Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Tuesday 13 January 2015


Best of the Web
Dieudonne
YT
2015-01-12 15:04:00

Israeli_Hypocrisy1.jpg

Little more needs to be said. Watch.
Comment: See also this video of BBC reporter Tim Wilcox pointing out to a Jewish woman in Paris yesterday that the Palestinians suffer at the hands of the Israelis, to which she responds, "we cannot do an amalgam", which basically means that when discussing Jewish suffering or terrorist attacks, context is not allowed.
Comment
---
Corey Oakley
Red Flag
2015-01-11 10:42:00

pencils.jpg

It was Herald Sun cartoonist Mark Knight who tipped me over the edge.

To be fair, he wasn't wholly responsible. If it wasn't for all the lunacy that preceded him, I probably would have dismissed his cartoon as just another Herald Sun atrocity, more a piece of Murdoch-madness to be mocked rather than trigger for outrage. But context is everything. And after days of sanctimonious blather about freedom of speech and the Enlightenment values of Western civilisation, his was one pencil-warfare cartoon too many.

The cartoon in question depicts two men - masked and armed Arab terrorists (is there any other kind of Arab?) - with a hail of bomb-like objects raining down on their heads. Only the bombs aren't bombs. They are pens, pencils and quills. Get it? In the face of a medieval ideology that only understands the language of the gun, the West - the heroic, Enlightenment-inspired West - responds by reaffirming its commitment to resist barbarism with the weapons of ideas and freedom of expression.

It is a stirring narrative repeated ad nauseam in newspapers across the globe. They have been filled with depictions of broken pencils re-sharpened to fight another day, or editorials declaring that we will defeat terrorism by our refusal to stop mocking Islam.

It is well past time to call bullshit. Knight's cartoon made the point exceptionally clear, but every image that invoked the idea that Western culture could and would defend itself from Islamist extremism by waging a battle of ideas demonstrated the same historical and political amnesia.

Reality could not be more at odds with this ludicrous narrative.

For the last decade and a half the United States, backed to varying degrees by the governments of other Western countries, has rained violence and destruction on the Arab and Muslim world with a ferocity that has few parallels in the history of modern warfare.
Comment
---
Puppet Masters
Lucy Crossley
MailOnline
2015-01-12 15:28:00

24A1BFDD00000578_0_image_a_2_1.jpg

A BBC reporter has faced calls to resign after he told the daughter of Holocaust survivors in Paris: 'Palestinians suffer hugely at Jewish hands as well'.

Journalist Tim Willcox sparked anger during his coverage of yesterday's rally in Paris, held in memory of the 17 victims of last week's terror attacks, including four Jewish people in a siege at a Kosher supermarket.


Comment: Oh the irony! So much for freedom of speech the rally is supposed to be in support of.


During a live report from the streets of Paris, Willcox was speaking to a number of participants in the march, including one woman who expressed her fears that Jews were being persecuted, and 'the situation is going back to the days of the 1930s in Europe.'


Comment: Only this time it isn't the Jews that are being persecuted.


Video here: Link
Comment
---
Cory Fischer-Hoffman
Venezuelanalysis.com
2015-01-09 21:25:00

2015_01_07T183841Z_1_LYNXMPEB0.jpg

President Maduro announced that China has agreed to invest 20 billion dollars in Venezuela following the China-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) meeting in Beijing. Venezuelan officials hope that increased Chinese investment will offset some of the shortfalls in the Venezuelan economy due to decade-low oil prices.

Xi Jinping, the Chinese president opened the First China-CELAC Forum by pledging US$250 billion in new investment in Latin America over the next decade. CELAC was formed in 2011 with the goal of consolidating regional integration and reducing the influence of the United States in Latin America.

Speaking to Latin America's shift away from the United States and towards China, President Maduro stated "This is a vital point. I told President [Xi Jinping] over dinner last night: there is unique opportunity in this moment in history we're living through."
Comment: Looks like the US won't be able to slow down cooperation of other nations that best suits their interests. US has nothing to offer except debt and weapons if that country wants to be "friends". More nations are boldly moving away from US imperialism.
Comment
---
Alessandria Masi
International Business Times
2015-01-05 21:00:00

saudiborder.jpg


For the first time since the Islamic State group formally announced its desire to conquer Saudi Arabia last month, government officials said terrorist elements had launched an attack on the Saudi border with Iraq. Four militants, one wearing a suicide vest, attacked a border fortification Monday, killing three Saudi border guards.

