The snap check involved up to 9,000 people, 642 pieces of weaponry and equipment, including 250 tanks and armored vehicles, about a hundred artillery mounts, 55 ships, and 41 aircraft

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A surprise inspection of combat readiness of troops was held from December 5 through December 10 in Russia's westernmost Kaliningrad region, which is an exclave territory in the southeast of the Baltic Sea littoral area, General Andrei Kartapolov, the chief of Operations Department at the General Staff of the Armed Forces said on Tuesday.

The troops were inspected in line with a decision of President Vladimir Putin, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

"It embraced up to 9,000 people, 642 pieces of weaponry and equipment, including 250 tanks and armored vehicles, about a hundred artillery mounts and salvo systems, 55 naval ships, and 41 aircraft," says a report issued by the General Staff. "The inspectors assessed combat readiness of the group of troops of the Western Military District and its capability to ensure security of the Kaliningrad region."

"The exercise involved the units or missile troops, artillery, mechanized infantry, airborne troops, marine forces, reconnaissance, signal corps, logistics, as well as combat aircraft and airlifters and ships of the Baltic Fleet," the report said.

Over a period of two days, the airlift jets and ships of the Baltic Fleet relocated two a missile brigade and an airborne brigade to the Kaliningrad region.

Units of the missile brigade had Iskander-M missile complexes among the equipment delivered to Kaliningrad.

The U.S. has given up on the Fee Syrian Army in the north of Syria:

The United States has stopped paying most of the pro-western rebels fighting in northern Syria and has suspended the delivery of arms to them, rebel commanders told McClatchy Tuesday.

Some of the FSA mercenaries, now no longer getting paid, are joining jihadi groups:

As many as 800 to 1,000 fighters from U.S.-vetted rebel groups already have joined Nusra, ...

The stop of support in the north is confirmed by additional reports. That this is likely real can also be seen in the number of arms video posted. The U.S. gave TOW anti-tank missiles to the mercenaries but demanded video uploads to prove their use. Eliot Higgins, though not always trustworthy, counted these numbers:

TOW videos posted by the opposition by month Apr 9 May 16 Jun 16 Jul 37 Aug 35 Sep 44 Oct 58 Nov 26 Dec 3

The U.S. is still paying for some small FSA groups within Aleppo city but these are now surrounded by the Syrian Arab Army and unlikely to be able to hold their positions. Their hold of Aleppo city is politically symbolic and therefore something the U.S. wants them to keep. It is the reason why the UN envoy is trying to negotiate a ceasefire for Aleppo. Syria and Russia are playing along but Aleppo will likely be completely in government hands before any ceasefire is reached.

The political class breathed a sigh of relief Saturday when the US Senate averted a government shutdown by passing the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill. This year's omnibus resembles omnibuses of Christmas past in that it was drafted in secret, was full of special interest deals and disguised spending increases, and was voted on before most members could read it.

The debate over the omnibus may have made for entertaining political theater, but the outcome was never in doubt. Most House and Senate members are so terrified of another government shutdown that they would rather vote for a 1,774-page bill they have not read than risk even a one or two-day government shutdown.

Those who voted for the omnibus to avoid a shutdown fail to grasp that the consequences of blindly expanding government are far worse than the consequences of a temporary government shutdown. A short or even long-term government shutdown is a small price to pay to avoid an economic calamity caused by Congress' failure to reduce spending and debt.

On December 12th, Reuters reported the following:

European Union governments agreed on Friday to ban the export of jet fuel to Syria from Sunday, saying it was being used by the Syrian air force for indiscriminate attacks against civilians.

As has become the norm for the 'European Union governments,' they all agreed on something that has no basis in reality. There is actually no proof that the Syrian Air Force is targeting civilians. Are we supposed to believe that amid fighting foreign backed insurgents, the Syrian government decided to take a break and bomb their own people? For what purpose? To justify further intervention from the U.S. and their coalition of the guilty? Should we forget that the U.S. has a long history of fabricating atrocities just for that purpose? Just last year we had the alleged chemical weapons attack which nearly lead to another U.S. sponsored 'humanitarian bombing' if it weren't for Russia. The claims that 'Assad gassed his own people' turned out to be fictitious as are those that he is now bombing civilians.

Mainstream media propaganda aside, there is plenty of evidence that the U.S. air strikes are targeting civilians. Here are a few reports from SOTT.

• "Successful" US-led bombing in Syria: Only civilians were among the dead
• At least 10 civilians, including children, killed by U.S.-led airstrikes in Syria
• 'Hooray! We're finally slaughtering Syrians directly!' U.S. airstrikes kill 5 civilians in Syria
• Freedom: U.S. airstrikes in Syria bomb grain silos killing civilians and destroying food

Despite the EU decrying the 'indiscriminate attacks against civilians,' banning the export of jet fuel will do nothing but cause more civilian casualties as it would weaken the Syrian Army which has been effectively countering the foreign sponsored insurgency that the U.S. unleashed in the region.

