By W.T. Whitney, Jr. | CounterPunch | March 25, 2014

“Cuba is already ours. I feel it in my finger’s ends.”
– James Buchanan, 1849

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied Land Command
March 25, 2014
LANDCOM put one step forward towards Full Operational Capability with Loyal Bonus

CounterPunch
March 25, 2014
Time to Disband NATO
By Alice Slater

Blues in a good way though. We don't like making a big fuss about these arbitrary reporting quarters, as though they have any kind of intrinsic value. It's just a Beltway subterfuge Blue America prefers to ignore. Except not this quarter. We're embracing it.

AzerNews
March 26, 2014
Azerbaijan to expand presence in NATO
By Sara Rajabova
Azerbaijan plans to increase the number of its officers serving in the NATO in summer.
The news was announced by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry on March 25.
Currently, seven officers of Azerbaijani Armed Forces serve in several NATO headquarters.
Also, the participation of about 900 soldiers in events held in the framework of the NATO Individual Partnership was considered in 2014.

Anti-war essays, poems, short stories and literary excerpts
Maurice Druon
From The Strangled Queen (1955)
Translated by Humphrey Hare

“Monseigneur of Valois has just said that he wants to return to the good old customs of Monseigneur Saint Louis. But what does he mean by that? Are all the old customs to be brought back into use?”

Moscow does not have to “annex” or “invade” anything; it just needs to sit back, relax and watch the West manage its self-created mess. Apart from fiery NATO rhetoric and that only slightly relevant signing in Brussels last Friday, there are few indications so far the “lost in its own pivots” US and a beleaguered EU have the ability, the willingness and the necessary commitment to support the Kiev regime changers all the way.
The post Why The EU Won’t Annex Ukraine appeared first on BSNEWS.

With no hopes in sight for ending the Israeli Occupation, let alone ending the ever-expanding settlements, certainly for a “two states solution” time for Mahmoud Abbas to keep his often-stated promise (last one on December 28, 2012) to disband the PA/PLO and hand over the Keys to Bibi Netanyahu, Barack Obama and John Kerry.
 

The libertarian movement has always been a contentious arena: that’s the nature of the beast. After all, we’re talking about libertarians – individualists to a fault: getting them to agree on anything is often like trying to herd cats. Aside from this question of temperament, however, there have been some very substantial ideological differences over […]

To pivot, according to the venerable Oxford English Dictionary, means “to turn as on a pivot.” Which takes us to the noun, which seems more appropriate for describing the Obama administration’s Pacific policy: “That on which anything turns; a cardinal or central point.” The problem, however, is that finding a cardinal or a central point […]

Many recent indicators point to a U.S. national security bureaucracy running roughshod over the sad remnants of the founder’s republican vision. As in the Roman world, empire is gradually snuffing out the republic. The US government’s more than $1 trillion dollar annual spending on security – for a country that may very well be the […]

The observation that the Chinese characters for the word “crisis” combine the characters for “danger” and “opportunity” has become a staple of Washington foreign policy discourse for years. So it’s no surprise that the ongoing crisis in Ukraine – and Russia’s de facto absorption of Crimea – provides lots of “opportunities” for various interests to […]

 
by Philip Giraldi

Part I – An Aggressive Anachronism
Saudi Arabia is one of a handful of Middle East anachronisms: a family-based monarchy that believes it sits at the right hand of God. The Saud clan that rules in Saudi Arabia is both insular and fanatic. It is devoted to the Wahhabi sect of Sunni Islam, perhaps the most strict and intolerant manifestation of the religion.

The European Union's capital city has a lot more to fear than Vladimir Putin. In fact, its future doom is almost certain:The chickens are coming home to roost for the contracepting, aborting, "gay"-marrying lemmings of self-extinguishing Caucasian Europe.(It looks as though the Khazars will have to find themselves a new golem in the not too distant future)._____________________

 
 
JAMAL KANJ
 
 AT a March 19 UN Security Council discussion, US Ambassador Samantha Powers was quoted as saying, “A thief can steal property, but that does not confer the right of ownership on the thief.”

The desire of Washington to integrate NATO with Ukraine, steps of which have already been taken, is a driving force behind the recent coup in Ukraine, another diving force of which is the fascist Neo-Nazi’s who now are integrated into key ministerial positions within the government and parliament. Pepe Escobar reports:[RT, Pepe Escobar, March 24 2014, http://rt.com/op-edge/eu-annex-ukraine-nato-agreement-829/] 

At least 68 people were killed and 81 were wounded across Iraq today. Also, a month shy of national elections, the Independent High Electoral Commission quit en masse over what they described as "interference" with their jobs.

