EU Sanctions on Russia to be Extended – No Veto or Discussion Allowed

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This article was originally written for Russia Insider: http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/eu-sanctions-russia-be-extended-no-veto-or-discussion-allowed/ri11858

In conversations with Russian news agency TASS EU diplomats and officials outline the undemocratic means whereby the decision to extend the sanctions will be imposed.

by Alexander Mercouris

Recently I wrote a piece for Russia Insider discussing how the EU really works.

I pointed out that the veto small states supposedly have over key EU decisions is a fiction.

Decisions are made by a small group who decide things between themselves and who because they control the EU’s bureaucracy can impose their decisions on everyone else.

An EU official – someone described as “close to the European Council” (the EU’s main policy making body) has basically confirmed as much in an interview with the Russian news agency TASS.

The subject discussed was the sectoral sanctions the EU has imposed on Russia, which are due to expire on 31st January 2016.

Chess in the Age of ISIS

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by Tom Mysiewicz

“Iraq is breaking up before our eyes and it would appear that the creation of an independent Kurdish state is a foregone conclusion.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to John Kerry in Paris, 26 June 2014

“The goal is to proclaim a ‘Kurdistan’ straddling the border between Iraq and Syria, and then expel the Syrian populations who live there, followed by the transfer of 10 million Turkish Kurds to this new state.”

Thierry Meyssan, 2015

Unfolding now is a multidimensional chess game comprising centuries-old animosities, petrodollars, pipelines, a neo-Ottoman sultanate, plans for balkanizing the Mid East into manageable ethnic states, Israeli energy plans and oligarchs, Neoconservatives, the U.S. military-industrial complex, Daesh-ISIS, NATO, the EU, Kurdistan, Ukraine and a gaggle of nation states. I first addressed this hard-to-fathom situation in my 2014 piece “War With ISIS: Multiplexing a New World Order.”

Week 10 of the Russian Intervention in Syria: the “Assad must go” policy leads to war with Russia, Iran & Hezbollah

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This column was written for the Unz Review:http://www.unz.com/tsaker/week-ten-of-the-russian-intervention-in-syria-the-assad-must-go-policy-leads-to-war-with-russia-iran-and-hezbollah/

The “news” that Israel and Turkey are systematically violating international law is hardly news at all. After all, we all know that Turkey has been regularly bombing the Kurds in Iraq and Syria, that Turkey still illegally occupies northern Cyprus just like the Israelis have been bombing Syria and Lebanon for decades and that they are still illegally occupying Palestine. 

Swann Galleries Africa-American Fine Art Live Auction

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This auction, African-American Fine Art, starts at 2:30 PM EST on Tuesday, December 15 and will feature 150 lots of exclusive artwork. Invaluable is teaming up with Swann Auction Galleries to allow remote bidding online. The style of art in this auction includes cityscapes, portrait, abstract.

Here are a few noteworthy lots:

Lot 49: Norman Lewis (1909-1979), Untitled

Estimated Price: $250,000 - $350,000

Oil on linen canvas, circa 1958. 1295x1625 mm; 51x64 inches. Signed in oil, lower left. This masterful mid-century composition is a newly discovered and important example of Norman Lewis's painting. In 1955 Norman Lewis won the Carnegie International Award in Painting making him the first African-American artist to receive this prestigious prize. Then in 1956, Lewis was selected to represent the United States in American Artists Paint the City, an exhibition of 46 works by 36. Lewis joined fellow Willard Gallery artists Lionel Feininger and Mark Tobey; he and Jacob Lawrence were the only African-American artists included.

Russia in an invisible war

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Source: http://oko-planet.su/politik/politiklist/301881-rostislav-ischenko-rossiya-v-nevidimoy-voyne.html

Rostislav Ischenko

Translated by Seva

Russia in an invisible war

How could Russia in just 20 years, without wars or other perturbations, rise from a semi-colony to an acknowledged world leader, equal among the top ones?

Kitchen “strategists”, who sincerely believe that massive nuclear strike is the universal solution to any international problem (even the hottest one, close to military confrontation), are unhappy about the moderate position of the Russian leadership in the crisis with Turkey. However, they deem insufficient even direct participation of the Russian military in the Syrian conflict. They are also dissatisfied with the Moscow’s activities on the Ukrainian front.

The Middle East War SITREP December 5th, 2015 by John Rambo

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A quick note: I do apologize for how late this SitRep is. Unfortunately I too must obey the great capitalistic system and submit to their demands (holiday hours) and the CIA is not known for its Christmas bonuses.

It seems great events unfold every 2 weeks in Syria. The downing of a Russian Su-24 by a Turkish F-16 fighter has been the highlight. Russian retaliation has been a complete exposure of Turkish connections within the Islamic States oil trade, the near carpet bombings and artillery barrages of the Islamist Turkmen frontline near the Turkish border inside Syria, and the a more active role in interfering in Turkish geostrategic opportunities. [Source] [Source] [Source]

The Western media quickly rewrote the narrative to obfuscate the facts and to reinforce falsehoods (such as the fabrication that the Su-24 was inside Turkish space when it was shot down and that Turkey responded appropriately). Turkey quickly ran to NATO to hold an emergency meeting.