Appleyard:
I thought the sanctions have been moved to 2017? And it seems you expect Russians to bow to sanctions. Rather, it has greatly increased the resolve of the average Russian. And what can poor Hillary do? you guys think Russia is Ghadafi or those hapless desert nations that you can bully abt? and that is if she can even win half of what Trump would get in the general elections, should it get down to both.

Don't let lucasbalo hear this o.

The thing, my friend, with sanctions is their bite dissipates over time especially as the target country adapts to the situation and gradually decouples itself from the instruments that are used to wield sanctions. The window of opportunity to make the sanctions hurt is fast closing; several European leaders, scholars, economists, etc have called for the sanctions to be lifted as the Russian PM himself has predicted that they would; the farmers and businesses in Europe are hurting themselves from the naively imposed sanctions ( sanctions that were effected ONLY after an increasingly dubious MH17 incident occurred); Russia as the neo-cons had hoped hasn't lashed out in anger or frustration to sanctions and other provocations but has rather demonstrated it's sophistication and tact by playing the long game... and so on


Renew the yeye sanctions! Sanctions ko, Sanchez ni... They will be shouting sanctions, sanctions, sanctions upandan......As if sanctions is the beginning and the end of the world

Thank you, Appleyard for that insightful piece.

Even the US space program is also dependent on Russian rocket engines. How is it possible that Russia would be so lacking in radar capabilities? Haven't we been down this road of anti-Russian propaganda concerning it's military capabilities? The successful campaign in Syria ( and the manner they were able to deploy so secretly and speedily) has exposed their lies

Hmmm...CIA's "Plan B" at work? Those CIA issued MANPADS to "modetates" finally seeing action? False news? We shall find out soon

ISIS reportedly shot down Russian jet in northern Syria

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/isis-reportedly-shot-russian-jet-northern-syria/ | Al-Masdar News


A Russian fighter jet has been allegedly shot down by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the northern city of Raqqa. Local activists reported that Russian warplanes conducted today several sorties against ISIS positions in the group’s de facto capital. According to pro-ISIS media accounts, the two pilots have been captured alive. Al Masdar News hasn’t been able to verify the authenticity of the incident.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/isis-reportedly-shot-russian-jet-northern-syria/ | Al-Masdar News

Missy89:


Do you need simple translation?

You said, the trio had the same ideology. I asked if you knew the difference between Leninism, Maosim and Juche.
I said China and the Soviets weren't that close AFTER the death of Stalin, You are talking about the Korean war ( 1950-1953) Stalin died few months before it ended.

Now I'm confused.

I am pointing out that North Korea, the Soviet Union and China back in the days were allies more or less so much so that they fought together in the Korean War primarily cos of the communist system of government that each of these countries ran. What flavour of communism (Lenism, Maoism, Juche) that they operated, I was stressing when I said you were splitting hairs, is irrelevant in the context of the strategic goals each country sought (and the common enemy that they had in Amerika).

Are u saying that Stalin was the unifying factor between China and the Soviet Union?

Of course the US has every right to sail in international waters - including the Baltic. This is even more so considering that the Baltic states are also part of NATO. My pictorial illustration isn't an attempt to erase that fact. Think of it more or less as an illustration of the irony of the eastward expansion of the US sphere of influence under the guise of NATO; an organization that has seized to justify its existence since the fall of the Soviet Union. If Russia had the resources (and the will) to also establish a sphere of influence so close to Amerika's borders, would you say it's all fair and square?

Anyone that fails to see the hegemony and the unnecessary tensions that Amerika's imperialistic posture triggers is blind and prejudiced.

And about God's son, Putin quaking at the sight of bat-sh*t-crazy Killary, I laugh in Russian.

Normalized relations with China when he visited Mao right? Well, I don't know know much about that

Missy89:



You know there is a difference between Maoism, Leninism and Juche right? China, Soviet Union and NK never had the same Ideology. In fact, The Soviets and the Chinese weren't the best of friends after the death of Stalin

Communism is not a single potato

You are splitting hairs. On whose side were the Soviet Union & China on in the Korean War?

ValerianSteel:
They no longer can.North Korea has proven to care less who feeds them or who hates them.China can't tell if North Korea is still an ally.

To me it's good.Anything that keeps all three-(North Korea,China and Russia) in check is welcomed by me.

Oh, u forgot to add Iran and perhaps Venezuela and Cuba to your list. Lol!

You do realize that Russia's & China's history with North Korea dates back to the old Soviet area when they were all part of the same ideology bloc? You do realize that Russia (and China, I think) is also involved in sanctions against North Korea don't you?

Missy89:


In due time.

