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Russia's smart move to buy gold could end up saving the ruble

Sam Mcculloch
Sputink
Fri, 12 Feb 2016 13:12 UTC
Ruble gold
© Sputnik/ Pavel Lisitsyn
In 2016, the ruble has skirted with all time lows as crude oil has collapsed, US and European sanctions have cut off lines to cheap credit, and inflation is pushing double digits. However, the rising price of gold could give the ruble a reprieve and even save the currency.

The yellow metal, whose price has risen almost 20% in the last few weeks, represents 13% of Russia's total foreign exchange reserves.

In 2015, Russia increased its reserves by 208.4 metric tons to 1415 metric tons total, a 17% increase. The total value at the end of December was around $48.6 billion when gold was trading at its six year lows of $1062. Now with the massive rise of gold since the end of 2015, the expected value of Russia's reserves is around $61.8 billion.

Comment: Further reading: Russia isn't 'collapsing' - The country that demolished the Nazis can handle low oil prices

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2 + 2 = 4

Retired German general heaps praise on Russia for peacekeeping actions in Syria


Sputnik
Fri, 12 Feb 2016 13:00 UTC
Children Syria
© Sputnik/ Michael Alaeddin
By launching an anti-terrorist air campaign in Syria, Moscow added greatly to the beginning of the peace process in the country, according to former chairman of the NATO Military Committee Harald Kujat.

In an interview with the German newspaper Passauer Neue Presse, Harald Kujat, a retired German general and former chairman of the NATO Military Committee, heaped praise on Russia's role in the peace talks to resolve the Syrian crisis.

"Only Russia's military interference made it possible to start the peace process [on Syria]," Kujat said.

Comment: Comparing Western vs Russian involvement in the Middle East shows that Russia deserves nothing but praise.

Also see: How the "Arab Spring" went from spontaneous uprising to orchestrated slaughter

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Ambulance

Grinding down the people: UK Govt to impose contract on junior doctors

Denis Campbell
The Guardian
Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:57 UTC
jeremy hunt
© Geofff Pugh
Jeremy Hunt. The unqualified, unintelligent con-man currently in charge of looting the NHS on behalf of his masters.
Ministers have decided to impose a new contract on NHS junior doctors after the British Medical Association rejected a "best and final" offer to settle the bitter dispute, Jeremy Hunt has told MPs.

In a Commons statement, the health secretary confirmed that he was finally acting on his longstanding threat after months of negotiations with the doctors' union had failed to produce a settlement.

He blamed his move on the BMA's refusal to negotiate on the key issue of whether Saturday should become part of a junior doctor's normal working week. He accused the union of being inflexible on an issue that was vital to delivering the government's manifesto pledge to introduce a seven-day NHS by 2020.

Comment: The ruling class in the UK no longer even pretends to have a fair and reasonable government. It is a complete rinse operation across the board, staffed by unqualified self-interested psychopaths, put there for the sole purpose of enriching themselves and their corporate rulers.

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Jet4

Rebels feel 'abandoned' by the U.S. in face of Syrian military offensive

Jason Ditz
Antiwar
Wed, 10 Feb 2016 02:17 UTC
Syrian 'rebels'
© Russia Insider
Pentagon: No Plans to Intervene Against Russia in Aleppo

While the US has spent years eagerly throwing arms at various Syrian rebel factions, those rebels have had a mixed record on the ground. As losses mount in Aleppo Province, in the face of a Syrian military offensive, they were expecting the US to bail them out, and now that they're not, they complain of being "abandoned."

This isn't the rebels' only gripe. Earlier in the war, the US was suggesting complete support for the rebels as the eventual government of Syria, and backed their refusal to negotiate. As they've shifted to get behind a Russian proposal for a settlement of the war and free elections, the rebels have viewed it as a "betrayal" of their goal of unconditional regime change.

While the US is still arming the rebels and giving lip service to regime change, their focus shifted to the ISIS war long ago. The Pentagon, for its part, says they have "no current plans" to intervene against Russia and Syria in the Aleppo offensive.

When the US made the decision to support the rebels, their victory seemed an inevitability. ISIS, however, has long since passed the rebels as a dominant opposition force. Clearly the US never had any intention of going to war with Russia to save rebel factions who had no real chance of winning to begin with.
Syria map
© Antiwar

Comment: See also:

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Attention

Anyone listening? Russian PM urges for


Sputnik
Fri, 12 Feb 2016 02:16 UTC
Medvédev
© Ria Novosti / Alexander Astafyev
As Turkey and Saudi Arabia edge closer to sending ground forces into Syria at the behest of the United States, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has warned that an escalation of the conflict could lead to world war.

During an interview with German newspaper Handelsblatt, Medvedev warned of dire consequences if the United States and its allies abandon Syrian peace talks in favor of deploying ground forces.

"All ground operations, as a rule, lead to permanent wars," he said. "Look at what is going on in Afghanistan and a number of other countries. I don't even mention the ill-fated Libya.

"The Americans must consider — both the US president and our Arab partners — whether or not they want a permanent war."

Comment: Further reading:
The Saudi operation was said today to start within two months. The Syrian government forces and their allies will now have to rush to the east to protect the unity of the country. The U.S. for its part may want to hinder the Syrian advantage by whatever means it has, including - possibly - some "erroneous" bombing.

