Friday, July 3, 2015
Saturday, June 27, 2015
The Dark Side: “We should never be like them”
by Dagmar Henn
(Thanks to Anja and Riema for their help with the translation!)
This is a long text, and I don’t know how many readers are really willing to get involved. This is not about geopolitical considerations or rendering diagnoses. I have tried to grasp the inner nucleus of the struggle and to turn it transparent on the level of ethics and morality, to explain why I (as an atheist, to be honest) perceive in this Donbass war the very struggle between good and evil, which concerns us all and is of global impact, although its consequences might not be felt everywhere with the same acuteness.
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Friday, June 26, 2015
Ukraine SITREP June 26, 2015 by Raskolnikova
1)Kiev asks “Gazprom” on gas blockade of Donbas
The Ukrainian authorities have to decide whether they agree that the DPR and LPR its territory or not
“Some time ago “Naftogaz” approached us with a very peculiar request —not to deliver gas to South-East. If Naftogaz believes the South-East of Ukraine is Ukraine, it should not be problems with the payment for the supplies. If they think differently, they will say so. But they don’t say,”
Where is the Best Place to Buy a Car in Nigeria ? (Top 3 places)
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Wednesday, June 24, 2015
These two countries Pose Substantial Threat to the Dollar Domination
By bullying Russia and vexing China, the US is hastening the demise of the dollar's hegemony, Dr. Ron Paul underscores, adding that Moscow's patience is not infinite.
The
United States is desperately trying to maintain its role as a global
hegemon in the unipolar world, hoping that it will continue dictating
foreign policy and shaping monetary system, while its "clients" will
"dutifully carry out instructions," former Republican congressman and
two-time US presidential candidate Ron Paul emphasizes.
How US plans to Put 'Tremendous Handicaps' on Chinese Companies
There was a direct, crucial "secret" agenda linking the G7 meeting in Germany and the Bilderberg meeting in Austria
last week; the advancement of the virtually secret negotiations
towards the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the
massive free trade agreement between the US and the EU.
Even though the corporate powers behind TTIP are itching for a deal to be reached before the end of 2015, serious (negotiation) trouble remains.
And
then there was last Friday's vote in the US Congress. What happened
were in fact two votes; one on giving the US government the "fast track"
authority to conclude trade deals, mostly, in this case, the
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP); and another one on help for US workers
struggling to compete with imports as a result of trade deals.
"Fast track" passed, but not the adjustment assistance. So the US
Senate will need to review "fast track". The corporate powers
behind TPP — and TTIP for that matter — were not amused.
Yet the whole thing goes way beyond total presidential authority to negotiate shady deals such as the TTIP, the TPP and the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA).
The Obama administration is obsessed with plugging a torrent of benefits for US workers once a Pacific deal is clinched. That's eminently debatable. From the point of view of other nations, TPP is hardly a panacea. Washington offers no new, improved market access. TPP shuts out China completely — which is ridiculous; Beijing is the top trading partner of most of these nations. And the key to TPP is corporations laying down the law on intellectual property rights — which opens the door to all sorts of social Darwinist abuses.
On
TTIP, Brussels is saturated with spin swearing trade deal negotiations
are not that "secret". The European Commission (EC) brags they post
negotiation texts on its website, unlike Washington. Some they do. But
not all, including the most sensitive.
The key to TTIP is the so-called Investor-State Dispute Settlements
(ISDS); that essentially gives corporations free reign to sue
governments, any government, using a "failure to implement" provision,
if state policies or legislation interfere with profits. In sum:
corporate ethos wins; workers, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and
democracy, lose badly.
One can already foresee the proliferation of kangaroo courts labeled "arbitration tribunals" stuffed with pricey corporate lawyers. So much for social "justice".
But is this all about trade? Of course not.
Welcome to NATO on trade
The giveaway is how the Obama administration is desperate to wrestle down Japanese resistance — going on two solid years now — against many of TPP's provisions. The proverbial "US officials" have been frantically spinning that TPP is crucial for the US "pivot to Asia".
Even Pentagon supremo Ash Carter went overboard two months ago, saying that TPP was "as important to me as another aircraft carrier."
And
all this has happened as Washington was trying to force its allies —
with no success — to shun the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank (AIIB). Can't blame the Obama administration for not
being on message; China can't lead a development bank, and China can't
have a say writing global rules and standards for trade and investment.
The heart of the matter is these three mega-deals — TTP, TTIP and
TiSA — are the ultimate template of a Bilderberg group wet dream:
global corporate "governance".
