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Today's headlines are all about an escalation - in the war in Ukraine; a widening of the gap and growth of "liberal" fascism in Europe; military build-up and the continuation in the collapse of oil prices
---SMR
----Graham
Phillips
**Breaking**
Just back from Kubishevsky region of Donetsk. It is coming under
enormous Ukrainian shelling today. Photos and video to come now.
**Срочно**
Только что вернулся из Куйбышевский
район Донецк. Там идет огромное Украинский
обстрел сегодня. Фото и видео, теперь
будет.
----Mark Sleboda
I
said yesterday that a Kremlin response to the resumption of full
scale shelling of Donbass by West-backed Kiev regime was absolutely
vital to avoid losing all hope.
Tonight
it appears I got my answer. BS talks cancelled and
#DonetskAirportNash (finally)!
Turkish
President's Stunning Outburst: The French Are Behind The Charlie
Hebdo Massacre; Mossad Blamed
13
January, 2015
It
was less than 48 hours ago when Turkey’s prime minister, Ahmet
Davutoglu, joined millions marching in Paris to pay tribute to the 17
people killed by ISIS-supporting extremists. Then, almost the moment
he got back, things changed, and as the
FT politely paraphrases what
transpired, the "country’s president struck a much more
confrontational tone." That's one way of putting it. Another is
that the former PM and current president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
of NATO-member Turkey
did the unthinkable: accused the west, and French citizens in
particular, of staging the Charlie Hebdo murder in order to blame
Muslims, even as the mayor of Ankara said "Mossad
is definitely behind such incidents . . . it is boosting
enmity towards Islam."
"The
duplicity of the west is obvious,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a
press conference on Monday evening. “As
Muslims we have never sided with terror or massacres: racism,
hate speech, Islamophobia are behind these massacres.”
His
punchline: "The
culprits are clear: French citizens undertook this massacre and
Muslims were blamed for it,” he dded.
The
FT is confused: "Although political leaders in Turkey have
repeatedly condemned the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo magazine, a
Jewish supermarket and a policewoman, a parallel narrative has
emerged in the country, with conspiracy theorists blaming the murders
on foreign intelligence agencies rather than radical Islamists."
It's
not just the French who were said to be behind the attack: so is
Mossad:
Melih Gokcek, mayor of Ankara for the ruling AK party, said on Monday that “Mossad [the Israeli intelligence service] is definitely behind such incidents . . . it is boosting enmity towards Islam.” Mr Gokcek linked the attacks to French moves towards recognising Palestine.
Ali Sahin, a member of Turkey’s parliament and foreign affairs spokesman for the AK party, last week set out eight reasons why he suspected the killings were staged so that “the attack will be blamed on Muslims and Islam”.
But
back to Erdogan:
In his own remarks on Monday, Mr Erdogan added: “Games are being played throughout the Islamic world”. He expressed bewilderment that French intelligence services had not followed the culprits more effectively.
The
FT is further confused that Turkey is not the only place which has
dared to offer conspiratorial theories: Russia is too
In Russia, some pro-Kremlin commentators sought to link the killings to geopolitical machinations by the US.
Komsomolskaya Pravda, one of Russia’s leading tabloids, ran the headline: “Did the Americans stage the terror attack in Paris?” and posted a series of interviews on its website that presented various reasons why Washington might have organised the attack.
In one interview, Alexander Zhilin, head of the pro-Kremlin Moscow Centre for the Study of Applied Problems, claimed the terror attack was US retribution against President François Hollande for a January 6 radio interview in which Mr Hollande urged the EU to lift sanctions against Russia. Washington used the attacks as “a quick fix for consolidating” US and EU geopolitical interests in Ukraine, Mr Zhilin claimed.
The
FT is most stunned that in Russia the events in Charlie Hebdo are
being equated to the 9/11 tragedy:
“For the last 10 years, so-called Islamist terrorism has been under the control of one of the world’s leading intelligence agencies,” Alexei Martynov, director of the International Institute for New States, a think-tank, told pro-Kremlin internet outlet LifeNews. “I am sure that some American supervisors are responsible for the terror attacks in Paris, or in any case the Islamists who carried them out.”
