Situation in Ukraine Became Even Worse After Maidan – Ukrainian Businessman / Sputnik International

A businessman from Ukraine, who recently left the country, told the German magazine “Der Tagesspiegel” that after the events on Maidan Square the situation has significantly deteriorated.

The situation in the country became much worse after Maidan events, a Ukrainian businessman who recently left the country told the German magazine “Der Tagesspiegel.”

The man, called “Vadim” by the magazine, said that corruption and bribery became even more widespread than before, with bandits demanding higher "protection fees," which were a usual practice in the Ukrainian business sector in previous years.
For a short period of time, the situation changed in a positive way and they were “in the seventh heaven,” Vadim said. But then the bandits again came to power, and "the new mafia," working in conjunction with the corrupt police, became even stronger.

Complete story at - Situation in Ukraine Became Even Worse After Maidan – Ukrainian Businessman / Sputnik International

Islamic State is the cancer of modern capitalism | Middle East Eye

Debate about the origins of the Islamic State (IS) has largely oscillated between two extreme perspectives. One blames the West. IS is nothing more than a predictable reaction to the occupation of Iraq, yet another result of Western foreign policy blowback. The other attributes IS’s emergence purely to the historic or cultural barbarism of the Muslim world, whose backward medieval beliefs and values are a natural incubator for such violent extremism.

The biggest elephant in the room as this banal debate drones on is material infrastructure. Anyone can have bad, horrific, disgusting ideas. But they can only be fantasies unless we find a way to manifest them materially in the world around us.

So to understand how the ideology that animates IS has managed to garner the material resources to conquer an area bigger than the United Kingdom, we need to inspect its material context more closely.

Follow the money

The foundations for al-Qaeda’s ideology were born in the 1970s. Abdullah Azzam, Osama bin Laden‘s Palestinian mentor, formulated a new theory justifying continuous, low-intensity war by dispersed mujahideen cells for a pan-Islamist state. Azzam’s violent Islamist doctrines were popularised in the context of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

As is well-known, the Afghan mujahideen networks were trained and financed under the supervision of the CIA, MI6 and the Pentagon. The Gulf states provided huge sums of money, while Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) liaised on the ground with the militant networks being coordinated by Azzam, bin Laden, and others.

The Reagan administration, for instance, provided $2 billion to the Afghan mujahideen, which was matched by another $2 billion from Saudi Arabia.

Complete story at - Islamic State is the cancer of modern capitalism | Middle East Eye

6 things you never knew the U.S. did to Iran -- Puppet Masters -- Sott.net

It's hard for some Americans to understand why the Obama administration is so determined to come to an agreement with Iran on its nuclear capability, given that huge Iranian rallies are constantly chanting "Death to America!" I know the chanting makes me unhappy, since I'm part of America, and I strongly oppose me dying.

But if you know our actual history with Iran, you can kind of see where they're coming from. They have understandable reasons to be angry at and frightened of us — things we've done that if, say, Norway had done them to us, would have us out in the streets shouting "Death to Norway!" Unfortunately, not only have the U.S. and our allies done horrendous things to Iran, we're not even polite enough to remember it.

Reminding ourselves of this history does not mean endorsing an Iran with nuclear-tipped ICBMs. It does mean realizing how absurd it sounds when critics of the proposed agreement say it suddenly makes the U.S. the weaker party or that we're getting a bad deal because Iran, as Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham put it, does not fear Obama enough. It's exactly the opposite: This is the best agreement the U.S. could get because for the first time in 35 years, U.S.-Iranian relations aren't being driven purely by fear.


Comment: "Iran with nuclear-tipped ICBMs"? Give us a break! Iran has no nuclear weapons program, and has no intention of having one. Rather, this latest farce has simply been another in the list of Western (and primarily Israeli) affronts and insults against a sovereign Iran. See: The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran... in Syria

1. The founder of Reuters purchased Iran in 1872

2. The BBC lent a hand to the CIA's 1953 overthrow of Iran's Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh

3. We had extensive plans to use nuclear weapons in Iran

4. U.S. leaders have repeatedly threatened to outright destroy Iran

5. We shot down a civilian Iranian airliner — killing 290 people, including 66 children

6. We worry about Iranian nukes because they would deter our own military strikes

Complete story at - 6 things you never knew the U.S. did to Iran -- Puppet Masters -- Sott.net

Life behind the blockade in the Donetsk People’s Republic | openDemocracy

The closure of the border between Ukraine and the Donetsk People’s Republic has divided communities, leaving people short of food and medicines.

