Puppet MastersS


Chess

Standing their ground: Russia reinforces military presence in Crimea

Yuras Karmanau and Dalton Bennett
Associated Press
Sat, 08 Mar 2014 16:24 UTC
russia crimea military
© Associated Press/Darko VojinovicA convoy of military vehicles bearing no license plates travels on the road from Feodosia to Simferopol in the Crimea, Ukraine, Saturday, March 8, 2014. More than 60 military trucks bearing no license plate numbers was headed from the eastern city of Feodosia toward the city of Simferopol, the regional capital.
Dozens of military trucks transporting heavily armed soldiers rumbled over Crimea's rutted roads Saturday as Russia reinforced its armed presence on the disputed peninsula in the Black Sea. Moscow's foreign minister ruled out any dialogue with Ukraine's new authorities, whom he dismissed as the puppets of extremists.

The Russians have denied their armed forces are active in Crimea, but an Associated Press reporter trailed one military convoy Saturday afternoon from 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Feodosia to a military airfield at Gvardeiskoe north of Simferopol, over which a Russian flag flew.

Some of the army green vehicles had Russian license plates and numbers indicating that they were from the Moscow region. Some towed mobile kitchens and what appeared to be mobile medical equipment.

The strategic peninsula in southern Ukraine has become the flashpoint in the battle for Ukraine, where three months of protests sparked by President Victor Yanukovych's decision to ditch a significant treaty with the 28-nation European Union after strong pressure from Russia led to his downfall. A majority of people in Crimea identify with Russia, and Moscow's Black Sea Fleet is based in Sevastopol, as is Ukraine's.

Vladislav Seleznyov, a Crimean-based spokesman for the Ukrainian armed forces, told AP that witnesses had reported seeing amphibious military ships unloading around 200 military vehicles in eastern Crimea on Friday night after apparently having crossed the Straits of Kerch, which separates Crimea from Russian territory.

"Neither the equipment, nor the paratroopers have insignia that identify them as Russian, but we have no doubt as to their allegiance," Seleznyov said.

The amphibious operation appeared to be one of the largest movements of Russian military forces since they appeared in Crimea a week ago.
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Newspaper

'Journalists are not terrorists': Photos of Al Jazeera reporters being held in cages in Egypt

Sharona Schwartz
The Blaze
Thu, 06 Mar 2014 07:15 UTC
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When three journalists for Al Jazeera's English service were brought into an Egyptian court Wednesday, they were held in cages, a shocking image that prompted reactions including "disturbing," "heartbreaking" and "rocked."

Al Jazeera tweeted this photo showing their staffers in court, not only held in cages, but also separated from the legal teams by rows of security personnel.

They are facing charges of allegedly being members of and aiding the Muslim Brotherhood and endangering national security. Getty Images published more photos of the scene:
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Hiliter

Russia's Lavrov says no agreement with Kerry on Ukraine

Gabriela Baczynska
Yahoo! News
Thu, 06 Mar 2014 09:46 UTC
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© AFP
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday there was still no agreement between Moscow and Washington over the crisis in Ukraine where the regional parliament of Crimea voted to become part of Russia.

Speaking in Rome after meeting his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State John Kerry, Lavrov said Washington's order to freeze assets and ban visas to Russians responsible for an incursion into Crimea was unconstructive.

"For now we cannot tell the international community that we have an agreement," Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying after his second meeting with Kerry in two days.

Lavrov said talk of blacklisting some Russians from entering the United States was complicating talks: "He (Kerry) assured me there are no such lists for now. There is only the order but that doesn't change facts, this is still a threat."

The West has pushed Moscow to agree to international mediation to resolve the crisis in Ukraine but Lavrov said he would now report to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the proposal before any decisions were made.
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Boat

U.S. destroyer en route to Black Sea for 'routine' drills


Yahoo! News
Thu, 06 Mar 2014 11:02 UTC
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© USNUSS Truxton
A US guided-missile destroyer is en route to the Black Sea but naval officials said Thursday it was a "routine" deployment that was planned before the crisis unfolded in Ukraine.