And the Pentagon's own giveaway that TPP is the "strategic" economic arm of the "pivot to Asia" reveals how politicized "trade" has become. Under TPP, Chinese companies will have tremendous handicaps competing with US companies in both US and Asian markets. Call it yet another facet of "containment".
TTIP, TTP and TiSA are in fact a Hydra-like head; they follow the same geostrategic logic of NATO on trade — transatlantic and trans-Pacific; the "West against the Rest". Not accidentally, the BRICS are excluded. And no wonder the negotiations are secret; global corporate "governance" is not exactly a pop hit in any latitude.
Plastic ham, anybody?
Make no mistake; there's plenty of opposition to TTIP in Europe, at least among the few concerned — and horrified — EU citizens who took the trouble of trying to cut through the secrecy.
In Germany, there have been serious demonstrations. The SPD — part of the coalition government under chancellor Merkel — is definitely against it. Italians learned TTIP would cost the country no less than 1.3 million jobs. It's useful to compare TTIP with NAFTA; in 12 years, the US actually lost 1 million jobs, as corporations and companies preferred to delocalize to Mexico, where costs are much lower.
Even Brussels was forced to admit TTIP will actually mean unemployment; a lot of jobs will definitely move Stateside, where labor standards and trade union rights are much lower.
TTIP will concern 850 million people between North America and Europe; that's roughly 45% of global GDP. Trade in question amounts as it stands to 500 billion euros a year. That could be arguably configured as "advanced globalization" — with not so much interference from emerging markets.
Enter the European idea that as a consequence of this leading role, the EU has the most advanced rules on health, consumer protection and quality of public services (it varies a lot from country to country; can't compare France with Romania, for instance).
Thus no wonder high-quality agricultural producers in the Club Med countries are terrified that TTIP will mean a de facto barbarian invasion. Italians are terrified about the onset of a monster, false made in Italy market, with US corporations calling any mongrel GMO concoction a "Parma" ham or a "gorgonzola" cheese.
A good test is to hit your average US supermarket. Talk about a horror show; at least 70 per cent of all processed foods are GMO-infested. The EU allows virtually no GM foods. Not to mention the toxic front; in the EU a company must prove a substance is safe before it's commercialized. In the US, anything goes.
Under TTIP, public health, education and water services in the EU will be devastated, and taken over by US corporations. Food safety laws, key legislation over the environment, and banking regulations will be turned upside down.
The spin from TTIP peddlers is that Globalization 2.0 will lead to a "surge" of 0.5% of the EU's collective GDP. That's not exactly a Chinese rate. But when you're austerity-ravaged, you drink any Kool aid you can get. And eat it with plastic Parma ham.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Omo Oodua.
Even though the corporate powers behind TTIP are itching for a deal to be reached before the end of 2015, serious (negotiation) trouble remains.
Yet the whole thing goes way beyond total presidential authority to negotiate shady deals such as the TTIP, the TPP and the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA).
The Obama administration is obsessed with plugging a torrent of benefits for US workers once a Pacific deal is clinched. That's eminently debatable. From the point of view of other nations, TPP is hardly a panacea. Washington offers no new, improved market access. TPP shuts out China completely — which is ridiculous; Beijing is the top trading partner of most of these nations. And the key to TPP is corporations laying down the law on intellectual property rights — which opens the door to all sorts of social Darwinist abuses.
One can already foresee the proliferation of kangaroo courts labeled "arbitration tribunals" stuffed with pricey corporate lawyers. So much for social "justice".
But is this all about trade? Of course not.
Welcome to NATO on trade
The giveaway is how the Obama administration is desperate to wrestle down Japanese resistance — going on two solid years now — against many of TPP's provisions. The proverbial "US officials" have been frantically spinning that TPP is crucial for the US "pivot to Asia".
Even Pentagon supremo Ash Carter went overboard two months ago, saying that TPP was "as important to me as another aircraft carrier."
And the Pentagon's own giveaway that TPP is the "strategic" economic arm of the "pivot to Asia" reveals how politicized "trade" has become. Under TPP, Chinese companies will have tremendous handicaps competing with US companies in both US and Asian markets. Call it yet another facet of "containment".
TTIP, TTP and TiSA are in fact a Hydra-like head; they follow the same geostrategic logic of NATO on trade — transatlantic and trans-Pacific; the "West against the Rest". Not accidentally, the BRICS are excluded. And no wonder the negotiations are secret; global corporate "governance" is not exactly a pop hit in any latitude.
Plastic ham, anybody?
Make no mistake; there's plenty of opposition to TTIP in Europe, at least among the few concerned — and horrified — EU citizens who took the trouble of trying to cut through the secrecy.
