SOTT
SIGNS
OF THE
TIMES
OF THE
TIMES
Welcome to Sott.net
The World for People who Think
Puppet MastersS
History did not end with the Cold War and, as Mark Twain put it, whilst history doesn't repeat it often rhymes. As Alexander, Rome and Britain fell from their positions of absolute global dominance, so too has the US begun to slip. America's global economic dominance has been declining since 1998, well before the Global Financial Crisis. A large part of this decline has actually had little to do with the actions of the US but rather with the unraveling of a century's long economic anomaly. China has begun to return to the position in the global economy it occupied for millenia before the industrial revolution. Just as the dollar emerged to global reserve currency status as its economic might grew, so the chart below suggests the increasing push for de-dollarization across the 'rest of the isolated world' may be a smart bet...
Comment: The following analysis of Igor Strelkov's first press conference after resigning as commander of the Donetsk militia contains some very important information regarding the behind-the-scenes struggle against Russia - from without and within. If anything, it shows what Putin is really up against, and puts many of his policies and decisions in a new light. For our readers who have yet to see Strelkov's briefing, see: Igor Strelkov on Novorossiya, the Russian Spring, war against the West, and the Russian Fifth Column
© AP Photo/Dmitry LovetskyIgor Strelkov
Yesterday's press conference by Strelkov is, I believe, a historical moment because it marks the move of Strelkov from the Novorussian military struggle into the much larger, and far more dangerous struggle, the struggle for the political future of Russia. This in itself is not necessarily unexpected, but the way he did it was a surprise, at least for me. But before I zoom out to the bigger picture, I think that it would be helpful to try to summarize some of the key points of his presentation (thanks to Marina, you can download the full English transcript by clicking here and the Q&A is here). Here is how I summarized what I saw as the key elements of his presentation:
External factors (staging) - symbolic message:
- He is clearly alive and well
- The reason for his departure was infighting inside the Novorussian leadership and the fact that he was told that supplies would only be delivered if he left
- The photo of Putin in the back on the wall
- He is sitting behind a Russian monarchist flag on the table and a Russian and Novorussian flag in the back (no Soviet or Communists symbols)
- This ceasefire has now created a military situation that is now worse than this spring
- What is disgraceful is not the ceasefire by itself but "the conditions which are now being discussed in Minsk"
- There is plan to blame the betrayal of Novorussia on Putin
- There are powerful interests which want a never ending war which would create a bleeding ulcer for Russia
Comment: Is this the US scraping the bottom of the barrel trying to find something to hang on Russia? They must be counting on decades of dumbing down the population to make this whopper fly.
Combines or cannons? From 100 miles up, Washington's 'clear evidence' of Russian heavy artillery in the Ukraine starts looking a little 'corny'. Are these mobile heavy artillery pieces or harvesting combines in a field of maize
In the ongoing propaganda campaign mounted by the Obama administration to claim that Russia has "invaded" Ukraine from the east, it offered up some grainy black-and-white satellite images purporting to show heavy Russian military equipment inside the Ukraine.
I earlier noted how unlikely it was that heavy mobile artillery pieces would be set up in a perfect line in what appeared to be a field of crops, with, as the government claimed, cannons aimed towards Ukrainian positions in toward the west. As I pointed out, there was no sign of piles of ammunition alongside these "units" as we routinely see in closeups of heavy mobile artillery -- for example in photos of IDF pieces positioned outside of Gaza. I also noted the unlikelihood that such equipment would have been set up in an open field, unprotected by trees or other cover, and lined up to make for easy targeting by enemy artillery or air attack.
Now an alert reader from the agricultural state of Texas (Laredo, TX to be precise), has sent a note suggesting out that what the supposedly incriminating images most likely show are combines in a field of grain or some other crop planted in rows. He sent along photos showing harvesters, which of course feature a long, straight "cannon-like" tube which is used to shoot the harvested grain up and into an accompanying truck to be hauled off to market or to a storage silo.
Combines or cannons? From 100 miles up, Washington's 'clear evidence' of Russian heavy artillery in the Ukraine starts looking a little 'corny'. Are these mobile heavy artillery pieces or harvesting combines in a field of maize?
As he points out, these harvesters are typically run in groups which often work in parallel, an explanation that does a much better job of explaining the precision alignment of the machines visible in the US government's image than do mobile artillery units.
Now maybe the released satellite images do show Russian artillery, but given Washington's extensive history of abject lying in the interest of promoting its war agenda (think Gulf of Tonkin, Iraq WMDs and mobil poison gas factories, Assad gas attacks in Damascus, etc.), it's worth taking the claim with a "grain" of...well, in this case actual grain.
© Observatoiredessubventions.comThomas Thévenoud
Holding his post as a minister for exports, development and tourism for a record short time - just nine days - before stepping down due to scandals revealed in the French media, Mr Thévenoud has also resigned from the Socialist Party, but, controversially, says he plans to stay on as an independent MP.
Initially the Elysée cited "personal reasons" for his resignation, however failures to fill out his tax forms soon came to light as the main reason in reports by sources including Médiapart.
iTélé states he had not been declaring his income for three years, while Médiapart and L'Express have added that the tax office even started a procedure to force him to pay tax.
The ex-minister, meanwhile, said in a written statement that "the problems that I had with late declaration and payment have now been completely resolved now, including the relevant penalty payments" and "I have never been subject to legal action" over them.
Now, Le Canard Enchaîné says he also failed to pay his rent on his Paris apartment for a three-year period at one stage, and was threatened with eviction.
Questioned on Europe 1 radio yesterday, he admitted this was "not a shining example", but that "it happened before I was elected as an MP (ie. before June 2012) and it's all sorted out since then".