The militants' official media wing for Iraq's Anbar province published a photo essay taking responsibility for the attack, which is the closest ISIS has come to breaching the coveted Saudi Arabian border since it declared the existence of a caliphate in June. The suicide attack signals a change in the group's strategy to conquer the kingdom. It was both the first direct attack on Saudi armed forces and the first documented attempt by the militant group to infiltrate the country. Despite the government's past efforts to quell extremism, Saudi Arabia has become increasing vulnerable to ISIS advances.
Comment: The IS chess piece is on the move again.
Comment
---
Barak Ravid
Haaretz
2015-01-12 19:27:00

2576019538.jpg

Absence sought as part of attempt to keep Israeli-Palestinian conflict out of European show of unity; After Netanyahu insisted on coming, French made it clear Abbas would be invited as well. 

French President Francois Hollande conveyed a message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the weekend asking him not to come to Paris to take part in the march against terror on Sunday, according to an Israeli source who was privy to the contacts between the Elysees Palace and the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem. The fact that this message had been conveyed was first reported by Channel 2.

After the French government began to send invitations to world leaders to participate in the rally against terror, Hollande's national security adviser, Jacques Audibert, contacted his Israeli counterpart, Yossi Cohen, and said that Hollande would prefer that Netanyahu not attend, the source said.
Comment: Very interesting. It seems possible that some in the French government sought to downplay any creeping associations between the Paris attacks and the Israel-Palestine conflict (associations Netanyahu is only too joyful to make). But Netanyahu put the kibosh on that. Keep it up, Bibi! The more international leaders you offend the better!
Comment
---
Edwin Lyngar
Salon
2015-01-12 17:53:00

ingraham_hannity.jpg

I'm a former right-winger and I know the playbook. Here's why liberals have to learn to talk big - and play dirty.
"If Jerry Falwell had an enema (after he died), he could have been buried in a matchbox."

- Christopher Hitchens
This recent midterm election was my first real setback since I became a committed liberal (after years on the other side), and what I don't understand is why so many well-meaning liberals refuse to fight dirty. Sure, some Democratic politicians "sling mud," but the "professional left" (as they are often derisively called) spend too much time debating the exactitude of certain issues and not enough time shutting down the bad ideas of the opposition. It might speak well to one's character, but it's an ineffective way to do battle. There is a place for self-examination, but it's not on the battlefield. Sometimes the proper reaction to cruelty or stupid ideas is disgust or even a well-timed insult. For many on the left this art is sadly as dead as the late hero of mine quoted above.
Comment: It's really time to think about our situation and realize it will not change through the current political structure. Understanding the false narratives propagated by politicians and mainstream media is a first step. Politicians only do what is necessary to keep the population under control and from revolting for their sole benefit. They keep us pitted against each other instead of finding common humanitarian grounds to live together for mutual benefit.
Comment
---
RT
2015-01-12 17:25:00

d_1_si.jpg


Over the last five years Texas' Child Protective Services underreported 655 deaths of children from abuse or neglect by their parents, said the Austin American-Statesman. Caseworkers used loopholes to omit cases of indirect maltreatment.

In an investigative report published on Sunday, Austin American-Statesman claims that practically half of the underreported deaths happened in problem families, which had frequently been investigated for child abuse.

Over a quarter of families (144 of them) where a child died had been investigated by the CPS at least 3 times. In one case, the CPS had contacted a family more than 20 times, but still the child in this family died.
Comment: Here is another area of society where psychopaths are attracted to.

For more in-depth reporting on the CPS, read U.S. legal child kidnapping at least in the thousands - Child Protection Services criminality uncovered
Comment
---
David North
World Socialist Web Site
2015-01-09 17:37:00

CharlieHebdoMuhammad.jpg

The attack on the editorial offices of Charlie Hebdo has shocked the public, which is horrified by the violent deaths of 12 people in the center of Paris. The video images, viewed by millions, of the gunmen firing their weapons and killing an already-wounded policeman have imparted to Wednesday's events an extraordinary actuality.

In the immediate aftermath of the shootings, the state and media are seeking to exploit the fear and the confusion of the public. Once again, the political bankruptcy and essentially reactionary character of terrorism is exposed. It serves the interests of the state, which utilizes the opportunity provided by the terrorists to whip up support for authoritarianism and militarism. In 2003, when the Bush administration invaded Iraq, French popular opposition was so overwhelming that the government led by President Jacques Chirac was compelled to oppose the war, even in the face of massive political pressure from the United States. Now, 12 years later, as President François Hollande is striving to transform France into the United States' principal ally in the "war on terror," the attack in Paris plays into his hands.