In Germany, there have been serious demonstrations. The SPD — part of the coalition government under chancellor Merkel — is definitely against it. Italians learned TTIP would cost the country no less than 1.3 million jobs. It's useful to compare TTIP with NAFTA; in 12 years, the US actually lost 1 million jobs, as corporations and companies preferred to delocalize to Mexico, where costs are much lower.
Even Brussels was forced to admit TTIP will actually mean unemployment; a lot of jobs will definitely move Stateside, where labor standards and trade union rights are much lower.
TTIP will concern 850 million people between North America and Europe; that's roughly 45% of global GDP. Trade in question amounts as it stands to 500 billion euros a year. That could be arguably configured as "advanced globalization" — with not so much interference from emerging markets.
Enter the European idea that as a consequence of this leading role, the EU has the most advanced rules on health, consumer protection and quality of public services (it varies a lot from country to country; can't compare France with Romania, for instance).
Thus no wonder high-quality agricultural producers in the Club Med countries are terrified that TTIP will mean a de facto barbarian invasion. Italians are terrified about the onset of a monster, false made in Italy market, with US corporations calling any mongrel GMO concoction a "Parma" ham or a "gorgonzola" cheese.
A good test is to hit your average US supermarket. Talk about a horror show; at least 70 per cent of all processed foods are GMO-infested. The EU allows virtually no GM foods. Not to mention the toxic front; in the EU a company must prove a substance is safe before it's commercialized. In the US, anything goes.
Under TTIP, public health, education and water services in the EU will be devastated, and taken over by US corporations. Food safety laws, key legislation over the environment, and banking regulations will be turned upside down.
The spin from TTIP peddlers is that Globalization 2.0 will lead to a "surge" of 0.5% of the EU's collective GDP. That's not exactly a Chinese rate. But when you're austerity-ravaged, you drink any Kool aid you can get. And eat it with plastic Parma ham.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Omo Oodua.
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Oyocracy- Nigeria’s New Order
It seems Adolf Hitler was right after all. Those who champion the cause of revolution and lead men, are not men of letters but orators. Humans tend to respond more to emotion and expression than some coalition of alphabets written in ink. From Winston Churchill to Frederick Douglass, Cicero, Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, Nnamdi Azikiwe , Tafawa Balewa to mention but a few, the power of an orator is not in doubt . Humans buy into great speech no matter the motive behind it and with a good delivery spiced with some dramatic acts, telling someone to jump off a cliff has never been easier.
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Africa must establish its own (ICC) to prosecute Western leaders - Mugabe (Do you agree?)
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who is likewise the African Union (AU) chair, says Africa must set up its own International Criminal Court (ICC) which would be commanded to arraign Western leaders who have carried out unlawful acts on the landmass.
Monday, June 15, 2015
"Military men are dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns for foreign policy.” - Henry Kissinger
"Military men are dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns for foreign policy.”
- Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State
This is how the people in power see soldiers. They see civilians as gullible, easily manipulated fools who can be used as pawns to support any money making, power grabbing scheme as long as our rulers tell us it's for our own good and waive a flag.
PRO-KIEV BATTALIONS AND ISLAMIC STATE: The real Terrorists-IN-ARMS
This article is based on Truth about situation in Ukraine post
In first photo you see pro-Kiev battalion “Azov” in the city Mariupol on June 13, 2015. It was parade for “anniversary of liberation of city Mariupol by battalions “Azov” and “Donbass”. In the second photo you see members of Islamic State terroristic network in the Syrian city Rakka on July 1, 2014. It was parade “in honor of liberation of city Rakka”.
Confused by Own Propaganda: Americans Ready to Go to War With Russia
The US foreign policy drags the country into a vicious cycle of interventionism, Ron Paul underscored, referring to the recent Pew Research poll that indicated that more than over 50 percent of Americans would not oppose going to war with Russia.
Many NATO countries reluctant to use force to defend allies against Russia http://t.co/Ejmo2NQoqM pic.twitter.com/zAlouDARim
— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) June 11, 2015
"It really does not solve the problem of what
the countries are to do with NATO. I am afraid NATO is going to be
with us for a long time. I see it as only a tool for our propaganda,"
Dr. Paul noted.
"We [the United States] are spending [on
defense] more than twice as much as the next four countries put
together. And Russia is the fourth. There is a country called Saudi
Arabia that spends [on defense] more money than Russia," Dr. Paul
stressed.
