Puppet MastersS


Chalkboard

Virginia State Senator Richard Black: The Origins of the Syrian War

richard black
The Syrian War was never an expression of domestic unrest. From the outset, the Syrian War was a foreign covert action, undertaken by NATO intelligence operatives and Arab dictators. The former French Foreign Minister, Roland Dumas, said that as early as 2009, "Britain was preparing gunmen to invade Syria." Seymour Hersh wrote in the New Yorker, that President Bush ordered clandestine operations to destabilize Syria in 2007—long before the so-called "Arab Spring." The Saudi Arabians helped conceal the war plans by providing necessary funding, thus hiding them from public disclosure. Together, the U.S., France, Britain and the radical Gulf dictators mapped out plans to topple the free and popular government of Syria. They prepared the sinister Muslim Brotherhood to instigate violence - and impose regime change on the Syrian people.

In 2011, Syria had greater religious freedom and greater women's rights than any other Arab nation.
President Assad kept peace with all nations. He valued religious freedom and respected every faith. In the midst of the war, in 2013, Christians erected one of the world's greatest statues of Jesus Christ—a towering statue atop a mountain that is visible from Israel, Syria and Lebanon. Our Arab allies, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, would have beheaded anyone who tried to do that in their countries. The Saudis are determined to force violent Sharia Law on Syria. They want Syria purged of Christians and other minorities. Toppling the elected government of Damascus would end religious freedom and extinguish women's rights in Syria forever.

Comment: See State Senator Black interviewed about Syria below. He knows what he's talking about:




Dollar

Iran seeks compensation from US over 63 years of hostile actions

iranian parliament
© Raheb Homavandi / ReutersA general view of a parliament session in Tehran
Iranian parliament has passed a bill demanding that the government seek damages from the United States' "hostile action and crimes" committed since 1953, citing "material or moral damage" caused by Washington's policy toward Iran.

Among the "hostile actions" mentioned in the bill are the US support for the coup against the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953, aiding Saddam Hussein in the war between Iraq and Iran in the 1980s, destruction of oil platforms in the Persian Gulf in 1988, and espionage against the Islamic Republic as well as confiscation of Iranian external assets, Tehran Times reports.

"The Government has the duty to take the necessary measures seeking compensation for material and moral damages caused by the United States" to Iranians over the past 63 years, the text of the bill says as quoted by AFP.

The bill was passed on Tuesday with 174 votes in favor and seven against while four MPs abstained, Iranian media reported. It is yet to be signed into law by the Guardian Council overseeing the parliament.

Gold Bar

China's golden strategy to end the tyranny of the dollar

china replaces dollar, dollar reserve
China, as current chair of the G-20 group of nations, called on France to organize a very special conference in Paris. The fact such a conference would even take place in an OECD country is a sign of how weakened the hegemony of the US-dominated Dollar System has become.

On March 31 in Paris a special meeting, named "Nanjing II," was held. People's Bank of China Governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, was there and made a major presentation on, among other points, broader use of the IMF special basket of five major world currencies, the Special Drawing Rights or SDR's. The invited were a very select few. The list included German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde discussed the world's financial architecture together with China. Apparently and significantly, there was no senior US official present.

On the Paris talks, Bloomberg reported: "China wants a much more closely managed system, where private-sector decisions can be managed by governments," said Edwin Truman, a former Federal Reserve and US Treasury official. "The French have always favored international monetary reform, so they're natural allies to the Chinese on this issue."

A China Youth Daily journalist present in Paris noted, "Zhou Xiaochuan pointed out that the international monetary and financial system is currently undergoing structural adjustment, the world economy is facing many challenges..." According to the journalist Zhou went on to declare that China's aim as current President of the G20 talks is to "promote the wider use of the SDR."

