Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Sunday, 27 December 2015

The European Union Times


Posted: 26 Dec 2015 06:38 AM PST

In spite of prevailing clichés about corruption in Russia being out of control, the scale of the scourge is of an incomparably larger scale in the United States, according to independent journalist Einar Schlereth. In the journalist’s view, nowhere is this more obvious than in the case of the US military industrial complex.
In his article, published in popular Austrian news blog Neopresse, Schlereth suggested that if in Russia, corruption and bribery generally have a ‘bottom-up’ nature, in the US, it is a phenomenon which is inherent to the highest levels of political power.
Schlereth begins his analysis by recalling a recent article by respected American historian F. William Engdahl, in which Engdahl suggested that in many areas, Russian military capabilities have proven to be ‘at least equal’ to those of the US, despite having a tenth of the Pentagon’s budget.
Some estimates, the Schlereth notes, “suggest that the United States is less corrupt than Russia.” But in reality, the journalist suggests, Washington is just able to hide its own corruption better than the Russians. The fundamental difference, the journalist suggests, is that “in the US, corruption is more concentrated at the top, whereas in Russia, it comes from below.”
Furthermore, “with regard to corruption in expenditures for the military,” the journalist argues, “the scale of corruption in the US is simply gigantic, and certainly far worse than it is in Russia.” A May 2014 headline by official US DOD organ Stars and Stripes is telling, Schlereth says, with its suggestion that ‘Decades later, military still unable to account for its spending’.
“Nearly three decades after US taxpayers gasped over $640 toilet seats and other Cold War military waste, the Department of Defense remains the last federal department still unable to conduct a financial audit despite laws passed in the 1990s that require the accounting,” Stars and Stripes then commented.
“In other words,” Schlereth notes, “the US military has turned into a black hole, into which billions of taxpayer dollars have disappeared, without any clear evidence on how, when, and to whom the money went.”
“The fact is that the US government now subcontracts almost everything out to private companies (who collectively spend billions lobbying Congress and funding political campaigns), and this is particularly true when it comes to the Pentagon.”
Many of these companies, the journalist warned, have concentrated so much power that they have access to the White House, able to influence the president on how much military aid to give country x, or when and when not to go to war. And the Supreme Court’s recent decision, via Citizens United, allowing unlimited campaign contributions from corporations and organizations, “has only greased the process further along.”
“Russia’s system of military spending,” Schlereth suggests, “is the diametric opposite of America’s. While the United States has privatized their military industry, in Russia it is in state hands. All profits from arms sales go to the Russian government, not to the makers or the multinationals. The arms manufacturers are [effectively] part of the government.”
“Just like in the US, there are is no financial accounting of their operations, but there are financial reports reviewed each year by the defense minister and, moreover, by the president and the prime minister –i.e. by people who are responsible to the electorate, and not only to the aristocracy of large shareholders.”
“In the US,” Schlereth notes, “there is no financial accounting. Instead (as per aristocratic preference) dollars flow to American politicians’ election campaigns.” Effectively, the journalist suggests, “war profits are private and the buying of politicians becomes just another business expense.”
Ultimately, Schlereth says, “Russia receives much more for its military rubles –that’s for sure. And as the White House increasingly attempts to strangle Russia, not only economically but militarily as well, this overlooked component of America’s huge corruption comes more and more into the spotlight, unlike the financial operations behind it.”
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Posted: 26 Dec 2015 06:31 AM PST

The Pickering family from Texas is celebrating a miracle this Christmas, which so nearly did not happen. With doctors about to turn off a life support machine keeping George Pickering’s son alive, a desperate and armed George intervened, determined his son would live.
This year has been an eventful one for George Pickering II and his son George Pickering III. George Jr. has made a full recovery after being in a coma. With doctors set to turn off his life support machine, his savior proved to be his own father.
Upon hearing that doctors had given up hope, a drunk and armed George Sr. marched towards the Tomball Regional Medical Center in Houston, Texas, determined to make sure his son was given more time to make a recovery, even if it meant he would spend time in jail.
George Sr. barricaded himself inside with his 27-year-old son as he managed to hold off police, before something amazing happened.
“Towards the end of the standoff, which was about three hours long, he felt his son squeeze his hand,” the family’s lawyer Phoebe Smith told RT.
“At this time, the SWAT team had already opened the door to the critical care room and he had surrendered to the police, but he surrendered knowing his son had squeezed his hand,” she added.
George Jr. had fallen into a coma after suffering a stroke in January. Doctors had declared him brain dead, while George II’s ex-wife and other son made the decision to turn off the life support machine.
However, there was one person who was not going to give up hope.
“The SWAT team had their own doctors and when they entered into the critical care room, they saw that my client’s son was not brain dead because he was making eye contact, was following their commands and they were completely amazed at this,” Smith added.
The Pickerings’ family lawyer also praised the courage and determination shown by George Sr.
“The amazing thing was that my client was right and that his son did survive. When you see him now, he is a picture of health. I don’t think he would have survived but for the fact that his father slowed the process down.”
After feeling signs of life from his son, George Sr. peacefully surrendered to the police. He was subsequently sentenced to 10 months’ prison time. He was released in December, just in time to spend Christmas with his son.
“There was a law broken, but it was broken for all the right reasons. I’m here now because of it. It was love, it was love,” George III told KPRC.
“The important thing is I’m alive and well, my father is home and we’re together again.”
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Posted: 26 Dec 2015 06:03 AM PST