Whatever
could have given the Russian this idea..
Erdogan welcomes Abbas in Ottoman Empire style ceremony
A
grand reception in the likes of the Ottoman Empire has welcomed
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to Anakara, as Turkey
resurrected images of past warriors to greet the foreign leader.
Accompanied
by spear-carrying warriors and guards in chainmail and golden
helmets, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed Abbas to the
new presidential palace - the Ak Saray.
The
scene of the historical costume drama included 16 warriors each
representing one of the 16 empires of Turkish history from the Hunnic
Empire, founded around 200 BC, to the Ottoman Empire which was
dissolved in 1920
3:07 PM - 13 Jan 2015 Pecan Grove, TX, United States
Russia
To Increase 'Combat Capabilities' In Crimea, Sees Ukraine Conflict
Worsening
13
January, 2015
Following
the adoption of its new military doctrine signed by President
Vladimir Putin in December which identifies NATO expansion as an
external risk, it is perhaps hardly surprising that, as
Reuters reports,Russia's
top general, Valery Garesimov stated that the "Defence
Ministry will focus its efforts on increasing the combat capabilities
of its units and increasing combat strength.. with special attention
will be given to the groups in Crimea." Amid
renewed heavy shelling in Donetsk, NATO's
top military commander noted they will be stepping up exercises in
the Baltic Sea region as
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin warns, "the
situation in eastern Ukraine is deteriorating."
Russia's
top general said on Tuesday he would beef up combat capabilities this
year in Crimea, the Arctic and the country's westernmost Kaliningrad
region that borders two NATO states.
The
remarks by General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of
the Armed Forces, are likely to deepen concern in the West over what
it sees as Russia increasingly flexing its muscles since the start of
the crisis in Ukraine.
"In
2015, the Defence Ministry will focus its efforts onincreasing
the combat capabilities of its units and increasing combat
strength in
accordance with the military development plans," Gerasimov told
Russian journalists.
"Special
attention will be given to the groups in Crimea, the Kaliningrad
region and the Arctic," he
was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies but gave no further
details.
His
remarks follow the adoption of a new military doctrine signed by
President Vladimir Putin in December which underlines the need to
protect Russia's interests in the Arctic and identifies NATO
expansion as an external risk.
...
Russia
deployed 14 military jets to Crimea last November as part of a
squadron of 30 that will be stationed there, making clear it intends
to strengthen its presence on the peninsula since annexing it from
Kiev last March.
And
NATO is not standing still...
NATO's
top military commander, General Philip Breedlove, said the alliance
was already looking at stepping up exercises in the Baltic Sea region
in response to a rise in Russian military manoeuvres there late last
year.
Breedlove
warned at the time that Russia's "militarization" of Crimea
could be used to exert control over the Black Sea.
He
said on Tuesday NATO was considering adapting a programme of military
exercises in the Baltic Sea region, where he said Russian activities
had changed in character and showed capabilities not seen before.
"The
first series of changes will not be an increase in number but they
will be to group them together ... to better prepare our forces and
to allow nations to work together as a NATO force, but we
are looking at increasing some exercises,"
he said at a NATO base at Szczecin in northwest Poland.
NATO
has boosted its military presence in eastern Europe, saying it has
evidence Russia orchestrated and armed the rebellion in eastern
Ukraine last yearthat
followed the overthrow of a Kremlin-backed president in Kiev.
And
Bloomberg confirms, Russian
Foreign Ministry Sees Ukraine Conflict Worsening
Situation
in eastern Ukraine is deteriorating, RIA
Novosti reports, citing Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory
Karasin.
It’s
time for Ukraine govt to make decisions: Karasin
And
as the following live feed and clips suggest, he is not wrong...
Overnight
attacks...
Live Feed (following the "leave Doetsk Airport Or Die" Threats...