In these efforts Hollande can rely on the media, which in such circumstances directs all its energies toward the emotional manipulation and political disorientation of the public. The capitalist media, skillfully combining the suppression of information with half-truths and outright lies, devises a narrative that is calculated to appeal not only to the basest instincts of the broad public, but also to its democratic and idealistic sentiments.

Throughout Europe and the United States, the claim is being made that the attack on the magazine Charlie Hebdo was an assault on the freedom of the press and the unalienable right of journalists in a democratic society to express themselves without loss of freedom or fear for their lives. The killing of theCharlie Hebdo cartoonists and editors is being proclaimed an assault on the principles of free speech that are, supposedly, held so dear in Europe and the United States. The attack on Charlie Hebdo is, thus, presented as another outrage by Muslims who cannot tolerate Western "freedoms." From this the conclusion must be drawn that the "war on terror" - i.e., the imperialist onslaught on the Middle East, Central Asia and North and Central Africa - is an unavoidable necessity.
Comment
---
ITAR-TASS
2015-01-12 17:15:00

1077983.jpg

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that last Wednesday's attack on a French satirical magazine was committed by militants who had fought in Syria for the West-backed aim of ousting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power.

"Cooperation [with the West on counter-terrorism] has been suspended. Meanwhile,terrorists do not suspend cooperation with each other. Terrorist activity knows no bounds," Lavrov said. "The two brothers who attacked the editorial office of the Paris magazine had mastered 'the art of terror' in Syria, fighting with those who had been trying to oust Bashar al-Assad - an aim supported by our Western counterparts," he added.
Comment: An aim not only supported by the West, but fully engendered by the West. Put simply, the West is fully responsible for the training the Kouachis received. But even then, the Kouachis were mere patsies. The Charlie Hebdo attacks are simply the latest in a long stream of false-flag terror: Charlie Hebdo: France's 9/11
Comment
---
The Saker
Vineyardsaker.net
2015-01-11 11:07:00

brainwashed_zombies_864x400_c.jpg

So up to 3 million people took to the streets of Paris, including 40 heads of state, to denounce the murders of 17 victims of a streak of Takfiri terror attacks this past week.

Where were they?

Where were these 3 millions and 40 heads of state when abject Takfiri terror was unleashed against the people of Afghanistan? Nowhere.

Where were these 3 millions and 40 heads of state when abject Takfiri terror was unleashed against the Shia of Saudi Arabia? Nowhere.

Where were these 3 millions and 40 heads of state when abject Takfiri terror was unleashed against Shia of Bahrain? Nowhere.

Where were these 3 millions and 40 heads of state when abject Takfiri terror was unleashed against the people of Chechnia? Nowhere.

Where were these 3 millions and 40 heads of state when abject Takfiri terror was unleashed against the Serbian people? Nowhere.

Where were these 3 millions and 40 heads of state when abject Takfiri terror was unleashed against Libyan people? Nowhere.

Where were these 3 millions and 40 heads of state when abject Takfiri terror was unleashed against the Syrian people? Nowhere.

Where were these 3 millions and 40 heads of state when abject Takfiri terror was unleashed against the people of Iraq? Nowhere.

Where were these 3 millions and 40 heads of state when abject Takfiri terror was unleashed against the people of Kurdistan? Nowhere.

Where were these 3 millions and 40 heads of state when abject Takfiri terror was unleashed against the people of Lebanon? Nowhere.

Where were these 3 millions and 40 heads of state when abject Takfiri terror was unleashed against the people of Nigeria? Nowhere.

Where were these 3 millions and 40 heads of state when abject Takfiri terror was unleashed against the people of Pakistan? Nowhere.

Where were these 3 millions and 40 heads of state when abject Takfiri terror was unleashed against the people of India? Nowhere.

Where were these 3 millions and 40 heads of state when abject Takfiri terror was unleashed against the people of Russia? Nowhere.

Where were these 3 millions and 40 heads of state when abject Takfiri terror was unleashed against the people of Somalia? Nowhere.

Where were these 3 millions and 40 heads of state when abject Takfiri terror was unleashed against the people of Kenya? Nowhere.

Where were these 3 millions and 40 heads of state when abject Takfiri terror was unleashed against the people of Yemen? Nowhere.

Where were these 3 millions and 40 heads of state when abject Takfiri terror was unleashed against the people of Algeria? Nowhere.

Where were these 3 millions and 40 heads of state when abject Takfiri terror was unleashed against the people of Indonesia? Nowhere.

Where were these 3 millions and 40 heads of state when abject Takfiri terror was unleashed against the people of Iran? Nowhere.

