Thursday, November 27, 2014

American Empire: Nuland Vows, U.S. Troops Willing to Die for Latvia Trade Deal, Pledges Troops Thru 2015 as Hagel Resigns

Oh my, what a crazy week it’s been. The November 4th “made in America sham election” has emboldened the election vultures like never before.  Thanks to a corrupt U.S. Supreme Court, billionaires were able to fund the elections, purchase ALEC groomed politicians with a fealty to Monsanto, Koch Industries, Dow Chemical, etc. and enact ALEC bill mill voter suppression laws.  And, no time has been wasted for the “victors” to claim their “spoils.” 



Monsanto now is suing Maui’s citizens for bypassing the ALEC politicians and passing their own labeling laws for GM food.  The Koch Brothers’ ecologically devastating Keystone Pipeline soon will be destroying an aquifer near you.  As bad as that is, the most egregious thing to occur so far this week is Victoria Nuland pledging that Americans are willing to die for the Latvia trade deal, then announcing American troops will stay in the Balkins through 2015.




Staunton, November 22 – When the Ukrainian crisis began, some commentators in the West suggested that NATO would not in the end fight to defend the Baltic countries even though the latter are full members of NATO by asking “who is prepared to die for Narva?” But now a senior US State Department has given a clear and unequivocal answer: Western countries are.


During a visit to Latvia this week, Victoria Nuland, US assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said that “when NATO and the US as part of NATO took new members into the alliance, this means that we are ready to participate in the defense of the security of these countries, and this means that we are ready to give our lives for the security of these countries.”





Yes, Nuland throws around American military lives like toy soldiers, when they get broken just throw them away and get new ones.  Just days before the announcement, Nuland was ushering a “once in a lifetime trade deal” with Latvia. From PublicBroadcasting Latvia:


Excerpt:


One of the stars of the US' state department, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland, paid a visit to Riga November 20 and took the opportunity to look forward to Latvia's forthcoming EU presidency and the chances of moving forward a comprehensive EU-US trade deal.


Speaking after talks with Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs, Nuland paid tribute to the "strong example and mentorship that Latvia shows to others."


"We're also very pleased that the Latvian government has chosen to make the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) a cornerstone of its presidency of the European Union.


Latvia will hold the rotating presidency of the council of the EU during the first six months of 2015.


The absolute disregard for our military families’ sacrifices for our country is one thing, but to use future deaths of Americans as a bargaining chip in an anti-American trade deal is another.  So Victoria Nuland pledged American lives for Latvia, does she have the authority?  I guess so, according to KAIT8.com:


Excerpt:


US general: troops staying in Baltics through 2015
 

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) - A top U.S. military commander in Europe says U.S. troops will remain in the three Baltic countries and Poland through next year or longer to "deter Russian aggression."….


The U.S. has temporarily deployed hundreds of troops in NATO members Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland in the wake of the Russian intervention in Ukraine.


Hodges, who was visiting Lithuania on Sunday, said U.S. forces had rotations planned through next year and would "be here for as long as necessary to assure all of our allies and to deter Russian aggression."


That’s odd…  The U.S. has “temporarily” deployed troops to Lithuania.  Hmmmm.  Seems I read something about that, oh, yeah.  From RussiaTimes:


Excerpt:


Lithuania agrees to supply Ukraine with military aid, Poroshenko says


Lithuania has decided to provide limited military aid to Ukraine following a meeting between Presidents Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine and Dalia Grybauskaite of Lithuania in Kiev. The move aims to bolster military cooperation between the two states.


"We have agreed on the supply of armaments for the Ukrainian armed forces," Poroshenko said, after talks with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite on Monday.


Poroshenko added that the aid constituted “real help,” though he did not clarify if it was for lethal or non-lethal equipment.


So, correct me if I’m wrong, it’s like the knee bone is connected to the shin bone, the shin bone is connected to the ankle bone….


What I mean is, Victoria Nuland uses the lives of the US military as a bargaining chip to get support for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.  In other words, US troops are committed to providing the military protection that should be provided by NATO troops, but that would be illegal.   So in the name of protecting Latvia, military protection will be provided by America while funneling billions to Lithuania to provide troops to fight in Ukraine.




