The Quiet Brilliance of Putin and the Pope

General Tommy Franks once called George W. Bush's third highest guy at the Pentagon, Douglas Feith “the dumbest fucking guy on the planet”.  Well move over Feith and make way for Joe Biden, John Kerry and Victoria Nuland.  Stupid is as stupid does.

Pope Francis on his three day spiritual tour of the Middle East excoriated the purveyors of the Syrian War.  From The Austrian:

POPE Francis has denounced arms dealers and appealed for an urgent end to the Syrian civil war as he began his three-day trip to the Middle East with an emotional meeting with refugees from Syria and Iraq who have fled to Jordan.

Francis deviated from his prepared remarks to make a strong plea for peace during his first day in Jordan, praying for God to “convert those who seek war, those who make and sell weapons”. “We all want peace, but looking at the tragedy of war, looking at the wounded, seeing so many people who left their homeland who were forced to go away, I ask, 'Who sells weapons to these people to make war?'” he asked. “This is the root of evil, the hatred, the love of money.”

Yes, as the Pope denounced arms dealers calling them the root of all evil, the hatred and the love of money, America’s top stooge, Barack Obama called for more arms for Syria to kill more people, displace more people.  Truly, America has become the “root of evil and hatred and the most ardent of lovers of money.  From Reuters:

Obama pledges aid to Syria opposition groups

WEST POINT, N.Y., Reuters) - President Barack Obama fought back against critics of his foreign policy on Wednesday by insisting U.S. reliance on diplomacy over military intervention was working to resolve global crises like Ukraine and Iran, and he pledged to ramp up support for Syria's opposition.

Oh, yeah the U.S. has been relying on diplomacy over military intervention.  What he means by diplomacy is diplomacy at the end of a Blackwater gun.  And when he pledges support for Syria’s opposition he means guns and chemical weapons, not food, medicine and housing for the displaced citizens.  He could give a shit less about the Syrian people or the American people.

As for the civil war in the raging country with thousands of civilians dead, Obama offered few specifics. He said he will work with Congress to "ramp up support for those in the Syrian opposition who offer the best alternative to terrorists and brutal dictators."

Yes, the only help offered is for more guns, more chemical weapons but no help for the people of Syria.  All American financial aid is tied to buying American weapons.

It is yet to be seen how Russian President Vladimir Putin will react to Ukraine’s latest crackdown on pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine…

On Ukraine he (Obama) welcomed the election of billionaire Petro Poroshenko as president but said much work remains to be done.

Yes, our tone deaf stooge, with Biden, Kerry and Nuland pulling his strings has committed to unending war in Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine.

You might wonder, how did we get here?  How could the people of the United States be so stupid to continue to vote in the same bloodthirsty assholes?  Well, let’s take a look how they came to power to turn the United States into a Third WorldCountry:

By Jim Willie, GoldenJackass.com

The crucial swing states for deciding the US presidential elections through voting system fraud were Ohio and Florida. Whether by machine software with rigged software programming or by bussing in Somalians or by altering the vote count upon final submission or basic bully tactics to prevent entrance into the voting centers, the US national elections were truly tainted.  The commonly followed Exit Polls are proof of vote fraud.

The Paradigm Shift was to the fascist state in full blossom. A law was even passed to prevent challenges of the voting machines and software, a certain brand always in the spotlight. Recall that voter system fraud is a key trait of a Third World nation, along with bank fraud, absent rule of law, economic decay, and devotion to war.

Forget challenges to the voting machine software, State and Federal governments aren’t even allowed to audit the machines.  Thus came the privatization of the voting systems in the United States.  Back to Mr. Willie’s article:

The quintessential points in time to guarantee the national failure are the creation of the US Federal Reserve in 1913, the abrogation of the Bretton Woods Gold Standard in 1971, the removal of the Glass-Steagall Law in 1999, and the granting of Most Favored Nation status to China in 1999. The destruction with its clear steps appears to have been motivated and intentional. The United States has been on a destructive course since the elimination of President Kennedy, which cleared the path for the hidden fascists.

Yes, President Kennedy was going to get rid of the Federal Reserve and the fiat currency printing the silver certificates rather than Federal Reserve notes.  He warned us in his last address before he was murdered.

 

  

If one or two nations (A & B) launch a strong viable asset backed currency with golden integrity, having the structure in place to make payments in trade, then those one or two nations would be susceptible and vulnerable to a sudden shock. They would be victims of their own success unless they had critical mass.

