Russian President Vladimir Putin plays a "historic role" in the world, one that "was given to him by Providence", according to Italian journalist Alessandro Banfi. In an interview with Sputnik, Italian journalist Alessandro Banfi specifically underscored Russian President Vladimir Putin's "historic role" in modern times, one that Banfi said was given to him by Providence.

Alongside producer Carlo Gorla, Banfi prepared the release in Italy of a documentary film, Il Presidente (the President), which tells the story of Russia over the past 15 years under the leadership of Vladimir Putin. The film, which originally aired in Russia in April 2015, was broadcast on Italian television early Tuesday morning. In the interview, Banfi attributed Putin's historic role to the current geopolitical situation.

In an attempt to predict Russia's further moves in Syria, US diplomacy expert Robert Farley has put forward what he considers "Russia's five next big moves in Syria", which are set to come in the nearest days or weeks; however, as it turns out, the first four are already very active on the ground.

1. The Arrival of the Su-25 Grach (NATO Reporting Name "Frogfoot")

"The shootdown of the Su-24 Fencer near Turkish territory demonstrated the vulnerability of the unescorted attack aircraft to modern jet fighters," reads Farley's article for The National Interest magazine. The best way to protect the Russian air fleet in Syria, the author says, is to bring in "a tough, heavy attack plane like the Su-25 Frogfoot, which can have an immediate impact on the battlefield."

​"With some indication that Russia is about to massively step up its air campaign in Syria, we can be sure that additional attack aircraft, like the Frogfoot, will soon appear in the skies over rebel held territory," the author says.

However, Russia already has as much as 12 of the latest Su-25 ground attack planes in Syria, 12 even more powerful Su-34 (NATO reporting name Fullback) strike fighters and up to 16 Su-30 (NATO reporting name Flanker-C) supermaneuverable fighter aircraft, apart from its existing deployment of Su-24s and Su-27s. From November 20, the size of the Russian air fleet in Syria was increased to 69 aircraft.

Uninformed people in the US and other parts of the world being "geared up" by the Zionist media to fight an all-out war between the followers of Islam and Christianity.

An American university president's call on his students to kill Muslims is part of a larger Zionist agenda that seeks to push forward the evangelical vision of Armageddon through waging war between Muslims and Christians, says an American political analyst.

Jerry Falwell, Jr., president of the Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, told a large formal assembly at the school on Friday that they all need to get their permits for carrying concealed weapons and "end those Muslims" to, as he put it, prevent terror attacks in the US. Falwell, son of a late evangelist and Liberty University founder, is pushing the "evangelical vision of Armageddon," James Morris told Press TV on Monday. "I attribute this to the Zionist media in America which won't talk about the motivation for what happened with the tragic attack on 9/11 and other acts of terrorism against America," he said..

"What we have now, is you have the same Zionist media and you have this Zionist-occupied government of America as well, which are pushing this clash of civilizations between the Christian and Muslim world," the analyst added.

Morris, editor of America-hijacked.com, noted that this policy falls in line with the "Israeli Likudnik Oded Yinon neocon plan," under which the stage is being set for more wars in the Middle East.

Reading the news over the last couple of weeks, you'd be forgiven for thinking that some players on the world stage are doing their best to provoke all-out war.

On November 24, Turkey committed an act of war against Russia and Syria, violating Syria's airspace to shoot down a Russian jet flying anti-terrorist missions in northeastern Syria. Turkey had the audacity to call it "self-defense against Russian aggression."

Immediately after the shoot-down, Turkish-born and Turkish-backed terrorists committed a war crime, violating the Geneva Conventions by executing the Russian pilot as he parachuted to the ground. The U.S. called it "legitimate self-defense against Russian aggression."

On December 4, Turkey invaded the territory of Iraq, sending over 100 troops and 25 tanks into northern Iraq - in ISIS-controlled territory. By December 7 that number increased to over 900 troops. After repeated warnings and complaints from the Iraqi government, Ankara told Baghdad that "no further forces will be deployed". They have yet to remove the troops that were deployed.

The Daesh Takfiri terrorists are running into financial problems as airstrikes disrupt one of its main income sources -- illegal oil sales, says a conflict monitoring group.

According to a report released by the IHS Conflict Monitor on Monday, airstrikes carried out by Russia and the so-called US-led coalition have "significantly degraded the group's refining capacity and ability to transport oil via tanker convoys."

"According to information gathered from Arabic-language social media, and our in-country source network, efforts to target Daesh's sources of revenue are paying off," the report said.

