New at Strategic Culture Foundation 10-17 May 2014: Ukraine / Venezuela / Syria / Banking / Russia-Iran

17 May 2014 — Strategic Culture Foundation

The OSCE in Ukraine: How to Make a European Country into a New Afghanistan

17.05.2014 | 00:01 | Andrey ARESHEV

Officials from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, who modestly remained silent during the coup d’état in Ukraine and have not said a word about the tragedies in Odessa and Mariupol, have begun to raise a storm of activity around the «road map» for Ukraine. Some provisions of this document (it has not been presented to the general public, which, according to Sergei Lavrov, is the fault of Kiev and Washington) were discussed during negotiations between Swiss president and chairman of the OSCE Didier Burkhalter and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on May 7. However, on May 11 in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine referendums were held which confirmed the choice of the people in favor of the state sovereignty of the new republics which have arisen there. A fundamentally new political situation has taken shape…

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Ukraine: Military Crimes and Interests of Transnational Corporations

17.05.2014 | 00:00 | Alexander DONETSKY

On April 12, 2014 the Ukrainian military first clashed with the people of Slavyansk, a small city eastern part of Ukraine (population around 120 thousand)… In 2013 Shell made known its plans to start extraction of shale gas here in violation of ecologic norms. The contract envisioned taking property away from owners in case it stood in the way of cleaning the space for drilling. Slavyansk is where the first wells are to appear according to the plans. The area of shale gas extraction includes the neighboring Kramatorsk… The choice of area for waging combat actions is a proof that the Kiev regime serves the business interests of Shell…

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Carpathian Hungarians Demand Autonomy

16.05.2014 | 10:55 | Vladislav GULEVICH

For a long time the fate of ethnic Hungarians in neighboring countries has long been a delicate issue for Hungary. The Victor Orban’s government has allowed many of them to obtain Hungarian citizenship and vote in Hungarian elections. «Hungarians of the Carpathian Basin are entitled to dual citizenship, community rights and autonomy», the Hungarian Prime Minister said on May 10, «This is the stance we will represent in international politics.» According to him, the issue of ethnic Hungarians was especially topical due to the situation in neighboring Ukraine, where around 200,000 ethnic Hungarians live, who are entitled to Hungarian citizenship and also the right to self-administration. «This is our clear expectation from the new Ukraine which is taking shape now», Orban said…

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Here We Got Dry Rations for You, Go and Satisfy Your Far-Fetched Fancies…

16.05.2014 | 00:00 | Arkady DZIUBA

…Talking about the events in Ukraine, it’s worth to look at what is happening in other places. In 2011 the US declared the Asia-Pacific pivot policy… The Far East is the region of tight rope walking and play of nerves. Every day new statements are made and new steps are taken to demonstrate the parties’ resolve. It’s hard to make predictions, but there is one conclusion which is obvious: the United States has no whatsoever intent to get mired in Ukraine and defend the Donetsk or Lugansk no matter what fancies Kiev strategists and obedient media outlets may entertain…

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U.S. Intelligence Terrorizes Venezuela

16.05.2014 | 00:00 | Nil NIKANDROV

…In Venezuela the Chilean scenario did not work. The conspirators, following the instructions of their overseers from the CIA, planned to provoke mass discontent. They tried everything: an artificial shortage of staple commodities, sabotage on public transportation, attacks on government agencies, and barricading of major highways and roads to residential areas. Everywhere over the cities – as an alarming sign of instability – there hung black smoke from burning tires (an eloquent echo of the Kiev Maidan)… In practically all large cities in Venezuela, including the capital, shots were heard frequently during the months of anti-government demonstrations. Most of those killed were ordinary citizens. In the first stage of the terrorist operations for overthrowing the regime, the CIA mercenaries deliberately and consistently chose victims on both sides of the barricades (just as on the Kiev Maidan). Their goal was to exacerbate the confrontation between supporters of the government and the opposition. In the practice of American intelligence, «slaughter statistics» are an important aspect of the sabotage war against the country selected for destabilization…

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South-Eastern Ukraine: New Political Reality

15.05.2014 | 23:00 | Victor KRYMOV

…The emergence of national republics in Donetsk and Lugansk inaugurates new political and legal reality. It may lead to further disintegration. The very fact of high attendance during the vote shows new low for junta trust. As the people of Donbass believe, their land is an independent entity and a part of international system of relations. They have taken the fate into their own hands.

