Putin Speaks On Ukraine Independence Vote: "Respects" Result, Calls For "Civilised Implementation"

As previously reported, the key event of the weekend was the east Ukraine independence referendum which, as expected, passed by a landslide. Of course, the outcome of the referendum itself was largely irrelevant: all that mattered was that it happened, and that it gave the Kremlin the necessary and sufficient justification to intervene and enter the eastern territory when so needed. And hours ago, in its first official statement on the referendum, the Kremlin said Monday "it respects the secession referendum in eastern Ukraine and hopes for a "civilized implementation" of the results through talks between Kiev and representatives in the east." In other words, at least in the eyes of Putin, Ukraine no longer has a legitimate claim to remain in east Ukraine.

From the WSJ:

Pro-Russian separatists declared victory in Sunday's vote, ratcheting up tensions between the West and Moscow. In its first comments since the referendum, the Kremlin appears to challenge the West and Kiev's standpoint that it was illegitimate. (Read the latest updates on the crisis in Ukraine.)

The Kremlin said in a statement that Moscow welcomes all possible efforts to start negotiations between Kiev and separatist regions with the involvement of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

"Moscow views with respect the expression of the will of the people of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and expects that the practical implementation of the outcome of the referendums will be carried out in a civilized manner without any recurrence of violence, through dialogue between representatives of Kiev, Donetsk and Luhansk," the statement said.

And while the EU promptly proceeded with another round of largely meaningless sanctions, announced moments ago...

• EU FOREIGN MINISTERS ADOPT SANCTIONS ON 2 CRIMEAN COMPANIES, 13 PEOPLE OVER UKRAINE CRISIS -EU DIPLOMAT

... Russia continued to rub it in, when soon after the Kremlin statement was released, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov read it aloud during a live television broadcast. Mr. Lavrov said that Moscow sees no sense in a new round of four-way meetings akin to the Geneva talks in April between Russia, Ukraine, the U.S. and the EU, saying the Kiev government instead needs to directly negotiate with representatives of its eastern regions.

Following the Kremlin statement, Donetsk was ecstatic:

"This is great news, very happy news. Excellent, excellent," Miroslav Rudenko, one of the leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic said in response to the Kremlin's statement, which rebels in Ukraine's southeast see as a sign of support.

And while we previously reported that a Russian annexation vote (coupled with the implementation of the Ruble as currency), could come as early as next weekend, for now things are not quite clear on how long until Russia becomes the de facto land owner:

Mr. Rudenko described as unlikely the Crimea scenario—in which Russia quickly followed up a popular referendum with annexation—and said the Donetsk People's Republic therefore would take steps to develop as a sovereign state. Those include "integration steps" such as joining a Kremlin-run customs union with former Soviet republics and building relations with the neighboring Luhansk People's Republic, he said.

A poll by Kiev International Sociology Institute showed last month that less than a quarter of the people polled like the idea of federalization of Ukraine. This idea was supported more widely in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

To be sure Donetsk now can afford to wait - all it needs are a few more provocations by the Ukraine army to make up Kremlin's mind for it. One party whose time may have run out, however, is the Kiev government, whose IMF lifeline was conditional on keeping the country together. It failed. And now we wait to see what the IMF response will be since it is Russia, not the west, which continues to win the proxy war in Ukraine.

Credit to Zero Hedge

Pope Should Redistribute Vatican's Income First

Conservative radio talk show host Michael Savage says if Pope Francis wants income redistribution he should start with his own Church.

On his Friday show, Savage said he would bid $1 million for Michelangelo's famous painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican.

"The reason I'm offering that money to the pope and the Vatican is so they can redistribute the wealth that begins in the Vatican itself," Savage said.

Savage said he was making a point that there is vast wealth within the Catholic Church, including priceless works of art and major shares in global companies. Gold ingots could be sold for redistribution purposes, Savage said.

Francis on Friday told a group of U.N. delegates, including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, that they should urge world governments to back "the legitimate redistribution of economic benefits by the state, as well as indispensable cooperation between the private sector and civil society."

Savage's response: "It's Karl Marx in a papal outfit."

He noted that Francis is from Argentina, home to liberation theology along with much of Latin America, in the 1960s and '70s. And although Francis himself never practiced liberation theology, "he was certainly shaped by it," Savage said.

Liberation theology focuses on the plight of the poor, though critics such as Savage have long claimed it is Christianized Marxism.

Savage said he already pays 39.7 percent federal tax and 13 percent state tax in California as well as various local taxes.

"But that's not enough for the pope or Obama or the other Marxists on the planet," he said. "How does the pope differ from the Occupy Movement?"

