I don’t know about you, but I like to put the shoe on the other foot and see how it feels. You know, like Ron Paul would say, the Golden Rule but on the macro level .. “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”
So when I hear from this Fort Russ article that NATO is using Ukraine toward asserting force into the Azov Sea, I had to look into it. At first glance this is not unlike the Russian fleet pushing itself into the St. Lawrence Seaway:
… or the Straits of Juan de Fuca:
I contend that it is NOT like Russians entering the expansive Gulf of Mexico.
Let’s look at the Sea of Azov:
To narrow down on the rather small Azov Sea, we see what is going on:
This “sea” is almost landlocked. Notice that even without the Azov Sea, Ukraine is NOT landlocked. Yes, trade would be much easier for those on this sea IF peace were in power, however, those at the Pentagon hate peace and the Ukraine government is their puppet now that ISIS has been diminished and being redeployed.
You can see here that outside of Kerch is where the Russians built a awesome bridge that allowed the Crimean population to flourish with trade expenses lowered.
Should you see this as Russian encroachment, just know that the people of Crimea (and that of Dombass which has yet to be liberated) are solid Russians culturally:
So with this context, consider what NATO is up to:
the European Parliament approved a resolution calling on the executive authorities of the EU to provide for increased sanctions against the Russian Federation based upon the building of the Crimean bridge and the accusation – not unreasonable – that Russia now controls the Sea of Azov.
To assist in understanding what is at stake, consider the treaties that are in place:
Lavrov said a bilateral treaty with Ukraine prohibits military drills in the area around Azov without a green light from Moscow.:
“Now Ukraine wants to hold NATO drills in the Sea of Azov but it will be impossible to go there because our treaty with Ukraine requires mutual consent for the passage of warships into the Sea of Azov,” Lavrov told French media on Thursday. “But they want this and they are being actively goaded into this.”
That is correct .. if a bully comes into your neighborhood, you have to be firm:
Russia has reconfirmed earlier in the week that the Sea of Azov is ‘off limits’ to NATO and the U.S, for any purposes including drills and exercises.
To enter the Azov Sea, NATO ships would have to go under the new bridge in a waterway that is only just under 2 miles wide at its narrowest point.
Sorry, there is ZERO reason for NATO to move in this direction unless its real motive is conflict with the Russian military.
The US prompting of NATO policies that will be outfitting the Ukrainian navy with refurbished warships to not only stupid but dangerous.
The US / Ukraine alliance will not end well as one should understand the neo-Nazi underpinnings of the current Ukraine regime.
Please research this yourself .. know your locale, but also know your world as you will learn much about your government when you hear how they behave abroad.
Syrian/Russian controlled territory in Syria (pink) ISIS/Extremists/Turkish territory in Syria (green) Kurdish territory in Syria (yellow)
This is not a Russian spin zone, this is just the truth. There is calm and peace holding its own around Idlib where ISIS and other radical elements remain but are in the processes of moving out with the protection of the Turkey military presence. This arrangement was accomplished with Russian and Syrian efforts in building a buffer zone to diffuse conflicts between forces that have been at war with each other for over 7 years.
The Moon of Alabama article makes it clear that finally the Arab nations in the region that had supported these extremists have now given up on their plan to overthrow Assad.
The Gulf Arabs, except Qatar which is allied with Turkey, have given up on removing President Assad and are making nice:
“In one of the more surprising developments amid a flurry of diplomatic meetings surrounding the U.N. General Assembly, Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmad al-Khalifa was seen greeting Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem with hugs and kisses at a pan-Arab meeting last week. Bahrain, a close ally of Saudi Arabia, has been a vocal critic of Assad and other regional allies of Iran, but the top diplomat said: “the Syrian government is the ruler in Syria and we work with countries even if we disagree with them.” Days later, Assad conducted his first interview with an Arabian Peninsula newspaper since 2011, telling Kuwait’s Al-Shahed that he had reached a “major understanding” with a number of Arab states and that “Western and Arab delegations have already begun to come to Syria to arrange their return, whether diplomatic, economic or industrial.”..”
Assad in Syria has been patient with the process and personally I think that the resignation of the US Empire’s UN Representative Haley is linked to to the closing of this front in the empire’s war on sovereign countries that desire to remain independent from the US. Eyes are now turning toward the Ukraine (which has been the plan B to bug the Russians) and the South China Sea.
Assad has certainly done his part to start the healing process in Syria:
The Syrian president Bashar al Assad just issued a decree that grants amnesty to those who deserted the army or ran away from serving their conscription time. If the deserters and draft dodgers turn themselves in within the next six month to fulfill their service they will escape all punishment.