Vodka air force can continue playing commando in the mean time. When sanctions is renewed in July, buzzing a US ship on international waters will be the least of their worries.

Lol! At Vodka Air Force. That's actually funny....
And yours would be what? Cheeseburger Air Force?

ValerianSteel:
Obama is playing soft and playing politics with Russia.Can't wait for Hillary's presidency to change all that.

All this talk about Obama being weak. What exactly would you have him do? Shoot the planes outta the sky?

Besides the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and the South China Sea are not exactly the U.S. neck of the woods. How would you feel if Russia was always on patrol in the Gulf of Mexico for instance?

A friendly reminder below:

Khibny 2.0?

Well, that's the only explanation I can give for the cojones that these pilots displayed to have buzzed this ship so dangerously close

Donald Cook is looking more like Donald Duck...Lol


The dramatic moment Russian fighter jets 'buzzed' a US Navy warship The dramatic moment Russian fighter jets 'buzzed' a US Navy warship
http://dailym.ai/1VVlawy
via http://dailym.ai/ios

New from State Department Night Live! Mark Toner & the Empire strikes again!

US Says Syrian Army Violates Ceasefire, Attacks “Moderate Rebels” but Can't Name Any Group

Enjoy!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3DdwZ0QukQ

The vapid lamentations of a puppet as he winds down the remainder of his unmemorable tenure seeking redemption for yet another "freedom" and "liberation" misadventure the Amerikan Military Industrial Complex railroaded him into....
Thank for God's own son, Vladimir Putin who put a stop to the empire's plans in Syria, or this clown may very well also be "regretting" Syria as well


Kudos, Mr President! You can add the destruction of a once prosperous and peaceful country to your Nobel Peace Prize accomplishment....It's your legacy. Nothing you can do about it

This thread got me waking up laughing

Like I said, the Russian people are sophisticated - more so than their gullible American counterparts


BBC CONFOUNDED - SEE WHAT RUSSIANS THINK OF THE PANAMA AS THE BBC TELLS IT

This story just keeps on giving.

This piece in the BBC's website is just totally hilarious. It shows by the way what happens to a Western journalist the moment he or she ventures out of the liberal bubble in Moscow where most of them live.

By the way the article refutes claims in the British media that the allegations against Putin are being concealed from ordinary Russians. Here we see working class Russians in Elektrostal fully informed about them.

By the way they also show something else - which is the high level of political sophistication amongst people in Russia today. Back in the 1980s during Perestroika Russians had no experience of the Western media and were easily manipulated into believing that what it was saying was true. No more.

Lastly, the article shows something else which rings true to me but which many Britons - brought up with a different stereotype of Russians - might find surprising: this is their friendliness and warmth towards a stranger - even one who comes from a country they consider hostile.

Altogether a marvellous read not least for the unmistakeable quality of bafflement on the part of the journalist who wrote it."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35981663

An interesting comment from Case Poole:

"Indeed, we see strange alliances. The most fanatic proponents of the treaty in the Netherlands are the - let's call them - social liberals. As if Ukraine's brutal nationalism and oligarchic rule fits them. They have seen the appeals of Yulia Marushevska and that's good enough for them. Freedom, democracy, wealth, a better future within reach, all brought to you by a young lady speaking English, how can one say No? The educated classes fall for it, those with less education are sceptic. Meanwhile, the Dutch xenophobic nationalists - big mouths, but generally peaceful personalities - don't hold out their hands to their Ukrainian peers that are running the country. As the treaty is already being implemented, the Dutch vote is not going to make a practical difference. Laws and democracy mean nothing in the West. But this No vote is going to impact the way that the Dutch population will deal with its Euro expansionist leadership when developments in Ukraine are not running smoothly."

When this story broke with Putin's picture (not surprisingly) splashed all over the headlines, I really didn't really know what to make of it at first since the body that released this cache of information is a Soros backed body of which both the pro-Western and anti-Western ends of the divide were mentioned in the report. The past couple of days though has made me highly skeptical of the sources and goals of the individuals behind this "leak". Exposing some Western leaders perhaps its a classic psyop strategy where an attempt is made to place a veneer of legitimacy on the report by compromising some members of Anglo-Zionist coven because upon closer examination of these pro-US leaders 'exposed" in this leak, you realize that any ensuing fallout from this "scandal" doesn't pose any significant damage to the strategic goals of the Hegemon. Will the people of the GCC rise against their despotic rulers cos of a few billions stashed away in tax havens? Will it make any difference in Ukraine where Poroshenko's days are already numbered? Etc? This guilty-by-association is the best, slam dunk evidence that the CIA could come up with hoping that this will make the knowlegeable, discerning and dogged Russian people turn against Putin. Sad really...

