Eastern Europe/Ukraine

[UlanBatori]

Rony, an amazing find. Likely to get zapped, given the other things that have happened, such as "old flight records of MH-17" Let me try to post excerpts:

MH17 Verdict: Real Evidence Points to US-Kiev Cover-up of Failed False Flag
July 25, 2014 By 21wire 41 Comments. 21st Century Wire SPECIAL REPORT, UPDATED

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In this report, we will lay out the facts based on a wide breadth of available information and data surrounding MH17. We will also present and give critique to Washington and Kiev’s “mountain of evidence” that has saturated US and European-based media coverage since the incident took place. 21WIRE has compiled this report with the help of many contributors and references from English-speaking media, as well as material translated from Russian and Ukrainian media sources, along with other historical references to provide context.
...
As we will clearly demonstrate, the only wild conspiracy theories being pushed right now, are those coming out of the US State Department, and the government in Kiev, Ukraine, which are being repeated by CNN, BBC, FOX-NewsCorp, ABC, CBS and NBC…

1. Last Monday morning .. Russian officials surprised Washington and its NATO partners when it released all available satellite imagery and air traffic control data which was recorded in and around the final minutes of Flight MH17 – on live television. Moscow handed its findings – air traffic data and time stamped satellite imagery – to European authorities.
2. ..In stark contrast, US officials have been reluctant to do the same.
.......

After reviewing the evidence, all indicators points to the downing of MH17 as a highly coordinated, but failed false flag event.

3. (Figure caption: MH17: A Doomed Flight Path) A Malaysian Airlines spokesman has already confirmed that, for some unknown reason, Kiev-based Ukrainian Air Traffic Control (ATC) ordered MH17 off of its original flight path along the international air route, known as L980. Most likely, this order was given to pilots while MH17 was still in Polish air space. L980 is one of the most popular and most congested air routes in the world, as well as a key link between major international hubs in Europe, like London Heathrow, Amsterdam Schiphol, and Frankfurt, and Asian destinations, like Singapore, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur.

4. As MH17 moved into Ukrainian air space, it was moved by ATC Kiev approximately 200 miles north – putting it on a new course, heading directly into a war zone,.. one that’s hosted a number of downed military craft over the previous 3 weeks. Robert Mark, a commercial pilot and editor of Aviation International News Safety magazine, confirmed that most Malaysia Airlines flights from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur would normally travel along a route significantly further south than the route MH17 was diverted onto. Data on all airline flight records can be found here.

5. The BBC reported on July 17th: “Ukraine’s SBU security service has confiscated recordings of conversations between Ukrainian air traffic control officers and the crew of the doomed airliner, a source in Kiev has told Interfax news agency.” .. ATC audio records of the MH17 flight appear to have been confiscated by the Kiev government.

6. No reason has been given for this loss of transparency, but not a word from Washington regarding this cover-up of crucial evidence.

7. To be sure, the order to change the flight path did not come from Eurocontrol, but rather from ATC in Kiev.

8. Clue: British media run interference by conjuring a “Storm”
Soon after the incident, British news outlets began floating the story - without evidence, that MH17 was diverted to “avoid thunderstorms in southern Ukraine”. This was also placed on Wikipedia at the same time. Nico Voorbach, who is Dutch, is president of the European Cockpit Association, and was the man used to nudge out this talking point. Voorbach casually slides this crucial fabrication out there, telling The Guardian of all papers, “”I heard that MH17 was diverting from some showers as there were thunderclouds”.

The only problem is that Malaysian Airlines immediately refuted this in a report from Malaysia News:
“MAS operations director Captain Izham Ismail has also refuted claims that heavy weather led to MH17 changing its flight plan.“There were no reports from the pilot to suggest that this was the case,” Izham said.

9. What is significant, however, is that the Western media acknowledged that the change in the flight path did occur, and that the “heavy weather” narrative is a fabrication. Global Research clarifies this confusing issue:
“The route over Ukrainian airspace where the incident occurred is commonly used for Europe to Asia flights. A flight from a different carrier was on the same route at the time of the MH17 incident, as were a number of other flights from other carriers in the days and weeks before. Eurocontrol maintains records of all flights across European airspace, including those across Ukraine.” “What this statement confirms is that the MH17 ‘s “usual flight path” was similar to the flight paths of some 150 international flights which cross Eastern Ukraine on a daily basis. According to Malaysian Airlines “The usual flight route [across the sea of Azov] was earlier declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. The International Air Transportation Association has stated that the airspace the aircraft was traversing was not subject to restrictions (that approved flight path is indicated in the maps below).” The regular flight path of MH17 (and other international flights) over a period of ten days prior to July 17th ( day of the disaster), crossing Eastern Ukraine in a southeasterly direction is across the Sea of Azov.

10. The Times of India reported this: “Minutes before the crash caused by a missile strike, the AI pilots had also heard the controller give the Malaysian aircraft MH17 what is called “a direct routing”. This permits an aircraft to fly straight, instead of tracking the regular route which is generally a zig-zag track that goes from one ground-based navigation aid or way point to another. “Direct routing saves fuel and time and is preferred by pilots. In this case, it proved fatal,” said an airline source.”

11. UPDATE TBC: A number of bloggers have reported that the past flights on FlightRadar and FlightAware were changed between July 24-25th, the new “old flights” were placed over the Donetsk People’s Republic instead of the flights going further south. This does not jibe with what was reported last week by researcher Vagelis Karmiros using data from flight-tracking website Flightaware and published on a number established sites like Zero Hedge. Stay tuned here for updates.

12. The fatal event occurred somewhere in the interval between 17:21:28 and 17:22:30 Moscow Time. The exact time of the crash is believed to be at 5:23pm. The last available geographic coordinates can be found here on Flight Radar24:

13. Kiev-based air traffic controllers not only led MH17 right over its alleged ‘target zone’ in Eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, but also helped make it visible. Although weather data online is all but unavailable for the area of Donetsk, Ukraine for July 17th, conditions are evident by numerous videos depicting the crash and crash site in the aftermath - it was cloudy and overcast, with more visibility above the cloud canopy. At its cruising altitude of 33,000 feet (10,000 meters), the airliner would not be visible from the ground in the rebel-held area where Washington is insisting a SAM missile was launched. Why Kiev air traffic controllers order MH17 to suddenly drop its altitude, from 35,000 feet to 33,000 feet, just before the plane’s demise is unknown for sure, but it would have been near impossible for the alleged rebel gunman occupying this relatively small rebel-held patch of land to make a visual sighting of MH17 and acquire the target during the 1-2 minute window they would have had (assuming they were even in possession of the BUK missile system).

The Los Angeles Times reports: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was cruising just 1,000 feet above restricted airspace when it was struck by a missile ..Kiev has refused to acknowledge or explain why the plane was moved into position in this way. Interfax news agency reported that Ukraine’s SBU security service confiscated recordings of conversations between Ukrainian ATC officers and the crew immediately after the incident. The probability that this is all an ‘unfortunate coincidence’ reduces to near zero when one considers the air traffic data and Kiev’s denial of the close proximity of its Ukrainian SU-25 fighter jet in pursuit of MH17 minutes before the crash (see ‘Aircraft in the Vicinity’ below).

14. Much has been made by the US and its media of MH17 being shot down and crashing in “the rebel-held area”, but few are aware of just how small the said area actually is. The Ukrainian military had already isolated the rebel area which Kiev and Washington insist a rebel-controlled BUK SAM missile battery had fired on the passenger jet. The actual size of this rebel-held patch is only 40-50 miles wide, with MH17 approaching on a southeastern route over Horlivka, the frontline of this rebel-held zone, towards Snezhnoye (Snizhne). Cruising at 58o mph (933 kmph), MH17 would have only been visible for a very short time – just over 1 minute (if Kiev had not ordered MH17 to alter its course and altitude then it would not have been visible at all), from the vantage point of the alleged rebel firing position. According the Jane’s Defense, the alleged culprit – an SA-11 (NATO code name) or ‘BUK’ missile system, requires 5 minutes set-up active targeting, followed by an additional 22 seconds ‘reaction time’ for target acquisition and firing. As the MH17 was only visible for 70 seconds above this rebel-held area surrounding Grabovo, unless the alleged rebel firing position was specifically tracking MH17 long before it entered the rebel-held airspace and could distinguish it from other military civilian aircraft also in the general vicinity, Washington’s theory and Kiev’s accusation – that rebels shot down this aircraft becomes even weaker. Considering these factors, the probability increases greatly that targeting MH17 would have had to be premeditated far in advance of the 70 seconds it was visible above this particular rebel-held area.

