Iran versus US: Iran Wins

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The lifting of sanctions is an unequivocal victory for Iran, sealing its regional position, and leaving its nuclear capability intact

by Alexander Mercouris for Russia Insider.

Confirmation that international sanctions on Iran have at last been lifted is unequivocally a victory for Iran.

The sanctions should never have been imposed in the first place.

Israel vs Iran: Israel loses, *big* time

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Today I have already posted to excellent analyses of the (possibly temporary) failure of the USA to submit Iran to its will: one by Alexander Mercouris, the other by Soraya Sepahpour Ulrich.  I shall not repeat their very arguments here, mainly because both see this as a conflict between the USA and Iran, whereas I see that as a conflict between Israel and Iran in which Israel attempted, but failed, to get the USA to fight on its behalf.  This is also, albeit to a lesser degree, a conflict opposing the House of Saud to Iran, and the KSA is the other big loser here.  But first, let us look at the real causes of this confrontation.

Britain Awakes to Reality: The European Crisis of 2016

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by Henry Mangold

Britain, once a great world power, is now in most respects ruled from Brussels, as part of the European Union. This transfer of power was carried out, essentially, by a conspiracy. To understand how this conspiracy was possible, it’s necessary to understand the present British constitution.

In the eighteenth century, Britain had a hereditary king, who was responsible for defence and foreign affairs. Taxation and legislation were the responsibility of two houses of parliament, one of them elected (The House of Commons), the other hereditary (the House of Lords). The king could veto new laws. Equally the two Houses of Parliament had a degree of control over royal policy, through the power of the purse. Armies and navies cost money, which must come from taxation.

Some final thoughts – the day after

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by Soraya Sepahpour Ulrich

Some final thoughts – the day after

Not the movie about a fictional war between NATO forces and the Warsaw Pact and a nuclear exchange between the United States and the Soviet Union, but the Day After the Implementation Deal of the Iran Nuclear Deal.

Although I said and wrote repeatedly in the past that the US stance toward Iran will not change, by now it should be obvious to all that this is the case.   America “thanked” Iran by imposing further sanctions on Iran for its defense capabilities – the ballistic missiles.

Why Ogbono Soup Can Help You Lose Weight

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How To Prepare Delicious Ogbono Soup

 ( Buy 100g x 2 Ground Ogbono get one free)
As awareness grows on the effect of obesity, proper nutrition is becoming a priority in most kitchens. Eating generally is almost becoming a forbidden act in obese individual.

Idanre: Yoruba Mountain Climbing Festival

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The sprawl of interlocked mountains that shield the town of Idanre protectively is stunning even to general guests, and amazing to novices. The Idanre mountains in themselves are a surprise, and it is said the name Idanre was a result of the wonder of Ife warriors sent to seek after a child of Oduduwa who departed suddenly towards Ile Ife with the crown taking after the passing of his dad. The warriors were astonished when the prince  vanished immediately and inexplicably on one of the slopes. (Idanre simply means "this is a wonder") .

See more photos when you continue after the page break

The Most Beautiful Natural Waterfall: Erin Ijesha (Olumirin)

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Erin Ijesha (Olumirin) is a seven step waterfall in Osun State, Nigeria, the waterfalls is a new energizing and amazing experience with nature. Every progression of the waterfall has a flowing fountain that denote the magical way of the spot. The waterfall is a wonderful array of seven extraordinary levels, with every level giving a radical new standpoint when compared with the previous level. The water fall oozes a remedial feeling which only something natural can produce.

Obatala Festival Hosted By Ita Oosa Grows For 2016

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Once again Ojise Obatala Edena – Oloye Oriyomi Ifagbenjo Orisagbemi and Ita Osa convene their annual Obatala Festival. Obatala Festival celebrates many qualities and attributes of Yoruba sacredscience practice and positive attributes. Among the many attributes and aspects that will be celebrated are those of creativity, transformation of planet Earth, molding of human beings,laughter,etc.

Week Thirteen of the Russian Intervention in Syria: debunking the lies

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Ever since the first rumors began to circulate about an impending Russian military intervention in Syria the Internet and the media have been flooded with all sorts of silly rumors, myths and outright lies about what could/would happen. These rumors, myths and outright lies are still being spread today, and not only by pro-US interest groups, but even by supposedly pro-Russian “analysts”. All this nonsense completely obfuscates the reality of the Russian intervention in Syria (but maybe that was the goal all along?) and tries to paint the Russian operation as a failure. After three months of Russian air and missile strikes in Syria, it is a good time to ask the question of whether the Russians have achieved some tangible results or whether, as some are suggesting, this has basically been a big PR operation.

