By Paul Craig Roberts:Myself, Michael Hudson, John Perkins, and a few others have reported the multi-pronged looting of peoples by Western economic institutions, principally the big New York Banks with the aid of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Third World countries were and are looted by being inticed into development plans for electrification or some such purpose. The gullible and trusting governments are told that they can make their countries rich by taking out foreign loans to implement a Western-presented development plan, with the result being sufficient tax revenues from economic development to service the foreign loan. Seldom, if ever, does this happen. What happens is that the plan results in the country becoming indebted to the limit and beyond of its foreign currency earnings. When the country is unable to service the development loan, the creditors send the IMF to tell the indebted government that the IMF will protect the government’s credit rating by lending it the money to pay its bank creditors. However, the conditions are that the government take necessary austerity measures so that the government can repay the IMF. These measures are to curtail public services and the government sector, reduce public pensions, and sell national resources to foreigners. The money saved by reduced social benefits and raised by selling off the country’s assets to foreigners serves to repay the IMF.
By Gilad Atzmon:Six months ago, Jeremy Corbyn was unable to sing the national
anthem. Two days ago he signed the holocaust book. Our revolutionary
leader is quick to adapt. Jewish News reported yesterday that the
Labour leader has joined people from across the political spectrum in
signing the Book of Commitment to remember the Holocaust. Corbyn
left a universal note inside the book: “To remember the Holocaust is a
vital way of saying to all generations that the tragedy, brutality and
loss must not be repeated, We must ensure all understand this and we can
all play a role in preventing future tragedies." He could just say "To remember the Holocaust is to say NO to Ziocon wars." But apparently he didn't. Source
As the West’s mainstream media portrays Russia as a crazy rogue state, Moscow’s thoughtful critiques of world affairs are ignored, not fitting the propaganda theme. Such was the case when Foreign Minister Lavrov explained why there would be no more “business as usual” with the West, as Gilbert Doctorow describes.
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By Gilbert Doctorow:On Jan. 26, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held an important year-in-review press conference before an audience of about 150 journalists, including the BBC correspondent Steve Rosenberg and many other well-known representatives of mainstream Western media. The purpose of this annual event is to look back at issues faced by his Ministry over the past year and to give his appraisal of results achieved. Lavrov’s opening remarks were concise, lasting perhaps 15 minutes, and the remaining two hours were turned over to the floor for questions. As the microphone was passed to journalists from many different countries, the discussion covered a great variety of subjects, including the likelihood of a new “re-set” with the United States, the negotiations over re-convening the Syrian peace talks in Geneva, British Prime Minister David Cameron’s comments on the findings of a U.K. public inquest into the Litvinenko murder, the possibilities for reestablishing diplomatic relations with Georgia, and prospects for resolving conflicting claims over the Southern Kurile islands so as to conclude a peace treaty with Japan. To the best of my knowledge, not a single report of the event has yet appeared on major online American, French, British and German newspaper portals or television channels.
Because this is the Internet, I should probably point out that I am satirising Jess Phillips, and do not think that _anybody_ being murdered is trivial.5hadowfax
By Luigi Logan (aka Fidelbogen):Today, let’s talk about two very important things that you need to understand about feminism if you want to take feminism down. These two things are called feminist triumphalism and feminist subjectivism. They are closely related mental operations, and together they form a set of brackets or bookends which hold the entire feminist psychology together. Feminist triumphalism: Feminist triumphalism is the idea that feminism is absolute, categorically and objectively “right” beyond all further discussion, for all time. Hence, feminism is triumphant and trumps any possible alternative standpoint. Feminist triumphalism is the moral bedrock from which all feminist thinking operates because the feminists are adamant that feminism has achieved an objective moral victory absolved from all further discussion. They will suggest that if you oppose feminism in any way, you are on the wrong side of history. Feminist triumphalism is their dogma, their fixed idea and the pivot point which their moral universe revolves around. In their mind, you are morally bound to agree that feminism is RIGHT! It just IS. Feminism is right because it’s right and that settles it. And because feminism is right you must support it, and if you don’t, you are WRONG. You just ARE!
By CoNN (ANONHQ):Hillary’s emails truly are the gifts that keep on giving. While France led the proponents of the UN Security Council Resolution that would create a no-fly zone in Libya, it claimed that its primary concern was the protection of Libyan civilians (considering the current state of affairs alone, one must rethink the authenticity of this concern). As many “conspiracy theorists” will claim, one of the real reasons to go to Libya was Gaddafi’s planned gold dinar. One of the 3,000 Hillary Clinton emails released by the State Department on New Year’s Eve (where real news is sent to die quietly) has revealed evidence that NATO’s plot to overthrow Gaddafi was fueled by first their desire to quash the gold-backed African currency, and second the Libyan oil reserves. The email in question was sent to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by her unofficial adviser Sydney Blumenthal titled “France’s client and Qaddafi’s gold.” From Foreign Policy Journal: “The email identifies French President Nicholas Sarkozy as leading the attack on Libya with five specific purposes in mind: to obtain Libyan oil, ensure French influence in the region, increase Sarkozy’s reputation domestically, assert French military power, and to prevent Gaddafi’s influence in what is considered ‘Francophone Africa.’
By Gilad Atzmon: For the last two decades some of us have insisted that the Jewish State is a prime threat to world peace. Apparently, we weren’t alone. The American and British military elite reached the same conclusion.
Now we learn that 18 years ago the U.S. and British intelligence services cracked Israel’s encryption for communication between fighter jets, drones and army bases and they have been spying on Israel ever since. The information was reported Friday by The Intercept and the German newspaper Der Spiegel based on documents revealed by whistle blower Edward Snowden. Aware of its own danger to world peace, Israel said Friday it was disappointed but not surprised by the revelations. According to the reports, breaking Israel’s drone encryption allowed Britain and the United States to view images and videos broadcast to Israel Defense Force commands during drone operations in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and near the Jewish state’s northern border.