15. On Monday, the Russian government, with almost every major global media outlet in attendance, released all of its air traffic data and satellite imaging data (in fact, only part of it) – all verifiable, including time stamps and supporting data. The entire content of the presentation was also handed over to the European authorities. US and British media outlets did report back to its people on these findings. They are as follows:

a) Minutes before the downing of MH17, the plane made a mysterious ‘Left Turn’ as it flew over the Donetsk area at approximately 5:20pm Moscow time, making a sharp 14km deviation, before attempting to regain its previous course before dropping altitude disappearing from radar at 5:23pm. Air traffic controllers in Kiev had already diverted MH17 200 miles further north into the target zone, so the question remains: was Kiev ATC also responsible for this final, fatal diversion, or is there another reason for this unusual turn (see ‘Mysterious Left Turn’, below)?

b) According to clear satellite images provided, on July 16th, the Ukrainian Army positioned 3-4 anti-aircraft BUK M1 SAM missile batteries close to Donetsk. These systems included full launching, loading and radio location units, located in the immediate vicinity of the MH17 crash site. One system was placed approximately 8km northwest of Lugansk. In addition, a radio location system for these Ukrainian Army missile batteries is situated 5km north of Donetsk. On July 17th, the day of the incident, these batteries were moved to a position 8km south of Shahktyorsk. In addition to this, two other radio location units are also identified in the immediate vicinity. These SAM systems had a range of 35km distance, and 25km altitude.

c) From July 18th, after the downing of MH17, Kiev’s BUK launchers were then moved away from the firing zone.

d) Unlike rebel fighters, the Ukrainian military is in possession of some 27 BUK missile systems capable of bringing down high-flying jets, and forensic satellite imagery places at least 3 of their launchers in the Donetsk region on the day of this tragedy. Yet, Washington and NATO will not inquire about the possibility that any of these system had targeted MH17.

Watch the official video here:
This is a definitive smoking gun: why did the Ukrainian Army move these short-range anti-aircraft SAM missile batteries into position on July 16-17th – to an interior region of East Ukraine where it’s known that the rebel resistance possess no air crafts whatsoever? Not surprisingly, both the US and Kiev have not answered that difficult question, perhaps for obvious reasons.

Figure captions MH17-MAP. All Aircraft in the Vicinity
e) Between 5pm-6pm Moscow Time on July 17th, the following aircraft have been identified in the general vicinity of MH17 on its course heading to its fatal destination of Grabovo:
1. Boeing 772 (?) – traveling southeast from Copenhagen to Singapore at 5:17pm
2. Boeing 787 – traveling southeast from Paris to Taipei at 5:24pm
3. Boeing 787 – traveling northwest from Delhi to Birmingham circa 5:20pm
4. Boeing 777 – Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 at 5:17pm
5. Su-25 Ukrainian Fighter Jet appears on radar, trailing MH17 at same altitude, est. 4km behind it at 5:21pm
Note: the pilots and passengers of Singapore Airlines Flight SIA351 were close enough to have visually observed, at high altitude, the demise of MH17.

f) At 5:20pm MH17 began to abruptly lose speed, eventually slowing to 124mph (200kmph). At this time, a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jet appears on ATC radar and trailing MH17 on the same flight path approximately 2-3km behind MH17, and at the same altitude – only minutes before MH17 disappeared on radar. The Su-25 would not have been visible on ATC radar before it broke the ATC long-range standby radar tracking ceiling of 5km in altitude. Civilian ATC radar would not be able to identify this Su-25 as military because no secondary detection system is mounted – typical for military aircraft. Note also that the Su-25 is armed with air-to-air missiles with a range of 5km-12km. Over the next four minutes, the Ukrainian fighter remained in the area.

g) Another Smoking Gun: Kiev government officials insisted on July 17th that, “No military aircraft were available in the region”. Based on available data detailed above, this appears to be a lie, indicating that a cover-up was taking place.

h) Again, it’s important to note here that at the moment when MH17 was allegedly was hit for the first time, at around 5:23pm Moscow time, the passenger jet was also within the range of several Ukrainian BUK batteries deployed close to Donetsk and as well as the Ukrainian Army’s BUK system positioned on the day just 8km south of Shakhterskoye, only a few miles from the eventual crash site at Grabovo.

IMAGE: A Ukrainian military Su-25 fighter jet carries air-to-air missiles.

MH17′s Mysterious Left Turn

16. One very real possibility for MH17 losing being diverted 14km to the left is that its GPS or navigation system was being jammed. US-NATO forces happened to be conducting an electronic warfare exercise in the Black Sea on July 17th (see ‘SEA BREEZE 2014′, below). In addition to this possibility, all Boeing jets (except Germany’s Lufthansa fleet) are equipped with a remote override that can be accessed by authorities in certain foreign countries, one being the United States. Although not publicly acknowledged until recently, Boeing Uninterruptible Autopilot (BUAP) systems have been standard since the late 1990′s, apparently designed to take control of a commercial aircraft away from the pilot or flight crew, chiefly in the event of a terrorist incident.

Another possible explanation for this crucial event in the timeline is that MH17 was hit, or damaged, taking an emergency 180º left turn for 14km, before disappearing completely off of radar. This appears to be the case. On July 23rd, Anna-News published an interview with retired Russian Air Force colonel Aleksand Zhilin (Александр Жилин) a frequent military commentator on Ukraine’s Civil War.

17. “According to the colonel, at 16:19:45 (local time, and 5:19pm Moscow time), a Ukrainian jet fighter targeted the Boeing with an air-to-air missile R-60. The missile damaged the right engine of the Boeing. The Boeing was hit, but still managed to stay in the air. However, in doing so, the Boeing turned 180 degrees to the left. It was at this moment that the false flag attack started falling apart. According to Zhilin, part of the plan controlled by the US with Ukrainian hands executing it was to have the Boeing crash past the southern frontline by the Ukrainian-Russian border. Had the Boeing fallen there, securing the crash sites with the troops in response to international pressure was on top of all else effectively to allow Kiev to lift the encirclement of its brigades (currently pinned down by rebels) in the southern pocket by the Russian border. When, however, the Boeing started to turn in the opposite direction and was still apparently manageable, the US-Ukrainian headquarters of the special operation panicked and ordered the Buk battery to destroy the plane in the air in order to pre-empt the possibility of the Boeing’s emergency landing. A Buk missile was fired and the plane was then finally destroyed.”
21WIRE spoke to former Czech diplomat and political analyst, Vladimir Suchan, who puts Zhilin’s comments into context of what was happening militarily at the time of the crash. Suchan explains, “If MH17 was hit right over the frontline over Snezhnoye, this would have placed the timing and location of the intended downing and crash site to either the territory controlled by the Ukrainian army, or much closer to the border between Russia and Ukraine where the “securing of the site” would allow lifting the strategic encirclement of the Ukrainian troops in the south and thus, on top of other objectives, saving Kiev’s armed forces from its first major military defeat.” (see ‘Military All-Out Offense’ section below)

17. If, indeed MH17 was struck by an air-to-air missile at that time, a distress call may have been sent to Kiev ATC, but as yet, Kiev officials may be reluctant to share, or release the entirety of its communications from July 17th.

18. At the time of this report being filed at 21WIRE, a second source to verify this testimony is not presently available. Zhilin’s account certainly makes sense when placed next to all ATC and satellite data released by Moscow. However, flight recorder information and data from MH17′s black boxes would certainly be able to corroborate this timeline of events, and one hopes that Great Britain’s predetermined political stance against Russia does not prevent Downing Street, or MI5 Intelligence Services from releasing the black box information in its entirety and more importantly, a full and unedited disclosure to the media. More than likely, the BBC will have first access to this release, and how the BBC report their findings will be very telling. (Edited: Same way as MCC handles complaints of Vaseline use or physical/verbal abuse by their dear players.. )

19. Above, is one possible map of MH17 final minutes, as calculated from one source of available public data, available here: http://nikolay-istomin.livejournal.com/3057934.html.

This account is also consistent with the location of key pieces of wreckage scattered over the wider crash site radius. It shows M17 turning back on itself, after being struck initially. If this was the final path, then it completely disapproves the US (US State Department) conspiracy theory that a rebel-controlled BUK missile hit the plane head-on from Snezhnoye (Snizhne). This U-turn then also helps explain why Kiev’s first “leaked conversation of the rebels” (see ‘Kiev’s Botch Social Media Audio’ below) tried to place the rebel’s BUK battery at a completely different location in Debaltzevo, a few kilometers northwest of the main crash site at Grabovo. However, that would not explain the U-turn, which they tried so much to conceal – for it points to the Ukrainian jet fighter.

20. As part of their PR damage-control exercise, Washington released this Google Map-style graphic on Tuesday July 22nd, illustrating its theory that the rebel missile battery was now located in Snezhnoye:

1-US-BUK-MISSILE-HOAX
Incredibly, Washington’s latest evidence/theory, depicted above, put their alleged rebel firing position in an entirely new spot – at Snezhnoye, and this now contradicts other ‘social media’ items being held-up by John Kerry and President Obama in their “mountain of evidence” (see ‘More Falsified and Sloppy ‘Evidence’ Supplied by SBU’, below). The irony of this somehow escaped US State Dept. Deputy Spokesperson, Marie Harf during her globally televised ‘intelligence’ briefing on Tuesday (see ‘US Now in Full Retreat and Damage-Control Mode’, below).

22. Almost certainly, the US government already has a comprehensive communications, satellite and radar data set which could either corroborate, or disprove what Russia has released. The fact that Washington only has this Google graphic to offer to the public indicates that what it has… may not be what it wants.

