Puppet MastersS


Evil Rays

Washington's 'group-thinking' the world into a new war with Russia

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© Getty ImagesApril, 2003. A U.S. marine covers the face of a statue of Saddam Hussein when the U.S. "liberated" Iraq. Since then, and prior, it is clear that nothing in the history of Hussein's reign comes close to the amount of suffering and devastation that the U.S. is responsible for there.

Exclusive: The armchair warriors of Official Washington are eager for a new war, this time with Russia over Ukraine, and they are operating from the same sort of mindless "group think" and hostility to dissent that proved so disastrous in Iraq, reports Robert Parry.


If you wonder how the lethal "group think" on Iraq took shape in 2002, you might want to study what's happening today with Ukraine. A misguided consensus has grabbed hold of Official Washington and has pulled in everyone who "matters" and tossed out almost anyone who disagrees.

Part of the problem, in both cases, has been that neocon propagandists understand that in the modern American media the personal is the political, that is, you don't deal with the larger context of a dispute, you make it about some easily demonized figure. So, instead of understanding the complexities of Iraq, you focus on the unsavory Saddam Hussein.

This approach has been part of the neocon playbook at least since the 1980s when many of today's leading neocons - such as Elliott Abrams and Robert Kagan - were entering government and cut their teeth as propagandists for the Reagan administration. Back then, the game was to put, say, Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega into the demon suit, with accusations about him wearing "designer glasses." Later, it was Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega and then, of course, Saddam Hussein.

Comment: So it seems that to become a "successful" pundit or politician in the West's current political culture, many have become concerned solely with being a part of the 'in crowd' - rigorous consideration on matters of world import be damned. The price for this 'group-think' has been, and continues to be, tragically high. And the rest of the world, and soon the U.S., will be paying even more dearly for it - as other Empires and their vassal states have before it.


Clock

Syriza and Russian sanctions: Best option for present, big decisions in future

Syriza
© ReutersThe head of leftist Syriza party Alexis Tsipras speaks to supporters after winning the elections in Athens()
As Eric Kraus has pointed out there is complete confusion in the media today about how to spin the latest EU sanctions decision. Did Syriza fold as per Reuters and Bloomberg. Or did the meeting expose growing splits within the EU as per the Financial Times and the London Times.

The best answer is that nothing definite was decided at the latest EU Council meeting but Syriza did manage to put a marker down.

I go back to my piece about Syriza for Russia Insider. Whether one likes the fact or not, for Syriza relations with Russia are not the priority. Syriza does not agree with the sanctions, but its overriding priority is Greece's own economic crisis.

Comment: See also:


Passport

Glimmer of hope for Assange

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© Creative CommonsJulian Assange in one of his rare public appearances in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where he has been in hiding since June 2012.
There is a window of hope, thanks to a U.N. human rights body, for a solution to the diplomatic asylum of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, holed up in the embassy of Ecuador in London for the past two and a half years.

Authorities in Sweden, which is seeking the Australian journalist's extradition to face allegations of sexual assault, admitted there is a possibility that measures could be taken to jumpstart the stalled legal proceedings against Assange.

The head of Assange's legal defence team, former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, told IPS that in relation to this case "we have expressed satisfaction that the Swedish state" has accepted the proposals of several countries.

The prominent Spanish lawyer and international jurist was referring to proposals set forth by Argentina, Cuba, Ecuador, Slovakia and Uruguay.

Comment: The patience and dedication of the Ecuadorean embassy for Assange's rights is impressive. Hopefully this dreadful situation will be resolved soon.


Info

Kiev's end may come soon after the "Debaltsevo collapse"

ukraine nato
© UnknownUkrainian and NATO flags
Translated from Russian

Fighting in Debaltsevo outskirts have been continuing for several days. Their intensity approaches the earlier fight for the Donetsk Airport. Considering the length of the frontline, the Battle for Debaltsevo is increasingly reminiscent of the Battle of Ilovaysk.

The wedge that was pushed into Novorossia defenses during the summer had strategic sense for the Ukrainian military. In the event the offensive was continued, one could have launched a disintegrating blow that would have cut off the entire Donetsk-Makeyevka-Gorlovka urban agglomeration in one fell swoop. But during the winter, when it became obvious the Ukrainian military is in no condition to attack, from the military point of view the salient should have been abandoned.

Comment: With the gradually increasing push for Nazism in Ukraine and across the EU, there are no winners. No one knows how to handle these brutal thugs, except through violence. But psychopaths do not comprehend defeat, or punishment. The Ukrainian rebels are right in attempting to get as far away as possible.

