theduran--2020-03-08--Why do the U.S. and its allies hide these facts from the public?

The latest are document-dumps and accompanying detailed explanations and translations of the revealed documents , and are from Bonanza Media .
That ’ s a Finland-based website .
Their “ Bonanza Leaks ” on 24 February 2020 shows photos of the official transcriptions of the witnesses ’ testimony to the official Joint Investigative Team ( JIT ) which the U.S-allied Dutch Government operates in order to convict Russia for the shoot-down of the MH17 Malaysian airliner on 17 July 2014 above the civil-war zone in Ukraine .
It includes an accompanying video presentation of these documents , from a day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Bonanza Media LeaksTalk ” .
That video includes this : “ Australian police confirm that these are authentic documents ” ( in response to Bonanza Media ’ s having supplied Australian police with the photos ) , and “ these are original documents , ” which their video shows .
Then , they showed their documents to the JIT ’ s own office in Netherlands , which refused to comment .
One document , from the Director of the Military Intelligence and Security Service of the Netherlands , to the public prosecutor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Counter Terrorism , P.O .
Box 395 , 3000 AJ Rotterdam , dated 21 September 2016 , opens ( this being the official Dutch translation , but the original Dutch being also shown ) , “ Herewith , I am informing , pursuant to Section 38 of the Intelligence and Security Services Act 2002 , of data that is possibly of importance for the criminal investigation into the crashing of flight MH17.
” After stating the evidence they had accumulated from witnesses and from allied-Government intelligence agencies , this document closes : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ military intelligence agency ] draws the conclusion that from these two Russian ground based air systems near Rostov na Dona [ the only two Russian bases that possibly would have been associated with the shoot-down of the MH17 ] no missile launch took place on 17 July 2014.
” More information about the Bonanza Leaks disclosures can be found from the investigative journalist John Helmer in Moscow , headlining on February 25th , “ NATO Military Intelligence Agencies Repeatedly Reported in Secret There Was No Evidence of a Russian Buk Missile in Eastern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As I have documented on many occasions , even the JIT ’ s own ‘ case ’ against Russia , regarding the MH17 shoot-down , is founded upon and cites ‘ evidence ’ which actually disproves Russia ’ s involvement , and proves that this downing was instead a Ukrainian Government operation .
As I said at that link , “ U.S .
President Barack Obama had become desperate for something to happen that would persuade German Chancellor Angela Merkel to endorse added sanctions against Russia regarding Ukraine , but I had had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to what direct involvement , if any , he had had in the actual setting-up of the MH17 shoot-down.
” But he has hardly been alone in this effort .
Not only Barack Obama but also now Donald Trump are implicated in it — Trump for his continuing Obama ’ s guilt in it and cover-ups about it .
The U.S. is a bipartisan dictatorship .
Is that opinion ?
It is all documented , in the links .
This ( like the U.S. Government ’ s having been behind Ukraine ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still news instead of history ; but it remains news only because it still remains hidden in the U.S. and its allied regimes ; it is NOT “ opinion.
” It will remain news as long as the U.S.-and-allied blackout of the evidence remains in effect .
And the U.S. dictatorship has long been not only domestic but international as well , a dictatorship over what it calls its ‘ allies ’ and even over some countries which claim to to be ‘ neutral ’ .
Another example of this international dictatorship is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ OPCW ( Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons ) , which is really controlled by the U.S. Government , routinely lies when it needs to in order to protect the U.S. Government from being publicly revealed to have perpetrated an international war-crime .
Another example is that the U.S. Government was complicit with the Saudi Government in producing and enabling the 9/11 attacks to happen , and in blaming those attacks , and Islamic terrorism generally , upon a nation which is on friendly terms with Russia ’ s Government : Iran @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might have been informed in advance that the attacks were going to happen , no evidence exists that they were involved in funding and planning the operation , but Saudi Arabia was . )
Another example is that the U.S. Government has been hiring and arming Al Qaeda in Syria as its main force to lead the overthrow of Syria ’ s Government , and America ’ s European allies have provided crucial help to that effort .
Another example is that the entire case for sanctions against Russia is pure lies .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ novichok ’ 4 March 2018 Salisbury England poisoning of the Russian-British double-agent Sergei Skripal and of his visiting daughter Yulia was never conclusively sourced as having been at all a Russian operation ; and both of the victims are being held against their wills in UK though they seem to want to return to Russia , but are prohibited from being able to communicate to the public or to answer any questions out of the presence of their British and American holders ( basically being imprisoned by UK without any trial and with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Julian Assange has been imprisoned in various places in England for around ten years before finally getting a show-trial hearing recently in order to enable him to be extradited for final intended destruction in the U.S. , whereas the Skripals have been totally blocked from public access now for around two years .
In both instances , the ‘ news ’ is not seriously credible .
As John Helmer concludes at the very end of his comprehensive recently released book Skripal in Prison , “ If Sergei and Yulia Skripal are not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Putin ’ s question [ ‘ What kind of information can he possess ?
’ ] , the British are answering the question themselves .
In the imprisonment of the Skripals to this day , there is the proof that it was not the Russians who attacked them two years ago.
” Chapter 23 of Helmer ’ s book is a reprint of his 8 December 2019 online article , “ The Skripals Under US Control at a USAF Nuclear Bomber Base in Fairford , Gloucestershire ” , and it clearly proves the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ imprisonment .
Such U.S. involvement does not fit , at all , with the propagandized ‘ news ’ reports about the Skripal case .
Obviously , that smear against Russia ’ s Government is just another in a long list of such deceptions by the U.S. and its allied governments .
Another example is that the U.S. Government lied about WMD in Iraq , and it lied about Russiagate , but those were lies which were actually for the opposed two factions of America ’ s billionaires ( Democratic Party billionaires versus Republican @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the billionaires , against each other , is behind the Government ’ s lying and counter-lying .
It just confuses the American public , while doing nothing to stop the mass-deceptions that distract all of the public from the abuses against the non-billionaire public , by all of the billionaires , of both of the billionaires ’ political Parties .
On Iraq , invading and occupying it was supported almost 100 % by congressional Republicans , voting to back a Republican President ( while 56 % of Democratic Senators did , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , on the Russiagate impeachment-effort against President Trump , which after the Mueller Report became switched to Ukrainegate ( which likewise was anti-Russia ) , nearly 100 % of Democrats voted Yea , and nearly 100 % of Republicans voted Nay .
Similarly , back in 1998 , almost 100 % of Democrats voted against impeaching Bill Clnton , and almost 100 % of Republicans voted for his impeachment .
Truth in both cases was totally sacrificed , especially because neither of those Presidents was being charged with what was actually the given @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only minor and dubious grounds were being presented for the President ’ s removal in each of the two cases .
For a long time now , U.S. politics is only a squabble between Republican billionaires and Democratic billionaires , while the country itself just decays , from policies that one or the other factions of America ’ s aristocracy end up imposing upon the entire Government .
This is not reportable in America ’ s mainstream media , though all of it is factual and is so deeply documented as to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ constitutes “ news ” in such a country ?
Only what satisfies the needs of its dictators .
And that ’ s the least-reportable fact of all .
Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author , most recently , of They ’ re Not Even Close : The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records , 1910-2010 , and of CHRIST ’ S VENTRILOQUISTS : The Event that Created Christianity .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Eric Zuesse, originally posted at Strategic Culture
The latest are document-dumps and accompanying detailed explanations and translations of the revealed documents, and are from Bonanza Media. That’s a Finland-based website. Their “Bonanza Leaks” on 24 February 2020 shows photos of the official transcriptions of the witnesses’ testimony to the official Joint Investigative Team (JIT) which the U.S-allied Dutch Government operates in order to convict Russia for the shoot-down of the MH17 Malaysian airliner on 17 July 2014 above the civil-war zone in Ukraine. It includes an accompanying video presentation of these documents, from a day earlier, on February 23rd, titled “Bonanza Media LeaksTalk”. That video includes this: “Australian police confirm that these are authentic documents” (in response to Bonanza Media’s having supplied Australian police with the photos), and “these are original documents,” which their video shows. Then, they showed their documents to the JIT’s own office in Netherlands, which refused to comment. One document, from the Director of the Military Intelligence and Security Service of the Netherlands, to the public prosecutor of the National Prosecutor’s Office on Counter Terrorism, P.O. Box 395, 3000 AJ Rotterdam, dated 21 September 2016, opens (this being the official Dutch translation, but the original Dutch being also shown), “Herewith, I am informing, pursuant to Section 38 of the Intelligence and Security Services Act 2002, of data that is possibly of importance for the criminal investigation into the crashing of flight MH17.” After stating the evidence they had accumulated from witnesses and from allied-Government intelligence agencies, this document closes: “On this basis MIVD [Dutch military intelligence agency] draws the conclusion that from these two Russian ground based air systems near Rostov na Dona [the only two Russian bases that possibly would have been associated with the shoot-down of the MH17] no missile launch took place on 17 July 2014.” More information about the Bonanza Leaks disclosures can be found from the investigative journalist John Helmer in Moscow, headlining on February 25th, “NATO Military Intelligence Agencies Repeatedly Reported in Secret There Was No Evidence of a Russian Buk Missile in Eastern Ukraine or Firing on MH17”.