The new currency would rise sharply in exchange rate versus the smorgasbord of toiletry currencies founded in fiat paper. Refer to the current regime of US Dollar, British Pound, Euro, Swiss Franc, and Japanese Yen. If only one or two nations launch a strong viable gold-backed new currency, it would quickly rise 30% or maybe 50%. The result would be that A & B nations would suffer a quick slam in their export trade, since the currency rise would price them out of the global market. 

Their export clients would see huge price increases. Their cameras or construction equipment or cars or petro-chemicals or machine tools would suddenly be so expensive for their client states, that the A & B trade would suffer big damage. The two nations would be victims of their own successful currency.

So if countries A&B’s currency is backed by gold, countries with fiat paper currency would not be able to buy their products and that would hurt A&B’s economy.  So how would countries A&B go about these changes to exact the least amount of disruption in their economy?

However, suppose A & B nations develop the currency, support its backing with warehouses full of gold, or in the case of Panama copper too, or in the case of Norway crude oil. Then A & B nations wait to develop support in trade and financial structures, as in the so-called wiring. Instead of launching prematurely their gold-backed currency, they build a Trade Zone and form a growing alliance of participating nations, in order to assure a critical mass that includes on the order of at least 60% of global trade. 

Then later, when the moment is right, when the supporting system is truly ready, when the crisis in the West reaches a critical matter point, the two lead nations A & B launch the new gold-backed currency, announce the new trade settlement system, make known the new banking procedures, and do so with an ARMADA of nations in support of the new structures that had been under development. The strong critical mass of over 60% would assure that lost trade with the minority of nations would not be crippling. The new Eastern nucleus would benefit from sudden growth.

Wow, that’s brilliant.  Let the U.S. under Biden, Kerry and Nuland and their stooge Obama foment war after war funded with fiat currency while Russia and the Eurasian countries quietly build up their gold backed currency and develop a new trade and banking structures.  So is that what Putin and the Pope are up to?

   

The United States is fast racking up characteristics of a Third World nation. Its finances are Third World. Its president is Third World. Its banking integrity is Third World. Its absent industry is Third World. Its decaying cities are Third World. It urgently begs for a Third World currency, but that is soon to be remedied.

The nation has been a freeloader on the global reserve currency for too long. That is about to end. For the last three years, the United States has been living in a fairy tale with bailouts from the vast bond monetization. The Quantitative Easing with its amplified bond purchases and hidden channels to -- Posted Monday, 10 February 2014

Given its wretched fundamentals, it earns the name of Scheiss Dollar. Those familiar with the German language recognize it as the Shit Dollar.

Yes, as the U.S. has the Shit Dollar as its currency, what is Putin up to?  From Radio Free Europe:

It's full steam ahead for the Moscow-backed Eurasian Economic Union -- even as its prospective members express serious reservations. 

I’ll bet the E.U. and U.S. with their “shit dollar” are expressing serious reservations.

At the May 29 summit of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan in Astana, the three are expected to sign a treaty to transform their tripartite customs union into a Eurasian Economic Union (EES) by January 2015.


And as the bloc grows deeper, it is simultaneously growing broader, with Armenia and Kyrgyzstan pushing forward with road maps to join as well.


The Moscow-driven project has been seen as a part of Russia's bid to reestablish its political domination of the post-Soviet space, driven more by Moscow's political ambitions than by economic imperatives.


"It is obviously a political project," says Nicu Popescu, a senior analyst with the European Union's Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and co-author of a recent report on the EES. "The economics are pretty unclear."

Ha, ha.  Nicu Popescu of The European Union can’t figure it out.  You know what Upton Sinclair said?  “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his paycheck depends on his not understanding it.

So, here’s another take from Asia Times: 

A specter is haunting Washington, an unnerving vision of a Sino-Russian alliance wedded to an expansive symbiosis of trade and commerce across much of the Eurasian land mass - at the expense of the United States. 

And no wonder Washington is anxious. That alliance is already a done deal in a variety of ways: through the BRICS group of emerging powers (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa); at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Asian counterweight to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; inside the Group of 20; and via the 120-member-nation Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). 

Bingo, a counterweight to NATO.  

Meanwhile, Russia is about to sell dozens of state-of-the-art Sukhoi Su-35 jet fighters to the Chinese as Beijing and Moscow move to seal an aviation-industrial partnership…

This week should provide the first real fireworks in the celebration of a new Eurasian century-in-the-making when Russian President Vladimir Putin drops in on Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. ‘

You remember "Pipelineistan," all those crucial oil and gas pipelines crisscrossing Eurasia that make up the true circulatory system for the life of the region. Now, it looks like the ultimate Pipelineistan deal, worth US $1 trillion and 10 years in the making, will be signed off on as well. 