Also see:


Attention

Ukraine update: War could be finished for 7,000 trapped Ukrainian soldiers, Kiev facing 'catastrophic defeat'

eastern Ukraine
© Reuters / Alexander ErmochenkoA man walks near a damaged residential building in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine January 19, 2015
Fierce fighting continues around Debaltsevo. If NAF forces succeed in surrounding the estimated 6,000-8,000 Ukrainian troops in the area - which could happen in the next 24 hours or less - Kiev will be faced with a catastrophic defeat, one that will be hard to recover from.

For an excellent analysis of the current situation, we strongly recommend the latest from Fort Russ.

Here is the most recent update on the fighting that we could find:
According to official DNR evening briefing for 31.1.2015, the main military activity is in the Debaltsevo cauldron. With capture of Uglegorsk confirmed, Chernukhino about to be seized (indications today are, it has already fallen to NAF) and attempts by NAF to close the northern entry at Svetlodarsk/Luganskoye and establish a checkpoint north of Debaltsevo on the road from Luganskoye to Debaltsevo. Seems that NAF is not letting out any military vehicles from Debaltsevo, but is letting civilian vehicles pass.

Comment: Also see:


Magic Hat

SOTT Exclusive: ISIS refugee trojan horse plot foiled! Jihadists at the gates of Europe disguised as Muslim refugees

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Last October, International Business Times cited unnamed US intelligence sources reporting that ISIS was plotting to smuggle jihadists into Europe disguised as Middle Eastern refugees so that they can launch terror attacks. US intelligence became aware of this after it "unravelled encrypted talks between the leadership of IS" which revealed the terrorists' plan to take advantage of "relaxed border controls that would allow IS militants to blend in with the thousands of genuine refugees spilling over the border in search of safety."
Isis (now known as the Islamic State) is plotting to smuggle its fighters into Western Europe disguised as Middle Eastern refugees, according to US intelligence sources.

German newspaper Bild reported that American intelligence authorities had unravelled encrypted talks between the leadership of IS.

The sources told the outlet IS was moving away from plans to conduct aircraft hijackings and attacks for fear of tight security and was looking to land a new strategy.

It is seeking to move militants across borders disguised as refugees in a "trojan horse" tactic that would see the fighters use fake passports once in Turkey to reach Western European countries in the hope of carrying out terror attacks.

"In view of the chaotic conditions on the Syria-Turkey border, it is nearly impossible to catch Isis terrorists in the wave of refugees," wrote Bild.
Fast-forward to the present year and we have al-Baghdadi's henchmen themselves admitting to such a plot. An anonymous Islamic State operative, along with his lackey refugee-smugglers in Turkey, allegedly admitted to BuzzFeed News that they are helping to sneak ISIS fighters into Europe disguised as Muslim refugees, where they are to wander around European countries with fake passports and plot terror attacks unchecked. Their somewhat counter-intuitive goal is to stage terror attacks in the West in order to break the resolve of the U.S.-led coalition involved in the airstrikes. According to the article, this is the first time an ISIS member involved in such plans decided to discuss them with the media.
An ISIS operative traveled across the Syrian border late last year, settled in a Turkish port city, and began work on a mission to sneak jihadis into Europe. It has been successful, he said, in an interview near the Turkey-Syria border: "Just wait."

The operative, a Syrian in his thirties with a close-cropped black beard, said ISIS is sending covert fighters to Europe - as did two smugglers who said they have helped. He smuggles them from Turkey in small groups, he said, hidden in cargo ships filled with hundreds of refugees. He said the fighters intend to fulfill ISIS's threat to stage attacks in the West.
The mastermind behind this 'Trojan Horse' operation went on to say that he went from being a member of the Syrian government's security forces to being part of the U.S.-funded Syrian 'opposition', before apparently defecting to ISIS, a rather common pattern in this unmitigated disaster of 'Western humanitarian intervention.'

Rocket

Peace talks in Minsk fail while Donetsk constantly shelled by Kiev

Donetsk
© RIA Novosti / Sergey AverinA house destroyed by Ukrainian army's shelling in Kuybyshevsky district, Donetsk
Shelling of the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk is continuing practically non-stop with shells landing in civilian areas after mediators' talks failed Saturday. Militia and Kiev forces are fighting for the strategically key area of Debaltsevo.

Officials of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said at least three civilians have been killed by Ukrainian artillery fire targeting residential areas overnight.

"Overnight, the Ukrainian troops fired about 30 barrages at DPR cities. The night shelling injured 14 civilians" in two of the city's neighborhoods, reported Eduard Basurin, deputy defense minister in the DPR.

