Thursday, 18 December 2014
Buk system Kiev claimed rebels used to take down MH17 was under control of Ukrainian forces - Ukrainian soldier
A Ukrainian soldier who was part of the crew that operated the supposed missile-battery that the Ukrainian Government claims shot down the Malaysian MH17 airliner on July 17th has testified publicly for the first time, saying that the missile-battery was operated by the Ukrainian military, not by the rebels as asserted, and that he and his former crew-mates who operated it laughed when they heard their Government say that this missile-battery was operated by rebels and had shot the airliner down.
An English-translated transcript of the December 15th Russian-language interview with this soldier was posted at UkraineWar.Info on December 17th by Michael Collins, an investigative journalist with UkraineWar.Info who has been following very closely the multiple investigations that are proceeding into the cause of the downing.
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This testimony confirms the accumulating prior, already overwhelming and even-more-convincing evidence, which is linked to in my latest article on the topic, here, all of which evidence indicates that either one or else two Ukrainian fighter-jets intentionally shot this airliner down - that it was not an error by rebels who had misidentified this airliner as being a bomber from the Ukrainian Government, such as the Ukrainian Government and its sponsor the U.S. Government claim.
Regarding the reason why the Ukrainian Government did this, it, too, is clear: U.S. President Obama needed a startling incident in order to obtain from the EU and other U.S.-allied nations their participation in heavily increased economic sanctions to weaken Russia. As soon as this plane was downed, both the Ukrainian Government and the Obama Administration claimed that they possessed convincing proof that it had been downed by pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine's former southeast. All U.S. allies got on board with that and agreed to hiked sanctions against Russia.
This "false flag" event (as such government fakeries are called in the intelligence communities) succeeded, just as did Hitler's burning down the Reichstag and blaming it on leftists, which was the event that enabled him to seize total power in Germany.
"George [Eliason, a third member of our team at UkraineWar.Info, and a resident inside the conflict-zone] says that due to the pub from the article, the Ukraine govt took down their 'damning' pic of BUK 312 today and that the reporter who did the interview is underground and fleeing the country."
So, the reason why Ukrainians are reluctant to go public about their lying Government is obvious. And, all of the 'news' media there are owned by Ukrainian, or, in some cases, by American, oligarchs. (The American ones do it through 'nonprofit' foundations they create, which are co-funded by the American Government. The U.S. oligarch then gets tax-write-offs, plus co-funding by U.S. taxpayers, to save him still more money on his scheme.)
Want something else to read? How about 'Grievous Censorship' By The Guardian: Israel, Gaza And The Termination Of Nafeez Ahmed's Blog
Is Yats a criminal, just stupid, or both?
Heil Nuland!
On October 24 of this year, the Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced that the fall of the Russian ruble exchange rate has a negative impact on the financial situation in Ukraine.
"In fact, today is a 'Black Friday' for the Russian economy and the Russian ruble. Usually, after this, we get a wave of financial instability due to the insolvency of Russia", - said the head of the government then.
Meanwhile he continues to urge Europe to impose new sanctions against Russia.
On December 8, during a joint press conference with Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Belgium Didier Reynders, Yatseniuk said:
"I emphasize once again that Russia is obliged to fulfill the Minsk agreement. And if Russia will continue to pursue an aggressive policy against Ukraine and against the whole world, it must continue to pay the price. Including to pay the price for new sanctions, and to pay the price for our unity - of EU countries, Ukraine and the United States."
That the Russian ruble is falling because of sanctions and oil prices, only the lazy experts and journalists failed to claim. This is, for example, what Reuters wrote in September of this year:
"The ruble began trading Thursday with minor losses in anticipation of development of a situation around the adoption of the new Western sanctions and against the background of global and local demand for the US dollar, as well as conditions of cheap oil".
It was also stated by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev just a few days ago:
"Obviously, the rouble rate is affected by a number of factors. First of all, of course, oil prices," - said Medvedev in an interview to a Federal TV channel, adding that if oil prices fell by almost two times, the rouble was bound to weaken.
The second factor Medvedev called the sanctions imposed against Russia.
"Such sanctions still create certain expectations, as financiers like to say, and these expectations affect the moods of companies, and ordinary citizens, and therefore this way or another it affects the situation with the rouble,"- he explained.
Thus, everyone sees the connection between the price of oil, sanctions and a fall of the rouble. Except Arseniy Petrovych. Because on Tuesday, December 16, Prime Minister of Ukraine managed to make absolutely contradictory statements.
First, he tells reporters that the exchange rate in Russia creates problems for Ukraine.