In it, the giant, state-controlled Russian energy giant Gazprom will agree to supply the giant state-controlled China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) with 3.75 billion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas a day for no less than 30 years, starting in 2018. That's the equivalent of a quarter of Russia's gas exports to all of Europe. China's present daily gas demand is around 16 billion cubic feet a day, and imports account for 31.6% of total consumption. 

Here we go, Putin is expanding Russia’s marketplace to the degree that the EU market will be dwarfed in comparison.

Gazprom may still collect the bulk of its profits from Europe, but Asia could turn out to be its Everest. The company will use this mega-deal to boost investment in Eastern Siberia and the whole region will be reconfigured as a privileged gas hub for Japan and South Korea as well. If you want to know why no key country in Asia has been willing to "isolate" Russia in the midst of the Ukrainian crisis - and in defiance of the Obama administration - look no further than Pipelineistan.

So while the U.S. foreign policy has been one of belligerence and wars to seize the assets of third world countries, the U.S. has been turned into a third world country. 

Exit the Petrodollar, enter the Gas-o-Yuan

And then, talking about anxiety in Washington, there's the fate of the petrodollar to consider, or rather the "thermonuclear" possibility that Moscow and Beijing will agree on payment for the Gazprom-CNPC deal not in petrodollars but in Chinese Yuan.

Right after the potentially game-changing Sino-Russian summit comes a BRICS summit in Brazil in July. That's when a $100 billion BRICS development bank, announced in 2012, will officially be born as a potential alternative to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank as a source of project financing for the developing world. 

Remember when Victoria Nuland was caught saying “fuck the E.U.?”  Well sounds like the E.U. is now saying “fuck the U.S.”  From The Telegraph:

Vladimir Putin will hold talks with the French President over the Ukraine crisis next month in his first meeting with a head of state since Russia annexed Crimea.

The Kremlin hinted Russia’s president was also likely to hold talks with other world leaders over the crisis when they arrive in France for next month’s D-Day 70th anniversary commemoration.

Mr. Putin and Francois Hollande will dine at the Elysee Palace on June 5 as relations between Russia and the NATO allies remain at their lowest since the Cold War ended.

Seems like the E.U. leaders are sick of their gold being stolen by the Federal Reserve and the “shit dollar” Federal Reserve notes.

Anyone else getting sick of the “shit dollar?”

Yury Ushakov, a presidential aide, said the leaders would discuss “various multilateral international questions including the Ukraine crisis”.

Talks with other world leaders were likely, but would be arranged “on the hoof” he said.

So who else wants to meet with Putin “on the hoof?”

Downing Street sources said David Cameron would be "open" to a meeting with Mr. Putin if it were logistically possible. The two men have spoken on the telephone four times since the crisis started and aides said they were keen to keep communications going.

Well Pope Francis is set to meet with Shimon Perez and Abbas to pray for peace.  This meeting has been ridiculed by the American press.

Well, I for one sit in awe of the brilliance of Pope Francis and Putin.

By Patricia Baeten

Ukraine: Corrupt Unelected Central Banker Replaced with Corrupt Elected Billionaire Banker

Ukraine Celebrates Election

This is the case of dueling headlines, those in the United States and West and those in Russia.  In Ukraine an “election” took place, and I use the term “election” loosely.  From the Russia Times dated May 24th:

Ukraine: From tragedy to farce

Washington’s ‘thinktankistan’ and the west’s media echo chamber are spinning Ukraine’s May 25 election as the crowning moment legitimizing the western-backed coup overthrowing the elected government in Kiev.

They also spin Russian President Vladimir Putin has miscalculated in Ukraine and is trying to find a face-saving solution. Both spins are simply flat out wrong.

Yes, Washington’s media echo chamber is crooning over the “election” in Ukraine as legitimizing the western-backed coup in Ukraine that resulted in Ukraine’s gold being flown out to the Federal Reserve in New York for “safekeeping”.  The western backed coup also resulted in any Ukrainian fighting against the unelected coup as “terrorists” for fighting for their own sovereignty. 

Here in the United States the headlines blared:

CNN:  Free elections good for Ukraine, but could be bad for Putin

CNN Money: Europeanstocks rise as elections wrap up

The Guardian: JohnKerry says elections show wish for united, democratic Ukraine

The Economist:  Petro Poroshenko vows torestore peace

CBS:  Senator Calls UkraineElections Legitimate

Oh, happy days are here again.  But, back to the Russia Times article:

The creators of the Ukraine crisis are desperate. Victoria Nuland and her band of ultranationalists and neo-fascists demonstrated they could pull-off a successful coup. This is not remarkable in any sense. Staging coups around the globe has been part and parcel of American statecraft for decades; particularly since the end of the Cold War. 

