Crimean parliament votes to join Russia, hold referendum in 10 days on ratifying

AFP Photo/Vasily Batanov

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/crimea-referendum-status-ukraine-154/

A referendum on the status of Crimea will be held March 16, the region’s deputy prime minister announced. Crimeans will be asked to decide if the autonomous republic stays part of Ukraine or joins Russia.

"The referendum will take place March 16," said the autonomous region’s First Deputy-Premier Rustam Temirgaliev, according to ITAR-TASS.

The new date is two weeks earlier than the one announced last week.

There will be two questions on the ballots.

“The first one: Are you in favor of Crimea becoming a constituent territory of the Russian Federation. The second one: Are you in favor of restoring Crimea’s 1992 constitution,”Temirgaliev said.

According to the 1992 constitution, the autonomous republic is part of Ukraine but has relations with Kiev, defined on the basis of mutual agreements.

Sevastopol residents will take part in the referendum, despite the city enjoying a special status and not officially being a part of Crimea, according to Sergey Shuvainikov, a Crimean MP.

“We will give Sevastopol an opportunity to have its say,” he said, as cited by RIA Novosti.

Meanwhile the Crimean MPs have unanimously voted for the region to become a part of Russia.

"To become part of the Russian Federation as its constituent territory,” says the text of the Crimean parliament’s statement, obtained by RIA Novosti.

When the decision was announced to the people outside the parliament building, they welcomed the news with cheers and screams of “Russia!”

There are currently several thousand people in front of the parliament building, according to ITAR-TASS.

The parliament has also made a decision to ask the Russian leadership to “launch the procedure of Crimea becoming part of Russia.”

The speaker of the Crimean parliament, Vladimir Konstantinov, explained that the parliament’s decision on the region joining Russia still has to be approved at a referendum.

Russia’s State Duma (parliament) could possibly debate the bill on Crimea joining Russia next week, said leader of the ‘Fair Russia’ party, Sergey Mironov.

“I think that taking into consideration the date of the referendum – March 16 – we have time to consider the bill as part of normal business. The Bill is going to be debated next week,” Mironov said as cited by RIA Novosti.

More than half the Crimean population are Russian and use only this language for their communication.

Crimean authorities denounced the self-proclaimed government in Kiev and declared that all Ukrainian law enforcement and military deployed in the peninsula must take orders from them. The majority of troops in Crimea switched sides in favor of the local authorities.
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Crimea: Unmasking Revolution

An RT Short Documentary

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News Updates on the unfolding events in Ukraine

Proof Kiev snipers hired by Maidan leaders - leaked EU's Ashton phone tape

Update: 2014 March 05 4:30 PM est

News Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/ashton-maidan-snipers-estonia-946/

The snipers who shot at protesters and police in Kiev were allegedly hired by Maidan leaders, according to a leaked phone conversation between the EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton and Estonian foreign affairs minister, which has emerged online.

Full Phone Conversation Between Urmas Paet & Catherine Ashton

Video Source

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEgJ0oo3OA8

“There is now stronger and stronger understanding that behind the snipers, it was not Yanukovich, but it was somebody from the new coalition,” Paet said during the conversation.

“I think we do want to investigate. I mean, I didn’t pick that up, that’s interesting. Gosh,” Ashton answered.

The call took place after Estonia’s Foreign Minister Urmas Paet visited Kiev on February 25 at the peak of clashes between the pro-EU protesters and security forces in the Ukrainian capital.

Paet also recalled his conversation with a doctor who treated those shot by snipers in Kiev. She said that both protesters and police were shot at by the same people.

“And second, what was quite disturbing, this same Olga [Bogomolets] told as well that all the evidence shows that the people who were killed by snipers from both sides, among policemen and then people from the streets, that they were the same snipers killing people from both sides,” the Estonian FM stressed.

Ashton reacted to the information by saying: “Well, yeah…that’s, that’s terrible.”

“So that she then also showed me some photos she said that as a medical doctor she can say that it is the same handwriting, the same type of bullets, and it’s really disturbing that now the new coalition, that they don’t want to investigate what exactly happened,” Paet said.

The Estonian FM has described the whole sniper issue as “disturbing” and added, “it already discredits from the very beginning” the new Ukrainian power.

His overall impressions of what he saw during his one-day trip to Kiev are “sad,” Paet said during the conversation.

He stressed that the Ukrainian people don’t trust the Maidan leaders, with all the opposition politicians slated to join the new government “having dirty past.”

The file was reportedly uploaded to the web by officers of Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) loyal to ousted President Viktor Yanukovich who hacked Paet’s and Ashton’s phones.

-------------------------------------------

Estonian Foreign Ministry confirms authenticity of leaked call on Kiev snipers

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/estonia-confirm-leaked-tape-970/

Estonian foreign ministry has confirmed the recording of his conversation with EU foreign policy chief is authentic. Urmas Paet said that snipers who shot at protesters and police in Kiev were hired by Maidan leaders.

Paet told RIA-Novosti news agency that he talked to Catherine Ashton last week right after retiring from Kiev, but refrained from further comments, saying that he has to “listen to the tape first.”

“It’s very disappointing that such surveillance took place altogether. It’s not a coincidence that this conversation was uploaded [to the web] today,” he stressed.

“My conversation with Ashton took place last week right after I returned from Kiev. At that time I was already in Estonia,” Paet added.

Paet also gave a press conference about the leaked tape on Wednesday, saying that the dramatic events in Kiev, which resulted in people being killed, must become the subject of an independent investigation.

The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement on its website, saying that the recording of the leaked telephone conversation between Paet and Ashton is “authentic.”