It sounds like a mafia shakedown.  In other recent news, Joe Biden went to take a victory lap around Ukraine, but failed to “feel the love”.  Were it not for Joe Biden and Victoria Nuland, there wouldn’t have been a war in Ukraine and Monsanto would still be legally banned from supplying GM corn seeds to the corn basket of the world, Ukraine.  From WashingtonTimes:


Excerpt:


Joe Biden retreats from angry crowd in Ukraine


Vice President Joseph R. Biden retreated from an angry crowd in Kiev Friday when his Secret Service agents decided the situation was not safe.
Mr. Biden was to meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko at a site in central Kiev where demonstrators were killed earlier this year during the country’s revolution. But his motorcade encountered a large and “unruly” crowd, many of whom were shouting “shame” at Mr. Poroshenko for failing to prosecute those responsible for the killings….
“A crowd of about 100, mostly elderly men and women, had gathered around a collection of photographs, placed on the ground in front of a large wooden cross,” the pool report said. “These, they said, were pictures of their slain children.”


The vice president’s motorcade turned around and met Mr. Poroshenko a short while later after the Ukrainian president emerged from the crowd.





Yes, old Joe had to turn tail and run like a cockroach.  But, Lithuania should be careful taking US taxpayers’ money to train “rebels” for war in Ukraine against Russia.  Maybe they would be wise to heed the words of the last country Biden and Nuland coerced to “train rebels” for war in Ukraine, Poland.  From The Guardian:


Excerpt:


According to a transcript of excerpts of the conversation that was published by Wprost on its Internet site, Sikorski told Rostowski: "You know that the Polish-US alliance isn't worth anything."


"It is downright harmful, because it creates a false sense of security ... Complete bullshit. We'll get in conflict with the Germans, Russians and we'll think that everything is super, because we gave the Americans a blow job. Losers. Complete losers."


Wow, hardly a ringing endorsement.  When the American government was overthrown December 12, 2000 torture became America’s most favored intelligence weapon.  But, our allies can’t act with impunity the way America does as Poland is finding out.  From New York Times:  





Excerpt:


Court Censures Poland Over C.I.A. Renditions


PARIS — The European Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday that Poland had violated the rights of two terrorism suspects by allowing their transfer to a secret detention center run by the C.I.A. in Poland, where the two men were tortured.


Yes, lay down with torturers and get up “war criminals.”  After the December 12, 2000 coup in America, the U.S. backed out of the International Criminal Court, for good reason.  America under the illegal regime is now a predator nation.


The ruling says Poland failed to prevent the two men Abu Zubaydah, born in Saudi Arabia, and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi citizen — from being subjected to “torture and inhuman or degrading treatment” after they were brought to the prison in northeast Poland….. 

Both are now being held at the American detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba….


“In stark contrast to U.S. courts that have closed their doors to victims of C.I.A. torture,” Ms. Singh said, “this ruling sends an unmistakable signal that these kind of abuses will not be tolerated in Europe, and those who participated in these abuses will be held accountable.”


When they say U.S. courts, they mean FISA Court made up of Republican rubber stamps.



The Cheney/Biden/Nuland cabal is working overtime to provoke war with Russia over their illegal coup in Ukraine.  And if you think Putin is going to stand by and allow Lithuania to haul American financed war tools into Ukraine, well you’re nuts.  From Reuters:

Lithuania protests after Russia blocks its cars and trucks
(Reuters) - The ex-Soviet republic of Lithuania accused Moscow on Monday of blocking its vehicles and goods at the Russian border, and summoned its ambassador to protest.

Trucking and logistics for trade with Russia are a crucial part of the European Union member's economy, and have largely survived tit-for-tat embargoes between Russia and the EU.




Yes, trucking and logistics are crucial to the European Union to get armaments to Poroshenko so he can carry through with Rand Corporation’s plan for Ukraine.


However, ties are under strain. Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite promised on Monday to give Ukraine military aid to help in its fight against Russian-backed separatists, after last week branding Russia a "terrorist country" for refusing to identify troops operating in east Ukraine as Russian.