But in the case of Ukraine almost everything that has happened since the illegal takeover of power on the night February 21 has been a disaster. Crimea voted to return to Russia, regions of the east have held referenda on self-determination, the massacre in Odessa occurred, and the country’s economy is in a free fall. The planned presidential election is calculated to legitimize the coup and fast track Ukraine westward. It is not going to happen. 

Yes, it was Stalin who said “it’s not who votes that counts, but who counts the votes”.  Stalin would be so jealous, because in Ukraine the neocons not only controlled who counted the votes but who would be allowed to vote. 

‘Cyber-attack’ cripples Ukraine’s electronic election system ahead of presidential vote

Yes, the “election” was a joke.  If Joe Biden and Victoria Nuland think that a sham election will win over the people of Ukraine, they are sadly mistaken.  You know they want to fast track Ukraine to enslave their people, open the door for Monsanto’s GMO Frankenstein seeds and the rape and destruction of all Ukraine’s natural resources. 

Petro Poroshenko, the Ukrainian oligarch known as the Chocolate King, is the presidential candidate who is expected to save Ukraine from the abyss and deliver his country to Washington, Brussels, and the IMF. Judging by polling numbers, he is quite likely to be elected by those who plan to vote (and millions in the east and south say they won’t). Legally speaking, this election has no legitimacy. 

Ukraine’s constitutional order was destroyed on the night of the coup. Since then the country has been governed by a rump parliament, political parties not supporting the undemocratic government physically attacked, and presidential candidates intimidated. Poroshenko is set to be president, but this will hardly address Ukraine’s daunting problems.

So, who is this great savior that the people of Ukraine came out to vote for?  According to Wikipedia:

Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko (Ukrainian: Петро Олексійович Порошенко; born 26 September 1965 in Bolhrad) is a Ukrainian billionaire businessman and the President-Elect of Ukraine.

Poroshenko served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2009 to 2010, and as the Minister of Trade and Economic Development in 2012. From 2007 until 2012, he headed the Council of Ukraine's National Bank.

Bingo, he headed the Council of Ukraine’s National Bank.  So he was there for the great gold heist.  Ha, ha, yeah I’ll bet the Ukrainian people wanted a crooked banker for their president, but if that’s the only choice due to other candidates being threatened.

He was elected President of Ukraine on 25 May 2014, capturing more than 55% of the vote in the first round, thereby winning outright and avoiding a second round run-off.

Yes, you don’t want to take any chances with a messy run-off.

In 2001 Poroshenko was instrumental in creating the Party of Regions, also loyal to Kuchma, but Solidarity never joined the Party of Regions.[9] However, in December 2001 he broke ranks with Kuchma supporters to become campaign chief of Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine Bloc opposition faction. After parliamentary elections in March 2002 in which Our Ukraine won the biggest share of the popular vote and Poroshenko won a seat in parliament,[10] Poroshenko served as head of the parliamentary budget committee, where he was accused of "misplacing 47 million hryvnias" (USD$ 8.9 million).[11]

Oops, as head of the parliamentary budget committee he was accused if “misplacing $8.9 million dollars”.   

Poroshenko was considered a close confidant of Yushchenko, who is godfather to Poroshenko's daughters. Poroshenko was likely to have been the wealthiest businessman among Yushchenko supporters, and was often named as one of the main financial backers of Our Ukraine and the Orange Revolution.[12] After Yushchenko won the presidential elections in 2004, Poroshenko was appointed Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.[3]

Yep, a main financial backer of the Orange Revolution.  That must be where the $8.9 million he embezzled went. 

What was the Orange Revolution you may ask?  According to Wikipedia:

The protests were prompted by reports from several domestic and foreign election monitors as well as the widespread public perception that the results of the run-off vote of 21 November 2004 between leading candidates Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych were rigged by the authorities in favour of the latter.[6] The nationwide protests succeeded when the results of the original run-off were annulled, and a revote was ordered by Ukraine's Supreme Court for 26 December 2004.

Under intense scrutiny by domestic and international observers, the second run-off was declared to be "fair and free". The final results showed a clear victory for Yushchenko, who received about 52% of the vote, compared to Yanukovych's 44%. Yushchenko was declared the official winner and with his inauguration on 23 January 2005 in Kiev, the Orange Revolution ended.

Well I guess they don’t have to worry about a messy runoff again.  But back to who Poroshenko’s bio:

In September 2005, highly publicized mutual allegations of corruption erupted between Poroshenko and Tymoshenko involving the privatizations of state-owned firms. Poroshenko, for example, was accused of defending the interests of Viktor Pinchuk, who had acquired state firm Nikopol Ferroalloy for $80 million, independently valued at $1 billion.

