With Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras calling snap elections in Greece, the boom has been lowered on that country's rebellion, at least in its current form. Even before Syriza - arguably the first truly leftist government in Europe since Spain pre-WW2 - came to power in Greece in January this year, the EU central powers' knives were out for them.

Immediately following Syriza's victory at the polls, the Eurocrats began shutting off the cash flow from the European Central Bank to the Bank of Greece. They also began a sustained campaign of 'capital flight', withdrawing billions of euros from the Greek economy, thereby encouraging private investors to follow suit. They then put 'capital controls' in place, ostensibly to dampen the capital flight they themselves were causing, and which had the foreseeable effect of increasing Greece's total outstanding debt by one third to an unpayable 312 billion euros. Greece's economy has shrunk 30% since it first went into recession 8 years ago, a contraction worse - in both duration and depth - than the American Great Depression of the 1930s.

Throughout this campaign of financial terrorism, the Eurocrats stone-walled or otherwise thwarted all efforts by the Greek government to implement reforms that would relieve the Greek people and make the their economy productive again. They did this because they sought to bring the country to its knees, then institute the raft of austerity measures we've seen the Greek government accept now, in one fell swoop, and without resistance. For those of you familiar with Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine, this is economic shock therapy 101: "Only a crisis - actual or perceived - produces real change," said monetarist schizoid-in-chief, Milton Friedman. In the process, the idea that the EU is based on social justice and solidarity has been exposed as nothing more than manipulative and cynical rhetoric. The European central powers sought to make Europe's peripheral member-states aware of the real rules that govern the EU: 'We rule, you comply. We pillage, you submit.'

During the crisis, the plucky Greeks brought up Nazi-era war reparations, and spoke out against anti-Russian sanctions, but at no point did they publicly mention a 'Grexit'; rumors in that direction always came from the Eurocrats and the bankers. Like a psychopath gaslighting its prey, they painted Grexit as a nightmare scenario, and then used it - ruthlessly - as leverage with which to financially terrorize the Greek population and 'mentally waterboard' their leaders.

At this stage of the great game, or farce, I'm resigned to the fact that the world is going to hell in a hand basket (as the saying goes) and nothing anyone says or does will change that. Admittedly, I don't know if hell exists, so the precise planetary conditions that await humanity are unknown to me, but there have been many suggestive signs and portents over the last few years.

The word 'hell' has an interesting etymology; it comes from an Indo-European root meaning 'to cover' or 'hide'. The word 'apocalypse', on the other hand, means 'to uncover' or 'reveal', which is weird, but strangely appropriate, because just about everything of real importance - all meaningful truth - in this world is hidden from most people, leading to a collective retardation of true human evolution and progress.

But if 'normal life' on this planet is hell, most people are having a ball, and will continue to do so, at least until the 'apocalypse'/uncovering, when the bare, naked truth gets dropped on humanity's collective doorstep and everyone freaks out and runs screaming to the nearest Walmart or FEMA camp for some familiar police-state succor.

Over the last 15 years, Western political types have repeatedly treated the human race's tendency towards open-minded positivity disorder (OMPD) with high doses of fear-mongering in an attempt to induce in them the, more desirable, disinhibited reactive attachment to authority disorder (DRAAD). One example of this, (among an overwhelming number of other examples), comes from the relatively new rabid authoritarian on the block, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

This week on 'Behind the Headlines', hosts Niall Bradley and Joe Quinn spoke with Scottish author and editor, Robin Ramsay.

Ramsay has been editor and publisher of the Lobster magazine since it was founded in 1983. He has also written a number of books, including Smear! Wilson and the Secret State, Prawn Cocktail Party: The Hidden Power of New Labour, and Who Shot JFK?

For ten years, he also wrote a column in the Fortean Times on conspiracy theories.

Lobster's contributors include academics and journalists, and is today published twice annually. The magazine focusses primarily on parapolitics - the influence of intelligence and security services on politics and world trade - and combines the examination of conspiracy theories and contemporary history.

Tune in to find out some of the British security service's dirty secrets, and find out what this old Labour Party member thinks of the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn becoming the party's new leader...

Running Time: 01:56:00

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Broadcasting from deep in the heart of the American Empire, join your hosts Harrison Koehli and Elan Martin, and fellow Sott.net editors, as they discuss everything from current events and the latest machinations and manipulations of the global elite to history, science, and religion, and how it all fits together.

