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Iran seeks nuclear-free Middle East and insists Israel 'give up the bomb'


RT
Mon, 27 Apr 2015 23:55 UTC
Image
© Reuters / Mike Segar
Iran has demanded that Israel give up its "nuclear weapons", as it spoke on behalf of the 120-nation Non-Aligned Movement. Iran's Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif said the bloc also wants a nuclear free-zone in the Middle East.

Mohammad Javad Zarif was speaking at the United Nations for the non-aligned group of countries. Israel has never admitted or denied the widespread assumption it has nuclear weapons. However, Zarif says Israel's assumed nuclear arsenal was a threat to regional security.

The Iranian Foreign Minister said the non-aligned movement regards Israel's nuclear program as, "a serious and continuing threat to the security of neighboring and other states, and condemned Israel for continuing to develop and stockpile nuclear arsenals," according to Reuters.

Comment: Iran has every right to call out Israel however the UN won't do anything about it.

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Stock Down

Incredibly bizarre, investers take on debt as an investment

Secular Investor Blog
Zero Hedge
Sun, 26 Apr 2015 00:00 UTC
black-hole

Negative Interest Rates: The Black Hole of The Financial System
A black swan event is a metaphor for an enormous problem that develops underneath the surface and then suddenly puts the whole financial system at risk. The financial crisis of 2008 was a black swan event, for example, that slowly developed in the US real estate market where excess had ruled in the years before.

Today, market conditions are ideal for a new black swan event to develop. An event like this takes people by surprise, because it matures under the radar in places where no one is looking. Today, for example, everyone is afraid of deflation. That means that everyone is also trying to prepare for deflation.

Comment: Also see Era of negative interest rates has begun and Financial market manipulation.As the noose tightens, cash might not be an option Banks increasingly refuse cash withdrawals.

Could this really happen?
Spain's Bankinter, which sold mortgages pegged to Swiss Libor, told CNN it couldn't pay interest on a loan (go figure!) so instead reduced the principal for some of its customers.


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Bomb

US ready to use nuclear weapons to defend Japan


Sputnik
Mon, 27 Apr 2015 20:28 UTC
Image
© Flickr
The United States is ready to use all military options, including nuclear weapons, to defend its Japanese ally.
"Central to this is the ironclad US commitment to the defense of Japan, through the full range of US military capabilities, including nuclear and conventional."
The US Navy base in Yokosuka will station more ballistic missile defense warships by 2017 and receive an advanced nuclear-powered supercarrier in 2015, according to a joint US-Japan statement issued on Monday.
"The Ministers [Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani] welcomed US plans to deploy additional Aegis ships to Yokosuka Naval Base by 2017, as well as the swap-out of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington with the more advanced USS Ronald Reagan later this year."

Comment: The war machine

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Light Saber

India placed Ford Foundation on national security watchlist

Victor Mallet
CNBC
Fri, 24 Apr 2015 11:19 UTC
Narendra Modi
© Adnan Abidi | Reuters
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi
India has placed the Ford Foundation, the U.S. philanthropy group, on a national security watchlist following complaints about its links to an activist seeking the conviction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for human rights abuses.

The news was greeted with alarm by Indian and foreign non-government organisations and western donors, but hailed by many nationalist Indians on Twitter as an overdue crackdown on foreign meddlers.

A letter on Thursday from the home affairs ministry to the Reserve Bank of India, published by Indian news media, asks the central bank to place the Ford Foundation on a watchlist to ensure that the funds it distributes are used "for bona fide welfare activities without compromising on concerns for national interest and security".

The Ford Foundation — which has worked in India since 1952 on programs ranging from the "green revolution" in agriculture to urban planning and good governance — was previously under the purview of the finance ministry, but can now disburse funds only after clearance from the home affairs ministry.


Comment: The Green revolution was controversial from the beginning.
Why is the green revolution controversial?

Despite offering dramatic production gains, the new seeds of the green revolution were surrounded by political controversy from the start. Some critics feared they would lead to greater income inequality if only larger farmers were able to adopt them. Others worried they would make farmers too dependent on the purchase of expensive inputs such as fertilizer. Still others feared environmental damage from excessive fertilizer applications excessive pumping of groundwater for irrigation or excessive spraying of pesticides.The new seeds were also criticized on grounds that they would reduce biodiversity when uniform mono-cultures of green revolution varieties replaced diverse poly cultures of traditional crop varieties Critics even tried to argue that green revolution seeds were a cause of violent conflicts in India between Hindus and Muslims in the Punjab and of revolutionary struggles that swept through Central America in the 1980s.
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Eye 2

Czech diplomat condones slaughter of Odessa innocents


Sputnik
Mon, 27 Apr 2015 19:57 UTC
Image
© Odessa-media
To avoid civil unrest, a government must kill its own citizens and burn them near a road, said Vaclav Bartuska, the Czech Republic's energy envoy.

Vaclav Bartuska, the Czech Republic's energy envoy, justified the monstrous slaughter of innocent people that took place in the Ukrainian city of Odessa on May 2, 2014.

Last May, clashes broke out in Odessa between independence supporters on one side and pro-Kiev extremists on the other. As a result, at least 48 people were killed by the right-wing radicals.

According to Bartuska, Prague carefully studied the model used in eastern Ukraine to rally up independence movements.