I do hope that US/Israel/SaudiArabia/UK take the hint and know that they need to take their war making plans elsewhere. This region of the world has born the brunt of this criminal activity and need decades to recover.
The blowback to the US foreign policy I see is that now Russia has a trusted ally in the region and now has a Mediterranean Naval port to boot. The US can no longer do what it wants in Syria and get away with it.
It looks like Africa is now seeing an uptick in US armed forces and CIA/FBI activity as another place to “play” with people’s lives. It is sad that a majority of Americans who pay for all this global gallivanting are clueless to what its government is all about.
Dysfunctional empires will have sick agendas, this ain’t no exceptional nation no sir, no ma’am ..
The US government has a website JUST for addressing bullies. It reads:
When adults respond quickly and consistently to bullying behavior they send the message that it is not acceptable. Research shows this can stop bullying behavior over time.
Well I want to turn in Bolton and Pence man, they are out of control on the world’s playground man.
Here is a Bolton example from 2002 before the Iraq Invasion:
“I got a phone call from John Bolton – it was first time I had contact with him – and he said he had instructions to tell me that I have to resign from the organization, and I asked him why,” Bustani told RT. “He said “Cheney wants you out,” Bustani recalled Bolton saying, referring to the then-vice president of the United States. that [my] management style was not agreeable to Washington.” …
… Bustani said he “owed nothing” to the US, pointing out that he was appointed by all OPCW member states. Striking a more sinister tone, Bolton said: “OK, so there will be retaliation. Prepare to accept the consequences. We know where your kids are.”
According to Bustani, two of his children were in New York at the time, and his daughter was in London.
Believe me, this is not the only data point. Bolton is known in DC as a “madman,” the “serial abuser,” the “bully” who happens to also be pretty effective at getting things done.
Why I bring this up now is the uptick on the rants against Russia and China now that the circus in town (all things Kavanaugh) is done. In this Moon of Alabama article, it is detailed to what extent the effort is to deflect once again from internal US issues to a world full of villains. Personally, I think with the impending demise of the prime proxy of US / Israel / UK / Saudi Arabia (ISIS) in the Middle East, there needs to be a “boogieman” bridge to keep the public sheep scared enough to let the US government and Deep State do what they want to do.
The United States enlists (delegates to) NATO countries to spread the s**t in global media in return for guaranteed safety given by the empire’s military. So Britian punts first at Russia:
The anti-Russian campaign is about alleged Russian spying, hacking and influence operations. .. Britain accused Russia’s military intelligence service (GRU) of spying attempts against the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague and Switzerland, of spying attempts against the British Foreign Office, of influence campaigns related to European and the U.S. elections, and of hacking the international doping agency WADA. British media willingly helped to exaggerate the claims:
“The Foreign Office attributed six specific attacks to GRU-backed hackers and identified 12 hacking group code names as fronts for the GRU – Fancy Bear, Voodoo Bear, APT28, Sofacy, Pawnstorm, Sednit, CyberCaliphate, Cyber Berku, BlackEnergy Actors, STRONTIUM, Tsar Team and Sandworm.”
The “hacking group code names” the Guardian tries to sell to its readers do not refer to hacking groups but to certain cyberattack methods. Once such a method is known it can be used by any competent group and individual. Attributing such an attack is nearly impossible. Moreover Fancybear, ATP28, Pawn Storm, Sofacy Group, Sednit and Strontium are just different names for one and the same well known method.
S**T = propaganda
So we have yet another show on the heels of over a year of Russia’s “meddling” in US elections (proven to be accomplished by the DNC itself as well as Israel’s Zionist organizations, both deep state and not so deep state) and after the Kavanaugh “Halftime Show”.
About the same time a few days ago, The Netherlands also did it’s part also targeting Russia:
The Netherland for its part released a flurry of information about the alleged spying attempts against the OPCW in The Hague. It claims that four GRU agents traveled to The Hague on official Russian diplomatic passports to sniff out the WiFi network of the OPCW. (WiFi networks are notoriously easy to hack. If the OPCW is indeed using such it should not be trusted with any security relevant issues.) The Russian officials were allegedly very secretive, even cleaning out their own hotel trash, while they, at the same, time carried laptops with private data and even taxi receipts showing their travel from a GRU headquarter in Moscow to the airport. Like in the Skripal/Novichok saga the Russian spies are, at the same time, portrayed as supervillains and hapless amateurs. Real spies are neither.