Why not?
Comment: As Harrison Koehli wrote: Charlie Hebdo was France's 9/11 The Zionist lobby has been very active and not so secretly capitalizing and rejoicing at this latest false flag event. Something that was highlighted by a commenter to the above article:
You should have heard the french Zionist radio France-Info today. They were not mourning today, they were exalted about what they have achieved.
Comment
---
Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research
2015-01-11 11:07:00

90007.jpg

Police Commissioner Helric Fredou, Number Two Police Officer of the Regional Service of France's Judicial Police (JP), Limoges, (Haute-Vienne), "committed suicide on the night of Wednesday to Thursday at the police station."

Commissioner Helric Fredou was part of the police investigation into the Charlie Hebdo terror attack.

Terror suspects Cherif and Said Kouachi who were shot dead by police on January 9, spent their high-school years in the Limoges region. No doubt this was the object of Fredou's police investigation. Yet police and media reports state that on that same Wednesday he was involved in a meeting with the family of one of the Charlie Hebdo victims.

On Wednesday, as part of the Charlie Hebdo investigation, he dispatched a team of police officials under his jurisdiction. He is reported to have waited for the return of his team for a debriefing. Immediately following the police debriefing, he was involved in preparing his police report.

According to media reports, he committed suicide at around 1am on Thursday, within hours of the police debriefing. He used his own police weapon, a SIG-Sauer to "shoot himself in the head".
At the time of his death, police claim to have not known the reason for his alleged suicide. This was reflected in their official statements to the media: "It is unknown at this time the reasons for his actions".

However, a back story appears to have been inserted simultaneously, most likely from the very same police media liaisons, who then told the press that Fredou was 'depressed and overworked'. For any law enforcement officer in France, it would seem rather odd that anyone would want to miss the biggest single terror event of the century, or history in the making, as it were. (21st Century Wire,)
"An autopsy was performed at the University Hospital of Limoges, "confirming the suicide" 

There has been a total news blackout.

The French media decided or was instructed not to cover the incident. Not news worthy? So much for "Je suis Charlie" and "Freedom of Expression" in journalism.

Likewise, the Western media including all major news services (AP, AFP, Reuters, Deutsche Welle, etc) have not covered the issue.
Comment
---
Chris Martenson
LewRockwell.com
2015-01-12 09:34:00

nato_russia_war.jpg

For several weeks now the anti-Russian stance in the US press has quieted down. Presumably because the political leadership has moved its attention on to other things, and the media flock has followed suit.

Have you read much about Ukraine and Russia recently?

I thought not, despite the fact that there's plenty of serious action - both there as well as related activity in the US - going on that deserves our careful attention.

As I recently wrote, the plunging oil price is a potential catalyst for stock market turmoil and sovereign instability. Venezuela is already circling the drain, and numerous other oil exporters are in deep trouble as they foolishly expanded their national budgets and social programs to match the price of oil; something that is easy to do on the way up and devilishly tricky on the way down.

But consider the impact on Russia. From the Russian point of view, everything from their plunging ruble to bitter sanctions to the falling price of oil are the fault of the US, either directly or indirectly. Whether that is fair or not is irrelevant; that's the view of the Russians right now. So no surprise, it doesn't dispose them towards much in the way of good-will towards the West generally, and the US specifically.
Comment: What is happening in the Ukraine at the moment is a clear "Do as we say; don't do as we do". The US and its Western/ NATO allies are meddling in other countries' internal affairs.

The US is playing with fire - and this fire could potentially be nuclear.
Comment
---
RT
2015-01-11 02:18:00

spain_si.jpg

Madrid wants to see changes made to the treaty governing the visa-free Schengen area, which would allow Spain to introduce border controls to stem the tide of Islamic militants returning from the Middle East, the country's interior minister has said.

"We are going to back border controls and it is possible that as a consequence it will be necessary to modify the Schengen treaty," Interior Minister Jorge FernandezDiaz told the daily El Pais in an interview on Saturday.

"The existing mobility in the European Union is facilitating the movements (of jihadists) to any country and also to our country," he continued.

The minister and his European counterparts are set to discuss the future of Schengen during a meeting in Paris on Sunday.

Diaz is not the first European politician to consider revamping or altogether suspending the Schengen zone in response to the deadly attacks in and around Paris this week, which left 20 dead, including three attackers.

