Ukrainian farmers will find themselves on the brink of survival in 2015.

On 1 January 2015, Ukraine will enact the law banning the sales of home-slaughtered meat, as well as homemade milk and cheese, the Capital reports.

Ukraine has to ban the sales of home meat, milk and curds to become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

In 2013, Ukraine's Ministry for Agrarian Policy wanted to postpone the law for five years, till 2020, to obtain time to equip special slaughter houses.

The revolution in Ukraine did not let the plans materialize. The new rulers of Ukraine apparently decided not to engage in such matters.

According to the head of the All-Ukrainian Agricultural Council, Denis Marchuk, the adoption of the law will put villagers on the brink of survival.

"The imposition of the ban without a transition period will affect the work of small farms that produce about 30 percent of meat and 75 percent of milk of the total amount of these products. For many villagers, cattle farming is the only source of income," he said.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said that Ukraine was ranked first in Europe in terms of the agricultural potential.

Citigroup is the Wall Street mega bank that forced the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999; blew itself up as a result of the repeal in 2008; was propped back up with the largest taxpayer bailout in the history of the world even though it was insolvent and didn't qualify for a bailout; has now written its own legislation to de-regulate itself; got the President of the United States to lobby for its passage; and received an up vote from both houses of Congress in less than a week.

And there is one more thing you should know at the outset about Citigroup: it didn't just have a hand in bringing the country to its knees in 2008; it was a key participant in the 1929 collapse under the moniker National City Bank. Both the U.S. Senate's investigation of the collapse of the financial system in 1929 and the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) that investigated the 2008 collapse cited this bank as a key culprit.

Is anyone else wondering what happened to the 12th NATO General Secretary, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, after his 5-year mandate ended this past September? Rasmussen was one of the most loyal high-level officials of the US-NATO Empire for more than a decade, so I thought it would be interesting to find out what a man like that does once he's out of a job.

My findings didn't surprise me. Rasmussen is set to continue serving the goals of Empire in a different, more profitable line of work. In other words, taking cue from former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former US President Bill Clinton, Rasmussen is now on the road to personal enrichment. The time has come for him to cash in on all the pain, suffering and death he had caused as NATO's civilian head in the operations of destabilization and the partial-to-complete destruction of the sovereign states of Libya, Syria, and Ukraine.

And so, just a day after his tenure in NATO was over, Rasmussen went into corporate business. He opened a geopolitical consultancy firm which aims to offer "strategic advice to governments, global organizations and major corporations".¹ Somewhat predictably, the firm's name is 'Rasmussen Global'; nobody will be confused as to who the boss is. Its logo is, however, more surprising: it consists of a not-too-creatively stylized map of the world, with New York City (of all places) in the background:

A Ukrainian soldier who was part of the crew that operated the supposed missile-battery that the Ukrainian Government claims shot down the Malaysian MH17 airliner on July 17th has testified publicly for the first time, saying that the missile-battery was operated by the Ukrainian military, not by the rebels as asserted, and that he and his former crew-mates who operated it laughed when they heard their Government say that this missile-battery was operated by rebels and had shot the airliner down.

An English-translated transcript of the December 15th Russian-language interview with this soldier was posted at UkraineWar.Info on December 17th by Michael Collins, an investigative journalist with UkraineWar.Info who has been following very closely the multiple investigations that are proceeding into the cause of the downing.

On October 24 of this year, the Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced that the fall of the Russian ruble exchange rate has a negative impact on the financial situation in Ukraine.

"In fact, today is a 'Black Friday' for the Russian economy and the Russian ruble. Usually, after this, we get a wave of financial instability due to the insolvency of Russia", - said the head of the government then.

Meanwhile he continues to urge Europe to impose new sanctions against Russia.

News from Kiev and Ukraine (Nov 27 - Dec 16)

Kiev of course has not collapsed yet, and it may somehow make it through it's recent troubles relatively unscathed. But from what I'm seeing, this outcome seems less and less likely as time goes by. Still, it's hard to wish this kind of trouble on most people. But sadly, a small, hard core group of idiots can force a whole nation to sink under the waves into the Ocean of Oblivion.

