Gaza Cease-fire Agreement Furthers Ongoing Age of Imperialism

Jeremy Kazmurov | Covert Action Magazine 

In October 9, Israel and Hamas announced the adoption of a cease-fire agreement involving the release of all hostages held by Hamas.

Israel, in exchange, agreed to allow for the entry of humanitarian aid, to release Palestinian prisoners, and to withdraw its forces to a so-called “yellow line” from which they will still control all land crossings into Gaza.

The U.S. additionally agreed to send 200 more troops to Israel to monitor and oversee the agreement.

New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman gushed that President Donald Trump deserved a Nobel Peace Prize for helping to broker the agreement. However, the World Socialist Web Site reported that the October 9 “peace” deal inscribes a return to the open colonial domination of the Middle East that prevailed in the 19^th century.

Gaza is now to be governed by a “Board of Peace” headed and chaired by Donald Trump and which will include former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) noted that the “peace agreement” was “steeped in colonial rhetoric” and that its “inclusion of an international ‘Board of Peace’…ensures the exclusion of Palestinian voices from the decision-making of Palestinian futures.”

A hidden U.S.-Israeli agenda has long been to control oil and gas fields off the Gaza coast that are estimated to be worth more than $500 billion.

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Trump’s Sanctions Put Him on “Warpath” with Russia, Says Medvedev

Will Jones | The Daily Sceptic

Donald Trump has put the US on the “warpath” with Moscow with his decision to impose sanctions and cancel a peace summit, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has said. The Telegraph has more.

On Wednesday night, the US President announced sanctions against Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil. The measures followed the collapse of a proposed meeting with Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin had signalled it was unwilling to meet America’s terms for a ceasefire.

“The US is our enemy, and its talkative ‘peacemaker’ has now fully embarked on the warpath with Russia,” Mr Medvedev wrote on Telegram. 

“The decisions taken are an act of war against Russia. And now Trump has fully aligned himself with loony Europe,” said the Deputy Chair of Russia’s National Security Council, reigniting his war of words with the US President.

The European Union also announced new sanctions on Russia, including a ban on the import of liquefied natural gas. The natural gas ban will phase out imports rather than halt them immediately. 

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Russia, Syria and the anglo-American existential gas war in the Middle East

Joe Quinn
Sott.net

On our weekly radio show last Sunday, I commented that the response from the U.S. and its Western allies to Russia's launch of an actual war on terrorism in Syria has been largely silence, deafening silence , a bit like Netanyahu's 'silence spectacle' at the UN recently, only even more deafening. So deafening in fact, that it came full circle and I began to hear something.

At first it was just a mealy-mouthed American-accented, 'Russia is making things worse'. But it quickly grew in strength to announce in a Queen's English accent, "we're bombing ISIS too you know!" And before long it had become a cacophonous coprocopia of nonsense about Russia "killing innocent civilians in Syria" and, most recently, "dangerously invading the airspace" of our NATO ally Turkey.

Still, it was, and is, all 'sound and fury', because the bottom line is that U.S. has had its 'war on terror' bluff called in spectacular fashion by Russia and there is nothing, and I mean nothing, that the terror masterminds in Washington and Langley can do about it, short of declaring war on Russia.

The only more or less honest statements about Russia's move into Syria from the West have come from the same person, U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, head of U.S. European Command. Speaking on Sept. 28th at a meeting in Berlin of the 'German Marshall Fund' - a US think tank that commemorates the Marshall Plan, an initiative through which the USA gained economic control over most of Western Europe after WW2 - Breedlove said that Russia had installed "very sophisticated air defense capabilities/anti-access area denial" that were not aimed at the Islamic State but "about something else". Of course, "something else" here means "NATO bombs".

General Strangelove, er, Breedlove: 'Might doesn't make right. Except when we do it.'

At the same meeting, Breedlove also said that US aircraft had begun arriving at Diyarbakir Air Base in southeast Turkey so as to "better recover our coalition partners should they need assistance in Syria or Iraq." This was an informed and well-advised move, because about 36 hours later a Russian general walked into the US embassy in Baghdad and told a consulate staffer "bombing begins in an hour." We'll never know if any CIA/US military operatives frantically requested an 'evac' from the vicinity of ISIL or FSA training camps in Syria just before Russian missiles turned them into holes in the ground, but the thought that they may have is very inspiring.