Whistleblower: A Spanish Air Traffic Controller in Kiev

23. All evidence pointing to a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jet in the same frame as MH17, also validates the testimony of ‘Carlos’, an ATC contractor in Kiev. ETN received information from an air traffic controller (Borispol Airport) in Kiev on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17: “This Kiev air traffic controller is a citizen of Spain and was working in the Ukraine. He was taken off duty as a civil air-traffic controller along with other foreigners immediately after a Malaysia Airlines passenger aircraft was shot down over the Eastern Ukraine killing 295 passengers and crew on board. The air traffic controller suggested in a private evaluation and basing it on military sources in Kiev, that the Ukrainian military was behind this shoot down. Radar records were immediately confiscated after it became clear a passenger jet was shot down. Military air traffic controllers in internal communication acknowledged the military was involved, and some military chatter said they did not know where the order to shoot down the plane originated from. Obviously it happened after a series of errors, since the very same plane was escorted by two Ukrainian fighter jets until 3 minutes before it disappeared from radar.”

24. CSI: Flight MH17
The key evidence would be ballistics, including pieces of shrapnel retrieved from the wreckage. It should be easy to determine if they came from any of the following:
1. A bomb on board (this is still a possibility).
2. An air-to-air missile.
3. A surface-to-air missile.

After that, the autopsy of the bodies would reveal additional evidence about what really took place on July 17th. A present, the majority of the remains are being handled by the Netherlands government, and given their NATO involvement to date in the Ukrainian conflict, it’s debatable whether or not they would present any findings which do not square with Washington and Kiev’s narrow, yet ever-evolving narrative of the incident.

25. US-NATO’s Military Drill in the Black Sea Ended on July 17th

Russia’s Satellite Data and Public Presentation on Monday July 21st has put Washington on its back foot. The existence of this intelligence, now made public, along with other data in Russia’s possession, means that the Washington cannot show the real intelligence – which they too have. It’s no coincidence that US and NATO conducted a large-scale military and intelligence drill in the Black Sea just south of Crimea named, SEA BREEZE 2014, which just so happened to end on… July 17th. The drill included hundreds of US military specialists running ‘war simulations’ in electronic warfare, data collection from a spy satellite, and ‘monitoring’ of all passenger aircraft flying in the region. A massive drill – yet another improbable coincidence.

26. Another smoking gun: Is it a coincidence that the US had its new experimental satellite positioned over Eastern Europe for 1-2 hours, and directly over Donetsk in eastern Ukraine from 5:06pm – 5:21pm. Taking this fact into consideration, alongside the other improbable ‘coincidences’, leads to an almost certain conclusion.
27. Ukrainian Military All-Out Offensive Timed For July 18th
Three uncomfortable realities in Kiev were prevailing before the downing of MH17 on July 17th. First, the troops were losing morale, and suffering defections and other serious set-backs in an increasingly unpopular military theater of Eastern Ukraine. Kiev was losing the PR war hearts and minds in the Ukraine and abroad. After the downing of MH17, Kiev garnered huge public sympathy and support, and just so happened to launch a massive offensive on July 18th, one which military analysts believe would have to have been planned many weeks in advance – and could not just be a knee-jerk reaction to the MH17 tragedy as government spokespersons in Kiev insist.


Once again, we’ve witnessed world’s most powerful, highly coordinated and synchronized propaganda machine. Once it’s set in motion, most western consumers are helpless to fend off it’s relentless repeating and universal coverage across hundreds of media outlets owned in most part by 5 US, and 2 British corporations. A similar attempt was made by Washington and London last September, when US Secretary of State John Kerry, along with then British Foreign Secretary William Hague, presented their now infamous claim of ‘open source evidence’ (YouTube videos) used to assign blame to the Syrian government for a chemical weapons attack against its own people. Many of the photos and videos were later proven to be faked and staged, and ‘the gas’ was made in Britain, and that ‘chemical attack’ was in fact staged by Syrian insurgents still being supported by the US-British-Saudi-Qatari Axis.

Washington’s initial ‘BUK Missile’ social media evidence seems to be rapidly heading down the same memory hole as its Syria predecessor, and soon, it will not be mentioned again by any US official. The speed at which it was released after the crash, and the fact that falsified audio, video, and photos have been intentionally released by the Kiev government in the wake of such a tragedy, demonstrates a clear motive to deceive the public about who is to blame for the MH17 event – using falsified evidence to build a case against ‘pro-Russian separatists’ and Moscow, and even Russian President Vladimir Putin himself.


More Falsified and Sloppy ‘Evidence’ Supplied by SBU Defense Ministry in Kiev

Let’s start with the famous 5 second YouTube video released by Kiev and lauded by Washington, CNN, ABC, FOX et all, of a BUK missile battery being moved, we were told, secretly by rebels out of the area after the plane crash. Not only does signage clearly visible in the video place this truck in Krasnoarmeysk – a town which has been in control of the Ukrainian Army since May 11th. Here is one early news release of the now discredited video.
In addition to falsified YouTube video, Kiev also published falsified photos of an alleged BUK missile system on July 19th. Kiev’s Security Service (SBU) published photos online it claimed showed ‘Russia’ secretly withdrawing a BUK-M system from the Ukraine civil war zone, but shortly after publishing this article the photos in question were deleted. The photo released by Kiev was actually an image taken of its own military’s BUK missiles – ironically, our readers will find that Kiev showing photos of its own systems is much closer to the real story than we previously thought.

Somewhat haphazardly, Kiev’s SBU, which is overseen by the new CIA station occupying the top floor in the same building in Kiev, released two more videos meant to assign blame to rebels in Donetsk, with Kiev claiming these were of Russian-made BUK-M being transported back to Russia on July 18th after the crash – but both videos were clearly shot during the winter time, with one found to have been previously published in March. Again, more intentional lying by Kiev, in order to assign blame to ‘pro-Russian Separatists’, and Moscow.

Kiev’s Botched Social Media ‘Audio Clips’

Early on, Washington and the entire western media machine, made much of two audio ‘tapes’ released via YouTube by Kiev officials, alleged to be taken from conversations between ‘pro-Russian separatist’ rebel commanders.

Both Kiev and Washington held these up as ‘evidence’ of rebels using a BUK SAM missile system to shoot down MH17. The only problem here, is that both ‘tapes’ contradict each other regarding the location of the alleged missile batteries. Vladimir Suchan points out the obvious, “The identification of the direction of the blast then also disproves the junta’s videos with “leaked conversations” from yesterday and today–for the missile could not then be launched either from Debaltzevo, or Donetsk, as claimed on both tapes -these places were by then a bit far, and not in front of MH17. That’s also evidently why, today the junta’s sites are claiming that the BUK missile battery was supposed to be in Snezhnoye, forgetting all about their first tape leak with commander ‘Bes’ from Gorlovka (40 miles north-west). If the Ukrainian Army used a BUK missile, then it would most likely have been fired from north of Amvrosivka, which is a place of a large concentration of Ukrainian troops. It is also southwest of Torez and Snezhnoye in the proximity of which the crash site is located. BUK missiles have a range of up to 20 miles. Enough for a battery in the Amvrosivka region.”

US Now in Full Retreat and Damage-Control Mode

Amazingly, in a US State Department briefing led by Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf on Tuesday July 22nd, Harf insisted that, yes, US intelligence officials still include these ‘social media’ posts as part of what Secretary of State John Kerry describes as a “mountain of evidence”.

Obviously under great pressure to show strength in the face of a complete collapse in confidence, Harf (photo, below) could be seen stuttering and twitching nervously as difficult questions were raised by members of the media.


#MARIE HARF: Under President Obama, State Department spokespersons have become ‘political activists’.

In one of the biggest flops in State Dept. history, Harf appeared so desperate to shed any further questions on ‘social media evidence’, that she opted for a fatal gaff - stating on record that “US intelligence officials have authenticated the audio”. Unless she means they’ve authenticated these as fake, this statement may come back to haunt US officials. Many are now calling it a bold-faced lie, designed to cover-up the mishandling and over-politicization of posts found on social media, shamelessly used by Washington to promote a war agenda.

As a result, CNN and others are now scavenging the tragedy, trying to hide the emerging facts under the heap of its “fair and balanced” mainstream conspiracy theories. The story has now shifted from what happened, to how US politicians are dealing with the crisis, as was evident after one major outlet who ran this headline, “Obama: What exactly are they trying to hide?”

On Tuesday, the US government finally admitted (as well as it could), that it had been bluffing about its ‘certainty’ that Russia was behind the downing of Malaysian Air Flight MH-17.

Washington’s New Conspiracy Theory

In a damage control exercise this past Tuesday, Washington invited members of the majors like the Washington Post and the LA Times, to an ‘intelligence update’ briefing, and a press conference run by the inexperienced Marie Harf.

The Los Angeles Times reported: “U.S. intelligence agencies have so far been unable to determine the nationalities or identities of the crew that launched the missile. U.S. officials said it was possible the SA-11 [anti-aircraft missile] was launched by a defector from the Ukrainian military who was trained to use similar missile systems.”

The quiet U-turn by Washington signals that its previous case blaming the rebels has been destroyed, and rather than concede that the Ukrainian Army has actually shot down MH17, they’ve chosen to instead concoct a new revision about a “rogue defector” and his “rogue team” who happen to be wearing Ukrainian Army uniforms.