Whoa, Ca-ca-ching.  Poroshenko was accused of corruption involving the privatization of Ukraine’s state-owned firm Nikopol Ferroally for $80 million to his buddy; a firm owned by the people of Ukraine valued at $1 billion.  No wonder the people of Ukraine love him.  Maybe there’s a board position for Hunter Biden.

[13] In response to the allegations, Yushchenko dismissed his entire cabinet of ministers, including Poroshenko and Prime Minister Tymoshenko.[14] State prosecutors dismissed an abuse of power investigation against Poroshenko the following month, [15] immediately after Yushchenko dismissed Svyatoslav Piskun, General Prosecutor of Ukraine. Piskun claimed that he was sacked because he refused to institute criminal proceedings against Tymoshenko and refused to drop proceedings against Poroshenko.[16]

Yes, fire the prosecutor and your slate is clean.  So now that Ukraine has a new president what is the chance for peace in Ukraine?  Back to Russia Times:

If Poroshenko continues the violent assault on the east and south he will demonstrate he is not president of all Ukrainians. But if he does reach out to the east and south, the radicals of the coup will be watching closely. Again, this is a lose-lose outcome for Ukraine. This is probably most tragic outcome of the forced collapse of the constitutional order – unelected radicals, racists, and ordinary thugs have been allowed to become important elements of the Ukrainian political landscape. Ukraine and the rest of the world have Washington to thank for this sad state of affairs. 

Come on Ukrainians, thank John Kerry, Victoria Nuland, Joe Biden and their stooge Barack Obama. 

So, here we are Tuesday May 27^th.  The skies have parted and celestial angels sing in Ukraine.  What is that you say?  Poroshenko is killing all Ukrainians who are fighting for their sovereignty?  FromVoice of America:

A pro-Russian rebel said on Tuesday he believed about 30 to 35 separatists had been killed so far in nearly 24 hours of fighting with Ukrainian forces in Ukraine's eastern city of Donetsk…

Earlier, Ukraine's likely president-elect Petro Poroshenko says there will be no talks with "terrorists" - his word for the armed pro-Russian separatists in the east.


Unofficial results show billionaire candy maker Poroshenko winning Ukraine's presidential election by a landslide

So Ukraine’s corrupt unelected Central Banker has been replaced with a corrupt “elected” billionaire banker.  May there be mercy for the people of Ukraine, this is bound to be a bloody, protracted fight.

God speed.

By Patricia Baeten

Memorial Weekend: Ukraine, Putin and Pope Francis

My, my, my.  Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive, except this isn’t the first time our government has deceived.  The US and the EU are continually bitch slapped by Putin and Pope Francis.

Putin and the Pope are starting to look like a World Wrestling Federation tag team.  The US Government has adopted a foreign policy of stealing the world’s resources and gold at the end of a BlackWater gun for “safe keeping” in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.  As previously reported, Ukraine’s government has been overthrown in a coup orchestrated by the State Department of the United States of America.  

The U.S. government is forcing the starvation of austerity on the people of Ukraine along with the pillaging of Ukraine’s resources.  The United States Government installed a central banker as interim president in Ukraine until they could install an “elected” Ukrainian government that will be indebted to the World Bank to pay for their own destruction.

My mother was a war bride from Belgium and she would tell me stories of Belgium under Nazi occupation that brought starvation, and the literal theft of blood and treasure.  My mother told me about the people of Belgium being forced to “donate” blood for the wounded German soldiers; she said that the people were left with enough blood to crawl out into the street and die.

She told of her brother-in-law Phonis (Stephen) and his son Emil working with the underground in Belgium to smuggle precious metals out of the reach of Nazi’s.  My aunt Emily was psychic and had a dream that Stephen and Emil would be arrested by Nazi’s.  Stephen and Emil acted on her dream and moved the metals to another location just before the Nazi’s came to arrest them.   Her memories of hunger and starvation never left her.

She told me about the United States military coming into Belgium and the feeling of great elation at the sight of the US flag.  The American flag was a symbol hope and the extreme sacrifice of the people of America to ensure freedom from repression and a better life for all.  

When the U.S. soldiers arrived in Europe they were shocked at the condition of the people after years of starvation and many gave their food rations to the people, especially the children.

My mother was deeply religious, as were many survivors of World War II.  I remember Our Lady of Fatima telling the world to pray the rosary and every night mom and us kids would kneel before a small statue of the Blessed Virgin with vigil lights burning to pray the rosary. 

We would pray for peace in the world and for the safety of my dad, who was an across the road truck driver.  Until my mother’s death, she always saw my dad as the handsome soldier she met and fell in love with that saved her life and country. When mom was dying of cancer and dad and us kids were taking care of her, I remember her smiling at me and saying “I keep forgetting your dad isn’t big and strong anymore.”