Unless you read your NY Times in Pakistan, where the story was disappeared, you probably read about how the Pakistanis knew exactly where Osama bin-Laden was while they took billions of dollars in American aid and pretended to be looking for him.

On this podcast Aaron discusses the recent death of Dave Brockie, lead singer of the iconic metal band Gwar. Some time is also dedicated to listener appreciation, Owen Barfield, and Aldous Huxley. Be sure to keep listening to Trans Resister Radio as a new episode will be posted every week on either Tuesday or Wednesday.

March 26, 2014 (Tony Cartalucci - NEO) - Tensions have risen once again along the Syrian-Tukrish border as Turkey downs a Syrian warplane and terrorists backed by Turkish troops storm across the border and down Syria’s western coast in Latakia province.

1484 – William Caxton prints his translation of Aesop’s Fables.
1812 – A political cartoon in the Boston Gazette coins the term “gerrymander” to describe oddly shaped electoral districts designed to help incumbents win reelection.
1892 – Walt Whitman, American poet and author (b. 1819) died.
1885 – The Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel begin the North-West Rebellion against Canada.

by KenThe lead item in today's Washington Post "In the Loop" column begins by referring back to "a recent play-by-play" by Politico's Dylan Byers, "illustrating the cat-and-mouse games the White House plays with the press," so I thought we would start with the Dylan Byers post, from last week, called "The most transparent administration, cont.":

BBC Newshour:  Judith Curry and Bob Ward debate Steyn versus Mann For background on this issue, see my previous posts: Mann versus Steyn Steyn et al. versus Mann On tonite’s BBC WorldNews NewsHour, I participated in a 15 minute segment … Continue reading →

Over the years, one of the most mindless techniques used to suppress questioning of 9/11 has been to equate such questions with Holocaust denial. This smear tactic has been used by propagandists like Glenn Beck, Michael Shermer, and Rachel Maddow, as well as by government representatives like Michael Chertoff. Recently I’ve thought about how absurd such diversionary claims are while at the same time recognizing that I have met some incredible people over the past decade.

At the National Interest, Cato’s Ted Galen Carpenter argues Washington’s Eastern European NATO allies “are dangerous strategic liabilities, not assets.” NATO, he writes, has worn out its strategic value and expanding it as we have since the end of the Cold War merely serves to destabilize Europe by provoking Russia and giving us “crises” like Ukraine.

After objecting to FBI’s self-serving leaks, Florida state prosecutor clears FBI in killing of Todashev–and the story changes, again….Click here for free audiobook download from Audible, and earn $15 for the PBC Podcast!
–Obama’s plan to end mass phone data collection
–Obama rules out military action over Crimea
–Obama names top Holder aide to run Office of Legal Counsel
–CIA underling is nailed, Panetta spared, in Zero Dark 30 flap

After the convenient media blackout of the Neo-Nazi contingencies in Ukraine which provided the smokescreen for their violent and illegal seizures of political power within the region, which was further aided by the United States government who labelled the protest movements as ‘peaceful’ despite the fact that they were armed and militant, now it seems as though the utility of these contingencies has been exhausted, and the masters who gave them, with their silence, carte-blanche to commit illegal actions of aggression, violence and murder are realizing now that the once useful auxiliary pa

Socialist Worker | August 18, 2009

AS SOCIALISTS, we support the right of oppressed peoples to fight for self-determination unreservedly, just as we oppose imperialism, without caveat.

Barbara Lee has been one of the most consistent, courageous and articulate voices in Congress on behalf of ordinary working families. Corporations and the one percent do not finance her career. She doesn't represent them. She's one of the handful of progressives who represent just plain folks who never even thought about going out and hiring a lobbyist. Needless to say, when Congresswoman Lee speaks out, the might of the plutocrats is arrayed against her.

In the New York Times, Ben Macintyre reviews the new book by Richard Overy The Bombers and the Bombed. Macintyre gives a summary of Overy’s myth-busting about the Allied bombing of Germany. Indiscriminate bombing of civilians, instead of sticking to military targets, is usually defended as (1) a response to similarly indiscriminate bombing campaigns by the Germans, like in the Blitz, and (2) the only way to completely bring down the Nazi regime.

Ministry of Defence of Georgia
March 25, 2014
NATO PARP/PGs Assessment Team Visit to Georgia

The NATO Assessment Team led by Mr. Frank Boland, the Director of the Planning Directorate of the NATO Headquarters in Brussels conducts an official visit to the Ministry of Defence of Georgia.