It will also interest you to know that this latest piece of disinformation is already an exercise in futility. Read the comments on ANY Western news media that still has the cojones to allow a comment section and you couldn't help but laugh that their readers aren't buying any bit of the propaganda that they peddle. Start with the YouTube video The Guardian posted for instance. The zo.mbie herd, folks, is thinning indeed! The remaining few, of which some lurk here on Nairaland....it's is our job people, not to give up on them but gradually steer them in the right path of salvation

Further insight below:



http://thesaker.is/uncle-shmuel-points-fingers-aka-panama-papers/

Uncle Shmuel points fingers (aka “Panama Papers”)

The so-called “Panama Papers” which are presented by the world’s corporate media as some kind of super-mega-uber-Wikileaks are simply the latest US strategic PSYOP. Of course, no hard proof of that will ever materialize, but take a look at this pretty good summary of the leak so far:

The source: an anonymous leaker who has made a “no meeting ever” a condition.

The media support: 400 journalists at 107 media organizations in more than 80 countries

The volume: 2.6 terabytes (million million (1012)) of data or 11.5 million documents including 4,804,618 emails, 3,047,306 database format files, 2,154,264 PDFs, 1,117,026 images, 320,166 text files, and 2,242 files in other formats

and now, the best part,

The people named in these documents:

Current heads of state:
Argentine President Mauricio Macri
Saudi Arabian King Salman
United Arab Emirates President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko

Former heads of state:
Qatar Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, former Emir of Qatar
Sudan Ahmed al-Mirghani, former President of Sudan
Ukraine Pavlo Lazarenko, former Prime Minister of Ukraine
Moldova Ion Sturza, former Prime Minister of Moldova

Heads of government:
Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson resigned on April 5, 2016
Iceland Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, Prime Minister of Iceland (resigned April 5, 2016)

Former heads of government:
Georgia (country) Bidzina Ivanishvili, former Prime Minister of Georgia
Iraq Ayad Allawi, former Acting Prime Minister of Iraq
Jordan Ali Abu al-Ragheb, former Prime Minister of Jordan
Qatar Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, former Prime Minister of Qatar

Other government officials: for full list please see here

Relatives and associates of government officials: for a full list please see here

Here is how the Panama Paper’s website presented the main actors:

[img]http://thesaker.is/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Selection_187-1024x301.png[/img]
Country leaders
[img]http://thesaker.is/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Selection_188-1024x405.png[/img]
Relatives and Associates of country leaders
Notice something?

Look who is MISSING from this list!

Not a single American citizen, not one. The best I found was “Tina Turner, American-born Swiss singer“. Now maybe US Americans are just angelic and pristinely honest, or maybe they simple don’t want to use the Panamanian corporate service provider Mossack Fonseca. But maybe, just maybe, whoever leaked these documents does not want to be at the receiving end of a lawsuit for violation of the CIA’s prohibition of spying on US nationals.

By the way, the NYT claims that there are 200 US passports mentioned somewhere in the documents. Maybe. But if that is true, they are low-level enough not to be mentioned in the flood or articles about these “Panama Papers” and that, in turn, tells me that the individuals named are either indirectly involved or unable to sue. The NYT had to conclude that “So far, the documents have connected no American politicians or other influential people to Mossack Fonseca“. The NYT even provides a credible (and truthful) explanation of why so few Americans are listed in these papers:

One reason there may be relatively few Americans named in the documents is that it is fairly easy to form shell companies in the United States. James Henry, an economist and senior adviser to the Tax Justice Network, told Fusion that Americans “really don’t need to go to Panama.” “Basically, we have an onshore haven industry in the U.S. that is as secretive as anywhere,” he said.
More about that later.

Right now let’s the a look at the rest of the list. What is striking is that it contains a few more or less irrelevant names, at least form the point of view of the AngloZionist world policy, a few ex-leaders and minor politicians, again – from the point of view of the AngloZionist Empire, a few “disobedient leaders” which the Empire is only too happy to compromise, and only wholly indirect references to big leaders like Putin or Xi Jinping. Even worse, the category “Relatives and Associates” is a clear case of guilt by association. But that did not stop the Ziomedia from presenting it like this:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6xUOF-d9Ig

So now we know how Putin hid a billion dollars. Or do we? Where is the evidence that Putin hid anything at all? Nowhere. But who cares about any such niceties as the presumption of evidence or even fair reporting?! 2016 will be an election year, and the Russian 5th column needs all the help it can get. And Uncle Shmuel is only happy to provide it, of course.

To use a KGB expression the CIA’s “ears are clearly sticking out” in this strategic PSYOP who point is very obvious: to jump on the Wikileaks bandwagon and create a little “imperial wikileaks” in the hope to be taken as seriously as the real thing.