"The fact that there is a financial disaster in Russia today, when the Euro reached 100 rubles, will also have an objective impact on the Ukrainian economy.... Russia is creating economic problems for us, as always," - said the Prime Minister.
And then he makes a truly brilliant statement at a conference in Brussels:
"Further sanctions? But they are already working. Look at the price of oil. If it will be $38 (per barrel) - it will be better. This is also for the benefit of the Ukrainian and European economy, if we pay less for gas and oil," - said Ukrainian Prime Minister.
Either Arseniy Petrovych is hopelessly stupid and doesn't understand how sanctions and the fall of oil prices (which he is so happy about) affect the rouble exchange rate, and therefore - the Ukrainian economy (according to his own words).
Or he understands everything and intentionally wants to destroy the economy of Ukraine, when urging the West to impose new sanctions against Russia.
Want something else to read? How about 'Grievous Censorship' By The Guardian: Israel, Gaza And The Termination Of Nafeez Ahmed's Blog
Chronicles of the collapse: News from Kiev and Ukraine
© Reuters / Antti Aimo-Koivisto
Barricades in central Kiev, January 25, 2014
News from Kiev and Ukraine (Nov 27 - Dec 16)
Kiev of course has not collapsed yet, and it may somehow make it through it's recent troubles relatively unscathed. But from what I'm seeing, this outcome seems less and less likely as time goes by. Still, it's hard to wish this kind of trouble on most people. But sadly, a small, hard core group of idiots can force a whole nation to sink under the waves into the Ocean of Oblivion.
Ukraine is a country that doesn't have much of a reason to exist. Its whole is defined as anti-Russia. Beyond that, they've rarely had a country; never been much of anything; never aspired to be something. Their only aspiration is to not be Russia. They're the anti-Russia. Just like matter and anti-matter cannot coexist; Russia and anti-Russia cannot coexist.
Skilled Professionals Are Leaving Ukraine.
Well, should we really be surprised? Exactly what do they have to look forward to by remaining in Ukraine? A sinking economy? Deteriorating infrastructure? Continuing dysfunctional government? A nice 2 meter deep hole with one's name on it? A Jekyll and Hyde educational system that metastasizes every couple of years depending who is in charge? A government run by Nazis? You can have all of this and a whole lot more if you remain in Ukraine; but if this isn't exactly your cup of tea, you're a whole lot better off somewhere else. And the exodus has begun.
The Antonov aircraft plant ceases production.
Well, it's certainly not the first, nor will it be the last industrial operation to shut down. But it's certainly one of the largest industrial operations in all of Kiev. And now it's no more, at least temporarily. Because it seems the Boeing Corporation may be interested in taking over this plant. But trying to take over of vibrant operation with a lot of orders is a lot more expensive than taking over a factory that is idle. But from the USA's point of view, this is what the whole Ukrainian revolution was for. Ruin the economy, force formally vibrant companies to shut down operations, and let foreign corporations buy the whole operation for kopeks. And by buying into a depressed economy such as Ukraine, you can pocess a workforce that costs 50% less than a it would have cost two years ago.
Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has an accident.
Boy, that sounds so innocuous, doesn't it? Just like Little Bobby had an accident. (Except it's a whole lot more serious).
Luckily, it's not something very serious; certainly nothing close to the scale of a Chernobyl. Yet the authorities here are playing with fire. They are trying to use nuclear fuel sourced from the USA in Soviet era nuclear reactors. There have been numerous warnings stating that this could cause a disaster, but when the choices are using compatible and well tested products from Russia, or using untested products from the USA, the chance to thumb your nose at Russia was just too big for some of the idiots in charge around here to pass up. But don't blame the current government for this one. This decision goes back to 2005, when the "Orange Revolution" government was in charge. So then, as now, go for the highly modified and untested products from the USA, screw Russia, and hope for the best.
Kiev faces power outages.
According to Kiev energy, lack of sufficient coal to power power plants is leading to some short-term problems. Kiev energy assures us that outages will only affect industrial operations and will last for no longer than two hours at a time. Surprise Surprise! They were wrong. There already are reports of numerous residential outages, often for 3 to 4 hours at a time, and often 2-3 times a day. Now that may have something to do with the nuclear power plant incident mentioned above, yet that has been no update of the original announcement. And the outages are still continuing.
Kiev schools to shut down for an additional week for winter break.
