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Playing with fire: NATO says membership door open for Ukraine - if it meets conditions


UNIAN
Tue, 23 Dec 2014 17:20 UTC
NATO respects Ukraine's decision to abandon its non-aligned status and confirms that Ukraine will be a member of the organization - if it requests membership and complies with all alliance standards and principles, NATO headquarters said on Tuesday, according to an UNIAN correspondent.
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© Ukrainian Defense Ministry press service
"We respect the decision of the Ukrainian parliament. Ukraine is an independent and sovereign state and it is the one who can make decisions on its own foreign policy."


Comment: This is quite false, Ukraine, along with most European countries, is under the tight grip of the U.S.

Putin revealed one possible reason why this is so:

Putin: There are reports that a number of world leaders are getting undisguisedly blackmailed


"As it was agreed at the summit in Bucharest in 2008, our doors are open, and Ukraine will become a member of NATO if it requests this and if its complies with [NATO] standards and adheres to its principles," the report reads.


Comment: For instance, in order to join NATO, candidate states have to spend at least 2% of their GDP on military acquisitions and equipment (from NATO approved suppliers of course.) These weapons also need to be 'interoperable.'
SOTT Talk Radio #67: NATO, from Regional Defence Pact to Global Military: Interview with Rick Rozoff

Rick: With the express proviso I should add, that these weapons be 'interoperable', to use NATO's expression, meaning you've got to dump your Russian weapons and, maybe up until recently, Ukrainian weapons in favour of US, French, British, German and I might add, Swedish. Sweden is, in my book, for all intents and purposes the 29th member of NATO with perhaps Finland and Israel thrown in for good measure. Georgia.

"If Ukraine decides to apply for membership of NATO, we will assess its readiness to join the alliance in the same way as we do with any other candidate," the headquarters said.

As UNIAN reported earlier, today, on December 23, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a presidential bill "On amending to some laws of Ukraine on Ukraine's abandoning its non-alignment policy."

The Verkhovna Rada vote was 303 MPs for, out of 369 registered in the session hall. Eight MPs, from the Opposition Bloc voted against.

Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine "On the basis of domestic and foreign policy of Ukraine" establishes that the priorities of national interest include the integration of Ukraine into the European political, economic, legal space to gain membership of the European Union and the Euro-Atlantic security [system]; [and] the development of equal and mutually beneficial relations with other countries in the interests of Ukraine.
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Stormtrooper

Truth in Media: The Root of Police Militarization

Ben Swann
benswann.com
Wed, 10 Dec 2014 17:41 UTC
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In the latest episode of Truth in Media, Investigative Journalist Ben Swann looks at the root of America's current problem with the militarization of police.

"The militarization of America's police forces has captured the nation's attention, largely because of Ferguson, Missouri," said Swann. "But what media has not told you, is how police forces got militarized in the first place, and why militarization is about a lot more than just military equipment."

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Eye 1

NATO dogs used to rape Afghan prisoners at Bagram Air Base

Emran Feroz
Alternet
Mon, 15 Dec 2014 16:34 UTC
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After the release of the CIA torture report by Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) the world is reeling in shock at the level of brutality revealed in the documents. In fact, the whole report is nothing more than a confession of sadistic procedures that could have been lifted from the diaries of Torquemada, from "rectal feeding" to nude beatings and humiliation - horrors that were well-known but not officially confirmed. But the report remains incomplete. Indeed, some 9000 documents have been withheld.

What new horrors could be discovered with the publication of these records?

Perhaps the most gut-wrenching story to emerge from Bagram has been buried in the German media and remains unknown to much of the world. Published by German author and former politician Juergen Todenhoefer in his latest book, Thou Shalt Not Kill, the account stems from a visit to Kabul. At a local hotel, a former Canadian soldier and private security contractor named Jack told Todenhoefer why he could not longer stand working in Bagram.

"It's not my thing when Afghans get raped by dogs," Jack remarked.
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Take 2

SOTT Exclusive: CIA torture report should not have shocked anyone (just ask the Native Americans)

Ante Sarlija
Sott.net
Tue, 23 Dec 2014 22:27 UTC
Solemn Ceremony
© Andy Cross, The Denver Post
Solemn ceremony. A handful of people gather at the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site in Kiowa County for a sunrise program on the chilly morning of Nov. 29, the 148th anniversary of the massacre. National Park Service Ranger Craig Moore, right, gave a speech honoring Chief White Antelope, who was killed along with an estimated 162 other Indians by Colorado soldiers Nov. 29, 1864.
Why has the release of the U.S. Senate's report on CIA torture caused such an outrage? After all, the use of torture is a longstanding U.S. policy that began with the founding of the 'great' nation. The torture of Native Americans is a documented fact. The narrative that the U.S. somehow 'strayed away from the right course' only recently shows how tight a grip the psychopathic 'reality creators' have on us and just how effective their revision of history has been.

As Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz noted in 'The Grid of History: Cowboys and Indians,' in the Monthly Review: "We didn't just stray from wonderful premises and values: those premises and values were profoundly flawed from the beginning."

Gilbert Mercier recently wrote that
the sad reality about the United States of America is that in a matter of a few hundreds years it managed to rewrite its own history into a mythological fantasy. The concepts of liberty, freedom and free enterprise in the "land of the free, home of the brave" are a mere spin. The US was founded and became prosperous based on two original sins: firstly, on the mass murder of Native Americans and theft of their land by European colonialists; secondly, on slavery. This grim reality is far removed from the fairytale version of a nation that views itself in its collective consciousness as a virtuous universal agent for good and progress. The most recent version of this mythology was expressed by Ronald Reagan when he said that "America is a shining city upon a hill whose beacon light guides freedom-loving people everywhere."
We have only to read the horrific eyewitness accounts of the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 to understand that the use of torture is nothing new for the U.S. government: such immorality is not a deviation from the norm. It is, and has always been, the norm...

Comment: See also: War Against The Weak

SOTT Talk Radio: American Heart of Darkness - Interview with Robert Kirkconnell

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Pirates

Fars News Agency: Israeli businessmen are buying up properties in ISIL-held Iraqi cities


Press TV
Tue, 23 Dec 2014 12:17 UTC
Image
© Unknown
A general view of a district in the city of Mosul, 370 kilometers north of Baghdad
A report says Israeli businessmen are buying properties belonging to the displaced minorities in the ISIL-held regions in northern Iraq to prepare the ground for accommodation of more than 2,000 people there.

Citing a local source, Fars News Agency reported that estate agencies in Mosul and other cities of the Nineveh province in northern Iraq have began purchasing the houses and lands of Iraqi minorities including Christians and Izadis and Turkmens.

The estate agents offer "attractive prices" in exchange for the properties and later sell them to Israeli businessmen, the unnamed source said.

The source added that more than 2,000 Jews have recently returned to Iraq's Kurdistan region to resettle in Iraq's northern areas.

Thousands of Iraqi Christians and other communities have been forced out of their homes in Mosul since June following an ultimatum by ISIL terrorists. Most Christians in the northwestern Nineveh province escaped after the Takfiris overran the region.

The ISIL terrorists control some parts of Syria and Iraq. They are engaged in crimes against humanity in the areas under their control.

Comment: The Israelis never let a good crisis go to waste.

For more on Israel-ISIS ties see:

SOTT EXCLUSIVE: Match made in Sheol: Israel working with terrorists in Syria (says UN), Mossad training ISIS (says Putin aide)

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Chart Bar

John Stewart on US budget circus: The Bill Cosby of legislation


YouTube
Tue, 16 Dec 2014 08:16 UTC
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For this Daily Show, Jon Stewart took on the $1.1 trillion omnibus, lampooning the clandestine way in which lawmakers inserted new laws and rolled back some regulations via a spending bill. In addition to funding government expenses for the next fiscal year, the bill included non-budgetary deals like ending the ban on incandescent light bulbs, fighting the legalization of marijuana in D.C., and the rolling back of regulatory provisions in the Dodd-Frank financial bill.

How did those, and other non-budgetary items, get into the omnibus? According to CNN's Chris Moody, lawmakers "came in, in the middle of the night, when not a lot of people are looking," to sneak in items that would not pass on their own.

"What? They just wait until nobody is looking and slip the toxic stuff in?" an incredulous Stewart said, setting up the punch line: "The Bill Cosby of legislation."

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Monkey Wrench

Hamas senior spokesperson demands withdrawal of draft resolution on Palestinian statehood


Sputnik
Tue, 23 Dec 2014 00:34 UTC
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© Sputnik/ Nazar Aljan
The draft resolution on Palestinian Statehood that was submitted to the United Nations Security Council last week must be withdrawn, a senior spokesperson for Hamas Sami Abu Zuhri told Sputnik Tuesday.

The resolution sets a deadline of 12 months from the document's approval to the removal of Israeli forces from the occupied Palestinian territories.

