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News flash! Russia today isn't the Soviet Union

Paul Robinson
Irrussianality
Wed, 01 Apr 2015 14:17 UTC
Soviet Russia
It's hard to think of books saying what a great place Russia is. Occasionally an author makes a real effort to understand and empathize with the Russian people (Hedrick Smith's 1976 tome The Russians stood out as a Cold War example), but in general anybody who gets information about the country from what's in the local branch of Chapters, Barnes and Noble, or Waterstones will most likely decide that Russia is an absolute dump which just keeps getting worse.

Two books which I have just finished reading are no exception: Oliver Bullough's The Last Man in Russia: The Struggle to Save a Dying Nation, published in 2013, and Lev Golinkin's A Backpack, A Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka, which came out at the end of last year.

Bullough intertwines a biography of Soviet dissident priest Dmitry Dudko with descriptions of Stalin's Siberian labour camps and the later, more subtle, repressive techniques of the KGB, along with an analysis of Russians' predilection for alcohol. He paints a picture of a nation suffering from a severe psychological illness, which has manifested itself in mass drunkenness, a low fertility rate, and early deaths.

Comment: It's rather remarkable how the US portrays Russia with such ignorant and backwards stereotypes, but such a depiction can only be credible for an uninformed citizenry conditioned with over a decade of constant fear and war mongering. Check out the below clip from Saturday Night Live for an example of the lame propaganda being pushed by US media. The irony here is the US is much closer to representing the oppression of the Soviet Union while Russia today acts on the principals the United States only talks about.



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Stock Up

Russia to be the first to establish foreign currency reserve for BRICS New Development Bank


RT
Fri, 03 Apr 2015 13:45 UTC
Russia BRICS
© Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino
Russia aims to become the first country in the BRICS group of leading emerging economies to ratify an agreement on the foreign currency reserve pool, according to Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Vadim Lukov.

"An agreement will be ratified soon on establishing a pool of foreign currency reserves. Russia will most likely be the first country to do this," Lukov said on Friday.

South Africa will contribute $5 billion, Russia, India and Brazil will allocate $18 billion each while China will provide the remaining funds, according to the envoy.

The goal of the pool is so that BRICS member states could urgently replenish their liquidity from it in different proportions to resolve problems with their balance of payments.

Comment: Yet another instance of Putin putting money where his mouth is. This isn't just Russia that is making this project possible, but it is the multipolar relationships that have been forged under the leadership of Russia, and specifically Putin, that is creating an alternative to the Western monetary system that lives off control, dominance and usurpation.

See also:

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Headphones

SOTT Focus: The Truth Perspective: Brandon Martinez / ISIS Conspiracy

Sott Editors
Sott.net
Sat, 04 Apr 2015 18:00 UTC
Sott Talk Radio logo
This week, The Truth Perspective spoke to Brandon Martinez, co-founder of Non-Aligned Media and author of a new book, The ISIS Conspiracy: How Israel and the West Manipulate Our Minds Through Fear. Brandon is a Canadian independent writer and journalist, who focuses on 20th and 21st century history, international affairs, Zionism, Israel-Palestine, media, and American and Canadian foreign policy. He is the author of two other books: Hidden History and Grand Deceptions.

We discussed Brandon's new book, the rise of ISIS, the nature of false-flag terrorism and what's really going on with the so-called war on terror, as well as some current events and developments in Canada under the Harper regime.

During the final segment of the show, we discussed more of the events surrounding the bombings in Yemen, the Ukrainian governments' collusion with neo-Nazi battalions, and the culture of psychopathy which has created a murderous police force in the U.S. We also discussed the banking system and its recent moves to take control of the private funds of individuals and small businesses by denying them access and in some cases seizing their funds using insubstantial excuses.

Running Time: 01:59:00

Download: MP3

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Crusader

Russia calls UN Security Council session to pause Yemen crisis


RT
Sat, 04 Apr 2015 02:37 UTC
Image
© Reuters / Mike Segar
As fighting in Yemen intensifies Russia has called up an emergency UN Security Council session to put on pause Saudi-led coalition airstrikes for humanitarian purposes in an effort to quell the violence that is impacting civilians.

Russia insists it is necessary for the international community to discuss the establishment of regular and mandatory "humanitarian pauses" in the ongoing coalition air strikes on Yemen, Russian UN mission's spokesman Aleksey Zaytsev told Sputnik.

An extraordinary meeting is scheduled for Saturday, at 3pm GMT at the UN headquarters in NYC.