Well, no surprise here. The one week fall break magically turned into two weeks, and now the two week winter break magically morphs into three weeks. And this will apparently save Kiev 1/3 of $1 million. By the middle of January, children will have already missed two weeks of regularly scheduled school time. But don't fret! Rest assured that they will just accelerate the curriculum to make up for lost time. Of course, your children don't learn all that much during the regular paced curriculum. But students are sure to be motivated to learn a lot more when the pace picks up. And all this will be done by teachers who have historically been poorly paid and is now being paid even more poorly under the auspices of the new government.
Ukraine gets its own "Ministry of Truth."
Yes, it's 1984. And Ukraine has a new ministry. Officially, it's known as the "Ministry Of Information Policy." But journalists here and elsewhere are already referring to it as the "Ministry of Truth." The term "Ministry of Truth" comes from George Orwell's novel 1984, where the Ministry of Truth had absolutely nothing to do with the truth. It was strictly the propaganda arm of the government. So it was in the novel; so it is in Ukraine today. Journalists are up in arms about this new ministry, but really, they have no reason to complain. This is just the formalization of what's been happening ever since the junta came to power. I guess propaganda is just fine up to that point where the government gets to give its approval or disapproval. It makes you look less independent.
Luxuries, like meat and medicines, are being priced out of the range of normal citizens.
Well, what can you say about this one? I guess one might consider meat as a luxury that you can cut back on. But medicines? While that certainly seems to be more of a necessity than a luxury, if you can't afford them, or if it just not available, what choice do you have? I wrote a while back that not only on medicines more readily available in Moscow, they can often be purchased for 50% less. With the continuing devaluation of the local currency, these medicines will only become more costly and more difficult to find.
Propaganda trucks on the prowl.
It's getting more than just a little bit annoying by now, but three, four, five times a day, propaganda trucks go driving by with big PA speakers on the roof, informing everybody of what they should be outraged about today. But who has time for outrage when survival is on the line. I did see the local propaganda truck parked at a nearby police station a couple of days ago, and the propaganda stopped. But the trucks are back with your daily dose of propagandist thought.
Kiev cheers the demise of "South Stream."
Well, clueless is as clueless does I guess. Someone here in Kiev seems to believe that the demise of South Stream is good for Ukraine. And somehow this is a recognition by Putin that Ukraine is a reliable partner when it comes to gas deliveries. Poor, poor Ukraine. They just don't get it do they? One way or another, Russia will make Ukraine irrelevant when it comes to gas deliveries to Europe.
For only 200 hryvnias (about $13), you can help the Ukraine create a siege of Moscow.
How delusional can you get? A local aspiring "entrepreneur," or whatever he wants to call himself, recently had to give his up his hopes of a military invasion of Moscow because nowhere near 25 million Ukrainians decided to pitch in the money. There's been no word on exactly how many did donate, or what will be done with any funds that have been donated.
Ukraine still has high hopes for liquid natural gas.
One of the earlier schemes of the Kiev junta and the US State Department involved shipping liquid natural gas from the USA to a new port to be built in Odessa, Ukraine. But it seems no one consulted with the Turks about this. The only way to get such ships into the Black Sea is through the Bosporus, and Turkey does not permit these types of ships to pass. Oh well, I guess there's always room for another color revolution. In Turkey. But it seems Ukraine's plans for this port are still going ahead, undeterred.
Ukrainians are starting to refuse to pay utility bills.
As if the end of November, utility debt in Ukraine already totals 11.8 billion hrynias. Translated to dollars, this is about $800 million! While some of this is likely due to some people not being able to afford to pay, some of it is definitely a boycott of the current costs, plus another 50% increase that is supposed to go into effect on January 1. And this indebtedness is only likely to grow more quickly in the upcoming months. But this is nothing new here. During the days of Kravchuk and Kuchma (Ukraine's first two presidents), a good number of people did not pay their bills for three years or more. It looks like the good old days of post-Soviet collapse have returned.
I expect to have more about this shortly.
The EU. A day late, a ton of Euros short.
Some in the EU are now claiming "it's only a minor misunderstanding. South Stream is just a matter of not being compliant with legislative action." Looks like Russia was tired of being jerked around by the EU and found more willing partner to deal with.
Churches continue to go up in flames.
Astute readers are already well aware that numerous Orthodox churches in the East of Ukraine have been deliberately bombed by the Ukrainian Army. But there are other fascists at work too. A church near the Babi Yar memorial complex was deliberately firebombed on December 2nd. For those who are not familiar with the history of Babi Yar, it's only the site of the largest two-day Nazi massacre of World War II.
Not surprisingly, petty crime is on the rise.