Ukraine is a country that doesn't have much of a reason to exist. Its whole raison d'être is defined as anti-Russia. Beyond that, they've rarely had a country; never been much of anything; never aspired to be something. Their only aspiration is to not be Russia. They're the anti-Russia. Just like matter and anti-matter cannot coexist; Russia and anti-Russia cannot coexist.

Skilled Professionals Are Leaving Ukraine.

Well, should we really be surprised? Exactly what do they have to look forward to by remaining in Ukraine? A sinking economy? Deteriorating infrastructure? Continuing dysfunctional government? A nice 2 meter deep hole with one's name on it? A Jekyll and Hyde educational system that metastasizes every couple of years depending who is in charge? A government run by Nazis? You can have all of this and a whole lot more if you remain in Ukraine; but if this isn't exactly your cup of tea, you're a whole lot better off somewhere else. And the exodus has begun.

The Antonov aircraft plant ceases production.

Well, it's certainly not the first, nor will it be the last industrial operation to shut down. But it's certainly one of the largest industrial operations in all of Kiev. And now it's no more, at least temporarily. Because it seems the Boeing Corporation may be interested in taking over this plant. But trying to take over of vibrant operation with a lot of orders is a lot more expensive than taking over a factory that is idle. But from the USA's point of view, this is what the whole Ukrainian revolution was for. Ruin the economy, force formally vibrant companies to shut down operations, and let foreign corporations buy the whole operation for kopeks. And by buying into a depressed economy such as Ukraine, you can pocess a workforce that costs 50% less than a it would have cost two years ago.

Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has an accident.

Boy, that sounds so innocuous, doesn't it? Just like Little Bobby had an accident. (Except it's a whole lot more serious).

Luckily, it's not something very serious; certainly nothing close to the scale of a Chernobyl. Yet the authorities here are playing with fire. They are trying to use nuclear fuel sourced from the USA in Soviet era nuclear reactors. There have been numerous warnings stating that this could cause a disaster, but when the choices are using compatible and well tested products from Russia, or using untested products from the USA, the chance to thumb your nose at Russia was just too big for some of the idiots in charge around here to pass up. But don't blame the current government for this one. This decision goes back to 2005, when the "Orange Revolution" government was in charge. So then, as now, go for the highly modified and untested products from the USA, screw Russia, and hope for the best.

Right on schedule, following a high profile terrorist attack, the government of Australia is now "investigating new security laws" and other methods that can be used to gut the civil liberties, privacy, and general way of life of Australian citizens. Only a day after the Sydney Siege, Australian "lawmakers," intelligence agencies, legal branches, and other government officials sprung into action in order to discuss the possibility of passing yet another law allowing the collection and housing of telecommunication and Internet data of Australian citizens.

On December 16, the Australian Parliament was hearing testimony by Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin who "warned of 'grave implications' for terrorism investigations if telecommunications companies are not forced to keep phone and internet data."

"I could not understate enough that it would have grave implications for law enforcement's ability in this country to investigate, deter and disrupt potential terrorist acts," Colvin said. He also claimed that, as new Telecom Companies entered the market, there was less data being collected and what data was being collected is being held for shorter periods.

The inquiry comes as part of the Joint Intelligence and Security Committee's "debate" over a third round of oppressive laws regarding phone and computer data collection and retention.

Of course, since the inquiries conveniently have come on the heels of the Sydney Siege, lawmakers are now asking whether or not these measures could serve to prevent "lone wolf" attacks as well as coordinated acts of terrorism. A separate inquiry is being requested to determine if these laws could prevent events like the Sydney Siege which appears to be something vastly different from a lone wolf attack and instead more like a state-sponsored event.


The committee is also "set to examine the next package of proposed counterterrorism laws" in the very near future.

Earlier this evening China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange's (SAFE) Wang Yungui noted "the impact of the Russian Ruble depreciation was unclear yet, and, as Bloomberg reported, "SAFE is closely watching Ruble's depreciation and encouraging companies to hedge Ruble risks." His comments also echoed the ongoing FX reform agenda aimed at increasing Yuan flexibility which The South China Morning Post then hinted in a story entitled "Russia may seek China help to deal with crisis," which which noted that Russia could fall back on its 150 billion yuan ($24 billion) currency swap agreement with China if the ruble continues to plunge, that was signed in October. Furthermore, two bankers close to the PBOC reportedly said the swap-line was meant to reduce the role of the US dollar if China and Russia need to help each other overcome a liquidity squeeze.

