John Ward – Greece Debt Exclusive: It’s Not Just Tsipras Who’s Taken Over From Varoufakis….Merkel Has Taken Over From The Finmins – 28 April 2015

German Chancellor confides in intimates: ‘Tsipras and I will settle this one way or the other’

Fury in ECB, German finance ministry and eurogroupe, Juncker triumphant

Varoufakis out but not down

Although the news media are largely ignoring a major new development in the Greek debt crisis – and most of the Greek media are playing it straight as a demotion for Varoufakis – the truth is that Angela Merkel has played a bold power-stroke. She has affirmed that she alone will finalise whatever deal emerges from the Troika/Athens negotiations direct with Alexis Tsipras….in much the same way as she moved to direct talks with Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine debacle.

John Ward – Coming Events : In Support Of Logging Geopolitical Strategy Rather Than Constructing Artificial Conspiracy Theory – 8 April 2015

Is there “a bigger picture”?

It think it was Pablo Picasso who, when asked by an admirer what he was trying to say in a new canvas, replied “I don’t know, it’s not finished yet”. Degas also said similar things: indeed, he had the unnerving habit of, while round at a client’s for dinner, taking one of his paintings off the wall as he left “to finish it”.

There is a bigger picture behind the great majority of world events in 2015, but nobody knows what it is yet, because it’s a long way from finished. At this point – it sometimes seems to me – it is little more than a preparatory series of sketches. I do not and never will buy into the World Conspiracy tripe, be it about Jews, Islamics, the Pentagon, Putin or the EU/banker/Wall Street axis, because these are at best very loose and occasional cooperations. Most of the time, sharks do not like sharing their prey: a squabble breaks out and there’s a feeding frenzy, but by the end of it they’re as likely to turn on each other as the victim. Islamists split into literally dozens of sectarian groups, Wall Street hates the City, most Russian oligarchs don’t like Putin, the European Commission distrusts the ECB, and a helluva a lot of Jews are either way about Israelis.

ZeroHedge – Central Banks Have Bankrupted The Financial System – 6 March 2015

For six years, the world has operated under a complete delusion that Central Banks somehow fixed the 2008 Crisis.

All of the arguments claiming this defied common sense. A 5^th grader would tell you that you cannot solve a debt problem by issuing more debt. Similarly, anyone with a functioning brain could tell you that a bunch of academics with no real-world experience, none of whom have ever started a business or created a single job can’t “save” the economy.

Read the full story at: www.zerohedge.com / link to original article

 

US Govt Issues Logistics Support Tender For 300 Military Personnel In Ukraine – 3 March 2015

The US is planning to send about 300 military personnel to Ukraine from March to October to train the Ukrainian army, according to a tender on a US government website that requires logistics for the troops.

The US government has published a tender, saying it’s hiring services for the movement of equipment and approximately 300 US personnel in Ukraine, according to the Federal Business Opportunities website.

“The contractor shall provide all equipment, vehicles, and personnel necessary to provide ground transportation in accordance with the ordering clause,” the tender states.

Read the full story at: www.rt.com / link to original article

Cameron Commits Troops & ‘Non-Lethal Aid’ To Ukraine – 24 February 2015

Prime Minister David Cameron has said Britain will not supply Ukraine with lethal weaponry in the fight against rebels in the East of the country, but UK troops will support Ukrainians with tactical intelligence, training and logistics.

Speaking to the Liaison Select Committee, David Cameron said UK support would be given “well away from the area of conflict,” adding that the purpose of aid would be to improve Ukraine’s tactical advantage.

He was further questioned on the capability of the UK to defend its airspace after RAF jets were scrambled to intercept Russian bombers last week for the second time in 2015.

Read the full story at: www.rt.com / link to original article

Japan’s Progress In Fukushima Clean-Up ‘Significant’, But Threat Remains – UN Nuclear Watchdog – 17 February 2015

Experts from the UN nuclear watchdog praised Japan’s “significant progress” in the clean-up of the tsunami-struck Fukushima nuclear station, but stressed that radiological risks still exist and the situation remains “very complex”.

The team of 15 experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued the preliminarysummaryof the third report of the on Tuesday.

The review examines the implementation of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station decommissioning roadmap. The inspection was made from 9 to 17 February 2015 while the previous two were conducted in 2013.

Read the full story at: www.rt.com / link to original article

BFP – Processing Distortion With Peter B. Collins: Prosecutor Misconduct Frees “Ecoterrorist” – 15 February 2015

Boiling Frogs Post

Peter B. Collins Presents Eric McDavidIn a surprise move on January 8, a federal judge ordered the immediate release of a self-described “green anarchist”, EricMcDavid, after 9 years on a 20-year sentence. Prosecutors withheld thousands of pages of evidence in winning a conviction for conspiring to damage corporate and government property. As in most domestic terrorism prosecutions,McDavid was framed by a paid FBI informant named “Anna” who teased him sexually, suggested a scheme to sabotage a dam in California, and doled out cash to pay for living expenses and the chemicals to be used for a bomb. Anna was paid $65,000 to set upMcDavid, and two co-defendants were turned by prosecutors and provided false testimony.*Eric McDavid was a drifter who was hitchhiking to New York to protest the 2004 Republican National Convention when he met “Anna”. He now attends community college. Read more about his case here.

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www.boilingfrogspost.com/ link to original article

Britain Risks ‘Sleepwalking Into Surveillance State’ – CCTV Watchdog – 28 January 2015

The UK has too many CCTV cameras and the public is ignorant of the true extent of snooping, the government’s surveillance tsar has warned.

Tony Porter, the UK’s Surveillance Camera Commissioner, said many of Britain’s millions of cameras are useless when it comes to combating crime.

In a biting critique, he said Europeans are shocked the British public readily accepts the number of cameras we have, adding we need a public debate and greater regulation.

Read the full story at: www.rt.com / link to original article

John Ward – Revealed: Why Neoliberal Hegemony Is As Much To Do With Ageing Up As Dumbing Down – 23 January 2015

AGEING EUROPE: When Alexis Tsipras triumphs on Sunday, analysts should appreciate the size of his achievement

This is a revealing table:

It shows, that, in the UK:

1. 45 years ago, there were 30% more young idealists

2. Today versus 45 years ago, there are 28% more cautious child-rearers

Thousand Injured, 2 Dead In Manila ‘Jesus’ Parade Crush – 10 January 2015

Two people died and nearly 1,000 more were injured after a million Filipinos flooded the streets of Manila in a mad rush to catch a glimpse of a highly revered Jesus statue. The chaotic procession foreshadowed Pope Francis’ visit next week.

READ MORE: Pope blasts Vatican bureaucrats for ‘spiritual Alzheimer’s’, lists their 15 sins

For almost the whole of Friday, massive crowds swarmed around a carriage carrying the wooden Black Nazarene – a life-sized iconic statue of Jesus Christ carrying a cross – through the streets of the Philippines’ capital.

Read the full story at: www.rt.com / link to original article