This week shapes up as one which could go down in the history books! Markets last week were tumultuous from weak equities, illiquid credit markets, FOREX markets in disarray and commodities hitting the skids ...yet the Federal Reserve is intent on hiking rates? Have they taken this position because the markets are strong? Or because the economy ...anywhere on the planet is overheating?

Before looking at "this week", I have seen it said by many, "the Fed must raise rates to have any credibility left". This is true to an extent but there is one core reason and one of their own making. You see, the fake data and outright lies have been coming out of Washington in such regularity and magnitude the Fed has been painted into a corner. They either raise rates "because things are so good" or they don't ...as a sign things aren't so good. It has been for this reason I have had an eye out looking for some manufactured (false flag) event that takes the Fed off the hook. Time is getting short prior to Wednesday's meeting and announcement ...but there still is time.

It is quite interesting how China has devalued their yuan this past week prior to the Fed meeting. They also announced they will monitor the Yuan's value versus global currencies rather than just versus the dollar, in essence "de pegging" against the dollar. The weak yuan has been blamed for much of the past weeks volatility and weaknesses in financial markets. A rate hike by the Fed will only double down on the weakness. Also of interest in China are the numerous "disappearances". For weeks there have been important individuals in the financial industry who have just disappeared. The latest fear was China's equivalent of Warren Buffett had been disappeared. It turns out he is being held and assisting "investigations". In the words of Warren Buffett himself, we only find out who was swimming naked when the tide goes out!

Russian President Vladimir Putin walks with a curious "gunslinger's gait" -- a reduced swing in his right arm which he may have acquired through KGB weapons training, an unusual study published Monday said.

The research, published in the British medical journal The BMJ, was written by a team of neurologists in Portugal, Italy and the Netherlands.

Specialists in analyzing postures and movements that are potential signs of health disorders, they say they were struck by Putin's "distinct" way of walking.

Video footage shows that when Putin walks, his left arm swings normally but his right arm barely moves. Asymmetrical movement like this is often a telltale sign of Parkinson's disease.

But the doctors found no other symptoms of this disease in Putin, such as tremor, rigidity or poor coordination. Quite the opposite, in fact: they found he had "excellent motor skills," as a judo black belt, weight lifter and swimmer, and his handwriting is fast and signature tremble-free. But their investigations turned up an intriguing alternative explanation in the form of a training manual used by the former Soviet intelligence service, the KGB.

Hackers have claimed that a number of Islamic State supporters' social media accounts are being run from internet addresses linked to the Department of Work and Pensions.

A group of four young computer experts who call themselves VandaSec have unearthed evidence indicating that at least three ISIS-supporting accounts can be traced back to the DWP's London offices.

Every computer and mobile phone logs onto the internet using an IP address, which is a type of identification number.

The hacking collective showed Mirror Online details of the IP addresses used by a trio of separate digital jihadis to access Twitter accounts, which were then used to carry out online recruitment and propaganda campaigns.

At first glance, the IP addresses seem to be based in Saudi Arabia, but upon further inspection using specialist tools they appeared to link back to the DWP.

"Don't you think that's strange?" one of the hackers asked Mirror Online. "We traced these accounts back to London, the home of the British intelligence services."

Obama's shockingly casual statement about ISIS today, combined with Turkey's on-going antics vis a vis Russia illustrate the limits of democracy in the 21st century.

Not only the men and women in the street, but also our movers and shakers, still believe Churchill's clever phrase that democracy is the worst system of government with the exception of all others. We all know that change is threatening, painful even, but I'm not seeing the slightest hint that intelligent, sophisticated, educated twenty-first century men and women are aware that democracy's merits have been largely negated by the nature of modern life.

Not only is one man one vote a sham in the presence of big money. Government's ability to ensure a measure of equity among competing claims is nullified by the claims of its most powerful backers; and what makes the democratic process totally ineffective is the ability of these backers' hand-picked representatives to thwart any rare good decision taken by the commander-in-chief.

The President might just as well spend all his time on the golf course instead of pretending that the Oval Office is where the fate of the world is decided. Though well-wined and dined at the Paris Climate Talks, Obama cannot commit the Congress appointed by his oligarchs to accept the final agreement as binding. If that tragic failure doesn't persuade skeptics of the superiority, in today's world, of leaders who can call the shots over those who must be thankful for a few crumbs from the high table, the proof will be provided by World War III or an irreversible climate crisis.

Putting aside the fact that all the countries whose dictators we have toppled are much worse off than before, the evidence is increasingly difficult to ignore that Vladimir Putin and Xi Jin Ping are able to get a lot more done for the good of their people than any ten leaders of parliamentary democracies.

This doesn't mean that all authoritarian leaders are good, but it does imply that a leader who is informed, intelligent and caring of others and can issue orders that will be executed is more effective than one who must constantly play a power game with hundreds of opponents - or worse, who tacitly agrees to do the bidding of the 1%. Putin is excoriated in the West for having told the Russian oligarchs that they could make all the money they want as long as they stay out of politics. We are told he is depriving the average citizen of a voice, when in reality, he is making sure the oligarchs needs don't win out over the 99%.

ISIS is intergral to the West's strategy for toppling Assad

For years, the US-directed NATO alliance has made sure that convoys full of food, weapons, and other goods have gotten to the terrorist groups IS and al-Qaida via the Syrian-Turkish border. Russian air strikes have massively impeded this service, if not brought it to a standstill.

Russian airstrikes hit one of these convoys in the northwest Syrian town of Azaz, and the Turkish-based newspaper Daily Sabah is reporting the following:

At least seven people died, 10 got injured after an apparent airstrike, reportedly by Russian jets, targeted an aid convoy in northwestern Syrian town of Azaz near a border crossing with Turkey on Wednesday.