Most people reading this have no doubt already internalized the objective truth about the US-led war on terror; that it is nothing more than a cynical cover for US imperial expansion, specifically aimed at 'containing' Russia as the only real threat to US global hegemony. For the last 70 years or so, that hegemony has been secured largely through US control over Middle Eastern oil by way of repeated US meddling in the affairs of Middle Eastern nations, up to and including carrying out coup d'etats and other dirty tricks to destabilize the region. At the same time, Washington expended vast amounts of money and military power to control other nations around the world and enforce a pax Americana that ensured the USA stayed on top. 

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Vladimir Putin signs historic $20bn oil deal with Iran to bypass Western sanctions

The Telegraph

Vladimir Putin is eyeing a $20bn (£11.8bn) trade deal with Iran that would see Russia sidestep Western sanctions on its energy sector. 

Under the terms of a five-year accord, Russia would help Iran organise oil sales as well as “cooperate in the oil-gas industry, construction of power plants, grids, supply of machinery, consumer goods and agriculture products”, according to a statement by the Energy Ministry in Moscow.

However, the Russian government mysteriously withdrew that statement last night, saying it would issue a new one on Wednesday.

Despite the U-turn, news of a possible agreement hit US markets. The Dow fell 139 points, or 0.8pc, led by energy companies such as Chevron, down 2.5pc, and ExxonMobil, down 1.9pc. Brent Crude fell 1.5pc before recovering to trade down 0.7pc at $104.61.

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Russia Halts Gas Supplies To Ukraine

Zero Hedge

After weeks of worthless foreplay whose outcome was known from the beginning despite just as worthless EU middleman Oettinger assuring everyone a deal was imminent any second now, overnight we got the long-anticipated mutual defection outcome and - as we warned - negotiations between Gazprom and Ukraine/EU fell apart with the Russian energy giant halting supplies to Ukraine unless Kiev prepays any and all gas deliveries from now on. Gazprom said it hadn't received payment for a debt it put at $4.458 billion by the Monday deadline it had set. "Ukraine will receive gas only in the amounts it has paid for," Gazprom said.

The reason for the collapse in talks: Kiev wants to pay $268.5 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas - the price it had been offered when Yanukovich was in power - but, in a compromise last week, said it would agree to pay $326 for an interim period until a lasting deal was reached. Moscow had sought to keep the price at the 2009 contract level of $485 per 1,000 cubic meters, but had offered to waive an export duty, bringing down prices by about one-fifth to $385, which brings it broadly into line with what Russia charges other European countries.

In other words, the delta was less than $60, and certainly a "fair" offer to Ukraine considering it is what Europe pays. However, it wasn't low enough for Kiev, which certainly is out of money once again having to spend the bulk of its IMF/EU aid to keep its military armed, and the only logical outcome - one in which the country would no longer receive something for nothing - transpired.

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As Iraq fighting rages, gas prices climb

CBS News

A rising tide of violence in Iraq is driving up prices at the pump.

The hike in gas costs follows the battlefield successes of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), an al Qaeda breakaway group backed by Sunni fighters and other groups, in northern Iraq. The cost of crude rose Friday afternoon to nearly $107, a 10-month high, amid fears that the mounting insurgency there could lead to major disruptions of oil shipments. Brent crude futures, an international benchmark, climbed 54 cents to $112.96.

Iraq is the third-largest exporter of oil in the world and has the fifth-largest crude reserves, according to the Energy Information Administration. 

Oil prices rose Friday afternoon to nearly $107 a barrel, a 10-month high, amid fears that the insurgency could affect crude supplies from Iraq. Brent crude futures, an international benchmark, climbed 54 cents to $112.96.

"It is guaranteed that consumers will pay higher gas prices in the coming days, due to the turmoil in Iraq," said Michael Green, a spokesman for AAA. "The price of oil has gone up in recent days due to the fact that the production in Iraq might be curtailed and there could be increased conflict in the Middle East. And whenever oil prices go up, that is going to affect you at the gas pump."