* * *
Ironically,
this increased sbare-rattling comes at a time when Dow Jones reports
what appears like Europe's continued efforts at detente with
Russia...
The
European Union could significantly scale back sanctions and resume
discussions with Russia on issues from visa-free travel, co-operation
with the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union and the crisis in Libya,
Syria and Iraq if Russia moves to end the crisis in eastern Ukraine,
according to an EU discussion paper.
While
insisting the EU cannot return to "business as usual" with
Moscow, the paper suggests
the EU consider gradually normalizing many aspects of its ties with
Russia in what would be a significant shift in relations. It
says that would depend on Moscow fully implementing the peace and
cease-fire deals it signed with Ukraine, standing by its gas-supply
agreement with Ukraine and throwing no fresh wrenches in the way of
the EU-Ukraine trade and political pact.
The
paper, which has not yet been sent to member states, was prepared by
the EU's foreign-policy arm ahead of a meeting of the bloc's foreign
ministers on Monday in Brussels. No
immediate decisions are expected from that meeting where the EU's
medium-term approach to Russia is the main item on the agenda. EU
energy chief Maros Sefcovic will visit Moscow on Wednesday for
discussions with top officials from the government and the state gas
company Gazprom.
*
* *
Just
when you thought it was all over...
Arctic troops arrive as Russia masses united northern command
Russia
is building bases across the icy landscape, reviving and constructing
airfields and townships and delivering hardware and life-support
systems for the troops
Military
units are taking up their positions in Russia's Arctic as a newly
formed United Strategic Command gathers strength to protect national
interests throughout the vast northern territory.
Russia
is building bases across the icy landscape, reviving and constructing
airfields and townships and delivering hardware and life-support
systems for the troops.
In
August, Russia's navy established a Pacific Fleet base on the Arctic
Ocean's Wrangel Island, 140 kilometers off the coast of Chukotka
peninsula. This advanced plans to build six active communities,
assembling servicemen from divisions in western, central and southern
Russia.
And
on Tuesday, a first train carrying a motor rifle brigade of Northern
Fleet coastal defense forces arrived - destination Alakurtti,
southwest of the Kola peninsula in Murmansk region.
Combat
training, two barracks and a canteen awaited them, fleet spokesman
Vadim Serga told TASS. “Provision of comfortable daily living
conditions for personnel of the first Arctic formation is under
special control,” Northern Fleet commander Admiral Vladimir Korolev
pledged during an inspection there.
As
the year unfolds, servicemen will be kitted out with clothes to arm
them against 60-degree frosts. Snow-and swamp-going vehicles will
arrive, Deputy Defense Minister General Dmitry Bulgakov announced in
Moscow on Tuesday. Months ahead will lay infrastructure to deliver 10
of 14 planned airfields.
Another flip-flop from Obama
"Boots On The Ground"? Obama To Seek Authorization For Military Force Against ISIS
13
January, 2015
Having unveiled
his non-boots-on-the-ground strategy in September,
President Obama's "promise" was quickly proved fragile when
General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff,
indicated to the House of Representatives armed services committee
that the strength of ISIS relative to the Iraqi army may be such
that he
would recommend abandoning Obama’s oft-repeated pledge against
returning US ground troops to combat in Iraq.
It seemsanother
promise is about to be broken as
Bloomberg reports Senator John Cornyn said President Obama
told congressional leaders during meeting today at White House he
would seek authorization for military force on Islamic State.
Boehner’s office, in separate statement after meeting,
said Republicans
would work with him to build support.
As
Bloomberg reports, Obama
to Seek Authorization for Military Force
President Obama told congressional leaders during meeting today at White House he would seek authorization for actions on Islamic State, Republican Sen. John Cornyn tells reporters.