Four more people have been killed on Sunday, the militia said, while the total number of injured over the past 24 hours is being counted at over 20. They blamed Ukrainian units holding two villages northwest of the city and several infiltration groups for the violence.


Comment: The NAF's recent successes (which match their successes last year before the nominal ceasefire went into effect) put them in a stronger position to bargain. But whether Kiev will take the sane option and agree to a new demarcation line - as opposed to stubbornly sending thousands more new conscripts to die - is another matter. Debaltsevo is almost totally encircled, trapping thousands of Ukrainian troops. Again, the sane thing would be to lay down arms and get out of there, not try to fight their way out under siege conditions. Up until now, Kiev has been all too willing to simply throw in more cannon fodder, and use NATO weapons to bomb civilians.




Bad Guys

No surprise: Obama admits US role in 2014 Ukraine coup

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© REUTERS/ Kevin Lamarque
The United States took an active part in the February 2014 coup in Ukraine, which installed pro-Western authorities, US President Obama told CNN Sunday.

"And since Mr. Putin made this decision around Crimea and Ukraine - not because of some grand strategy, but essentially because he was caught off-balance by the protests in the Maidan and [Ukraine's then-President Viktor] Yanukovych then fleeing after we had brokered a deal to transition power in Ukraine," Obama said in an interview.


Comment: Crimea made the decision, not Putin.


Yanukovych's decision to not sign association agreement with the European Union in late 2013 triggered a mass wave of protests across Ukraine, which culminated in the February coup. Following the February events and the rise of aggressive nationalism in the country, Crimea seceded from Ukraine and joined Russia in March 2014, following a referendum, in which 96 percent of voters were in favor of reunifying with Russia.

Comment: No surprise. The US was the leading figure in the Ukraine coup.


Wall Street

Nomi Prins: The sinister evolution of our modern banking system

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I quit Wall Street and decided that it was time to talk more about what was going on inside it, as it had changed. It had become far more sinister and far more dangerous.

~ Nomi Prins
Today, the 'revolving door' connecting our political and financial systems is evident to anyone with eyes. But this entwined relationship between Washington DC and Wall Street is nothing new, predating even the formation of the Federal Reserve.

To chronicle the evolution to where we find ourselves today, we welcome Nomi Prins, Wall Street veteran turned financial industry reformist, and author of the excellent expose All The Presidents Bankers.

In this well-detailed interview, Nomi goes into depth of the rationale and process behind the creation of the Federal Reserve, and more important, how its mandate -- and the behavior of the banking system overall -- metastasized into the every-banker-for-himself regime of sanctioned theft we now live with.

Bomb

Terrorism hits Thailand: Ousted regime that vowed violent reprisals finally follows through

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Thaksin Shinawatra deployed some 300 heavily armed terrorists in Bangkok in 2010 triggering bloodshed that would claim nearly 100 lives and leave the city in flames after a final day of serial arson was carried out by his political supporters.
Ousted regime that vowed violent reprisals, finally follows through.

Two powerful bombs exploded in downtown Bangkok Sunday night, just days after ousted prime minster Yingluck Shinawatra was impeached from office amid threats from her political party that violence would follow.

Indeed just days ago the Nation would report in an article titled, "Strong reaction to impeachment," that:
Former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra's impeachment yesterday was hailed by her opponents as the dawn of a new era, but characterised by her supporters as a new chapter that would ignite political violence and deepen division.
The political violence referred too of course, was not to be "spontaneous" in nature, but rather openly carried out by leading members of Shinawatra's political party. The Nation more recently reported in an article titled, "Junta vows crackdown on provocateurs," that (emphasis added):
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday pledged to take legal action against people who threaten to use violence to protest against the government and state officials.The premier referred to politicians who said they would stage rallies and violence against the government to stop reconciliation, and would create violence like that seen in the South.
Once again, the ousted regime of Yingluck Shinawatra, along with her deposed brother Thaksin Shinawatra, has promised and now carried through with acts of terrorism and violence aimed at destabilizing, dividing, and destroying the nation.

Thaksin Shinawatra, a convicted criminal living abroad to evade a two-year jail sentence for corruption and a long list of pending court cases has for the past decade led brutal campaigns of mass murder, terrorism, and targeted assassinations against his opponents and the people of Thailand, all with enthusiastic Western backing.

Comment: It will be interesting to see how the Western media spins this latest terror attack in Thailand.

According to Cartalucci: "The Western media is going to insinuate the Thai army did this to justify martial law (even though they already have welcomed, popular, total control of the country already)."