In movies about World War II, people of the world cheer when they see the United States flag because it meant the US military was coming to their rescue.  Boy, what a difference a generation makes and I don’t mean my generation.

The Vietnam War tore apart this country.   As a child growing up in De Pere, Wisconsin we lived across the street from VFW Park.  All activity during my childhood centered around the park and the church.  We kids all knew each other from the park, whether we were in Catholic School or public school.

When the draft took kids from my generation to fight in the Vietnam War, there was a sense of duty that the baton of the World’s saviors, the United States military had been handed down.  Although there was a draft, many of the kids enlisted in the military out of a sense of pride and duty.  My ex-husband joined the Marine Corps at the age of 17 and spent 3 years in Vietnam.

 

As the kids I grew up with were called to war, I remember being at our neighbor’s house, the Landwehrs and they were playing “Ballad of the Green Beret” on a little turntable on the kitchen table.  That was the sense of patriotism that was rampant.  It was now our turn to save the world.

Then, there were the flag draped caskets of the kids we grew up with coming home from a war that we didn’t understand.  I remember seeing Janis Olmstead, pregnant and being physically held up to accept the flag from the casket of the father of her unborn child, Mike Sullivan, he was a teenager.

I remember Dave Vanden Heuvel’s casket coming home.  My last memory of Dave was when he was home on leave and my sister Cathy giving him a big hug in the parking lot of the A&W in De Pere.

As more and more flag draped caskets came home, it became evident that this was not a just war.  More and more people, especially on college campuses began to demand an end to the war.  Because there was a draft, you either became a conscientious objector or you became cannon fodder.

Then the tensions culminated to a breaking point when students demonstrating on the campus of Kent State in Ohio were gunned down by a skittish National Guard that had been called in by the Governor of the State.

So here we are today, a US government that is reviled around the world for their lack of regard for human suffering.  An American flag that is the epitome of unbridled capitalism with no regard for human life.  A government run by millionaire politicians who don’t know or care to know the sights and smells of suffering of people in war zones. Politicians that put profits above the deaths, destruction and suffering caused by climate change.

Much to the disdain of these millionaire politicians, Pope Francis has made the biblical case for addressing climate change.  From a May 22nd article in a publication called “All Voices”:

Pope Francis warns against climate change denial: 'If we destroy creation, it will destroy us'

Pope Francis delivered a message on climate change Wednesday warning about the potential of environmental catastrophe and called on Christians to see themselves not as "masters of creation" but "custodians of creation."

But while the Catholic pontiff delivered an inspired message on an urgent matter for our time, Republican members of Congress and conservatives, claiming to derive their views from the same Bible Francis believes in, persist in climate change denialism.

They continue in climate change denial, insisting on the view that rapacious use of nature is consistent with biblical teaching that man should have "dominion" even as evidence mounts that we might have reached a climate change tipping point.

Yes, those politicians are all for the bible as long as the bible supports exploitation of natural resources for profit.

According to the Vatican Radio, addressing a crowd in Rome, Francis cited the biblical creation story of Genesis where, after God created the world, he declared that "it is good."

The pontiff called for a Christian culture of environmental awareness based on respect for the "for the beauty of nature and grandeur of the cosmos."

He emphasized that God made man to take care of the Earth and warned that religious cultural outlook that promotes unbridled exploitation of nature could bring humanity to an environmental apocalypse.

He gave a dire warning, saying: "Safeguard Creation, because if we destroy Creation, Creation will destroy us! Never forget this!"

Linking his latest message to his previous messages about "unrestrained” capitalism and its destructive impact on the environment, he said: "Creation is not a property, which we can rule over at will; or, even less, is the property of only a few: Creation is a gift God has given us, so that we care for it and we use it for the benefit of all."

The Pope’s comments on the biblical case for addressing climate change came one day after President Vladimir Putin signed a $400 billion gas deal with China.  From Reuters:

  

As Putin looks east, China and Russia sign $400-billion gas deal

(Reuters) - China and Russia signed a $400-billion gas supply deal on Wednesday, securing the world's top energy user a major source of cleaner fuel and opening up a new market for Moscow as it risks losing European customers over the Ukraine crisis.

The long-awaited agreement is a political triumph for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is courting partners in Asia as those in Europe and the United States seek to isolate him over Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula.

Yes the E.U. and U.S. aren’t going to like Putin supplying “cleaner” energy sources to China.  The US has exploited China for years, rendering their air unbreathable from rampant capitalist exploitation of China.