For most of us, that sounds about as exciting as watching Johnson grass grow in the Texas plains. However, behind that seemingly minor technical move, as is becoming clearer by the day, is a grand Chinese strategy, if it succeeds or not, a grand strategy to displace the dominating role of the US dollar as world central bank reserve currency. China and others want an end to the tyranny of a broken dollar system that finances endless wars on other peoples' borrowed money with no need to ever pay it back. The strategy is to end the domination of the dollar as the currency for most world trade in goods and services. That's no small beer.

Comment:


Stormtrooper

Return of the Middle Ages: Danish soldiers march back to Estonia

Danish Army
© AP Photo/ Mindaugas Kulbis
Anti-Russian sentiment has crept into Scandinavian politics, and Denmark is about to make a generous contribution to NATO's British-led coalition force in Estonia to ward off "aggressive" Russia.

Some 150 Danish soldiers will join NATO's spearhead force of over 6,000 in Estonia, tasked with halting Russia's advances in the Baltic region, the newspaper Politiken reported, citing the war in eastern Ukraine and Russia's "annexation" of the Crimean Peninsula.

According to the official Danish rhetoric, Denmark's contribution in terms of manpower will help to deter Russia from exerting its aggressive security policy in the region.

Director of the Center for Military Studies at the University of Copenhagen Henrik Breitenbauch does not think that Denmark's participation will trigger any anger on Russia's part.

Comment: The NATO build-up along Russia's borders continues, using the excuse of "Russian aggression". Russia has made its attitude towards foreign countries quite plain: It wants nothing other than mutually beneficial, peaceful co-operation - unlike NATO.


Document

Assad's fate not mentioned in final ISSG document

Lav and Ker
© sputniknews.comThe Diplomatic Divide: "Rise to my level." "Descend to mine."
The final document to be adopted following the meeting of the International Syrian Support Group (ISSG) in Vienna will outline measures to maintain the cessation of hostilities throughout the territory of Syria and humanitarian access issues, reports RIA Novosti with reference to a diplomatic source in one of the delegations.

"Following the meeting of the ISSG, a document will be represented. It sets out measures to maintain the cessation of hostilities throughout the territory of Syria, as well as issues of humanitarian access," said the agency's interlocutor. According to him, the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is not mentioned in the text.

Earlier, Russia and the United States issued a joint appeal on Syria. The document discussed the most acute problems that impede the establishment of peace in the country. In particular, countries agreed to identify the territory controlled by the Islamic State and "Jabhat al-Nusra", and "to consider decisive action" against them. In addition, Russia and the United States promised to "exert pressure" on the parties to the conflict to ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance in some isolated areas. These proposals were assessed as "positive" at the meeting of the "Friends of Syria Group".

Comment: Hopefully these agreements and documents amount to more than just busy-work. It won't be what Kerry and Lavrov say, it's what they will do, and how they do it. For Assad to not be mentioned could mean his fate is not up for negotiation, or is still on the table. Will it be US' call, or Russia's?


Bad Guys

Foaming at the mouth for war: NATO provokes Russia following Victory Day celebrations

NATO Russia
Less than a week after Russia marked its annual Victory Day commemoration of the end of the Second World War, NATO troops began planned military exercises in Estonia all the way up to Russia's border. It begs the question - are these people actually mad?

Many countries and many people suffered enormously during World War Two. It was the first conflict in history in which technology played a dominant part in the air, on land, and at sea, allowing for the development of weaponry of unparalleled destructive force, power, and reach. Add to this the brutality and barbarism of the fascist ideology that underpinned the war, with its objective of eradicating entire peoples from the earth, the carnage that ensued was inevitable.

No country suffered more than the Soviet Union over the course of the war, and no people suffered more than the Russian people, who made up the vast bulk of the Soviet population. It is estimated that between 25-30 million Russian and Soviet citizens perished, while the country itself was devastated, turned upside down and inside out.