On Friday, The leader of France's rightwing Front National (FN), Marine Le Pen, told French President Francois Hollande that the country should "immediately suspend Schengen to be able to control our borders" in what she called an "essential element in the fight against terrorism."
Comment: This looks like just the beginning, folks. With France's 9/11 the West is ushering in a new age of hate, control and inhumanity, all brought to you by the neo-liberal ideals of freedom and democracy.
Comment
---
Finian Cunningham
Strategic Culture Foundation
2015-01-10 23:37:00

s28060.jpg

NATO's civilian figurehead Jens Stoltenberg this week urged Russia to be a partner against terrorism. He was speaking the day after the deadly gun attack on a magazine in Paris where 12 people, including three police officers, were killed by assailants purporting to be affiliated with radical Islamists.

During a visit to Germany, the NATO general secretary called upon Moscow to be "an ally in the fight against terrorism" - adding: "We think it is important that Russia, which is our biggest neighbour in Europe, and NATO are working together on important issues like fighting terror."

Well, how about that for a screeching U-turn? After all, has it not become NATO policy, since the Ukraine crisis blew up last year, to terminate all security co-operation with Russia in a bid to ostracise the latter?

Only a few weeks ago, Stoltenberg and other NATO officials were accusing Russia of being the biggest threat to security in Europe, asserting without evidence that Moscow has aggressive designs on Ukraine, the Baltic states and other eastern European countries. According to NATO, Russian leader Vladimir Putin is on a revanchist revamp of the Soviet Empire, casting a sinister spectre over the entire continent.

The former Norwegian premier has been banging the war drum against Russia in perfect timing with the same hostile beat as his predecessor, the insufferable Danish robot Anders Fogh Rasmussen. When Stoltenberg took over the NATO role last mid-year his first official visit was to rush to Poland in a pointed show of solidarity with eastern European members of the US-led military alliance, who he claimed were living under the shadow of Russian "expansionism".

Stoltenberg's military counterpart in NATO, four-star American General Philip Breedlove has for months been sounding like a broken record, reiterating over and over that Russian forces have invaded Ukraine to subvert the Western-backed Kiev regime. Breedlove has never produced any verifiable evidence to support his wild assertions that are posited as "top intelligence".These tiresome incendiary claims have strangely become muted recently, suggesting more than a hint of disingenuousness from the General. How can Russia be launching military invasions month after month with no cumulative evidence to that effect, and then, lo and behold, all is quiet on the eastern front, as must be gleaned from Breedlove's recent insouciance on the matter.
Comment: Like Putin mentioned in his Valdai speech in October 2014, Russia is more than willing to cooperate with Europe and America on security matters combating terrorism and ensuring peace. The real question is whether NATO will stop financing and arming mercenaries and terrorists to destabilize whole regions to further its own political objectives under the guise of "spreading democracy."
Comment
---
Régis Le Sommier
Paris Match
2014-12-03 00:00:00

1_5000_2f5ce_d5b3c.jpg



The Full Paris Match interview of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, granted in Damascus on November 28th. 

Paris Match: Mr. President, three years into this war, and considering how things have turned out, do you regret that you haven't managed things differently at the beginning, with the appearance of the first signs of the revolution in March 2011? Do you feel that you are responsible for what happened?

Bashar el Assad: Even in the first days of the events, there were martyrs from the army and the police; so, since the first days of this crisis we have been facing terrorism. It is true that there were demonstrations, but they were not large in number. In such a case, there is no choice but to defend your people against terrorists. There's no other choice. We cannot say that we regret fighting terrorism since the early days of this crisis. However, this doesn't mean that there weren't mistakes made in practice. There are always mistakes. Let's be honest: had Qatar not paid money to those terrorists at that time, and had Turkey not supported them logistically, and had not the West supported them politically, things would have been different. If we in Syria had problems and mistakes before the crisis, which is normal, this doesn't necessarily mean that the events had internal causes.
Comment
---
Sydney Smith
International Media Ethics News
2015-01-08 23:07:00

IBT_Mossad_Hebdo.jpg

The International Business Times unpublished a story that suggested that Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, carried out the attack on the offices of the satirical magazineCharlie Hedbo.The Jan. 8 story's headline was "Charlie Hebdo Attack and Mossad Link: Is Israel Venting Its Fury for France's Recognition of Palestine State?."

According to a screenshot of the article posted on Twitter, the International Business TImes said that "Mossad of Israel is a prime contender" for who was behind yesterday's attack on Charlie Hebdo.

"It is believed that Israel has a grouse against France, especially because French MPs voted in favour of recognising the Palestinian state and also France voted against Israel at the UN recently, conspiracy bloggers such as 'Aangirfan' note," the article said.

iMediaEthics asked IB Times editor-in-chief Peter S. Goodman for more information about the article and how it made it to publication. "The article was published by our site in India, which serves an Indian audience. It was edited in Bangalore," Goodman wrote. "Complaints on social media drew the attention of our editors in New York and we immediately took down the offending story and issued an apology."

