Civil War in Ukraine: Western Empire vs Russia

[Jtucker]

Heimdallr, yes I see the bigger picture now. According to Cunningham's article there has been a much larger scale uprising in Yemen than simply a wide-scale Shia rebellion against Saudi backed regional power. I guess I take it for granted that anyone rising up against American dominance, is fighting for a democratic form of self-determination.

The article makes a strong point, that recognizes the shortcomings of western bias. We (westerners) are programmed that even in a political situation, that there is a fundamental Shia/Sunni conflict, but that is a manufactured division by the U.S.

Edward Said made this clear for decades in his writing.

I do think that in this specific conflict that Saudi Arabia is acting in a far more deadly manner than they have previously. IMO, although the Saudis are taking orders from the U.S., that this particular military action has a strong element of the Saudi royal family personally involved and this has been going on for decades. This Counterpunch article highlights some of the points.

_http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/04/02/yemen-saudi-arabias-vietnam/

 

[Jtucker]

Voyageur, I agree. Kasparov is "making rounds" - that I'm sure are paid.

Valentina's interview with RT America was clear and concise. She doesn't preach when she plays, and her personal views - are just that - personal. Of course this story broke on RT America 48 hours before it hit CBC. This is growing trend, where RT is breaking Canadian stories before the CBC. So there's thousands of CBC people on the ground in Canada, and maybe a dozen from RT? But they break the stories?

As a musician who supports classical music, I went onto the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's Facebook page to see what was going on. The first post I found was a link to some half-ass Op-ed piece about Putin's plan for a new "Soviet Empire" in Europe. In response I posted an article about NATO training Neo-Nazi battalions in Eastern Ukraine.

That got pulled within 3 minutes. I expect this from the Toronto elite. But why didn't the CBC just talk to Valentina herself? At least the Calgary Symphony backed her and (at least for the moment) welcomed her to play...

 

[Voyageur]

But why didn't the CBC just talk to Valentina herself? At least the Calgary Symphony backed her and (at least for the moment) welcomed her to play...

They did, on the radio http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/ID/2662827239/

Of course they are pretending that they know nothing of what is going on in Ukraine, except of course for the official narrative and they don't seem to understand Valentina's context.

Oh, and good on CSO!

 

[sitting]

Hi Sitting,

I've studied the situation in Yemen on and off for the past few years. IMO, I don't think the Shia Houthis take orders from the Iranian government. They may have received financial and materiel support from Iranian back channels in the past, but a recent report out of Yemen highlights that all sides are using captured and gifted American weapons. Iran has no access to American weapons, so they clearly aren't arming the main Houthi group.

Hi Jtucker,

Could be. But truth is--we probably wouldn't know either way. Some signals are subtle.

But things have exploded. The Saudi's felt sufficiently threatened to bomb. But these actions only inflame the situation. It will probably get worse.

The Saudi royals, with their billions & billions, really do not wish to rock the boat. Their aggressive action tells you a lot about their new mindset. They hear the ground rumbling. (Maybe even the Wave coming).

When Bandar sat face to face with Putin and threatened to disrupt the Sochi games, through their proxies (the Chechens), Putin shot back. He said the Saudi's may have monetary power ... but we the Russians have hard military power. And proxies of our own. And the "games" the Saudi's play so cleverly--may one day come back to haunt their own house.

That day has come I think.

In that region, there's an unfathomable reservoir of ill will (hatred even) between the downtrodden and those at the very top. It won't take much to get it going. But all of this is my speculation only and nothing more.

 

[Aeneas]

Here is an interesting article from Colonel Cassad. It is an interview with a director of the Russian equivalent of Stratfor, general Kanchukov.

http://cassad-eng.livejournal.com/153079.html

Here is the intro:

In the journal of general Kanchukov I found an interview of the former SVR general Reshetnikov, who now leads the RISR analytical center.

On the northern outskirts of Moscow, under reliable protection of the interior troops the formerly secret institute of the Foreign Intelligence Service is hidden. The golden letters "Russian Institute of Strategic Research" now show up on the front of the overhang. But the peaceful name doesn't confuse those who are in the know — more than two hundred employees forge the Motherland's analytical shield here. Will there be a new war in the south-east of Ukraine? Who is behind the US president? Why so many among our officials can be called the ideological agents of influence? These and other questions of "AN" were answered by the director of RISR, the retired lieutenant-general Leonid RESHETNIKOV.

