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Putin Speaks
by Stephen Lendman
On April 17, Putin held his annual televised Q & A session. He did it with ordinary Russians nationwide. He did it for the 12th time. Doing so connects with them.
He responded to questions forthrightly. Most concerned Ukraine and Crimea. He covered lots of ground.
Trust lost is hard to regain, he said. It's been "undermined to a great degree, but why is this happening?
"We believe in this situation we are not at fault." Restoring trust requires Washington abandoning its "double standards."
An Interview With David Rovics, Art of Resistance
By GILAD ATZMON
Rovics and Atzmon
I have a lot in common with David Rovics. We are both artists- he is an American singer/songwriter, I am a Jazz artist, we are outspoken, we both oppose imperialist wars and we also believe that ethics and aesthetics are somehow related and can bring a change. For many years I’ve been overwhelmed by the simplicity, the honesty and the directness with which David delivers his message.
Gilad Atzmon: Music and politics, shouldn’t they be separate entities?
David Rovics: Music without politics is fine. Politics without music, I’m not so sure… Politics needs music to keep it human, to keep it connected with humanity. As far as politics in music, it works well because you can tell a story in a song that doesn’t ring the same alarm bells as it would if you told the story some other way. I think music — and other forms of artistic expression, but especially music — is the best way to bring someone somewhere you want to bring them, if you can’t take them to the actual place you’re singing about.
Kiev Violates Four-Party Agreement
by Stephen Lendman
The ink wasn't even dry. On April 17, deal terms was struck. A previous article discussed them. Hold the cheers. They're not worth the paper they're written on.
Washington negotiates duplicitously. Promises made are systematically broken. Don't expect this time to be different.
Kiev's illegitimate putschists didn't surprise. They violated agreement terms. They did so straightaway. They acted with full US support. More on this below.
On April 17, a joint US/EU/Russia/Ukraine statement said the following:
"The Geneva meeting on the situation in Ukraine agreed on initial concrete steps to de-escalate tensions and restore security for all citizens.
All sides must refrain from any violence, intimidation or provocative actions. The participants strongly condemned and rejected all expressions of extremism, racism and religious intolerance, including anti-semitism.
Israel Targets Fundamental Freedoms
by Stephen Lendman
Numerous Knesset bills compromise speech, assembly, association and dissent. Israel's free press is endangered.
Palestine is ruthlessly targeted. The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) documents events daily. Monthly updates follow.
It's latest report covers March. "(N)o significant improvement" occurred, it said. Throughout the Occupied Territories, "violations against (Palestinian) journalists" increased.
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) target them with "stun grenades and rubber bullets…" Injuries result. Arrests follow.
On March 23, Israeli forces attacked AP photographer Iyad Hamad. He was covering Israeli soldiers. They were targeting Aida refugee camp Palestinian youths.
Lap Dancers, the CIA, Pay-offs, and BP’s Deepwater Horizon
By Greg Palast
From his investigation for Channel 4 Television in the newly released film, Vultures and Vote Rustlers.
There was CIA involvement through a company called Mega Oil. They were shipping in arms under the cover of oil tools.
BP operative Leslie Abrahams With AK-47 in Baku, Azerbaijan
The BP executive was explaining to me how the CIA, MI6 and British Petroleum engineered a coup d’état, overthrowing an elected president of a nation who was “not favorable to BP.” The corporation’s former Vice-President, Leslie Abrahams, is pictured here, holding an AK-47 in front of BP headquarters in Baku, Azerbaijan. Like most of the other BP executives I spoke with, he proudly added that while he was working for BP, he was also an operative for MI6, British intelligence.
The conversation was far from the weirdest I had in my four-continent investigation of the real story of the Deepwater Horizon.
The BP oilrig blew out on April 20, 2010, four years ago this Sunday.
Ukrainian Offensive Falters
by Stephen Lendman
Western media headlined it. The New York Times said "Ukraine Push Against Rebels Grinds to a Halt." Things "unraveled in disarray."
An "entire contingent of 21 armored vehicles…surrendered or pull(ed) back…It was a glaring humiliation for the new government in Kiev. (Events) underscored (its) weakness."
The Wall Street Journal said "Ukraine's Efforts to Regain Control of East Sputter." Locals "halted army columns."
"The faltering 'antiterrorist' operation, launched a day earlier, leaves the government looking increasingly powerless in the face of separatists who are holding government buildings in as many as 10 cities close to the Russian border."
"The stumbling start underscored difficulties faced by the new government…(It) leaves Kiev with narrowing options."
Ukraine on the Brink
by Stephen Lendman
Obama declared war on Ukraine. He dispatched CIA chief John Brennan to Kiev. He arrived with administration instructions. Obama's proxy putschist stooges were unleashed to wage war on Eastern Ukrainian freedom fighters. The battle for Ukraine's soul escalated.
The country is "on the verge of civil war," said Putin. Prime Minister Medvedev said the same thing. Putschists launched violence.
"The illegal rulers are trying to restore the order they cynically trampled on when they participated in an armed uprising," Medvedev added.
Their military forces headed east. Tanks, armored vehicles and artillery are on the move. An assault on activist controlled Eastern Ukrainian cities began.
Survival Is the Saudi Key Word
By Nicola Nasser*
Survival is the key word to understand the Saudi dynasty’s latest external and internal policies. These are designed to pre-empt change but paradoxically they are creating more enemies in a changing world order marked by turbulent regional geopolitics and growing internal demands for change.
The seventy-year old strategic oil for security US-Saudi alliance seemed about to crack on its 69th anniversary ahead of the summit meeting of US President Barak Obama and king Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz in March.
With the US now committed to pivoting east and possibly on track to become an oil exporter by 2017, American and Saudi policies are no longer identical.
Former US President George W. Bush’s democracy campaign, which Saudi opposed, alerted its rulers to be on guard. The Arab popular protests since 2011 pushed them into leading a regional defensive counterrevolution and ever since the gap in bilateral relations has been widening.
More NATO Forces for Eastern Europe
by Stephen Lendman
US-led NATO threatens world peace. It's a global killing machine. It prioritizes militarism and war. It threatens humanity in the process.
It's escalating East/West tensions. It supports Kiev fascist putschists. It buries truth. It spreads lies about Russia.
On April 16, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said:
"We have just taken further measures to respond to the crisis in Ukraine."
"We call on Russia to be part of the solution. To stop destabilising Ukraine, pull back its troops from the borders and make clear it doesn't support the violent actions of well armed militias of pro-Russian separatists."
Four-Party Agreement on Ukraine
by Stephen Lendman
On April 17, Russian, US, EU and Ukrainian foreign ministers met in Geneva. Discussion focused on deescalating Ukrainian crisis conditions.
A joint document was agreed on. It's not worth the paper it's written on. Washington's word isn't its bond. Its history reflects one broken promise after another.
Don't expect this time to be different. Ukraine's crisis may escalate. Perhaps the worst of all possible outcomes will follow. The fullness of time will tell.
Following discussions Sergei Lavrov explained an agreement reached, saying:
All parties must refrain from "violence, intimidation, or provocative actions."
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