Goodman went on, "That story does not represent journalism in any sense and it has no place on our site. IB Times is a fast-growing global operation and we have substantially changed our culture in the last year, elevating our standards. This is a process, and there will inevitably be problems, but we are fully committed to eliminating stories that no pass muster and replacing them with quality work."

Below see a screenshot of the article.

THIS IS Anti-Semitism: Staff editor at @IBTimes says Paris shootings work of Mossad #CharlieHebdo pic.twitter.com/tN0u9BcxSz- Uriah Canaff (@uriahc) January 8, 2015
Comment: Not only is the International Business Times not allowed to ask if Mossad was involved, it is also not allowed to report that 'conspiracy theorists' ask if Mossad was involved. Yet it is quite alright for Charlie Hebdo to spread vulgar, racist and intolerant propaganda in the form of cartoons. So much for freedom of speech.

Here is the full article:
Charlie Hebdo Attack and Mossad Link: Is Israel Venting Its Fury For France's Recognition of Palestine State?

By Gopi Chandra Kharel - International Business Times, January 8, 2015 


israel_s_prime_minister_benjam.jpg

There is no clarity as to which organisation is behind the attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris on Wednesday and therefore, conspiracy theories are gaining traction in internet forums.

Fingers are being pointed toward intelligence agencies and Mossad of Israel is a prime contender.

It is believed that Israel has a grouse against France, especially because French MPs voted in favour of recognising the Palestinian state and also France voted against Israel at the UN recently, conspiracy bloggers such as 'Aangirfan' note.

In Early December 2014, when France's lower house of parliament voted 339 votes to 151 urging the government to recognise the Palestinian state, Israel was patently unhappy. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the vote a "grave mistake".

Israel had warned France of grave consequences even before the country voted in favour of Palestine. Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem, France 24 reported Netanyahu as saying that time: "Do they have nothing better to do at a time of beheadings across the Middle East, including that of a French citizen? Recognition of a Palestinian state by France would be a grave mistake.

"The State of Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people, the only state that we have, and the Palestinians demanding a state do not want to recognise the right to have a state for the Jewish people."

Israel, last week, also expressed its "deep disappointment" with France for voting for a Palestinian resolution at the UN Security Council and calling for a full IDF withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines by the end of 2017, the Jerusalem Post reported.

France was one of eight countries supporting Palestine in the Security Council - although it fell one-vote short of the nine necessary to pass.

Although there is no way to verify the claims that Mossad was involved, the backdrop in which the attack took place seems to indicate that they might be involved, many conspiracy theorists have noted. Mossad is responsible for intelligence collection and has undertaken many covert operations for Israel in Europe that aim to further their Jewish cause.
Comment
---
Society's Child
Sputnik
2015-01-12 00:00:00

0C6CF96E55235E48EAAF3EEA396168.jpg

Exports of Greek fruit and vegetables to Russia in the period from January-October 2014 dropped by 31.1 percent in volume compared with the same period in 2013. As a result, Greek farmers have lost $46.7 million due to the food ban introduced by Russia in August 2014.

Greek farmers have lost $46.7 million in fruit and vegetable exports due to the food ban introduced by Russia in August 2014, a report published by Athens News Agency said.

"We have lost significant volumes of exports to Russia - 34,167 tonnes [37,662 tons] or 39.45 million euro [$46.7 million]," the Incofruit-Hellas association of Greek enterprises exporting fruit, vegetables and juices said in a report published Sunday.
Comment: Greece has been suffering thanks to crippling austerity measures and things are deteriorating to the point that there appears to be a run on Greek banks. Clearly, the West's ill-conceived scheme to sink the Russian economy via sanctions is having deleterious effects on EU nations, however that does not seem to have caused EU rulers to re-think the wisdom of their actions as they seem intent on shooting themselves in the foot at every turn to pacify Washington.
Comment
---
Sputnik
2015-01-12 00:00:00

1016808144.jpg

The recovery in manufacturing has only been temporary rather than structural, and generally unaffected by the shale gas revolution.

The idea that the United States is going through a "manufacturing renaissance," although optimistically touted in the media and by experts, does not reflect reality,write the authors of a new report from a reputable Washington, D.C. think-tank, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF).

