The ceasefire in Ukraine is actually being implemented, and both sides of the conflict have acknowledged this in a rare demonstration of accord after months of mutual accusations.

"I have good news," Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, currently on a visit to Australia, told journalists on Friday. "Today, for the first time in seven months, there was a real 24-hour-long ceasefire."

"You can't imagine how important this is for us. This has become the first night when I don't have a single soldier either killed or wounded".

Poroshenko admitted, however, the truce has so far been "very fragile" and promised to "pray for the process to carry on."

With CIA torture programs now fully exposed to the world, a common background theme has emerged. The CIA torture report by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is a summary of the original report which you can read for yourself. In the first few pages of the Senate report we are quietly reminded that the backdrop which set the stage for the justification of torture is 9/11. More specifically, the 9/11 "official story" narrative. The much questioned, challenged, and refuted official story narrative that is. The report quietly pulls the reader in with a passionate recollection of 9/11:

I recall vividly watching the horror of that day, to include the television footage of innocent men and women jumping out of the World Trade Center towers to escape the fire. The images, and the sounds as their bodies hit the pavement far below, will remain with me for the rest of my life.

Reading down further in the report, the 9/11 official story meme continues fully settling on the clear determined narrative that would be used in the CIA's attempt to justify torture by reminding the audience of the "terrorist plots"

And just like that, the list of countries who want to repatriate their gold just increased by one more, because after Venezuela, Germany, the Netherlands, sorry Switzerland, and rumors of Belgium, we now can add Austria to those nations for whom the "6000 year old barbarous relic bubble" is more than just "tradition."

From Bloomberg:

Austrian Central Bank Mulls Relocating London Gold: Standard

The Austrian state audit court says central bank should address concentration risk of storing 80% of its gold reserves with the Bank of England, Standard reports, citing draft audit report. Court advises central bank to diversify storage locations, contract partners.

Austrian central bank reviewing gold storage concept, doesn't rule out relocating some of its gold from London to Austria: Standard cites unidentified central ank officials. Austria has 280 tons gold reserves, according to 2013 annual report. Austrian Audit Court Will Review Nation's Gold Reserves in U.K.

Washington D. C. - With virtually no warning or debate, the Intelligence Authorization Act for 2015 (H.R. 4681) was rushed to the House floor and passed, containing a dangerous section which, for the first time, statutorily authorizes spying on U.S. citizens without legal process.

Representative Justin Amash (R-MI) made a hastened effort to draw attention to the disturbing bill, only hours before the vote was scheduled. If not for Amash's efforts, the bill would have passed on a "voice vote" - meaning no record would be kept of which Congressmen supported it. Rep. Amash explained in a press release on social media:

"When I learned that the Intelligence Authorization Act for FY 2015 was being rushed to the floor for a vote - with little debate and only a voice vote expected (i.e., simply declared "passed" with almost nobody in the room) - I asked my legislative staff to quickly review the bill for unusual language. What they discovered is one of the most egregious sections of law I've encountered during my time as a representative: It grants the executive branch virtually unlimited access to the communications of every American." - Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI)

Section 309 contains the language which civil libertarians found disturbing. Rep. Amash rushed out a "Dear Colleague" letter to every member of congress, urging each to vote "NO" on H.R. 4681.

Imagine that Vladimir Putin were not a murderous autocrat and kleptocrat who has spent his fourteen years in power living up to his KGB past and dragging Russia ever back towards Communist autocracy, illiberalism, and expansionism. Imagine that instead he were the one of the greatest leaders that Russia has had, whose policies have helped produce a massive rise in living standards and life expectancy, recuperation of national pride, and enforcement of the rule of law, who has tackled kleptocrats and gangsters wisely and well, whose foreign policy has on balance been realistic, diplomatic, and conducive to peace, who has presided over a country of which the human rights record is considerably better than that of the United States and in which civil rights are improving, and who richly deserves the steady support of 65% - currently at a Ukraine-related high of 83% - of the population that he possesses. It is my understanding that the reality is closer to the second scenario than the first - and I may note that I say this as someone with no ethnic, financial, professional or political ties to Russia whatsoever. It follows that I am not a Russian expert - but nor am I, on the other hand, parti pris. I am a friendly, distanced observer of the country.

© ReutersQatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani welcomed on Tuesday leaders of the GCC ahead of the 35th session of the GCC Supreme Council.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) just concluded its 35th annual summit in the Qatari capital of Doha. Despite key differences between some of the members, they've taken initiatives to move their military integration further and push forward with a NATO-style Gulf alliance.

The Doha Summit led to all the GCC members agreeing to form a regional Interpol-like organization and their own regional naval force to be based in Bahrain. They hadn't taken any measures to further integrate their militaries since 1986, when the five-year-old alliance created the Peninsula Shield Force to combine some of their land units. Although they spoke of destabilization all across their land-based periphery, they interestingly made the decision to integrate their navies, not their armies, showing that the GCC as a whole sees Iran as a greater threat than ISIL.


Comparing The Coalitions

Let's look at how closely the GCC compares to NATO.

Out-Of-Regional Scope:

GCC: The grouping has close working relationships with Jordan and Egypt (which is trying to form a military alliance with some of the members) and has hinted at possible intervention in Yemen, all of which are non-Gulf states.

NATO: The Atlantic Alliance includes states that were never previously identified as 'North Atlantic' at any point in their histories (Turkey, Eastern Europe) and has played a significant out-of-regional role in Afghanistan, among other places.

Spats and Stumbling Blocks:

GCC: The previous Qatar-Gulf split made some observers think that the alliance was on the ropes, and some members have fears of becoming Saudi pawns if they integrate more closely within the Council.

NATO: Gaullist France's withdraw from NATO's unified command created some serious fears about the alliance's future and effectiveness, and Eastern and Western Europe are currently divided over how to best counter Russia.

Sources on the ground in Iraq exclusively told Sputnik News that the US Air Force carried out strikes against an elite Iranian military unit - a unit that Tehran denies is even in the country. If those reports are true, what effect will this incident have on the future of US-Iranian ties?

The US air strikes just outside of the Iraqi capital Baghdad could have significant repercussions for the US, Iran, and their extremely fragile bilateral relationship.

Iran:

Tehran had previously confirmed midway that its Quds forces are advising the Iraqis, while adamantly insisting last month that no ground troops were deployed in the country. Although some may think that the death of Quds soldiers automatically means that they were ground troops, this would only be an assumption, as they very well could have been fulfilling the supplementary role of transporting munitions to the frontlines and not partaking in any combat. Anyhow, Iran is not predicted to admit any ground role in Iraq so far, with or without the death of Quds soldiers, as that would clash with its previous official statements on the matter.

US:

Washington's strike, if true, could either be mistaken or intentional, although even if it was the latter, it would never be admitted as such. More than likely, it would be explained away as being a tactical error due to the non-coordination between the US and Iran's separate anti-ISIL campaigns in Iraq. If the US did strike the Quds on purpose, it would have done so for a few reasons, perhaps to send a message to Iran and remind it that 'he who rules the skies rules the battlefield' or to create a type of publicity stunt to 'out' what could have been actual Quds ground troops active on the ground. Other explanations are also possible, but it is too early and speculative to conclusively settle on any one in particular.

US-Iranian Relations:

Other than the soldiers on the ground, the other casualty of the US airstrikes would be the frail bilateral relationship between the two states. It's an open secret that Iraq is, among other things, currently a proxy battleground between the US and Iran, with both countries conducting airstrikes there and advising the Iraqi Army, albeit with no coordination whatsoever. The proxy war, combined with the lack of coordination, could lead to disastrous consequences, such as that which may have happened in Jurf al-Nasr.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India was described as success as over 20 documents were penned after painstaking preparations and as the two counties agreed to steadily expand cooperation on all sectors including trade, defense, and the controversial but highly propagandized nuclear sector.