Criminy, they throw around “terrorist country” as though it gives them absolution for overthrowing government, stealing their gold and resources and subjecting their citizens to slavery and austerity.


A year ago, Russia briefly blocked Lithuania's trucks as Vilnius prepared to host the signing of a treaty between Ukraine and the EU - which Ukrainian president Victor Yanukovich's ultimately refused to sign, setting off the mass protests that led to his overthrow.


That’s what it’s all about, Biden and Nuland overthrew the elected government in Ukraine because they refused to sign a trade deal with the EU.  And now that a “trade deal” has been agreed to with Latvia, Biden and Nuland are throwing in American military lives as a bonus.



And Poland isn’t the only country that has resorted to war crimes under the “new” American Government’s embracing war crimes as the standard for success, there’s Israel.  According to New York Post:


Excerpt:


Netanyahu asks US to help Israel avoid war crime charges


WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked US lawmakers Wednesday to help fend off Palestinian claims that his country engaged in “war crimes” while defending itself against attacks from Gaza, one top lawmaker told The Post….


Netanyahu asked the delegation to help Israel stay out of the International Criminal Court, where its attacks on Gaza could come under scrutiny……..


Palestinian leaders are getting ready to join the ICC, and met with officials in The Hague recently to discuss the implications of joining….


Netanyahu “wants the US to use all the tools that we have at our disposal to, number one, make sure the world knows that war crimes were not committed by Israel, they were committed by Hamas. And that Israel should not be held to a double standard,” the congressman said.


My, my, my.  I wonder what Netanyahu was doing that the illegitimate U.S. government finds acceptable, but the world condemns?





Israel’s War Crimes in Gaza


Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu knows he has Official Washington so deeply in his pocket that he can get away with almost anything including the stealing of Palestinian land and the slaughtering of civilians in Gaza. Whatever his war crimes, Netanyahu will be excused, as Marjorie Cohn notes.


By Marjorie Cohn


Israel has commenced full-scale warfare on the people of Gaza…..


During the past week, Israel has killed 162 Palestinian civilians and counting, including 34 children. In addition to more than 1,200 Israeli airstrikes, Israel has threatened to launch a ground invasion of Gaza. 


Israel attacked a center for the mentally and physically disabled in Beit Zahiya, killing three patients and a nurse. In addition, Israel has stepped up demolitions of Palestinian homes, and administrative detentions of Palestinians without charge or trial….


The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that 77 percent of the people Israel has killed in Gaza were civilians. Although Hamas has launched about 1,000 rockets into Israel in the past week, no Israelis have been killed.


In light of “deeply disturbing reports that many of the civilian casualties, including of children, occurred as a result of strikes on homes,” Pillay continued, “serious doubt [has been raised] about whether the Israeli strikes have been in accordance with international humanitarian law and international human rights law.”


Yes, rather than not commit war crimes, just abolish any court that challenges your leaders’ rights to commit genocide.  By the way, when Putin went to the recent G20 summit in Australia, he was warned that he would be treated like a pariah by the West bloc.  

He was told he’d be shunned, but guess what? Putin wasn’t shunned by the people of Australia he was stunned.  It was the G20 leaders who shunned Putin. like a bunch of rich, spoiled, snobby prep school kids.  From Bloomberg:


Putin Praises Warm Australian Welcome Despite Ukraine Row


Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the “exceptionally friendly atmosphere” at the Group of 20 summit in Australia as he shrugged off the frosty reception he received from some other world leaders.


“I was surprised by the warmth that regular citizens received us with on the streets outside,” Putin told a meeting of his People’s Front supporters in Moscow today. “I am very grateful to these people, who were the most ordinary people on the streets. In such a situation, it’s always pleasant.”


Isn’t it amazing that the people of Australia are so warm, I suspect that is true of most of the people around the world, with their corrupt leaders.  In the meantime Netanyahu is pushing for racist legislation that would make Mississippi’s racists envious.  From TruthDig:


Excerpt:


Israel and Mississippi: Racist Plans for Second Class Citizens and Religious Legislation


“A controversial bill that officially defines Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people has been approved by cabinet despite warnings that the move risks undermining the country’s democratic character.