As I have documented on many occasions, even the JIT’s own ‘case’ against Russia, regarding the MH17 shoot-down, is founded upon and cites ‘evidence’ which actually disproves Russia’s involvement, and proves that this downing was instead a Ukrainian Government operation. As I said at that link, “U.S. President Barack Obama had become desperate for something to happen that would persuade German Chancellor Angela Merkel to endorse added sanctions against Russia regarding Ukraine, but I had had no idea, until now, as to what direct involvement, if any, he had had in the actual setting-up of the MH17 shoot-down.” But he has hardly been alone in this effort. Not only Barack Obama but also now Donald Trump are implicated in it — Trump for his continuing Obama’s guilt in it and cover-ups about it.
The U.S. is a bipartisan dictatorship. Is that opinion? It is all documented, in the links. This (like the U.S. Government’s having been behind Ukraine’s downing of the MH17) is therefore still news instead of history; but it remains news only because it still remains hidden in the U.S. and its allied regimes; it is NOT “opinion.” It will remain news as long as the U.S.-and-allied blackout of the evidence remains in effect. And the U.S. dictatorship has long been not only domestic but international as well, a dictatorship over what it calls its ‘allies’ and even over some countries which claim to to be ‘neutral’.
Another example of this international dictatorship is that the supposedly U.N.-authorized and not U.S.-controlled OPCW (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons), which is really controlled by the U.S. Government, routinely lies when it needs to in order to protect the U.S. Government from being publicly revealed to have perpetrated an international war-crime.
Another example is that the U.S. Government was complicit with the Saudi Government in producing and enabling the 9/11 attacks to happen, and in blaming those attacks, and Islamic terrorism generally, upon a nation which is on friendly terms with Russia’s Government: Iran. (Though Israel’s Government might have been informed in advance that the attacks were going to happen, no evidence exists that they were involved in funding and planning the operation, but Saudi Arabia was.)
Another example is that the U.S. Government has been hiring and arming Al Qaeda in Syria as its main force to lead the overthrow of Syria’s Government, and America’s European allies have provided crucial help to that effort.
Another example is that the entire case for sanctions against Russia is pure lies.
Furthermore, the much-publicized British-alleged ‘Russian novichok’ 4 March 2018 Salisbury England poisoning of the Russian-British double-agent Sergei Skripal and of his visiting daughter Yulia was never conclusively sourced as having been at all a Russian operation; and both of the victims are being held against their wills in UK though they seem to want to return to Russia, but are prohibited from being able to communicate to the public or to answer any questions out of the presence of their British and American holders (basically being imprisoned by UK without any trial and with not even an appearance in court). Julian Assange has been imprisoned in various places in England for around ten years before finally getting a show-trial hearing recently in order to enable him to be extradited for final intended destruction in the U.S., whereas the Skripals have been totally blocked from public access now for around two years. In both instances, the ‘news’ is not seriously credible. As John Helmer concludes at the very end of his comprehensive recently released book Skripal in Prison, “If Sergei and Yulia Skripal are not allowed by the British services to answer Putin’s question [‘What kind of information can he possess?’], the British are answering the question themselves. In the imprisonment of the Skripals to this day, there is the proof that it was not the Russians who attacked them two years ago.” Chapter 23 of Helmer’s book is a reprint of his 8 December 2019 online article, “The Skripals Under US Control at a USAF Nuclear Bomber Base in Fairford, Gloucestershire”, and it clearly proves the U.S. Government’s participation in their imprisonment. Such U.S. involvement does not fit, at all, with the propagandized ‘news’ reports about the Skripal case. Obviously, that smear against Russia’s Government is just another in a long list of such deceptions by the U.S. and its allied governments.
Another example is that the U.S. Government lied about WMD in Iraq, and it lied about Russiagate, but those were lies which were actually for the opposed two factions of America’s billionaires (Democratic Party billionaires versus Republican Party billionaires), and this factionalism by the billionaires, against each other, is behind the Government’s lying and counter-lying. It just confuses the American public, while doing nothing to stop the mass-deceptions that distract all of the public from the abuses against the non-billionaire public, by all of the billionaires, of both of the billionaires’ political Parties. On Iraq, invading and occupying it was supported almost 100% by congressional Republicans, voting to back a Republican President (while 56% of Democratic Senators did, but 44% did not). However, on the Russiagate impeachment-effort against President Trump, which after the Mueller Report became switched to Ukrainegate (which likewise was anti-Russia), nearly 100% of Democrats voted Yea, and nearly 100% of Republicans voted Nay. Similarly, back in 1998, almost 100% of Democrats voted against impeaching Bill Clnton, and almost 100% of Republicans voted for his impeachment. Truth in both cases was totally sacrificed, especially because neither of those Presidents was being charged with what was actually the given President’s most harmful actions; only minor and dubious grounds were being presented for the President’s removal in each of the two cases. For a long time now, U.S. politics is only a squabble between Republican billionaires and Democratic billionaires, while the country itself just decays, from policies that one or the other factions of America’s aristocracy end up imposing upon the entire Government.
This is not reportable in America’s mainstream media, though all of it is factual and is so deeply documented as to be almost beyond any reasonable dispute.
What constitutes “news” in such a country? Only what satisfies the needs of its dictators. And that’s the least-reportable fact of all.
—————
Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of They’re Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010, and of CHRIST’S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity.
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theduran--2020-03-08--A nervous MbS locks up brother in Saudi palace purge (Video)

The Duran ’ s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss the arrest , via a dramatic morning home raid , of King Salman ’ s brother , Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz al Saud , and Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz al Saud .
Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is nervous and tying up loose ends , perhaps in fear that those around him are plotting for his removal ?
Subscribe to The Duran on YouTube – Find us on BitChute .
The Duran Audio Podcast : Follow on Soundcloud – Subscribe on iTunes .
Yesterday we predicted a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shakedown of 2017 after a dramatic Friday morning raid on the homes of King Salman ’ s brother , Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz al Saud , and Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz al Saud .
All eyes are on the spread of the deadly coronavirus , so what better time to initiate a broader crackdown ( or at least dramatically restart the 2017-2018 purge ) , than when world leaders are distracted by making sure their societies survive a potential apocalyptic pandemic ?
The pair , which happen to be the kingdom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from MbS , having both in the past been in charge of Saudi armed forces and intelligence in the post of Interior Minister , were arrested for allegedly plotting a coup to unseat the king and crown prince .
Of course any level of evidence was not forthcoming .
Treason could bring the death penalty .
It appears the resumption of MbS ’ purge of any power rivals or centers of influence is back on after a year-long lull following the Oct. 2018 murder and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi is officially back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has embarked on a broad security crackdown by rounding up royal rivals , government officials and military officers in an effort to quash potential challenges to his power , Saudi royals and advisers familiar with the matter said Saturday.
” This includes “ dozens of Interior Ministry officials , senior army officers and others suspected of supporting a coup attempt… ” .
With Gov .
Cuomo declaring New York in a ‘ state of emergency ’ Saturday after a new spike in Covid-19 cases , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made a dent in terms of competing with the dozens of coronavirus headlines this weekend .
And yet hundreds of princes and high Saudi officials are now experiencing chills of a very different sort : MbS suddenly has an overwhelming outpouring of public “ support ” by nervous allies within the royal family , the WSJ reports further .
One Saudi government official told the Journal it ’ s still a mystery as to why black-clad and masked commandos showed up to haul bin Nayef and Prince Ahmed away early Friday morning .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ day earlier , so he is OK and none of us are aware of any plans of abdication , ” the anonymous Saudi government adviser said .
“ The trigger for the arrests is still a mystery .
”

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
The Duran’s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss the arrest, via a dramatic morning home raid, of King Salman’s brother, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz al Saud, and Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz al Saud.
Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is nervous and tying up loose ends, perhaps in fear that those around him are plotting for his removal?
Support Free Speech:
Subscribe to The Duran on YouTube – Find us on BitChute.
The Duran Audio Podcast:
Follow on Soundcloud – Subscribe on iTunes.
Via Zerohedge…
Yesterday we predicted a return to MbS’ infamous Ritz-Carlton Riyadh shakedown of 2017 after a dramatic Friday morning raid on the homes of King Salman’s brother, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz al Saud, and Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz al Saud.
All eyes are on the spread of the deadly coronavirus, so what better time to initiate a broader crackdown (or at least dramatically restart the 2017-2018 purge), than when world leaders are distracted by making sure their societies survive a potential apocalyptic pandemic?
The pair, which happen to be the kingdom’s top most powerful royals aside from MbS, having both in the past been in charge of Saudi armed forces and intelligence in the post of Interior Minister, were arrested for allegedly plotting a coup to unseat the king and crown prince. Of course any level of evidence was not forthcoming. Treason could bring the death penalty.
It appears the resumption of MbS’ purge of any power rivals or centers of influence is back on after a year-long lull following the Oct. 2018 murder and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi is officially back on.
The WSJ reports: “Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has embarked on a broad security crackdown by rounding up royal rivals, government officials and military officers in an effort to quash potential challenges to his power, Saudi royals and advisers familiar with the matter said Saturday.”
This includes “dozens of Interior Ministry officials, senior army officers and others suspected of supporting a coup attempt…”.
With Gov. Cuomo declaring New York in a ‘state of emergency’ Saturday after a new spike in Covid-19 cases, the crackdown in the Saudi kingdom has barely made a dent in terms of competing with the dozens of coronavirus headlines this weekend.