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Homs Taken Back, Bashar Assad’s Victory Close as Never Before

15.05.2014 | 09:07 | Dmitry MININ

While the world attention is focused on Ukraine, the events in Syria may significantly affect the situation in the Middle East and the world. The forces of Bashar Assad have fully liberated Homs, the third largest city of the country with a population of one million where the uprising started around three years back… Analysts already make conjectures related to the would-be correlation of forces in the Middle East after the inevitable victory of Bashar Assad which is close. The forecasts are worrisome for Washington. The emerging axis Tehran-Bagdad-Damascus-Beirut is a nightmare and thanks to the awkward policies implemented by former President George Bush and incumbent President Barack Obama it is close to becoming a reality. They did their best to make it come true. By and large the White House behaves the same way in Ukraine. Its Ukrainian policy may also fail the same way.

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What’s Behind the Campaign to Combat Banking Secrecy?

15.05.2014 | 00:00 | Valentin KATASONOV

The institution of banking secrecy is on the brink of death. The destruction of the World Trade Center in New York on 11 September 2001 and the 2007-2009 financial crisis can both be considered fateful events for the future of banking secrecy. The first event was the start of the fight against terrorism organised by Washington, under the pretext of which the US authorities began trying to obtain open-ended access to information about banks’ customers, their accounts and transactions. The Patriot Act, passed after 11 September 2001, provided US intelligence agencies with full access to what had been classified banking information in America without having to obtain special permission from the public prosecutor’s office and the courts. Through various international organisations (the OECD, the IMF etc.), Washington later began to seek free access to banking information throughout the world…

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Who Does Steinmeier Support Talking About Monopoly on Use of Force?

15.05.2014 | 00:00 | Natalia MEDEN

Could further escalation of violence in Ukraine be prevented? Until now the country has been gradually plunging into the quagmire of military confrontation. Death toll keeps on growing with each passing day. On May 13 German Foreign Minister Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier said one of the goals was to restore the state monopoly on the use of force. It’s an ambiguous statement against the background of independence declared by Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics…

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Nazism: Immunity to Change

14.05.2014 | 09:32 | Olga SHEDROVA

«Integral nationalism» became an official ideology of Ukraine. According to its founders, it’s a compilation of Italian fascism and German Nazism adapted to Ukrainian reality… That’s why the celebrations of Victory Day marking the defeat of Nazi Germany on May 9 were considered by the Kiev-based interim government as subversive actions. The regime staged provocations to spoil the holiday festivities… The most terrible thing happened in Mariupol (the Donetsk region) where the head of local police gave an order to dispel the crowd.  The policemen refused to carry it out. The police chief loyal to the Kiev junta called in National Guard units and Pravy Sector militants. Armor vehicles entered the city to fire at the police station. They also fired at the local people, who came to support the policemen, and pursued those who were running away. According to local sources, 99 civilians died and 119 were heavily wounded…

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Referenda Expose Illegal Western Regime Change in Ukraine

14.05.2014 | 00:00 | Finian CUNNINGHAM

The referenda held in the Donetsk and Lugansk constituencies recorded over 90 per cent popular support for the respective self-declared People’s Republics, with voter turnout over 75 per cent… Western governments and their media cannot accept the results of the latest referenda or engage in a rational assessment. Not because the referenda lack legitimacy. But rather because recognizing the reality of widespread dissent within Ukrainian society against the Kiev cabal, which the referenda demonstrably show – that exposes the reality of criminal Western regime change in Ukraine. 

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Russia – Iran: Western Sanctions as a Stimulus for Development of Relations

14.05.2014 | 00:00 | Mikhail AGHAJANYAN

Relations between Russia and Iran are experiencing a stage of dynamic development. Both parties are making significant efforts to reach a qualitatively new level of cooperation in all areas of interstate relations. Great expectations are attached to the upcoming visit of Russia’s president to Iran. This could very well take place in the first half of this year. The schedule for Iranian president Hasan Rouhani’s participation in the Caspian summit in Astrakhan in September 2014 has also been fully coordinated… 

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Mariupol: Bloody Tragedy Making Hopes for Peace Fade Away

13.05.2014 | 00:00 | Andrei AKULOV

The Ukrainian caretaker government is clearly responsible for trying to do away with still flickering hopes of finding the way to peaceful settlement of the crisis by launching a punitive action against civilians on the most revered date – the commemoration of victory over Nazi Germany. The interim rulers go on threatening further punitive actions. The bloody clashes in Donetsk, the Odessa massacre and the Mariupol bloody events have ultimately divided the country. Under the conditions the idea of holding a presidential election on May 25 has to large extent lost sense. No matter what the result is, the events will unfold along the escalation path. Mariupol shows that the Kier rulers turn a deaf ear to any peace initiatives. A troubled but intact nation six months ago, Ukraine has come full circle to get to the brink of being pulled into pieces amid raging civil war…

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Doctor Strangelove Returns as General Breedlove