No details on timing or substance
Cornyn, fellow Republican Sen. John Thune say Obama’s intention is good development, may help smooth way for confirmation of Ashton Carter as next defense secretary
House Speaker John Boehner, other Republicans have been pressing Obama to seek authorization
Boehner’s office, in separate statement after meeting, said he encouraged Obama to send Congress the authorization and said Republicans would work with him to build support
So
what can we expect? (as we noted previously)...
General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, indicated to the House of Representatives armed services committee that the strength of Isis relative to the Iraqi army may be such that he would recommend abandoning Obama’s oft-repeated pledge against returning US ground troops to combat in Iraq.
Retaking the critical city of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest, and re-establishing the border between Iraq and Syria that Isis has erased “will be fairly complex terrain” for the Iraqi security forces that the US is once again supporting.
“I’m not predicting at this point that I would recommend that those forces in Mosul and along the border would need to be accompanied by US forces,but we’re certainly considering it,” Dempsey said.
Iraq will need about 80,000 effective military troops to retake the terrain it lost to Islamic State militants and restore its border with Syria, the top U.S. general said on Thursday.
"We're going to need about 80,000 competent Iraqi security forces to recapture territory lost, and eventually the city of Mosul, to restore the border," Army General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, told a congressional hearing.
*
* *
It
appears some folks are going to be putting their boots on the
ground...
Anti-Islamization PEGIDA Movement Steps Up Activities Around Europe
Germany's
PEGIDA has won international support, with many European countries
launching their own branches of the movement.
13
January, 2015
MOSCOW,
January 13 (Sputnik) — Germany's Patriotic Europeans Against the
Islamization of the West (PEGIDA) movement which has gained notoriety
in the media for conducting anti-Islamization rallies in Dresden
every Monday, reportedly attracted 25,000 people to this week’s
demonstration.
The
German branch of PEGIDA was founded in Dresden in October 2014. Since
then, it has attracted thousands of Germans, including far-right
groups and those concerned with immigration. "We demand from OUR
justice an exhaustive use of all legal means against self-proclaimed
jihadists and hate preachers!”, the group's Facebook page claims.
According
to the group's manifesto, it affirms the right of asylum for
refugees, demands an increase in funding for police, opposes violent
political ideology, and calls for zero tolerance towards criminal
immigrants, a decrease in the number of asylum seekers per social
worker and the implementation of all asylum laws, among other things.
According to Deutsche Welle, Islamism is branded a misogynist and
violent ideology by the group.
Switzerland's
wing has been active on Facebook since late December. According to a
post on the group's page, they are planning a demonstration on
February 16 although the location has not yet been disclosed. "Many
people have been awakened since the Islamist terrorist attack in
France and realize how big the risk is," the movement's
spokesman Ignaz Bearth said, as quoted by 20 Minuten, a
German-language newspaper in Switzerland.
According
to the UK's PEGIDA Facebook page, an unofficial vigil took place in
Manchester on January 11. "PEGIDA United Kingdom is united with
PEGIDA Germany and will do marches on Monday 18:30 together in the
future."
The
French branch of the movement was launched in December 2014, claiming
that there is "widespread awareness in Europe that the massive
Islamization we see is a real danger to our culture and way of life,"
according to the group's Facebook page.
The
group has repeatedly received harsh criticism from German officials.
According to Deutsche Welle, the movement called for an observance of
a minute's silence "for victims of terrorism in Paris."
Angela Merkel condemned these calls, saying it "was simply
disgusting" how PEGIDA was "trying to exploit the
despicable crimes in Paris," the German daily Bild reported.
"Islam is part of Germany. I am the chancellor of all Germans,"
Merkel said, as quoted by the BBC.
Many
in Germany are against the group, with tens of thousands taking to
Dresden streets Saturday with calls for "open mindedness and
humanity," Deutsche Welle reported. The city mayor was present,
reportedly stating that she was not against PEGIDA protesters, but
did not fear people with different skin color, customs or ways.
