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© SputnikKurdish militia forces have been protecting the city of Kobani for two months. (No thanks to the U.S. and Turkey.)
Instead of preventing the fall of Kobani and supporting the local defenders which were doing the heavy fighting on the ground against the ISIL and containing its pseudo-caliphate, Washington did not move. The US position on Kobani is an important indicator that the US war initiated against the ISIL has been mere bravado and a fictitious public relations stunt aimed at hiding the real objective of getting a strategic foothold inside Syrian territory. ...Now, after failing to help the Kurds defeat ISIS when it really mattered, the U.S. has decided to just bomb the hell out of the city. The U.S. Air Force reportedly conducted 31 airstrikes in Syria and Iraq between November 14-17, 9 of which were near Kobani.
Although Turkey passed legislature to invade Syria on October 2, Ankara remained cautious. In reality, Turkey was doing everything in its power to ensure that Kobani would fall into the control of the ISIL and that Kobani's local defenders would be defeated.
In the context of Kobani, numerous reports were made revealing that large weapon shipments were delivered to the heavily armed battalions of the ISIL by Turkey for the offensive on Kobani. One journalist, Serena Shim, would pay with her life for trying to document this. ...
The Pentagon's two different approaches, one for Iraq and one for Syria, say a lot about what Washington is doing in the Syrian Arab Republic. Washington is still going after Syria and in the process it and Turkey wants to either co-opt the Syrian Kurds or to neutralize them. This is why the battle for Kobani was launched with Turkish involvement and why there was inaction by the US government.
© RIA Novoati/Michael KlimentyevPresident Vladimir Putin, center, speaks during the ceremony of presenting credentials from new foreign ambassadors in the Grand Kremlin Palace's Alexander Hall
"We are ready for practical cooperation with our American partners concerning a wide range of issues under the principles of mutually understanding each other, without interfering in each other's internal affairs," Putin said at a ceremony at the Kremlin, where he accepted the credentials of 15 new ambassadors to the country, including US Ambassador John Tefft.
Putin said that Russia and the US share responsibility for ensuring safety and stability around the globe, and reiterated that Moscow was willing to work with the US following strained relations between the two countries.
Underlining the importance of the two countries' roles around the world, Putin said, "Russia and the US have a particular responsibility to support safety and stability in the world and to counter global challenges and threats," according to a transcript of his remarks reported by RIA Novosti.
Built on slave labor - the corrupt UAE
In an 80-page report titled 'There is no freedom here': Silencing dissent in the UAE, the NGO blames the ruling theocracy for distracting the eye of foreigners with the glamorous appearance of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, while at the same time conducting harsh violations of human rights.
The probe, published ahead of the F1 Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, exposes the gap between the public image the UAE tries to present and the harsh reality on the ground.
"Millions of spectators from across the world are expected to tune in to watch the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix this weekend - yet most of them will have little clue about the ugly reality of life for activists in the UAE," said Amnesty International's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa Program, Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.
The "darker reality" in the UAE is characterized by torture and widespread abuse by authorities - something that has gone largely unnoticed since the start of the series of Arab Spring uprisings in 2011.
Ukraine is running short on coal reserves as a direct result of a US State Dept. coup in the country earlier this year.
In 2012 and 2013 Ukraine extracted about 85 million tons of coal, of which 40 billion tons were used for domestically, Zyukov told Glavkom magazine, adding that previously Ukraine even exported coal.
"Situations as this one have never happened in the history of an independent Ukraine, we have never had such precedents."
Same convoy, different flag. Even in 2011, it was painfully obvious the so-called "rebels" fighting with NATO assistance in Libya were in fact members of long-standing Al Qaeda franchises including the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Their strongholds in eastern Libya served as the "revolution's" cradle, meaning the "revolution" was merely cover for a NATO-assisted Al Qaeda uprising. In other words, NATO handed Libya over to Al Qaeda, and is attempting to do likewise with Syria.