Opponents, including some cabinet ministers, said the new legislation defined reserved “national rights” for Jews only and not for its minorities, and rights groups condemned it as racist.


The bill, which is intended to become part of Israel’s basic laws, would recognise Israel’s Jewish character, institutionalise Jewish law as an inspiration for legislation and delist Arabic as a second official language.”……


Netanyahu’s measure is much worse than that of Mississippi fundamentalists who want to declare Mississippi a principally Christian state and want to celebrate the white-supremacist Confederacy as part of the state’s heritage.


 I wonder how closely those “Jewish” inspired laws are to the “ALEC” inspired laws in America.  So what else is going on?  Let’s take a stroll over to the Czech Republic.  From ABC News:  






Excerpt:

President Pelted on Velvet Revolution Anniversary


Uh oh, that doesn’t sound good.


To cries of "Resign! Resign!" Czechs pelted President Milos Zeman with objects including eggs, sandwiches and tomatoes as he stood side-by-side with the presidents of Germany, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia at the university campus where a student rally launched the revolution in Czechoslovakia a quarter century ago.


Well I suppose they have to do something with those eggs and tomatoes since Russia’s response to sanctions imposed by the West was to boycott produce from the sanctioning nations.

Security guards used big black umbrellas to shield Zeman and other presidents from flying projectiles. German President Joachim Gauck was hit in the head by an egg as the presidents were unveiling a plaque to commemorate the 1989 events.


"Shame, shame," protesters in the crowd of thousands repeatedly shouted at Zeman, even as the other presidents were applauded. "I'm not afraid of you!" Zeman retorted to the crowd.


Yes, that’s the hallmark of allies of the Biden/Nuland regime, tell the citizens of your country “I’m not afraid of you.” 


"When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny."  Thomas Jefferson


Well, that what the Czech’s are up to, but what about that other Biden/Nuland success story in Libya?  Let’s pop in and see the utopia they left there.   Why, what’s this?  From Global Research:





Excerpt:


Libya Then and Now: An Overview of NATO’s Handiwork


In 2011, as the entire world watched the Arab Spring in amazement, the US and its allies, predominantly working under the banner of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), militarily overran the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.


The peaceful civilian protesters they claimed to be intervening to protect were not really what the US and its cohorts presented to the world. Many of these so-called “protesters” were armed, and when this became apparent they eventually began to portray themselves as “rebel forces.”


These so-called “rebels” in Libya were not a military force that emerged spontaneously for the most part, but an insurgency movement cultivated and organised before any opposition activities were even reported in Libya……


Just like in Egypt and Ukraine, a legitimate protest turns into a CIA coup against any government that resists NATO pillaging their country.


Business and trade ties between Libya and the US, Britain, Italy, France, Spain, and Turkey had bloomed since 2003 after Colonel Muammar Qadhafi opted for cooperation with Washington. No one imagined that Saif Al-Islam Qadhafi’s “New Libya” with its neo-liberalism could be on a collision course with NATO…..


Qadhafi’s biggest mistake was to trust the “new” illegitimate government in the U.S.

Oil and gas production has been stopping. National assets have been sold off to foreign corporations and privatised. Libya is no longer a competitive economic power in Africa anymore. Nor is Libya a growing financial power. Tripoli virtually transformed from a debtless country to an indebted one overnight.


Yep, America under the Biden/Nuland regime steals your riches and land and sells it off to their Wall Street handlers.


There is also a great irony to all this. The warplanes of the US-supported Libyan regime that has replaced the Jamahiriya began bombing Libyan citizens in 2014 as battles for control of Tripoli raged


The US, European Union, and NATO have said nothing about this whereas in 2011 they started a bombing campaign and war on the basis of false accusations the Jamahiriya government was doing exactly this. The deceit of these players is more than evident.


The same game plan, wash rinse repeat.  So who were the big lotto winners in Libya?  Well, surprise, surprise.  According to The Guardian…. Drum roll….. It’s Goldman Sachs.


Excerpt:





High court judge orders Goldman Sachs to disclose Libya profits


Libyan sovereign wealth fund, which is suing Goldman, estimates the US investment bank made $350m in upfront profit on nine derivatives products


A high court judge has ordered Goldman Sachs to reveal how much profit it made on a deal that lost Libya’s government more than $1bn when financial bets turned sour.