The Catholic Church, he said, opposed Marxism "until this pope."

Though various Catholic priests throughout Central and South America have championed liberation theology, the Vatican itself has opposed what it has termed Marxist elements.

Savage accused Francis of violating the "separation of church and state" and warned he's heard the same talk from Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky. Their ideas led to the deaths of millions, he said.

Savage also suggested Francis is trying to unify the masses in South America and Africa and get the haves to rise up against the have-nots.

"He's trying to cover up some Vatican scandal," he said.


Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/michael-savage-pope-redistribute-income/2014/05/11/id/570688#ixzz31Vhr98FC

Netanyahu in Japan warns Iran will become next North Korea

The prime ministers of Japan and Israel compared notes Monday about living near countries with suspected illicit nuclear weapons programs, with Benjamin Netanyahu calling on the international community to keep pressure on Iran.

In a joint statement released with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, the two men also “expressed their strong hope for the early resolution of various issues of concerns regarding North Korea, including its nuclear development.”

Speaking at a joint news conference after their meeting, Netanyahu, on the second day of a five-day trip to Japan, said Abe had told him in no uncertain terms that Japan was facing a very real threat from North Korea, which observers say is preparing for a fourth nuclear test.

“The same words — ‘clear and present danger’ — certainly apply to the Iranian nuclear program as well,” he said.

“Like North Korea before it, Iran wants to keep its military capabilities, military nuclear capabilities while easing the sanctions that are applied to it.

“We cannot let the ayatollahs win,” Netanyahu said.

Tehran insists its nuclear program is intended only to generate power for civilian purposes.

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany will begin talks in Vienna on Tuesday when they start drafting the text of a comprehensive and potentially historic deal.

An accord would de-fang Iran’s atomic program with a drastic reduction in scale. In return, all UN Security Council sanctions and additional unilateral sanctions targeting Iran’s lifeblood oil exports would be lifted.

Japan, which depends heavily on Middle Eastern oil, has maintained friendly relations with Iran through its years of ostracism by the West.

Also on Monday, in an official meeting in Oslo between President Shimon Peres and Norway’s King Harald V, Peres called for sanctions against the Islamic Republic to continue.

“The diplomatic efforts and economic sanction on Iran from the international community send a signal, but the sanctions and heavy pressure on Iran must continue until the threat is removed,” he said.

Israel resolutely backs efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring a weapon, and becoming a “center of global terrorism,” much as the rest of the world, he added.


Peres received a royal welcome in Oslo, with hundreds of schoolchildren and a military procession set to greet him. The church bells played the iconic “Jerusalem of Gold” song in honor of his visit.

Credit to The Times of Israel

Read more: Netanyahu in Japan warns Iran will become next N. Korea | The Times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-in-japan-warns-iran-will-become-next-n-korea/#ixzz31Vfo9amZ

Scientists create artificial 'alien DNA'

WTF Did They Say? You Want to Die for Them??

America Sold Out: The Most Heinous Crime Ever Committed Against the American People

I find this to be a subject way too few Americans, even those who consider themselves awake are even aware of. When I try to discuss this with those who are unaware the push back is phenomenal, the term conspiracy theorist is tossed about freely and the lights go out in their eyes. People just don’t wish to believe this is real, that this country could have ever been saddled with this much tyranny, or that our government today perpetuates this tyranny fully aware that it has to lead to the inevitable demise of this country.

Please read this preface and watch this outstanding video series. If this topic is new to you … prepare yourself for the ultimate shock. If this is a topic you are somewhat familiar with … this information is a great resource to help awaken others.

Tyranny has been on a long and patient path to dominance in America. In 1871 when the USA became a wholly owned Corporation through the actions of Abraham Lincoln, NOT a Republic (Via the act of 1871) the Constitution was TOTALLY subverted and replaced! America was sold right out from under We The People (FACT)!

We do not live in a Republic and we are ruled over (not governed) as assets of this entity through stealth and subversion by the owners of this corporation (those who we call the elite). This is not a theory or a guess, but a reality never taught in our schools or mentioned in our history books. If you need to hide something from the people for almost 150 years, then by it’s very nature it cannot be advantageous to the people and must border on eventual or ultimate catastrophe. This is the mechanism that opened the door for tyranny in America, and it has advanced at an ever increasing pace since that traitorous action.

Voting will not and never has done anything to correct this heinous tyranny, hidden so very well in plain sight from We The People, it will take the repeal of the act of 1871, the repeal of the Federal Reserve act, and much more. This will NOT be rectified at the ballot box alone, it will take a mass awakening of We The People and a unified push back against the entrenched and institutionalized tyranny … or it will never happen at all …

What we present here for you is a very thorough explanation of the tyranny that precipitated the most heinous crime ever committed against the American people …

Mark Hafner talks about the history of the Act of 1871 and the Corporation of the United States, and how it has effected the sovereignty of the people of the Republic of the United States ever since.

