Open Letter to the World from a Blocked Ukrainian Parliamentaria

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Eric Zuesse.

Eric Zuesse
The following letter, written months ago but unfortunately unpublishable in the Ukrainian dictatorship that was imposed in February, was finally posted publicly at the Russian fortruss website on Sunday, December 14th, by Elena Bondarenko, a member of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s Party:

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My friends, here is my declaration. I ask that you share it to the extent possible. If you can translate it into other languages, please do!
I, Elena Bondarenko, People’s Deputy from the Party of Regions, finding myself in opposition to the current power in Ukraine, wish to declare that this administration has resorted to direct threats of physical elimination of the opposition in Ukraine; has resorted to suspending the right of freedom of speech, in parliament and out, and is implicated in complicity in crimes not just against politicians, but even against their children. The everyday life of an opposition deputy is this: constant threats, unofficial ban from the airwaves, targeted persecution. Everyone who calls for peace is immediately branded as an enemy of the people, just as in 1930’s Germany, or in McCarthyite US.
A few days ago, Arseniy Avakov, the Minister of the Interior, an ardent adherent of the so-called Party of War of the Ukraine, said the following: “When Elena Bondarenko comes to the podium to speak, my hand automatically reaches for my gun.” This, I emphasize, are the words of a man entrusted with the supreme police power of the country. Further: exactly one week ago, Alexander Turchinov the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, deprived me of the right to speak from the podium as a member of the opposition Party of Regions, only for this: I declared “Any power that commissions its army to bomb its peaceful cities, is criminal.” After which, he magnanimously gave the radical parliamentarians the option to call for shooting the opposition. Considering that my car was shot at last year, when the extremists were already arming with weapons, [a fact on record with the police, on my complaint] such threats aimed at me must be taken seriously.
Further, I will inform everyone, who does not already know it, that the current leadership is covering up those who dared to raise a hand against the son of another opposition politician, Vladimir Oleinik. Ruslan Oleinik, performing his duties as regional prosecutor, was beaten up at his office, endangering his health, and even his life. Di they investigate the beating of a prosecutor performing his duty? No. Did they investigate the monstrous pressure on the leader of the opposition? No. Instead, this administration fired the prosecutor! Every day, from his colleagues I learn of beatings of their aides, of attacks on their companies, of threats, yes, even attacks, on their lives, their health, their property.
The Ukrainian media is completely sanitized from this information, and the typical Ukrainian has no idea that a criminal struggle is taking place against the opposition, and that the constitutional right of free speech is suppressed in every way. The journalists who overcome their fear and work honestly are subject to attack by nationalist mobs, but the organizers and participants of these pogroms are not punished, even when they are recorded on videos and photographs.
I call upon those international organizations that proclaim their support of democratic principles not just to notice this declaration, but to involved in this struggle for the preservation and respect for the democratic rights and freedoms of the citizens of Ukraine.
The methods of the junta in their struggle for power, or rather, for the establishment of a Ukrainian dictatorship, have nothing to do with any concept of “democracy.” If the international community does nothing in the face of these egregious acts, it will look like complicity and silent approbation of all these crimes which are being committed in Ukraine. The free world will lose an outpost, Ukraine. All who fight for democracy, rule of law, and the rights of man, together, can achieve a lot. But only together can we stop the junta and the fratricidal war in Ukraine.
With my respect,
People’s Deputy of Ukraine, Elena Bondarenko

The Bloodbathery Continues - "Some Folks Were Selling... Everything"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/15/2014 - 16:05

 

 

 

BIG TROUBLE FOR THE BAKKEN OIL FIELD: Has The Bust Begun?

by Steven St. Angelo, SRS Rocco:

The Great Bakken Oil Field suffered a setback in October as production declined 1,598 barrels per day compared to the previous month.  The industry blames the decline on drillers scaling back on production due to the new flaring mandate that requires companies to capture natural gas as well as the rapid fall in oil prices.
While these factors will impact future production, there are additional red flags warning that the Bakken may be already heading for BIG TROUBLE.  And nothing spells trouble more than the huge loss of Bakken oil production due to its high decline rate.
Each month the EIA – U.S. Energy Information Agency puts out a Productivity Report on the different shale oil and gas fields.  The EIA’s first Productivity Report was published in October 2013.  If we compare the rate of change in the Bakken from the first issued report to the most recently published data, the decline in monthly production continues to increase:
Read More @ SRSroccoReport.com

Stocks Jump As Precious Metals Dump

from ZeroHedge:
Because nothing says the status quo is still in charge like crashing gold & silver and rebounding US equities.
All driven by USDJPY’s magical levitation starting at 12ET runs the stops over 118.00…
Read More @ ZeroHedge.com

Market Euphoria: The Mother of All Ponzi Schemes

by Stephen Lendman, SJLendman.Blogspot.com:
The bubble of all bubbles. A house of cards waiting to collapse, says Paul Craig Roberts.
A great unraveling looms. America’s economy based on market manipulation. Rigging things one way.
Smoke and mirrors deception. Money printing madness. Privatizing profits. Socializing losses. Upside down reality.
Shifting wealth in unprecedented amounts. More than what’s comprehensible. To monied interests. From ordinary folks.
Read More @ SJLendman.Blogspot.com