And yet hundreds of princes and high Saudi officials are now experiencing chills of a very different sort:
The security sweep has sent a chill across the leadership of Saudi Arabia, where Prince Mohammed has spent three years consolidating power in anticipation of his expected ascension to the throne when 84-year-old King Salman dies, or if he decides to abdicate.
MbS suddenly has an overwhelming outpouring of public “support” by nervous allies within the royal family, the WSJ reports further.
One Saudi government official told the Journal it’s still a mystery as to why black-clad and masked commandos showed up to haul bin Nayef and Prince Ahmed away early Friday morning.
“The king was seen just a day earlier, so he is OK and none of us are aware of any plans of abdication,” the anonymous Saudi government adviser said. “The trigger for the arrests is still a mystery.”
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theduran--2020-03-08--Russia Just Told the World, “No.”

Russia Just Told the World, “No.”

There is real power in the word “ No.
” In fact , I ’ d argue that it is the single most powerful word in any language .
In the midst of the worst market meltdown in a dozen years which has at its source problems within global dollar-funding markets , Russia found itself in the position to exercise the Power of No .
Multiple overlapping crises are happening worldwide right now and they all interlock into a fabric of chaos .
Between political instability in Europe , presidential primary shenanigans in the U.S. , coronavirus creating mass hysteria @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Syria , the eastern Mediterranean and Libya , markets are finally calling the bluff of central bankers who have been propping up asset prices for years .
But , at its core , the current crisis stems from the simple truth that those prices around the world are vastly overvalued .
Western government and central bank policies have used the power of the dollar to push the world to this state .
And that state is , at best , meta-stable .
But when this number of shits get this freaking real , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And all it took to push a correction into a full-scale panic was the Russians saying , “ No.
” The reality has been evident in the commodity markets for months .
Copper and other industrial metals have all been in slumps while equity markets zoomed higher .
But it was oil that was the most confounding of all .
Most of 2019 we saw oil prices behaving oddly as events occurred with regularity to push prices higher but ultimately see them fall .
Since peaking after the killing of Iranian General Qassem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trade .
Down .
Our inept leaders are trying to blame coronavirus as the proximate cause for all of the market ’ s jitters .
But that masks the truth .
The problems have been there for months , pushed to the back burner by incessant Fed intervention in the dollar-funding markets .
The 2008 financial crisis was never dealt with , just papered over .
The repo crisis of last September never ended , it ’ s still there .
And it reappeared with ferocity this week as people sold dollars and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the long end of the curve to absurd levels .
Credit markets are melting down .
Stock markets are the tail , credit markets are the dog .
And this dog was run over by a bus .
The Fed intervenes to keep short term interest rates from rising to preserve the fiction it is still in control .
The market wants higher rates for short-term access to dollars .
The Fed tried to help by cutting rates by 0.5 % but all that did was tell people the Fed was as scared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and gold bounced back to it ’ s recent high near $ 1690 , only to be swatted down on the New York open this morning .
And into this mess OPEC tried to save itself by asking for a historic production cut .
OPEC needs this cut to remain relevant .
The cartel is dying .
It ’ s been dying for years , kept on life support by Russia ’ s willingness to trade favors to achieve other geostrategic goals .
I ’ ve said before that OPEC production cuts are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cuts are not inflationary during crisis periods .
But finally Russia said No .
And they didn ’ t equivocate .
They told everyone they are prepared for lower oil prices .
There comes a point where negotiating with your adversaries ends , where someone finally says , “ Enough.
” Russia has been attacked mercilessly by the West for the crime of being Russia .
And I ’ ve documented nearly every twist and turn of how they have skillfully buttressed their position waiting for the right moment to get maximum return @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And , to me , this was that perfect moment for them to finally say “ No , ” to get maximum effect .
When dealing with a more-powerful enemy you have to target where they are most vulnerable to inflict the most damage .
For the West that place is in the financial markets .
Remember , the first basic fact of economics .
Prices are set at the margin .
The only price that matters is the last one recorded .
That price sets the cost for the next unit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a barrel of oil , up for sale .
In a world of cartelized markets the world over , where prices are set by external actors , it is easy to forget that in the real economy ( regardless of your political persuasion ) the world is an auction and everything is up for bid .
So , the most important geostrategic question is , “ Who produces the marginal barrel of oil ?
” For more than three years now , President Trump has supported his policy of Energy Dominance in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that supplier .
Trillions of dollars have been spent on building up domestic production to their current , unsustainable levels .
This policy pre-dates Trump , certainly , but he has been its most ardent pursuer of it , sanctioning and embargoing everyone he can to keep them off the bid .
What he could never do , however , was push Russia off that bid .
The reason U.S. production rates are unsustainable is because their costs are higher per barrel than the marginal price especially when all other prices are deflating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they were , on balance , profitable then the industry as a whole would not have burned through a few hundred billion in free cash flow over the past decade .
That ’ s where the Russians ’ power comes from .
Russia is one of the lowest cost producers in the world .
Even after paying their taxes to the government their costs are far lower , close to $ 20 per barrel break-even point , than anyone else in the world when one factors in external costs .
When you don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ free to tell them , “ No.
” Sure , the Saudis produce at similar cash costs to the Russians but once you factor in its budgetary needs , the numbers aren ’ t even close as they need something closer to $ 85 per barrel .
They can ’ t tell their people , “ No , ” you have to do without .
Because the populace will revolt .
Russia can ride out , if not thrive , in this low price regime because : • the ruble floats to absorb @ @ @ @ @ @ @ majority of their oil is now sold in non-dollar currencies – rubles , yuan , euros , etc .
– to lessen their exposure to capital outflows • the major oil firms have little dollar-denominated debt • its primary governmental budget ebbs and flows with oil prices .
All of this adds up to Russia holding the whip hand over the global market for oil .
The ability to say , “ No.
” And they will have it for years to come as U.S. production implodes .
Because they can and do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That is why oil prices plunged as much as 10 % into today ’ s close on the news they would not cut production .
There is a cascade lurking beneath this market .
There is a lot of bank and pension fund exposure in the U.S. to what is now soon-to-be non-performing fracking debt .
Liquidations will begin in earnest later this year .
But the market is handicapping this now .
I can not overstate how important and far-reaching this move by Russia is .
If they don ’ t make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
If they do make a deal it will come with strings that ensure pressure is lifted in other areas of stress for them .
The knock-on effects of oil plunging from $ 70 per barrel to $ 45 over two months will be felt for months , if not years .
And it is no shock to me that Russia held their water here .
If they didn ’ t , I would have been surprised .
This was Putin ’ s opportunity to finally strike back at Russia ’ s tormentors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behavior in places like Iran , Iraq , Syria , Ukraine , Yemen , Venezuela and Afghanistan .
He is now in a position to extract maximum concessions from the U.S. and the OPEC nations who are supporting U.S. belligerence against Russia ’ s allies in China , Iran and Syria .
We saw the beginnings of this in his dealings with Turkish President Erdogan in Moscow , extracting a ceasefire agreement that was nothing short of a Turkish surrender .
Erdogan asked to be saved from his own stupidity and Russia said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ producing the marginal barrel of oil in a deflationary world places Russia in the driver ’ s seat to drive U.S. foreign policy behavior in an election year .
Talk about meddling in our elections !
The Achilles ’ heel of the U.S. empire is the debt .
The dollar has been its greatest weapon and it is still king .
And it is a weapon with a great deal of power but wielded only against the U.S. ’ s allies , not Russia .
Markets will adjust and calm down in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But it will come back soon enough in a more virulent form .
Today is a replay of 2007-08 but this time Russia is far better prepared to fight back .
And when that happens , I suspect it won ’ t be the Saudis or the Turks that come running to Russia to save them , but the U.S. and Europe .
At which point , I have to wonder if Putin will channel his inner Rorschach .
Join My Patreon because you like saying No to Empire and Lies .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ just say no to Google and Big Tech tyranny .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Authored by Tom Luongo via Gold, Goats ‘n Guns blog:
There is real power in the word “No.”
In fact, I’d argue that it is the single most powerful word in any language.
In the midst of the worst market meltdown in a dozen years which has at its source problems within global dollar-funding markets, Russia found itself in the position to exercise the Power of No.
Multiple overlapping crises are happening worldwide right now and they all interlock into a fabric of chaos.
Between political instability in Europe, presidential primary shenanigans in the U.S., coronavirus creating mass hysteria and Turkey’s military adventurism in Syria, the eastern Mediterranean and Libya, markets are finally calling the bluff of central bankers who have been propping up asset prices for years.
But, at its core, the current crisis stems from the simple truth that those prices around the world are vastly overvalued.
Western government and central bank policies have used the power of the dollar to push the world to this state.
And that state is, at best, meta-stable.
But when this number of shits get this freaking real, well… meeting the fan was inevitable.
And all it took to push a correction into a full-scale panic was the Russians saying, “No.”
The reality has been evident in the commodity markets for months. Copper and other industrial metals have all been in slumps while equity markets zoomed higher.
But it was oil that was the most confounding of all.
Most of 2019 we saw oil prices behaving oddly as events occurred with regularity to push prices higher but ultimately see them fall.
Since peaking after the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani oil prices have been a one-way trade. Down.