In January, after spending months trying to secure Donetsk’s airport, the Ukrainian authorities closed off all roads into the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). Now residents of the towns and villages along the front line are totally cut off from one another. You can visit ‘the other side’, but you need a special permit, which takes both time and money to acquire.

Ukrainian law now forbids the entry of any goods into the DPR, but small consignments are getting through, thanks to the unofficial ‘duty’ paid to the Ukrainian troops.

The bureaucratic nightmare

Ukrainians wanting to visit the DPR need to go to the small village of Novosilka, which, in the two months since the beginning of the blockade, has become something of a boomtown. Novosilka is located some distance from all the large towns and cities of the region (90km from Donetsk), and getting a permit takes a whole day. The Ukrainian army checkpoint closes at 6pm, so if you get your pass at 5pm and then have to wait in a queue for half an hour, you risk being turned back and having to find somewhere in the village to spend the night.

There are two queues outside the permit office at Novosilka’s police station. The short one is for journalists (our group still had to wait four hours for our permits to be processed), and the longer one is for ordinary members of the public, who have to wait even longer. Most of the people in this queue live in separatist-held areas, and cross the border to collect their Ukrainian pensions and benefits or hole up with relatives when fighting breaks out. And even if they manage to get their permits on the day they arrive, they might still have an unpleasant surprise at the Ukrainian checkpoint.

I certainly did – the troops, invoking some emergency situation, turned our car back, saying that they were letting no one through that day. We were forced to make a detour to another border crossing, got stuck in a long tailback, and were the last people to get through that day. The people behind us had to find beds in Novosilka or sleep in their cars.

... and how to avoid it

Bureaucracy traditionally generates corruption. The local people resort to various means to speed up the permit process, as do the truckers trying to transport food and medicines into the DPR. People told us in confidence that a bribe of 1,000 Hryvnia (£29) would get you your permit immediately. Getting back is also a problem – you have to exit from the DPR at the same checkpoint as where you entered.

Complete story at - Life behind the blockade in the Donetsk People’s Republic | openDemocracy

Ukrainian Gov't. Condemns Russia's Celebration of Victory Against Nazis Washington's Blog

Eric Zuesse

The Ukrainian Government said on April 7th that any country sending representatives to Russia’s celebration of the 70th anniversary of their victory against Adolf Hitler, will be blacklisted by Ukraine. That celebration will take place on May 9th.

According to the Russian news report, “Over the weekend, Kremlin Chief of Staff Sergei Ivanov noted that the leaders of at least 25 states from across the world will attend Moscow’s celebrations. … The leaders of China, Vietnam, the Czech Republic, Cuba and North Korea have confirmed their attendance. Meanwhile, the leaders of Germany, Britain, Poland, the Baltic States and the United States have confirmed that they won’t be attending.”

The United States and Ukraine were two of only three countries that voted at the United Nations against a recent resolution condemning the resurgence of fascism or racist fascism (nazism), or of Holocaust-denial. The resolution didn’t name or identify any particular country or countries. The U.S. representative to the UN said that she voted against it because Ukraine’s UN representative voted against it. The third nation that voted against it was Canada, which voted against it because the U.S. voted against it. Germany, Britain, Poland, and the Baltic States, abstained from voting on it.

Ukraine’s statement opposing any nation that sends a representative to Russia’s May 9th celebration of the victory against Hitler asserts that Russia is itself a fascist country.

Ukraine will hold its own celebration on May 9th, of victory against Hitler, even though Ukraine had no victory against Hitler and was instead conquered by Hitler’s forces; and, in northwestern Ukraine, welcomed them. After the Nazis moved in, the first leader of Ukraine was Yaroslav Stetsko. He was the second-in-command of Stepan Bandera’s Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. As wikipedia puts it:

Complete story at - Ukrainian Gov't. Condemns Russia's Celebration of Victory Against Nazis Washington's Blog

Why Russia watchers should listen to Glenn Greenwald | openDemocracy

From Minsk to Astana, elites throughout the former Soviet Union are clamping down on dissent as they respond to a host of perceived crises (East Ukraine, Nagorno-Karabakh, Islamic State). And with human rights abuses increasing fast, governments across the region, perhaps now more than ever, are legitimate targets of criticism.

But before charging down this road, Russia watchers in the West might do well to pause, take stock, and (re)engage with the criticism, which has been leveled at Western human rights activists in the past. Doing so would not only help stave off such criticism in the future, it might actually help improve the work they produce today.

The criticism

The criticism traditionally aimed at Western human rights activists can be roughly narrowed down to two main points.