The authors of the report claim that the highly publicized media narrative of a rebirth in America's manufacturing sector is based on misleading interpretations of data that in fact paint a much bleaker picture of a temporary recovery within the context of the economic cycle, rather than structural growth.
Comment: There are countries where governments are working to promote policies that actually strengthen the structural foundations of the country and improve the well-being of its populace. Russia comes to mind, immediately. Unfortunately, the ruling elites in the USA prefer to massage numbers in order to manipulate the masses into believing that things are better than they seem. An elite focused on war and destruction throughout the globe has little concern for the ultimate well-being of its own people, despite the propaganda.
Comment
---
Brian Klug
Mondoweiss
2015-01-11 00:00:00

zelene_povrsine_ovce.jpg


I read this on a blog yesterday; it is a version of a claim that has been made over and over again in the last couple of days, lionising Charlie Hebdo: "In its cartoons, Charlie Hebdo did not discriminate. The magazine lampooned all and sundry in its cartoons: racists, bigots, right-wing politicians, the uber-rich, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and more." And what does 'more' include? More to the point: what does it not include? Did they, for example, lampoon journalists who, in the name of freedom of expression, mock Muslims and Jews regardless of the consequences? Did they, in other words, ever satirize themselves? Apparently Charlie Hebdo has announced it will produce a million copies of its next issue. Will this issue ridicule the scenes of mourning and solemn demonstrations on the grand boulevards of Paris, poking fun at people who raised pens skyward and lit candles in the dark? And why not? Nothing is sacred. Wouldn't this be just the kind of outrageous act, defying convention and challenging popular ideas of decency, that puts freedom of expression to the test?
Comment: Indeed, the Paris protesters have been swept up by their emotions and have left all reason and critical thinking on this tragedy at the door. This is, of course, precisely what the proponents of 'the war on terror,' and particularly Israel, want. But how to explain to the masses of people - who think and behave just like sheep - that they are being manipulated into supporting another holocaust - this time, of people of the Islamic faith.
Comment
---
Reagan Ali
Counter Current News
2015-01-11 19:53:00

good_cop_vs_bad_coo.jpg

As the nation has been torn apart by police violence and abuse, many citizens have begun to wonder whether there are any good cops at all. Critics have suggested that if there are "good cops," they should be out there stopping the bad cops from abusing their power.

So where are these legendary "good cops"?

Right here, in the video below, it would seem...


View on Sott.net

We can see from the video that the arresting officer repeatedly tries to pull up the suspect by his restrained arms, contorting and twisting his shoulder joints in a way that was causing him sheer agony.

But another officer comes to the suspect's aid, not once, not twice, but at least three times physically stopping the arresting officer from abusing the suspect.

If you think that all cops SHOULD take a stand like this, then help us SPREAD THE WORD!
Comment
---
Yahoo News!
2015-01-10 01:45:00

d0756ef456b8b79ffd867cb549a4a3.jpg

A prominent Dutch cartoonist at Charlie Hebdo heaped scorn on the French satirical weekly's "new friends" since the massacre at its Paris offices on Wednesday.

"We have a lot of new friends, like the pope, Queen Elizabeth and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. It really makes me laugh," Bernard Holtrop, whose pen name is Willem, told the Dutch centre-left daily Volkskrant in an interview published Saturday.


Comment: Just to clarify, Putin wasn't 'making friends' with the likes of Charlie Hebdo as many in the West have done. He expressed his condolences to the families and those affected by the attack and stressed that the Kremlin condemns terrorism in all forms (which naturally includes the Western false-flag variety).


France's far-right National Front leader "Marine Le Pen is delighted when the Islamists start shooting all over the place," said Willem, 73, a longtime Paris resident who also draws for the French leftist daily Liberation.

He added: "We vomit on all these people who suddenly say they are our friends."

Commenting on the global outpouring of support for the weekly, Willem scoffed: "They've never seen Charlie Hebdo."

"A few years ago, thousands of people took to the streets in Pakistan to demonstrate against Charlie Hebdo. They didn't know what it was. Now it's the opposite, but if people are protesting to defend freedom of speech, naturally that's a good thing."
Comment: This is the type of person with whom people are aligning themselves with all this "Je suis Charlie" garbage. While Holtrop correctly points out that most of these people have never seen Charlie Hebdo, it should be revealing that even the slightest bit of support (no matter how misdirected) is scorned from this vile, hate-filled propaganda rag. Do the world a favor and don't waste your energy on this pathological organization. This issue concerns the protection of hate rather than anything having to do with real human freedom.
Comment
---
Raúl Ilargi Meijer
The Automatic Earth
2015-01-11 23:02:00

8e11107u.jpg


We need to do a lot more thinking, and take a far more critical look at ourselves, than we do at present. We're not even playing it safe, we're only playing it easy. And that's just not enough. The marches in Paris and numerous other cities today were attended by people who mean well, but who should ask themselves if they want to be part of what waspredictably turned into a propaganda event by 'world leaders'. One thing is for sure; the murdered Charlie Hebdo staff would not have approved of it.