..etc. ....

[Philip]

Tx Rony,fascinating analysis.It should be made into a book.

Add to this analysis the latest bizarre statements coming from the orifices of the Kiev "chickens",first that the Donetsk fighters had BUK SAMs and shot down the MH flight,and then within days after losing 2 SU-25s very mysteriously (when no rebels have claimed responsibility-were they deliberately shot down ,"blue on blue" to prevent the beans from spilling?),blamed Russia for shooting them down saying that the rebels had no such capable SAMs and it had to be the Russians! Such contradictions blow up the UKR/US propaganda campaign right in their faces.

When the crisis first broke out over 2 months ago,I predicted that the Kiev chicken clique would not last until Christmas.I was wrong.It hasn't lasted even unto Diwali or even Aug 15th! The departure of Arsenic Yatsen-Yuck,plus reports about dwindling morale of the UKR forces as they suffer repeated heavy losses both in the air and on the ground,trying to accomplish their master's agenda (Uncle Sam aka O'Bumbler and pet poodle CaMoron),Rand Corp,CIA,Brit Intel, et al,a motley team led by arch loser JoKer-ry),has had its political fallout.The compulsions of the UKR oligarchs acting in concert with US commercial interests led by Biden Jr. and the conflicting military-political objectives accompanied by the bankrupt state of the UKR economy-looted by many of these very same ruling oligarchs,has struck at the very foundation of this miserable junta.

The famous saying,"when thieves fall out..." is exactly what is happening right now.The steely resolve of the Donetsk Republic politico-military forces and clear unstinted support from Russia in the aftermath of these monstrous provocations,which to a lesser man like Putin may have seen an invasion happen by now,shows that the Kiev clique have realised-or at least some of them have,that they are on a losing wicket,and will never ever be able to regain control of the east let alone the Crimea,where Russia is rapidly beefing up its naval forces,plus building a bridge linking the peninsula to southern Russia which will provide a speedy induction of ground forces in any crisis with NATO .All the tall talk from the chocolate soldier is now being seen as merely bluff and bluster as the UKR forces lose more aircraft and troops.Evidence that they have used munitions banned under intl. law also render the Kiev clique liable to be prosecuted as war criminals. Time is running out for the Chocolate Soldier. Time for bets on when he will "melt" under the heat from the east.

Ukraine used phosphorous incendiaries, cluster bombs against cities – Russian military
Published time: July 25, 2014
http://rt.com/news/175572-ukraine-phosp ... -evidence/

Aftermath of an artillery attack by the Ukrainian army on the Artyom district in Slavyansk. (AFP Photo / Andrey Stenin)

Ukrainian troops have on many occasions used incendiary weapons and cluster bombs against militia-held cities, acts that are banned under the international law regulating warfare, the Russian military said.

The accusation was voiced on Friday by Major General Viktor Poznikhir, the deputy commander of the chief operations branch of the Russian General Staff. Earlier some media reports claimed that munitions, which are not allowed to be used against civilian targets, were used in eastern Ukraine by the Kiev troops in their assault on armed militias.

According to the general, the Russian military are certain of a number of such attacks by Ukrainian troops. Those include artillery shelling with incendiary shells on June 12 in Slavyansk, on June 24 and June 29 in Semyonovka and on July 7 in Lisichansk. There were also air strikes with incendiary bombs on June 21 in Slavyansk and Kramatorsk and on July 23 in Donetsk and shelling with cluster shells on June 24 in Semyonovka.

“We have sufficient proof that in the cities and villages of Ukraine I mentioned, ammunition based on phosphorus was used,” Poznikhir said. In all those instances characteristic fast-falling clusters of sparks were spotted in the air and massive fires on the ground were reported, proving that those were not illumination flares.

The evidence behind the ministry’s assessment includes eyewitness accounts, injuries sustained by the victims of the attacks and media reports from Ukraine, the Russian general said.

“The incendiaries were used against residential areas where only civilians were present at the time,” Poznikhir stressed. “We believe the Ukrainian side wanted to produce a demoralizing effect on the people and inflict serious damage to communal infrastructure, which would create the conditions for a humanitarian disaster.”

Most of the incidents mentioned by the general happened in or near Slavyansk, once the most defended strongholds of the Ukrainian militia, which for two months held out against the siege by Ukrainian troops. The city was eventually abandoned by militia forces, which regrouped and fortified other Ukrainian cities. Those are currently under Ukrainian attack.

The use of incendiary weapons against civilians or military objects located in civilian areas is forbidden by Protocol III of the UN Convention on Conventional Weapons. Ukraine is a signatory to the protocol. Cluster munitions are prohibited by the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but Ukraine did not ratify that agreement.

A bit of "fall-out".The Russian-Italian S-1000 sub JV is off for now due to the UKR crisis,but France has stood firm in supplying the 4 Mistral amphibs to Russia despite British condemnation.The French in turn have pointed out British double standards

[Rony]

Thanks UlanBatori and Philip

Warning: Graphic Content
A video said to be that of Kiev forces shelling civilians.

This corroborates what i heard. My shq is a german-ukranian(as in russian speaking ukranian) and still has maternal relatives in eastern ukraine. From what we heard from them, Lugansk is completely flattened out by ukranian shelling and most of the civilians had to flee.Donetsk is holding out for now. Zaparozhye and Dnipropetrovsk are safe for now and people are pouring out into those cities from the conflict zone. The feeling among the people in eastern ukraine is given a chance and a referendum, they will overwhelmingly choose to be part of Russia. But people are tried of the war after losing their livelihoods and want stability first and foremost. If the Ukranian govt can quell the rebellion quickly and bring back normalcy, then people will resign to their fate and won't protest much.

[UlanBatori]

So I guess the Bhesht is bluffing desperately to delay the arrival of the courier-borne vodka bottles. I hope Putin does not hesitate.

[TSJones]

Guys, please I am not being insensitive and heartless, it is indeed a tragedy some many people dying in that crash for no fault of their's. But what intrigues me is that amount of air time, passion, tears by US media personalities (and I think these are genuine tears, not crocodile tears: you should have seen Dr. Sanjay Gupta's emotions on CNN as they showed the victims arriving in Netherlands), the calls for punishing Russia, you name it. But above all, what caught my attention is the Aussie pipsqueaks joining the fray

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28478941

So what explains this outpouring? White western (Catholic/Protestant) tribalismand brotherhood? Remember, in the famous clash of civilizations discourse, Russia is part of the orthodox Christian Church, a far cry from the purest of thouroughbreds: white protestant/Catholic.

Aussie pipsqueaks? They lose 27 citizens in this deliberate disaster and you insult them. Stay classy crams.

[CRamS]

TSJones, no insult meant to Aussies, and I did say so in my preface. I didn't know they lost so many citizens, and so I can understand their reason to be there. But in general, they do have this tendency to jump on the western bandwagon to show their relevance as part of the wild west.

Talking about being classy, this may be OT, but how about US govt showing some iota of a class: India has lost 1000s to TSP pigLeT terror, and US gives them billions in military aid and insults and rubs salt on India's wound by gratuitously demanding that India make piss with those abominable scum bags. Assuming everything US says about the pro-Russian rebels and Russian support to them is true, whats the difference between them and TSP pigLeTs which US calls "non state actors" and TSP support to them as 1000s of Indians are killed. How about some class from US on this count?

[Austin]

“All flights, including Malaysian B777, were being escorted by Ukrainian Su-27 Flanker jets over Eastern Ukraine”

[Singha]

Ukraine has started a major offensive on Donetsk.

heavy artillery and airstrikes are being used.

[Austin]

Jon Stewart Tackles MH17, Indirectly Responds to Everyone Yelling at Him About Israel

[Austin]

US debates sharing self-defense missile locations with Ukraine in real-time – report

Senior US officials are mulling over giving the Ukrainian government the exact locations of surface-to-air missiles used by the self-defense forces in eastern Ukraine, according to a new report. It is unclear if President Obama would agree to such a plan.

The proposal has not been debated in the White House yet, a senior administration official told The New York Times. Also, it is unclear whether Obama would give it the green light, as it would entangle the US even deeper into the conflict in Ukraine.

The Obama administration is reportedly discussing the level of America’s involvement in Ukrainian situation, particularly whether to confront Russian President Vladimir Putin more directly.

So far, the US has been sharing things like satellite photographs and the movement of self-defense forces and their equipment. But according to a senior administration official, the information cannot be used to target and destroy, as it is not provided in real-time and is “historical in nature,” meaning that it can be hours or days old.