This week, join our hosts as they discuss the modern history of color revolutions and their use as tools in modern warfare. We'll talk about some of the Western powers latest tactics, long-standing patterns, and the relation to macro-social pathology.

The Truth Perspective is brought to you by the SOTT Radio Network and SOTT.net, your one-stop source for independent, unbiased, alternative news and commentary on world events.

Live every Saturday from 2-4pm EST / 11am-1pm PST / 8-10pm CET.

Running Time: 01:58:00

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On August 2^nd, the UK's Express reported that British special forces were dressing up as ISIS jihadis and conducting operations in Iraq and Syria. Idiotically describing the tactic as "unorthodox", the Express journalists said that "more than 120 members of the elite regiment are currently in the war-torn country". Such a strategy can seem justified to those with only an official understanding of the Middle East conflict - where ISIS are the 'baddies' and Western operatives are the 'goodies' - and a hopelessly naive belief in the benevolence of the British military. But when viewed in the context of actual British military history in 'conflict zones' over the course of the 20th century, this story takes on a much more sinister form.

Staying with the present for a moment, the claim that British special forces are in Iraq and Syria to "fight ISIS" is not credible. More than four years ago the anglo-American warmongers made it abundantly clear that they, in league with their head-chopping royal friends in Saudi Arabia, were determined to unseat Assad, even going as far as to fabricate WMD evidence (a la Saddam Hussein) to justify a NATO attack. When Russian diplomacy thwarted that effort, the US and British 'elite' fell back on the tried and tested 'civil war' of attrition by proxy forces, in an effort to oust Assad.

But Assad, democratically elected by the Syrian people, is reluctant to leave just because Washington, Riyadh, Whitehall and Tel Aviv want him too. And while Russian, Iranian and Lebanese help is still available, it seems that the West's proxy army, aka the 'Syria rebels', are doomed to fight and die forever, or until the West's supply of hired guns (or money) runs out.

Genetically averse to accepting the hard facts of any situation, the US and British 'elites' have recently declared their right to "attack ISIS positions" directly through manned US airstrikes from Turkish bases. The real point of these airstrikes however is revealed in the fact that the US claims the right to attack anyone who threatens the Pentagon-trained 'Syrian rebels', who are primarily fighting against Assad on behalf of the US, British and Saudi regimes. That, of course, is the main point of these airstrikes; a back-door attempt to justify US military attacks on the Syrian government and its military rather than "fighting ISIS". It's reasonable to conclude, therefore, that those British special forces dressed up as ISIS form part of the same strategy and are providing "boots on the ground" to support US airstrikes on Syria positions.

Thousands of people around the world are reporting truly bizarre yet agonizing symptoms that sound like they're out of an episode of the X-Files. The mainstream medical community, stumped on what to do, have gone down the familiar path of claiming sufferers are delusional. But is there more to Morgellons than crazy people making up symptoms for attention? Join us on the Health and Wellness Show, Friday August 14 at 10 am EST as we explore this rare yet astonishing disease and try to get to the bottom of what might be going on and how you can protect yourself.

As always, Zoya will be here with her Pet Health Segment.

Running Time: 01:34:00

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Here's the transcript of the show:

This week on 'Behind the Headlines', your hosts are joined by Amari Roos, Dutch editor for Sott.net sister site, nl.sott.net. Amari has also written English articles on Sott.net, focusing on the blowback from anti-Russian sanctions and propaganda, so we'll be getting her perspective how the Dutch MH17 'investigation' is going.

This week we'll also be taking 'sitreps' on the various war theaters in 'Sy-raq', 'Af-Pak' and Yemen, the utterly farcical campaigning dislayed by Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton for the 2016 US presidential elections, and the latest foiled ISIS terror plots.

All that and more this Sunday August 9th, 2015, from 2-4pm EST / 11am-1pm PST / 7-9pm UTC / 8-10pm CET.

Running Time: 02:21:00

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Just before the opening of the new extension of the Suez Canal in Egypt, the branch of the Islamic State in Egypt, calling themselves 'Wilayet Sina' (Arabic for 'the Sinai Province of the Islamic State'), captured one Croatian citizen and have threatened to execute him unless their demands are met. Some media are speculating that the ISIS militant in the video is none other than Jihadi John himself, who we were told recently, has defected from ISIS due to fears of losing his own head.