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Russia Is Doing It – Russia Is Actually Abandoning The Dollar

Investment Watch
Michael Snyder

The Russians are actually making a move against the petrodollar. It appears that they are quite serious about their de-dollarization strategy. The largest natural gas producer on the planet, Gazprom, has signed agreements with some of their biggest customers to switch payments for natural gas from U.S. dollars to euros. And Gazprom would have never done this without the full approval of the Russian government, because the Russian government holds a majority stake in Gazprom.

There hasn't been a word about this from the big mainstream news networks in the United States, but this is huge. When you are talking about Gazprom, you are talking about a company that is absolutely massive. It is one of the largest companies in the entire world and it makes up 8 percent of Russian GDP all by itself.

It holds 18 percent of the natural gas reserves of the entire planet, and it is also a very large oil producer. So for Gazprom to make a move like this is extremely significant.

When Barack Obama decided to slap some meaningless economic sanctions on Russia a while back, he probably figured that the world would forget about them after a few news cycles.

But the Russians do not forget, and they certainly do not forgive. 

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Energy War: Bulgaria halts Russia's South Stream gas pipeline project

RT

Bulgaria’s prime minister, Plamen Oresharski, has ordered a halt to work on Russia’s South Stream pipeline, on the recommendation of the EU. The decision was announced after his talks with US senators.

"At this time there is a request from the European Commission, after which we've suspended the current works, I ordered it," Oresharski told journalists after meeting with John McCain, Chris Murphy and Ron Johnson during their visit to Bulgaria on Sunday. "Further proceedings will be decided after additional consultations with Brussels."

McCain, commenting on the situation, said that "Bulgaria should solve the South Stream problems in collaboration with European colleagues," adding that in the current situation they would want "less Russian involvement" in the project.

"America has decided that it wants to put itself in a position where it excludes anybody it doesn't like from countries where it thinks it might have an interest, and there is no economic rationality in this at all. Europeans are very pragmatic, they are looking for cheap energy resources - clean energy resources, and Russia can supply that. But the thing with the South Stream is that it doesn't fit with the politics of the situation," Ben Aris, editor of Business New Europe told RT.

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The Farce Is Complete: Joe Biden's Son Joins Board Of Largest Ukraine Gas Producer

Zero Hedge

The farce is complete...

Burisma Holdings, Ukraine’s largest private gas producer, has expanded its Board of Directors by bringing on Mr. R Hunter Biden as a new director.

R. Hunter Biden will be in charge of the Holdings’ legal unit and will provide support for the Company among international organizations. On his new appointment, he commented: “Burisma’s track record of innovations and industry leadership in the field of natural gas means that it can be a strong driver of a strong economy in Ukraine. As a new member of the Board, I believe that my assistance in consulting the Company on matters of transparency, corporate governance and responsibility, international expansion and other priorities will contribute to the economy and benefit the people of Ukraine.”

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Burisma Holdings, Mr. Alan Apter, noted: “The company’s strategy is aimed at the strongest concentration of professional staff and the introduction of best corporate practices, and we’re delighted that Mr. Biden is joining us to help us achieve these goals.”
R. Hunter Biden is a counsel to Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, a national law firm based in New York, USA, which served in cases including “Bush vs. Gore”, and “U.S. vs. Microsoft”. He is one of the co-founders and a managing partner of the investment advisory company Rosemont Seneca Partners, as well as chairman of the board of Rosemont Seneca Advisors. He is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s Masters Program in the School of Foreign Service.

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Global Cooling, Russia, Ukraine, Europe & The United States: The Battle Over Natural Gas

Comment: If you're into top-level mundane Astrology then you'd be very wise to check out Theodore Whites' excellent analysis:  The Grand Cardinal Cross Of Spring 2014: Crisis In Ukraine, Crimea, Russia & The West

The following is only a small extract of a very long and detailed post where astrology meets geopolitics with special attention given to the Ukraine-Russia crisis. 

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The Grand Cardinal Cross Spring 2014

[...]

The overall series of seven (7) exact Uranus-Pluto World Squares, of which the fourth exact aspect activated on November 1, 2013, will take us to the fifth (5th) exact square of April 21, 2014, and that is smack in the middle of the ongoing Grand Cardinal Cross of spring 2014. 