FARC negotiator Marcos Calarca
FARC negotiator Marcos Calarca leveled the accusation on Saturday at a news conference ahead of another round of peace talks with a delegation of the Colombian government in the Cuban capital Havana.
He pointed to "the responsibility of the government of the United States, of companies involved in the business of war, various intelligence agencies, especially the British and Israeli, whose involvement throughout the conflict encouraged its continuation, escalation and intensification."
Comment: Not surprising that the real "Axis of Evil" US, UK and Israel are involved in prolonging yet another conflict. Business is good for these war hungry psychopaths.
© RIA Novosti. Anton DenisovThe Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday denied media reports of a Russian military satellite that allegedly exploded above the United States.
Earlier in the day, the American Meteor Society published more than 30 reports from alleged eyewitnesses, who claimed they observed a blast of Russia's Kosmos-2495 imaging reconnaissance satellite.
Comment: The reports from the American Meteor Society are general observations of fireball sightings, not specific sightings where people claim they have seen 'a blast of Russia's Kosmos-2495 satellite'.
"The Russian satellite group functions normally and is being constantly monitored by the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces," ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said.
Kosmos-2495 was launched on May 6, 2014. It is also known as Kobalt-M reconnaissance satellite, an operational member of the Yantar series of Russian satellites. It weighs 6.6 tonnes, operates on Low Earth Orbit and is equipped with a film camera.
Russian reconnaissance satellite Kosmos-2495 re-entered the atmosphere and crashed last week, a spokesman for the US Strategic Command told RIA Novosti
"US Strategic Command's Joint Functional Component Command for Space [JFCC Space] through the Joint Space Operations Center [JSpOC] assesses with high confidence that Kosmos-2495 re-entered the atmosphere and was removed from the US satellite catalog as a decayed object on September 3," the spokesman said.
The Russian Defense Ministry previously denied media reports of a Russian military satellite allegedly exploding over the territory of the United States.
On September 3, the American Meteor Society published more than 30 reports from alleged eyewitnesses who claimed to observe a big fireball streaking across the sky. The spaceflight101.com website, dedicated to covering spaceflight events with special focus on the technical aspects of space flight, suggested it could have been Kosmos-2495.
Comment: As the information war on Russia continues, readers may want to keep in mind what British astronomer, Victor Clube wrote in a report commissioned by the U.S. Air Force, "We do not need the celestial threat to disguise Cold War intentions; rather we need the Cold War to disguise celestial intentions!"
© UnknownThis file photo purportedly shows ISIL terrorists passing a newly cut road through the Syrian-Iraqi border.
The 18-year-old Hamad al-Tamimi says he was recruited online by ISIL when he was a religious studies student in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Tamimi, who was arrested by Iraqi troops during a military operation in Iraq's western province of al-Anbar, said that he left Saudi Arabia for Kuwait in July and from there he moved to Turkey before joining the ISIL Takfiri militants operating in Syria.
Tamimi is known by his nom de guerre as Abu Walid.
"There are many nationalities," CNN quoted him as saying. "From Norway, from America, Canada, Somalia, Korea, China, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Lebanon and other European countries such as Germany and France," Tamimi stated.
Comment: Stillborn coalition! Turkey refuses to join "anti-ISIS" coalition and John Kerry comes begging
See also: Omissions and distortions: A first-hand account of the use of mortars against civilians in Syria
In a recent interview, scholar and author Zafar Bangash noted Western-complicity in supporting ISIS and other mercenary groups, as well as NATO's complicity in the destruction of Syria thus far:
"As a member of NATO, obviously Turkey has close liaison with the United States, Britain, France, etc, providing them all kinds of information. A NATO member, that means by extension NATO itself, is involved in financing, supporting, arming, facilitating the transfer, or entry, of these terrorists into Syria."
© CNNFailure: Diane Foley told CNN that she felt extremely let down by the US government's handling of her son's capture and rescue
On the 13th anniversary of 9/11 and the day after President Obama addressed the nation and finally offered a strategy to defeat ISIS, Diane Foley told CNN that 'as an American', she was 'embarrassed and appalled' at the efforts to rescue her son from captivity.
Articulate and thoughtful throughout her interview, Mrs. Foley made the startling claim that US officials threatened her family with prosecution if they tried to raise a ransom for Foley, 40, and said 'Jim was sacrificed because of a lack of communication and prioritization.'
Comment: For perspective on who is responsible for these deaths, watch:
Press TV has conducted an interview with Gordon Duff, a senior editor of Veteran's Today, in Ohio about the CIA announcing that there are 20,000 to 31,500 militants in Iraq and where this number comes from.
The following is an approximate transcript of the interview.
Press TV:Can you tell us what you think about the new revelations of the ISIL militants, their advancements and what the US plans on doing about the ISIL insurgency?
Duff: The idea that people are taking anything the CIA seriously is questionable. They've never told the truth before, why would they want to do it now?
There are self-serving reasons for making up a number like this.
From a military standpoint where there are 30,000 troops within this region, a region that could easily be cut off; a region that could receive no supplies; no reinforcements, that's a virtual prison camp...
© AFP PhotoMilitant of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) posing with the trademark Islamists flag after they allegedly seized an Iraqi army checkpoint in the northern Iraqi province of Salahuddin
Press TV:Can you tell us what you think about the new revelations of the ISIL militants, their advancements and what the US plans on doing about the ISIL insurgency?
Duff: The idea that people are taking anything the CIA seriously is questionable. They've never told the truth before, why would they want to do it now?
There are self-serving reasons for making up a number like this.
From a military standpoint where there are 30,000 troops within this region, a region that could easily be cut off; a region that could receive no supplies; no reinforcements, that's a virtual prison camp...
Comment: Also keep history in mind that when these types of geopolitical events increase, the universe also responds in various ways including weather, Earth changes and comets to name but a few.