The phone call took place on February 26 after Estonia’s FM returned from his visit to Ukraine, which took place soon after the end of street violence in Kiev, the ministry added.

“We reject the claim that Paet was giving an assessment of the opposition’s involvement in the violence," the statement stressed, adding that the FM was only providing an overview of what he had heard during his Kiev visit.

RT has contacted Ashton’s spokesperson, Maja Kocijancic, who said “we don’t comment on leaked phone conversations.”

The US government declined to comment on the leaked phone conversation between EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton and the Estonian foreign affairs minister.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said she had nothing to say on the issue, ITAR-TASS reported. However, she did accuse Russia of leaking the tape, stating that “this was another example of how the Russians work.”

The call took place after Estonia’s Foreign Minister Urmas Paet visited Kiev on February 25, following the peak of clashes between the pro-EU protesters and security forces in the Ukrainian capital.

 

Anti-government protesters take cover as they are under fire reportedly of police sniper during clashes police in the center of Kiev on February 20, 2014.(AFP Photo / Sergei Supinsky)

It was reportedly uploaded to the web by officers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) loyal to ousted President Viktor Yanukovich who hacked Paet’s and Ashton’s phones.

During the conversation, Paet stressed that “there is now stronger and stronger understanding that behind the snipers, it was not Yanukovich, but it was somebody from the new coalition.”

According to the Estonian FM, “all the evidence shows”that the “same snipers” at Maidan were shooting at people from both sides – the police and the protesters.

Ashton reacted to the information by saying: “Well, yeah…that’s, that’s terrible,” adding that the matter is worth investigating.

94 people were killed and another 900 injured during the standoff between police and protesters at Maidan Saquare in Kiev last month.

News Updates on the unfolding events in Ukraine

EU / Ukraine Agreement a NATO Trojan Horse

 

Article: Is NATO’s Trojan Horse Riding Towards the “Ukraine Spring”? 

By: Dennis Kucinich

News Source: Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dennis-j-kucinich/ukraine-nato_b_4435637.html

Ukrainian citizens have rallied in the bitter cold at Independence Square in Kiev to demand a better economic future and to protest President Viktor Yanukovych's failure to sign an economic agreement with the EU.

But while the draft of the EU "Association Agreement" is being sold as an economic boon for Ukrainian citizens, in reality it appears to be NATO's Trojan Horse: a massive expansion of NATO's military position in the region. What's more, the Agreement occurs under the cover of nebulous economic promises for a beset population hungering for better wages.

In a country where the average monthly minimum wage stands at about $150 USD, it's not hard to understand why Ukrainians are in the streets. They do not want to be in Russia's orbit, nor do they want to be pawns of NATO.

But is the plight of Ukrainians being exploited to usher in a new military agreement under the guise of economic reform?

For NATO, the goal is expansion. The prize is access to a country that shares a 1,426-mile border with Russia. The geopolitical map would be dramatically reshaped by the Agreement, with Ukraine serving as the new front for Western missile defense at the doorstep of Russia. Should the U.S. nuclear deal with Iran fall apart, Ukraine could be employed in larger regional disputes, too.

As an EU deal appears imminent, few people are asking questions about NATO's role in the deal, which was meant to facilitate jobs and trade. Economic conditions in Ukraine are dire: $15 billion in IMF loans suspended, danger of default and a zero growth forecast.

While NATO is not specifically mentioned in the draft of the "Association Agreement," the proposal, which was posted online (and translated to English here) by the Ukrainian cabinet in August, pledges convergence of foreign and security policy.

Read: NATO expansion.

For instance, in the draft of the Agreement, foreign and security policy mandates:

“The Parties shall explore the potential of military and technological cooperation. Ukraine and the European Defence Agency (EDA) will establish close contacts to discuss military capability improvement, including technological issues.”

The draft of the Agreement's preamble links Ukraine to "ever closer convergence of positions on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest" including the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) of the European Union and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) -- which underscores the military nature of the agreement.

Since 22 of 28 members of the EU have NATO membership, there is little doubt that Ukraine is being drawn into the broad military arrangement with EU nations.

If the EU Agreement is ratified, Ukraine will inevitably spend a higher percentage of its GDP for military purposes, steering critical resources from social programs and job opportunities. In 2012, Ukraine's military budget already increased 30 percent to $2 billion, representing a comparatively low 1.1 percent of GDP. NATO members agree to spend at least 2 percent of GDP on defense.

NATO members are also under pressure to contribute more and more of their GDP to military expenditures. "It is time to move beyond the '2 percent rule,'" says the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Ivo Daalder, in his farewell remarks in June, 2013, described the sentiment:

"The gap between American and European contributions to the Alliance is widening to an unsustainable level. Something must be done. The trends need to be reversed."

When military spending goes up, domestic spending goes down. The winners are unlikely to be the people of Ukraine, but instead the "people" of Lockheed-Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing and other defense interests. The Ukrainians didn't go to Independence Square to rally for NATO. Yet NATO's benefit is clear. Less clear is whether Ukrainians will receive key economic benefits they seek.

To wit, the preamble to the Agreement is hazy on the implementation of visa-free travel for citizens of Ukraine, a crucial incentive for struggling workers seeking better jobs. The draft of the Agreement is vague, calling for the visa issue to be introduced "in due course." It also asserts that EU nations could block the movement of self-employed Ukrainians to other job markets.

For Greece, Spain and others, EU membership hasn't turned out to be a shining economic savior. The return of austerity policies reminds one of Naomi Klein's warning about the perils of disaster capitalism, in which instability opens the door for exploitation from outside forces.