1 March 2014 - Mars stations retrograde at 27-Libra

2 March 2014 - Saturn stations retrograde at 23-Scorpio

6 March 2014 - Jupiter stations direct at 10-Cancer

Then, into the Grand Cardinal Cross of spring of 2014:

10 April 2014 - Mercury heads N in declination

14 April 2014 - Pluto stations retrograde

15 April 2014 - New Moon and Lunar Eclipse at 25-Libra

20 April 2014 - Jupiter squares Uranus

20 Apr 2014 - Jupiter opposes Pluto

21 Apr 2014 - 5th Uranus square Pluto, exact aspect

20-23 April - Strong cardinal transits

From these planetary configurations, it is my assessment that we are heading into dangerous times for 2014, a major cardinal crisis year.

The Holy Week of April 2014 is highlighted for much of the cardinal crisis energies.

Another problem is that there is a lunar eclipse on April 15, 2014, which compounds an already powerful time in the world. It will extend into the months of May and June 2014.

A Grand Cross, or Grand Square configuration, consists of four (4) or more planets spread out at intervals of approximately 90-degrees.

This powerful configuration features two oppositions with four planets that are square to each other. 

In the case of spring 2014, these planets are:

Mars, retrograde in Libra

Jupiter in Cancer

Uranus in Aries

Pluto, retrograde in Capricorn

Now, this configuration differs from a T-square configuration which diffuses energy, as the grand cross configuration focalizes it.

The reason for this is because any one of the planets in a grand cross, or grand square, can be considered a focal point.

These are powerful focalized energy conduits that demand attention.

Therefore, any attempt to resolve any problems caused by a single planet in the grand cardinal cross configuration simply aggravates more problems with the other planets in the configuration.

This means that one is forced to scramble, from one crisis situation to the another, without being able to concentrate long enough on a single situation to be effective in resolving anything, that is, without causing even more problems in events taking place at the same time.

Remember, this 2014 cardinal configuration shows a continuous cycle of 'focalized crisis situations,' in each of the planetary positions - Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Pluto - as those involved are unable to fully resolve the problems associated with each single planetary body that are in unfavorable adverse aspect to one another.

The Uranus-Pluto world squares will bring about more revolutionary sentiments, violence and disruption that forces the status quo into what I consider to be suicidal attempts to regain 'control,'as the status quo is actually losing power.

It will call upon everyone with common sense, intelligence, courage and insight to counter the negativity brought about by the dying oligarchy and establishment that have laid down the groundwork of the dysfunction and disruption that is now in operation.

The spring into mid-summer 2014 is also not a good time for extended travel. I continue to warn about this due to the unfavorable world transits.

Any travel plans you have should be cancelled due to the high probability for accidents and troubles in foreign countries from now through to mid-to-late summer 2014.

My mundane advice is that it is best to stay close to home.

[...]

The Battle Over Natural Gas Global Cooling, Russia, Ukraine, Europe & The United States:

By Theodore White, astrometeorologist.Sci 

In forecasting the brutal winter of 2014 several years ago, I noted that the anomalous cold temperatures, ice and snow storms of winter 2014 would break records in the northern hemisphere.

And so it did.

The winter of 2014 shows what near future winters will be like under the new climate regime of global cooling that I have also forecasted will soon set upon the entire Earth.

And yet, another of the great bonehead errors that Washington DC and the Obama administration has consistently been making is their stance on ‘climate change.’

I will remind all that despite even President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry saying that ‘man-made global warming is a fact’ - that that is impossible.

The laws of physics which govern the Earth's entire planetary climate state outright that ‘man-made global warming,’ aka, ‘climate change’ cannot happen on Earth.

That means that it is impossible.

That is a fact.

Moreover, the solar-forced global warming that has been caused by the Sun since 1980-81 has been on the wane for years and will end, according to my Astromet calculations, in the year 2017.

And the new climate regime that is coming is global cooling, which is far, far worse than global warming could ever be.

In fact, global warming is good for the Earth, but global cooling is not.

And it is global cooling that is coming. 


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