 

[SeekinTruth]

A good review of the economic and social situation in Ukraine and how fast it has deteriorated since the crisis started:

http://thesaker.is/the-political-economy-of-civil-war-how-the-ukraine-became-as-impoverished-as-tajikistan-in-only-one-year/

 

[Jeremy F Kreuz]

interesting video from Efimov Victor Alekseyevich giving a lecture for FSB students, explaining the 6 basic control mechanisms and how the West uses them to control the world - what I found very interesting is how he refers to Putin seemingly to understand these 6 basics and how his policies are adapted to them and can be understood. enjoy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuf9d3sci-w

 

[Jeremy F Kreuz]

OSCE Documents Minsk II Protocol Violations by Ukraine - http://fortruss.blogspot.ru/2015/04/osce-documents-minsk-ii-protocol.html

as the comment of Fort Russ states: To its credit, OSCE is not asleep. Western media, however, are--nowhere in the US is any of this being reported...

 

[sitting]

FWIW, Dollar-Ruble broke through the psychologically important level of 50 this afternoon.
One can even say the concerted attack on the ruble is over and done. It failed.

With this ruble move, the oil market may not be far behind. Crude oil at $56 is well off its low.
This reflects deeply on the soundness of Russian strategy--along with a profound sense of cosmic justice.

 

[Niall]

Hi Sitting,

I've studied the situation in Yemen on and off for the past few years. IMO, I don't think the Shia Houthis take orders from the Iranian government. They may have received financial and materiel support from Iranian back channels in the past, but a recent report out of Yemen highlights that all sides are using captured and gifted American weapons. Iran has no access to American weapons, so they clearly aren't arming the main Houthi group.

_http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/11/middleeast/yemen-unrest/

Although I think the Oil/U.S. dollar hegemony game is a big part of this conflict, from what I've read about Russian foreign policy and how it works (check out the many articles by The Saker), it would seem unlikely that Russia would trigger a war with the Saudis through a minor proxy like the Houthis. In reading the top strategists in Russian foreign policy, war is not a tool they would use in this manner.

I think if you take a closer look at the history of Yemen and the general plight of Shia minorities in Gulf States (Bahrain, Yemen, UAE), you'll find that most of these uprisings are the results of many generations of oppression and marginalization by Saudi financed (through U.S. petrodollars) Sunni Wahhabism. Saudi Arabia's bombing of Yemen is simply a reaction to intelligence they've received that the Houthis have consolidated their power in some way that the Saudi's perceive as a threat their regional domination. The Saudi's may be seeing Yemen as part of the old U.S. "domino theory". If Yemen falls to Shia's then Bahrain is next - then the Shia axis allied with Iran gains influence at the expense of the Saudi led Gulf State consortium.

This "Arab Spring" of indigenous self-determination vs. U.S./NATO global domination obviously involves Russia as its main target, but I think the regional repressions are being fought by legitimate uprisings without any direct influence from Tehran or Moscow.

The United States bizarre reaction to not pull out their citizens trapped in Yemen, is baffling. A failed state such as Somalia somehow can get their citizens out, but the U.S. can't move a single vessel from the massive fleet they have in the Gulf of Aden/Persian Gulf to pull out a couple of hundred people? They claim it's not safe? I'm sure when the Houthis see a billion dollar U.S. destroyer loaded with missiles pull up, they're not going to start firing at it with small arms. It's almost as if the U.S. wants Saudi Arabia to prove it can police the region on its own and the few hundred Americans there might be better suited as martyrs for the red white a blue.

Good analysis. Please repost it here: https://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,37755.0.html

 

[sitting]

Hi Sitting,

I think if you take a closer look at the history of Yemen and the general plight of Shia minorities in Gulf States (Bahrain, Yemen, UAE), you'll find that most of these uprisings are the results of many generations of oppression and marginalization by Saudi financed (through U.S. petrodollars) Sunni Wahhabism. Saudi Arabia's bombing of Yemen is simply a reaction to intelligence they've received that the Houthis have consolidated their power in some way that the Saudi's perceive as a threat their regional domination. The Saudi's may be seeing Yemen as part of the old U.S. "domino theory". If Yemen falls to Shia's then Bahrain is next - then the Shia axis allied with Iran gains influence at the expense of the Saudi led Gulf State consortium.

