Puppet MastersS


V

Bahrain regime forces attack protesters in Abu Saiba

UK arms sales to Bahrain
© UnknownWhile people in Bahrain have demonstrated peacefully for more than 2 years, the West have done everything possible to suppress the people of Bahrain, including selling arms to the regime and being silent about torture, death and arrest of protesters. Very different voices come from the West, when it concerns Syria or Ukraine.
Bahraini police have clashed with anti-regime protesters during demonstrations against the dissolution of a popular Shia clerical council.

Regime forces on Friday used tear gas to disperse protesters in the village of Abu Saiba, west of the capital, Manama.

Earlier in the day, a major demonstration was held to condemn a controversial ruling by a Bahraini court that disbanded the Islamic Scholars Council of Bahrain.

The verdict against the clerical body came in a lawsuit filed by Bahrain's Justice Ministry, which accused the organization of 'promoting sectarianism.'

Human rights groups say it was part of efforts by the Al Khalifa regime to silence the voice of dissent.

Following the court ruling, Bahrain's main opposition movement, al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, also censured the move and stated the "regime has declared war on Shias."

Comment: There has not been ANY support from the West or the EU for the peaceful protesters in Bahrain. It is simply ignored and instead the West have been selling weapons to Saudi Arabia to suppress the people of Bahrain. A stark contrast to the West and their meddling in the affairs in Ukraine.


Target

Flashback IMF sponsored "Democracy" in the Ukraine

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There is an ongoing and deliberate attempt by foreign powers to spearhead the destabilization of Ukraine including its state structure.

There is a long history of colored revolutions in Ukraine going back to the 1990s.

The protest movement in Kiev bears a marked resemblance to the "Orange Revolution" of 2004 which was supported covertly by Washington. The 2004 "Orange Revolution" led to the ousting of the pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, spearheading into power the Western proxy government of President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Julia Tymoshenko.

Once more Viktor Yanukovitch is the target of a carefully staged "pro-EU protest movement". The latter was launched following president Yanukovitch's decision to cancel the "association agreement" with the EU.

The mechanisms of interference are in some regards different to those of 2004. The protests are supported directly by Brussels and Berlin (with EU officials actively involved) rather than by Washington:
"The right-wing parties leading the protests in coordination with EU officials and politicians had called for a "million man march." Ultimately, some 250,000 to 300,000 people gathered on Maïdan (Independence) Square. It was the largest protest in Kiev since the 2004 "color revolution" organized by US and European imperialism - the so-called Orange Revolution that ousted the pro-Russian Yanukovich and brought the pro-Western tandem of President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Julia Tymoshenko to power.

Evgenia Tymoshenko, the daughter of former prime minister and billionaire natural gas magnate Julia Tymoshenko, whom Yanukovich has jailed, read a message from her mother calling for Yanukovich's "immediate" ouster. (See Alex Lantier, December 8, 2013)
The following article first published in November 2004, focuses on the October-November 2004 "Orange Revolution" directed against then prime minister Viktor Yanukovich, while also providing details on the insidious role of the IMF and the World Bank in imposing the neoliberal economic policy agenda on behalf of the "Washington Consensus".

Michel Chossudovsky, December 2013

Bullseye

Russia raps EU, US for fueling violence in Ukraine

Sergei Lavrov
© UnknownLavrov blasts the West for fueling the violence in Ukraine
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has described West's interpretation of freedom in Ukraine as "strange," accusing the EU of fueling anti-government protests.

"What does the inciting of street protests, which are growing increasingly violent, have to do with promoting democratic principles?" Lavrov asked a panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

Lavrov slammed the European Union and the United States for failing to condemn those who seize buildings, attack police and use racist slogans in anti-government protests in Ukraine.
"Why do we not hear statements of condemnation toward those who seize government buildings, attack and burn police officers, and voice racist slogans? Why do senior European politicians de facto encourage such actions, while at home they swiftly and harshly act to stop any impingement on the letter of the law?" asked the Russian Foreign Minister.