More s**t = More propaganda
95%+ of Americans soak all this up and believe it to be fact. It doesn’t matter if they align with Democrats or Republicans or even many times Libertarians, they still believe the statist BS.
What remains hidden to Americans is actions their own government and deep state have accomplished over the years and decades. Psychologically, it is usually people who would do atrocious things to others who are the first to project this kind of behavior on other people. These psychopaths and sociopaths are deeply embedded in our government and deep state and they don’t realize that this very behavior is what gives them away (to those who can see these red flags).
Think about the past 5 years alone where it was revealed the grand scale of U.S. and British spying (courtesy of Edward Snowden) and thanks to the Wikileaks Vault 7 leak of various CIA hacking tools was publicized. You have to know by now that the Pentagon runs large social media manipulation campaigns, right? You have to also know by now that the British GHCQ hacked Belgium’s main telecom network to spy on various international organizations in Brussels, like the OPCW mentioned at the top of this post. In fact, one of the NSA’s first mandates was to hack into the OPCW as early as September 2000 according to this article:
According to last week’s Shadow Brokers leak, the NSA compromised a DNS server of the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in September 2000, two years after the Iraq Liberation Act and Operation Desert Fox, but before the Bush election.
On the Chinese front, VP Pence took aim with the following bogus claim:
Vice President Mike Pence accused China on Thursday of trying to undermine President Donald Trump as the administration deploys tough new rhetoric over Chinese trade, economic and foreign policies. … Sounding the alarm, Pence warned other nations to be wary of doing business with China, condemning the Asian country’s “debt diplomacy” that allows it to draw developing nations into its orbit…
And then the Pentagon chimed in with it’s claims:
China represents a “significant and growing risk” to the supply of materials vital to the U.S. military, according to a new Pentagon-led report that seeks to mend weaknesses in core U.S. industries vital to national security. The nearly 150-page report, seen by Reuters on Thursday ahead of its formal release Friday, concluded there are nearly 300 vulnerabilities that could affect critical materials and components essential to the U.S. military.
Nothing is said about the times the US has done the same starting as early as 1982 according to this article:
A CIA operation to sabotage Soviet industry by duping Moscow into stealing booby-trapped software was spectacularly successful when it triggered a huge explosion in a Siberian gas pipeline, it emerged yesterday. … Mr Reed writes that the software “was programmed to reset pump speeds and valve settings to produce pressures far beyond those acceptable to pipeline joints and welds”.
Since then Wikileaks resources lists > 25 cases of US “supply chain manipulation” of either computer hardware or software. Another search for “supply chain” in the Snowden archives shows 18 documents describing such ‘projects’.
Again, the US psychopaths are projecting their behavior on other nations.
Along these lines, I am personally going to learn about “5 Types of People Who Can Ruin Your Life” as not only do our government leadership, Deep State, etc. all are filled with people like Bolton and Pence, but corporations who are wedded tightly to this highly dysfunctional government have similar issues inside of them. I believe that being able to see these “red-flags” is most important in these days where it seems like everything is in the political arena (Diversity in the Workplace, etc)
Out of a Mint Press News article that ran last week is something that I took more time to reflect on. Maybe it is because 40+ years ago I volunteered, maybe it is my age or maybe it is just that my heart goes out to this guys and gals that have been through hell and are now finding out all the lies that “justified” all that went on in the Middle East for the past 17 years.
The new data was made available in the VA’s National Suicide Data Report, which found that, in 2016, 6,079 veterans ended their own lives compared to 6,281 in 2015. However, the suicide rate for veterans between the ages of 18 and 34 increased from 40.4 deaths per 100,000 veterans in 2015 to 45 in 2016, four times higher than that of other age groups. Notably, veterans below the age of 35 were the only age group that saw an increase in suicides from 2015 to 2016. The suicide rate was even greater for young female veterans.
We all have known for some time that this was bad, but it is getting worse. Sure there is the impact from some of the Pharma Rx being prescribed by the VA, why the hell don’t they realize what saved SO MANY GI’s lives in Vietnam, POT! The soldiers in the 1960s self-medicated, returned NOT to be hooked on drugs but to live a much more normal life than the vets from Gulf War II (or even Gulf War I).
As former military learn about the lies (Gulf of Tonkin for Vietnam era vets, WMD for Gulf War II era vets), they rightfully reflect on the dishonor they were a part of against innocent people, and in their deep grief seek relief, eternal relief.