The USS Truxtun departed the Greek port of Souda Bay Thursday to carry out joint training with Romanian and Bulgarian forces, the US Navy said in a statement.

"While in the Black Sea, the ship will conduct a port visit and routine, previously planned exercises with allies and partners in the region," it said.

The mission was "scheduled well in advance of her departure from the United States," it said.

Although portrayed as unrelated to tensions in Ukraine, where pro-Russian forces have taken de facto control over the Crimean peninsula, the presence of a US naval destroyer in the Black Sea sends a symbolic message to Moscow.

The move comes a day after the Pentagon sought to reassure anxious allies in Central and Eastern Europe over Russia's actions in Ukraine, announcing plans to send more F-15 fighter jets to patrol the skies over Baltic states and stepping up aviation training in Poland.
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Snakes in Suits

Sanctions, oh really? Exxon's Largest Non-U.S. Prize at Risk in Ukraine Crisis

Joe Carroll
Bloomberg News
Wed, 05 Mar 2014 12:03 UTC
exxon russia drilling
Exxon Mobil Corp.'s (XOM) biggest international exploration opportunity may be imperiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin's Ukrainian foray.

U.S.-based companies could face restrictions on doing business in Russia if Putin's regime is slapped with sanctions by western governments or the United Nations for its intervention in Ukraine's Crimea region.

Exxon, under the terms of a 2011 contract with state-controlled OAO Rosneft, owns drilling rights across 11.4 million acres of Russian land, its biggest exploration holding outside the U.S. Sanctions could stall Exxon's plans to begin drilling in the Russian Arctic later this year in partnership with Rosneft, and threaten the lucrative Sakhalin-1 oil license off Russia's Pacific Coast.

Exxon Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson agreed to invest billions of dollars and allow Rosneft to buy stakes in premier North American projects in exchange for access to Russia's vast Arctic, deep-water and shale resources.

The 61-year-old University of Texas-trained engineer is seeking to reverse sliding oil and natural gas output at the world's biggest energy producer by market value. Since assuming the leadership post of Exxon in January 2006, the company's stock has increased 65 percent, lagging the 77 percent advance in the price of crude, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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MIB

Tell me who your friends are: 'Mossad cooperates with Saudis, Bahrain'


PressTV
Sat, 08 Mar 2014 09:36 UTC
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Mossad has close cooperation with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Israeli military says.
Israel says its Mossad spying agency has close cooperation with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

A report published on the Israeli military's official website said that other countries that cooperate with Tel Aviv are the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The report claimed that Bahrain has been providing Israel with intelligence on Iranian and Palestinian organizations.

The report also highlights the growing secret cooperation with Saudi Arabia, claiming that Mossad has been in direct contact with Saudi intelligence about Iran's nuclear energy program.

The report says Tel Aviv has gathered intelligence on Iran through sources in Azerbaijan.
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Wall Street

Healthy economy requires fewer people working on Wall Street, making much less money

Les Leopold
Alternet
Wed, 05 Mar 2014 00:00 UTC
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© Wikimedia Commons/Lane Worthy
"I wish someone would give me one shred of neutral evidence that financial innovation has led to economic growth - one shred of evidence." - Paul Volker (2009)
All of us suspect the obvious - that Wall Street not only is too big to fail, but also just too damn big. But where's our evidence? It's one thing to direct our anger at financial elites and the top one percent. It's quite another to make a factual case that Wall Street, indeed, is much too big, and therefore should be radically reduced in size. So here's some data.

1. Explosion in Financial Sector Incomes But No Rise in Economic Growth

Check out this chart: Between WWII and 1980, the wages of financial workers were the same as those who worked in non-financial industries. Then the two lines split apart with Wall Street extracting an enormous premium. Do the financiers deserve it? And how would we know if they do or don't? The answer should depend on how much value the financial sector, in fact, produces for our economy. Is there a correlation between the explosion in Wall Street incomes and economic growth?