[Austin]

AW&ST:Buk Missile System Lethal, But Undiscriminating

[member_20317]

This Chocolate King is their AK-47

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ ... story.html

Half a year ago, I was not even considering becoming president of Ukraine. But like a great many Ukrainians at the time, I was disturbed that then-president Viktor Yanukovych constrained Ukraine’s future by rejecting an association agreement with the European Union, choosing a customs union with Moscow instead. Like so many of my countrymen, I believed that for Ukraine to become a modern and successful country, it needed to expand its ties with the West and end widespread corruption and abuses of power [ all of it in one breath]. Then, the authorities unleashed a murderous assault on demonstrators in Kiev, and Yanukovych and his partners fled to Russia, leading to Moscow’s decision to annex Crimea and support the violent separatists operating in eastern Ukraine.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/30/busin ... d=all&_r=0

The zone separating the European Union from the Russian-backed Customs Union, a mini-rival trade bloc, has become a hazard for businesses, as the case of Roshen indicates. The ban on Roshen chocolates is widely understood to have resulted from its owner, Petro Poroshenko, advocating for Ukraine’s integration with the European Union, rather than the Customs Union. The company had recently invested in a robotic assembly line for a crushed hazelnut and dark chocolate candy that is popular in Russia. But since the ruling, the line is underused, though still making reduced quantities of a devilish little sweet, called Evening in Kiev, only not for the Russians.

And all of Ukraine is stuck in the same sticky box. Moody’s, the bond rating agency, downgraded Ukraine’s sovereign debt rating last month, in part over concerns the country will not obtain a gas price discount from Russia while this trade war persists. Ukraine’s economy contracted in the first half of 2013.

[Austin]

CNN Clinton: Putin 'disabused' us over reset hopes

http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com ... set-hopes/

[Austin]

Nice Read

The Malaysian Airline MH17 Crash: Sixteen Central Issues Which Cannot be Ignored

[Austin]

US Indirectly Admits Ukraine’s Missile Systems Present near Donetsk when MH17 Crashed

MOSCOW, July 27 (RIA Novosti) – The United States has indirectly admitted that Kiev’s air defense systems were present near Donetsk when the Malaysia Airlines plane crashed, thus confirming the data of Russian satellites, a senior source in the Russian Defense Ministry told RIA Novosti on Sunday.

"In his statement, the White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest implicitly acknowledged that Ukraine’s air defense systems had been present in the Donetsk area, although he claimed they had not been operating," the source said, commenting on Earnest’s words that the missile that hit the flight MH17 was launched from the area controlled by the militia.

The source stressed that the United States thus confirmed the authenticity of the data, provided by the images from Russian satellites at a special briefing of the Russian Defense Ministry on July 21. It was stated during that briefing that Ukraine’s air defense forces had four Buk-M1 missile systems near the city of Donetsk.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 killing all 298 people on board.

Kiev authorities accuse independence supporters of downing the plane whereas local militia leaders insist they do not have the necessary technology to shoot down a target flying at an altitude of 32,000 feet.

On Friday, a source from one of the Ukrainian defense departments told RIA Novosti that a system mix up during a Ukrainian air defense units’ rocket launch exercise could be the cause of the Malaysia Airlines plane crash.

[kmkraoind]

Satellite images released by US 'show Russian rocket fire into Ukraine



See how meticulous is US' tracking abilities of rockets. Its not a newly acquired capability, US has this ability the moment Ukraine had become a hot spot. I bet BUK might have a bigger signature than these rockets, yet US not released such info on Russia-aided rebels involvement in downing of MH-17, yet funnily accuses Russia for it.

[Austin]

Nothing exceptional about it , one can do the same with our own IRS sat with 1 m resolution.

Tracking SAM in flight is more difficult and also depends if satellite is looking at area of interest

[Singha]

the inlined pic shows the launch sites to be in ukraine itself.

[Austin]

'The Economist' Really Wants To Punish Russia, It Just Doesn't Know How

[Austin]

Came across this , Feels Sad

http://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hpho ... 0367_o.jpg

[member_20317]

See how meticulous is US' tracking abilities of rockets. Its not a newly acquired capability, US has this ability the moment Ukraine had become a hot spot. I bet BUK might have a bigger signature than these rockets, yet US not released such info on Russia-aided rebels involvement in downing of MH-17, yet funnily accuses Russia for it.

kmkraoind ji, with all due respect, this is what happens in the real world - somebody expends obscene amounts of money on things they do not need but can spell bound the neighbor and the next door neighbor thinks this must be it, he can do it because he knows what he is doing.

Pls look again at that pic without getting impressed by amerikhans blowing up money.

All that pic shows is plotting of a few places where they knew the rockets are fired from and two places where they landed. Adequately highlighting with some MS paint what the trajectory was when the rockets were fired. An 11.5 km distance on the ground can be covered with an elevation of probably a kilometer only. If you individually have some money in your pocket you too can do that at will. Now obviously that does not feel like success to you. Instead you probably uttered WT_. Right? Right.

Amerikhans have the ability to actually track as they suggest this time. They actually can do much better then just this. But what they did not give again was the track. All they gave was a set of disparate data designed to play a confidence trick. It is not the truth, it is a confidence trick.

And here is why I view it as a confidence trick:
There used to be a set of problems earlier in the space based detection - of repeat visits, fast frame counts, see to ground. With more space based assets and more of digital cueing and more money to blow, this has been taken care of for at least the big problems like ICBMs/IRBM/SRBMs in an organic manner. But these systems still do not see like the way you see with your eyes - where both the target and background form one whole picture with they flitting rapidly on various targets. The assets they mentioned earlier cannot see at this level - this is an admission somewhere on the internet. The assets they now mention can do what they claim but not without significant external support. Which brings us back to why was the significant external support trained at that spot in that manner.

The pic you link is actually the second opportunity they had to come clean. Had they merely given real tracks instead of ballistic calculations a lot of people would have changed stands to Putin-guilty. This is the second time they proved they have nothing and made a documentation of it for posterity. Congrats....

My two damdi, don't let these people flummox you. Instead ask them why are they there in the first place.

[Y. Kanan]

TSJones, no insult meant to Aussies, and I did say so in my preface. I didn't know they lost so many citizens, and so I can understand their reason to be there. But in general, they do have this tendency to jump on the western bandwagon to show their relevance as part of the wild west.

Talking about being classy, this may be OT, but how about US govt showing some iota of a class: India has lost 1000s to TSP pigLeT terror, and US gives them billions in military aid and insults and rubs salt on India's wound by gratuitously demanding that India make piss with those abominable scum bags. Assuming everything US says about the pro-Russian rebels and Russian support to them is true, whats the difference between them and TSP pigLeTs which US calls "non state actors" and TSP support to them as 1000s of Indians are killed. How about some class from US on this count?

Don't waste your goodwill on the likes of TSJones or expect any meaningful response. He doesn't place any value on Indian lives. I've seen some of his pro-Pakistan posts in the past. I'm not sure what purpose he even has on this forum except to troll Indians. Probably the only way he gets any real attention; on US forums he's just another joe six pack parroting John McCain.

[habal]

he was benami, but now it is in open

Arrested Oil Tycoon Passed Shares To Banker Rothschild
The Washington Times
11-3-3

LONDON (Agence France-Presse) - Control of Mikhail Khodorkovsky's shares in the Russian oil giant Yukos have passed to renowned banker Jacob Rothschild, under a deal they concluded prior to Mr. Khodorkovsky's arrest, the Sunday Times reported.

Voting rights to the shares passed to Mr. Rothschild, 67, under a "previously unknown arrangement" designed to take effect in the event that Mr. Khodorkovsky could no longer "act as a beneficiary" of the shares, it said.

Mr. Khodorkovsky, 40, whom Russian authorities arrested at gunpoint and jailed pending further investigation last week, was said by the Sunday Times to have made the arrangement with Mr. Rothschild when he realized he was facing arrest.

Mr. Rothschild now controls the voting rights on a stake in Yukos worth almost $13.5 billion, the newspaper said in a dispatch from Moscow.

Mr. Khodorkovsky owns 4 percent of Yukos directly and 22 percent through a trust of which he is the sole beneficiary, according to Russian analysts.

From the figures reported in the Sunday Times, it appeared Mr. Rothschild had received control of all Mr. Khodorkovsky's shares.

The two have known each other for years "through their mutual love of the arts" and their positions as directors of the Open Russia Foundation, Yukos' philanthropic branch, it said.

Russian authorities Thursday froze billions of dollars of shares held by Mr. Khodorkovsky and his top lieutenants in Yukos - throwing control of the country's largest oil company into limbo and causing frenzied selling on financial markets.

Russian prosecutors said owners of the shares are still entitled to dividends and retain voting rights, but can no longer sell their stakes.

They said the freeze was necessary as collateral for the $1 billion that Mr. Khodorkovsky and his associates are accused of misappropriating during the 1990s.

Mr. Rothschild is the British head of Europe's wealthy and influential Rothschild family, and runs his own investment empire.

http://washingtontimes.com/world/200311 ... -3720r.htm

[Austin]

Russia 'violated 1987 nuclear missile treaty', says US

Russia has violated a key arms control treaty by testing a nuclear cruise missile, the US government says.

Russia tested a ground-launched cruise missile, breaking the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed in 1987 during the Cold War, the US said.

A senior US official did not provide further details on the alleged breach, but described it as "very serious".

The bilateral agreement banned medium-range missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 km (300 to 3,400 miles).

The US claims come at a time of heightened tensions between the two sides, with the US criticising Russia for its alleged involvement in the conflict in Ukraine.
'Prohibited items'

A senior US official, who was not named, said in a statement that the testing of the missile was "a very serious matter which we have attempted to address with Russia for some time now".