PARTS #1-6

It is time to …

STAND UP TOGETHER, SPEAK IN ONE VOICE & LIVE FREE !!!

Credit to Common Sense

Eastward Expansion? NATO stages record drills in Estonia amid Ukraine unrest

Rebels declare victory in east Ukraine poll

Pro-Russia activists have declared a resounding victory in a twin referendum on sovereignty for eastern Ukraine, despite condemnation from the international community and Kiev, who called it a "criminal farce", amid violence.

Roman Lyagin, election chief of the self-styled Donetsk People's Republic, said on Sunday that at least 89 percent of the Donetsk region's almost three million eligible voters voted in favour of self-rule.

With no international election monitors in place, it was impossible to verify the separatists' claims, reported the Associated Press news agency. The preliminary vote count was announced just two hours after the polls closed in an election conducted with paper ballots.

A second referendum organised by pro-Russian separatists was also held on Sunday in eastern Ukraine's industrial Luhansk region, but no immediate results were released.

Andy Hunder, the director of the Ukrainian Institute London, told Al Jazeera that the figures from the referendum were not representative of the whole eastern region.

"I think in terms of the numbers there's no surprise there - the figure of 89 percent was actually intercepted in calls by the secret service two days ago, and they recommended to use this figure," said Hunder, adding that the biggest issue currently was for the presidential elections to take place, with the support of the Donetsk authorities and oligarchs.

Ukraine's central government and the West had condemned the balloting as a sham and a violation of international law, and they have accused Moscow of orchestrating the unrest in a possible attempt to grab another piece of the country weeks after the annexation of Crimea.

Ukraine's foreign ministry called the twin referendum a "criminal farce," while the US and other Western governments said they would not recognise the outcome.

Credit to Aljazera

SATANIST TO HOLD BLACK MASS REENACTMENT AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY MAY 12TH

Iran unveils copied US RQ-170 stealth drone

Iran has unveiled a domestically produced version of a sophisticated US drone it captured back in 2011.

The stealth drone was unveiled in an exhibition at the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Forces' Central Command, attended by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Other Iranian drones, including Shahed 129 and 125, were also on display at the exhibition.

The expo put on display the achievements of the IRGC Aerospace Forces in the design and development of drones, radars and defense systems as well as anti-ship, ballistic and anti-shield missile systems.

The US RQ-170 Sentinel was reverse-engineered by IRGC experts in about two years.

The RQ-170 is an unmanned stealth aircraft designed and developed by the Lockheed Martin Company.

The aircraft was downed with minimal damage by the Iranian Army's electronic warfare unit on December 4, 2011, while flying over the Iranian city of Kashmar, some 225 kilometers (140 miles) from the Afghan border.

At the time, US military officials tried to play the incident down, saying Iran did not have the technology to decipher its secrets.

However, Iranian experts successfully decoded data extracted from the unmanned aircraft.

Iran later released decoded video recordings obtained from the stealth drone. The recordings have been made by the drone’s underbelly camera, and include views from the area surrounding the Kandahar base, about 420 kilometers from Iran’s eastern borders in Afghanistan, as the drone is about to land.

Credit to Press TV

Japan Debt Update: ¥1,020,000,000,000,000.00 ( ¥1.02 quadrillion)

It's been a while since we looked at Japan's debt situation. Here is the dire update.

From Japan News:

Japan’s national debt totaled a record-high ¥1.02 quadrillion as of the end of March, up ¥33.36 trillion from a year earlier, the Finance Ministry said.

The central government debt, which increased ¥7.01 trillion from the end of December last year, kept rising mainly due to ballooning social security costs in line with the aging of the population.

The balance of government bonds, financing bills and other borrowing crossed the ¥1 quadrillion line for the first time ever at the end of June 2013.

The national debt stood at ¥8.06 million per capita, based on an estimated population of 127.14 million as of April 1.

Finance Minister Taro Aso said the situation has become “very severe” because of slow progress in fiscal reforms.

Of the debt, general government bonds increased ¥38.86 trillion from a year earlier to ¥743.87 trillion. Financing bills, used to procure funds for currency market intervention, totaled ¥115.69 trillion, up ¥420.8 billion.

But fiscal investment and loan program bonds, used to raise funds for loans to government affiliates, decreased ¥5.05 trillion to ¥104.21 trillion.

Long-term debt, excluding fiscal investment and loan bonds, financing bills and others, totaled ¥770.4 trillion.