For the protesters in Kiev, standing tall for democracy and economic opportunity, there's suddenly a new worry: Disaster Militarism. Ukrainians may be pro-EU, but are the EU and NATO pro-Ukrainian?
---------------------------------

Dennis J. Kucinich is a former 16-year member of Congress and two-time U.S. presidential candidate.
Visit his Official website: www.kucinichaction.com

Dennis J. Kucinich - Facebook:

www.facebook.com/denniskucinich
Dennis J. Kucinich - Twitter:
www.twitter.com/Dennis_Kucinich

Links:

EU / Ukraine Association Agreement (PDF)(English)

http://glavcom.ua/pub/2012_11_19_EU_Ukraine_Association_Agreement_English.pdf
Draft of the EU Association Agreement (PDF)
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2013/0290/COM_COM(2013)0290(PAR2)_EN.pdf
IMF Repeats Loan Demands on Ukraine
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-31/ukraine-vows-to-curb-reserves-plunge-as-imf-repeats-loan-demands.html

 

Canada Under Siege – Part 2 - The Economy

 

Source: World United News - YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2K3x-Ci8O8

Watching the World descend into economic tyranny due to the IMF and Private for Profit only Banks, really angers the hell out of me, but being Canadian, it especially angers me for what is going on here in Canada…because our government is a party to the theft taking place right here…and that is regardless of what brand of politic sits in governance of our nation.

I was brought up believing that the Banking system in Canada was sound and far superior than the rest of the World simply because we had our own National Bank to issue our own money...and from 1935 to 1974 that was certainly true. But it has not been true since.

Born in Montreal Quebec, Canada in 1960, I’ve seen a lot of things happen to this great country of ours over the years, but I was extremely puzzled why, despite the abundance of our natural resources and government imposed high taxation that we had no money to function or healthy economy. One day I decided to find out why.

What I discovered was that there was a massive theft taking place right under our noses by the IMF and all the other private banks that secretly had embedded themselves into the fabric of our Canadian economy & community…What makes the massive banking crimes so maddening is that I also discovered that all the past and present, Federal & Provincial governments in Canada have had full knowledge of the theft and have been a party to it.

This theft has been going on since 1974 through Federal Conservative, & Liberal governments, and through the Provincial governments of the Conservative, Liberal, NDP, and Parti Quebecois parties. They ALL knew what was going on, and by their knowledge of these banking crimes, they have all committed treason against the people of  this nation for doing nothing about it. Maybe the Chamber of Commerce has something to do with it…since all political parties feast there.

By giving the power to create money to the IMF & its ring of Private Banks, and also by giving our natural resources to foreign business cartels, The Federal & Provincial governments have sold out the Canadian people!…est les Quebec libre aussi. We’re not so libre as we might like so we are all in this mess together.

The debt we owe today, with the National and Provincial debt combined, comes to around 1 Trillion dollars. The interest payment on 1 Trillion dollars if it was at 4% is 40 billion dollars. That works out to about 110 million dollars every day just to pay the interest on a loan that should never have been made in the first place!

The Bank of Canada:

The Bank of Canada was created in 1935 to restart the Canadian economy and regain the peoples trust through a Canadian centralized banking system. The issuance of our own currency, by our own National Bank came without interest or compound interest added, thus allowing Canada to prosper and not go into debt despite the huge work projects and social programs that were created to elevate society back from the trash heap.

Huge government programs were created to put people back to work and thus created some of the most important National Corporations between those thriving years of 1935 to 1974. These corporations were owned by Canadians under a banking system that used an interest free currency…everything belonged to us during that time, including the right to make our own budget.

Large-scale social programs such as Medicare, and social benefits for families…old age pensions all emerged out of this economic model…and it was a model that worked for everyone while it was in place.

The Personal Income Tax collected from individuals became the government’s biggest source of income to keep our own sovereign system in place. In essence, We worked and invested in our country at the same time. The nation prospered and provided us with a higher standard of living while not going into to debt.

All was well and fine until 1974 when the Government of Canada gave the IMF and private banks the power to create the Canadian dollar and to charge us compound interest on loaning us our own money. The result of this giveaway is that we no longer have control of our currency or our governing budget. It belongs to private banks and their centralized private I.M.F.

Since 1974, Federal and Provincial government budgets are borrowed from Private Banks with Compound interest attached. That means we lose large amounts of our wealth and hard earned money to pay back the compound interest that came with the loans…and since the money has to come from somewhere, Canadians became tax targets while at the same time we lose our social programs by government spending cuts directed and ordered by the IMF through banking blackmail. The international economic system is completely rigged…in other words, if you don’t do what the IMF tells you, your bond rating will be lowered and the interest on the loans will be increased…

Compound interest, by practice, steals all the money slated to maintain our infrastructure and social programs…as the interest on the loan builds, the debt increases, which then gives the governments the ok to increase our taxes, or borrow more money from the private banks. The whole charade sends the economy into perpetual inflation mode. This cycle has drastically lowered our standard of living since 1974 and All past & present governments are responsible and should be questioned on their knowledge of the theft taking place, or their incompetence of what was taking place….a thorough PUBLIC investigation into this is required at the very LEAST!

Shortly after the IMF took control of our monetary system, our National Corporations such as the Canadian National Railway, Air Canada, and Petro Canada, were sold by the Canadian government at the behest of those that control and loan us our money. Have a look into the Chamber of Commerce…there you’ll see where government business decisions come from. The Chamber of Commerce is a Private Club made up of Banks and Big Business Owners. Needless to say, National Corporations were sold to international private interests, And now they want to sell off programs by privatizing things like health care.