The race for Raqqa, and Syria's future, is on.

Race to Raqqa: A battle the Syrian Army must win


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Clipboard

Latest Syrian crisis plan calls for cessation of hostilities and humanitarian airdrops


RT
Fri, 12 Feb 2016 01:57 UTC
Sergei Lavrov and John Kerry
© AFP 2016/ Christof STACHE
An ambitious plan to end hostilities in Syria with verifiable results within a week, revive the Geneva-3 peace talks, and immediately begin delivering humanitarian aid to civilians has been unveiled in Munich, Germany after talks including the US, Russia, and the UN.

Hostilities in Syria could come to a halt within a week after confirmation by the government of President Bashar Assad and the opposition, according to an official communiqué from the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) meeting.

A mechanism to help resolve humanitarian issues in Syria has been developed, which includes the creation of a task force that will begin work on Friday.
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Bad Guys

How the "Arab Spring" went from spontaneous uprising to orchestrated slaughter

Stanislav Ivanov
New Eastern Outlook
Fri, 12 Feb 2016 01:56 UTC
arab spring
The beginning of 2011 went down in history as the "Arab Spring", which set in motion not only the "Arab street", but also the entire Middle East region. The act of self-immolation of a Tunisian teenager in late 2010 served as a detonator for the subsequent series of civil unrest, Arab "revolutions" and civil wars in the region.

It is well known that at that time, mass rallies and protest demonstrations unrolled in almost all the Arab countries. In some of them (Morocco, Algeria, Oman, Sudan, Jordan, etc.), the political and social tension has been reduced by taking urgent measures for the redistribution of financial and material resources for the benefit of the most vulnerable segments of society, in others - through violent coup d'état (Tunisia, Egypt), or by military suppressing of protests and civil revolts (Eastern province of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain). However, the most dramatic events unfolded in Libya, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq, where the weakening of the central governments led to the disintegration of these states into several hostile enclaves and to enduring armed conflicts. The situation in these countries worsened by large-scale foreign intervention and activation of groups of radical Islamists. The number of the injured and dead in these local wars and conflicts amounts to hundreds of thousands, more than ten million people have become refugees and displaced. As a result, there is an ongoing uncontrolled flow of migrants to Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, the Balkans and other European countries.

Comment: Further reading: Why the US supports Arab dictatorships & crushes democracy in Middle East

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Jet1

Russian MOD press briefing: "The conductor's hand is felt" - Konashenkov blasts Western lies about Russia's op in Syria (VIDEO)

Russian Defense Ministry
YouTube
Thu, 11 Feb 2016 23:44 UTC
Konashenkov
© www.theguardian.com
Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Maj-Gen Igor Konashenkov
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov gives a report on the continuing Russian mission in Syria, and comments on U.S. claims that Russia bombed hospitals in Aleppo. It gets juicy at about 4:30.


Comment: Further reading:

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Star of David

Mush for brains: Israeli MP says there is no Palestinian nation since there is no 'P' in Arabic


RT
Thu, 11 Feb 2016 01:38 UTC
Anat Berko
© Wikipedia
An Israeli member of Knesset has come up with a new reason why a two-state solution is not feasible. Since the Arabic language doesn't have the letter P, she reasoned, the idea of Palestinian statehood is questionable. Her theory was met by sharp retorts.

"There isn't even a 'P' in Arabic, so it's a borrowed term that's worth analyzing," Anat Berko from the Netanyahu's Likud party said on Wednesday in a debate on the two-state solution.

"But there is a Palestinian Authority next to us; we don't deny it," she added, as cited by the Jerusalem Post.
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Take 2

Erdogan at it again, threatens to expel Syrian refugees from Turkey


Sputnik
Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:50 UTC
Syrian woman sign
© sputniknews.com
Anywhere but here...
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the United Nations should advise other countries to accept the refugees, not only Turkey, and Ankara will send these refugees there. Erdogan threatened on Thursday to send the Syrian refugees to other countries since Ankara allegedly was on the brink of losing patience over the massive influx of migrants from the Arab republic.

"If the air campaign in Syria continues, the number of [new] refugees can reach 600,000... How many refugees other countries have accepted — 100, 300, 500, some of them, one. We do not have the word 'idiot' written on our foreheads. We endure this, but when our patience is over, we will do what is needed. Don't think that the planes and the buses are there for nothing. Let the United Nations advise other countries to accept the refugees, not us, and we will send these refugees there," Erdogan stated at a meeting with young businessmen.

"Someone is trying to blame us by making public [the] content of negotiations. We strongly defended there the rights of Syrian refugees and want the European Union to meet its obligations. We are not ashamed of this. In the past we embussed refugees in Edirne [city on the border with Greece] and sent them back. This can be done once or twice, but then we will open the border, and will wish them a happy journey," Erdogan added. Erdogan also stated that Turkey may open its borders with the European Union to refugees.

Earlier this week, media reports emerged claiming that Erdogan had demanded 30 billion euro ($34 billion) from President of the European Council Donald Tusk and European Commission Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker to help the country resolve the refugee crisis, threatening to send refugees to Europe.

Comment: Maybe the West is counting on this side show to distract from its real intentions and motives. If so, then Erdogan is the droid they were looking for.

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