"We encourage Russia to return to compliance with its obligations under the treaty and to eliminate any prohibited items in a verifiable matter," the official added.

US President Barack Obama has written to Russian leader Vladimir Putin over the matter, officials say.

This is the first time the US government has made its accusations public, though the issue has simmered for years, the BBC's Paul Blake in Washington reports.

[Jarita]

^^^ Will this happen to Bambani's share too. Is there a similar arrangement

[ldev]

This struggle over MH17 and Ukraine between Russia and the US with the Europeans as supporting cast, is for either the continuation of the present US led global financial system which will happen if the US prevails and removes Putin from power or if Putin is able to prevail,for the nascent BRICS bank to come up with a new international reserve currency (or the Chinese yuan) which will eventually rival/replace the US dollar. So the geopolitical and global economic stakes are enormous. The next few years will be critical in determining which side will prevail.

For the first time in 30 years, global leaders and events are a tipping point. China has a new strongman, Xi Jinping, who has moved very fast in eliminating the collective leadership model of the CCP of the last decades. He is probably the most powerful Chinese leader since the demise of Deng Xiaoping. India has elected a leader who similarly has a mandate from the people not seen for the last 30 years. Both of them have demonstrated an ability to take quick decisions.However, given the history of relations between the 2 countries, even these two leaders may not be able to move beyond their mutual distrust fast enough, and both are pragmatists. Putin is an idealogue who believes that the US has gone back on all undertakings given during the breakup of the former Soviet Union. He is the only one in the BRICS camp who has the ability to bind the grouping together.

However, what underpins the Russian Federal budget are oil and gas revenues. 68% of Russian exports are oil and gas and 50% of the revenues of the Russian budget came from oil, gas and other mineral taxes. Russian oil production will decline anytime after 2018-2021 and consequently its state revenues. Putin therefore has to make that breakout move in the next 5 years, before that irreversible decline sets in, to secure for Russia a position which it can do in cooperation with other BRICS countries and fortunately for him, both China and India have got pragmatic fast moving leaders in power now.

Without Putin in power, China and India will not be able to cooperate nor do they have the ultimate security of 10,000 nuclear warheads.

From the standpoint of the US, the budget situation is out of control, the biggest US export today is the greenback. As domestic US oil production grows, (it will grow and then decline anytime after 2030 or thereabouts) the US will not import any crude oil from abroad. China is already the largest export market for middle eastern OPEC countries including Saudi Arabia. If a viable reserve currency such as a special SDR created by the BRICSs bank is available, that would be a tempting option for OPEC countries to park their reserves, rather than directly in a yuan market which is not entirely stable.(Or the BRICS SDR could add credibility to the yuan similar to what gold convertibility did to the US dollar at the time of Bretton Woods, only to be removed some years later) The oil buyer-seller relationships will be between the OPEC countries and China-India on the other and hence the potential to park reserves in currencies/units/reserve currencies of their largest buyers.

The odds of this happening appear to be significant by the internal calculations of the US and hence the large scale effort via public media and economic sanctions to get rid of Putin asap. After all, without the no limit credit card which the reserve currency status confers on the US dollar, interest rates in the US will skyrocket, standards of living in the US will plummet by 30%-50% over a 5 year period and the US military will resemble the Russian military(unable to project power globally). So the stakes are truly enormous for both sides.

Ukraine and MH17 are only a sideshow, they are the pretext to mount the move to get rid of Putin. From the public media, Putin and his advisors appear to be aware of this, that the ultimate US objective is to get rid of him. The US also knows that Putin must make his moves now before Russian oil revenues start declining and hence the offensive to remove him from power.

Interesting times ahead.

Added later:
The threat to the West from monolithic Islam has been largely defused. Iraq, Libya and Syria are in flames and will continue to burn for many years. Iran did not buckle under 35 years of sanctions and so an agreement will be reached with it. Internecine Sunni-Shia conflict will keep them occupied, with Iraq under Shia control the Sunni-Shia equation is now more balanced to keep the conflict going for a long time.

[Singha]

>> Open Russia Foundation

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?ti ... Foundation

Board of Trustees
Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky
The Honorable Henry Kissinger
The Honorable Arthur Hartman
Dr. Mikhail Piotrovsky -> seems like the only genuine guy in the list. curator of the hermitage museum. but his wife is in international finance...
Lord Jacob Rothschild, OM GBE

[Austin]

US Thanks Japan for Sanctions Against Russia

MOSCOW, July 29 (RIA Novosti) – US Secretary of State John Kerry thanked Japan’s Foreign Affairs Minister Fumio Kishida for the sanctions Japan has put in place against Russia, Japan's Foreign Affairs Ministry said.

“Secretary of State Kerry expressed his gratefulness for the list of sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis published on July 28. Minister for Foreign Affairs Kishida said that Japan had imposed these new sanctions as a sign of solidarity with the G7 members, and intends to keep taking actions in cooperation with the G7 states,” the ministry said in a statement.

On Monday, the Japanese authorities released a list of new sanctions against Russia over the crisis in Ukraine.

The sanctions presuppose the freezing of assets of individuals “involved in Crimea annexation and responsible for destabilizing the situation in Ukraine.” Japan will also be implementing new projects in Russia in accordance with the policy set by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development adopted by the European Union. There will be limitations on the goods imported from Crimea.

[Austin]

Not sure why Japan would sanction Russia , it has no bone in the Ukraine dispute even remotely.

I wonder how long Russia will remain neutral in China-Japan dispute.

Japan’s new sanctions on Russia hamper bilateral relations — Foreign Ministry

[Austin]

Looks like Abe Government is on an overdrive says Mistral Deal with Russia is a threat to Japan

Japanese Minister Says French Mistral Deal With Russia Can Affect Japan’s Security

The sale of two Mistral-class helicopter carriers to Russia may have a negative impact on Japan’s security, Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said during a meeting with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian in Tokyo.

“Recently, Russia has increased its military presence and activity in the Far East. This fact causes an alarm, taking into account the interests of Japan’s security,” NHK television quoted Onodera as saying.

Le Drian responded that Russia had already paid for the helicopter carriers and highlighted that “the ships have no armament and are built for transporting purposes.” However, he argued: “France will agree if the European Union considers that the deal is to be affected by sanctions.”

Onodera has called the deal “inexpedient in light of the current international situation.”

Earlier this month, the US opposed to the French sale of the helicopter carriers to Russia.

“We have said that, given the current context, it’s not the right timing for those types of transactions to move forward. We ourselves have put restrictions on certain high-tech materials that could go toward the Russian defense industry,” US Deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said.

A contract for two Mistral-class helicopter carriers to be built for Russia was signed in June 2011. In June 2014, French authorities confirmed France would meet its obligations under the contract worth $1.6 billion.

[Y. Kanan]

For the first time in 30 years, global leaders and events are a tipping point. China has a new strongman, Xi Jinping, who has moved very fast in eliminating the collective leadership model of the CCP of the last decades. He is probably the most powerful Chinese leader since the demise of Deng Xiaoping. India has elected a leader who similarly has a mandate from the people not seen for the last 30 years. Both of them have demonstrated an ability to take quick decisions.However, given the history of relations between the 2 countries, even these two leaders may not be able to move beyond their mutual distrust fast enough, and both are pragmatists. Putin is an idealogue who believes that the US has gone back on all undertakings given during the breakup of the former Soviet Union. He is the only one in the BRICS camp who has the ability to bind the grouping together.

However, what underpins the Russian Federal budget are oil and gas revenues. 68% of Russian exports are oil and gas and 50% of the revenues of the Russian budget came from oil, gas and other mineral taxes. Russian oil production will decline anytime after 2018-2021 and consequently its state revenues. Putin therefore has to make that breakout move in the next 5 years, before that irreversible decline sets in, to secure for Russia a position which it can do in cooperation with other BRICS countries and fortunately for him, both China and India have got pragmatic fast moving leaders in power now.

Without Putin in power, China and India will not be able to cooperate nor do they have the ultimate security of 10,000 nuclear warheads.

The current situation is actually a great opportunity for China to finally dump Pakistan and join a new ultimate alliance with Russia, India and China as its core founding members. It makes a lot of sense strategically for China to do this, in the long run. But China's obsession with needling India (and to a lesser extent Russia) makes this unlikely. Backing Pakistan allows them to do both, at little cost. Pakistan directly damages us, but they also harass Russia along its southern flank by spreading Sunni jihad into Central Asia. China, like the US, has this weird obsession with spreading chaos and undermining every nation they can. They just can't give up their short term thinking and their reflexive desire to bully their neighbors. Look at their recent behavior in S. China Sea for example.

If anything, what I expect is for China to try and steer Russia towards an alternative alliance, where Russia dumps India and embraces Pakistan instead. This is of course idiotic and won't result in any viable alternative to the current US-dominated world order. But China would prefer any alliance, however pointless, over one that includes India.

[Austin]

There wont be any Military Alliance between Russia and China or Russia and India , Recently the Chinese President and Russian President said so that they wont form any military alliance.

Russia and China already co-operates in format of SCO and CSTO. India would join SCO has full member soon.