It is very important to note, that what disappeared with National Corporations such as Petro Canada, was the control of our natural resources and the profits they would have brought directly into the country’s coffers if we were not enslaved to the IMF and their scheme of compound debt. Instead, all profits from our natural resources go into the private pockets of the Corporate Share Holders while the rest of us pay increased taxes and allow them to steal it.

Corruption:

International Corporations pay rental fees to the Provincial & Federal Governments on the Canadian land they are raping…of course anyone in government that is pushing for corporate interests is on a committee that receives special compensation. To me this is nothing short of bribery…this type of behavior is shady, dishonest, and amounts to high treason against the people of Canada and should be publicly investigated with prison sentences for those found guilty. In light of these accusations I am making here, I find that the government is nothing more than a crime syndicate for big business, and it is time for these criminals to GO!

Now that the pillars of economic stability have been removed, Canadians find themselves at the mercy of the International banks that are TELLING us what to keep, what to sell and where to cut the budget. Our government not only sold us out, they refuse to change the economic climate for the betterment of its people…that means they do not work for the people of Canada but the private owners of the International Banks!

The next Canadian Federal election is in 2015 so we have time to organize the people of this country to take back our nation. To know which politician to vote for, make sure they are decidedly for removing the Private banks from issuing our money and to nationalize ALL our resources. It’s time to take our country back and this is the way to do it.

LINKS:

Canada Under Siege – Part 1 – The Tar Sands, Free Trade & Govt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpfOsf1f26I

Crime of the Canadian Banking System

http://www.snowshoefilms.com/
Oh Canada, Our Bought & Sold Out Land
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbACCGf6q-c
Oh Canada Movie ORDER DVD
http://www.ohcanadamovie.com/
Press for Truth
http://www.pressfortruth.ca/
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce
http://www.chamber.ca/
Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Quebec – (The Quebec Chamber of Commerce)
http://www.ccquebec.ca/
Bank of Canada – Official Website
http://www.bankofcanada.ca/
The Bank of Canada Act
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/B-2/
Banknotes of the Canadian Dollar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banknotes_of_the_Canadian_dollar
Canadian Banknote Company  - Owned by American Mega Corp. RR Donnelley
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Bank_Note_Company
BA International prints Canadian Dollars and is German Owned
Bloomberg - Company Overview of BA International Inc. – German Owned
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=11792219
Canadian Crown Corporation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Crown_Corporation
Canadian National Railway – Privatized in 1995
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_National_Railways
Air Canada – Privatized in 1988
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Canada
CBC
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Broadcasting_Corporation
VIA Rail
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Rail
Petro Canada – Privatized in 2009
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petro_canada

 

Eurozone finance ministers approve bailout deal for Cyprus

 

French minister of Economy, Finances and Foreign Trade Pierre Moscovici (R) and International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde (L) chat next to EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn (C) prior to an extraordinary Eurozone meeting on March 24, 2013 at the EU Headquarters in Brussels (AFP Photo / John Thys)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/cyprus-eu-imf-bailout-764/

The Eurogroup has approved a deal on a 10 billion-euro bailout for Cyprus, struck early Monday in Brussels. Cyprus avoids exiting the eurozone, but will have its second largest bank closed with heavy losses expected for big depositors.

“The size of financial assistance will amount to 10 billion euro,” Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem has announced at a press conference in Brussels after the eurozone finance ministers swiftly endorsed the plan.

“With this agreement we’ve put an end to the uncertainty that has affected Cyprus and the euro area over the last few days,”he added.

The new deal agreed between Cyprus and the Troika of international lenders - the EU, the ECB and the IMF - will set up a "good bank" and a "bad bank" and will mean that the country’s second largest bank Laiki will effectively be shut down.

Deposits below 100,000 euros will be shifted from Laiki to the Bank of Cyprus to create a “good bank.” Deposits larger than 100,000 euros will be frozen and used to resolve debts. It remains unclear how large the write-down on those funds will be.

The decision comes hours before the Monday deadline set by the European Central Bank, following heated talks between President Nicos Anastasiades and the Troika.

Earlier on Sunday the central bank in Cyprus has imposed an ATM withdrawal limit of 100 euros per day for the island's two biggest banks, in order to prevent a run on lenders.

Warren Pollock - market analyst and financial adviser says the financial turmoil in Cyprus is part of a broader crisis.

“In reality this is a global problem which has not been addressed since 2007-2008 and previous to that with the issuance of huge amounts of debt and leverage into the system both in Europe and in the United States,” he told RT.


“And when that debt goes bad, the only recourse which exists is to tap remaining collateral in the system which is the savings.”


Pollock believes that sooner or later this “sort of stealing” of savings may result in popular unrest. “We can definitely see smaller countries being the test to see whether savings could be stolen on a wider scale.”

Cyprus imposes ATM withdrawal limit of €100 per day for island's two largest banks

 

People queue to withdraw their savings at a Cypus Popular Bank (Laiki Bank) ATM in Athens on March 22, 2013. (AFP Photo)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/business/cyprus-bailout-withdrawal-banks-756/

The central bank in Cyprus has imposed an ATM withdrawal limit of 100 euros per day for the island's two biggest banks, in order to prevent a run on lenders.

A spokesman for the country's second largest lender, Cyprus Popular Bank, told Reuters that the new measure began at 1pm local time (11am GMT) and would remain in place until the bank reopens, or until confirmation of continued emergency funding from the European Central Bank. Cyprus Popular Bank had previously limited withdrawals to 260 euros per day.