Comment: Glad to see a country speak up and do something about the humanitarian crises in Yemen. Can the UN do anything about it?

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Gear

Russia preparing to lift food embargo for Greece


TASS
Fri, 03 Apr 2015 20:12 UTC
Image
© EPA/ALKIS KONSTANTINIDIS
Russia's veterinary and phytosanitary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor is launching an inspection of Greece's agro-industrial enterprises on April 20, a spokesperson for the agency said on Thursday.

The list currently consists of 20 enterprises and could include more, Yulia Trofimova said.

Russia's Economic Development Minister Alexey Ulyukayev said in early March that Russia would look into ways of easing the food embargo for Greece and Hungary which do not contradict the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Later Rosselkhoznadzor said it planned to start checks at the live-stock enterprises of Greece, Cyprus and Hungary to speed up the beginning of supplies from these countries if the food embargo is lifted.
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Bizarro Earth

SOTT Focus: Our world is descending into chaos, have you noticed?

Joe Quinn
Sott.net
Fri, 03 Apr 2015 09:17 UTC
Image
The Germanwings crash "trial by media" continues unabated. The most recent evidence produced to back up the official story is the alleged discovery of a cell phone video of the last moments of the plane and its passengers. Reporters from both French magazine Paris Match and German daily Bild claim to have viewed the video that portrayed a scene "so chaotic that it was hard to identify people" where "the sounds of the screaming passengers made it perfectly clear that they were aware of what was about to happen to them."

"It is a video that several of us saw together", said Frédéric Helbert of Paris Match, "that we watched dozens of times. You must understand that this video does not allow us to identify any people, it is not a sensationalist video. It is from a passenger who filmed from the back of the plane. The sound is atrocious. It shows the human dimension of panic, distress, screaming people on board. That is what is terrible. It is a very powerful human element, but it doesn't provide any information that might be useful for the investigation."

Indeed, such a video doesn't provide any information useful to the investigation, unless the investigation is being carried on by the mainstream media, with 'evidence', such as this video, being provided by persons unknown.

According to Helbert the video was obtained from "a source close to the investigation" that "required several levels of intermediaries connected to people working on the terrain." Whoever provided the alleged video to Paris Match and Bild did not, however, give them a copy. It seems the reporters were only shown the video, presumably on some media device like a laptop which was then taken away. Helbert said: "I don't have the video. We had the opportunity to see the video."
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Smiley

OSCE: No Russian military troops, equipment observed in Donbas


Sputnik
Fri, 03 Apr 2015 17:06 UTC
osce
© AFP 2015/ DIMITAR DIL
OSCE's observers are unable to perform full-fledged work because of "constant provocations from Ukrainian forces," Kelin added.

"I would like to emphasize an important aspect that the mission has not once recorded the presence of Russian military equipment or the presence of Russian military units [in southeast Ukraine]," Andrei Kelin said.

On February 13, OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier said he saw Russian individuals, but not Russian army units, fighting in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.

In January, the chief of Ukraine's General Military Staff Viktor Muzhenko has also acknowledged that Russian regular army units were not involved in combat action in the troubled Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

Since the start of the government forces' military assault on eastern Ukraine's independence supporters in April 2014, Kiev and the West have repeatedly accused Russia of interfering in the Ukrainian internal crisis. The accusations went as far as to claim that Moscow sent troops and weapons to help the independence forces.

Nevertheless, the Kremlin has dismissed the claims as not corroborated by any evidence.
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Yoda

5 ways Putin is driving the U.S. Empire crazy

Robert Bridge
RT
Fri, 03 Apr 2015 15:12 UTC
Image
© Reuters/RIA Novosti
Although Russian President Putin has worked to form a strong and lasting partnership with Washington - in fields as diverse as fighting terrorism and exploring outer space - the spirit of goodwill and bilateral relations has not been reciprocated.

US-led NATO forces continue to push inexorably towards the Russian border, while plans are in progress to build a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe, which threatens the strategic balance in the region, thereby paving the way for another arms race.

At the same time, the United States and its allies have launched a number of disastrous and illegitimate wars against sovereign states, while portraying Putin as the greatest threat to global peace. The question that must be asked is: What has the Russian leader done to attract this sort of vilification on the part of the US? The answers reveal much more about the current state of affairs in Washington than anything that could be described as threatening on Putin's part.