What were the real reasons of John Kerry’s visit to Russia? What global goals does Washington set for itself? How does Europe react to the crisis in the Turkish-Russian relations? We discussed these and many other subjects in an interview with Bulgarian publicist, Pamen Paskov.
“Some scientists of politics say that John Kerry brought a new plan for the new world order to Putin. Others say that the world is collapsing. What do you think was the real reason for John Kerry’s visit to Moscow?”
“One should look beyond politics here. One should try to understand the real reasons and motives behind diplomatic statements. Even when politicians smile, their faces do not reflect reality.
“US Secretary of State John Kerry is a serious man. He is a representative of the ruling clans of the United States. John Kerry came to Russia with Victoria Nuland. In the US delegation, there was also US ambassador to Russia John Tefft. They wanted to put something like an ultimatum to Vladimir Putin. If an official of Kerry’s level arrives, he should have clear objectives. The objective is clear. The United States needs to remove Putin from power. Another objective is to take complete control of Syria by getting rid of Bashar al-Assad.
“I think that the American mission consists of three parts. The first one of them is to obtain Putin’s agreement for Assad’s resignation and capitulation of Syria. The United States is standing behind a huge coalition that was created to struggle against the Islamic State. However, in only two months of Russia’s special operations in Syria, they could see the immense military power of the Russian Federation. Of course, the United States was greatly surprised in the beginning. Afterwards, they created a huge, 100,000-strong army under the guise of anti-terrorist coalition.
“John Kerry’s second goal was to receive Putin’s agreement for the execution of the Minsk Accord. In reality, the United States wants Russia to leave the Donbas for good. In accordance with the Minsk Accord, the Dobnass was to return to Ukraine before the end of 2015 under certain conditions which neither side has been able to observe.”
“Are these your personal assumptions?”
“Yes, they are just my theory. Kerry’s goal number three is to make Putin capitulate. What does John Kerry have? He has a loop that he’s tightening on Russia’s neck. Nato’s military contingent in the Baltic States and in Poland has been increased 13 times. Military actions in the Donbass are about to resume. There is every reason to believe that the war in the South East of Ukraine is going to start very soon. Terrorist activities in Russia’s Caucasus are in the making as well. Last week, 13 people were killed. Dagestan is still a hotspot. Let’s just hope that Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov will be able to keep the situation under control.
“Another front is opening in Central Asia. This is a very serious development, because in northern Afghanistan, for example, the Islamic State has recently taken two towns. This cancer continues spreading. The Islamic State is already in China. Just look at the map: the Baltic States, Ukraine, Donbas, the Caucasus, Central Asia, China – this is a plan to encircle Russia.
“As for Turkey, this country is in a habit of showing influence on political processes in other countries. Turkey took part in two Chechen wars. Militants would receive medical assistance, education and training in Turkey. Turkey was playing against Russia and continues playing so today.
“I think that John Kerry arrived in Moscow with tough requirements in his pocket. The Americans have been showing greater influence on the countries that Russia considered its allies before. Russia has lost Argentina, because Cristina Kirchner is no longer the president. The new Argentine president swore an oath to the United States. Everything is now happening on the American scenario. Colour revolutions are brewing in Latin America. Now they’re trying to impeach Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. She cannot help and assist Russia because she has to deal with serious problems in her own country.
“In Venezuela, the ruling party has lost the elections as well. The same is happening in Cuba. Everyone is eagerly waiting for Castro brothers to die. There is every reason to believe that Cuba will become a colony of the United States soon.
“Look at the Balkans. Serbia, Russia’s long-standing friend, was lost a few months ago. The country seeks NATO and EU membership. The Serbian administration has been completely Americanized. Montenegro is joining NATO. There were protests in Bulgaria in Serbia and in other countries, but no one is paying attention to them. No matter what people may say, politicians follow instructions from Washington. As a result, we only have China left from BRICS countries.
“Kerry can remind Putin that owing to the actions of the Central Bank, the Russian ruble has collapsed. This collapse of the Russian national currency has nothing in common with the declining world oil prices. The West has been striking economic, financial and social blows on Russia.
“I think that the current situation is very serious. Russian Defense Minister has recently reported that the Russian nuclear weapons were set on full alert. I very much hope that President Putin has his own trump cards that he can use when time comes. We have to have something against American trump cards.”
“What do you think about provocations from Turkey? Why did the country decide to start serious confrontation with Russia? What does Turkey want?
“I said back in September that the Turkish Stream project was not going to materialize. I understand that every country has its list of geopolitical interests, and these interests are absolutely different for Turkey and Russia. During the last 20 years the two countries were working in a very productive way because they had a thin layer of common interests. Yet, big geopolitical conflicts were never gone.
“During the last 25-30 years, Turkey was developing economically, financially and militarily. Turkish President Erdogan wants to destroy secular Turkey. There is also a purely medical factor: Erdogan has leukemia. He has been taking chemical drugs for years and these drugs affect his state of mind making him psychologically unstable. They were growing this steroid pitbull, just like they used to do with Hitler.”
“What do common Bulgarian people think about it?”
When Turkish Prime Minister has recently paid a visit to Bulgaria, many people took to the streets under Bulgarian and even Russian flags. The people were chanting: “Out of Bulgaria!” “Down with Turkish terrorism in Syria!”
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Posted: 26 Dec 2015 05:07 AM PST