A government official said the restriction also applied to the Bank of Cyprus.

It was initially reported that the measure was implemented on all banks in Cyprus, although it has now been confirmed that only the island's two biggest banks have been affected.

The news comes after Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades took part in last-minute crisis talks with international lenders on Sunday, in an attempt to save the country from financial meltdown. The negotiations in Nicosia to seal a bailout from the EU and International Monetary Fund failed to reach a solution.

Anastasiades then headed to Brussels to hold talks with EU, European Central Bank and IMF leaders ahead of a crunch meeting of eurozone finance ministers.

Government spokesman Christos Stylianides said in a statement on Sunday that Anastasiades and his team have a "very difficult task to accomplish to save the Cypriot economy and avert a disorderly default if there is no final agreement on a loan accord."

The news comes just one day after Cyprus and the Troika agreed to a 20 per cent tax on deposits over 100,000 euros at the Bank of Cyprus and 4 per cent on deposits held at other banks.

"Unfortunately, the events of recent days have led to a situation where there are no longer any optimal solutions available. Today, there are only hard choices left," European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said in a Saturday statement.

Cyprus is scrambling to come up with €5.8 billion by Monday, or face being kicked out of the Eurozone. The cash is a prerequisite for a further €10 billion in bailout funds.

Lawmakers' rejection of a previous proposal to tax all bank deposits prompted the European Central Bank to threaten to cut off emergency funding to Cypriot banks unless a deal was reached by March 25. Banks have been shut all week, and are due to reopen on March 26.

On Saturday, at least 1,000 bank workers in Cyprus hit the streets of the country’s capital of Nicosia. The demonstrators marched against the latest bailout measures taken by the country’s central bank.

Protesters carried banners that read, “Hands off provident funds” and “No to the bankruptcy of Cyprus.”

Turkey sends ‘stern warning’ to Cyprus over gas reserves

Meanwhile, Turkey has warned Greek Cyprus against using hydrocarbon reserves off the island to overcome its debt crisis without the consent of Turkish Cypriots. Ankara says such a move could result in an end to efforts to reunite Cyprus’ Turkish and Greek zones.

Turkey has contacted the US and plans to take the issue to the European Union, Today’s Zaman reported.

Ankara “had to issue a stern warning” regarding attempts to offer natural resources in exchange for foreign loans, a Turkish official said on Sunday.

Turkey has repeatedly warned the Greek Cypriot government against unilateral moves to extract natural gas and oil reserves off Cyprus, saying that Turkish Cypriots also have a say on the reserves.

The dispute recently escalated when reports surfaced that hydrocarbon exploration rights were part of Russia-Greek Cyprus talks last week over a possible deal which includes Russian financial help. However, the talks did not produce an agreement.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev expressed doubt on the inclusion of hydrocarbon reserves as a loan deal, saying there are concerns surrounding commercial viability and questions stemming from Turkish objections.

 

2013 - What's in Store? (Op-Ed)

 

By: Adrian Salbuchi

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/2013-global-politics-trends-150/

World Government stepping onto sovereign Nation-States, puppet politicians unable to cope with social challenges, chaos in the Middle East and ever increasing global crises – all this awaits us in 2013. Is it time for ‘We the People’ to wake up?

More violence in the Middle East; increased protests and commotion on the streets of Europe and America; a banking/debt crisis spinning faster and faster out of control with panicky governments running to save the bankers and kill the workers. That’s 2012’s legacy, so… thank God it’s (almost) over!

But – barring the Mayan Prophecies coming true, which is most unlikely – regrettably 2013 threatens us with even darker clouds on its horizon.

­We’re not into “predictions” or futurism, however understanding what really makes this world tick allows rational projections of tendencies on the basis of concrete facts. That can serve to give us an idea of what’s in store for 2013, so we can better prepare for what’s coming our way.

Let’s look at half a dozen Key Issues:

Where’s the pilot?

Glaringly visible on today’s global political stage is that leaders in just about every country are unable to tackle and solve the overwhelming swarm of growing crises and challenges affecting society; at least not in the West. Whether it’s political, social or military conflict; increasing ecological threats; on-going financial and economic collapse; mass cultural and intellectual dumbing-down; or obscene government corruption, everywhere you look things seem to be taking a turn for the worse.

Even the leaders of powerful countries as the United States, Britain and the European Union fail dismally when addressing these crises highlighting their mediocrity, lack of vision and creativity. This becomes more obvious when comparing today’s leaders with those of yesteryear.

Take France, for instance: having given the world a true statesman like Charles de Gaulle, today they’re run by political midgets like Hollande and Sarkozy. Worse still is the US, which had a great president like John F Kennedy but today is misgoverned by puppets like Bush junior and Obama. Even Britain, Italy and Germany once led by inspirational figures like Churchill, De Gaspari and Adenauer, today can only muster grey mediocrities like Blair, Cameron, Berlusconi, Monti or Merkel.

Is it all just coincidence, or does it reflect a monolithic political system that ensures that not the best and brightest, but the worst and dimmest rise to become presidents and prime ministers?

Is this the result of the Global Power Masters’ preferred system of control over entire nations through “money-powered democracy”? This is in stark contrast with what “We the People” are clamouring for in every country. In fact, “We the People” have instinct and are neither stupid nor cowardly. Unfortunately though, their political leaders for the most part are.

Is there a “superior will” making sure that growing national problems remain unresolved, and get worse and worse as presidents and prime ministers come and go?