Valls announces the deployment of nearly 8,500 military
Valls annonce le déploiement de près de 8500 militaires
http://www.romandie.com/news/Valls-annonce-le-deploiement-de-pres-de-8500-militaires_RP/553559.rom
Nearly 8,500 soldiers will be deployed in France, announced Prime Minister Manuel Valls. The government will also mobilize some 5,000 police to protect Jewish schools.
These measures are the result of attacks last week against "Charlie Hebdo" and a Jewish trade.
Guest BFM TV and RMC, the head of government said the Vigipirate would be maintained at the level it was noted after attack that left 12 killed Wednesday in the newspaper "Charlie Hebdo" and "8470 soldiers (were) to be made."
Two thousand in total have already been mobilized and 4100 gendarmes and over six thousand more will the be quickly, he dded
1,400 Frenchmen joined or 'plan to join' terrorists in Syria, Iraq – PM
RT,
13
January, 2014
Some
1,400 people living in France have joined or plan to battle alongside
militants in Syria and Iraq, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said. The
number of French jihad followers has risen by at least 200 people in
the past month.
"There
are 1,400 individuals who are involved in the departures for jihad,
for terrorism, in Syria and in Iraq," Valls told BFMTV.
"There
are close to 70 French citizens or residents in France who have died
in Syria and Iraq in the ranks of the terrorists," he added.
In
December, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told the
nation's parliament that around 1,200 French citizens had left to
fight alongside Islamists, and 390 were members of radical groups in
the region.
"It
is a massive jump in very little time: there were just about 30 cases
when I became interior minister [in mid-2012], and 1,400 today,"
said Valls.
Following
the terror attacks in which 17 people were killed by gunmen in Paris
last week, French authorities remain on high alert. Officials said
that Paris will deploy 10,000 soldiers on home soil by Tuesday and
post almost 5,000 extra police officers to protect Jewish sites by
Tuesday.
French-born
brothers of Algerian origin Cherif and Said Kouachi launched an
attack on the Charlie Hebdo HQ after several publications were
released containing cartoons that ridiculed the Prophet Muhammad.
Policemen
work at the scene after a shooting at the Paris offices of Charlie
Hebdo January 7, 2015. (Reuters/Youssef Boudlal)Policemen work at the
scene after a shooting at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo January
7, 2015. (Reuters/Youssef Boudlal)
They
reportedly entered the building and began shooting, while shouting:
“The prophet has been avenged.”
Meanwhile,
on Saturday, Valls said that Paris has declared war against “radical
Islam, against terrorism, against jihadism.” The comment was made
during a speech in Évry commune, in the southern suburbs of Paris.
Volunteers
to fight alongside Islamic State militants have been flocking to
Syria and Iraq from all over the world. France, Germany, and the UK
account for the largest number of citizens from European countries
fighting alongside militants in Syria, according to a report from the
International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) in 2014.
Charlie Hebdo to Keep Same Line After Terror Attack: Magazine’s Journalist
Charlie
Hebdo producer says if the magazine changed its style, it would "kill
the attack's victims again".
MOSCOW,
January 13 (Sputnik) – The publication of the next issue of the
French Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine will be difficult, but it
will stay in line with its previous policy, paying tribute to the
victims of the recent terror attack, a journalist who works for
Charlie Hebdo told Sputnik radio Tuesday.
"It
will be very difficult, but we are going to try… The new Charlie
for next week is now ready. It is going to be published on Wednesday,
one million. We are going on the same, exactly the same line. We are
not going to move one centimeter [from] what we wanted and what we
were. Because … if we change, as I said before, is as if we kill
them [victims of the attack] again," Angelique Kourounis,
Charlie Hebdo journalist and producer, told Sputnik radio.
The
journalist also noted that the magazine's staff is multiconfessional,
while Muslims, Jews, Catholic and Orthodox Christians, as well as
non-believers work for Charlie Hebdo, which has always pursued
secularist policy.
"Religion
is not the public staff. That's the line of Charlie Hebdo,"
Kourounis stated.
In
conclusion, the journalist expressed gratitude for the people who
took to the streets for a unity rally in Paris on Sunday and called
it "a big hug".