Speaking to the press in India on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that Indian - Russian relations are gradually developing in all sectors of cooperation. Putin's statement came after a meeting with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

Putin arrived in India on Thursday morning. Besides meeting Modi, Putin has also scheduled meetings with India's President Pranab Kumar Mukherjee and representatives of India's business community.

Before Putin's departure, the Russian presidency at the Kremlin informed the press that some 20 documents which have been prepared over a longer period are expected to be penned during Putin's visit. The Russian president is accompanied by other senior Russian government officials.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted that Russia always has been a close friend of India and a privileged strategic partner.

On the agenda between the top officials of Russia and India are also issues pertaining the BRICS countries, matters pertaining the United Nations, as well as developments within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Both Russian and Indian media spend much of their coverage focusing on Modi's and Putin's attendance at the opening of the World Diamond Conference. Russia is one of the world's largest exporters or raw industrial diamonds and diamonds for the production of jewelry. India, for its part, is one of the world's leading nations in the cutting of precious stones.

How the US Created Its Own Worst Nightmare

The world's geopolitics, major trade patterns and military alliances have changed radically in the past month. Russia has re-oriented its gas and oil trade, and also its trade in military technology, away from Europe toward Eurasia.

The result is the opposite of America's hope for the past half-century of dividing and conquering Eurasia: setting Russia against China, isolating Iran, and preventing India, the Near East and other Asian countries from joining together to create an alternative to the U.S. dollar area. American sanctions and New Cold War policy has driven these Asian countries together in association with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as an alternative to NATO, and in the BRICS moves to avoid dealing with the dollar area, the IMF and World Bank austerity programs.

Regarding Europe, America's insistence that it join the New Cold War by imposing sanctions on Russia and blocking Russian gas and oil exports has aggravated the Eurozone's economic austerity, making it even more of a Dead Zone. This week a group of Germany's leading politicians, diplomats and cultural celebrities wrote an open letter to Angela Merkel protesting her pro-U.S. anti-Russian policy. By overplaying its hand, the United States is in danger of driving Europe out of the U.S. economic orbit.

Turkey already is moving out of the U.S.-European orbit, by turning to Russia for its energy needs. Iran also has moved into an alliance with Russia. Instead of the Obama administration's neocons dividing and conquering as they had planned, they are isolating America from Europe and Asia. Yet there has been almost no recognition of this in the U.S. press, despite its front-page discussion throughout Europe and Asia. Instead of breaking up the BRICS, the dollar area is coming undone.

This week, President Putin is going to India to negotiate a gas and arms deal. Last week he was in Turkey diverting what was to be the South Stream pipeline away from southern Europe to Turkey. And Turkey is becoming an associate of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization integrating the BRICS in a defensive alliance against the United States, now that it is obvious that it has no chance of joining the EU.

A few months earlier, Russia announced the largest oil and gas trade and pipeline investment ever, with China - along with a transfer of missile defense technology.

James Elmer Mitchell, a former Air Force psychologist credited with teaching the CIA how to torture war on terror detainees in the 2000s, is the subject of an on-camera interview with VICE correspondent Kaj Larsen.

This isn't the first time Dr. Mitchell has been profiled. We first heard about him in a 2005 New Yorker article, the New York Times, and the Guardian have explored the role he and Dr. Bruce Jessen played in designing the CIA's "Enhanced Interrogation Program."

But VICE got him on camera for a sitdown interview for the first time. When you watch it, remember: the contracting firm this man ran with Jessen is said to have received more than $80 million from the CIA to teach the CIA how to torture people. And some of that torture included anal rape, freezing people to death, and shoving hummus and nuts up men's asses.

Oh, and taxpayers covered $5 million in legal fees to then cover Mitchell and Jessen's own asses.

Mitchell repeatedly refers to the book Hard Measures: How Aggressive CIA Actions After 9/11 Saved American Lives, by James Rodriguez, who defends the torture tactics Mitchell and his colleagues designed.

Just yesterday, the Senate Intelligence Committee released a 500-page summary report on the CIA's detention and interrogation program. Committee chairwoman Dianne Feinstein says the document represents the most significant oversight effort in the history of the US Senate.