Comment: Further reading: Victory Day: American narrative of World War II 'falsifies history'


Bad Guys

US' Plan B in Syria would turn ISIS into 'de facto government'

Obama ISIS
As the United States and Russia continue to negotiate over Syria, Radio Sputnik's Loud & Clear speaks with Islamic Human Rights Commission founder Massoud Shadjareh to discuss Washington's true goals for the war-torn country.

"When you look at the interests of Saudi Arabia, who is pouring billions into this conflict, and...Turkey, you see that really they don't want to have tranquility and peace in that region," Shadjareh tells Loud & Clear.

"They'd had a commitment from the beginning for regime change."

The United States and its allies maintain that their goal in Syria is to combat violent religious extremist groups like Daesh, also known as IS/Islamic State. But Western powers resist the obvious solution to that problem by insisting first on the removal Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Comment: Further reading: Headchoppers in Saudi Arabia warns of 'Plan B' for Syria while US keeps stalling


Bug

Erdogan stirs the pot in Crimea: Another provocation aimed at Russia?

13th Islamic Summit
The 13th Islamic Summit entitled "Unity And Solidarity For Justice And Peace," set up by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (IOC) took place on April 10-15 in Istanbul, Turkey and yielded some revealing but certainly not unsuspected news. At the summit, chaired by Turkish President Recep Erdogan, more signs emerged of a Turkish/GCC attempt to not only continue to destabilize Syria but an attempt to extend the destabilization into Eurasia, up to the Russian border, and even inside Russian territory itself.

During the course of the summit, then-Turkish Prime Minister Davitoglu addressed the issues of the "Occupied Islamic Territories," i.e. Palestine, Nagorno-Karabkh, and Crimea and expressed concerns about the development of those situations. He stated that these areas needed to be rescued via cultural, religious, and "other" means although he was not specific as to what these "other" means might be. He also referred to the Crimean issue as one of the main issues of the summit.

Although the Turkish version of the summit's communique was not ultimately not accepted by the group, the communique that was produced condemned "Armenian aggression" in Nagorno-Karabkh and expressed "interest" in the Crimean situation.

It should also be noted that Mustafa Dzhemilev, former chairman of the Mejlis Of the Crimean Tatar People, was presented by the summit as the only legitimate representative of the Crimean people. Dzhemilev held a joint meeting with the Turkish and Azeri presidents during the course of the summit.

In addition, King Salmaan of Saudi Arabia was in attendance and was greeted at the airport by Recep Erdogan who later presented the King with an award at an official ceremony.

Vader

Warmongering ex-NATO general: Stronger Baltic presence necessary to avoid nuclear war

atom bomb
© Flickr
As Moscow repeatedly urges for calm in Eastern Europe, the US and NATO deploy new forces to Russia's border. Now, a senior retired general with the alliance has called for an even larger Western presence in the Baltics, or risk nuclear war.

On Tuesday, the US Navy announced that its command ship, Mount Whitney, is en route for military drills in the Baltic.

"BALTOPS is an annually recurring multinational exercise designed to enhance flexibility and interoperability, as well as demonstrate resolve of allied and partner forces to defend the Baltic region," reads a statement.

Eye 2

Economic war: Venezuela food shortages deliberately created by US-aligned oligarchs

Lorenzo Mendoza
Billionaire Lorenzo Mendoza runs Venezuela's largest food company, Empresas Polar. A constant threat to murdered Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, current President Nicolas Maduro has called him an "oligarch of the devil" and has accused him of reducing production and hoarding products to create shortages.
Private sector wholesalers and retailers resist selling at controlled prices so that they can make much larger profits elsewhere.

The Symptoms

This week, the Venezuelan government began raising the controlled prices of several essential food items and other basic goods. The aim is to make it's more worthwhile for producers, wholesalers or retailers to sell them, and thereby reduce the incentive to hoard them or divert them onto the parallel, informal market where they go for many times their official price.

In our previous article, we mentioned this elaborate system of bachaqueo, or reselling. It is the most glaring expression of the food problem in Venezuela, it fuels both the shortage of basic goods, and their exorbitant price.