Considering Japanese are now turning hostile toward Russia without any provocation or having any bone in the fight , probably this would mean Russia policy maker would reevaluate its policy on Japan

[Austin]

I think the major change will not be militarily as much it will be Economically.

Sanction will force Russia to trade with the East and the major economics of China and India besides more trade within BRICS.

I wont be surprised if in the near future Russia would allow its Oil/Gas to be traded with Renminbi besides USD and Euro and will have major deals with India in Economic Front.

[Philip]

UKR forces hasalunched a massive attack against rebel forces in eastern UKR around Donetsk.3 lakh people have fled . The idea is to encircle Donetsk and prevent supplies from reaching the Donetsk republic forces. A similar Gaza style blitzkrieg of the entire area with indiscriminate shelling is on the cards.Simultaneously the US and EU are about to enforce large-scale sanctions against Russia.The aim is to try and destabilise Putin who is being seen as the lynchpin of the new world order that is forming around the BRICS nations,with the formation of the BRICS bank a threat to the domination of the dollar affecting Western financial interests.The message is out ,"Get Putin" by any means,fair or foul.

With Japan warning that the Mistral deal with France would affect its security,US pressure,Washington is pulling out all stops to scuttle the lucrative deal for France. It remains to be seen whether France will capitulate.

As YK has said,would China prefer to bury the hatchet with India and dump Pak or limit its assistance to Pak considerably if a
"triumvirate" of India,China and Russia were to emerge? If a strong economic triumvirate were to be established and the BRICS bank consolidated despite US pressure to sabotage it,it would bind the 3 giants together and reduce the chances of confrontation between India and China.The US is trying to bind India and Japan together in a military understanding.This would be directly against Russian interests which would harm India more strategically than benefit it.Russia could be the answer to India's massive energy supplies,an alternative to the Middle east supplies were we are increasingly dependent upon the Wahaabi Saudis.In fact our relations with Iran and supplies from it should be increased no matter what pressure the US (which is now warming up to Iran after the emergence of ISIS) tries to apply.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/j ... -mh17[b]US will follow EU in likely escalation of Russia sanctions, says White House[/b]
Announcement of impending measures follows conference call between Obama and leaders of UK, France, Italy and Germany

Paul Lewis in Washington
theguardian.com, Monday 28 July 2014 19.39 BST

Tony Blinken
US deputy national security adviser, Tony Blinken, said European leaders made clear their 'determination to act'. Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

The White House has said that it expects Europe will escalate sanctions against Russia in the coming days and signalled that the US, which is concerned Moscow could still launch a full-scale cross-border intervention into Ukraine, would follow suit.

The announcement followed a video conference call between the US president, Barack Obama, and four European leaders: the British prime minister, David Cameron; the French president, François Hollande; Italy's prime minster, Matteo Renzi; and Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel.

Relaying details of the call to reporters, Tony Blinken, a national security adviser to Barack Obama, said European leaders made clear their "determination to act".

"We expect the European Union to take significant additional steps this week, including in key sectors of the Russian economy. In turn, and in full coordination with Europe, the United States will implement additional measures itself."

He added that Europe made clear last week it was willing to target financial, defence and energy sectors of Russia's economy.

Earlier on Monday, a Downing Street spokeswoman said there was "broad consensus" in the European Union that sanctions should be applied to those sectors within days over Russia's role in the Malaysia Airlines disaster but there was debate about whether to restrict this action to future, rather than existing, contracts.

"I think you can anticipate [further] actions in those areas," Blinken said. "Similarly, they're looking to broaden the criteria by which they can sanction people or entities. I think one of the things they are looking at is to bring in some of the cronies of President Putin."

Blinken said the existing sanctions regime had already produced "major strategic gains" in Ukraine, leading to a new government and the signing of the EU association agreement.

However, he said US intelligence assessments indicated that Moscow continued to transfer heavy weaponry and fighters across the border to aid pro-Russia separatists, and had stationed Russian troops near the border. He described Putin's strategy as one of "doubling down" on support for separatist fighters.

"One of the things we believe Russia has been trying to do is to get Ukrainians to take some action that they [Moscow] can then use as some kind of 'justification' for an intervention – a so-called humanitarian intervention or a so-called peacekeeping intervention. That is one of the things that we think is in the potential Russian playbook."

[RSoami]

Looks like Abe Government is on an overdrive says Mistral Deal with Russia is a threat to Japan

This is a Chankian move by the Japanese. What they are actually saying is that the Europeans are continuing to reap the benefits of having business ties with Russia while japan is expected to be hostile to Russia forever. The Japanese are only putting pressure on`the internarnational community` to not put pressure on them to act against Russia. .

Considering Japanese are now turning hostile toward Russia without any provocation or having any bone in the fight , probably this would mean Russia policy maker would reevaluate its policy on Japan

Abe has met Putin five times in last one year. He is keen on turning Japan into a `normal country`. As of now it is completely dependent on US for defence. Till such a time that it can manage its own defences it has to sing Unkle`s tune. Russia understands that. They will continue to engage Japan in the east the same way they continue to engage Germany in the west.

[ramana]

Pannikar used to say only four natural powers are : Russia, USA, China and India. All others are derivative powers.

The Cold War politics was to ensure that India is non-aligned and PRC split from Russia.

Ombaba is bent on making USA vs all three.

[Cosmo_R]

@RSoami^^

Good point. Honest Abe will also be thinking to preempt a Russia-China dependence as the former moves away from a euro-centric worldview. They too can compete for Siberian gas.

What Abe has to figure out is how to neutralize the Kuril island issue to cover himself domestically and Putin has to help him.

Interesting how the chess pieces are moving around flouting established rules invented by gamesters with the intent of loading the dice.

[chanakyaa]

Considering Japanese are now turning hostile toward Russia without any provocation or having any bone in the fight , probably this would mean Russia policy maker would reevaluate its policy on Japan

Abe has met Putin five times in last one year. He is keen on turning Japan into a `normal country`. As of now it is completely dependent on US for defence. Till such a time that it can manage its own defences it has to sing Unkle`s tune. Russia understands that. They will continue to engage Japan in the east the same way they continue to engage Germany in the west.

I believe there is more to Japan's tail wagging. Yes, defense dependence is definitely at the top of the list, but the failure to not following instructions, means some serious consequences to its domestic economy which Mr. Abe, and his predecessors, struggling to fix. Russia is not Japan's top 5 export partners. Japan't debt burden is a serious threat to its own economy. They can shake Japanese financial markets so hard, that all those earthquakes and tsunamis will look like minor accident. The hands caressing their b@ll$ can squeeze them any time. Wagging the tail, is the least they could do to help themselves stay out of trouble.

[devesh]

Pannikar used to say only four natural powers are : Russia, USA, China and India. All others are derivative powers.

The Cold War politics was to ensure that India is non-aligned and PRC split from Russia.

Ombaba is bent on making USA vs all three.

I would also add Germany to this.

the level of paranoia the Anglo-Saxons have for Germany remains cloaked in the post-WWII bonhomie. but the fact that they hacked the Highest elected German leader's personal cell phone tells you exactly how much trust they have for Germany.

even now, without a military machine like Unkil or France or Britain, Germany punches at equal level to these guys, politically speaking, in Europe.

[Philip]

The hypocrisy of it all,when the UKR junta bombard the east/Donetsk Gaza style,causing large-scale civilian casualties and the West blames Russia imposing extra sanctions!
EU and US impose sweeping economic sanctions on Russia
• European capital markets to be closed to Russian banks
• Sanctions intended to stop supply of arms to Ukraine rebels
• Downing St to push for harsher sanctions if no change

Xcpt:

EU governments have agreed to impose sweeping sanctions on Russia, targeting state-owned banks, imposing an arms embargo and restricting sales of sensitive technology and the export of equipment for the country's oil industry, in response to Moscow's continued backing for separatists in eastern Ukraine.

The punitive measures, the most extensive EU sanctions imposed on Russia since the cold war, were agreed by ambassadors from the 28 member states after a seven-hour debate. They decided that Moscow had not fulfilled the conditions laid down by foreign ministers last week, to stop the supply of arms to the rebels and provide full cooperation in the investigation into the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

US president Barack Obama joined the EU in sharply escalating economic pressure on Moscow.

He announced new measures, targeting major sectors of the Russian economy, including weapons, energy and finance. Three large banks – VTB Bank OAO, Bank of Moscow and the Russian Agricultural Bank – were cut off from the US economy.

"Today, Russia is once again isolating itself from the international community, setting back decades of genuine progress," the president said.

The EU sanctions will hit Russia the hardest. The bloc does 10 times more trade with it than the US.

The president of the European Council, Herman van Rompuy, and the head of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, issued a joint statement describing the EU measures as a strong warning that "Illegal annexation of territory and deliberate destabilisation of a neighbouring sovereign country could not be accepted in 21st-century Europe.

"When the violence created spirals out of control and leads to the killing of almost 300 innocent civilians in their flight from the Netherlands to Malaysia, the situation requires urgent and determined response," they said. "The European Union will fulfil its obligations to protect and ensure the security of its citizens. And the European Union will stand by its neighbours and partners."

Following a meeting of the emergency Cobra council of ministers on Tuesday, Downing Street said the UK will push for even harsher sanctions against Russia than the ones agreed by the EU if the country does not change course.