Pyramid

American pharaoh in Egypt: Military junta leader al-Sisi

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© Mohamed Abd El Ghany / ReutersA poster of Egyptian army chief General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi being held during a protest at Tahrir Square in Cairo on Jan. 25, 2014, to celebrate the third anniversary of the country's uprising against former President Hosni Mubarak
The prospect of Abdul Fattah al-Sisi becoming Egypt's President offers, at the minimum, the virtue of clarity. The Egyptian military, which on Monday "mandated" its Chief of Staff to stand for President, has never actually been out of power in the Land of the Pharaohs. Al-Sisi became its public face only on July 3 last year, the day the career soldier stepped before a microphone and announced the removal of the only freely elected government in the nation's thousands-year-old history.

The ecstatic cheers that greeted the announcement spoke volumes about Egypt's disenchantment with the clannish and tin-eared Muslim Brotherhood administration that al-Sisi sent packing. The adulation also demonstrated the comfort level of many ordinary Egyptians for being ruled by men in uniform. In many countries where a military coup has taken place, the etiquette calls for a firm suggestion that the top brass, having performed a distasteful but necessary duty, leave the field of politics and "go back to their barracks." In Egypt, the cry being heard after al-Sisi's nomination was: "The military and the people are one hand."

Snakes in Suits

Bailout architect runs for California governor; world laughs

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© Reuters/Lamarque
I want to apologize for this space being blank for quite some time. I actually spent the bulk of the last two days on a long blog post about the "Dr. V." story in Grantland. But then I got all the way to the end, and realized I was completely wrong about the entire thing.

So, I spiked my own piece. Now I've been in Talk Radio-style "This is totally dead air, Barry" territory for about two weeks. I could swear I saw a cobweb when I logged on this morning.

So thank God for Neel Kashkari, and the news that this goofball footnote caricature of the bailout era has decided to run for Governor of California. Never in history has there been an easier subject for a blog post.

If you don't remember Kashkari's name, you might be excused - he was actually better known, in his 15 minutes of fame five years ago, as "The 35 year-old dingbat from Goldman someone put in charge of handing out $700 billion bailout dollars."

Now you remember. That guy! Neel Kashkari when he first entered the world of politics was a line item, usually the last entry in a list of ex-Goldman employees handed prominent government and/or regulatory positions, as in, ". . . and, lastly, Neel Kashkari, the heretofore unknown Goldman banker put in charge of the TARP bailout program . . ."

Kashkari was not just a former Goldman banker handed a high government post - he was a former Goldman banker handed a high government post by a former Goldman banker, in this case former Goldman CEO and then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson.

Dollars

Flashback Carbon trading: Where greed is green

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© IndependentFinancial district buildings in the City of London.
Seeking to match a desire to make money with his environmental instincts, Louis Redshaw, a former electricity trader, met with five top investment banks to propose trading carbon dioxide. Only one, Barclays Capital, was interested in his proposition.

Three years later, the situation has turned around entirely, and carbon experts like Redshaw, 34, are among the rising stars in the City of London financial district. Managing emissions is one of the fastest-growing segments in financial services, and companies are scrambling for talent. Their goal: a slice of a market now worth about $30 billion, but which could grow to $1 trillion within a decade.

"Carbon will be the world's biggest commodity market, and it could become the world's biggest market overall," said Redshaw, the head of environmental markets at Barclays Capital. But he said that in his current job, unlike some of his previous ones, including a stint as a British power trader at Enron, "I don't have to compromise on anything when I get out of bed in the morning."

If greed is suddenly good for the environment, then the seedbed for this vast new financial experiment is London. A report released Tuesday by International Financial Services London, a company promoting British-based financial services, said that British companies were the leading global investors in carbon projects and that more carbon was traded in London than in any other city.