The Libyan Investment Authority, created in 2006 to look after the country’s oil riches, accused the Wall Street bank of duping it into making investments that its “naive” staff didn’t understand.


The $66bn sovereign wealth fund is suing Goldman in the high court in London after it lost $1bn from investing in complex derivative investments that collapsed in value during the 2008 financial crisis.


That’s right, Goldman Sachs, took a financially solvent country and sold a bunch of worthless mortgage backed derivatives and securities to them and then bet they’d fail.  Same scam, billionaires get richer and no one goes to jail.


The Libyan fund estimates Goldman made $350m in upfront profit on the trades. The bank has never confirmed or denied this figure and argues that its profits are irrelevant……


The legal action against Goldman Sachs was launched in January, in the wake of new management being brought in at the sovereign wealth fund after the 2011 civil war, when Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was toppled from power and killed.


As the loss-making deals of the Gaddafi era have come under the microscope, the fund has launched separate legal action against France’s third-largest bank, Société Générale, alleging bribery. It has rebutted the claims as without merit.




There is no-one that is safe from the Wall Street Vultures that were deregulated just three days after the December 12, 2000 Supreme Court and U.S. Senate coup in the United States.





So, let’s circle around and go back to the good old U.S. of A. and visit another sham election vulture. November 4th the election vultures were let loose on Americans by the most corrupt Supreme Court in American history.  So who else was a big winner in the American Made Sham election November 4th?  According to Truth Dig:

Excerpt:

Wall Street’s Takeover of American Pensions: ‘A Policy Justified Entirely on Ignorance’


A key part of Wall Street’s $300 million expenditure on the recent midterm elections is the goal of moving as much of working Americans’ $3 trillion that sits in unguarded government pension funds into “privately managed, high-fee investments” as possible, writes Murtaza Hussain at The Intercept.


That’s right, Wall Street invested $300 million in the midterm election for access to $3 trillion in pension funds.  Don’t you wish your retirement funds had that kind of return? 


Hussain reports:


Illinois, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island all recently elected governors who were previously executives and directors at firms which managed investments on behalf of state pension funds. These firms are now, consequently, in position to obtain even more of these public funds.


This alone represents a huge payoff on that $300M investment made by the financial industry, and is likely to result in more pension money going into investments which offer great benefits for Wall Street but do little for the broader economy….


Hussain concludes by quoting a former Congressional staffer with ties to the investment industry: “There is a massive transfer of power and wealth happening from the public to Wall Street, through pensions… 


The more that money goes into private hands as opposed to public hands, the less that it gets invested into projects which are socially constructive.”





And it’s not just the private sector being raped by predatory lenders, our military has been victimized by these predators.  Wall Street’s investment in the November 4th midterm elections was just a mob style protection racket.  According to Responsible Lending:  

Excerpt:


Evading Federal Protections for the Military; Harming our Troops.  In 2006, Congress capped interest rates on payday loans to active-duty members of the military and their families at 36% APR.  This law grew out of concern from the Department of Defense and base commanders that troops were being trapped in high levels of payday loan debt. 


This debt not only burdened military families, it also threatened security clearances—and by extension military readiness.  Banks’ attempts to structure their payday loans to evade the federal law once again puts our troops at risk.


A Big Bank Drag on Economic Recovery. U.S. taxpayers have been supporting our nation’s banks by providing bailouts and access to credit at interest rates as low as 1%. This makes bank payday lending at 360% APR especially unconscionable.  Payday lending makes it difficult for working families to stay afloat and, as a consequence, drags down economic recovery.


Oh, and by the way Chuck Hagel resigned, but so what? 


So with all that in mind, is it any wonder that Victoria Nuland can make the statement that Americans (meaning American military families) are willing to die for a trade deal with Latvia? 


So here’s the big news of the week:  American Empire:  Nuland Vows, U.S. Troops Willing to Die for Latvia Trade Deal, Pledges Troops Thru 2015 as Hagel Resign




Sadly, America is too sick, too ignorant, too broke and too hungry and too scared to care.


By Patricia Baeten










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