The leaders hark back to usual suspect slogans like we defend 'Liberty', 'Freedom of Expression' and 'Our Values'. But we can't turn our backs on the fact that 'our values' these days include torture and other fine 'tactics' that make people in other parts of the world turn their backs on us. We might want - need - to march to express our feelings about torture executed in our name, as much as to express our horror at cartoonists we never heard of being the target of automatic weapons.
Comment: The psychopathic mindset has deeply rooted itself into mankind. It will be most difficult to take a good look at ourselves in the mirror and see what we have become. It starts with each individual understanding this Wetiko virus.
Comment
---
Secret History
No new articles.
---
Science & Technology
Hannah Osborne
International Business Times
2015-01-09 21:32:00

lemur_skulls.jpg

What could be the largest single collection of lemur remains has been discovered in submerged caves in Madagascar.

A team of experts working with the National Science Foundation discovered the bone yard in a remote desert region of the island.

The complete lemur skeletons - all of extinct species - had remained intact for hundreds if not thousands of years, making it a unique site of great significance.

As well as vast numbers of lemur fossils, the remains of other animals were also found, including bats, rodents and carnivores.


View on Sott.net
Comment
---
Earth Changes
mathrubhumi.com
2015-01-12 17:04:00

Asian_elephant_charging.jpg

A veterinarian was today killed by a tusker while he was attempting to tackle the pachyderm after it ran amok at Vaypur in Pathanamthitta district, police said.

The victim identified as Dr Gopakumar (52) was a veterinarian and a member of the Elephant Squad which is specialised in containing elephants that turn violent, police said.

The tusker kicked the vet and then gored him while he was trying to administer a tranquilizer shot in its rear. The elephant created panic in the area by running amok for several hours.

Police and local people rushed the doctor to a hospital in Tiruvalla but he died soon after reaching there, police said, adding, the elephant was later brought under control.

The animal had started showing signs of uneasiness in the morning and later managed to slip free from its chains and ran amok. The elephant squad at nearby Konni was alerted as efforts of the mahout with local people failed to contain it.

Source: Press Trust of India
Comment
---
rte.ie
2015-01-12 16:22:00

000a01b8_642.jpg

A shop and restaurant at Khao Yai National Park in Thailand were damaged in an elephant attack today; two days after another elephant rammed a car.

A wild elephant stomped the grocery shop and shattered window glasses with its trunk, park officials say.


000a01bd_614.jpg
Comment
---
Rose Troup Buchanan
The Independent, UK
2015-01-12 15:35:00

_80179673_80179672.jpg



A local walker was left stunned after he discovered the carcass of a huge 60ft whale washed up on a beach in Cornwall.

Beach cleaner and surfer Ado Shorland stumbled across the massive mammal on Wanson Beach near Bude on Saturday.

Marine biologists are now examining the carcass, which is believed to be an endangered fin whale - although the state of decay means that this has not yet been confirmed.

"I found it yesterday morning. It measures around 20m and the lower jaw has been detached and alone it is about 5m. It is a very large whale," he told the Western Morning News.
Comment
---
Robert Felix
iceagenow.info
2015-01-10 13:33:00

768431a8_0f29_40e2_a93c_7a0433.jpg

I love this photo! A snow camel!

Saudi Arabia: Friday, 18 March 1436, corresponding to 9 January 2015
The snow fell heavily on Friday evening (January 9, 2015), in Qurayyat -Jouf, and its environs and the "books", and parts of the province Tarif.


dlkzf.png



v.png
Comment
---
El Universal
2015-01-11 13:26:00

FRIO.jpg

In Chihuahua, four people froze to death, three died due to burns and two more for intoxication, while in Sonora one died for intoxication in Nogales and two for hypothermia in Huatabampo and San Luis Río Colorado.

The cold weather affecting much of the country has claimed a dozen victims, nine in Chihuahua and three in Sonora, state authorities reported.

The State Coordination of Civil Protection of Chihuahua issued an alert due to low temperatures, rain and snowfall in the higher areas, specifically in the municipalities of Temósachic and Balleza, where temperatures have dropped to -14C (6.8F).

Other regions with low temperatures are Chihuahua and Ciudad Juárez (-4C/24F), Ocampo (-10C/14F), Janos (-7C/19F) and Nuevo Casas Grandes (-6.5C/20F).

Low temperatures below zero degrees and snowfall are expected to persist in Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Durango. 
Comment
---
Ollie
...

[Message clipped]  View entire message