A friend of my wife's father recently reported that he had a tire slashed on his recently purchased vehicles. The scam goes like this. The perpetrators look for either older men or women of any age driving in high priced vehicles. The driver stops, goes into a store, and then when you come out you find a tire slashed. Older men and women of any age will most likely need help to replace the tire. The perpetrator and a couple of buddies offer their help. While the owner and the perpetrators change the tire, another buddy grabs whatever he can from the car while your attention is distracted. So, why men? Here men often carry valuables in a small handbag and not in their pockets.
The American carpetbagger in the finance ministry gets to work.
Well, that didn't take long did it? Here is some of the shock and awe in store for the citizens of Ukraine. No more free education and health care for you. Compulsory education is reduced from 11 years to nine years. Most students and teachers will lose access to free transportation. Most students will lose access to stipends and for the few that continue to get that, they will not be adjusted for inflation. Teachers with additional titles and degrees will no longer get extra pay for that. And many experienced teachers will see their pay drop to the level of a new graduate. Retirement age will be increased by 10 years for women and by five years for men. Those who worked during Soviet times may see an additional pension decrease because they were "working for the occupier country" during Soviet times.
On the taxation side, you'll be asks to prove the source of your income for any purchase over approximately $800. And if the value of the hrynia continue to decrease, that $800 valuation will be even less. If you can't prove the origin of your income, it will automatically be assumed to be undeclared income and you will pay an additional 30% for that purchase. Saving diligently or having relatives outside the country sending you funds will not be sufficient reasons to avoid the tax.
This is of course is just scratching the surface of life in the new Ukraine.
A Personal Thought.
I've thought back a couple of times to those days when I was younger, and this song has popped into my head on a few occasions. It's a song from 1981 called "Part of a New America" by the Groceries. I remember then having the feeling that things were going to change for America, and definitely not for the better. I sometimes find myself singing this song, but with new words...
"I'm part of the New U-krai-ni-a." Definitely changing, and not for the better.
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That's the news from the past two weeks. Further dispatches will hopefully be on a weekly or biweekly basis. Until then, hope for the best, but expect the worst. Signing off from Kiev for now.
Want something else to read? How about 'Grievous Censorship' By The Guardian: Israel, Gaza And The Termination Of Nafeez Ahmed's Blog
The forgotten Christmas truce of 1914 - Psychopaths versus the rest of us
It was exactly 100 years ago this month when the Christmas Truce of 1914 occurred, when Christian soldiers on both sides of the infamous No Man's Land of the Western Front, recognized their common humanity, dropped their guns and fraternized with the so-called enemies that they had been ordered to kill without mercy the day before. As mentioned in last week's column, the truth of that remarkable event has since been effectively covered up by state and military authorities (and the embedded journalists at the time) because they were angered (and embarrassed) by the breakdown of military discipline.
In the annals of war, such "mutinies" are now unheard of. The generals and (as well as the saber-rattling, chest-thumping politicians and war profiteers back home) rapidly developed strategies to prevent such behavior from happening again.
Christmas Eve of 1914 was only 5 months into World War I, and the cold, weary, homesick soldiers found themselves not heroes, as expected, but rather miserable, frightened and disillusioned wretches living in rat- and louse-infested trenches. Most of them had dreamed heroic dreams when they had signed up to kill and die for King and Country a few months earlier, and hey had been fully expecting to be home for the holidays.
Lower echelon officers on both sides of No Man's Land, who were suffering right along with the troops, allowed a lull in the war - just for Christmas Eve. Then they allowed the troops to sing Christmas hymns, and many of the not-yet hardened soldiers started to recognize the humanity of the demonized "other" that had been fingered as sub-humans deserving of death.
And so the merciful spirit of the season came upon them; and they disobeyed orders that forbade fraternizing with the enemy by laying down their weapons and mingling with them in the area between the trenches.
Unknown to the higher echelon commanding officers - who were enjoying good food and drink in their warm bunkers out of the range of the artillery barrages and machine gun bursts - the grunts on either side of the battle line suddenly sensed the stupidity of killing someone that was just like them and who had never done them any harm.
Many of the men that experienced the moment knew that something deeply profound had happened: a spiritual experience of mutual respect and love that epitomized their mutual Christian upbringing - and they refused to fight and kill when the war was ordered to re-start.
Some soldiers were punished for their disobedience and many of them had to be replaced with fresh troops that had been in the reserve trenches the day before (corporal Adolf Hitler was among the ones who did not experience the front line fraternization.)
The Christmas Truce of 1914 had come close to ending the futile and ultimately suicidal war that destroyed 4 empires and an entire generation of young men that had been bamboozled into joining up.