It is hard to say who exactly in the USA is behind that. As far as I know the Pentagon’s strategy PSYOP are normally directed at military conflict areas. A good guess might that this could be the work of the Political Action Group (PAG) division inside the CIA’s Directorate of Operations (DO). But my gut feeling tells me that there is a special and still secret agency in the US government in charge of large-scale “covert propaganda” operations. But, at the end of the day, this really does not matter: the US government’s fingerprints are all over these pseudo-leaks and that is what matters.

Some might wonder if those documents are true and, if yes, how the CIA, or some OGA, could have come across these very “sensitive” files? Simple.

For many years already the US government has been using its influence to get all the main financial centers of the world under its control. Some countries, such as Switzerland, have simply bullied in giving up their traditionally secretive banking practices, while banks were infiltrated by US agents and spies. The grand plan is simple: to take control of all the money flow worldwide. You want to bank “safe”? You better do it in the USA or else…

Now look at the James Henry quote reported by the NYT above: “we have an onshore haven industry in the U.S. that is as secretive as anywhere”. Get that? What this means is this: “If you want to hide money, that’s fine with us, but only as long as you hide it with us“. It’s that simple. And, of course, if you want your money safe, you better not disobey Uncle Shmuel because he can take it anytime he wants. Elegant, simple, effective. Beautiful, really.

The truth is that while the US intelligence community is rather incompetent, especially in HUMINT, the US control of the financial movements worldwide is nothing short of superb, especially in region of the world already controlled by the USA (such as Panama) or with banks with a long history of corruption and shady activities (Deutsche Bank, HSBC).

The other surefire sign pointing at a US role is a fundamental cultural misrepresentation. While people living in the West might think that Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping might want to “hide billions abroad” the truth is that the very notion that these leaders might “need money” in a traditional sense of the word is absurd. Why? Simple:

First, they both know that any money kept in US-controlled jurisdictions is extremely unsafe for them. Not only can it be seized, it can also make them the target of blackmail. Does anybody seriously believe that an ex-KGB lieutenant-colonel like Putin would not understand that?

Second, money is power and power is money. That means that when you have a lot of power, you also have a lot of money or, more accurately, you don’t need money. The truth is that with the power Xi or Putin have, they don’t need to use any paper or electronic money at all, their power is way above any dollar denominated price tag.

Third, neither Putin nor Xi are clueless, ignorant 3rd world leader à la Bokassa or Idi Amin. They have the full use of advanced intelligence services which would immediately tell them that the “regular” offshoring is just a trap which will, sooner or later, ensnare you. In fact, Putin specifically warned Russian businessmen against using such services – does anybody believe that he warns them and then does exactly what he warned against?

Now, let us assume the worst: Putin and Xi are corrupt to the bone they want to keep their money in the West. Why in the world would they do that through some well-known and easily tracked “friends of the family” when they could use the services of their national intelligence agencies or, just to make the tale even more sexy, to use the contact Russian and Chinese security services (really) do have with the Russian Mafia and the Chinese Triads? The truth is that both of these men could very easily and safely use such contacts (neither the Russian nor the Chinese Mafia would *ever* pass the opportunity to be of use to the Top Leader) to hide any amount of money. This being said, rather than using such exotic “spy novel” schemes, a much simpler option for them would be to simply take control of a highly profitable company or resource *inside* Russia/China. If you were a putatively totally corrupt Putin or Xi, would you rather keep your money in a US controlled jurisdiction or simply take control of, say, a nickel or molybdenum mining corporation?

In many cases, these documents probably *do* reveal real corruption, especially in the upper-middle level of government. That is typically were corruption would happen and the folks on that level really might want to hide some money abroad for the “rainy day”, especially if they risk lose power and if losing power means the immediate need to emigrate.

So what we have here is a typical mix or true and false information, carefully tailored to embarrass mostly irrelevant or anti-US leaders, with a few not so subtle hints are Putin and Xi with the (misguided) hope to weaken them on their internal front. I would rate this entire effort as rather clumsy and it if it was not for unconditional and uncritical support of “400 journalists at 107 media organizations in more than 80 countries” so would many others.

The Saker


Even more insight:

https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2016/04/corporate-media-gatekeepers-protect-western-1-from-panama-leak/

“The Suddeutsche Zeitung, which received the leak, gives a detailed explanation of the methodology the corporate media used to search the files. The main search they have done is for names associated with breaking UN sanctions regimes. The Guardian reports this too and helpfully lists those countries as Zimbabwe, North Korea, Russia and Syria. The filtering of this Mossack Fonseca information by the corporate media follows a direct western governmental agenda. There is no mention at all of use of Mossack Fonseca by massive western corporations or western billionaires – the main customers. And the Guardian is quick to reassure that “much of the leaked material will remain private.”

