Welcome to Sott.net
Thu, 21 Oct 2021
The World for People who Think

Puppet Masters
Map

Hardhat

Western spindoctors bait Putin, but he doesn't bite

Jim W. Dean
Press TV
Mon, 03 Mar 2014 12:35 UTC
Image
© LaGazetta
I don't know who the Western spinmeisters think they are fooling. Since the official end of the Cold War and defense spending was scaled back, it did not take the warmongers long to create a new plan to replace the old Cold War and keep those defense contracts flowing.

In what turned out to be a cruel twist of fate, Mao's Long March, and the old Soviet Union's claim to world proletariat domination have been replaced by NATO's march to Russia's western borders, and America's Asia Pivot to threaten China's energy supply lines. It looks like the old Cold War protagonists have switched sides.

Where credible offensive threats were not to be found, phony ones were conjured up to pick the pockets of Western citizens for new high tech and white elephant weapons programs to feed the greedy arms industry merchants.

The same amount of expenditure put into peacetime infrastructure could have gone a long way to preventing the horrible state of the world's financial condition. There we find the West once again at the head of the pack of looters and raiders, making war on friend and foe alike as an equal opportunity employer.
      Read More...
Horse

Propaganda exposed: Russian Defense Ministry dismisses Ukraine ultimatum reports as 'total nonsense'


RT
Mon, 03 Mar 2014 13:51 UTC
Ukrainian servicemen
© Reuters / Vasily Fedosenko
Ukrainian servicemen on the territory of their military unit located some 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Simferopol, Crimea's capital, March 3, 2014.
Media reports about an alleged Russian ultimatum made to the Ukrainian armed forces in Crimea are "total nonsense," a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said.

He said that no ultimatum had been made to the Ukrainian forces, Interfax reports.

"We have become accustomed to the daily accusations by the Ukrainian media of carrying out some sort of military actions against our Ukrainian colleagues," Russian Black Sea Fleet representative said, adding that "those who want to pit us against each other in the Crimea won't succeed."

"There's nothing new about such disinformation. It's clear who is behind this. Those 'puppeteers' have been unable to come up with anything new since Yugoslavia, Iraq and Syria," he added.

Also, a source in the Russian Defense Ministry told RT that they are unaware of any Russian ultimatum toward the Ukrainian forces in Crimea.

The source revealed that they had only heard about the alleged ultimatum from a report by Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

"We're interested in keeping friendly relations with the people of Ukraine and in preserving stability," the source told RT.
      Read More...
Arrow Down

Obama to Israel: Time is running out

Jeffrey Goldberg
Bloomberg View
Mon, 03 Mar 2014 13:04 UTC
Image
© Unknown
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the White House tomorrow, President Barack Obama will tell him that his country could face a bleak future -- one of international isolation and demographic disaster -- if he refuses to endorse a U.S.-drafted framework agreement for peace with the Palestinians. Obama will warn Netanyahu that time is running out for Israel as a Jewish-majority democracy. And the president will make the case that Netanyahu, alone among Israelis, has the strength and political credibility to lead his people away from the precipice.

In an hourlong interview Thursday in the Oval Office, Obama, borrowing from the Jewish sage Rabbi Hillel, told me that his message to Netanyahu will be this: "If not now, when? And if not you, Mr. Prime Minister, then who?" He then took a sharper tone, saying that if Netanyahu "does not believe that a peace deal with the Palestinians is the right thing to do for Israel, then he needs to articulate an alternative approach." He added, "It's hard to come up with one that's plausible."

Unlike Netanyahu, Obama will not address the annual convention of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group, this week -- the administration is upset with Aipac for, in its view, trying to subvert American-led nuclear negotiations with Iran. In our interview, the president, while broadly supportive of Israel and a close U.S.-Israel relationship, made statements that would be met at an Aipac convention with cold silence.
      Read More...
Cow

Propaganda alert: Russian ultimatum given to Ukraine's Crimea forces


Press TV
Mon, 03 Mar 2014 13:00 UTC

Russia's Black Sea Fleet in the autonomous region of Crimea has reportedly given an ultimatum to Ukrainian forces in the peninsula.

The ultimatum came from Alexander Vitko, the head of Russia's Crimean naval base, asking the Ukrainian troops in the territory either to surrender or face military action by a deadline of 5 a.m. local time (3 a.m. GMT) on Tuesday.

Comment: Propaganda exposed: Russian Defense Ministry dismisses Ukraine ultimatum reports as 'total nonsense'

      Read More...
Propaganda

U.S. concedes Russia has control of Crimea

Paul Lewis, Spencer Ackerman and Jon Swaine
The Guardian
Mon, 03 Mar 2014 14:56 UTC
Image
© AFP/Genya Savilov
Pro-Russian activists hold a giant Russian flag as they rally in Simferopol, the administrative center of Crimea, on March 1, 2014.
The US conceded on Sunday that Moscow had "complete operational control of the Crimean peninsula" and announced that the secretary of state, John Kerry, will fly to Kiev in an attempt to halt a further Russian advance into Ukraine.

Senior US officials dismissed claims that Washington is incapable of exerting influence on the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, but were forced to admit that Crimea had been successfully invaded by 6,000 airborne and ground troops in what could be the start of a wider invasion.

"They are flying in reinforcements and they are settling in," one senior official said. Another senior official said: "Russian forces now have complete operational control of the Crimean peninsula."

On Monday, the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said he had discussed Ukraine with his Chinese counterpart and their views coincided on the situation there.