Evil Rays

Navy Yard shooter Alexis passed psychological assessment weeks before shooting despite glaringly obvious signs he was subject to Mind Control

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Alexis, not in his right mind
The gunman who killed 12 people in last year's rampage at Washington's Navy Yard convinced Veterans Affairs doctors before the shootings that he had no mental health issues despite disturbing problems and encounters with police during the same period, according to a review by The Associated Press of his confidential medical files.

Just weeks before the shootings, a doctor searching for the source of the gunman's insomnia noted that the patient worked for the Defense Department but wrote hauntingly "no problem there."

The AP obtained more than 100 pages of treatment and disability claims evaluation records for Aaron Alexis, spanning more than two years. They show Alexis complaining of minor physical ailments, including foot and knee injuries, slight hearing loss and later insomnia, but resolutely denying any mental health issues. He directly denied suffering from stress or depression or having suicidal or homicidal thoughts when the VA's medical team asked him about it just three weeks before the shootings, even though he privately wrote during the same period that he was being afflicted by ultra-low frequency radio waves for months.

The dichotomy between Alexis' apparently even-keeled interactions with his doctors and the torment he was experiencing outside the hospitals is the center of debate about whether the Veterans Affairs Department could have better recognized the need to intervene in his life with mental health care before the shootings.


Comment: See also:

Washington Navy Yard Shooting: What's The Point?

Navy Yard: Swat team 'stood down' at mass shooting scene

Navy Yard shooting: Capitol Police tactical team called back to Hill

Emergency responders say that radios failed during Navy Yard attack


Vader

Seeking to cement his U.S.-backed coup d'état, Egyptian military general al-Sisi declares presidential elections will come before parliamentary elections

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John Kerry and General al-Sisi: true 'democratic' brothers
Egypt will hold a presidential vote before electing parliament, President Adly Mansour said on Sunday, reneging on a roadmap and increasing the likelihood that army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will be elected as head of state within months.

Parliamentary elections were supposed to happen first under the timetable agreed after the army deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July following mass protests against his rule.

"I have taken my decision to amend the roadmap for the future in that we will start by holding the presidential elections first followed by the parliamentary elections," Mansour said in a televised speech.

MIB

Strategy of Tension: Five injured by organized mob armed with guns and bombs trying to prevent election taking place in Thailand

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Before the exchange of fire, demonstrators were filmed attacking a car
At least five people have suffered serious gunshot wounds in the Thai capital, Bangkok, amid anti-government clashes ahead of Sunday's election.

The violence erupted during a stand-off between supporters and opponents of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

The shots were fired as demonstrators blockaded a building where ballot papers are being stored, in an attempt to prevent their distribution.

Protesters want the government replaced by an unelected "people's council".

The opposition has vowed to boycott Sunday's poll, which is likely to be won by Ms Yingluck.

Comment: As a general rule, when any 'protest' or 'revolutionary' movement has guns and bombs on its side, you can be pretty sure it's a move by the local oligarchs to subvert 'democracy' and reclaim power the only way it knows how.


Black Magic

Saudi Shia jailed 15 years and 70 lashes for protest against government

Kerry and king Abdullah
© UnknownJobn Kerry feeling at home with his fellow pathocrat, King Abdullah from a meeting in January 2014

Saudi Arabia has sentenced a Shia Muslim to 15 years behind bars and 70 lashes for protesting against the government.


According to Saudi newspapers, a court in the capital Riyadh convicted the man on Friday for demanding Saudi troops to leave Bahrain.

The man, whose name and age were not announced, was also banned from exiting Saudi Arabia for ten years after his release. He has the right to appeal the verdict.

On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invaded Bahrain to assist the Bahraini regime in its crackdown on peaceful protesters.

Comment: Saudi Arabia is the darling of the West and key supporter, financier and instigator of the regime change in Syria. And all of course to promote democracy in Syria!. See anything wrong with that picture?

Don't hold your breath that Obama will mention this when he visits King Abdullah in March, as John Kerry didn't say diddly-squat, when he saw the king 4 weeks ago.