What do you expect? The leak is being managed by the grandly but laughably named “International Consortium of Investigative Journalists”, which is funded and organised entirely by the USA’s Center for Public Integrity. Their funders include

Ford Foundation
Carnegie Endowment
Rockefeller Family Fund
W K Kellogg Foundation
Open Society Foundation (Soros)

among many others. Do not expect a genuine expose of western capitalism. The dirty secrets of western corporations will remain unpublished.

Expect hits at Russia, Iran and Syria and some tiny “balancing” western country like Iceland. A superannuated UK peer or two will be sacrificed – someone already with dementia.”

People shouldn't get carried away by an overblown (& possibly padded) military budget as this doesn't necessarily translate to an efficient or proficient fighting force. This fact has been laid bare with Saudi Arabia's faltering campaign in Yemen where despite the seemingly overwhelming advantage in weaponry, the Yemeni army and the Houthis are killing off the Saudis in some cases, scores at a time.

Another great example is Russia's intervention in Syria where despite a military budget that is one-tenth of the Hegemon's, has in 6 months achieved far more than the Hegemon has in 1.6 months. Russia has demonstrated a great deal of ingenuity and resourcefulness such as in the case of fitting Kalibr cruise missiles unto small corvette sized warships and using old generation - but yet reliable - workhorses such as the SU-24 in their bombing campaign. These are just few examples of how resorting to basic but yet proven methods in place of overhyped ( and over priced) Star War-esque systems such as the Yanks would rather jump unto, has worked in favour of the Russians.

coachwilcox:


I weep for this indomie generation. Write two paragraphs they cannot comprehend. But they're always chatting and pinging and tweeting. All they comprehend now is hey, sup, kk, k, yup, duh, etc. Write anything of intellectual value with paragraphs and they get lost.

So true. Reason why I sometimes prefer topics like this do not make front page as it weeds out the distractors and the intellectually weak and keeps the discourse within those that are informed or have something insightful to contribute.

Statements such as, "It's too long!", "I do not comprehend", "Someone please summarize", etc, irks me..

Tkester2:



He never supported Putins incursion into Syria. In one of his numerous rants online he said he loves seeing people being killed. The guy is such a dirty thing that I believe him to be a witch.

He did...

Ee-zeh-lie!!!
Front page? An article that isn't pro-Western? I gotta call endtime thingz on this!

Some m insight into this Panama Papers fiasco .Although this writer also says "Putin is bent" and offers no evidence.

CORPORATE MEDIA GATEKEEPERS PROTECT WESTERN 1% FROM PANAMA LEAK
4 April 2016
craigpic

Republished with permission from craigmurray.org

Whoever leaked the Mossack Fonseca papers appears motivated by a genuine desire to expose the system that enables the ultra wealthy to hide their massive stashes, often corruptly obtained and all involved in tax avoidance. These Panamanian lawyers hide the wealth of a significant proportion of the 1%, and the massive leak of their documents ought to be a wonderful thing.

Unfortunately the leaker has made the dreadful mistake of turning to the western corporate media to publicise the results. In consequence the first major story, published today by the Guardian, is all about Vladimir Putin and a cellist on the fiddle. As it happens I believe the story and have no doubt Putin is bent.

But why focus on Russia? Russian wealth is only a tiny minority of the money hidden away with the aid of Mossack Fonseca. In fact, it soon becomes obvious that the selective reporting is going to stink.

The Suddeutsche Zeitung, which received the leak, gives a detailed explanation of the methodology the corporate media used to search the files. The main search they have done is for names associated with breaking UN sanctions regimes. The Guardian reports this too and helpfully lists those countries as Zimbabwe, North Korea, Russia and Syria. The filtering of this Mossack Fonseca information by the corporate media follows a direct western governmental agenda. There is no mention at all of use of Mossack Fonseca by massive western corporations or western billionaires – the main customers. And the Guardian is quick to reassure that “much of the leaked material will remain private.”

What do you expect? The leak is being managed by the grandly but laughably named “International Consortium of Investigative Journalists”, which is funded and organised entirely by the USA’s Center for Public Integrity. Theirfunders include

Ford Foundation
Carnegie Endowment
Rockefeller Family Fund
W K Kellogg Foundation
Open Society Foundation (Soros)

among many others. Do not expect a genuine expose of western capitalism. The dirty secrets of western corporations will remain unpublished.