This ISIS video was titled "A message to the Egyptian government" and claims that the hostage can be saved if the Egyptian government releases certain female Muslim prisoners in 48 hours even though it is uncertain which female Muslim prisoners are supposed to be released since the jihadi organization apparently forgot to specify. According to the Croatian media, the deadline has now been removed from the ISIS website and the Croatian captive has been transported to ISIS-controlled area in Libya. Certain news outlets are claiming that he has already been beheaded, but the authenticity of the beheading video couldn't be confirmed immediately. The Croatian citizen was abducted in Cairo while driving on a highway according to reports and worked as a subcontractor for the French seismic survey group CGG.

The New Suez Canal

The construction of this mega project started on the 5th of August 2014. It is essentially an expansion of the existing Suez Canal which connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. The area surrounding the Canal is supposed to be turned into an industrial, commercial and logistics hub meaning the construction of more ports, factories etc. The Egyptian leadership is already referring to the Canal as the "Egypt's gift to the world" since it is supposed to decrease the transition time for ships and also help the Egyptian economy. But the importance of the Suez Canal goes further than that.

The Suez Canal is a global artery of maritime trade and of vast strategic importance as a military and energy corridor. The "Global Constabulary" that is Washington's self-imposed role as global arbiter would be crippled without Egypt firmly in place.

Even if speaking hypothetically, when U.S. General James Mattis says that if the Suez Canal is closed, then the U.S. military will engage Egypt offensively (meaning attack or invade), he is not joking. [1] The Suez Canal is an important part of the global economy, the military network of the U.S. and NATO, and Washington's modern-day and ever more mutinous empire.

Egypt has seen continued violence in the Sinai, which borders the Suez Canal, due to clashes between the military and the ISIS-affiliated extremists. The activity of these militants didn't seem to have much effect on the project as it was finished on the 23rd of July, only a year after construction first began.

Broadcasting from deep in the heart of the American Empire, join your hosts Harrison Koehli and Elan Martin, and fellow Sott.net editors, as they discuss everything from current events and the latest machinations and manipulations of the global elite to history, science, and religion, and how it all fits together.

This week, join our hosts as they discuss religions and just how widespread and dangerous a certain type of religious mindset can be, whether atheistic or theistic. We'll talk about some recent news items, various religions, how they are all corruptible, and why they seem to have such a bad reputation.

The Truth Perspective is brought to you by the SOTT Radio Network and SOTT.net, your one-stop source for independent, unbiased, alternative news and commentary on world events.

Live every Saturday from 2-4pm EST / 11am-1pm PST / 8-10pm CET.

Running Time: 01:34:00

Download: MP3

As the empire's noose around humanity's neck grows ever tighter, Nature responds to global suffering by alternately torching and drowning 'modern civilization'. July 2015 saw record-breaking heatwaves in western US, western Europe, and eastern Asia. Record numbers of wildfires breaking out across northern Canada and western US have forced the evacuation of thousands and torching millions of acres. In a scene one might expect in a Hollywood disaster movie, one wildfire outside Los Angeles crossed a highway and torched dozens of vehicles. In-between raging wildfires and epic drought, western US states saw record-breaking rainfall, with the highest July rainfall ever in southern California... falling within minutes.

From extreme heat to extreme cold, Australia is in the midst of its coldest and snowiest winter in decades. Most striking last month were sudden changes the world over, as local weather flipped from one extreme to another, often in a matter of hours. In the midst of record-breaking heat in Germany, for example, parts of the country were hit by tornadoes, flash-flooding and several inches of hail, while The Netherlands recorded its strongest ever July storm. Powerful typhoons battered Japan and China, dumping several FEET of rain and causing destructive landslides. Buildings were washed away by flash-flooding in northern Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, India, Colombia and Brazil, while an unusually heavy monsoon season brought Myanmar and Vietnam their worst flooding in decades.

Destructive tornadoes in North America last month included one that was on the ground for nearly three hours, estimated to be the longest-duration tornado since 1925. Elsewhere, a powerful tornado left serious damage in a suburb of Venice, Italy. Whether they occur in the tropics, deserts, or high plains, and during 'winter' or 'summer', destructive hailstorms with ever-larger hailstones continue to defy normal patterns by occurring everywhere from southern Spain to the Philippines. St. Petersburg, Russia saw streets turn into icy rivers TWICE last month. Mass animal deaths, meanwhile, continue at an alarming rate, with diverse marine species washing up on US beaches, and half of this year's salmon in the Pacific Northwest estimated to have died.

These were the signs of the times in July 2015...