Firstly, they fail to scrutinize their own governments with the same ferocity as they do those of others. If you are going to criticize a foreign government, then you are morally obliged to be just as scrupulous – if not more – with your own. It’s easy, Glenn Greenwald and others are keen to remind us, to point to the faults of foreign states. But this criticism counts for very little – particularly in the countries being criticized – if you conspicuously skirt over the failings of your own.

Secondly, by predominantly highlighting the abuses of non-Western governments and the ‘unacceptable’ norms of non-Western societies, Western human rights activists prop up that pervasive narrative which divides the world up into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ countries and ‘progressive’ and ‘primitive’ governments. A narrative which has long been used in the service of empire to dehumanize and subjugate the ‘other’.

As far as Glenn Greenwald and Noam Chomsky are concerned, Western rights activists should start paying a little closer attention to what’s going on at home as well as abroad. And if it means avoiding such criticism in the future, why wouldn’t they heed this advice?

But there is arguably a second reason why Western Russia watchers should listen to Greenwald – doing so could help improve the work they produce by giving it some much needed context.

Complete story at - Why Russia watchers should listen to Glenn Greenwald | openDemocracy

The Asian Infrastructure Bank - Another Brick in America's Demise.

The AIIB is only one piece to the puzzle. Another is the clearing system set to directly compete with SWIFT. Yet another is the BRICS bank, and let’s not forget the Shanghai physical metals exchange set to go live shortly. Can you see the picture these pieces are putting together? China, Russia and the rest of the world could see what is coming but they have not been ready for it…yet. Each one of these pieces amounts to preparation for what is to come. When I say “preparation”, much of it has been put into place to buffer the East (and rest of the world) from the financial collapse of the West.

The clearing system for instance will allow and aid trade to continue between nations should the Western financial system close because of insolvencies or bankruptcies. Call it contingency planning and they know what the contingencies are. Another way to look at these plans is to see the U.S. becoming isolated. The U.S. has been trying to isolate Russia and cut them off from liquidity and trade, China (and Russia) have been isolating the U.S. little by little with each new deal signed but have not pulled any triggers along the way.

Until now and until these preparations were made, the East could not afford for the West to fall because they would have been taken down with it. Now, the East has alternatives. There are clearing alternatives, financial ones, new trade deals and routes, and of course even currency alternatives being made ready. The U.S. has relied on the dollar being THE only alternative for the world to clear trade, this monopoly is ending. What I am trying to explain is this, there are now very few preparations left unattended.

When the U.S. originally began pushing economic and financial sanctions on Russia, I immediately was confused. I was confused because in my mind, Russia had the ability to destroy the U.S.. They had all sorts of options, they could sell their Treasury securities and dollars and simply blow up either the gold or silver markets. They could have defaulted on their debts or gone hot in Syria, there were many possibilities but none ever pursued. Don’t get me wrong, Russia would have suffered greatly, but, the U.S. has been wobbly enough for a direct effort to have tipped the scales. Again, because they were not ready, no trigger was ever pulled and I believe we have been “carried” like an aging prize fighter, “they” being the Russians and the Chinese.

One last preparation has been longer term, the accumulation of gold. You must ask yourself “why” Russia and China have been accumulating so much gold? The answer is twofold, they understand gold to be money but more importantly they know “where” their purchases were coming from. This preparation involved not only amassing “money” but also bleeding the West of their money (gold).

Complete story at - The Asian Infrastructure Bank - Another Brick in America's Demise.

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra Silences Valentina Lisitsa’s Music | SLAVYANGRAD.org

Valentina Lisitsa is a brilliant musician, a famous virtuoso pianist, also known for publicly expressing her opinion on the Ukrainian conflict through her Twitter account. She is a good friend of the Slavyangrad Team and has kindly translated a number of articles for our publication. Her views are always insightful and she has never made them a secret. We are lucky to have Valentina’s first-hand account about dealings with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (“TSO”), which has decided to cancel her concert because of her political opinions. The TSO’s decision to silence Valentina’s music because she has exercised her inviolable right to express her beliefs is a message to all artists that the next time it could be them.

Valentina is Ukrainian. She was born on March 25, 1970, in Kiev. Her family comes from Odessa—her mother is a Russian citizen, and her father was Ukrainian. Valentina graduated from the Lysenko music school and the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine (the Kiev Conservatory). She married Alexey Kuznetsov from Taganrog. In 1991, they represented Ukraine in the Murray Dranoff Two Piano Competition in Miami, Florida, and won the first prize. In 1992 they moved to the USA to study and subsequently decided to remain there. In 2001 they became American citizens. Since last year, Valentina has been living in Paris.