Hi Niall,

Are we not really saying the same thing? :) A significant threat against the Saudi's?

You seem to me more certain about the players--while I'm more inclined to guess at them. Truth of the matter is, neither one of us really know. The who and how is often nebulous in these matters--not easily subject to precise analysis of the moment. The real truth only comes out much later. And sometimes never.

The oil market is confirming this emerging threat. As there're few economic "reasons" behind oil's recent 16% rebound. I believe it's the gradual neutralization of the Saudi oil weapon. And fear in Saudi hearts.

Now who do you think can do that so effectively?

My intuitive read is this Yemen fiasco could turn BIG, and may eventually spell the end of the Saudi regime. Just as Putin had threatened. I see the process slowly unfolding. It will take time. Meanwhile, the price of crude will likely track these coming political developments. I think it goes higher from here.

Caveat: This is nothing but speculation on my part. So take it with a grain of salt. But I do have commodity market and currency experience. And I've seen how these things track real world politics. FWIW.

 

[thorbiorn]

A map of "The "whole world" that isolated Russia" In case the map disappears or the link dies, it shows North America excluding Mexico, along with most of Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand , South Corea and Japan while the rest of the world is blue as the ocean:

 

[thorbiorn]

The Death of Alexei Buzine and the NATO support of Ukraine
The page https://niqnaq.wordpress.com/2015/04/17/enigmatic-stuff/ came to the conclusion that probably the website, https://psb4ukr.org/ which posts among other things the list of people whom the Ukrainian government consider to be their enemies inclduing journalists. is hosted by nato.int I tried to veryfy the claims about psb4ukr.org and it does seem to end up with a nato.int address in Texas, but if it is real or a fake server name, I can't tell.

The name of the recently killed journalist Alexei Buzina appeared on _https://psb4ukr.org/criminal/buzina-oles-alekseevich/ a couple of days before he was shot. It is evident that Ukraine is undergoing a "cultural revolution" of some kind.

Who is next?
If one goes to _https://psb4ukr.org/criminal/ one can see the latest submittet names. Friday was added the name of Viktoria Shilova, _https://psb4ukr.org/criminal/shilova-viktoriya-vitalevna/ the outspoken woman, that has been mentioned earlier in the thread from the antiwar movement in Ukraine, Victoriya knows, as it was reported on on her own FB too, in one comment to: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=658271184279575& and https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=658224850950875&set=a.115448605228505.15431.100002900979776&type=1set=a.115448605228505.15431.100002900979776&type=1

Apparently killing dissent is what is on the cards: http://fortruss.blogspot.de/2015/04/ukrainian-website-calls-for-mass.html and http://rt.com/news/250073-ukraine-mp-killed-kiev/ A major Italien newspaper has taken note:

Italy's second largest newspaper La Repubblica has broken western media's silence over the latest wave of political murders in Ukraine.

Any row of dead people does not matter for Nato which has a desires to help Kiev, never mind the Nazi overtones. Therefore, what better day to launch a new US and NATO sponsored training course of Ukrainian forces in Banderstadt/Lvov/Lviv (http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150417/1021012946.html#ixzz3XYz323vs) than on the 20th of April ...

 

[SeekinTruth]

Couple of interesting links to Saker's blog:

http://thesaker.is/cyberberkut-has-published-the-list-of-names-of-western-instructors-in-ukraine/

By one of Saker's Research Assistants:
http://thesaker.is/ukraine-sitrep-april-17th-by-raskolnikova/

 

[angelburst29]

While checking Ukraine related news stores, came across this clip on U-tube, claiming "blue lights reported over the city?

One comment listed - suggests it might be effects of "White Phosphorus" - from a Cluster Bomb?

Published on Apr 17, 2015

Mysterious blue lights, have been reported over a city in Ukraine.

Local residents who witnessed the mysterious phenomena also claimed to have seen several bright objects leave the strange glowing light before flying low over the area.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8Mq-kSvwxk