We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Monday, December 8, 2014

Talking Turkey: Putin Gobsmacks Obama and Euro-Leaders with Surprise Gas Deal

Click here to access article by Mike Whitney from CounterPunch. 
On Monday [Dec. 1], Russian President Vladimir Putin clinched a groundbreaking deal with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that will strengthen economic ties between the two nations and make Turkey the major hub for Russian gas in the region. Under the terms of the agreement, Russia will pump additional natural gas to locations in central Turkey and to a “hub at the Turkish-Greek border” which will eventually provide Putin with backdoor access to the lucrative EU market, although Turkey will serve as the critical intermediary. The move creates a de facto Russo-Turkey alliance that could shift the regional balance of power decisively in Moscow’s favor, thus creating another formidable hurtle for Washington’s “pivot to Asia” strategy.
Whitney explains the background that unexpectedly turned Erdoğan against Empire strategies to separate Europe from Russia. This background pertains to another CIA project to support subversion and their use of terrorism referred to by the FBI as Gladio B in Central Asia, and it appears that one important component of this project is the well-funded Gulen Movement created by the CIA. (He only makes superficial reference to the tons of information regarding the Gulen Movement that the courageous Turkish specialist and FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds has made available to us.) It seems that Erdoğan and many others throughout Eurasia do not like what the CIA operations are doing. (Edmond's sleuthing efforts also turned up CIA fingerprints in the Boston Bombing incident.) Hence, Erdoğan has increasingly found himself at odds with the CIA which is a key component of our "deep state" that really determines what happens in our "democracy", throughout the Empire, and the world.
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