Valentina is one of the most frequently viewed pianists on YouTube, with over 177,000 subscribers, and she performs all over the world. Now Valentina’s concert in Toronto, which was scheduled for April 8 and 9 at the Roy Thomson Hall, has been cancelled for an outrageous reason—her political views. In an email sent to Valentina’s agent, the TSO stated: “the Toronto Symphony Orchestra received some messages from ticket buyers and others expressing concern over pianist Valentina Lisitsa’s public political statements.”

In its correspondence, the TSO also accused Valentina of nothing less than public incitement of hatred contrary to section 319(2) of the Criminal Code of Canada and went as far as to insinuate that Valentina, a citizen of the United States, could be barred from entering Canada by the immigration authorities. The TSO attempted to base its charges on Lisitsa’s public social media posts, attaching a copy of some of her tweets, along with a brief and exceedingly shallow legal opinion by the TSO’s counsel at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.

Complete story at - The Toronto Symphony Orchestra Silences Valentina Lisitsa’s Music | SLAVYANGRAD.org

The Iran Nuclear Energy Agreement: Force Again Prevails Over Law -- Paul Craig Roberts

Paul Craig Roberts

The Israel Lobby and its associated neocon war criminals will block if they can the nuclear energy agreement, worked out by Putin, Iran, and Obama, which has the promise of bringing to an end the US orchestrated crisis over Iran’s development of nuclear energy.

As a signatory to the nuclear weapons non-proliferation treaty, which Israel is not, Iran has the right under the treaty to develop nuclear energy. Iran, alone of all the signatories to the treaty, has had its rights under the treaty cancelled by economic sanctions imposed by the US and by the threat of a US military attack.

Neither US intelligence nor the International Atomic Energy Agency, which inspects Iran’s enrichment sites, has reported any sign of an Iranian nuclear weapons program for the past decade. Despite the absence of any evidence of an Iranian nuclear weapons program, the crazed Israeli government and its neoconservative agents, who represent Israel’s interests, not America’s, have almost driven the US to war with Iran over nuclear weapons as non-existent as Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction.

The nuclear energy agreement that has been reached eliminates any possibility of Iran diverting enriched uranium to a weapons program. Nevertheless Washington warmongers and the Israel Lobby are attempting to block the agreement with the argument that “Iran’s leaders cannot be trusted.”
The real question, however, is on what basis can Iran possibly trust Washington?

Iran should ask former Soviet president Gorbachev what Washington’s word is worth. In exchange for Gorbachev’s agreement to the reunification of Germany, Washington promised Gorbachev that NATO would not move one inch to the East and promptly took NATO to Russia’s border and is now working to incorporate former parts of the Russian empire into NATO.

Complete story at - The Iran Nuclear Energy Agreement: Force Again Prevails Over Law -- Paul Craig Roberts - PaulCraigRoberts.org

How America Became an Oligarchy | WEB OF DEBT BLOG

The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t. . . . You have owners. — George Carlin, The American Dream

According to a new study from Princeton University, American democracy no longer exists. Using data from over 1,800 policy initiatives from 1981 to 2002, researchers Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page concluded that rich, well-connected individuals on the political scene now steer the direction of the country, regardless of – or even against – the will of the majority of voters. America’s political system has transformed from a democracy into an oligarchy, where power is wielded by wealthy elites.

“Making the world safe for democracy” was President Woodrow Wilson’s rationale for World War I, and it has been used to justify American military intervention ever since. Can we justify sending troops into other countries to spread a political system we cannot maintain at home?

The Magna Carta, considered the first Bill of Rights in the Western world, established the rights of nobles as against the king. But the doctrine that “all men are created equal” – that all people have “certain inalienable rights,” including “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” – is an American original. And those rights, supposedly insured by the Bill of Rights, have the right to vote at their core. We have the right to vote but the voters’ collective will no longer prevails.

In Greece, the left-wing populist Syriza Party came out of nowhere to take the presidential election by storm; and in Spain, the populist Podemos Party appears poised to do the same. But for over a century, no third-party candidate has had any chance of winning a US presidential election. We have a two-party winner-take-all system, in which our choice is between two candidates, both of whom necessarily cater to big money. It takes big money just to put on the mass media campaigns required to win an election involving 240 million people of voting age.

In state and local elections, third party candidates have sometimes won. In a modest-sized city, candidates can actually influence the vote by going door to door, passing out flyers and bumper stickers, giving local presentations, and getting on local radio and TV. But in a national election, those efforts are easily trumped by the mass media. And local governments too are beholden to big money.

Complete story at - How America Became an Oligarchy | WEB OF DEBT BLOG