Is it just “bad financial judgment” that’s made all national debts with the Mega-banker Over-world balloon way out of control? Just bad luck that pension funds are massively broke and health systems are in shambles?

Just bad luck that; Orwell-like, peace-making has turned into warmongering?

Is it just bad luck that basic human decency, ethics and solidarity are scorned by that moral cesspool known as the “entertainment industry”, which is the prime driver or the dumbing-down of populations everywhere?

We don’t think so…

Is all of this a way of telling the world in no uncertain terms just who’s really in charge, by “proving” that Sovereign Nation-States can no longer cope, and “a thing of the past” to be thrown into the dustbin of history? That certainly ties in with the Global Power Masters’ fundamental long-term objective geared on dissolving the nations of the world so their power can be sucked up into the coming World Government organisations?

But look again: it’s not Nation-States that are failing, but rather the “democratically elected” politicians who run them! Let’s not thrown the baby away with the bath water…!

World Government needs to do away with sovereign Nation-States because they’re the only social institution that can hold the Global Corporate and Mega-banker Over-world in check. In fact, the Sovereign Nation-State is the Over-world’s Public Enemy No. 1!

Back in 1974, the Elite think-tank Council on Foreign Relation’s journal “Foreign Affairs” suggested that “the house of world order will have to be built from the bottom up… It will look like a great "booming, buzzing confusion," …but an end run around national sovereignty, eroding it piece by piece, will accomplish much more than the old-fashioned frontal assault.” That was written over 38 years ago… Now that’s what I call long-range planning!

So, get ready: 2013 will bring ever increasing crises as all Nation-States are weakened more and more. In Orwellian newspeak, this is “democracy”. However, “We the People” are waking up to the fact that such a “democracy” is nothing but a prison of the mind.

In 2013 more people will be asking themselves “Where’s the pilot?” They will want to know who’s really running this ghastly global show. You can bet your bottom dollar that “the pilot” is definitely not in the White House, or the Palais d'Elysee, or 10 Downing Street. Clearly, we need new pilots!

United States of America

Had Republican candidate Mitt Romney won November’s presidential elections, today we’d be in global doldrums on a range of important issues. The Global Power Masters would have had to wait until Romney is inaugurated in late January 2013, and then give him the privileged “100 days’ honeymoon” as new White House tenant, before they actually began pressing and coaxing him to do their bidding. That would have given the world four, maybe five, months’ respite.

However, Romney lost the elections, and Barack Obama will be president four more years. No waiting; no honeymoon.

Time is of the essence and Big Brother Bwana is already shouting orders at Boy Obama demanding him to move… and fast! The Big Bosses in AIPAC, Wall Street, Tel-Aviv, Goldman Sachs, the FED, JPMorganChase, and the Lodges have lots of plans for the US… Obama had been dragging his feet on certain issues: Time to act!

But one may even wonder whether Obama’s staying “at the helm” might be so he oversees “Mission Transformation”: the controlled collapse of the US. Will Obama turn out to be America’s Mikhail Gorbachev?

Over a decade ago, Russian Ministry of Foreign Relations academic Igor Panarin pointed to the coming dismemberment of the US due to growing internal political, social and cultural centrifugal forces, overcoming the increasingly weak centripetal forces holding America together.

Right now, we see secessionist movements in just about every state in the US. Texas, North & South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Florida, Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma and Ohio have gathered the 25,000 petition signatures needed to make it mandatory for the Federal Government to address their request.

By the end of the 1980’s, the 'Powers That Be' decided it was time for “Globalisation” to go into full gear: a chaotic, horizontal, transitory and transitional process that has greatly weakened national sovereignties. But they needed to liquidate the then formidable Union of Soviet Socialist Republics that was getting in their way. That was Mikhail Gorbachev’s job and he certainly played his role magnificently even if power brokers in New York and London like him far more than citizens in Moscow or St Petersburg.

Now the Global Power Masters are wrapping up “Globalisation” and moving on towards something far more ambitious: outright World Government which, contrary to globalisation, will be vertical, authoritarian, disciplined and highly centralised. To achieve this new stage, they now need for the other superpower nation-state to go into the waste bin of history. Soon they won’t need a powerful America.

In fact, a powerful US is a potential danger to them because, whilst so far their trillions have ensured the White House always stays in "friendly hands” – Reagan, Bush Senior, Clinton, Bush junior, Obama – can you imagine what would happen if a True Patriot were to make it to the Oval Office? Someone who would say “Enough with the FED!”, “Enough with unrestricted and irrational support for Israel!”, “Enough engineering chaos in Libya, Afghanistan, Mali, Syria, Egypt, Latin America!”

So – yes! – Perhaps our American Gorbachev’s true mission is to kick-off the controlled demise of the US.

War and more war in the Middle East

From the Global Master’s viewpoint, the more chaos the better. The more Libya’s and Syria’s, the better; and the more Egypt-style social chaos, the better; all massively fed by their multimedia PsyWar. Why? Because, irrespective of whether things turn out “well” or “not so well” for them in Palestine, Syria, Iran or Egypt, they always make headway on one permanent overriding objective: weakening Nation-States. In addition, this all ties in with a key Fundamentalist Zionism goal in the region: the destruction of Iran.

In addition, all this “experience” renders useful lessons, knowledge, “case studies” and rules of engagement for designing future “Springs” in Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, even the US.

Stay tuned: this may be coming in 2013 to a country near you.

Israel’s bad temper

As we all know when Israel gets up in a bad mood, they cheer up by going into Palestinian-bashing mode, knowing Big Brother Homer will look the other way. That just occurred in Gaza, as it did in 2009; as it did in Southern Lebanon in 2006.