Lavrov said in a statement that the two veto-wielding UN security council members would stay in close contact on the issue.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian border guards reported a buildup of armoured vehicles near a ferry port on the Russian side of the Kerch Channel - a narrow sea channel dividing Russia and the Ukraine. A statement from the guard spokesperson said Russian ships had also been moving in and around the city of Sevastopol, where the Russian Black Sea fleet has a base, and that Russian forces had blocked telephone services in some areas.

Comment: Sophmoric peer pressure: Lawmakers call for G8 suspension of Russia

      Read More...
USA

Leftovers from Afghanistan and Iraq wars: Amputations, severe brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorders

Noel Brinkerhoff
ALL Gov
Mon, 03 Mar 2014 12:31 UTC
Amputees
© Chris Kleponis, Pool, Getty Images
George W. Bush with Afghanistan War amputees Neil Duncan and Max Ramsey, July 24, 2006.

The American toll from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan can be contemplated in many different ways, thanks to the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

A new CRS report (pdf) has provided a human accounting not only of how many service personnel died in the two conflicts, but of the many kinds of serious, life-long injuries with which thousands returned home.

A total of 1,558 soldiers endured major limb amputations as a result of battlefield injuries. Major limb amputations include the loss of one or more limbs, the loss of one or more partial limbs, or the loss of one or more full or partial hand or foot, according to the CRS.

Considerably more military personnel suffered "severe or penetrating brain injuries" - 7,224. Another 23,319 men and women were diagnosed with "moderate" brain injuries.

When "mild" and "not classifiable" cases are factored in, nearly 288,000 total brain injury cases were reported among all military personnel deployed and not deployed.

Then there are the post-traumatic stress disorder cases. The military and the Department of Veterans Affairs are currently trying to help 118,829 individuals who made it back with this mental disorder.
      Read More...
Pirates

Ukrainian militants caught trying to smuggle arms and explosives into Crimea


RT.com
Mon, 03 Mar 2014 12:04 UTC
Image
The self-defense forces guarding the borders of the Ukrainian autonomous republic of Crimea have prevented a large amount of firearms and explosives from being smuggled into the republic by Kiev radicals.

The Cossacks and Berkut troops at the road checkpoint in the Crimean peninsula have confiscated explosives equivalent to 400 kilograms of TNT as well as grenades, rifles and guns, Russia-1 TV channel reports.

The blasting agent was transported in a single batch by a truck, with the local self-defense forces currently investigating the origins and the purpose of the load. They told told RIA-Novosti news agency that the driver and the passenger of the truck were Maidan activists.

"They are citizens of Lvov [in western Ukraine], Maksim Shepetaylo - born in 1990 and Vasily Pusko - born in 1989. They didn't hide the fact that since December last year that active participated in Maidan clashes [in Kiev]," the source said.

One of the Berkut soldiers, who like many of his comrades refused to follow the order to disband from the self-proclaimed government in the Ukrainian capital, told Russia-1 TV that the majority of the arms were seized from vehicles with Kiev numbers.
      Read More...
War Whore

Repeat of the Crimean war?

Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh
Popular Resistance
Sun, 02 Mar 2014 11:34 UTC
The Siege of Sevastopol 1855

The Siege of Sevastopol 1855
It is sometimes instructive to learn a bit of history to reflect on current events because if we do not learn from history, we are bound to repeat the tragic history of useless wars. This came to me as I read about the escalating situation in Ukraine, where the US and western countries invested heavily to dislodge the Ukraine (strategically located on the Black Sea) from Russian influence. The coup that toppled the elected government in the capital and Russia's strong influence in the mostly Russian Speaking Crimean peninsula of the Ukraine threatens to ignite another Crimean war (1854 prelude to many more European wars).
      Read More...
Phoenix

Reichstag Fire in Kiev


Club Orlov
Sat, 01 Mar 2014 00:00 UTC
Image
The Kiev regime announces general mobilization; only 1% to 1.5% of conscripts bother to turn up

A dozen major cities - pretty much everything southeast of the line that runs from Kharkov to Odessa - are flying the Russian tricolorUkraine's naval flagship is flying Russia's naval flag

The newly appointed head of Ukrainian navy has defected to the Russian side in Crimea within a few hours of being appointed

Most of the Ukrainian military units in Crimea have gone over to the Russian side voluntarily, without a single shot fired

Ukrainian troops from Kirov have been ordered to march on Crimea, but have refused to obey (illegal) orders from Kiev

During the last two weeks of February 143,000 Ukrainian citizens have requested asylum in Russia

Once upon a time I had an excellent history teacher, who has made a lasting impact on how I view the world. "It's about the dates," he taught us; "Be sure to remember the dates, and you'll have the key to history." You see, dates are important because most of the important historical events are, in fact, anniversaries. There is a hackneyed phrase that history does not repeat - it rhymes; but it would be a lot closer to truth to say that history has a rhythm - a rhythm based largely on multiples of the annual cycle.
      Read More...
Star of David

AIPAC in trouble as Americans lose interest in war and Israel‏ becomes increasingly unpopular

Philip Giraldi
Op Ed News
Sun, 02 Mar 2014 16:37 UTC
AIPAC
© Beth Singer Design
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) annual conference begins on March 2 and will conclude with an address by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on March 4. The organizers boast that the meeting of "America's Pro-Israel Lobby" will attract "more than 14,000 pro-Israel Americans, more than two-thirds of Congress, [and] more than 2,200 students from 491 campuses."

There will be speeches by Senator John McCain and by Secretary of State John Kerry.
      Read More...
Amazon Smile
Revolt! T-shirts