Our inept leaders are trying to blame coronavirus as the proximate cause for all of the market’s jitters.
But that masks the truth. The problems have been there for months, pushed to the back burner by incessant Fed intervention in the dollar-funding markets.
The 2008 financial crisis was never dealt with, just papered over.
The repo crisis of last September never ended, it’s still there.
And it reappeared with ferocity this week as people sold dollars and bought U.S. treasuries pushing U.S. yields on the long end of the curve to absurd levels.
Credit markets are melting down. Stock markets are the tail, credit markets are the dog. And this dog was run over by a bus.
The Fed intervenes to keep short term interest rates from rising to preserve the fiction it is still in control.
The market wants higher rates for short-term access to dollars.
The Fed tried to help by cutting rates by 0.5% but all that did was tell people the Fed was as scared as they were. The selling resumed and gold bounced back to it’s recent high near $1690, only to be swatted down on the New York open this morning.
That didn’t work either.
OOPS!
And into this mess OPEC tried to save itself by asking for a historic production cut.
OPEC needs this cut to remain relevant. The cartel is dying. It’s been dying for years, kept on life support by Russia’s willingness to trade favors to achieve other geostrategic goals.
I’ve said before that OPEC production cuts are not bullish for oil just like rate cuts are not inflationary during crisis periods.
But finally Russia said No. And they didn’t equivocate. They told everyone they are prepared for lower oil prices.
“Regarding cuts in production, given today’s decision, from April 1, no one — neither OPEC countries nor OPEC+ countries — are obliged to lower production,” he told reporters after the meeting. OPEC’s Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo said the meeting had been adjourned, although consultations would continue. “At the end of the day, it was the general, painful decision of the joint conference to adjourn the meeting,” he told reporters. Earlier, Oanda analyst Edward Moya had suggested that a failure to reach an agreement could spell the end of OPEC+. “No-deal OPEC+ means the three-year experiment is over. OPEC+ is dead. The Saudis are all-in on stabling oil prices and they may need to do something extraordinary,” he said.
There comes a point where negotiating with your adversaries ends, where someone finally says, “Enough.” Russia has been attacked mercilessly by the West for the crime of being Russia.
And I’ve documented nearly every twist and turn of how they have skillfully buttressed their position waiting for the right moment to get maximum return to reverse the tables on their tormentors.
And, to me, this was that perfect moment for them to finally say “No,” to get maximum effect.
When dealing with a more-powerful enemy you have to target where they are most vulnerable to inflict the most damage.
For the West that place is in the financial markets.
Remember, the first basic fact of economics. Prices are set at the margin. The only price that matters is the last one recorded.
That price sets the cost for the next unit of that good, in this case a barrel of oil, up for sale.
In a world of cartelized markets the world over, where prices are set by external actors, it is easy to forget that in the real economy (regardless of your political persuasion) the world is an auction and everything is up for bid.
High bid wins.
So, the most important geostrategic question is, “Who produces the marginal barrel of oil?”
For more than three years now, President Trump has supported his policy of Energy Dominance in a Quixotic quest for the U.S. to become that supplier. Trillions of dollars have been spent on building up domestic production to their current, unsustainable levels.
This policy pre-dates Trump, certainly, but he has been its most ardent pursuer of it, sanctioning and embargoing everyone he can to keep them off the bid.
What he could never do, however, was push Russia off that bid.
The reason U.S. production rates are unsustainable is because their costs are higher per barrel than the marginal price especially when all other prices are deflating. Simple, straightforward economics.
If they were, on balance, profitable then the industry as a whole would not have burned through a few hundred billion in free cash flow over the past decade.
That’s where the Russians’ power comes from. Russia is one of the lowest cost producers in the world. Even after paying their taxes to the government their costs are far lower, close to $20 per barrel break-even point, than anyone else in the world when one factors in external costs.
When you don’t owe anyone anything you are free to tell them, “No.”
Sure, the Saudis produce at similar cash costs to the Russians but once you factor in its budgetary needs, the numbers aren’t even close as they need something closer to $85 per barrel.
They can’t tell their people, “No,” you have to do without. Because the populace will revolt.
Russia can ride out, if not thrive, in this low price regime because :
the ruble floats to absorb price shocks in dollars. A majority of their oil is now sold in non-dollar currencies – rubles, yuan, euros, etc. – to lessen their exposure to capital outflows the major oil firms have little dollar-denominated debt low extraction costs. its primary governmental budget ebbs and flows with oil prices.
All of this adds up to Russia holding the whip hand over the global market for oil.
The ability to say, “No.”
And they will have it for years to come as U.S. production implodes. Because they can and do produce the marginal barrel of oil.
That is why oil prices plunged as much as 10% into today’s close on the news they would not cut production.
There is a cascade lurking beneath this market. There is a lot of bank and pension fund exposure in the U.S. to what is now soon-to-be non-performing fracking debt.
Liquidations will begin in earnest later this year.
But the market is handicapping this now.
I cannot overstate how important and far-reaching this move by Russia is. If they don’t make a deal here they can break OPEC. If they do make a deal it will come with strings that ensure pressure is lifted in other areas of stress for them.
The knock-on effects of oil plunging from $70 per barrel to $45 over two months will be felt for months, if not years.
And it is no shock to me that Russia held their water here. If they didn’t, I would have been surprised.
This was Putin’s opportunity to finally strike back at Russia’s tormentors and inflict real pain for their unscrupulous behavior in places like Iran, Iraq, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, Venezuela and Afghanistan.
He is now in a position to extract maximum concessions from the U.S. and the OPEC nations who are supporting U.S. belligerence against Russia’s allies in China, Iran and Syria.
We saw the beginnings of this in his dealings with Turkish President Erdogan in Moscow, extracting a ceasefire agreement that was nothing short of a Turkish surrender.
Erdogan asked to be saved from his own stupidity and Russia said, “No.”
This condition of producing the marginal barrel of oil in a deflationary world places Russia in the driver’s seat to drive U.S. foreign policy behavior in an election year.
Talk about meddling in our elections!
The Achilles’ heel of the U.S. empire is the debt. The dollar has been its greatest weapon and it is still king. And it is a weapon with a great deal of power but wielded only against the U.S.’s allies, not Russia.
Markets will adjust and calm down in a few days. The panic will subside. But it will come back soon enough in a more virulent form. Today is a replay of 2007-08 but this time Russia is far better prepared to fight back.
And when that happens, I suspect it won’t be the Saudis or the Turks that come running to Russia to save them, but the U.S. and Europe.
At which point, I have to wonder if Putin will channel his inner Rorschach.
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theduran--2020-03-08--The Future of the Afghan “Peace Deal”

The Future of the Afghan “Peace Deal”

The strategic picture in South Asia has shifted dramatically with two linked events , the Afghan “ peace deal ” and the deal with India .
The looming shadow over the peace deal has always been Pakistan .
For decades , Pakistan has leveraged their status with the US as a frontline state to extract immensely powerful weapons systems well above their status as a debtor nation .
The relationship had the US taxpayer shelling out hundreds of billions of dollars for relatively little in return .
The “ peace deal ” is no deal and will not deliver peace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is looking for .
What it does accomplish is to open a door for the US to exit and award India with front line state status in what the Trump administration sees as confrontation with China .
Pakistan may have been somewhat useful in the Cold War against the Soviet Union , but they are clearly worthless as a client state of China .
The Trump White House is not interested in a partner trying to straddle the China/US confrontation now developing .
At the same time they want to dump the expensive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meager bones of Afghanistan while feeding Pakistan to fight against us .
Pakistan ’ s friends in STATE are now a cadre of dead enders .
Almost all of them are Clintonistas .
So jezail.org bids them all a not-so-fond-farewell .
India is a vastly superior partner to Pakistan .
It has a real economy instead of a basket case debtor economy and it has a real common interest in its ’ concern about their neighbor China with whom they have fought a war .
Unlike Pakistan , they can actually pay for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without depending on the US to prop up their economy and shower them with billions of taxpayer dollars .
India has also stopped buying oil from Iran and now purchases that oil from the US .
They will also be purchasing LNG and coal in an enormous package that promises to benefit the US economy .
They also have strategically located naval bases , most importantly guarding the Straits of Malacca .
India ’ s location gives much greater strategic reach into the Pacific than Pakistan could ever have offered .
The key @ @ @ @ @ @ @ peace deal is not just about firing Bolton .
Although his absence is definitely a benefit , it is the deals struck with India that are game changers .
The war in Afghanistan went on for as long as it did because it benefitted bureaucrats , policy makers and military professionals as well as the military and civilian contractors .
It is a form of largely legalized corruption .
Many quiet deals were struck with Pakistan over many years .
The end game was to deliver Afghanistan to Pakistani appetites .
It was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one form or another .
But the total net worth of deals with Pakistan could never be greater than any deal with India .
Almost all of the Pakistani arrangements were underwritten by the US in shady aid packages and unaccountable “ loans ” .
Previous Washington DC career bets were on Pakistan expanding and thriving .
It didn ’ t happen that way and all the phony think tanks in Washington can ’ t make it even seem that way .
The Pakistan constituency at STATE stayed there because China was to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Belt and Road initiative .
There were a lot of people in Foggy Bottom who liked the Afghan war because Pakistan was thriving on it as well as opening a door to profitable Chinese deals for many former US diplomats and spies .