On
January 7, three men attacked the office of Charlie Hebdo in Paris,
killing 12 people and injuring 11 others. The two terrorists
responsible for the attack were killed later during a police raid.
The third suspect turned himself in.
The
French magazine is known for its cartoons mocking political and
religious figures, among them the Prophet Muhammad. The cover of the
new Charlie Hebdo edition due to come out on Wednesday also depicts
the Prophet.
A
unity rally that took place in Paris on Sunday and was attended by
more than three million people who called for an end to extremist
violence worldwide.
And in the meantime oil prices continue to plummet while denial soars
Oil plummet: Crude dives below $45 for first time since 2009
Brent crude and WTI have continued their headlong plunge in early trading Tuesday, hitting record six-year lows.
RT,
13 January, 2014
Brent
crude and WTI have continued their headlong plunge in early trading
Tuesday, hitting record six-year lows.
Brent
crude futures fell 2.64 percent to $46.12 in trading on London’s
ICE exchange, while WTI dropped by 2.41 percent, plunging below $45
to $44.96 (10:00 MSK). Brent and WTI prices are now at their lowest
levels since spring 2009.
The
ruble was quick to react to the news, losing more than 2 percent in
early trading on the Moscow
Stock Exchange.
The Russian currency was trading at 64.93 to the dollar and 76.94 to
the euro at 11:00 am local time.
On
Tuesday, UAE Oil Minister Suhail Mohammed Faraj Al Mazroui said OPEC
was no longer able to “protect” oil prices.
“[OPEC]
cannot continue protecting a certain price. That is not the only aim
of OPEC,” he
said at a Gulf Intelligence energy event in Abu Dhabi.
“We
are concerned about the balance of the market, but we cannot be the
only party that is responsible to balance the market,” Al
Mazroui said.
Mazouri
said the UAE was not planning to alter its output, adding that all
oil producers should demonstrate awareness of global economic
development and regulate their production accordingly.
"The
key factor of hydrocarbon overproduction has become the extraction of
shale oil,” he
said. “And this should
be corrected."
Iranian
President Khassan Rouhani says he is sure other oil producers such as
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will suffer along with Iran should it be hit
by the crisis.
"Those
that have planned to decrease the prices against other countries,
will regret this decision,"Rouhani
said in a speech broadcast on state television Tuesday.
"If
Iran suffers from the drop in oil prices, know that other oil
producing countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will suffer more
than Iran," he dded.
Arab
bourses have reacted to the news and started to slide Tuesday. The
Dubai Financial Market is down 2.1 percent, Qatar has slipped 1.9
percent and the Saudi Arabian Tadawul index has lost 1.6 percent.
On
Monday, Goldman Sachs halved its 2015 oil forecast to about $40 a
barrel for the next six months. The bank’s analysts said the low
oil price will likely persist to curb oversupply, mostly from US
shale.
‘Too
big to fail’ banks at stake
This
week’s earnings reports have shown a number of US ‘too big to
fail’ banks could take a hit as oil prices continue to plummet.
They are deeply involved in the energy sector, not only underwriting
oil firm debts, but also financing homes for workers.
Some
of the major banks in the US energy sector include Citigroup, Morgan
Stanley and Goldman Sachs. Citigroup’s oil and gas investments made
up about 11.8 percent of the investment banking revenue, or $492
million. The share of Goldman Sachs was 7.1 percent, or $381 million.
The
banks issued billions of dollars in loans when oil was at $80 a
barrel. Now with the price below $50 bonds are likely to turn into
risky assets.
However,
the banks won’t be put out of business, Lew Rockwell, chairman of
the Ludwig von Mises Institute, told RT. The crisis will primarily
hit banks in oil producing states such as Oklahoma, Texas, North and
South Dakota, he said.
“The
banks involved in the energy business, like everybody involved in the
energy business, from a production standpoint to sales standpoint –
they’re going to see their profits cut,” he said.
And the rest of the world look for alternatives to the Empire
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