The Czech envoy commented about the tragedy in Odessa:

Comment: Just another likely psychopath who thinks that murdering innocent civilians is a justifiable means to an end, one borne out of the U.S.-created mindset no doubt.

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Magnify

Hillary Clinton's foundation under scrutiny for hiding foreign donors on tax returns


RT
Mon, 27 Apr 2015 19:51 UTC
Image
© Reuters / Gary Cameron
The non-profit foundation run by presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton and her family has acknowledged it's made "mistakes" amid increased public scrutiny concerning donations it's received from foreign entities.

On the group's website on Sunday, Maura Pally, the acting CEO of the Clinton Foundation, said the organization has erred, but remains committed to transparency.

"Yes, we made mistakes, as many organizations of our size do, but we are acting quickly to remedy them, and have taken steps to ensure they don't happen in the future," Pally wrote in a blog post published on the group's website on Sunday.

The Clinton Foundation has come under attack in the days since former Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton announced her bid for the Democratic Party's nod in the 2016 presidential election. Last week, the foundation said it would re-file at least five previous tax returns after an audit undertaken by Reuters raised questions about government donors.

"While some have suggested that this indicates a failure to accurately report our total revenue, that is not the case," Pally said.
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Airplane

German media reports Berlin was aware Ukraine unsafe for flights before MH17 crash


RT
Mon, 27 Apr 2015 17:57 UTC
Image
The German authorities were aware of the risks of flying over war-torn eastern Ukraine before Malaysian flight MH17 was shot down last July, but failed to inform local air carriers of the danger, media reports claim.

A diplomatic cable by Germany's Foreign Ministry a few days before the tragedy warned that the situation in eastern Ukraine was "worrying," citing German broadcasters WDR and NDR said.

The source of concern was the fact that a military plane was downed in the Donetsk Region at the altitude of more than 6,000 meters, they added.

According to Suddeutsche Zeitung, three planes of German Lufthansa Airlines flew over the area on that day, including one only 20 minutes before MH17.

The German Transport Ministry usually issues special "communiques" in order to inform the airlines of the changing security situation. "We had no information from the authorities before July 17," a Lufthansa source told the paper, as cited by the Local.

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USA

Washington choreographing all-out war with Russia?


Finian Cunningham
Mon, 27 Apr 2015 16:05 UTC
Image
© YURI GRIPAS/REUTERS
The reckless American leaders are putting in place incendiary elements that heighten the risk of all-out war with Russia.

For several weeks now the Ukrainian self-defence militia in the breakaway eastern Donbas region have been warning that the US-backed Kiev regime is readying to break a fragile ceasefire and resume its offensive. The refusal, as mandated by the truce, to fully withdraw heavy artillery and the ongoing practice of live-fire drills near the conflict zone are evidences cited.

With the reported arrival of 300 American paratroopers in Ukraine collaborating with Kiev's Neo-Nazi National Guard brigades - the worst offenders over the past year's fighting in eastern Ukraine - that development is an alarming harbinger of imminent conflict.

Comment: Well, there doesn't appear to be any hope in hell that the American people will do anything to stop the US/NATO war machine.

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Dollars

The 'War on Cash' in 10 spine-chilling quotes

Don Quijones
Wolf Street
Mon, 27 Apr 2015 15:34 UTC
Image
© Epic Slow Mo/Youtube
The war on cash is escalating. As Mises' Jo Salerno reports, the latest combatant to join the fray is JP Morgan Chase, the largest bank in the U.S., which recently enacted a policy restricting the use of cash in selected markets; bans cash payments for credit cards, mortgages, and auto loans; and disallows the storage of "any cash or coins" in safe deposit boxes. In other words, the war has moved on from one of words to actions.

Here are ten quotes that should chill the spine of any individual who cherishes his or her freedom and anonymity:

Comment: For further reading on this subject:

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Stop

Anti-Russian sanctions to expire in July, Italy calls for their cancellation 'at the earliest possible moment'


Sputnik News
Mon, 27 Apr 2015 14:58 UTC
Italian businesses were exposed to severe economic pressure because of the anti-Russia sanctions.

Italy Russian sanctions
© Sputnik/ Vladimir Sergeev
Economic sanctions imposed against Russia over the situation in Ukraine must be canceled at the earliest possible moment, the Italian economy minister said Monday.

"I sincerely hope that we will come to canceling [anti-Russian] sanctions as soon as possible, and that economic partnership between Europe and Russia, as well as Italy and Russia will continue to grow," Pier Carlo Padoan said, answering a RIA Novosti question at a press briefing in Rome.

He stressed that many European and Italian businesses operate in Russia, with some of them experiencing a decrease in productivity, and some even having to close.

Comment: At this point a "healthy" relationship with Russia is looking like a lot of wishful thinking. The EU has proven that it cannot be trusted, France won't deliver battleships, there's constant fear-mongering over "Russian aggression", and Ukraine is in ashes. There will be no full implementation of a ceasefire in Nazi-run Ukraine. However, canceling sanctions would be a step in the right direction, if there is an independent will still left in the EU 'leadership'. Also see:

  • Being a US vassal state is expensive: France to pay 1.1 bn to Russia for cancelled Mistral ships
  • Russian response to new sanctions: EU has effectively made a choice against the peace process in Ukraine, Russia has no other choice but counter measures
  • The ties that bind: US training Nazis along with a media full of cover stories

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