As Bloomberg reported, earlier in the evening, China's Wang Yungui noted

• *CHINA IS CLOSELY WATCHING RUBLE'S DEPRECIATION: SAFE'S WANG
• *CHINA ENCOURAGES COS. TO HEDGE RUBLE RISKS, SAFE'S WANG SAYS
• *REAL IMPACT OF RUBLE DEPRECIATION UNCLEAR YET, SAFE'S WANG SAYS

Adding that China plans sweeping reforms to promote FX flexibility.

And then The South China Morning Post hints,

Russia could fall back on its 150 billion yuan (HK$189.8 billion) currency swap agreement with China if the rouble continues to plunge.

If the swap deal is activated for this purpose, it would mark the first time China is called upon to use its currency to bail out another currency in crisis. The deal was signed by the two central banks in October, when Premier Li Keqiang visited Russia.

"Russia badly needs liquidity support and the swap line could be an ideal tool," said Bank of Communications chief economist Lian Ping.

The swap allows the central banks to directly buy yuan and rouble in the two currencies, rather than via the US dollar.

Two bankers close to the People's Bank of China said it was meant to reduce the role of the US dollar if China and Russia need to help each other overcome a liquidity squeeze.

China has currency swap deals with more than 20 monetary authorities around the world. Swaps are generally used to settle trade.

"The yuan-rouble swap deal was not just a financial matter," said Wang Feng, chairman of Shanghai-based private equity group Yinshu Capital. "It has political implications as it is a sign of mutual trust."

The rouble has lost more than 50 per cent against the US dollar this year, pushing Russia to the brink of a currency crisis, though measures announced by the central bank helped it recover some ground yesterday.

Li Lifan, a researcher at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said the swap would not be enough for Russia even if it is used in its entirety. "The PBOC might agree to extend something like 15 billion yuan initially as a way of showing China's commitment to Russia."

A danger from the "war on terror" was always that it would encourage the spread of an authoritarian U.S. state, ignoring international law abroad and constitutional rights at home, a process that is now growing more apparent with impunity for both torturers and police who kill minorities, writes Nat Parry.

The international fallout from last week's long-delayed release of the Senate Intelligence Committee's 500-page executive summary of its still-classified 6,000 report on CIA torture could hardly be more intense, with calls coming from the United Nations, foreign governments and the human rights community for prosecutions of those who carried out or authorized the torture techniques described in the report, including senior officials from the Bush administration.

But judging from the self-assured comments of CIA and former administration officials, there is no real concern over the possibility of any criminal liability, a lack of accountability which has led to a palpable arrogance among those who would be behind bars if laws were actually enforced on an equal basis in the United States.

The above-the-law sense of entitlement was perhaps most clearly on display in former Vice President Dick Cheney's appearance this Sunday on "Meet the Press," stating that when it comes to using torture, "I'd do it again in a minute."

When presented with gruesome details from the Senate report on torture - for example the newly revealed "enhanced interrogation technique" of "rectal feeding," i.e., anal rape - and asked for his definition of what might constitute "torture" in a legal sense, Cheney retorted that torture is "an American citizen on his cellphone making a last call to his four young daughters shortly before he burns to death in the upper levels of the Trade Center in New York on 9/11."

Short of this rather high bar, nothing, by definition, that the United States does to its detainees could conceivably be considered torture.

In the aftermath of yet another highly publicized terror attack (or at least the potential for a high profile attack) in Australia by foreign-born jihadists, the Western public is once again experiencing a variety of emotional reactions that they have carefully been trained to experience whenever such events take place at home or abroad.

The xenophobic pro-war right is predictably using the attack as an example of how all Muslims are terrorists and how their total annihilation and implementation of police state tactics are the only solution. The pathetic left-wing is attempting to portray the gunman as a "lone nut" with no political motives as a justification for more "anti-terror" laws. The vast majority in the middle, however, believe the official mainstream version of events, quake in their boots, and move on to the next form of entertainment provided to them by the culture creators without a second thought.

Yet, as is almost always the case, there is much more to the story than is being reported by mainstream outlets. There exists a number of unanswered questions and unexplained inconsistencies with the story of "Man Haron Monis" and his hostage taking escapade in Sydney.