Luxury Furniture: 3 Easy Ways for Checking High Quality Furniture

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Ways for Checking High Quality Furniture
Shoppers who need to make their Naira or dollars extend farther ought to put resources into superb furniture that gives great worth to the measure of cash spent. In any case, in light of the fact that a merchant promotes that their Luxury Furniture is excellent and charges a high cost doesn't as a matter of course guarantee that the furniture being obtained ranks high on the quality scale. There are various ways a customer can figure out whether the nature of the furniture he or she is purchasing legitimizes a higher sticker price. Continue reading after the page break.
Wood Composition
 
  Regardless of whether a bit of furniture uses wood in its development that is hardwood from deciduous trees or softwood from coniferous trees is not as critical as the wood's general sturdiness. Any piece of furniture that has an uncovered wood surface can be viewed as quality if the sort of wood chose has a tendency to be sufficiently hard to oppose scratches and scratches. On the off chance that a scratch can be made in the wood using only one fingernail, the furniture piece is sure to rapidly look old and scraped. Furniture that can be viewed as quality uses durable wood that is scratch safe or if nothing else nine-layered plywood for durability. Wood highlighting a various of bunches in the surface tends to split all the more effortlessly, so be careful about pine furniture. Stay away from furniture produced using particle board, fiber wood or pressed wood, which is a sign of shabby furniture.

Week Twelve of the Russian Intervention in Syria: Zag!

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This colums was originally written for the Unz Review: http://www.unz.com/tsaker/week-twelve-of-the-russian-intervention-in-syria-zag/

In last week’s review of the Russian military intervention in Syria I wrote that Kerry had lost every single negotiation he ever had with the Russians and that he had a record of agreeing to A only to come back to the US and then declare non-A. This time again, the Americans did not change their modus operandi, except that it was Obama himself who declared, yet again, that Assad must go, resulting in some commentators speaking of a “White House Schizophrenia”. Others, however, notedthat this could be simply a case of face saving denials. Personally, I think that both of these explanations are correct.

Is the Saudi monarchy coming apart at the seams?

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Originally appeared at Consortiumnews; Written by Daniel Lazare

Is the Saudi monarchy coming apart at the seams? Scholars and journalists have long predicted the kingdom’s demise, but this time the forecasts may finally prove correct.

Continue reading after the jump.

Check out Top 10 Business Tips For Newbies

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1. Love What You Do

It's a smart ideo to choose an area which you as of now have an interest for, for various reasons. You as of now have some knowledge and expertise in this area which is precious and you won't as a matter of course be beginning without any preparation. In the event that you picked an area which is as of now of enthusiasm to you it won't inexorably feel like work, particularly when difficult situations arise. Regardless of which zone you area you will without a doubt have harsh patches, when this happens you are much more prone to move forward on the grounds that you have a connection, a personal stake and an enthusiasm. On the off chance that you have no hobby you'll be considerably more likely to quit at the first sign of inconvenience.

Week Eleven of the Russian Intervention in Syria: a step back from the brink?

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This article was originally written for the Unz Review:http://www.unz.com/tsaker/week-eleven-of-the-russian-intervention-in-syria-a-step-back-from-the-brink

This has been an amazing week. While last week I concluded that “The only way to avoid a war is to finally give up, even if that is initially denied publicly, on the “Assad must go” policy”. Now it is true that various US officials, including Kerry, did make statements about the fact that Assad need not go right now, that a “transition” was important or that “the institutions of the state” had to be preserved, but of course what I, and many others really meant, was that the US needed to fundamentally change its policy towards the Syrian conflict. Furthermore, since Turkey committed an act of war against Russia under the “umbrella” of the US and NATO, this also created a fantastically dangerous situation in which a rogue state like Turkey could have the impression of impunity because of its membership in NATO. Here again, what was needed was not just a positive statement, but a fundamental change in US policy.

Ukraine SITREP December 13th, 2015 by Scott

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It’s been over a month since my last Ukraine SITREP.
and the Saker’s Ukraine SITREP covering the latest “democratic” elections in Ukraine.

Nothing has changed since then. It seems that Ukraine experiences Groundhog Day over and over again. Even worse, since Russia has commenced its fight against ISIS in the Middle East, since the beginning of the Middle Eastern and African refugee crisis in Europe, since the Paris terror attack and since the closing of the EU borders and the establishment of the European Union army, Ukraine has been all but forgotten in the Western media. Unfairly so, because everything that’s going on in Ukraine, starting with the fascist putsch in February 2014, is a horrifying sick farce, but a very European farce nevertheless, with its brutal anti-culture, anti-history, and anti-Russian nature.

The Petro-Islamic extremism phenomena

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by Nauman Sadiq

In its July 2013 report [1] the European Parliament identified the Wahhabi-Salafi roots of global terrorism, but the report conveniently absolved the Western powers of their culpability and chose to overlook the West’s role in nurturing Islamic extremism and violent Jihadism all over the Islamic world, especially when it used the Jihadists as proxies during the Cold War against the erstwhile Soviet Union; and even today, during the Libyan Jihad against the Gaddafi regime in 2011 and the Syrian Jihad against the Alawi (Shi’a) Assad regime. It is an incontrovertible fact that the US-led Soviet-Afghan Jihad gave birth to the Islamic extremists like Al Qaeda and Taliban for the first time in history and then again the Libyan and Syrian Jihads 2011-onward spawned myriads of Islamic jihadist groups especially the Islamic State.

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.