Now China has been showing Americans the door .
As American diplomats are ending an era of wonton checkbook diplomacy in Pakistan , they leave delivering on a promise , Afghanistan looks to Pakistan like a rabbit before a snake .
So a result of the US pullout from Afghanistan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ push to swallow up as much of Afghanistan as it can get away with .
Jezail.org has covered this ground before but the larger picture may well be that Pakistan will get sucked into a war that neither the Soviet Union nor the US could win .
“ Fools rush in where angels fear to tread ” .
Pakistani villains may as well .
For India , that may mean breathing space from continued terror attacks from a distracted Pakistan .
This is still a matter of speculation and only time and events @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mercurial change in US strategic posture by “ making a deal ” with India .
In fact , many deals have been made and Mr. Trump merely put his prestige bets on them signaling a long over due strategic change for America .
The total value of the deals is estimated to be about $ 142 billion .
By contrast , Pakistan is still an economic basket case .
There ’ s nothing quite like money to drain a swamp .
Throwing defense money in a different direction is not the best way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likely to be effective .
Unlike Trump ’ s other diplomatic attempts in Korea and Syria , this deal has a profound economic underpinning .
It is the Indian “ deal ” that makes this Trump move out of Afghanistan different and jezail.org believes that there is a reason for the two events to happen back to back .
They are connected .
We are keeping our fingers crossed that it works .
But the devil is always found in the details and those details will not be found in the wording of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Taliban .
That is a purely cosmetic document .
It basically declares this in the first sentence .
The US doesn ’ t even recognize the entity it is signing with .
The agreement may be a meaningless piece of paper but it is America ’ s ticket out of a war that has gone on far too long .
It is looking like it may be over and history is moving on .
However there are significant dark sides waiting in the shadows of the future of the US/India relationship .
Even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of tens of thousands of Indians , organized riots were underway that have been revealed to be BJP organized pogroms .
New fighting and bombings have occurred in Afghanistan .
The fate of those Afghans who worked with the US to fight the Taliban looks grim .
What a US pullout leaves behind is a civil war , backed by Pakistan that was frozen in 2002 when the US invaded .
The longer wars last , the uglier they become .
The Afghan civil war is very old .
Its ’ underlying ethnic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ triggering a Soviet invasion to “ stabilize ” Afghanistan .
Those issues remain unresolved .
Afghans have historically looked to outside forces to deliver them from precarious situations and other neighboring countries may become sucked in as they have in the past .
India , which has long had good relations with its ’ Muslim neighbors , other than Pakistan , is already becoming more distant from them .
The Delhi pogrom has triggered a number of diplomatic messages of concern from several regional Muslim countries .
The harshest came from Iran which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cease buying Irani oil .
This puts a serious dent in Iran ’ s already ailing economy .
The development of the port of Chabahar has slowed to a crawl .
The dominant role of the US defense industry in the US/India relationship will likely continue the American foreign policy habit of searching for enemies and inventing them where they can not find any .
Developing consortiums like Boing/Mahindra in India may well result in money flowing into Indian polity and influencing it in a manner similar to how it works the US @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an uncharacteristic strong man style of leadership for India and the BJP party is well known as cold blooded pragmatists unafraid of violence .
They proved it once again in Delhi .
So American investors are still probably safe in “ defense ” stocks and death merchants win again .
But the “ product ” will always be the same .
Regards to All , We mean to hold people accountable We name names , not just policies

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
The strategic picture in South Asia has shifted dramatically with two linked events, the Afghan “peace deal” and the deal with India. The looming shadow over the peace deal has always been Pakistan. For decades, Pakistan has leveraged their status with the US as a frontline state to extract immensely powerful weapons systems well above their status as a debtor nation. The relationship had the US taxpayer shelling out hundreds of billions of dollars for relatively little in return. The “peace deal” is no deal and will not deliver peace. That is not what Mr. Trump is looking for. What it does accomplish is to open a door for the US to exit and award India with front line state status in what the Trump administration sees as confrontation with China. Pakistan may have been somewhat useful in the Cold War against the Soviet Union, but they are clearly worthless as a client state of China. The Trump White House is not interested in a partner trying to straddle the China/US confrontation now developing. At the same time they want to dump the expensive charade of the US fighting over the meager bones of Afghanistan while feeding Pakistan to fight against us. Pakistan’s friends in STATE are now a cadre of dead enders. Almost all of them are Clintonistas. So jezail.org bids them all a not-so-fond-farewell.
India is a vastly superior partner to Pakistan. It has a real economy instead of a basket case debtor economy and it has a real common interest in its’ concern about their neighbor China with whom they have fought a war. Unlike Pakistan, they can actually pay for the weapons they buy from the US without depending on the US to prop up their economy and shower them with billions of taxpayer dollars. India has also stopped buying oil from Iran and now purchases that oil from the US. They will also be purchasing LNG and coal in an enormous package that promises to benefit the US economy. They also have strategically located naval bases, most importantly guarding the Straits of Malacca. India’s location gives much greater strategic reach into the Pacific than Pakistan could ever have offered.
The key consideration for the viability of the Afghan peace deal is not just about firing Bolton. Although his absence is definitely a benefit, it is the deals struck with India that are game changers. The war in Afghanistan went on for as long as it did because it benefitted bureaucrats, policy makers and military professionals as well as the military and civilian contractors. It is a form of largely legalized corruption. Many quiet deals were struck with Pakistan over many years. The end game was to deliver Afghanistan to Pakistani appetites. It was all well represented on K street in one form or another. But the total net worth of deals with Pakistan could never be greater than any deal with India. Almost all of the Pakistani arrangements were underwritten by the US in shady aid packages and unaccountable “loans”. Previous Washington DC career bets were on Pakistan expanding and thriving. It didn’t happen that way and all the phony think tanks in Washington can’t make it even seem that way. The Pakistan constituency at STATE stayed there because China was to be a guarantor of Pakistan through the Belt and Road initiative. There were a lot of people in Foggy Bottom who liked the Afghan war because Pakistan was thriving on it as well as opening a door to profitable Chinese deals for many former US diplomats and spies. Now China has been showing Americans the door. As American diplomats are ending an era of wonton checkbook diplomacy in Pakistan, they leave delivering on a promise, Afghanistan looks to Pakistan like a rabbit before a snake.
So a result of the US pullout from Afghanistan is that Pakistan will likely make a push to swallow up as much of Afghanistan as it can get away with. Jezail.org has covered this ground before but the larger picture may well be that Pakistan will get sucked into a war that neither the Soviet Union nor the US could win. “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread”. Pakistani villains may as well. For India, that may mean breathing space from continued terror attacks from a distracted Pakistan. This is still a matter of speculation and only time and events can tell.
Donald Trump made a mercurial change in US strategic posture by “making a deal” with India. In fact, many deals have been made and Mr. Trump merely put his prestige bets on them signaling a long over due strategic change for America. The total value of the deals is estimated to be about $142 billion. By contrast, Pakistan is still an economic basket case. There’s nothing quite like money to drain a swamp. Throwing defense money in a different direction is not the best way to do it but it’s likely to be effective. Unlike Trump’s other diplomatic attempts in Korea and Syria, this deal has a profound economic underpinning. It is the Indian “deal” that makes this Trump move out of Afghanistan different and jezail.org believes that there is a reason for the two events to happen back to back. They are connected. We are keeping our fingers crossed that it works. But the devil is always found in the details and those details will not be found in the wording of the “peace agreement” with the Taliban. That is a purely cosmetic document. It basically declares this in the first sentence. The US doesn’t even recognize the entity it is signing with. The agreement may be a meaningless piece of paper but it is America’s ticket out of a war that has gone on far too long. It is looking like it may be over and history is moving on.
However there are significant dark sides waiting in the shadows of the future of the US/India relationship. Even as Donald Trump addressed a jubilant crowd of tens of thousands of Indians, organized riots were underway that have been revealed to be BJP organized pogroms. New fighting and bombings have occurred in Afghanistan. The fate of those Afghans who worked with the US to fight the Taliban looks grim.
What a US pullout leaves behind is a civil war, backed by Pakistan that was frozen in 2002 when the US invaded. The longer wars last, the uglier they become. The Afghan civil war is very old. Its’ underlying ethnic tension is basically what tore it apart triggering a Soviet invasion to “stabilize” Afghanistan. Those issues remain unresolved. Afghans have historically looked to outside forces to deliver them from precarious situations and other neighboring countries may become sucked in as they have in the past.
India, which has long had good relations with its’ Muslim neighbors, other than Pakistan, is already becoming more distant from them. The Delhi pogrom has triggered a number of diplomatic messages of concern from several regional Muslim countries. The harshest came from Iran which is still hurt by India choosing to cease buying Irani oil. This puts a serious dent in Iran’s already ailing economy. The development of the port of Chabahar has slowed to a crawl.
The dominant role of the US defense industry in the US/India relationship will likely continue the American foreign policy habit of searching for enemies and inventing them where they cannot find any. Developing consortiums like Boing/Mahindra in India may well result in money flowing into Indian polity and influencing it in a manner similar to how it works the US political systems. Mr. Modi has displayed an uncharacteristic strong man style of leadership for India and the BJP party is well known as cold blooded pragmatists unafraid of violence. They proved it once again in Delhi.