By their actions we can see that it's not the civilians that the EU stooges worry about, but pleasing their masters in U.S. who care about nothing but "degrading, disrupting and destroying" Syria using a proxy-terrorist force of their own creation.

On Saturday, December 13th, Russian media reported that U.S. President Obama evidently can't wait to sign the congressional authorization for war against Russia (which has already been passed in draft form by 98% of U.S. House members and 100% of U.S. Senate members), and that he is already shipping military supplies into Ukraine for use against Ukraine's ethnic Russians that the Ukrainian Government is trying to eliminate.


Mikhail Emelyanov, a leading Russian parliamentarian, was quoted as saying on Saturday, Russia "cannot calmly watch as the US arms Ukraine with the most modern lethal weapons. In this regard, we should not appear weak. The situation is very alarming. Judging by US intentions, they want to turn Ukraine into a fighting platform against Russia."

The popular Russian website "Colonel Cassad" reports that the reason why Ukraine's airports in Zaporozyhe, Kharkov and Dnepropetrovsk mysteriously shut down for other traffic on Saturday was to unload weapons-shipments from the U.S. Specifically, it said that, at Zaporozyhe,

"one of the airport workers replied that the airport has to be prepared to accept military aircraft with equipment, including Kharkov and Dnepropetrovsk. The equipment is expected from the United States."

For the time being, civilian traffic at all three of those airports is being reduced during the next few days, in order to unload that U.S. freight.

Also reported Saturday at fortruss.blogspot was that,

"Right now at Zaporozhye airport they are unloading two transport planes from USA. Cargo is in boxes. According to additional information two more planes are expected to arrive."

Just one day prior, Foreign Policy had bannered on Friday, "Who Will Foot the Bill in Ukraine?" and their reporter naively claimed that, "little aid is forthcoming for Ukraine as its government faces a shortfall."

The "aid" is actually already coming, in the form of U.S. military cargo shipments, gratis from U.S. taxpayers (though hardly gratis from the U.S. armaments-makers, whose business is booming from this). And the Ukraine "government faces a shortfall" thing is actually far worse than that: as Forbes's Mark Adomanis headlined on April 15th, "Ukraine's Economy Is Nearing Collapse." He reported, "The central bank was forced to take such desperate measures because the currency has been in free fall, losing more than 35% of its value against the dollar this year. The Hryvnia has been the world's worst performing currency in 2014." And:

"The only reason that things haven't totally imploded is because of the $18 billion package of assistance from the IMF and the $9 billion in additional assistance pledged by the United States and the European Union. This financial assistance is desperately needed and will obviously help the Ukrainian government keep the lights on. The problem is that Ukraine's funding needs aren't a static target but are directly influenced by changes in its economic outlook. Since that economic outlook is darkening, Ukraine's already large funding needs have grown commensurately."

Forbes's Kenneth Rapoza then noted on November 12th, "The nation's currency, the hryvnia, has lost 91.5% of its value so far this year."

The program imposed by the EU on Ukraine to diminish its alleged economic dependence on Russia is pushing this unstable country into a full scale crisis, Russian Prime Minister Medvedev writes in a newspaper article.

The PM emphasized that the planned economic cooperation between Ukraine and the European Union looks very much like neo-colonialism. "The EU needs Ukraine primarily as a source of raw materials and definitely as a new market for European companies," he wrote. According to some estimations, the Ukrainian economy will lose about $33 billion annually as a result of these policies, Mr Medvedev added.

The association agreement with the EU, which the current Kiev regime sees as an ultimate goal and key to prosperity, has definite priority over Ukrainian laws and national interests, Medvedev noted. Currently, no one in Europe wants to lend money to Ukraine. "No one is burning with desire to give money to Kiev even for most urgent needs. In a very desperate situation, Europe would allocate some money to repay the debts on the verge of default. The European economy is itself getting out of crisis with great difficulty," reads Medvedev's article.

Reports indicate that a gunman dressed in Al Qaeda or "Islamic State" (ISIS) attire has taken hostages in a cafe in the Australian city of Sydney. Demands made by the gunman include being allowed to contact Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and bringing him the Al Qaeda/ISIS flag.

The latest incident should be examined in the context of ISIS' genesis and the source of its ability to seemingly menace the entire planet with violence and acts of terrorism with seemingly inexhaustible resources.

The United States, Saudi Arabia, Israel and several other European and Middle Eastern partners openly conspired to use Al Qaeda as a regional mercenary force in a proxy war against Syria, Iran, and Hezbollah in Lebanon as far back as 2007. Having then materialized this force in 2011 and having openly trained, armed, funded, equipped, and harbored this terrorist force since then - up to and including today - the "Sydney Siege" is but the latest, predictable fallout from the West's global state-sponsored terrorism.

The so-called "Islamic State" - neither "Islamic" nor a "state" - is in reality simply a rebrand of Al Qaeda - Al Qaeda itself the terrorist front created by US and Saudi intelligence agencies as part of another covert, proxy war - then, against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

As evidence of this "rebrand," nearly all organizations from North Africa, across the Middle East, and their affiliates in southern Russia, Central Asia, and even China which had previously operated either affiliated to or directly under the banner of Al Qaeda have seamlessly realigned themselves with ISIS. These groups include Libyan terrorist organizations such as the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) - both of whom received NATO air cover, weapons, and cash during the West's 2011 bid to reorder the nation of Libya.