Expect hits at Russia, Iran and Syria and some tiny “balancing” western country like Iceland. A superannuated UK peer or two will be sacrificed – someone already with dementia.

The corporate media – the Guardian and BBC in the UK – have exclusive access to the database which you and I cannot see. They are protecting themselves from even seeing western corporations’ sensitive information by only looking at those documents which are brought up by specific searches such as UN sanctions busters. Never forget the Guardian smashed its copies of the Snowden files on the instruction of MI6.

What if they did Mossack Fonseca database searches on the owners of all the corporate media and their companies, and all the editors and senior corporate media journalists? What if they did Mossack Fonseca searches on all the most senior people at the BBC? What if they did Mossack Fonseca searches on every donor to the Center for Public Integrity and their companies?

What if they did Mossack Fonseca searches on every listed company in the western stock exchanges, and on every western millionaire they could trace?

That would be much more interesting. I know Russia and China are corrupt, you don’t have to tell me that. What if you look at things that we might, here in the west, be able to rise up and do something about?

And what if you corporate lapdogs let the people see the actual data?

NaijaTalkTown:
A friend of Putin's friend's name is on the list so they decided to put Putin's picture all over the media even though his name is not on the list. But David Cameron's father's name is there and their family business is part of that bullshi.t list but no, this has nothing to do with Cameron? This is just an information attack on America's enemy and a few allies will be sacrificed but Cameron is definitely not part of them. I am looking forward to Putin turning this information war in his own favor to grow his popularity and acceptance like he did with the hybrid war and Syrian war. Viva La Putin.

Read this. Although he also says Putin is bent and still provides no proof

CORPORATE MEDIA GATEKEEPERS PROTECT WESTERN 1% FROM PANAMA LEAK
4 April 2016


Republished with permission from craigmurray.org

Whoever leaked the Mossack Fonseca papers appears motivated by a genuine desire to expose the system that enables the ultra wealthy to hide their massive stashes, often corruptly obtained and all involved in tax avoidance. These Panamanian lawyers hide the wealth of a significant proportion of the 1%, and the massive leak of their documents ought to be a wonderful thing.

Unfortunately the leaker has made the dreadful mistake of turning to the western corporate media to publicise the results. In consequence the first major story, published today by the Guardian, is all about Vladimir Putin and a cellist on the fiddle. As it happens I believe the story and have no doubt Putin is bent.

But why focus on Russia? Russian wealth is only a tiny minority of the money hidden away with the aid of Mossack Fonseca. In fact, it soon becomes obvious that the selective reporting is going to stink.

The Suddeutsche Zeitung, which received the leak, gives a detailed explanation of the methodology the corporate media used to search the files. The main search they have done is for names associated with breaking UN sanctions regimes. The Guardian reports this too and helpfully lists those countries as Zimbabwe, North Korea, Russia and Syria. The filtering of this Mossack Fonseca information by the corporate media follows a direct western governmental agenda. There is no mention at all of use of Mossack Fonseca by massive western corporations or western billionaires – the main customers. And the Guardian is quick to reassure that “much of the leaked material will remain private.”

What do you expect? The leak is being managed by the grandly but laughably named “International Consortium of Investigative Journalists”, which is funded and organised entirely by the USA’s Center for Public Integrity. Theirfunders include

Ford Foundation
Carnegie Endowment
Rockefeller Family Fund
W K Kellogg Foundation
Open Society Foundation (Soros)

among many others. Do not expect a genuine expose of western capitalism. The dirty secrets of western corporations will remain unpublished.

Expect hits at Russia, Iran and Syria and some tiny “balancing” western country like Iceland. A superannuated UK peer or two will be sacrificed – someone already with dementia.

The corporate media – the Guardian and BBC in the UK – have exclusive access to the database which you and I cannot see. They are protecting themselves from even seeing western corporations’ sensitive information by only looking at those documents which are brought up by specific searches such as UN sanctions busters. Never forget the Guardian smashed its copies of the Snowden files on the instruction of MI6.

What if they did Mossack Fonseca database searches on the owners of all the corporate media and their companies, and all the editors and senior corporate media journalists? What if they did Mossack Fonseca searches on all the most senior people at the BBC? What if they did Mossack Fonseca searches on every donor to the Center for Public Integrity and their companies?

What if they did Mossack Fonseca searches on every listed company in the western stock exchanges, and on every western millionaire they could trace?

That would be much more interesting. I know Russia and China are corrupt, you don’t have to tell me that. What if you look at things that we might, here in the west, be able to rise up and do something about?

And what if you corporate lapdogs let the people see the actual data?

The Kremlin actually warned of an impending information spin concerning Putin some days ago.