Strangely enough, this incident wasn't picked up by the Western high-performance press. This is rather atypical considering both sides are currently engaged in a propaganda war. It almost seems like the USA/NATO either (a), don't want to draw attention to the location of this remaining supply line, or (b), it's not an aid convoy, but a supply truck for IS.

The Daily Sabah report continues:

Speaking to Daily Sabah, Serkan Nergis from the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) said that the targeted area is located some 5 kilometers southwest of the Öncüpınar Border Crossing. Nergis said that IHH has a civil defense unit in Azaz and they helped locals to extinguish the trucks. Trucks were probably carrying aid supplies or commercial materials, Nergis added.

Regardless of what kind of goods were transported, this confirms that the terrorists in the area near the Oncupinar Border Crossing are in charge. This is where the supply line from Turkey to IS can be found. Already in November of 2014, the Oncupinar Border Crossing was mentioned in an article by Deutsche Welle (DW), that described a scene of hundreds of trucks waiting at the border to get into IS territory. Probably with Ankara's approval. The DW article from 2014 reads as follows:

Every day, trucks laden with food, clothing, and other supplies cross the border from Turkey to Syria. It is unclear who is picking up the goods. The haulers believe most of the cargo is going to the "Islamic State" militia. Oil, weapons, and soldiers are also being smuggled over the border, and Kurdish volunteers are now patrolling the area in a bid to stem the supplies.

Already last year one would have had to ask the legitimate question: if the plan was to destroy IS, why didn't the US just bomb the supply route instead of leading operations inside Syria? (because it was, de facto, never the plan to destroy IS.) Especially if (a), these attacks were considered to be less dangerous and (b), logistics for the attacks were right there in the area (Turkish airbase).

The seven-day ceasefire will come into force in Yemen on Tuesday beginning with 12:00 p.m. local time [09:00 GMT], the command of the coalition of Arab states, conducting a military operation against the Shiite movement Ansar Allah, known as the Houthis, said in a statement.

The initiative for a ceasefire, according to the statement, is attributed to Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who submitted a respective request to the king of Saudi Arabia.

The truce will last from December 15 to December 21 "at the time of intra-Yemeni talks," the statement said.

In 2014, Russian defense companies increased their sales by nearly 50 percent, accounting for 10.2 percent of the entire global market.

The Russian defense industry grew significantly in 2014, analysts at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in an annual report as quoted by Handelsblatt.The report is expected to be officially released on Monday.

SIPRI experts made up a ranking of the 100 arms producing companies for 2014. The list included 11 Russian companies, against just eight a year ago.In 2014, the sales of the Russian defense industry increased by 48.4 percent, to 10.2 percent of the global market.

Russian companies have been at the forefront of the exports increase and rise in the national defense spending, SIPRI analyst Simon Wezeman commented.

In total, according to the analysts, in 2014 the contracts of the top-100 world defense companies dropped by 1.5 percent, to $401 billion. US, Canadian and European companies decreased their revenues from arms sales while there was an increase in other countries.

Chinese companies were not included in the ranking due the absence of information, SIPRI underscored.

The list of the top 100 world defense companies was led by US Lockheed Martin ($37.5 billion), Boeing ($28.3 billion) and European EADS ($14.5 billion).

Today, the Russian Foreign Ministry rightly blamed the U.S. for failing to ensure that its minion Turkey implement the air safety agreement signed between Moscow and Washington on October 20 to avoid conflict in Syrian airspace. RT reports:

"Despite the fact, that the defense ministries of the two countries (the US and Russia) signed a memorandum on ensuring the safety of military aviation flights in Syrian airspace, Washington - which took the responsibility for the actions of the entire coalition it leads - hasn't ensured compliance with the relevant provisions of the document by its ally Turkey," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

The memorandum established 24/7 communication channels between Russian and American military commanders, in order to prevent incidents and provide for the smooth operation of the two nations' aircraft, and for mutual aid in critical situations.

As part of the deal, the American side pledged to convey the details of the deal to their anti-Islamic State coalition partners, to follow the rules it sets.

So, even if the U.S. was hoping to use Turkey as its proxy scapegoat in this attack on Russia, the Russians have cornered them once again, ever so politely. They could easily have just come right out and stated that the U.S. told the Turks (whether in leadership positions or further down the food chain) to do it, and provided the technological support to make it possible.

A former Guantanamo detainee who pleaded guilty to funding Al-Qaeda, and was later released in exchange for cooperating, has become a prominent Al-Qaeda figure in Yemen. The pardon came in spite of his prior classification as a high-risk inmate.

He has now appeared in a video entitled 'Guardians of Sharia', where he and other AQAP (Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) members talk at length about waging jihad on the West, as well as pledging allegiance to mentor and former leader Osama bin Laden. The video address also sees Qosi expounding on the importance of following the teachings of Islamic scholars and praising lone-wolf attacks on American and other targets.

The recording is the first time the former inmate has gone public since his 2012 release. Two years previously, he pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and material support for Al-Qaeda, according to the online blog, Long War Journal.

A Texas plumber has dealt with death threats and abusive phone calls after the Ford truck he sold to a local dealership showed up in the hands of jihadists in Syria ‒ with his company sign intact. Now he is suing for at least $1 million in damages.

Mark Oberholtzer, who runs Mark-1 Plumbing in Galveston, Texas, says that Autonation Ford Gulf Freeway, a dealership in Houston, resold his 2005 Ford F-250 pick-up without removing the decal with his company's name and phone number. After the truck ended up in the hands of a Syrian rebel group, a photo of it showed up on Twitter and was featured on the final episode of Comedy Central's 'Colbert Report'.