The truce had occurred at various places up and down the triple parallel lines of trenches that stretched through France for 600 miles from Belgium to Switzerland. The vast majority of the soldier that experienced the unauthorized truce did not survive the war. Many of them had just experienced a bloody battle that had killed tens of thousands of troops on either side, with essentially no territory being gained by either side, and they now knew that they were in for a long war of attrition. They would not be home for Christmas.
The Prelude to "The War to End All Wars
World War I was referred to in the pre-WWII history books as "The Great War" or, naively and rather laughably, "The War to End all Wars". In the centuries before, warfare as a means of settling disputes between nations was often regarded as a noble undertaking that only involved professional soldiers. Wars in those days were just larger examples of the common (and equally barbaric) practice of engaging in "honorable" duels (sometimes to the death) when a rival disrespected another with something as simple as an offhand insult.
European military officers came from the landed aristocracy. The careers of the officer class were so familial that they almost seemed hereditary. Part of the attraction of being a military officer in Europe was the unquestioning respect that military officers demanded, not to mention the impressive uniforms and the medals and ribbons that were worn on them.
Military veterans in Europe were universally honored as heroes, whether dead or alive, no matter if they had participated in war crimes or acts of torture, rape, murder or pillage. Military shrines, statues, cemeteries and holidays for "the fallen" are regarded as normal all over the continent. The military service of European veterans seems to have been regarded as worthy of praise - no questions asked - even if the veteran himself felt unworthy.
What most prospective enlistees or conscripts knew about war was what their fathers and the uber-patriotic war literature had selectively told them and what they had learned from the censored, palatable version of war that they read about in their school history books.
Most of the enlistees were looking forward to escaping the boredom of their day-to-day existence and experiencing up close the exhilaration of playing real war games. These unaware, wet behind the ears young men hadn't been told about the dehumanizing verbal and physical abuse that was to be meted out by their drill sergeants in basic training or the beatings they would suffer later for disobedience or disrespect.
Unbeknownst to the naive grunts on the front line, the ruling elites had ulterior motives. (The kings, queens, emperors, princes, nobles, kibitzers, veterans, the bankers that financed the wars, the weapons makers and assorted other captains of industry all felt that they would somehow profit from the war.) These war profiteers, too old or influential to go to war themselves, knew how much money could be made in wars, and, in addition, they had the assurance that they would be far from the killing fields.
French and British schoolchildren had been indoctrinated for generations in the belief that the German emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm, was evil incarnate and therefore, if war were to come, the German soldier who took orders from him was deserving of death. German schoolchildren were taught the same about the French and the English rulers and killing soldiers. And each of the leaders, sensing that their honor was at stake, seemed to be spoiling for a fight.
The Powder Keg: Alsace-Lorraine
Most of the civilians living in Europe had very few direct memories of war. The horrors of war had been erased from their memories but, to the professional warrior class, war was a game that could advance their careers and pay grade. Times were relatively good for many Europeans, but the military class was more than willing to get into a good war.
Peace in Europe had actually existed since Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo a century earlier, with the exception of the relatively short Franco-Prussian War of 1870. The 1871 Treaty of Frankfurt that ended that war (with France surrendering to the Germans) transferred the disputed territory of French-occupied Alsace-Lorraine back to Germany. Alsace-Lorraine was a rich industrial region located between France and Germany that had alternately been claimed over the centuries by either Germany or France - depending on which nation had lost the last war.
Before WWI erupted, Alsace-Lorraine was a powder keg ready to be ignited. The two historical enemies "knew" that Alsace-Lorraine was rightfully theirs, and they were willing to kill for it or die trying - not to mention earning the right to spell its largest city either Strassburg or Strasbourg.
Authoritarian, Militarized Europe
Most European governments were not democracies. They were authoritarian, paternalistic and anti-democratic, and there were enormous and often widening gaps between the haves (the 1%) and the have-nots of the lower 99%. Attempts at instituting socialism or representative democracy had been brutally put down by the conservative ruling elite's obedient police and security forces.
Cruelty in child-rearing (and basic training) was the norm in Europe, which contributed heavily to the generational obedience to authority figures, whether parents, school teachers, clergypersons, drill sergeants, generals, corporations or political leaders. Most Europeans therefore accepted the rule of the hereditary kings, emperors, princes, nobles and military generals. And, as is also true of non-democratic institutions, everybody was expected to be obedient to those above them in the chain of command and to demand obedience from those below. Unconditional obedience to authority makes it easy to develop efficient killing soldiers for war departments and dictators.