Now we’ll see a lull as Benjamin Netanyahu campaigns for re-election in January 2013, which may be why he’s pushed aside his embarrassing extreme right-wing ally and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. This may be linked to trying to accommodate – not Obama – but the American military, which is growing increasingly weary of America’s imperial overdrive and resource stretch, as a consequence of fighting too many of Israel’s proxy wars.

John Kerry and Chuck Nagel will probably become Obama´s new secretaries of State and Defence. Both are friendly towards Israel, however not irrationally fanatic, which is what Israel and AIPAC demand. This explains the Jerusalem Post’s 17th December article pointing out that both are “hardly Israel’s preferred choices”.

Fiscal cliff

Like the naked Emperor that no one dared to point that interesting fact out to him, the truth is that the American Emperor is nakedly broke, as is the UK. Now, when weak countries like Argentina, México, Thailand or Iceland collapse, they painfully discover that their local currencies (or lack thereof in the cases of Greece, Spain, Italy and Ireland) are backed by nothing. That’s when chaos marches in and the locals suffer all sorts of dreadful economic and social hardship, as seen on TV decade after decade.

When the US, UK or EU go broke, however, they still have an ace up their sleeves: their currencies – Dollar, Pound or Euro – are backed by their formidable, powerful and hugely expensive military forces. In practice, those currencies are backed by supersonic stealth bombers, drones, aircraft carriers, Tomahawks, Blackhawks and public (and private!) armies of highly trained and vicious troops.

But if worse comes to worse, they can always tap into their “Final Solution”; their “Samson Option” so to speak: unleash World War Three in which case who’ll care about the collapse of the Dollar, or the banks, or social upheavals even in New York or London.

World War Three means forcefully fleeing forwards. The Global Power Masters know this only too well: “we pulled this off with the first and second world wars… and it worked!” they seem to say.

Might this be one of 2013’s wild cards?

Watch out with Russia and China

Particularly now that Vladimir Putin is really back in town, Russia is clearly showing that it’s not for turning its back on traditional ally Syria; even less on Iran.
Not so much out of principle, but for defence and survival. If Syria and Iran fall to the US/UK/Israeli hegemon, who do you think is next? And those NATO missiles in Poland, what are they there for?

China, in turn, just named Xi Jinping as new Communist Party Secretary General and soon-to be President. Depending on a wide array of interests and goals, China shrewdly works together with Russia, Iran, India, Latin America or Africa; even with historical foe, Japan.

The Chinese know what they want and need in the medium and long terms. Maybe that’s why they seem paradoxical and difficult to fathom to us short-term thinking Westerners.

Long terms planners at the Pentagon and Western think-tanks, however, know this and they’re preparing for war. So, 2013 will see Russia, China, Iran, India, Pakistan, Brazil, South Africa move closer together to tackle common goals and confront common threats.

As the Western geopolitical serpent tries to tighten its hold on planet Earth, time is not on their side: key Castles and Bishops will move on the Global Grand Chessboard. Watch China and Russia….

Adrian Salbuchi for RT

EU follows Italy’s move to recognize Syrian opposition coalition

 

French President Francois Hollande and Foreign Affairs minister Laurent Fabius pose with Syrian opposition coalition members. France was the first European country to recognize the coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. (AFP Photo / Kenzo Tribouillard)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/syria-opposition-eu-representative-099/

Italy has recognized Syria’s National Coalition as the "legitimate representative" of the Syrian people. The EU has followed that lead declaring the newly formed political body as the only representative of the “aspirations of the Syrian people.”

"We have recognized the coalition that brings together the various opposition groups as legitimate representatives of the Syrian people," Italian Prime Minister, Mario Monti told reporters in Doha on Monday.

The Syrian National Coalition was formed on 11 November when the country’s disparate opposition leaders met in Doha. The body replaced Syrian National Council which had been criticized for being ineffective.

The Foreign ministers of 27 EU nations said the agreement reached in Qatar is a major step towards the necessary unification of the Syrian opposition.

The ministers urged the coalition to continue to respect human rights and democracy and to work with all opposition groups and sections of Syrian society. The statement also said that the EU was “ready” to support coalition relations with the international community.

"I think we will invite the Coalition leaders to our next meeting (in December) to allow them to talk to all the foreign ministers, which will be highly symbolic," said French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

Last week France was the first European country to recognize the coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people and a future democratic government. The newly formed coalition has also been recognized by the Gulf Cooperation Council and Turkey.

Earlier this month Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron suggested lifting the 2011 EU arms embargo against all sides in the Syrian conflict. This would allow Western countries to help the opposition in its fight against President Assad.

According to different estimates, the conflict that has been unfolding in Syria since March 2011 has already claimed between 28,000 and 40,000 lives.

 

The International Banking Cartel

Video Source:

A look at the International Banking Cartel led by the Bank for International Settlement (in Basel, Switzerland) known as the bank of central banks (58 central banks) and The US Federal reserve System. Also a look at banking tycoons: from the Rothschild family in Europe to JP Morgan and others in the US. How banks not only control governments but also appoint politicians through huge campaign donations. Governments at the service of the major banks, the best example: the Obama administration and the history's biggest bail out of the same institutions that caused the Great Recession.

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Egypt to receive over $6 Billion in aid from EU

 

A handout picture released by the Egyptian presidency shows Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi (R) and his foreign minister Mohamed Kamel Amr (L) meeting with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton (C) at the presidential palace in Cairo, on November 14, 2012. (AFP Photo)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/eu-egypt-aid-billions-680/

The European Union has approved a US$6.3 billion financial aid package for Egypt. The news comes as Europe is paralyzed by a general strike and mass protests as people are tired of deepening recession and strangled by constant budget cuts.