Russia began launching airstrikes, requested by the Syrian government, on Takfiri targets in Syria in late September. The US-led coalition began targeting purported militant positions in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

So what exactly happened last Thursday? The markets (including the dollar) crashed ...and this was not supposed to happen?

It's actually quite easy to understand if you see what they did was "only a test"... Do you understand what I mean when I say a "test"?

I will explain shortly but first, the Fed came out with piggybacked governors talking about a rate hike. Hilarious on the face of it if you just look at the U.S. economic implosion going on.

But let's assume this is reality, the Fed really wants to hike rates (they do not "want to", they HAVE to). For the sake of saving face and retaining any credibility they absolutely MUST raise interest rates after seven years ...how do they do this? Please read this piece by E.D. Skyrm, just a .25% rate raise in rates will require the equivalent of up to $800 billion of collateral necessitated to being pulled. Did you get that? $800 billion??? A huge number and enough to tank the whole system ...unless someone is willing to replace it.

Famous Russian author takes a bird's eye view of the global chess game
The West is trying to provoke Russia into a war on four fronts, but to no avail

A Turkish F-16 shot down a Russian SU-24 in the Syrian skies. One pilot was killed, as was a marine trying to rescue them. Russians responded with anguish, anger, and a desire for revenge. Russia's war in the Middle East started with air strikes in support of President Bashar al-Assad, hitting ISIS detachments advancing to Damascus. Now, it has become a capricious, meandering channel.

A terrorist attack downed a Russian airliner over the Sinai - killing hundreds of our citizens and turning war into punishment. Air strikes were increased, involving strategic long-range bombers. The war became a rising flow of hatred and desire for revenge. Suddenly, an act of terrorism occurred in Paris. The French sent a naval group led by the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to the Syrian coast, joining the campaign against ISIS. Russian and French ships entered into a relationship of allies.

The idea of a coalition that would harmonize NATO and Russian efforts, also attracted other European countries. Then there was a treacherous act by Turkey, and momentum for a coalition receded into the background. The coalition pursued by Russian diplomacy could ease the contradictions between the West and Russia built-up over the years, and military cooperation could be followed by better economic, political and cultural relations. This will require complex interactions between Russian, Western and Turkish diplomats.

Russia today is implicated in three world hot spots. We have committed considerable resources to the fight in Syria, and now we have begun to expend lives. Mocking the Minsk agreements, Kiev is poised to restart the Ukrainian conflict, as multiple rocket launchers pound Donetsk, and terrorist attacks cut off Crimea's power supply.

Events in Central Asia are no less alarming. Armed Islamists from Afghanistan are violating the territorial integrity of Tajikistan, ready to invade Uzbekistan. And if these Central Asian republics burn, Russia will be compelled by its joint security agreements to intervene.

Roughly a hundred Turkish citizens have been arrested across the country since January on charges of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to a new report from human rights advocates. The report, released by the Republican People's Party (CHP), states that in the past ten months 98 people have been accused of slander, of which 68 were held on trial.

The total number of those who have been taken into custody over human rights issues in the period from January 1 through October 7 has reached 5,795 people, according to statistics contained in the report. It also shed light on the restriction of web sources by Turkish authorities in the course of recent years. The paper reads that in a four-year period the number of blocked sites gradually increased annually; while in 2011 only 15,562 websites were blocked, in 2015 this number has reached 96,000.

The wave of arrests for allegedly insulting President Erdogan has swept the country since his election in August 2014, affecting opposition journalists and public figures, according to media reports. Among the most high-profile instances are media figures such as Sedef Kabas, Hidayet Karaca and Mehmet Baransu.

European Political Review (Dec. 7)

The events of the past week will go down in history as a milestone in the development of 21st century imperialism. In the space of a few days, the United States, Britain, and Germany escalated their military involvement in Syria, following France's intensification of its own bombing campaign in Syria last month.

The pretext for these operations are the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, followed now by the horrific mass shooting in San Bernardino, California on Wednesday. The reasons presented to the public, however, have little to do with the strategic discussions taking place in top ranks of the military and the intelligence agencies.

As tragic as the killings of 130 people in Paris and 14 in San Bernardino are, they cannot explain the sudden and convulsive military escalation by major imperialist powers in the Middle East. One should recall that in 1915, after the sinking of the RMS Lusitania with the loss of 1,198 lives, the United States refrained from entering into World War I. At that point, the American ruling class was still divided over the advisability of intervening in the Great War.

The basic force behind war in Syria is the same as that which has motivated the imperialist carve-up of the Middle East as a whole: the interests of international finance capital. The major imperialist powers know that if they are to have a say in the division of the booty, they must have also done their share of the killing.