So American investors are still probably safe in “defense” stocks and death merchants win again. But the “product” will always be the same.
Regards to All,
jezail.org on the web
and
jezail.org on FaceBook
We mean to hold people accountable
We name names, not just policies
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theduran--2020-03-08--Orthodox Christianity versus Socialism, Part III – The history of conflict

In this section of our Orthodox Christianity versus Socialism series , we examine the historical nature of the conflict between these two religions – a conflict that is recent , and yet ignored by even some of the people that experienced it directly .
And , yes , I called socialism a religion here .
There is good reason to call it such , for as we have already seen , Karl Marx theorized that matter is creative in its own essence , which is a theological sort of perspective , not an economic one .
Everything else in Marx @ @ @ @ @ @ @ irrefutable truth , which is also a fundamental characteristic of any religion .
We are specifically looking at the conflict from an Orthodox Christian worldview because , Orthodox Christianity has a different viewpoint in many ways about economic and governmental structures than that of some groups within Protestantism .
Here it is important to understand that Western Christianity is not one faith .
Recent estimates place the present number of Protestant confessions at something over 37,000 distinct groups .
Each one has its own different ‘ take ’ on Christianity , some of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ancient and original Christians believed and did .
Homosexual “ marriage ” is one tremendously obvious example , for where ancient Christianity and even most Protestant forms until recently held the line that homosexual behavior was unconscionable for Christians , now a growing number of groups perform such “ marriages , ” somehow finding a way to upend 7,500 years of experience and tradition .
Yet , on the opposite side of the Protestant spectrum are people who think that by definition such people will burn in hell , and they picket @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make their point – also not what was taught in Christian history .
While it is utterly unfair to say that “ all Protestants believe xyzzy ” , ( because it is not true ! )
, it is possible and fair to say what the ancient Church teaches because we know where and who that ancient Christian church actually is .
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Church is that ancient group .
It has not altered its theological take at all since the time of Christ and the Apostles , and its origin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ the disciples were first called Christians.
” Peter and Paul were both overseers in Antioch , and Peter was the leader of the Twelve original apostles .
Even without any polemic about “ what church is better or more right ” , the points in this series are at least confined to one confession of Christianity , and that confession happens to be the second largest in the world , with over 300 million people .
This is a sizable group , and finally , it is the group that directly experienced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any other Christian confession in existence .
Orthodox Christianity takes a much harder line on socialism than does Protestantism , but many Orthodox Christian believers in the United States and elsewhere in the West might not think so .
That is why we started this series ; to lay out the truth for examination by whoever wishes to do so .
In part II of this series , we began exploring in depth the notion that Socialism punishes virtue .
In particular , we needed to reassess author Julie Roys ’ suggestion that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Christians ) tend to accumulate more ; and that those with bad character may lose everything they have .
However , the accumulated history of Orthodox Christianity shows that this is not a reliable axiom at all ; there is no connection between financial prosperity and adherence to God ’ s will .
The term “ abundant life ” and other similar terms are often misinterpreted to mean “ temporal well-being ” , so when some people work very hard and live in deep faith and obedience to God , if they believe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ despair when the financial “ abundance ” does not happen .
Reality is far different .
Christ indeed told his disciples and those who came to hear him teach that one of the gifts of seeking the kingdom of God was literally “ all these things will be added unto you ” ( c.f .
Matthew 6:33 ) , and we have other texts throughout Scripture that deal with abundance as a reward for sticking close to God : • [ III Kings 2:1-3 ] And the days of David drew near that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his son Solomon , saying , I go the way of all the earth : but be thou strong , and shew thyself a man ; and keep the charge of the Lord thy God , to walk in his ways , to keep the command-ments and the ordinances and the judgments which are written in the law of Moses ; that thou mayest understand what thou shalt do in all things that I command thee : • [ Deuteronomy 28:12 ] May the Lord open to thee his good treasure , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ land in season : may he bless all the works of thy hands : so shalt thou lend to many nations , but thou shalt not borrow ; and thou shalt rule over many nations , but they shall not rule over thee .
• [ Deuteronomy 30:9 – 10 ] And the Lord thy God shall bless thee in every work of thine hands , in the offspring of thy body , and in the offspring of thy cattle , and in the fruits of thy land , because the Lord thy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ good , as he rejoiced over thy fathers : if thou wilt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God , to keep his commandments , and his ordinances , and his judgments written in the book of this law , if thou turn to the Lord thy God with all thine heart , and with all thy soul .
However , not one of the inner Twelve ended up living “ the good life ” .
All but one died violent deaths by martyrdom , and the one who didn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the number of people who have met their death because they stood with Christ is easily in the hundreds of millions , and , ironically , many of those died at the hands of… you guessed it !
Socialists .
Even of those who did not meet martyrdom for the faith , many were poor , penniless , despised even when they were miracle workers .
A woman named Ksenia who lived in St Petersburg in Orthodox Christian Russia , was largely ridiculed as being crazy , but for those who saw that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cover to hide her profound holiness .
But she lived as a vagrant , wearing her late husband ’ s clothes and calling herself by his name .
Archbishop John Maximovitch lived practically penniless , and got taken to secular court – an absolute humiliation !
– by his own people in a land fight over church property in San Francisco .
This , even though the good archbishop was already known as a miracle worker many times over while yet in his life .
The Christian life is full of accounts like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ six- and seven-figure income and all the things Joel Osteen and his ilk promise .
Certainly such teachers do often talk about the abundant life of material things , but all too often the ones who live that way the most are these peddlers of inspiration , but not Christian truth .
Jesus was not lying at all , though .
For him and for those who followed him most closely ( and those who follow him now in the same way ) , abundance has to do with being well-prepared for eternity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this finite one .
Abundant living may or may not include monetary wealth , but if it does , the people that have it are stewards of it , and responsible to do good with it in some way .
Those who don ’ t have this kind of wealth are no less wealthy in what really matters to the Christian : love , peace , joy , self-control , faith , and wisdom .
Further , for both the monetarily rich and monetarily poor , wealth in that sense becomes rather unimportant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a geopolitical site talking about something that is absolutely within the realm of “ religious faith ” , something which many Westerners can not accept past the idea that it is simply one of many arbitrary philosophical constructs .
But consider this : Much of what we cover here on The Duran concerns Russia and the former Soviet nations , all of whom used to be Orthodox Christian nations before the Communist Revolution .
During Communism , the effort to actively destroy the Church was not without reason .
The Communists / Socialists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their notion of progress .
We have to be honest enough to face that .
Further , the renaissance of Russia is directly tied to the restoration and rise of the Russian Orthodox Church .
While Western political junkies propose that the Orthodox Church is the vassal of the Russian State , people who really know the situation , like James George Jatras and many of our writers know that if anything , the rise of Russia as a great power now is at the very least parallel with the rise of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ view would show Russia ’ s present rise as the result of the renewal of serious faith and practice of Christianity in Russia .
This is made even more manifest by a development that is taking place This very week .
President Vladimir Putin submitted a number of constitutional changes including amendments that specify a belief in God and the definition of marriage as a “ union of a man and a woman.
” In other words , the move here continues to be in the direction of the Orthodox Christian faith , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the case in the West .
With that in mind , we can proceed to the next reason Socialism is not Christian : Socialism endorses stealing .
See you in part IV .
This one is fairly simple , if you think about it .
First of all , of course , it can not be packaged as directly as what the above subheading says .
Here is how Julie Roys unpacked it : So far , this above argument is greatly relied upon by socialist-sympathetic Orthodox Christians .
You have abundance .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ give him some of yours !
There is a very key element wrong in this sequence which we will return to , shortly .
First , back to Julie : Julie hit it out of the park on this one , but we still have the key ingredient to add .
Look again at the sequence : You have abundance .
Your brother doesn ’ t .
So give him some of yours !
Who has abundance ?
Who must give it away ?
It is always you , or people , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Christianity focuses on : In other words , the socialist liberal or communist talks about solving the problem in terms of making society ( everybody ) do some specific thing .
Christianity does not EVER do this .
In fact there is not a single teaching in the Gospels or anywhere else in Orthodox Christianity that proposes any sort of action to be taken on society as a whole .
This is where the Orthodox Christian faith is far more hardline than Protestantism .
I will go so far as to say that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ideas than Orthodoxy is .
Orthodox Christianity tells the believer basically , first and foremost , “ mind your OWN business.
” Consider the text of the Great Penitential Canon of St Andrew of Crete .
This is a four-day long sequence of services ( later repeated all at once , taking around four hours to do in Russia , longer in some other places ) .
These are examples of the texts of the service ( with certain emphases added ) : On and on this goes , some 255 or more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is wrong with me ?
” Not “ what is wrong with the world ?
” or “ what is wrong with society ?
” In case the reader is beginning to wonder what this has to do with stealing , just think : If I am working on what is wrong with me , then all the changes and alterations I make to my life are to the only person I have the right to do anything like that to – myself .
When we start thinking about changing society , especially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ everything fair by making everyone have the same , or by making the State control means of production… ” As soon as there is but one person who opposes these changes , the rest of us are stealing from that person .
Even more , the socialist liberal talks about what everybody else must do , but when is the last time that person decided to freely give of their own wealth to help the State help society ?