Comment: As usual, Tony Cartalucci nails it. As he's written before, ISIS is the U.S.'s dream proxy army. They simply arm a group of terrorists in one country, call them 'pro-democracy protesters' or 'moderate rebels', then send them into another country. In the case of ISIS, they put on a show, claiming to be fighting them (even though they're essentially identical to the 'moderate rebels' they're openly supporting there), but their efforts are so ineffective and blatantly opposite to their stated goals that they enter the realm of farce.
The United States has attempted to claim that the only way to stop the so-called "Islamic State" in Syria and Iraq is to first remove the government in Syria. Complicating this plan are developments in Libya, benefactor of NATO's last successful regime change campaign. In 2011, NATO armed, funded, and backed with a sweeping air campaign militants in Libya centered around the eastern Libyan cities of Tobruk, Derna, and Benghazi. By October 2011, NATO successfully destroyed the Libyan government, effectively handing the nation over to these militants.
What ensued was a campaign of barbarism, genocide, and sectarian extremism as brutal in reality as what NATO claimed in fiction was perpetrated by the Libyan government ahead of its intervention. The so-called "rebels" NATO had backed were revealed to be terrorists led by Al Qaeda factions including the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The so-called "pro-democracy protesters" Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi was poised to attack in what NATO claimed was pending "genocide" were in fact heavily armed terrorists that have festered for decades in eastern Libya.
Almost immediately after NATO successfully destroyed Libya's government, its terrorist proxies were mobilized to take part in NATO's next campaign against Syria. Libyan terrorists were sent first to NATO-member Turkey were they were staged, armed, trained, and equipped, before crossing the Turkish-Syrian border to take part in the fighting.
Comment: Play with fire and you might get burned. This can only end badly for everyone on the planet.
Pulitzer (right) and Hearst (left) go to war over the Spanish American War
So boasted the headline of William Randolph Hearst's New York flagship that week in 1898 that the United States declared war on Spain.
While Hearst's Journal, in a circulation battle with Joe Pulitzer's World, was a warmongering sheet, it did not start the war.
Yet the headline comes to mind reading the Wall Street Journal, whose editorial pages seem to have concluded that on Nov. 4 America voted for new wars in the Middle East, and beyond.
On Nov. 13, the Journal's op-ed page was given over to Mark Dubowitz and Reuel Marc Gerecht of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Assuming nuclear talks with Iran conclude unsuccessfully by the Nov. 24 deadline, they write, we have four options.
Two involve continued or tougher sanctions. The other two are a preemptive war featuring U.S. air and missile strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, or a U.S. attack to bring down Bashar Assad's regime.
"Taking Mr. Assad down would let Tehran know that America's withdrawal from the Middle East and President Obama's dreams of an entente with Iran are over."It would surely do that.
Comment: Of course! Without wars to feed the bankers, everything would collapse.
Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted the credentials of 15 new ambassadors during a ceremony held on Wednesday at the Grand Kremlin Palace.
"I would like to sincerely wish you every success and express a hope that your work here will facilitate the development of bilateral relations and mutual cooperation in various areas between Russia and the countries you represent," Putin said.
The Russian president handed out letters of credence to newly appointed ambassadors Mohhamed Ali Kamil (Djibouti), Claude Bezot (Central African Republic), Petros Zeggai Asgedom (Eritrea), Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz (Poland), Kim Hen Jun (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), Kodzo Kpoku Alabo (Ghana), Nguyen Thanh Son (Vietnam), John Francis Tefft (United States), Solomon Jason Mbuzi (Zambia), Umit Yardim (Turkey), Wynjones Matthew Kisamba (Tanzania), Yanosh Balla (Hungary), Juan Humberto Umeres Alvares (Peru), Juan Ernesto Vasquez Araya (Nicaragua), and Akmal Kamalov (Uzbekistan).
"Heads of 15 diplomatic missions are here today and, as we traditionally do, I would like to briefly characterize the state of relations with every state which you represent," the president stated.
