general standing on his knees to offer a sword to John F. Tefft, US Ambassador to the Ukraine (now retired):
US Ambassador Tefft in Ukraine
© UnknownFrom the servant to the master
From the servant to the master Amazing, no?

Even more telling is that this picture was taken in November of 2013, right before the current crisis began. As for Ukie sources, they say that this photo shows the moment when Tefft, whose name is often mentioned as the next US Ambassador in Russia, is being received into the Ukrainian Cossacks as a "kind Baptist and US Ambassador".

What can I say? "Glory to the Ukraine, to the heroes glory!"?

The Saker

Easter Egg 2

The dynamic future without the U.S visible in St Petersburg

The unipolar model of the world order has failed.
- Vladimir Putin, St Petersburg, May 22
St.Petersburg economic forum
© RIA Novosti
In more ways than one, last week heralded the birth of a Eurasian century. Of course, the US$400 billion Russia-China gas deal was clinched only at the last minute in Shanghai, on Wednesday (a complement to the June 2013, 25-year, $270 billion oil deal between Rosneft and China's CNPC.)

Then, on Thursday, most of the main players were at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum - the Russian answer to Davos. And on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, fresh from his Shanghai triumph, addressed the participants and brought the house down.

It will take time to appraise last week's whirlwind in all its complex implications. Here are some of the St Petersburg highlights, in some detail. Were there fewer Western CEOs in town because the Obama administration pressured them - as part of the "isolate Russia" policy? Not many less; Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley may have snubbed it, but Europeans who matter came, saw, talked and pledged to keep doing business.

Eye 2

SOTT Focus: Isla Vista shooter Elliot Rodger: Window into ponerology

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Another mass shooting in the US
Details are still coming in regarding the murders in Isla Vista, California on May 23. Elliot Rodger, the suspect who was found dead from a bullet wound to his head in his BMW after the shootings, apparently stabbed to death his two roommates (Cheng Yuan Hong and George Chen) and a third man (Weihan Wang) in his apartment, before shooting and killing two young women (Veronica Elizabeth Weiss, Katherine Breann Cooper) outside the Alpha Phi sorority house and continuing on to the local IV Deli Market, where he then shot and killed Christopher Ross Michael-Martinez and injured an additional thirteen people. His victims ranged in age from 19 to 22 years old (Rodger himself was 22).

With the sheer number of mass shootings bearing all the hallmarks of psyop stage-managing (see SOTT's own Joe Quinn and Niall Bradley's Manufactured Terror), it's easy to wonder if there's more to this story than meets the eye. Most of the reports so far seem fairly straightforward. Elliot Rodger had a history of mental illness, 'odd behaviour', and his moral decline leading to the horrific events last Friday was documented by Rodger himself in vlogs uploaded to YouTube in the weeks before the murders and a 140-page 'manifesto' distributed to several people that day, including his parents. While there's no suggestion in his videos and writings of an accomplice, an early report did mention that a second suspect had been apprehended:
One woman, identified as Sierra, told NewsChannel 3 that she was approached by two men in a black BMW. The driver waved a small handgun and asked, '"Hey, what's up?"'
Then there's the weird near-coincidence of an active-shooter drill scheduled to take place at the same campus 5 days later:
Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District, April 29, 2014

[...]

"Operations attended a table top exercise for the May 28 "Active Shooter Drill" at Santa Barbara City College. Multiple agencies were there, "fine tuning" the different roles, protocols, and schedules."
Assuming for now that this was the work of a 'lone nut', I want to examine some of Rodger's bizarre behavior in the run-up to his going postal. We've heard a few opinions in the media regarding what if anything could have been done to prevent this tragedy. Most of them, in my opinion, are flat-out wrong. For example, Richard Martinez, the father of one of the victims, blames "irresponsible politicians and the NRA" for his son's death:
'Why did Chris die? Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA.

'They talk about gun rights. What about Chris's right to live? When will this insanity stop? When will enough people say 'Stop this madness, we don't have to live like this.' Too many have died.

'We should say to ourselves: Not one more.'
It's an understandable sentiment, especially coming at a time so soon after the loss of his son. But aside from the fact that Rodger seems to have been intent on committing the murders no matter what and with whatever means available (e.g., the knives he used to murder his roommates), gun laws are unlikely to make a difference when it comes to crimes of this sort. The problem runs deeper than laws and policies.

Comment: Correction 10 June 2014

Sent in by a SOTT.net reader:
Santa Barbara City College is where the shooter was going to school but it is miles away from Isla Vista and the University of California at Santa Barbara, which is where the shooting took place. There are two different schools, one is a 2-year community college (SBCC) and the other is a four-year prestigious university that is part of the state-wide UC system (UCSB).
This means that the active-shooter drill goes from being a "weird near-coincidence" to a probably unrelated event.


Gold Coins

Rob Kirby on the collapse of the Dollar and the rise of gold

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Rob Kirby

Financial analyst Rob Kirby is an expert on forensic macroeconomics. His research shows central bankers are starting to not trust each other. Kirby cites Austria's recent demand to audit its gold held in London. Kirby explains, ". . . Austria seems to have a reason to want to go and see it and inspect it and know that it is real and see it hasn't been sold and nothing untoward has been done to it." Austria joins a list of countries, such as Germany, concerned about its gold holdings. Kirby contends, "We are seeing cracks in the trust that, five years ago, there was no questioning the ownership or custody of sovereign metals stored at the Bank of England or the U.S. Federal Reserve; and, now, we're seeing countries are questioning and want reassurances. There's been a breakdown in trust (between central banks). . . . This is now a distinct pattern, and I expect it will accelerate as time goes on."