Isn't it funny how Putin himself apparently isn't listed but he's picture is all in the Western news headlines? I wanted to share it but couldn't come around to doing so.
Here it is:

http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/03/kremlin-warns-of-impending-information.html?m=1

Missy is a "he" posing as a "she"? Or this is one of those your transgender jabs?

Anyway, at the start of the Russian campaign - and in light of the Hegemon's abject failure (a norm these days) to turn the tide against ISIS - he/she had voiced his/her support of Putin's entry into the Syrian war -- and rightly & morally so. At the moment I do not know if his/her stance is as a result of his/her handlers calling him/her to order or a case of multiple personality disorder.

Be rest assured, I'll be sending updates when Deir Ezzor - which is next in line - gets liberated.

Appleyard:
Don't mind these jokers down here. Quoting Q4 2015 and relating it to 2016, was a bit reckless on their part, and that got me laughing. They simply forgot that the nitty-gritty of the Russian sanctions took effect from January 1st, 2016. Now, you can guage the effects of the sanctions from the 1st of January down to March, and taking into accounts the glaring facts such as the links provided by Fineguy11, as well as the ones you pictured, even coming from a western media source like the BBC, ditto the ones i provided for Eebruary; it becomes clear that the impact are being felt already, and we may not have to wait for Q1 result sheet.

Details by late January 2016, shows that the toll of financial losses for Turkey tallied in nearly 10$ billion – and several business analysts foreboded a bleak future for the Turkish economy in 2016. To say this is for real, check this exerpt:



This is what a certain lady called 'Russian laughable sanctions,'' abi? I dey help am laf o.

Now, for February, as we had already seen, the complains are getting louder, with bankruptcy threatening the entire agro sector. And when that my rebelious daughter from Fairfax opined that the Russian sanctions are superflous and ineffective as a result of the ''Azerbaijan black market,'' she forgot to mention that we just left March, during which Turkey was still (and its still) looking for new alternative markets within the Mideast and to Africa. If the Azerbaijan-MISSY-black market made the Russian sanctions superficial by absorbing the orphaned Turkish goods, why in March were they still looking for markets for their ''caveat emptor'' products in places as far as Tazania, Kenya, Nigeria, and Egypt? :-

Oh, my daughter who has bewitched thee... ;-

Again, consider this!

However painful the sanctions may prove, they rank quite low in the hierarchy of strategic priorities of Russia. Putin wanted to hit Turkey where it hurt the most: the Syrian War and the Kurdish Issue.

Right after the downing of its plane, Russia set out to thwart the strategy of Turkey in the Syrian War. Since the outbreak of the Syrian War, Turkey consistently endeavored to achieve two inter-related objectives: first, overthrow Syrian leader al-Assad, install a friendly Sunni Muslim government in Damascus and, by extension, dismantle the informal Shia axis in the Middle East; secondly, obstruct the unification of the autonomous Kurdish enclaves in northern Syria and, by extension, the establishment of an independent Kurdish state beyond its control. Turkey spared no treasure, time or labor to realize these objectives. In co-operation with Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Turkey offered sanctuary, weapons and training to the armed opposition in Syria. However, the dynamic military intervention of Russia in support of Assad in September 2015 upset the overall plan for regime change in Damascus; the downing of the warplane thwarted them completely.

Turkey could only watch as Russia pound its investments to shreds, and a mass exodus of d Turkmen began. Some of Its key supplies and supply routes cut off. Moscow started flirting with the PYD, which opened a 'consulate' in Moscow in January. Aided by Russia's Elijah fire, they took grounds in Kobani and Afrin, places Erdogan wants for his no-fly zone. His planes can't fly, the YPG taking territories. PKk getting stronger back home. And....

Suddenly, after 4months, Turkey miraclelously find the SU24 Pilot murderer in a certain restaurant with 'guns,' and so was arrested.

I dey laf o.

The id1ots have painfuly realized that this is Russia, master of d geo game. And d covert show is d only way to save face while acquieascing to Russia's demand 4 justice. Agbada scraping barbwire.

Damn man! When I thought those MK ULTRA lab rats had taken enough blows, you come storming out of the shadows and daze them further with this salvo!
Those Russophobes can only watch in frustration and curse underneath their breath as mighty Russia thwarts their plans in Syria and in other places. Sometimes the selective amnesia (their refusal to acknowledge "success" of the "liberation" in Iraq and Libya for instance) & the hypocrisy (unashamededly siding with increasingly tyrannical Erdogan & the despotic, debauched Saudi regime that is in line to further eclipse its head chopping record this year) all in their effort to stand in opposition to and try to discredit Russia.
It is amazing really!