World military expenditure; US almost 600 bil 14 countries almost 700, note Middle East pic.twitter.com/kvwCGA7wPa
— Isam al Khafaji (@IsamalKhafaji) February 12, 2015
Some people are nearly hysterical about the need to go war, Ron Paul
underscored referring to the fake petition to Obama to launch a
preemptive nuclear strike against Russia, initiated by Mark Dice, a
best-selling author of "Inside the Illuminati."
Military expenditure by country: #US, #China, #Russia compared. http://t.co/RnCvvCABly pic.twitter.com/DfG0FoS60q
— Fabian Burkhardt (@sanwaldinjo) June 11, 2015
Ron Paul emphasized that it's the Institute's job to try to inform
people about what is really going on, preventing them from blindly
following the US' neocon propaganda.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Ukraine SITREP June 11th, 2015 by Scott
Vox of Populi: If Putin ran for President of the USA in 2016, on a platform of banishing all incumbent members of the house and senate to re-education camps in Outer Mongolia, he’d win by a landslide..
I would add that if Putin ran for President of Russia today on a platform of banishing all incumbent members of the Russian parliament and government and the Russia’s Central bank to re-education camps in Outer Mongolia, he’d would also win by a landslide..
US puppy-puppets planted in the EU-27: EU Parliament Passes Anti-Russian Resolution
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Wednesday, June 10, 2015
U.S. Contractor Killed in Bulgaria during Syrian Rebel Training Scheme
A U.S. defense contractor killed in a blast in Bulgaria last week was working for a program to train and equip Syrian rebels fighting against Islamic State, U.S. officials said Wednesday.
The American died when a rocket-propelled grenade misfired at a military range in Anevo in central Bulgaria on Saturday.
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Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Buying A Used Car: Things you need to Know
When you buy a car or already used auto there are a couple of more pitfalls to pay special mind to however you can sack yourself a deal on the off chance that you look in the perfect spot. It can likewise be awesome fun choosing whether you need an attractive exemplary like an Toyota Corolla Premium 2014 or a deal circled like a Ford Ka.
Whether you decided to purchase from a merchant or from the private business you'll need see the historical backdrop of the auto. This is truly critical. You can either purchase from a franchised merchant, an used car merchant, Privately or importer. Here are a couple of thing to take note of when you decided to buy a car:
Whether you decided to purchase from a merchant or from the private business you'll need see the historical backdrop of the auto. This is truly critical. You can either purchase from a franchised merchant, an used car merchant, Privately or importer. Here are a couple of thing to take note of when you decided to buy a car:
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Batá: The Talking drum is Alive! (Must read)
Although, modern musical instruments like the piano, guitar, violin, and trumpet amongst others are taking over the musical landscape, the place of the Yoruba Batá (Talking Drum) can never be downplayed.
It is exceptional and unique in its production and sound which connotes so much to those that deeply understand the Yoruba language and cultural heritage. It is a truly African traditional drum that is known all over the world. Interestingly, foreigners have travelled to south-west Nigeria to learn the art of the talking drum. It is not dead. In fact, Jovago.com, Africa’s No 1 Hotel Booking Portal can clearly say that the drum is waxing stronger.
Monday, June 8, 2015
President Obama Accused of ‘Manspreading’ for Merkel -
Too terrible Obama wouldn't give Merkel space to take a seat. The hills are alive, however nothing can beat that presidential legroom.
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Opinion: Educational engagement and out of school youth in the Commonwealth: Unpacking educational inequalities
Educational engagement and out of school youth in the Commonwealth: Unpacking educational inequalities
By Ahmed Adamu
More than 60% of the Commonwealth population are made up of young people, who represent the hope and strength of the Commonwealth sustainability.
Saturday, June 6, 2015
Russia, China Not to Accept America’s Vassalage Status Despite US Pressure
The US is playing with fire by instigating a military standoff off Russian and Chinese borders, while neither the South China Sea nor Ukraine can be considered America’s backyards; Washington needs to understand that neither Russia nor China will accept its vassalage status, according to the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia.
The
bipolar world ended with the end of the Cold War, the US attempt of a
unipolar world has ended up in fiasco, but what is now being suggested
as true pluralism and consensus in international relations, is seen
by the US as "uncertainty" and "danger", which must be ended by force,
the newspaper correspondent Rafael Poch wrote in his blog.
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Vladimir Putin Interview to the Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera
Ahead of his visit to Italy, Vladimir Putin gave an interview to the newspaper Il Corriere della Sera.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good evening.
Luciano Fontana: Good evening, Mr President. First of all, we would like to thank you for giving us this important opportunity to interview you today.
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