The Divine Right of Kings
For centuries, most European leaders felt that it was their divine right to colonize other nations and enslave the inhabitants - by any means necessary - especially if those inhabitants were of another color or religion.. Any territory that had valuable natural resources to steal or workers to exploit, no matter where in the world it was, was considered a legitimate target especially if it was militarily weaker than the invader and as long as the citizens of their home nation were uninformed, self-satisfied, arrogant, uber-patriotic, distracted and/or apathetic.
The method of choice for the subjugation of a people targeted for colonization - a la Christopher Columbus - was always the use of overwhelming military force followed by years of brutal occupation and the afore-mentioned systematic looting of natural resources or labor. Killing, torturing, intimidating, imprisoning, silencing, exiling or otherwise "disappearing" the ethical opposition is the norm for empires. The intellectuals, altruists, prophets, poets, artists, singers, songwriters, investigative journalists and other truth-tellers or resistance movement activists had to be silenced.
In the century prior to 1914, all European empires had standing armies and military bases both at home and abroad. Nations often negotiate treaties with potential allies that promise that, if one nation was attacked by another treaty-signatory, each would come to the other's aid. This reality resulted in a very complex web of treaties that was instrumental in starting World War I.
Living by the Sword / Dying by the Sword
The totally avoidable military madness of WWI resulted in the destruction of four empires and the deaths of upwards of 20 million people, most of whom were young naive patriotic men who had, in retrospect, stupidly welcomed the chance to prove their manhood by engaging in what they thought would be exciting war games. All sides had somehow trusted the ridiculous assertion that everybody would be home by Christmas - welcomed home as conquering heroes! That myth was propagated by the press and foolishly believed by those of military age.
When Archduke Ferdinand, the heir-apparent to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire, was assassinated in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, the century of relative European peace rapidly unraveled in a series of errors of judgment, bureaucratic snafus, failures of communication and refusals to risk dishonor by "turning the other cheek" or even negotiating in good faith. Within days of the assassination, the saber-rattling heads of European states began mobilizing for war.
Within a month the dominos fell, with each nation honorably living up to their treaty obligations by declaring war on one another. And on August 4, 1914, World War I began in earnest when Austria tipped over the first domino by shelling innocent civilian populations in little Serbia, an action that prompted the declarations of war by Russia, Germany, Britain and France.
The chest-pounding of the deluded, arrogant, out-of-touch leadership on all sides resulted in a war fever that had unstoppable momentum. Their indoctrinated testosterone-laden rookie soldiers soon found themselves, as always, to be the elite's dutiful trigger-pullers; and an entire generation of young men was wasted in the trenches of the Western Front, either killed or wounded.
Most of those that survived bodily were rendered insane, criminally psychopathic or otherwise psychologically and/or spiritually disabled for the rest of their lives. No one, especially the glory- and power-seeking militarists at the top, had foreseen the coming holocaust or the intolerable stalemates in a new kind of warfare that relied on shovels, machine guns, artillery and poison gas. Heroic cavalry charges with swords drawn were suddenly obsolete. Everyone, especially the out-of-touch generals and the clergymen who were supposed to be in charge of the nation's souls, had been blinded by the propaganda lie that war was something other than satanic.
As tantalizing as is the story of the Christmas Truce, it is also a reminder of what could have happened if there had been less obedience to authority and more organized opposition to senseless war in the families, schools and churches.
If the well-meaning Christian boys from England, France, Germany, Russia, Austria, et al (who wound up helplessly suffering in that demonic war) had been, in their childhoods, thoroughly exposed to the ethical teachings of their Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, they might have had the capacity to refuse the invitation to kill their co-religionists on the other side of the battle lines. In fact, if they had really absorbed the message of their all-merciful God, they wouldn't have been able to slaughter anybody at all.
That futile and suicidal war could have ended before it really got up a head of steam if the righteous mutiny had been more widespread, better organized and well-supported by the chaplains at the front and the heavily propagandized, flag-waving civilians back home.
Tragically, the anti-Christic propaganda machine prevailed, thanks in part to the censorship of the obedient press (that still persists today) by refusing to do good investigative journalism by sanitizing the horrors of war.
What turned out to be a mutual mass slaughter of a degree never before seen in the history of warfare could have ended 100 years ago this Christmas if every soldier had experienced the peace that was present in the trenches and courageously laid down their weapons forever.
One of the lessons of the Christmas Truce story is summarized in the concluding verse of John McCutcheon's famous song about the event, "Christmas in the Trenches":
That the ones who call the shots won't be among the dead and lame
And on each end of the rifle we're the same."