Facebook has sensationally banned a story about a ‘refugee’ raping a Swedish woman in line with the company’s new policy to censor anti-migrant posts deemed to be “xenophobic”.
The Infowars story, which explained how a north African migrant who participated in the gang rape of a woman in Stockholm got off without charge, was posted on Facebook yesterday but disappeared from the website within hours.
A query of the URL on Facebook’s ‘Debugger’ website reveals that, “this link is blocked.” Any attempt to post the link on Facebook results in failure.
Apparently, Facebook feels it is more important to control the narrative on the migrant crisis than to defend rape victims.
The company’s policy was leaked during a conversation between Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier this year which was caught on a hot mic. Zuckerberg promised Merkel that he was working on censoring anti-migrant posts.
It subsequently emerged that the German government and Facebook were working with ex-Stasi agent Anetta Kahane to identify “xenophobic” posts made on the social networking website and punish people who make them with fines and jail sentences.
As we highlighted back in January, Facebook’s new censorship policy also allows users to flag content which “annoys” them or which they deem to be offensive. This allows large mobs of agenda-driven social justice warriors to mass flag posts for deletion.
The new policy was justified by Facebook’s need to eliminate “fake news,” but the same excuse doesn’t apply in this case. The story about the refugee gang rape of the Swedish woman was featured in numerous different mainstream news outlets, including The Local and FriaTider.
Facebook has previously censored political content on numerous occasions. Back in May, the winner of the Muhammad art contest in Garland, Texas that was attacked by gun-wielding jihadists was banned by Facebook, before his account was restored after vociferous complaints.
The Alex Jones Facebook account was also temporarily suspended over an image of an ISIS militant that couldn’t even be considered offensive by any stretch of the imagination.
As the Gatestone Institute highlights, Facebook is censoring a rape epidemic in Germany that has led citizens to obtain firearms and pepper spray in their droves.
German police are also deliberately censoring information about migrants committing rapes and other crimes so as not to “legitimize” critics of mass immigration.
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Posted: 26 Dec 2015 04:45 AM PST

An angry mob retaliating over attacks on firefighters and police has ransacked a Muslim prayer house in the French island of Corsica. The crowd set books, including several copies of the Koran on fire.
Tensions mounted in Ajaccio, Corsica’s largest city of some 65,000 residents, after a night of violence in Jardins de L’Empereur. Two firefighters and a police officers were injured in what the authorities described as ambushes by “several hooded youths” in the low-income neighborhood.
On Friday afternoon, some 150 demonstrators gathered in front of the police HQ in a show of support, AFP reported citing officials. But part of that crowd broke off and joined an estimated 600 people, who marched towards the housing estate where violence had occurred the night before. The crowd was shouting slogans in Corsican, such as: “Arabs get out!” and “This is our home!”
The angry demonstrators ransacked a nearby Muslim prayer house, smashing glass and partially burning some 50 books, including copies of the Koran.
Local police put five Muslim prayer houses in Ajaccio under protection and maintained a presence on the housing estate overnight, regional official Francois Lalanne told the news agency.
Traitorous leftist French politicians condemned the violence in Corsica perpetrated by both those who attacked the firefighters and those who ransacked the prayer house. Leftist socialist French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve rushed to accuse the French of “racism and xenophobia” shortly after the attack yet he did not accuse the Muslims who attacked the policeman and the firefighters of anything. Local authorities pledged to arrest those responsible.
Anti-Muslim sentiment is rising in France in the wake of continuous terrorist attacks that killed hundreds of people and left thousands injured. The Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility for the violence in the French capital.
Corsica, a small Mediterranean island, has a long history of nationalistic movements, which occasionally lead to violence. Anti-immigrant and nationalist parties performed well during last month’s regional election, giving the department its first-ever nationalist government.
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Posted: 25 Dec 2015 02:13 PM PST