Yes, there is, but it's negative. As Wall Street wages rise, economic growth slows down.
1950s (1950-1959): 4.17 percent
1960s (1960-1969): 4.44 percent
1970s (1970-1979): 3.26 percent
1980s (1980-1989): 3.05 percent
1990s (1990-1999): 3.2 percent
2000s (2000-2009): 1.82 percent
[Source for these unemployment numbers ]
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War Whore

Pentagon chief: U.S. to increase military support to Poland and Baltic states


The Raw Story
Wed, 05 Mar 2014 11:11 UTC
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© Inquiry-mr.com
The United States plans to expand military cooperation with Poland and Baltic states to show "support" for its allies after Russia's intervention in Ukraine, Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel said Wednesday.

"This morning the Defense Department is pursuing measures to support our allies," including expanded aviation training in Poland and increasing the US role in NATO's air policing mission over Baltic countries, Hagel told lawmakers.

At the same hearing, General Martin Dempsey, the US military's top officer, said he had spoken to his Russian counterpart, General Valery Gerasimov, earlier Wednesday, urging "restraint."

Hagel also said NATO's top commander and head of the US European Command, General Philip Breedlove, planned to confer with Central and Eastern European defense chiefs.

"This is a time for wise, steady, and firm leadership," Hagel told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Comment: War Whores want your money: Military's top general propaganda on nation's defense

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Bad Guys

Shortsighted EU slaps initial sanctions on Russia

Mike Corder and Juergen Baetz
ABC News
Thu, 06 Mar 2014 10:30 UTC
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© AP Photo/Geert Vanden WijngaertBritish Prime Minister David Cameron speaks during a media conference at an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, March 6, 2014
The European Union suspended talks with Russia on a wide-ranging economic pact and a visa agreement Thursday in response to its military incursion into Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, threatening tougher sanctions unless Moscow swiftly defuses the crisis.

The moves at an emergency EU summit came on the heels of visa and financial sanctions the Obama administration imposed on Russians and Ukrainians over the military incursion into Crimea.

EU President Herman Van Rompuy said further measures could include travel bans, asset freezes and the cancellation of an EU-Russia summit if Moscow does not quickly end its aggression and joins meaningful, multilateral talks within days to halt the crisis.

"We are in close coordination with the United States on this," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. "We cannot go back to business as usual" with Russia, she added.

However, the EU's latest sanctions appeared weak compared to the U.S. ones and to what some more hawkish EU countries wanted, particularly those bordering Russia. Poland's leader noted the resistance to penalizing Moscow remains fairly high among some members of the 28-nation bloc because of Europe's close proximity, energy dependence and trade ties to Russia.
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Question

'Ask Zelda', the NSA's equivalent of 'Dear Abby'

Peter Maass
The Intercept
Fri, 07 Mar 2014 08:06 UTC
spying
© unknown
What if the National Security Agency had its own advice columnist? What would the eavesdroppers ask about?

You don't need to guess. An NSA official, writing under the pen name "Zelda," has actually served at the agency as a Dear Abby for spies. Her "Ask Zelda!" columns, distributed on the agency's intranet and accessible only to those with the proper security clearance, are among the documents leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. The columns are often amusing - topics include co-workers falling asleep on the job, sodas being stolen from shared fridges, supervisors not responding to emails, and office-mates who smell bad. But one of the most intriguing involves a letter from an NSA staffer who complains that his (or her) boss is spying on employees.

In the letter, which Zelda published in a column on September 9, 2011, the employee calls himself "Silenced in SID" - referring to the Signals Intelligence Directorate, the heart of the NSA's surveillance operations. Zelda's column, headlined "Watching Every Word in Snitch City," offers an ironic insight into a spy agency where the spies apparently resent being spied upon.
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