In all, from attempting to directly overthrow the Syrian government with a massive, regional armed terrorist front, to using this front as a pretext for direct military intervention, the story of ISIS' rise is also the story of America's hegemonic designs across the greater Middle East. The campaign of destruction across Syria and in neighboring countries is but one Western objective ISIS helps serve - the other is manipulating public perception through staged terror threats worldwide to create a climate of fear across the West and build support for expanding direct military intervention in both Syria and Iraq.

As predicted, the suspect amid the "Sydney Siege," has long been on the radar of Australian law enforcement, as well as a frequent visitor to Australia's court system.

Before that, however, he came to Australia as a political refugee, an opponent of what he called the "Iranian regime," and was even interviewed by Australia's ABC network in 2001 as part of an ongoing anti-Iranian propaganda campaign.

It has been revealed that long-time agitator, alias "Man Haron Monis," also known as "Manteghi Boroujerdi," was the suspect amid the so-called "Sydney Siege" hostage crisis. Monis/Boroujerdi claims to be a Shia'a religious leader and is often seen in press photos dressed as one.

Despite this, he was at the center of a hostage crisis requesting the flag of the "Islamic State" terrorist organization be delivered to him while claiming association with other ISIS "brothers."

Neither Islamic nor a state, ISIS is led by US, Israeli, and Saudi-backed Wahabi terrorists, promoting a perversion of Sunni Islam - the bane to both genuine Sunnis and Shia'a worldwide and against which both the nations of Syria and Iran are fighting.

Monis/Boroujerdi rose to infamy amid two notable incidents - one being his involvement in the stabbing death and burning of his ex-wife - the other being his controversial campaign of sending hate-letters to the families of dead Australian soldiers killed during the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. The latter was used extensively to stir up division across the pro and anti-war political divide.

When one looks at the signals coming from Kiev and most importantly from their handlers, the US, then it is hard to see anything but war, war and more war. Not necessarily a direct war between the US and Russia, but a war with Russia to the last Ukrainian. A basic knowledge of psychopathy helps to explain why that is, as psychopaths

• are extreme risktakers
• are professional liars
• has little grasp of the real world and often believe in their own lies
• are gamblers, thus preferring to doubling a bet than settle for a compromise
• hate losing
• never admits mistakes, but assigns faults to others
• have no conscience and thus feel no remorse or regrets for the aftermath of their ill thought out decisions
• often have a certain propensity for violence

And a description by Bob Altemeyer of authoritarian leaders is insightful:

In contemplating the success of the dark forces who create and rule over pathocracies, it behooves us to understand their nature. Altemeyer refers to them alternately as "authoritarian leaders" or "social dominators". He describes them like this:

High scorers (on the test that measures the traits of authoritarian leaders) are inclined to be intimidating, ruthless, and vengeful. They scorn such noble acts as helping others, and being kind, charitable, and forgiving. Instead they would rather be feared than loved, and be viewed as mean, pitiless, and vengeful. They love power, including the power to hurt in their drive to the top.... Social dominators thus admit, anonymously, to striving to manipulate others, and to being dishonest, two-faced, treacherous, and amoral. It's as if someone took the Scout Law ("A scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, ...") and turned it completely upside down...

This description is in fact almost identical to what psychologists refer to as the psychopathic personality. These people have two big advantages over the rest of us. First, they have no inclination to be bound by the rules that the rest of us are bound by. And secondly, they have their authoritarian followers (more about them later) to give them lots of aid and support.

This last week another meeting was held at Minsk on the 9th of December and despite talks of future meetings, nothing concrete has come out of it. And why bother, as there is zero interest from the Ukrainian side. One could point to the apparent lull in fighting called the "regime of silence" as a fact that things are going the way of peace, but it is more like the stillness before the storm. Instead of actively seeking peace and starting to repair the country, the Ukraine and the US are pursuing a war economy. What better way to hide the abysmal state of the Ukrainian economy, not to mention the US economy? A black hole comes to mind!

The Ukrainian government plans to double the defense budget and to call up 40000 new conscripts so as to boost the available cannon fodder to 250.000 people. Eerily, in the same news this week was setting aside by the Ukrainian government of 80 hectares of land for a cemetery so as to be able to bury the dead Ukrainian soldiers. As some people quickly calculated, then such a cemetery would have the capacity of 250.000 graves. That is a huge number, which makes one wonder if the Ukrainian handlers have something else in mind such as a false-flag operation? As the false-flag Malaysian shoot down didn't work out and considering that we are talking about psychopaths, who prefer to double the bet rather than admit defeat, then a bigger false flag event blamed on Russia is not out of the question. Remember that parasites are oblivious to the fact that in killing the host on which they feed, they are also killing themselves.