Check out the video of McCutcheon singing his song at: http://ift.tt/1bO6hT1 and, for a good pictorial history of the reality of WWI's trench warfare, check out: http://ift.tt/1GuT2ra
The official trailer of "Joyeux Noel" is available at: http://ift.tt/1GuT02w
Dr Kohls is a retired family physician from Duluth, Minnesota who practiced holistic (non-drug) mental health care for the last decade of his career. He often dealt with the horrific psychological consequences of veterans (and civilians) who had suffered psychological, neurological and/or spiritual trauma. He continues to be involved in peace, nonviolence and justice issues and often writes about mental ill health, toxic food issues, corporate pollution, the corporate-controlled media, corporate-controlled politics, crony capitalism, militarism, racism, fascism, imperialism, totalitarianism, economic oppression, anti-environmentalism and other violent, unsustainable, anti-democratic movements.
Want something else to read? How about 'Grievous Censorship' By The Guardian: Israel, Gaza And The Termination Of Nafeez Ahmed's Blog
Boko Haram group attacks a village in Nigeria killing 32 and kidnapping scores of others
© AFP / Pius Utomi Ekpei
Boko Haram
The Boko Haram terrorist group has killed as many as 32 people and kidnapped scores of others in the restive northeastern part of Nigeria.
Officials and witnesses from the village of Gumsuri said on Thursday that the number of the abductees, which include women and children, could exceed 100.
"After killing our youths, the insurgents have taken away our wives and daughters," said Mukhtar Buba, who fled Gumsuri to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State.
Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for many deadly gun and bomb attacks in various parts of Nigeria since the beginning of its militancy in 2009. Over 10,000 people have so far been killed in the assaults.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, nearly 650,000 Nigerians have fled their homes due to Boko Haram's attacks and are displaced inside the country, while thousands more have taken refuge in neighboring countries.
Boko Haram -- whose name means "Western education is forbidden" -- says its goal is to overthrow the Nigerian government.
Want something else to read? How about 'Grievous Censorship' By The Guardian: Israel, Gaza And The Termination Of Nafeez Ahmed's Blog
'Sydney Siege' aftermath: Australian government is investigating new 'security laws'
© Unknown
Serving no purpose besides giving the West increased justification for
executing total war against Syria and then Iran as it has desperately sought for
years, the latest "terror attack" in Australia unfolds amid a community with
infiltrated mosques filled with eager supporters of America's proxy war on Damascus.
Right on schedule, following a high profile terrorist attack, the government of Australia is now "investigating new security laws" and other methods that can be used to gut the civil liberties, privacy, and general way of life of Australian citizens. Only a day after the Sydney Siege, Australian "lawmakers," intelligence agencies, legal branches, and other government officials sprung into action in order to discuss the possibility of passing yet another law allowing the collection and housing of telecommunication and Internet data of Australian citizens.
On December 16, the Australian Parliament was hearing testimony by Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin who "warned of 'grave implications' for terrorism investigations if telecommunications companies are not forced to keep phone and internet data."
"I could not understate enough that it would have grave implications for law enforcement's ability in this country to investigate, deter and disrupt potential terrorist acts," Colvin said. He also claimed that, as new Telecom Companies entered the market, there was less data being collected and what data was being collected is being held for shorter periods.
The inquiry comes as part of the Joint Intelligence and Security Committee's "debate" over a third round of oppressive laws regarding phone and computer data collection and retention.
Of course, since the inquiries conveniently have come on the heels of the Sydney Siege, lawmakers are now asking whether or not these measures could serve to prevent "lone wolf" attacks as well as coordinated acts of terrorism. A separate inquiry is being requested to determine if these laws could prevent events like the Sydney Siege which appears to be something vastly different from a lone wolf attack and instead more like a state-sponsored event.
The committee is also "set to examine the next package of proposed counterterrorism laws" in the very near future.
Some major players on the committee were anything but critics of the greater implementation of a police and surveillance state such as "Australia's Top Spy," ASIO Director General Duncan Lewis, the Australian Crime Commission, and the Attorney General's office.
After the passage of the first and second round of surveillance and anti-terrorism bills in Australia, the occurrence of the Sydney Siege will conveniently serve to eliminate much of the opposition to that legislation already passed as well as those bills currently being debated.
The first round of anti-terrorism legislation passed in Australia this year, the National Security Legislation Amendment (Bill No.1) 2014, passed with bi-partisan support. As Ben Grubb of the Sydney Morning Herald wrote in September 2014, the NSLA gave the Australian government even more extraordinary powers. He stated,
Australian spies will soon have the power to monitor the entire Australian internet with just one warrant, and journalists and whistleblowers will face up to 10 years' jail for disclosing classified information.