I rarely say someone SHOULD do something, so I will just say that one COULD read the letter at this link and reflect yourself on the generations of men and women that have been exposed to being used/played by our government in their global chess-matches:
My body has become nothing but a cage, a source of pain and constant problems. The illness I have has caused me pain that not even the strongest medicines could dull, and there is no cure. All day, every day a screaming agony in every nerve ending in my body. It is nothing short of torture. My mind is a wasteland, filled with visions of incredible horror, unceasing depression, and crippling anxiety, even with all of the medications the doctors dare give. Simple things that everyone else takes for granted are nearly impossible for me. I can not laugh or cry. I can barely leave the house. I derive no pleasure from any activity. Everything simply comes down to passing time until I can sleep again. Now, to sleep forever seems to be the most merciful thing.
You must not blame yourself. The simple truth is this: During my first deployment, I was made to participate in things, the enormity of which is hard to describe. War crimes, crimes against humanity. Though I did not participate willingly, and made what I thought was my best effort to stop these events, there are some things that a person simply can not come back from. I take some pride in that, actually, as to move on in life after being part of such a thing would be the mark of a sociopath in my mind. These things go far beyond what most are even aware of.
To force me to do these things and then participate in the ensuing coverup is more than any government has the right to demand. Then, the same government has turned around and abandoned me. They offer no help, and actively block the pursuit of gaining outside help via their corrupt agents at the DEA. Any blame rests with them.
A ruthless empire that cares little for those who give all for “freedom” will find out in time that “blowback” is real. Already the US military finds it difficult to recruit volunteers and the claim is that the economy (i.e. low unemployment) is the driving factor, but I have to say that low-trust in the government will eventually translate into low-trust in the military.
Lastly, the DEA enters the picture again as they have now managed to create such a culture of fear in the medical community that doctors are too scared to even take the necessary steps to control the symptoms. All under the guise of a completely manufactured “overprescribing epidemic,” which stands in stark relief to all of the legitimate research, which shows the opposite to be true. Perhaps, with the right medication at the right doses, I could have bought a couple of decent years, but even that is too much to ask from a regime built upon the idea that suffering is noble and relief is just for the weak.
The empire treats vets like useless, bothersome slaves, and unlike in most places in the South in the early 1800s where old slaves were taken care of until their death, our government just soon that these vets die prematurely as they not only have no use for them, but they are also considered possible domestic terrorists (due to in no doubt the fact that veterans often have seen what government is “behind the curtains”)
The Mint Press News article sums it up about right when it says:
While the VA report may call the jump in young veteran suicides an “urgent crisis,” it unfortunately seems to be a crisis with no end in sight until the country is finally forced to reckon with its dark legacy of regime-change wars and military occupations around the world.
Speaking of veterans, the highest decorated US Marine before World War II had something to say as he “woke up” after retiring:
If you want to read plain text of his pre-WWII book .. use this link. (Free)
If you want something via Amazon, use this. ($6 Kindle version)
Vets, they know a thing or two about our government and politics.
While it could be tempting to wade into the whole Dr. Ford vs. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh circus, it is not worth it. Giving time to the biggest show that our government has produced this year only encourages them. Now I know what all my taxes are for. Entertainment:
There is no doubt that the Military Industrial Complex / Deep State are using this distraction to their own advantage somewhere on this globe, maybe even in Iran itself!
This post, however, is about the last accusations that Israel’s Netanyahu has made about the same old song sung for years about Iran’s secret nuclear weapons program. For well over three decades, Israel / US’ CIA / Mossad (yes, a lot of overlap there) has used this mantra as a way to threaten the sheep with lies so they would be more than happy to use military means towards “safety”:
The lies started shortly after Iran left the US Empire’s orbit in 1979 as shown by this quote in an article written five years ago:
The suggestion that Iran would soon be in possession of, or be in a position to quickly manufacture, nuclear weapons has been in constant circulation for nearly three decades. In 1984, Iran was reportedly moving “very quickly” towards a nuclear weapon and could have one as early as 1986. By the early 1990’s, the CIA predicted Iran was “making progress on a nuclear arms program and could develop a nuclear weapon by 2000,” later changing their estimate to 2003.
Israeli estimates have always been of an especially hysterical quality. In March 1992, The Jerusalem Report, noting that “Israel keeps a wary watch on Teheran’s march to the Bomb,” predicted that, “[b]y the year 2000, Iran will almost certainly have the Bomb.”
This lie has enabled sympathy on the part of many Christians in the US as well as the US government to directly support Israel economically and militarily over the years on an increasing basis and polarizing the world in the post Cold War 1.0 era.
For today’s post, I will just focus on the latest lie OR set of lies where real research sifts truth from. The Moon of Alabama article quoted below not only shows errors in Israel’s claim, but also errors in Iran’s counter-claim. So we have lies, half-truths and truth to sort through, hang on, this will require some critical thinking.