5. Putin gave US a 'Get out of War Free' card

One would think that the United States would be grateful to the Russian leader for his last-minute mediating efforts that allowed Washington to avoid what would have been a costly and certainly disastrous military confrontation in Syria. One would have thought wrong.

August 29, 2013 marks the day when the wheels of America's global juggernaut began to go wobbly. It was the moment when UK Prime Minister David Cameron lost a historic vote in the House of Commons to join a US-led attack on Syria following on dubious claims that President Bashar Assad had used chemical weapons against a Syrian village.
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Magnify

Alleged ISIS-inspired NYC duo provided bomb-making manual by informant

Murtaza Hussain
The Intercept
Fri, 03 Apr 2015 16:49 UTC
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Comment: Just another case of the FBI creating terrorists out of thin air through its well known entrapment efforts? The U.S. never does get tired of using fear to control its populace, and it sure looks like this story falls into that familiar pattern.


In what has been widely described in the media as the breakup of an "ISIS-inspired" plot, on April 2 the Department of Justice announced that Noelle Velentzas, 28, and Asia Siddiqui, 31, both of New York, had been arrested and charged with conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction. The defendants "plotted to wreak terror by creating explosive devices" for use in New York City and sought "bomb-making instructions and materials" for an attack, the Justice Department statement said.

Like other recent sensational "terror plots," however, the criminal complaint unsealed yesterday demonstrates the key role of an undercover law enforcement informant in both formulating and facilitating the alleged plot. It doesn't appear that Velentzas or Siddiqui actually planned or attempted to bomb any target, nor is there any evidence of discussions about how to create a bomb before the introduction of the informant into their lives.

It was only after the informant provided the pair with a copy of The Anarchist Cookbook - a manual with instructions on how to create an explosive device — that their amateurish efforts gained any traction.

According to the complaint, both Velentzas and Siddiqui are alleged to have "espoused jihadist beliefs" for a prolonged period leading up to these allegations. Siddiqui, in particular, is believed to have written letters and poems in support of extremist violence, and may have been under government surveillance as far back as 2006, when she is said to have made contact with the now-deceased former editor of Al Qaeda's Inspire magazine, Samir Khan. While the exact nature of this contact is not specified, it is alleged that in 2009, Siddiqui had submitted poems online to the predecessor magazine of Inspire, entitled Jihad Recollections.

Comment: Two women allegedly inspired by ISIS arrested in NYC for planning to set bomb off

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Snakes in Suits

Merkel comes out as basically a U.S. proxy

Eric Zuesse
Global Research
Fri, 03 Apr 2015 15:39 UTC
Image
On Wednesday, April 1st, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet approved a measure to bring fracking (the patents for which are owned mainly by "large American companies, including Halliburton, Baker Hughes and Schlumberger") into Germany. This is a prelude not only to U.S. President Obama's secret Trans-Atlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP) pact with Europe to subordinate national laws and regulations to trans-national mega-corporate panels that will be dominated by U.S. firms and that will override the participating nations' environmental and labor regulations and consumer protections (and harm European economies generally), but it is also a major step toward removing Europe from Russia's energy-market, and bringing U.S. and European oil companies to dominate there instead.

German Economic News headlined on April 1st, "Precursor to TTIP: Federal Government brings Fracking to Germany," and reported that:
The controversial shale gas extraction (fracking) process is coming to Germany: In order not to provoke excessively large protests at home, the federal government highlighted that fracking is initially allowed only for testing purposes. But in fact, the draft law of the Federal Environment and the Federal Ministry of Economics, approved today by the the Cabinet, also allows subsequent large-scale extraction of shale gas....

The American interest in a continuing conflict simmering in Ukraine also causes Europeans to fear that Russian gas could stop and thus drive Europe to give up our still considerable resistance against fracking. Some US politicians have personal interests, such as the US Vice President Biden, whose son works for a Ukrainian fracking company.

Last year [U.S. agent, friend of Angela Merkel, and EU Council President, Donald] Tusk wrote in a commentary in the Financial Times that 'excessive dependence on Russian energy' is an EU weakness. Currently, the EU countries derive 44 percent of our natural gas from Russia and 33 percent from Norway. ... Objectively, there is no reason to be afraid of the Russians: Even Angela Merkel acknowledged a few months ago that Russians have always accurately fulfilled their gas contracts and therefore are a reliable partner.
Halliburton and Baker-Hughes have merged, and are the two major owners of fracking patents. Schlumberger is third. ExxonMobil is a distant fourth. So, this could produce a huge boost to those stocks.
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