The government's first tranche of tougher anti-terrorism bills, which will beef up the powers of the domestic spy agency ASIO, passed the Senate by 44 votes to 12 on Thursday night with bipartisan support from Labor. [...]
Anyone - including journalists, whistleblowers and bloggers - who "recklessly" discloses "information ... [that] relates to a special intelligence operation" faces up to 10 years' jail .
Any operation can be declared "special" by an authorised ASIO officer. [...]
This also gives ASIO immunity for criminal and civil liability in certain circumstances. Many, including lawyers and academics, have said they fear the agency will abuse this power.
Those who identify ASIO agents could also face a decade in prison under the new bill, a tenfold increase on the existing maximum penalty.
The new bill also allows ASIO to seek just one warrant to access a limitless number of computers on a computer network when attempting to monitor a target, which lawyers, rights groups, academics and Australian media organisations have condemned.
They said this would effectively allow the entire internet to be monitored, as it is a "network of networks" and the bill does not specifically define what a computer network is.
ASIO will also be able to copy, delete, or modify the data held on any of the computers it has a warrant to monitor.
The bill also allows ASIO to disrupt target computers, and use innocent third-party computers not targeted in order to access a target computer.
That bill passed as did the second bill (aka the Foreign Fighters Bill) which was submitted shortly after the passage of the first. The second bill, according to the bill's own language, allowed for,
- create new offences for 'advocating terrorism' and for entering or remaining in a 'declared zone';
- broaden the criteria and streamline the process for the listing of terrorist organisations;
- extend instances in which a control order may be sought; extend the sunsetting provisions of the preventative detention order and control order regimes; and include a sunset clause for the 'declared zone' offence;
- provide certain law enforcement agencies with additional tools needed to investigate, arrest and prosecute those supporting foreign conflicts;
Now, as the third round of anti-terrorism laws are being "debated," (i.e. promoted), the Sydney Siege conveniently takes place putting the event firmly in the category as those across the world that preceded such as the OKC bombing, 9/11, the Underwear Bomber, 7/7, and other "terrorist attacks" that were conveniently timed to take place either shortly before bills designed to shred civil liberties were being discussed or were to serve as the stated cause of their writing. In truth, in virtually every case, such legislation was already written long beforehand.
Of course, the new surveillance laws would have done absolutely nothing to stop Monis' rampage. After all, Monis was on the radar of the police long before he engaged in the Sydney Siege. As David Marr writes for The ,
This will be used to justify so much: controversial security laws the Abbott government has already passed, the metadata retention law waiting in the wings and heaven knows what other laws may now be dreamed up in the aftermath of the shocking deaths in the Lindt cafe.
Dealing with Man Haron Monis never needed fancy new security laws. He has been on the radar of police - and probably Asio - since at least October 2009 when he turned up at a police station in Sydney's western suburbs trying to report a bogus terrorist attack. He was charged, instead, with writing menacing letters to the families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
From that point until yesterday's terrible events, police and Asio had all the authority they needed to keep track of a man who revealed himself over the years to be really nasty and really crazy.
Old laws allowed police to bug his phones, intercept his emails and place him under surveillance. They didn't even need a warrant to access his metadata and track down everywhere Monis had been and everyone he was talking to year after year.
They didn't need fresh laws threatening journalists with 10 years' jail for revealing Asio's newfangled "special" operations. Look at the superb cooperation the press displayed during the siege: forgoing scoop after scoop to follow the police strategy of denying Monis the oxygen of publicity.
In the months ahead, with due acknowledgement for the skill they showed in the siege, a failure of policing will have to be faced. Despite having all the powers they needed at their disposal, and despite Monis's erratic behaviour over so many years, the Australian federal police, the NSW police and Asio weren't able to prevent him putting into effect his crazy plan.
Of course, it is likely that the police or ASIO did not stop Monis because ASIO and other related intelligence organizations wanted Monis to do exactly what he did. Please see my article "5 Reason To Question The Official Story of the 'Sydney Siege'" and Tony Cartalucci's article "The 'Shape-Shifting' Sheik and the 'Sydney Siege'" for further discussion on this issue in particular.
Whatever the true nature of Monis may be - legitimate mental patient, patsy, or tool of Western intelligence agencies - there is clearly much more to the story than what the mainstream press is printing and promoting.
Regardless, the only thing that we can know with absolute certainty is that the Sydney Siege will be used as propaganda to the utmost effect by all Western and NATO governments in the push for further war. It will also be used to justify an even greater police state at home in Australia.
Want something else to read? How about 'Grievous Censorship' By The Guardian: Israel, Gaza And The Termination Of Nafeez Ahmed's Blog
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