To kick of this adventure, here is what Israel’s leader said at the United Nations this last week:
Netanyahoo said:
“In May we exposed the site of Iran’s secret atomic archive. It’s right here in the Shuabad Distrcit of Tehran. Today I’m revealing the site of a second facility: Iran’s secret atomic warehouse. It’s right here, in the Turkuzahbad Distrcit of Tehran. Just three miles away. Let me show you exactly what the secret atomic warehouse looks like. Here it is. You see, like the atomic archive it’s another innocent-looking compound. Now for those of you at home using Google Earth, this no longer secret atomic warehouse. You have the coordinates, you can try to get there. And for those of you who try to get there: It’s 100 meters from the rug-cleaning operation By the way, i hear they do a fantastic job of cleaning rugs there. But by now they may be radioactive rags. This is the second secret site. Now countries with satellite capabilities may notice some increased activity on the alley in the days and weeks ahead.”
Netanyahoo added the obviously false claim that Iran removed radioactive material from the warehouse and spread it over Tehran.”
So how does Israel’s staunchest ally respond? Well, to it’s credit, it corrects some claims:
But just like back in May, when Netanyahoo presented old material that was long known to the IAEA and relevant governments, no one came out in support of his exaggerated claims. Yes, the ‘atomic warehouse’ in Tehran exists. But it is neither secret, nor does it hold anything radioactive or of current relevance:
“A US intelligence official has said that the speech delivered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday at the UN General Assembly about the existence of a second secret atomic facility in Iran was “somewhat misleading.”
…
According to the US intelligence official, knowledge of the facility is nothing new to the Americans.
“First, we have known about this facility for some time, and it’s full of file cabinets and paper, not aluminum tubes for centrifuges, and second, so far as anyone knows, there is nothing in it that would allow Iran to break out of the JCPOA any faster than it otherwise could,” the official said.
Another US military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States is aware of the facility Netanyahu announced and described it as a “warehouse” used to store “records and archives” from Iran’s nuclear program.
I am told that the IAEA also knows of the archive and its harmless content.
If you are Iran, how do you respond? Well, in this case, Iran’s press responded rather poorly as Moon of Alabama demonstrates below in reference to this Twitter post:
The first picture in Meysam Yaghoubi’s tweet is indeed the gate to the compound Netanyahoo showed. The other pictures though, which show a carpet cleaning facility, were taken inside a compound on the other side of the street of the archive compound. They were not taken inside the compound that Netanyahoo pointed out. This can be easily discerned by comparing the second picture in the tweet above with a satellite view of the place…The notable gate structure of the archive compound visible at the upper left is not the gate of the compound where the picture was taken, but on the other side of the road.
When you are wading in a sea of lies, you have to be able to pick up on nuances. The Dilbert Test can sometimes help:
Guilty people almost always question the source of the information first.
Innocent people start with a clear denial, or sometimes confusion as to why the question is being asked.
Some guilty people will give you a straight denial if they know the question is coming and they prepared for it.
With state agencies, there is certainly a period of time one has to respond. One can reply in haste and come off as being in error or falling into a well laid trap OR one can use the opportunity to their advantage and again show which state is the “bigger person”.
I have seen Russia take a tactic that places itself above the US’s level of dishonesty by clearly stating the part of a US statement that is true as true but then countering with parts of the statement that are misleading. Such is the way in this world when so many half-truths and statements taken out of historical context are involved.
The tougher part, when considering the typical US citizen is, since they have almost zero historical context, how do you keep their attention long enough to paint the truth as it is? Basically, you cannot. Governments love an ignorant society, they can get away with murder!
However, many people abroad tend to think more critically, and measure what the state puppets across the globe say against their own instinct and research. With that in mind, Moon of Alabama concludes with a challenge:
This ISNA piece and the attached pictures unintentionally confirm exactly what Netanyahoo said about the location of the archive building: “It’s 100 meters from the rug-cleaning operation.”
Iran’s foreign ministry is also somewhat hapless when it describes Netanyahoo’s speech as “false, meaningless and unnecessary”. Why can’t Tehran simply say: “Decades old administrative records of our legitimate nuclear energy program are archived in a warehouse that is well known to all relevant entities. There is nothing secret nor nefarious about it.”
Hapless attempts to debunk Netanyahoo even where he is right will be used by his propagandists to claim that “Iran lies”. Tehran, and its news agencies, must up their game.
I do hope that people in Iran can access Moon of Alabama and challenge their journalists and state writers to “up their game”!