Zuhri said that the different Palestinian factions had not managed to reach a consensus regarding the resolution's project and therefore it must be cancelled.

The Hamas spokesperson noted that the draft resolution "leaves many loopholes" and does not satisfy the minimum demands of Palestinians, therefore making the resolution of conflict impossible.

Comment: It comes as no surprise this controversial figure would throw a monkey wrench into the Palestinian statehood initiative. He is known for his violent stance against Israel and even has some dirty laundry of sexual harassments. He has even been attacked by Gazan civilians for inciting violence upon them. Makes one wonder who he really is working for?

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Red Flag

German Security Services (CIA) warn of 'highest terrorist threat in decades'


Sputnik
Tue, 23 Dec 2014 20:01 UTC
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One nation under God
The terrorist threat level in Germany is currently very high, with Germany's involvement in the anti-Islamic State (IS) war a justification for a terrorist attack, the Bild reported Tuesday citing unattributed security services documents.

"It must be assumed that terrorist attacks of different scale and intensity are possible in the Federal Republic," the document said as quoted by the tabloid. The organizers can be individual terrorists and "individual groups acting autonomously."

Germany's participation in the anti-IS struggle serves potential terrorists as a "justification for [their] terrorism," according to the document.

Germany is part of a US-led anti-IS coalition formed by US President Barack Obama to reverse IS advances in Iraq and Syria.

Comment: More EU nations are raising their alert levels for possible blowback. This fight against IS and the repercussions are a perfect excuse for governments to increase their security measures ultimately against the general population to prepare for the coming unrest.

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Attention

Russia under attack: Letter from CEO of Genoil to CEO of JPMorgan Chase on US foreign policy blowback

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
MISH'S Global Economic Trend Analysis
Tue, 23 Dec 2014 18:46 UTC
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Just a few days ago, president Obama made the farcical claim Putin Hasn't 'Rolled Me,' Economic Sanctions on Russia Have Worked.
In an interview with CNN, the president said economic sanctions on Moscow are working, crediting the American-led effort with a downturn in Russia's economy and the decline of its currency. Even though Russia has yet to pull back from its aggressive posture in Ukraine, Mr. Obama denied that his policy has been ineffective, saying that his slow and steady course is better than the notion of "shooting first and thinking about it second."
Worked How?

Is collapse of the ruble, more associated with the collapse of oil than sanctions, proof of anything? If so, what about the collapse of Ukraine? What about the collapse in European trade with Russia?

Does one measure pain in a one-sided manner? If Russia loses a leg and Europe an arm, is that winning or is it just plain stupid?

Let's explore that question with a viewpoint from three sources:
  1. A Guardian article on the consequences of wrecking Russia's economy.
  2. A Stratfor article "Viewing Russia from the Inside"
  3. A private email with a subject line of "Russia Under Attack" from David Lifschultz, CEO of Genoil to a small list of very prominent people.
Lifschultz forwarded his email to Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase; William Harrison, Former CEO of Chase; and Stephen Schwarzman, CEO and Co-Founder of Blackstone.

Comment: It seems clear that the US sanctions against Russia are not having the desired stated effects. Makes one wonder if there is a deliberate undeclared reason for the sanctions such as bringing the EU down and fomenting a war between Eurasia and Europe or are psychopaths too shortsighted to see the real results of the sanctions? Even the too-big-to-fail banks seem concerned of the possible blowback of the sanctions. Who benefits?

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Gold Coins

Russian Central Bank pull out the big guns - ruble at 2-wk high


RT
Tue, 23 Dec 2014 18:21 UTC

Reuters/Ilya Naymushin

The Russian ruble hit a two-week high Tuesday of 53 against the USD, showing strong signs of recovery after hitting rock bottom one week ago on 'Black Tuesday'. The Central Bank and government have taken swift action to shore up the ailing ruble.

The Russian ruble improved to 53 in early day trading, a more than 33 percent increase since just 1 week ago when it hit 80 against the US dollar. The Russian ruble suffered a 'perfect storm' last week, and is improving for the third consecutive trading session on the Moscow Exchange Tuesday. By 4:00pm in Moscow, it had weakened to 54.72 against the greenback.

Comment: News of the ruble's death have been highly exaggerated. At the moment it is going through some rough times due to foreign exchange and oil price manipulations by Washington and its lackeys. But the fundamentals of the Russian economy are sound, far more sound than the West, which teeters on a fiat house of cards. And with new trading partners like China and India, it's sure Russia is resting relatively easy, at least about the financial future.

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