Eric Garner, The Torture Report, And Authoritarian Psychology

from The News Doctors:
What do the NYPD arresting officers of Eric Garner, the CIA officials responsible for the crimes detailed in the Torture Report and US foreign policy officials all have in common? They are all agents of institutions that have adopted an “authoritarian psychology.” So what does authoritarian psychology mean?
Alexandre Kojeve, a French fascist in Vichy France, and lifelong close friend of Neocon Godfather Leo Strauss, explained authority as follows: “Authority is the possibility of an agent acting upon others without these others reacting against him, despite being capable to do so, and without making any compromises. Any discussion is already a compromise.”
Read More @ TheNewsDoctors.com

Bursting Bubbles and a Global Depression We’re on a collision course with disaster…

by Jason Simpkins, Outsider Club:
For the past few weeks, I’ve hypothesized that the Fed won’t be able to follow through with tighter monetary policy.
At best, I see the Fed delaying a rate hike, and at worst, I see a return to some form of QE.
Of course, not everyone agrees.
Bank of America, for instance, thinks the Fed will stand fast, raising rates, perhaps even at a rapid pace.
Read More @ OutsiderClub.com

Police Union Caught Putting GPS On Rival Politician’s Car And Framing Him For DUI

from The Free Thought Project:
This week, two former police officers were arrested and charged with felonies after a plot to frame a local politician failed miserably.
Private investigators and former police officers Chris Lanzillo and Scott Impola now face felony charges of illegal use of a tracking device, false imprisonment by deceit, conspiracy to commit a crime and falsely reporting a crime.
The two were not acting independently but were actually hired by Lackie, Dammeier, McGill & Ethir of Upland, a law-firm, which at the time represented over 120 police unions across California.
Read More @ TheFreeThoughtProject.com

War Drums Beat Louder & Faster Between U.S. & Russia

from RINF:
On Saturday, December 13th, Russian media reported that U.S. President Obama evidently can’t wait to sign the congressional authorization for war against Russia (which has already been passed in draft form by 98% of U.S. House members and 100% of U.S. Senate members), and that he is already shipping military supplies into Ukraine for use against Ukraine’s ethnic Russians that the Ukrainian Government is trying to eliminate.
Mikhail Emelyanov, a leading Russian parliamentarian, was quoted as saying on Saturday, Russia “cannot calmly watch as the US arms Ukraine with the most modern lethal weapons. In this regard, we should not appear weak. The situation is very alarming. Judging by US intentions, they want to turn Ukraine into a fighting platform against Russia.”
Read More @ RINF.com

We are in a currency wars environment and a “new” cold war. Perfect setting for gold

from Investment Watch:
Cold War 2.0 as a currency/banking war – ‘BRICS system’ – healthy alternative to ‘defunct dollar system’
The BRICS Bank marks a major step to de-dollarization, and a new monetary system. It should replace the Western-dominated “predatory casino scheme” that has contributed to world wars and “economic terrorism,” says former World Bank economist Peter Koenig.
“A ‘BRICS system’ would offer a healthy alternative to the highly indebted and defunct dollar system, where money is printed at will,” Koenig said in an interview with Asam Ismi of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Read More @ InvestmentWatchBlog.com

Bloodletting in the American Oil Patch Has Only Just Begun

from Wolf Street:
One of the incredible attributes of this oil market is its ability to breed selling as it goes lower, precisely because it puts more and more of US and Canadian production at risk. How much at risk? Most of my pessimism on oil as it nears $60 a barrel is contained in the answer to that question and what I see as a major smoke job that’s being done by many of the smaller and mid-cap oil companies and the analysts that follow them. I say “There Will Be Blood” – and their distress is not being correctly measured yet.
Let’s take two interesting updates this week – Conoco Phillips (COP) updated with a capital expenditure slashing for 2015 of almost 40%, yet they are claiming that their production will increase by 7% next year. Oasis Petroleum (OAS), with production far more reliant on short-term capex than Conoco similarly updated by cutting their spending budget in half, yet still claiming to increase production by 10%.
Read More @ Wolfstreet.com

Why Russia And China Are Buying Gold, According To An Economics Professor

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/15/2014 - 15:44 We already know that to at least one, sadly all too prominent, career economist gold is held by central banks simply due to "tradition." Here is how another professor of economics perceives the value of gold to central banks.

Oil: The Battle For Market Share & The Saudi's 1985 Playbook

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/15/2014 - 15:19 In 1985, the Saudis chose volume over price to defend their market share against new production from the North Sea, as well as cheating/discounting from other OPEC members in a period of weak demand. The Saudis had warned the world of their intentions, but many thought “it was merely an elaborate warning designed to scare other OPEC countries and restore discipline.” The parallels with today’s market structure are hard to miss, and the Saudi’s essential playbook remains the same...

The US War Crimes Act, the Geneva Convention against Torture and the Infamous “Torture Memos”

by Inder Comar, Global Research:
The War Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2441, makes it a crime for any person, “whether inside or outside the United States” to commit a “war crime.” War Crimes are defined as any grave breach of the Geneva Conventions, and in particular, any conduct that violates common Article 3. In Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, the Supreme Court explicitly ruled that common Article 3 applies to alleged Al Qaeda members and the so-called war on terror.
The crimes of torture, cruel or inhuman treatment and murder — all acts that are documented by the Senate Torture Report — are specifically prohibited by common Article 3 and the War Crimes Act.
In 2006, the government enacted the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which severely curtailed the reach of the War Crimes Act, limiting its application well short of the protections of common Article 3. It also passed a provision that provided for retroactive immunity for certain government personnel who were following orders in implementing what they thought were lawful directives from the President (this section can be found at 42 U.S.C. § 2000dd-1).
Read More @ Globalresearch.ca