 I kid you not! We the People @Whitehouse.gov

we petition the obama administration to:

Alaska back to Russia.

(Read entire article)
The post The Financial Elite and the Global Land Grab appeared first on .

Sofia News Agency</ap
March 25, 2014
Capitals of US, EU, Moldova to Host NATO’s Enlargement Anniversary

Washington, Brussels and Moldova are the cities where celebrations of Eastern Europe’s 10th Anniversary in NATO will take place.

There are 30,774,038 federal, state and local government employees if you count the 4.4 million federal contractors and 2.5 million grantees. Are we getting our money’s worth? America has sent 12 million high paying jobs and 56,000 manufacturing plants overseas. We now have 51.5 million low paying workers who pay few if any taxes at all. 27 million individuals and families with children received an average of $1,330 in welfare payments disguised as Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC.) With our declining wages and employment we might ask ourselves are all those people worth it.

There are 30,774,038 federal, state and local government employees if you count the 4.4 million federal contractors and 2.5 million grantees. Are we getting our money’s worth? America has sent 12 million high paying jobs and 56,000 manufacturing plants overseas. We now have 51.5 million low paying workers who pay few if any taxes at all. 27 million individuals and families with children received an average of $1,330 in welfare payments disguised as Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC.) With our declining wages and employment we might ask ourselves are all those people worth it.

DC on BFP #33 | Bill Conroy to discuss the CIA's interference with a Senate Intelligence Committee investigation into the use of torture, and how this case mirrors the case of former DEA agent Richard Horn. Also, the latest on the drug war front in Mexico, EPN's "purge" of the old order, and much more.

Yesterday Russian “self-defense forces” successfully captured the last land base in Crimea controlled by the Ukrainian military, further solidifying Russian control and sovereignty over the autonomous republic, which has recently been annexed into the Russian Federation after President Vladimir Putin and Crimean representatives signed the annexation treaty on Tuesday, which then gained parliamentary approval on Friday and was formally signed into law on the same day by Mr.

Manipulation of a Summary document makes the UN's climate panel look like an overly-protective, hysterical mother.

Last post for the day! Promise...Hat tip to HHQ for this tidbit.

by James Corbett
BoilingFrogsPost.com
March 25, 2014
Have you or a loved one ever found yourself saying something like this?
Or this?
Or this?
Then you might be suffering from cognitive dissonance.
Cognitive dissonance? What’s that?

In the last couple of cycles Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam, funneled $94,402,625 into U.S. political campaigns. Although some of it was wasted on crackpot fringe candidates like Shmuley Boteach, Miriam wrote 3 checks for $5,000,000 each on June 14, 2012, October 15, 2012 and October 19, 2012 to Romney's SuperPAC, Restore Our Future.

 freethinker- Thanks for bringing this to my attentionBefore I forget, brian, thanks for the heads up regarding the assassination reported on in the previous post!freethinkerMarch 25, 2014 at 9:05 AMDid you catch this ?

Welcome back to The Asia-Pacific Perspective, that monthly show where James Corbett of corbettreport.com and Broc West of apperspective.net break down all the latest news and headlines from the Asia-Pacific region. In this month’s conversation:
SEGMENT 1: Asia-Pacific Protests
And Now….The ‘Anti-Protest’ Law in Australia
http://ur1.ca/gvzi2
Thousands drawn to Australia-wide protests against government policies

March 25, 2014 (ATN) - Protesters in Thailand's capital of Bangkok are planning another mass march this Saturday in opposition of convicted criminal, fugitive, accused mass murderer, billionaire, autocrat Thaksin Shinawatra and his proxy regime.

 
 
 
 
Editors Note: Al Jazeera English has once again removed an article by Columbia University professor Joseph Massad hours after publishing it. The article, “The Dahlan Factor,” appeared for several hours on the Qatar-based broadcaster’s website this morning at this link, but was later removed without explanation (the full article is republished below).
 

The West's next proxy war is being stopped before it starts in Egypt. Photograph: Cairo, Egypt. Tarek Wajeh/Almasry Alyoum/EPAMarch 25, 2014 (Tony Cartalucci) - The unprecedented sentencing of over 500 Muslim Brotherhood members to death in Egypt for their role in the attack, torture, and murder of an Egyptian policeman, is the culmination of a lighting fast, all encompassing security crackdown across the pivotal North African Arab nation.

It should be pretty obvious to anyone paying attention that the coup government in Ukraine, is full of problematic persons. Ukraine no doubt needs these head bashers in the apparatus of their tyrannical state.So, I am suspecting a cleansing of the most foul, the most noxious, the most obvious.