The agreement came in time for a major economic summit in St. Petersburg starting Thursday. About a dozen chief executives and chairmen of major U.S. and European firms have withdrawn from the forum over the Ukraine crisis.

Ha ha, “about a dozen chief executives and chairman of MAJOR U.S. AND EUROPEAN FIRMS withdrew from the economic forum in St. Petersburg due to the crisis in Ukraine.”  The crisis in Ukraine that those U.S. and European firms created.

Well, I say “fuck them”.  Oops, sorry.

Increased gas imports will also help Beijing in its declared "war on pollution" aimed at reducing its reliance on coal which contributes to the harmful smog shrouding major cities.

Wow, China has a war on the pollution, the pollution that is a direct result of unbridled U.S. capitalism.  Yep, Putin and the Pope just stuck a great big thumb in the eye of the U.S. and E.U.  You’ve got to love it. 

But Pope Francis’ message on the biblical argument for addressing climate change was just the beginning.  The Pope with the “biggest balls” in human history is on a peace mission to the Middle East.   According to NBC News:

Pope Francis to Shun Popemobile on Mideast Trip: Vatican

Pope Francis will shun bulletproof vehicles during a trip to the Middle East this month and has insisted on using a normal car so he can be as close to the people as possible, the Vatican said Thursday.

"The pope wants an open popemobile and a normal car,” said chief spokesman Father Federico Lombardi, who hinted that local security officials had suggested the use of bulletproof vehicles but were over-ruled.

Previous pontiffs were driven in bulletproof limousines on trips whether in Rome or abroad, after the 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II who was travelling in an open top vehicle when he was shot. Heads of state visiting the Middle East tend to use bulletproof cars.

Yes, Heads of State visiting the Middle East need to fear the people.  But, Pope Francis has enormous balls, he doesn’t fear the people, he embraces them.

The Vatican was not overly concerned by threats to Christians scrawled by suspected Jewish extremists on church property in Israel, he added.

"Death to Arabs and Christians and all those who hate Israel," was daubed in Hebrew on an outer column of the Office of the Assembly of Bishops at the Notre Dame Center in East Jerusalem on Monday, where Francis is due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

More than 200 Orthodox Jews protested on Monday against the pope's planned visit to the site where Christians believe Jesus Christ had his Last Supper on Monday.

Man, that Pope is unbelievably smart and brave.   So what’s on the agenda for Pope Francis?   According to NBCNews:

ROME — Pope Francis sets out for his first trip to the Holy Land on Saturday in what he has called “a strictly religious visit,” but in a land where religion and politics are intertwined, he will walk a political tight-rope.

Traveling with a rabbi and a Muslim leader in tow as a nod to inter-faith dialogue, Francis will visit Jordan, the Palestinian Territories and Israel in a crowded, three-day trip.

Wow, that’s a first the Pope traveling with a Rabbi and a Muslim Leader in the Middle East.

First stop: Jordan

The premise of the trip, which begins in Jordan, is to mark the 50th anniversary of the meeting in Jerusalem between Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras, the spiritual head of the world’s Orthodox Christians. That event marked a turning point between the two major branches of Christianity that split with the Great Schism in 1054.

During the Jordan stop, he will say Mass in a stadium filled with thousands of Christians who fled there from war-torn neighboring areas, including Palestine and Syria. He is also expected to visit Bethany Beyond the Jordan where, according to Christian belief, Jesus was baptized.

Can you imagine what it means for all the refugees of war in Syria and Palestine for the Pope to come and give mass and communion?  What’s next?

Straight to the West Bank

Even though Francis is the fourth pope to visit the Holy Land, following Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict — the latter most recently in 2009 — his trip will be paved by many firsts that will carry both a religious and political significance.

For the first time the official Vatican itinerary calls the Palestinian territories the “State of Palestine.”   The designation reaffirms the Vatican’s 2012 vote at the United Nations’ general assembly giving Palestinians de-facto statehood. The vote and the Vatican’s support for it has angered Israel, which argues any change of status should only come through negotiations.

Yeah, I’ll bet that pissed off the Zionists in Israel like Netanyahu.

Just as significantly, on Sunday Francis will fly by helicopter directly from Amman, Jordan, to the Palestinian town of Bethlehem, initially bypassing Israel, where his predecessors always landed before moving on to the West Bank. The symbolic gesture will not only bypass a complicated security motorcade, but also strengthens the claim for Palestine to become an independent sovereign state.

While in Bethlehem, Francis will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas — underlining the Vatican’s support for the change of Palestine’s status. Abbas has been happy to play up the support — welcome banners in Manger Square show the two leaders together under a “State of Palestine” caption.

The Palestinians have been treated as though they were less than human, but they are just one side of the equation.