We are all free to do so if we wish , but the idea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they must do with their money , especially when I am unwilling to do the same myself ( leading by example ) … what is that ?
It is stealing .
It is even worse , rising to the level of extortion , forcing other people to do what I will not do myself .
The socialist has backup for this though .
For the socialist , if someone is unwilling to do what the State wants , it can be done to them anyway , because that person has no intrinsic value @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reality springs from the material world ?
This takes us to the notion that there is nothing intrinsically valuable about any person .
Hence , abortion is merely a removal of an insignificant and unimportant growth of flesh ( and not a person ) , euthanasia is simply the removal of unproductive matter ( the aged and infirm ) , marriage is simply an agreement to mutually use someone else ( or even multiple someone elses ) for pleasurable feelings and even for profit .
All of these things are in direct opposition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a unique , wildly beloved creation of a loving God , each given the gift of life , freedom , thought , movement , insight , intelligence – everything !
All these things are in direct opposition to Christianity , which upholds life itself as something only God can create .
Men and women do not create babies .
They help God do so , but as we know , God has done it without our help before .
To treat any person without the highest level of regard as a unique @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – not only their monetary wealth , but their very soul and dignity .
It should be becoming very clear how absolutely incompatible Christianity and Socialism are , and we still have two more reasons left .
Part IV takes us farther down the road .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
In this section of our Orthodox Christianity versus Socialism series, we examine the historical nature of the conflict between these two religions – a conflict that is recent, and yet ignored by even some of the people that experienced it directly.
And, yes, I called socialism a religion here. There is good reason to call it such, for as we have already seen, Karl Marx theorized that matter is creative in its own essence, which is a theological sort of perspective, not an economic one. Everything else in Marx’ arguments stems from this idea as irrefutable truth, which is also a fundamental characteristic of any religion.
We are specifically looking at the conflict from an Orthodox Christian worldview because, Orthodox Christianity has a different viewpoint in many ways about economic and governmental structures than that of some groups within Protestantism.
Here it is important to understand that Western Christianity is not one faith. Recent estimates place the present number of Protestant confessions at something over 37,000 distinct groups. Each one has its own different ‘take’ on Christianity, some of those takes being diametrically opposed to what the ancient and original Christians believed and did. Homosexual “marriage” is one tremendously obvious example, for where ancient Christianity and even most Protestant forms until recently held the line that homosexual behavior was unconscionable for Christians, now a growing number of groups perform such “marriages,” somehow finding a way to upend 7,500 years of experience and tradition. Yet, on the opposite side of the Protestant spectrum are people who think that by definition such people will burn in hell, and they picket funerals of US servicemen and women to make their point – also not what was taught in Christian history.
While it is utterly unfair to say that “all Protestants believe xyzzy”, (because it is not true!), it is possible and fair to say what the ancient Church teaches because we know where and who that ancient Christian church actually is. The Eastern Orthodox Christian Church is that ancient group. It has not altered its theological take at all since the time of Christ and the Apostles, and its origin point is literally in Antioch, where “the disciples were first called Christians.” Peter and Paul were both overseers in Antioch, and Peter was the leader of the Twelve original apostles.
Even without any polemic about “what church is better or more right”, the points in this series are at least confined to one confession of Christianity, and that confession happens to be the second largest in the world, with over 300 million people. This is a sizable group, and finally, it is the group that directly experienced the clash with socialism far more than any other Christian confession in existence.
Orthodox Christianity takes a much harder line on socialism than does Protestantism, but many Orthodox Christian believers in the United States and elsewhere in the West might not think so. That is why we started this series; to lay out the truth for examination by whoever wishes to do so.
In part II of this series, we began exploring in depth the notion that Socialism punishes virtue. In particular, we needed to reassess author Julie Roys’ suggestion that people with good character (i.e. Christians) tend to accumulate more; and that those with bad character may lose everything they have.
However, the accumulated history of Orthodox Christianity shows that this is not a reliable axiom at all; there is no connection between financial prosperity and adherence to God’s will.
The term “abundant life” and other similar terms are often misinterpreted to mean “temporal well-being”, so when some people work very hard and live in deep faith and obedience to God, if they believe this teaching, they may start to despair when the financial “abundance” does not happen.
Reality is far different. Christ indeed told his disciples and those who came to hear him teach that one of the gifts of seeking the kingdom of God was literally “all these things will be added unto you” (c.f. Matthew 6:33), and we have other texts throughout Scripture that deal with abundance as a reward for sticking close to God:
[III Kings 2:1-3 ] And the days of David drew near that he should die: and he addressed his son Solomon, saying, I go the way of all the earth: but be thou strong, and shew thyself a man; and keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep the command-ments and the ordinances and the judgments which are written in the law of Moses; that thou mayest understand what thou shalt do in all things that I command thee:
And the days of David drew near that he should die: and he addressed his son Solomon, saying, I go the way of all the earth: but be thou strong, and shew thyself a man; and keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep the command-ments and the ordinances and the judgments which are written in the law of Moses; that thou mayest understand what thou shalt do in all things that I command thee: [Deuteronomy 28:12] May the Lord open to thee his good treasure, the heaven, to give rain to thy land in season: may he bless all the works of thy hands: so shalt thou lend to many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over thee.
May the Lord open to thee his good treasure, the heaven, to give rain to thy land in season: may he bless all the works of thy hands: so shalt thou lend to many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over thee. [Deuteronomy 30:9 – 10] And the Lord thy God shall bless thee in every work of thine hands, in the offspring of thy body, and in the offspring of thy cattle, and in the fruits of thy land, because the Lord thy God will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers: if thou wilt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments, and his ordinances, and his judgments written in the book of this law, if thou turn to the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
However, not one of the inner Twelve ended up living “the good life”. All but one died violent deaths by martyrdom, and the one who didn’t died in exile. Similarly, the number of people who have met their death because they stood with Christ is easily in the hundreds of millions, and, ironically, many of those died at the hands of… you guessed it! Socialists.
Even of those who did not meet martyrdom for the faith, many were poor, penniless, despised even when they were miracle workers. A woman named Ksenia who lived in St Petersburg in Orthodox Christian Russia, was largely ridiculed as being crazy, but for those who saw that her “craziness” was really a cover to hide her profound holiness. But she lived as a vagrant, wearing her late husband’s clothes and calling herself by his name. Archbishop John Maximovitch lived practically penniless, and got taken to secular court – an absolute humiliation! – by his own people in a land fight over church property in San Francisco. This, even though the good archbishop was already known as a miracle worker many times over while yet in his life.
The Christian life is full of accounts like this that are anything but living the six- and seven-figure income and all the things Joel Osteen and his ilk promise. Certainly such teachers do often talk about the abundant life of material things, but all too often the ones who live that way the most are these peddlers of inspiration, but not Christian truth.
Jesus was not lying at all, though. For him and for those who followed him most closely (and those who follow him now in the same way), abundance has to do with being well-prepared for eternity, for that life which is beyond this finite one. Abundant living may or may not include monetary wealth, but if it does, the people that have it are stewards of it, and responsible to do good with it in some way. Those who don’t have this kind of wealth are no less wealthy in what really matters to the Christian: love, peace, joy, self-control, faith, and wisdom. Further, for both the monetarily rich and monetarily poor, wealth in that sense becomes rather unimportant.
Again, here we are on a geopolitical site talking about something that is absolutely within the realm of “religious faith”, something which many Westerners cannot accept past the idea that it is simply one of many arbitrary philosophical constructs. But consider this:
Much of what we cover here on The Duran concerns Russia and the former Soviet nations, all of whom used to be Orthodox Christian nations before the Communist Revolution. During Communism, the effort to actively destroy the Church was not without reason. The Communists / Socialists knew the Church was an enemy to their notion of progress. We have to be honest enough to face that.
Further, the renaissance of Russia is directly tied to the restoration and rise of the Russian Orthodox Church. While Western political junkies propose that the Orthodox Church is the vassal of the Russian State, people who really know the situation, like James George Jatras and many of our writers know that if anything, the rise of Russia as a great power now is at the very least parallel with the rise of the Church. But an even more honest view would show Russia’s present rise as the result of the renewal of serious faith and practice of Christianity in Russia.
This is made even more manifest by a development that is taking place This very week. President Vladimir Putin submitted a number of constitutional changes including amendments that specify a belief in God and the definition of marriage as a “union of a man and a woman.” In other words, the move here continues to be in the direction of the Orthodox Christian faith, not away from it, as is the case in the West.
With that in mind, we can proceed to the next reason Socialism is not Christian: Socialism endorses stealing.
See you in part IV.
Socialism endorses stealing.
This one is fairly simple, if you think about it. First of all, of course, it cannot be packaged as directly as what the above subheading says. Here is how Julie Roys unpacked it:
Barack Obama once defended his socialist policies to a little girl by saying, “We’ve got to make sure that people who have more money help the people who have less money. If you had a whole pizza, and your friend had no pizza, would you give him a slice?” That sounds pretty Christian, right? What Christian wouldn’t endorse sharing your abundance with someone who has nothing?
So far, this above argument is greatly relied upon by socialist-sympathetic Orthodox Christians. You have abundance. Your brother doesn’t. So give him some of yours!