­The European Investment Bank is to grant Egypt 2 billion euro ($2.55 billion), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development a further 2 billion euro and EU countries will also allocate a further 1 billion euro, the office of the Egyptian president said on Wednesday.

The statement was released after President Mohamed Morsi met with EU Foreign Policy chief Catherine Ashton.

Egypt is to sign a memorandum of understanding with IMF representatives for the loan this week. It is "a strong sign of EU's support for Egypt's path to development," the president said.

The Egyptian economy is still recovering after the overthrow of former President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011 and subsequent political turmoil.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people took to the streets across the EU to protest drastic austerity measures introduced by authorities to cope with the recession.

Spain and Portugal are facing general strikes, while Greece and Italy are seeing many walkouts. Millions of people from some 20 EU nations are expected to take part in the European Day of Action and Solidarity.

And as many Europeans are not happy to bail out struggling EU economies at a cost of their pensions and wages, the question is how they are going to react to paying Egyptian bills.

 

EU Censors Alternative News in Bid to Dominate US NATO War Narrative

Image: European Union is a Prison with no Free Speech

 

By: Tony Cartalucci

Source: Global Research
http://www.globalresearch.ca/eu-censors-alternative-news-in-bid-to-dominate-us-nato-war-narrative/5308461

Western media quietly attempts to censor growing global opposition, begins with Iranian media.

Iran’s Press TV reported in their article, “Press TV viewers slam EU move to ban Iran channels as illegal, hypocritical,” that “Press TV viewers have condemned as illegal and hypocritical the ban imposed by the European officials on the broadcast of several Iranian satellite channels.” Nearly no mention is made in the Western media regarding the blatant act of censorship – an act that runs contra to all perceived notions of “Western values,” and an act that directly undermines the narratives of the West supporting “freedom” and “democracy” around the globe

 

Image: The West has spent billions trying to leverage “freedom of speech” and “human rights” as a means to undermine, destabilize, overthrow, and replace governments around the world, from the US-engineered Eastern European “color-revolutions” after the fall of the Soviet Union, to the latest US-engineered “Arab Spring,” and all across Southeast Asia. Now with the West pursuing its own campaign of censorship, it is clear that these “values” were merely selectively and opportunistically manipulated.

….

The news has been buried under reports regarding a new round of sanctions passed by the EU which was recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize even while pursuing multiple wars across the globe, including continuing operations in Libya, the subversion of Syria, and a decade long occupation of Afghanistan which sees weekly civilian massacres by NATO air strikes on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border. In fact, the most recent NATO atrocity occurred not even a week ago, killing 3 children in the Helmand province. Of course this was absent in Western headlines, but it did make headlines in Iran’s Press TV, and indicates a more realistic explanation to the EU’s decision to ban the Iranian news service.

Clearly the EU has no qualms over endangering civilian lives – its concerns over “human rights” are a selectively applied value it uses against its enemies with demonstrably no intention of holding itself to similar standards. Now, the EU has applied this same selective application of supposed “Western values” to “freedom of speech,” curtailing it when that speech endangers its own interests, and pursuing “freedom” when it advances their agenda. And it is this hypocrisy that the increasingly popular Press TV news service has been illustrating, as a counterweight to the uniformly biased and compromised Western press.

It was US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who stated that censorship incurred “long-term economic and social costs,” with oppression leading to “civil unrest and not security.” Many Western politicians executing corporate-financier driven policy have stated that a regime’s pursuit of censorship was a sign of weakness and fear – an indicator that its opposition was gaining ground and that more overt, visible, even desperate measures needed to be implemented. Censorship, according to the West’s own narrative, is part of a self-defeating cycle where legitimacy and the mandate to lead increasingly is fading.

With that consideration in mind, the censorship of Iran’s Press TV should be a sign that Iran’s efforts to balance global public perception skewed by the vast resources of Wall Street and London are succeeding. Along with Russia Today (RT), Press TV has provided nations who aspire to live in a mulipolar world where the primacy of the nation-state prevails, a model to follow in combating the unwarranted power and influence of Western media houses.

Above all, it should be noted that a key contributing factor to Press TV and RT’s success is the growing alternative media – media by the people and for the people – whose legitimacy and reputation is measured in accuracy, consistency, and objectivity, not slick graphics, expensive suits, and million-dollar studios. The alternative media has provided content for growing national news agencies seeking to challenge the West’s hegemony over information, and while national news agencies ultimately pursue national agendas, the content they are drawing on generally come from people simply seeking the truth.

The EU’s act of censorship against Press TV is in turn a strike against the alternative media. Instead of being seen as a setback, it should be seen as a success and a signal to redouble our efforts as individuals to assert our own will and vision for the future over that of the miniscule global elite who have so far gone unchallenged in their designs and aspirations. The alternative media should be only the first in a series of people-driven alternatives systematically undermining and replacing existing corporate-financier dominated paradigms.

Ways to watch Press TV in Europe

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/18/267357/how-to-watch-press-tv-in-europe/

You can find more by Tony Cartalucci here:

http://landdestroyer.blogspot.ca/

NOTE:

Press TV is a voice that speaks for billions of people and should be allowed to express the views of others on air or we descend into another dark period when freedom of speech was not allowed in Europe.

Please sign the petition to maintain freedom of speech in Europe

http://www.change.org/petitions/press-tv-viewers-save-press-tv-in-europe