* * *

So Japan's debt grew by 7 trillion in one quarter? Sure, why not. Here's why: presenting the Bank of Japan's balance sheet.

Perfectly "New", and quite sustainable, Normal.

Credit to Zero Hedge

400 Blackwater Mercs Deployed In Ukraine Against Separatists

In what is becoming a weekly ritual, the German press continues to demolish the US case of "idealistic humaniatrian" Ukraine intervention. Recall, that it was a week ago that German tabloid Bild am Sonntag, hardly the most reputable source but certainly one which reaches the broadest audience, reported that dozens of CIA and FBI agents were "advising the Ukraine government." This conclusion is hardly a stretch and certainly based on facts considering the recent semi-secret jaunt by CIA head Brennan to Kiev. Fast forward one week when overnight the same Bild reported that about 400 elite mercenary commandos of the private US security firm, Academi, f/k/a Xe Services, f/k/a Blackwater "are involved in a punitive operation mounted by Ukraine's new government" against east Ukraine separatists.

Bild cites sources who report that on April 29, Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND) informed the Angela Merkel government about Academi commandos' involvement in Kiev's military operations in eastern Ukraine. Spiegel adds that "the information originates from U.S. intelligence services and was presented during a meeting chaired by the Chancellor's Office chief Peter Altmaier (CDU). At the meeting were present the president of the intelligence agencies and the Federal Criminal Office, as well as the intelligence coordinator of the Chancellor's Office and senior Ministry officials."

Bild am Sontag did not have information about who was paying the Blackwater commandos: it is well-known they do not come cheap.

RT has more:

In March, media reports appeared suggesting that the coup-imposed government in Kiev could have employed up to 300 mercenaries.That was before the new government launched a military operation against anti-Maidan activists, or “terrorists” as Kiev put it, in southeast Ukraine.

At the time, the Russian Foreign Ministry said then that reports claiming Kiev was planning to involve “involve staff from foreign military companies to ‘ensure the rule of law,’” could suggest that it wanted “to suppress civil protests and dissatisfaction.”

In particular, Greystone Limited, which is currently registered in Barbados and is a part of Academi Corporation, is a candidate for such a gendarme role. It is a similar and probably an affiliated structure of the Blackwater private army, whose staff have been accused of cruel and systematic violations of human rights in various trouble spots on many occasions.

“Among the candidates for the role of gendarme is the Barbados-registered company Greystone Limited, which is integrated with the Academi corporation,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “It is an analogue, and, probably and affiliated body of the Blackwater private army, whose employees have repeatedly been accused of committing grievous and systematic human rights abuses in different troubled regions.”

As this is not the first time Academi has been implicated in the Ukraine, its canned response is already prepared. This is what it said back on March 17:

Some irresponsible bloggers and an online reporter have recently posted rumors that ACADEMI employees (operating under the name of Blackwater) are present in Ukraine. They are not and ACADEMI has no relationship with any entity named Blackwater or with the former owner of Blackwater, Erik Prince. Such unfounded statements combined with the lack of factual reporting to support them and the lack of context about the company, are nothing more than sensationalistic efforts to create hysteria and headlines in times of genuine crisis.

The basics: Those who understand the facts know that Erik Prince sold the company (which he had renamed 'Xe') in 2010 and retained the rights to the 'Blackwater' name. The new management of ACADEMI has made tremendous efforts to build a responsible, transparent company ethos, evidenced by the numerous awards ACADEMI has received for being among the most compliant companies in our industry. More information can be found here.

Sure enough, moments ago the soldier for hire company followed up with a second denial, when as German Zeit reported, "the U.S. security services denied a ZEIT ONLINE  report, that it has put mercenaries in Ukraine."

Of course, since no western entity, and certainly not the company itself, would ever admit its involvement in the Ukraine as it would promptly crash the official US foreign policy track claiming US non-involvement in Ukraine, none of this is surprising.

Readers may have greater luck inquiring Blackwater directly via their Twitter account. After all #AskJPM was such a smashing success we don't see a reason why #AskBlackwater wouldn't work just as well.

Finally, in this proxy war between west and east, to believe that the US won't throw everything it can at Putin is naive, and as such the involvement of trained US mercenaries in Ukraine is beyond debate.

However what is certainly surprising and far more interesting, is the persistent attempts by the German press to discredit none other than their biggest "Developed world" ally, the US. It is almost as if someone (a quite wealthy and powerful someone) has material interests that diverge with those of the Obama administration, and hence converge with those of Putin. Alongside the emerging China-Russia axis, keeping tabs on just how close to Russia Germany is willing to get, is easily the most notable story in the entire Ukraine conflict.

Credit to Zero Hedge