© Sputnik/Michael KlimentyevRussian President Vladimir Putin handed out letters of credence to 15 newly appointed ambassadors during a diplomatic accreditation ceremony in Kremlin
The Russian president handed out letters of credence to newly appointed ambassadors Mohhamed Ali Kamil (Djibouti), Claude Bezot (Central African Republic), Petros Zeggai Asgedom (Eritrea), Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz (Poland), Kim Hen Jun (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), Kodzo Kpoku Alabo (Ghana), Nguyen Thanh Son (Vietnam), John Francis Tefft (United States), Solomon Jason Mbuzi (Zambia), Umit Yardim (Turkey), Wynjones Matthew Kisamba (Tanzania), Yanosh Balla (Hungary), Juan Humberto Umeres Alvares (Peru), Juan Ernesto Vasquez Araya (Nicaragua), and Akmal Kamalov (Uzbekistan).
"Heads of 15 diplomatic missions are here today and, as we traditionally do, I would like to briefly characterize the state of relations with every state which you represent," the president stated.
Comment: Trite as it is, honey really does catch more flies than vinegar, and Russia has backed up its kind words with real deeds. The US will find that its bullying tactics will fail, and sooner than later. Moscow is perfectly positioned to act when that happens.
© Associated Press/Toby Talbot
In January, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is slated to take over as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which oversees the federal workforce and the entire Postal Service. Johnson has said that the Postal Service should go through a bankruptcy process that would result in a downsized, private corporation that would lose the benefits of governmental oversight and regulation. It could also allow the revised entity to terminate or substantially modify its contracts, including its collective bargaining agreements with various postal unions.
Comment: And there you have it. The USPS is subject to unique and unfair rules with respect to its operation, such as pre-contribution to its pension fund, which distorts the financial state of the department. The Postal Service is actually one of the few profitable government agencies, running entirely generated revenue:
"The red ink one hears about stems entirely from congressional politics. In 2006, a lame-duck Congress mandated that the Postal Service pre-fund future retiree health benefits. No other public or private entity is required to do this for even one year; USPS has to pre-fund 75 years into the future, and pay for it over a decade. This $5.6 billion annual charge accounts for 100 percent of postal "losses."One can imagine the salivating private sector just waiting to step into the void if this bill gets through.
Last year, Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) introduced the Postal Reform Act of 2014 which would restructure the needless requirement that the agency pre-fund 75 years' worth of employee health benefits, a demand no other businesses or institutions face. The bill would also allow for a gradual end to Saturday mail service if financially necessary, as well as the eventual termination of door-to-door service, but would not mandate either of these steps.
© RIA NovostiPrime Minister of the Luhansk People's Republic Igor Plotnitsky (L) and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (R).
"I suggest you consider just one, but a very good scenario," Plotnitsky wrote in an open letter to Poroshenko. "Let's (following the example of the ancient Slavic leaders and glorious Cossack chieftains) get together in a fight: whoever wins will dictate terms to the opposite side."
Plotnitsky's "terms" are multiple, among them an immediate cessation of all hostilities; withdrawal of all legal, semi-legal and illegal armed groups of Ukraine beyond the administrative boundaries of Lugansk and Donetsk Regions; the start of peace negotiations between Ukraine on one side and the LPR and Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) on the other.
"For the fight to be fair, each party has a right to engage 10 observers-seconds and 10 mass media representatives," Plotnitsky informed, adding that he doesn't mind a live broadcast on any TV channel, gallantly leaving the choice of location for the fight and choice of weapons up to the billionaire chocolate baron-turned-president.
"Why stir up mutual hatred and destroy people, cities, economy? You and I will have to heal these wounds for decades! Isn't it better to end all disagreements in a fair fight?" Plotnitsky wondered.
"God will judge and will not tolerate unjust victory", he stated.
Comment: What Plotnisky offers makes a lot of sense but Poroshenko knows he cannot win. Back in the day there was a time where military leaders physically led the armies into battle. Now the gutless psychopaths let others do their bidding.
Comment: And again we see feckless and self-destructive policies being implemented by the Kiev junta because Ukraine is now, as a result of the US-led coup in March, entirely beholden to US and EU foreign policy which is aimed at destroying Russia and cares nothing for the well-being of the Ukrainian people.