Nod to the founder of Zionism

Francis will also make symbolic gestures to the Israelis during his whirlwind 16-event visit on Sunday evening and Monday: he will be the first pope to lay a wreath on grave of Theodore Herzl, the founder of Zionism.

 Wow, what an amazing man.

Riccardo Pacifici, the president of the Jewish community in Rome, said the move is “an innovative gesture that not many head of states make. I hope this is a step forward in the diplomatic relations between Israel and the Vatican.”

On Monday he will visit the Western Wall, Mount Herzl and the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, and he will meet with the president, prime minister, chief rabbis and Grand Mufti of Jerusalem.

But his plan to say Mass on Monday evening on Mount Zion, believed to be the site of both Jesus’ last supper and the tomb of King David, has also sparked outrage among Orthodox Jews who say the space must not be used for Christian prayer.

There will never be Mid-East Peace without recognizing each other’s humanity.

The Vatican clearly hopes that the Francis’ traveling companions Rabbi Abraham Skorka and Islamic leader Omar Abboud, director of the Institute for Religious Dialogue in Buenos Aires – old friends from when he was a cardinal in Argentina – will help smooth the way and reinforce the idea that all three great monotheistic faiths can live in peace.

Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said that their presence is "an extremely strong and explicit signal" about the importance of inter-religious dialogue in the region.

Skorka will be in the Palestinian Territories and a key Islamic site in Jerusalem, while Abboud will be at the Western Wall sacred to Jews and the Yad Vashem memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.

Yes, this Pope, Pope Francis has balls of steel.

Once again, he has chosen not to travel in armored vehicles, and has opted to greet locals on an open-deck jeep, and travel in a regular car. A gesture that shows, once again, that his trust in interfaith dialogue is stronger than his fear of religious hatred.

Meanwhile, back in Ukraine the unelected Central Bank imposed government is screaming “Putin is interfering with our “election”.   An interesting article from Ray McGovern:

Killing the Putin-Obama ‘Trust’

Last year, Russian President Putin and U.S. President Obama became a geopolitical odd couple as they worked to cool off hotspots such as Syria and Iran. But U.S. hawks succeeded in killing that collaboration via the crisis in Ukraine, ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern explains.

“Putin will not talk to Obama under pressure,” American journalist Josh Rogin was told late last week by a close associate of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. If Russia’s President will no longer call or accept calls from the President Obama, this strikes me as the most important casualty so far from U.S.-provoked “regime change” in Ukraine.

The U.S. provoked regime change in Ukraine is the baby that was “birthed” by Joe Biden, self- proclaimed Zionist and Victoria Nuland wife of neocon Robert Kagen.

So tomorrow the “election” in Ukraine takes place, but it’s hard to believe that anyone will have any faith in the results.  Ukraine’s government is already preemptively calling foul.

From the Washington Post:

BLAHODATNE, Ukraine — In the deadliest raid yet on Ukrainian troops, pro-Russia insurgents attacked a military checkpoint Thursday, killing 16 soldiers, and the interim prime minister accused Moscow of trying to disrupt the upcoming election for a new president to lead the divided country out of its crisis.

The armed uprising and the government’s offensive to put it down have cast a shadow over Sunday’s election, with Kiev acknowledging it will be impossible to hold the vote in some areas. In the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, where separatists have declared independence and pledged to derail the vote, election workers reported threats and interference from gunmen.

Yes, the U.S. imposed Kiev government is accusing the people of Ukraine of derailing the kangaroo election.

Interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk accused Russia of escalating the conflict and trying to disrupt the election. In a post on Facebook, he called for an urgent session of the U.N. Security Council and said Ukraine would present evidence of Moscow’s involvement.

Yes, the Central Banker Yatsenyuk is calling on U.N. Security Council to save their fake election in Ukraine.  But the U.N. Security Council can’t do much since China and Russia have veto power and China and Russia just signed that $400 billion gas deal.

So Putin and the Pope are riding the wave.  On this Memorial Day weekend, I hope we will remember those veterans who have died for the values of our nation.  Please remember, our troops have been replaced by a private army.  Our veterans are of no value to this millionaire government that has cut pay raises from 1.8% to 1%.  This millionaire government has reneged on our commitment to our veterans.

This millionaire government that answers to Wall Street instead of Main Street does not speak for Americans.

Thank God for our grandfathers and grandmothers, our fathers and mothers, our brothers and sisters, our sons and daughters who have given the ultimate sacrifice for us, our country and the world.

Let us celebrate Memorial Day with the honor and dignity our people and our country deserve.  We are all one in the world, let us not forget that. 

By Patricia Baeten.