13.05.2014 | 00:00 | Wayne MADSEN

In Stanley Kubrick’s 1954 madcap dark comedy «Dr. Strangelove», the clearly demented main character is a former scientist for Adolf Hitler who ends up as a military adviser to a fictional American president involved in a nuclear standoff with the Soviet Union… Today, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander for Europe and chief of the U.S. European Command, four-star Air Force General Philip Breedlove, is attempting to reprise the movie role of Dr. Strangelove, his almost namesake… Breedlove has stated that NATO’s military presence in Eastern Europe will continue with air, land and sea deployments until at least December 31 and possibly beyond… There are now serious proposals for NATO to accept not only Ukraine and Georgia as full members but also traditionally neutral Sweden, Finland, and Austria, as well as Moldova, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia, Malta, Cyprus, and Azerbaijan…

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New Conflict in Kiev: Ochlocrat Timoshenko against Oligarch Poroshenko

12.05.2014 | 00:00 | Dmitry MININ

As the Ukrainian pseudo election on May 25 is drawing near, one more conflict adds to the mess the country is in. The two leading candidates loyal to the regime have clashed. Billionaire Peotr Poroshenko, the leader of the race, is opposing Ukraine’s former Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko who said that she was the only politician in Ukraine capable of conducting political reforms the country badly needs. Speaking at a news conference in Nikolayev, Timoshenko put it quite straight: if the country elects other candidate, there will be no avoiding a «third round of revolution…

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The Obama Doctrine: Replacing Democratically-Elected Governments by Undemocratic Contrivances

12.05.2014 | 00:00 | Wayne MADSEN

Born out of U.S. think tanks, most with covert links to U.S. intelligence agencies, the Obama Doctrine on foreign policy will have at its hallmark the replacement of democratically-elected governments with leaders chosen by undemocratic means. The Obama Doctrine first reared its ugly head in June 2009 when the Obama administration sanctioned a «constitutional coup» against the left-leaning democratically-elected president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya… After deposing Yanukovych, the Obama administration saw another opportunity to depose a democratically-elected populist leader, Thailand’s Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra… Venezuela and Cuba are now feeling the heat…

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NATO Steps Up Hostilities over Ukraine (II)

11.05.2014 | 11:09 | Andrei AKULOV

The US military is working with the State Department and NATO allies to provide support to Ukraine. Evelyn N. Farkas, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on May 6, «we will use all available tools to provide meaningful cost-effective support to Ukraine’s security institutions». DOD officials also continue to engage with their Ukrainian counterparts, Farkas said, noting that a high-level US-Ukraine meeting is scheduled next month. The United States is also taking steps to support non-NATO partners – such as Moldova and Georgia, she said…

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NATO Steps Up Hostilities over Ukraine (I)

11.05.2014 | 00:00 | Andrei AKULOV

On May 1, NATO’s Deputy Secretary General, US diplomat Alexander Vershbow said to a group of reporters that «we have to begin to view Russia no longer as a partner but as more of an adversary than a partner». He stated that the alliance is considering new measures to «deter» Russia, including deploying more forces to Eastern Europe. NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said ditto stressing that Russia is now more of an adversary than a partner in an interview to BBC Newswire… NATO’s three-week «Spring Storm» drills, involving a record-breaking number of 6,000 troops, will be held in 5 out of 15 Estonian counties, including southern and southeastern regions close to the border with Russia. Launched on May 5 the exercises are scheduled to finish on May 23… Russia considers the increase of NATO forces so close to its border a provocation…

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Ukraine: Plane Failing to Take off

11.05.2014 | 00:00 | Alexey RYKOV

The Ukrainian aircraft called Independence has a serious fault, only the right wing engine starts. The wing is eager to take off and scramble into the blue European starry sky. But the second engine is failing, perhaps somebody stole a turbine or it is low on fuel. Or may be both. The aircraft is rotating, trying to start flying, it is losing some parts and damaging the airstrip. With helter-skelter inside the salon, business class section passengers change places all the time and pilots can hear profane words in English coming from controllers’ office…

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Russia Defeated Nazism Revived by US Today

10.05.2014 | 19:13 | Pyotr ISKENDEROV

…The voices are raised in the West calling for the lessons of the world wars to disappear into oblivion. Russia Defeated the Nazis. Now US Revives Them writes Mark Sashine in his piece published by OpEdNews.com… One does not need to be a prophet to realize what the oblivion of the WWII lessons, or the John Kennedy’s «primitive rules of prudence», may lead to. It’s obvious for everyone that a new push to the East or the revival of the ideas condemned by the Nuremberg tribunal could result in the repetition of the tragedies the world should never forget about.

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Republishing is welcomed with reference to Strategic Culture Foundation on-line journal www.strategic-culture.org.

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