The Islamic nation of Brunei is again banning the celebration of Christmas, as its sultan has reissued an edict first put into effect last year that prohibits any public display of Christmas decorations and even the wearing of Santa hats.
Britain’s Independent reported that the tiny nation’s ruler, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (shown), introduced the ban on Christmas in 2014. Back in October 2013, the sultan announced his intention to impose Sharia law on the country’s Muslims, who make up two thirds of the country’s population. This change is being implemented in three phases, culminating in 2016, making Brunei the only country in East Asia to introduce Sharia law into its penal code.
While Sharia technically applies only to Muslims, even non-Muslims in Brunei (13 percent are Buddhists and 10 percent are Christians) must refrain from any public behavior that runs counter to the law. Christians cannot have any public Christmas displays and must celebrate their holiday privately. Violations of the ban on celebrating Christmas is punishable by a fine of $20,000, a sentence of up to five years in prison, or both.
The Independent reported that officials from Brunei’s Ministry of Religious Affairs have reportedly visited private businesses to ensure they are not displaying Christmas decorations, including Santa hats and banners with Christmas greetings.
Brunei’s imams defended the ban in sermons published in the nation’s press. An example is: “Using religious symbols like crosses, lighting candles, putting up Christmas trees, singing religious songs, sending Christmas greetings … are against Islamic faith.”
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Posted: 25 Dec 2015 01:57 PM PST

Records are being shattered this holiday season as cities around the US are experiencing their warmest Christmas on record.
If you were dreaming of a white Christmas, chances are you can forget it this year. Records are being broken around the country as temperatures are reaching between 20 and 35 degrees above their historical averages and even as much as 15 degrees above previous record highs.
​The northeast saw some of the most dramatic breaks from holiday tradition. Thursday’s high in Boston of 69 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) well eclipsed the earlier record of 61 degrees Fahrenheit. Burlington Vermont hit 68 degrees (), 17 degrees above the earlier record of 51 set in 1957. The southeast has not been immune as reflected by Norfolk, Virginia’s record of 82 degrees, 7 degrees above the 75-degree record set way back in 1891.
Only in northern Maine were residents witness to snow with more than an inch on the ground in time for Christmas. Compare that to last year when Boston saw record snowfall complete with what seemed like weekly snowstorms.
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Posted: 25 Dec 2015 01:46 PM PST

The Israeli town named after the birthplace of Jesus Christ has banned signs celebrating the holidays at an intersection in the town that has become a local battleground for the War on Christmas.
Officials from Bethlehem, New York had a “Happy Hanukkah” sign and a “Merry Christmas” sign removed from a busy intersection and have refused to put up any new holiday signs out of fear the signs would be breaking the law, The Albany-Times Union reports.
The town’s lawyer reportedly said Christmas trees and other symbols were acceptable, but written signs would not be allowed, a decision that has caused an uproar in the local community.
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Posted: 25 Dec 2015 01:40 PM PST

Driving instructors in the Netherlands can legally trade driving lessons for sex despite being a wealthy nation where its citizens can easily afford to pay the driving lessons with money, government ministers have confirmed.
While prostitution is legal in the Netherlands, this controversial form of exchanging sex for services has recently been a hot topic for debate: Some novice drivers have been learning the rules of the road in exchange for sex, in deals which the conservative opposition party ChristenUnie has labeled “illegal prostitution.”
The Dutch government has been researching the appropriate legal stance on such transactions and concluded that offering driving lessons in exchange for sex is not illegal. However it would be illegal if the transaction was to be reversed, with a learner driver offering sex for the lessons.
Justice minister, Ard van der Steur, and the Dutch transport minister, Melanie Schultz van Haegen, have said that while this may be “undesirable,” it remains legal as long as both parties involved in the transaction are at least eighteen-years-old, no laws were being broken.
“It is important that the initiative lies with the driving instructor and focuses on offering a driving lesson, with the payment provided in sexual acts,” the ministers wrote in a letter to parliament, as seen by The Daily Telegraph. “When a sexual act is offered in lieu of financial payment, that is prostitution.”
While there are many adverts placed online offering driving lessons in exchange for “personal services,” DutchNews reports that authorities do not have concrete evidence as to how many people are actually partaking in such arrangements, with police in Rotterdam deciding not to publish the results of an investigation they carried out into the issue.
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Posted by Roberto Abraham Scaruffi at 09:09