Their logic for an "argument" as well: so so twisted, uncorrelated abd unrelated hoping that we - that I like to call the Resistance to the Empire- won't be smart enough to pick up on the obsfucation and the lies and this is an area rife with so many examples such as the one you and I have already pointed out but let's not even get into that at the moment.

Anyway, I think it's time I bought you a drink and discussed in person, Appleyard. Where are you based?

"No, the SAA and Russia Armed Forces aren't fighting ISIS." - According to Western propaganda networks

What exactly has the Hegemon's fake desert bombing achieved?

Breaking: Syrian Army liberates Quraytayn. Map Update

By Leith Fadel - 03/04/2016



Minutes ago in the southeastern countryside of the Homs Governorate, the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) 43rd and 63rd brigades of the 4th Mechanized Division liberated the strategic city of Quraytayn after a violent battle with the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS). The Syrian Arab Army has been storming the city of Quraytyan for the last 48 hours; its capture this morning has forced ISIS to retreat south towards the Iraqi border. Quraytyan was captured by ISIS during their large-scale offensive inside the southern countryside of the Syrian Desert in August of 2015. With the liberation of Quraytyan, the Syrian Armed Forces can turn their attention to the Palmyra-Deir Ezzor Highway that is currently under ISIS’ control

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-syrian-army-liberates-quraytayn/ | Al-Masdar News

Appleyard:
The sanctions had their own relative effect, contrary to what you want to believe. Hear from the horses mouth itself - from Turkey:

''26 February 2016,11:44
the country’s food exporters are losing most of their business as a result of sanctions, the newspaper Dunya said.


Terrorism is taking its toll on the sector already, and as Russian sanctions kicked in from January, now entering a much worse moments ahead......
Therefore, it wasn't much of a surprise to hear Davotoglu calling on Russia to down the sanction tools. However small, they had their own effects.

That part in bold says it all. They have gleefully quoted Q4 2015 as the state of the Turkish economy today. Hilarious!
Shebi let's wait for the results of Q1 & Q2 2016.......then it will be obvious to all say agbada don hook wire

mazeltov:
Yes I did and you can always hold me to my words. I created this thread just to educate rather to update our knowledge and not to create unnecessary disagreement. You too can see how people are directing their attacks on me as if i was the one who compiled the article.

Nice that you have seen that the stupidity of this Business Insider article is beyond stu..pid and deemed it fit to add a caveat.

ValerianSteel:
You selectively pick an that was posted 2nd of January,a few days after the sanctions were effected but today it's a different story entirely......
.

ValerianSteel:
Are you done?

Now read.

Turkey's economy grew 5.7%-http://www.yenisafak.com/en/columns/haticekarahan/turkeys-economy-grew-57-percent-2027944

Slow it down there! "Today is a different story......"
What today is it that you are talking about here cos since when did a 5.7% growth in Q4 2015 become "today"?
Today is Q1 and what do you think Q1 2016 will tell us in a few days time huh? Take a good look at the time stamps of those articles (about the time the sanctions really start to kick in ) and I'm sure you'll get a good idea of the fate that awaits the Turkish economy in Q1.

Also I just don't get this gung-ho, braggadocio attitude you Russophobes display on here all the time. When exactly did Russia declare Turkey an enemy (show me please) & what if Russia isn't happy with the actions of Turkey? Russia should just cut of all diplomatic ties or should declare war on Turkey right? Since that's the way sane countries go about resolving issues right?

I don't get this goading, I-dare-you stance that y'all have adopted hoping that Russia lashes out in anger and shows the world just how much of a tough, strong county it is.
Again, Russia's actions are restrained, calculating and pragmatic.

Again, let's see if Turkey can repeat or better it's 5.7% Q4 growth that y'all are lauding so excitedly - I strongly doubt it..

fineguy11:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35209987
http://m.voanews.com/a/turkey-economy-terrorism-russian-sanctions/3147900.html
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/010616/conflict-russia-damages-turkish-economy.asp
read and be enlightened,so u wont sound like a fool when u dish out half baked arguements/assertions.

So see these types are intellectually challenged & not only that, they are unfortunately programmed to dance to a certain tune or parrot a narrative. It is quite understandable that you have sent them links to peruse and broaden their horizons & you'll notice that I had even asked them to google these info themselves but no, like the intellectually challenged folks that they are, they are not able to execute these simple things.

Next step then, usually is a pictorial illustration (and one that preferably has to be from a White House/Pentagon sanctioned site lest it be dismissed as "Kremlin propaganda" ) since we have to come down to their comprehension level.
So next time, please tutor them in the manner below:

Missy89:


Yes keep running

What is the face of a coward? The back of his head

What are you excited about?
You do realize that people are generally asleep by 2am don't you?