A No 10 spokesman said the UK expected the Netherlands to publish the preliminary findings of its investigation into the crash of MH17 next week. "In the Netherlands, the process for identifying and repatriating the victims continues and there are now 15 British police officers working as part of a 200-strong team to complete the process as swiftly as possible," she said.

"The prime minister underlined the need for a strong international response to Russia's ongoing efforts to destabilise Ukraine, noting that the EU should agree a package of sectoral sanctions today and that Europe must be willing to pursue further tough measures if Russia does not change course."

How Russia might retaliate by withdrawing from treaties with the US/West.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/j ... s[b]Moscow may walk out of nuclear treaty after US accusations of breach[/b]
Russia said to be on point of leaving 1987 treaty, after Obama administration said it violated the accord with tests of R-500

Alec Luhn in Moscow and Julian Borger
The Guardian, Tuesday 29 July 2014 12.38 BST

Moscow violated cold war nuclear treaty with R-500 missile test, says US
Vladimir Putin in Moscow: the US government had hoped to persuade Putin to stop the tests of the R-500 missile. Photograph: Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images

Russia may be on the point of walking out of a major cold war era arms-control treaty, Russian analysts have said, after President Obama accused Moscow of violating the accord by testing a cruise missile.

There has been evidence at least since 2011 of Russian missile tests in violation of the 1987 intermediate range nuclear forces (INF) treaty, which banned US or Russian ground-launched cruise missiles with a 500 to 5,500-mile (805 to 8,851km) range. But the Obama administration has been hesitant until now of accusing Moscow of a violation in the hope that it could persuade Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, to stop the tests or at least not deploy the weapon in question, known as the Iskander, or R-500.

Washington has also been reticent because of the technical differences in definition of what constitutes the range of a missile under the INF treaty. That ambiguity now seems to have dropped away. According to Pavel Felgenhauer, a defence analyst and columnist for the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, Russia has indeed broken the treaty by testing the R-500 which has a range of more than 1,000km.

"Of course, this is in gross violation of the 1987 treaty, but Russian officials including Putin have said this treaty is unfair and not suitable for Russia," Felgenhauer said. "The United States doesn't have [medium-range missiles] but other countries do have them, such as China, Pakistan and Israel, so they say this is unfair and wrong."

Russian press reports have suggested the missile may even be in deployment, with state news agency RIA Novosti reporting in June that the "Russian army currently uses its Iskander-M and Iskander-K variants." Felgenhauer said he doesn't believe the missile has been deployed, although he said it's entirely possible that Russia will leave the treaty amid tensions with the US.

"The present situation of a new cold war in Europe – and not even cold, at least not in Ukraine right now – it's a situation in which Russia can abrogate the 1987 treaty, and the possibilities are rather high," Felgenhauer said.

Russian officials have previously criticised the 1987 treaty, including former defence minister Sergei Ivanov. In 2013, Ivanov, then presidential chief of staff, said of the treaty: "We are fulfilling it, but it can't last forever."

According to Kremlin-linked analyst Sergei Markov, Russia has a far greater need for medium-range cruise missiles than the |US, because military rivals including China are located near its borders and because Moscow lacks the Americans' long-range bombing capabilities.

"Russia would be happy to leave this agreement, and I think Russia is using the Ukraine crisis to leave the agreement," Markov said.

As for Russia's complaints about US aegis missiles, Felgenhauer said they reflect the genuine belief among Kremlin top brass that the US missile defence has a secret attack capability and poses a threat to Russia.

"This was a normal Soviet practice that missile interceptors had the in-built capability to be used as an attack missile," Felgenhauer said.

Quite a useful missile to have in one's inventory.
And now CNN accuses Kiev o firing ballistic missiles into the east!...but O'Bomber isn't listening.He probably gave the order to the UKR puppet junta to do so and crush Donetsk just as Gaza is being crushed.

Kiev forces fire ballistic missiles into E. Ukraine – CNN
Published time: July 29, 2014

In the past two days Kiev’s forces have launched several short-range ballistic missiles into areas in east Ukraine controlled by self-defense forces, CNN reports, citing US government sources.

The move “marks a major escalation” in the Ukrainian crisis, CNN said.

“Three US officials confirmed to me a short time ago that US intelligence over the last 48 hours has monitored the firing of several short-range ballistic missiles from territory controlled by Ukraine government forces into areas controlled by the pro-Russian separatists,” Barbara Starr, CNN’s Pentagon correspondent, said in a live report.

Short-range ballistic missiles can carry warheads of up to 1,000 pounds (450 kg) and are capable of killing dozens of people at a time, Starr said.

A Moscow correspondent for another American television network, ABC, tweeted Tuesday that the Kiev forces fired three ballistic missiles at self-defense forces near the town of Snezhnoe (Snizhne in Ukrainian) in the Donetsk Region. According to Kirit Radia, this is what a US official told ABC’s Pentagon digital journalist Luis Martinez.

Radia added that according to the official, it is likely that Ukrainian forces use such missiles since they do not want to risk their planes being shot down by sending them to the area.

The CNN gave no details regarding the exact missiles’ launch and impact point.

“In fact, the US is holding this information right now fairly tightly, officials say, because they are in an awkward position: these are, you know, the so-called ‘good guys’ firing ballistic missiles, Ukraine government forces,” Starr said on air.

So far, there has been no official reaction from Kiev and Moscow. The question now is how Washington – which has strongly backed the Kiev government – will comment on the revelations, CNN’s correspondent said.

Earlier this week, the US State Department released satellite images via email which it said act as “evidence” that Russia was firing rockets at Ukrainian troops across the border. Russia’s Defense Ministry stated in response that the “fake” images were created by American advisers “with close links to Ukraine’s Security Council.”

“Will we see the satellite imagery of the Ukrainians firing against the separatists? That may be a very tricky political question for the US intelligence community today,” CNN’s Starr said.

However, CNN’s correspondent in Donetsk, Nick Paton Walsh, said he had heard nothing of ballistic launches in the area and nothing of that kind has been openly discussed. He added, though, that it is no secret that both sides of the conflict were using “very heavy weaponry” against each other.

Russian military experts say that if the Ukrainian military did use ballistic missiles, most likely they would be Tochka-U (NATO Designation SS-21 Scarab).

Viktor Murakhovsky told RT that the military possibly used the missile against a fixed target, such as the militia’s staff headquarters.

“I’m talking about the Tochka-U tactical ballistic missile on a wheeled chassis, which the Ukrainian army has in its arsenal. It’s a Soviet-designed and produced missile. It may have a high-explosive fragmentation warhead or a disintegrating warhead,” Murakhovsky said.

Anatoly Tsyganok, the head of the Military Forecasting Center in Moscow, agreed that the Ukrainian army could have used the Tochka-U missile.

The news broke amid growing tensions between Washington and Moscow over the ongoing violent confrontation in Ukraine.

The US, giving strong backing to the Kiev government, has repeatedly accused Russia of supporting anti-government separatist forces in east Ukraine and supplying them with arms – an accusation Russia has strongly denied. Last week, US government officials claimed that Russia was firing artillery across the border into Ukrainian territory, but refused to provide any hard evidence besides some pictures captured by a civilian satellite, which were rebuffed by Russia’s Defense Ministry.

So far the US has failed to back its statements with any trustworthy proof, mainly referring to some images, “commons sense” and social media.

Charges and counter charges between the two powers have been boiling following the tragic accident with Malaysian Airlines Boeing-777 that crashed in Ukraine on July 17. The very next day after the incident, long before experts arrived at the scene and a probe was launched, President Barack Obama said that America had “increasing confidence” that the plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile that was launched from militia-controlled territory. US intelligence said later that it found no direct link between Russia and the plane disaster. But, still, the blame-game continued with Russia being accused of “creating conditions” that led to the incident.

A fresh bunch of accusations were thrown at Moscow on Tuesday, with Obama stating that Russia was not cooperating with the international investigation of the plane crash.

Chief of the Air Force General Staff Igor Makushev and Head of the Main Operations Directorate of the HQ of Russia’s Armed Forces Andrei Kartapolov (from right to left) at the news conference on the crash of the Boeing 777 passenger airliner in Ukraine.(RIA Novosti / Vadim Savitskii)

Russia on the contrary has been calling for a transparent and impartial investigation of the tragedy from the very beginning. Russia’s Defense Ministry presented its own evidence on the movements of Ukrainian military before and after the tragedy, including surface-to-air missile systems, and a fighter jet that had been tracking the civilian aircraft. During the press conference, Russian military posed a number of questions to Kiev and Washington answers to which could shed light on what really happened on that day and help the international investigation. Those questions however were left unanswered with western media and politicians instead blaming Russia of not willing to use its “influence” on anti-Kiev forces whom they accused of hampering the investigation despite the fact that it was Kiev’s forces who intensified the military operation in the direct vicinity of the crash site.

On Tuesday however, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko finally said that Kiev is ready for a cease-fire at the MH17 crash site, as was demanded by the UN Security Council resolution on July 21. The local militia in the meantime confirmed they were ready to further cooperate with international experts investigating the crash.