There is a very key element wrong in this sequence which we will return to, shortly. First, back to Julie:
However, Obama wasn’t endorsing people voluntarily sharing their wealth with others; he was endorsing the government forcibly taking a piece of the pie from one person and giving it to someone else. Put another way, that’s saying that if you have three cars and your neighbor has none, the government has a right to take your car and give it to your neighbor. That’s not Christian; that’s stealing! But, socialists don’t believe in private property. And, some Christian socialists actually assert that the Bible doesn’t either. That’s preposterous. Both the Old Testament and New Testament unequivocally affirm private property. We can’t even obey the eighth commandment to not steal, unless we accept the notion of private ownership. Nor, can we steward our money as the Bible commands if the state owns our money, not us. So, for an economic and political system to be Christian, it must protect private ownership and allow individuals freedom to allocate their resources according to their conscience.
Julie hit it out of the park on this one, but we still have the key ingredient to add. Look again at the sequence:
You have abundance. Your brother doesn’t. So give him some of yours!
Who has abundance? Who must give it away?
Not me.
You.
It is always you, or people, or everybody… everyone but the only one who Christianity focuses on:
Me.
In other words, the socialist liberal or communist talks about solving the problem in terms of making society (everybody) do some specific thing.
Christianity does not EVER do this. In fact there is not a single teaching in the Gospels or anywhere else in Orthodox Christianity that proposes any sort of action to be taken on society as a whole.
This is where the Orthodox Christian faith is far more hardline than Protestantism. I will go so far as to say that Protestantism is far more conducive to socialist ideas than Orthodoxy is.
Orthodox Christianity tells the believer basically, first and foremost, “mind your OWN business.” Consider the text of the Great Penitential Canon of St Andrew of Crete. This is a four-day long sequence of services (later repeated all at once, taking around four hours to do in Russia, longer in some other places). These are examples of the texts of the service (with certain emphases added):
Where shall I begin to lament the deeds of my wretched life? How shall I begin, O Christ, to relieve my present tears? But as Thou art deeply compassionate, grant me forgiveness of sins… Having rivaled the first-formed Adam by my transgressions, I have found myself stripped naked of God, of the everlasting kingdom and all of its delights, because of my sins. Woe is me, O wretched soul, for thou art become like the first Eve! For thou hast looked in wickedness and wast bitterly wounded; for thou hast touched the tree and rashly tasted the forbidden fruit… Adam was rightly banished from Eden, O Savior, because he disobeyed one of Thy commandments. What then shall I suffer, for constantly rejecting Thy words of life? Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. O Trinity, Who surpasses all creation and is adored in Unity, take from me the heavy yoke of sin, and in Thy compassion grant me tears of compunction. Now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. O Theotokos, the hope and protection of those who praise thee, take from me the heavy yoke of sin and as thou art our Most-pure Lady, accept me in repentance.
On and on this goes, some 255 or more verses focused only on addressing “what is wrong with me?” Not “what is wrong with the world?” or “what is wrong with society?”
In case the reader is beginning to wonder what this has to do with stealing, just think: If I am working on what is wrong with me, then all the changes and alterations I make to my life are to the only person I have the right to do anything like that to – myself.
When we start thinking about changing society, especially in terms of things like “making everything fair by making everyone have the same, or by making the State control means of production…” As soon as there is but one person who opposes these changes, the rest of us are stealing from that person.
Even more, the socialist liberal talks about what everybody else must do, but when is the last time that person decided to freely give of their own wealth to help the State help society? We are all free to do so if we wish, but the idea that I can tell anyone else what they must do with their money, especially when I am unwilling to do the same myself (leading by example)… what is that? It is stealing. It is even worse, rising to the level of extortion, forcing other people to do what I will not do myself.
The socialist has backup for this though. For the socialist, if someone is unwilling to do what the State wants, it can be done to them anyway, because that person has no intrinsic value. Remember the Marxist axiom that all reality springs from the material world? This takes us to the notion that there is nothing intrinsically valuable about any person. Hence, abortion is merely a removal of an insignificant and unimportant growth of flesh (and not a person), euthanasia is simply the removal of unproductive matter (the aged and infirm), marriage is simply an agreement to mutually use someone else (or even multiple someone elses) for pleasurable feelings and even for profit.
All of these things are in direct opposition to Christianity, which upholds each person as a unique, wildly beloved creation of a loving God, each given the gift of life, freedom, thought, movement, insight, intelligence – everything!
All these things are in direct opposition to Christianity, which upholds life itself as something only God can create. Men and women do not create babies. They help God do so, but as we know, God has done it without our help before. To treat any person without the highest level of regard as a unique creation of God is stealing from them – not only their monetary wealth, but their very soul and dignity.
It should be becoming very clear how absolutely incompatible Christianity and Socialism are, and we still have two more reasons left.
Part IV takes us farther down the road.
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theduran--2020-03-09--As migrant dispute heats up, where is Angela Merkel? (Video)

The Duran ’ s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss the disappearance of German Chancellor Angela Merkel amidst the latest migrant row between Turkey and the European Union via the Greek and Bulgarian borders .
In Germany , CDU chairman Friedrich Merz , broke away from Merkel ’ s ‘ all migrants welcome policy , ’ stating that he wants to offer Turkey “ every support ” it needs to deal with the refugee situation , while declaring that there is no point for migrants to try and enter Germany , stating “ we can not accept you here.
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In view of the influx of migrants at the Turkish-Greek border , the CDU chairman Friedrich Merz demands that Turkey be given all the necessary support to accommodate refugees .
At the same time , a loss of control as in 2015 must be avoided .
“ First of all , this is a major humanitarian catastrophe , which is currently taking place on the Greek islands and also between Greece and Turkey , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ The Federal Republic should help and maybe help more than it has done so far.
” Germany had to be ready “ to give every support , every help also to Turkey , to enable a reasonably decent accommodation ” .
“ And at the same time we have to send a signal to the refugees there : There is no point in coming to Germany , ” emphasized Merz .
“ We can not accept you here.
” In Germany , everyone involved agreed that something like the refugee influx @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Germany must of course also keep control of its own borders if such a situation should occur again , said Merz .
The word loss of control was rightly used in Germany in 2015 and 2016 , and should not be repeated .
Merz ’ s competitor in the fight for the post of CDU leader , Norbert ROttgen , instead called for a new edition of the refugee agreement with Turkey .
“ Either we Europeans help the refugees in Turkey in cooperation with Turkey , or the refugees are driven out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” said the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag on Monday in the ARD “ morning magazine ” .
“ That ’ s why we need a new edition of such an agreement.
” It is now a matter of providing financial help “ very quickly ” to help refugees in Turkey .
ROttgen also called for more pressure on Russia in the Syria conflict .
“ We clearly have to put pressure , political , economic pressure on Russia.
” Russia is “ politically the decisive player ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Syria under control .
“ We look away and only react when the damage is there , ” he criticized .
Everything that happens now is “ foreseeable at least for weeks ” .
Following Turkey ’ s announcement to open the borders to the EU , thousands of migrants are trying to get to Western Europe .
According to the UN , around 13,000 migrants endure cold weather on the Turkish border with Greece .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
The Duran’s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss the disappearance of German Chancellor Angela Merkel amidst the latest migrant row between Turkey and the European Union via the Greek and Bulgarian borders.
In Germany, CDU chairman Friedrich Merz, broke away from Merkel’s ‘all migrants welcome policy,’ stating that he wants to offer Turkey “every support” it needs to deal with the refugee situation, while declaring that there is no point for migrants to try and enter Germany, stating “we cannot accept you here.”
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Via EN24 News…
In view of the influx of migrants at the Turkish-Greek border, the CDU chairman Friedrich Merz demands that Turkey be given all the necessary support to accommodate refugees. At the same time, a loss of control as in 2015 must be avoided.
“First of all, this is a major humanitarian catastrophe, which is currently taking place on the Greek islands and also between Greece and Turkey,” Merz told MDR Aktuell on Monday. “The Federal Republic should help and maybe help more than it has done so far.” Germany had to be ready “to give every support, every help also to Turkey, to enable a reasonably decent accommodation”.
“And at the same time we have to send a signal to the refugees there: There is no point in coming to Germany,” emphasized Merz. “We cannot accept you here.” In Germany, everyone involved agreed that something like the refugee influx in 2015/2016 should not be repeated. Germany must of course also keep control of its own borders if such a situation should occur again, said Merz. The word loss of control was rightly used in Germany in 2015 and 2016, and should not be repeated.
ROttgen wants new refugee agreement
Merz’s competitor in the fight for the post of CDU leader, Norbert ROttgen, instead called for a new edition of the refugee agreement with Turkey. “Either we Europeans help the refugees in Turkey in cooperation with Turkey, or the refugees are driven out of their misery and come to us,” said the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag on Monday in the ARD “morning magazine”. “That’s why we need a new edition of such an agreement.” It is now a matter of providing financial help “very quickly” to help refugees in Turkey.
ROttgen also called for more pressure on Russia in the Syria conflict. “We clearly have to put pressure, political, economic pressure on Russia.” Russia is “politically the decisive player” to get the causes of flight in Syria under control. “We look away and only react when the damage is there,” he criticized. Everything that happens now is “foreseeable at least for weeks”.
Following Turkey’s announcement to open the borders to the EU, thousands of migrants are trying to get to Western Europe. According to the UN, around 13,000 migrants endure cold weather on the Turkish border with Greece.
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