WORLD-TYRANT WORLD a/o 06 13 14

WORLD-TYRANT WORLD a/o 06 13 14 

Jun 11, 3:33 PM EDT 

http://money.cleveland.com/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISLAMIC_STATE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-06-11-15-33-57

AL-QAIDA BREAKAWAY PURSUING AN ISLAMIC STATE [Excerpts] 

An al-Qaida splinter group that has seized a huge chunk of northern Iraq commands as many as 10,000 fighters and has steadily been consolidating its hold on much of northeastern Syria across the border. 

Its pursuit of an Islamic state that would straddle the two countries has thrown it into bloody conflict with both governments, Kurdish militias and Syrian rebels of all stripes. 

The group, known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, has employed *a calculated strategy* to achieve its aims, using everything from beheadings to terrify opponents to ice cream socials for children to curry favor with local populations under its control. 

Initially, more moderate Syrian rebels welcomed the group's experienced fighters.  But the Islamic State alienated many rebels and Syrian civilians alike with its brutality and attempts to impose its strict interpretation of Islam. 

It also drew the ire of many opposition fighters by focusing not on the fight against Assad, but rather on restoring a medieval Islamic state, or caliphate, in Iraq and Greater Syria, also known as the Levant —-traditional names that refer to a region stretching from southern Turkey to Egypt on the eastern Mediterranean. 

. . .[Abu Bakr] al-Baghdadi's refusal to bow won him the loyalty of many of the most hard-line fighters in Syria, *particularly foreigners*, and his group has proven resilient.  It now controls much of northern and eastern Syria from its stronghold of Raqqa, and has routed the Iraqi security forces across the border as well. 

*The Islamic State has crafted its tactics and message to best meet local considerations.* 

"In Iraq, they portray themselves as the protectors of the Sunni community," al-Tamimi said. "In Syria, they are much more open about their ideology and project." 

In the Syrian city of Raqqa, their strict brand of Islamic law holds sway. Activists and residents say music has been banned, Christians have to pay an Islamic tax for protection and people are executed in the main square. 

In the Iraqi city of Fallujah, however, residents say the group has so far taken a more moderate approach, choosing to overlook some practices it considers forbidden. 

[ Do you see a group aiming at a medieval Islamic state in the whole Levant, also crafting its tactics to best meet local considerations ? 

Or do you perceive the hand and money of The World Tyrant aiming to grab West Asia wholesale after having failed in its retail efforts ? ]  

Meeting with Government Cabinet members [Excerpts] 

11 June 2014, 16:00, Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region 

http://eng.news.kremlin.ru/news/22478/prin

. . .before we turn to the main items on our agenda, let me make a few remarks and make a request of the Government. 

The first remark concerns the energy talks we have been holding with our Ukrainian partners, talks that have not been easy.  Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Gazprom CEO are meeting with our Ukrainian partners, with European Commissioner Mr Oettinger acting as intermediary.  Gazprom has proposed our Ukrainian partners exactly the same conditions as it offered Viktor Yanukovych’s government: a discount on the contract price of $100, which makes a final price of $385 per 1,000 cubic metres of gas.  Let me note here that neighbouring countries, Poland and a few others, receive gas at a higher price but using the same method for obtaining this price, namely, reducing the export duty on gas.  We used exactly the same method when we settled this matter with Viktor Yanukovych’s government too. 

As we understand the situation, our Ukrainian partners are worried that this discount could be unilaterally cancelled as easily as it was offered.  We have never acted in this way.  We have always shown the utmost reliability in respecting our contracts.  But I nevertheless ask the Government and the Prime Minister to look at what could be done at the government level or through our agreements with the Ukrainian government to cement these conditions and make them absolutely reliable and unchanging for an agreed period. 

Judging by information we are getting from the parties involved, it is not even these mechanisms that are the issue.   The issue is that our Ukrainian partners find these discounts insufficient and want more, though it is not very clear on what grounds.  But if this is the case, then this whole affair looks to be deliberately heading for a dead end. 

I have already made several appeals to our European partners to support this negotiating process, which we are carrying out with the greatest openness and transparency possible.  I think that our offer is made in a more than genuine spirit of partnership aimed to help and support the Ukrainian economy as it traverses this difficult time.  But if our offers are rejected, events will reach a completely different stage.  This is not our choice and we do not want this, but if this is the way things go, then we will live in this new dimension. 

(Addressing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev) Mr Medvedev, I ask you to keep this in mind and organise further work as we agreed. 

PRIME MINISTER DMITRY MEDVEDEV: We will do this of course.  We will draw up our government proposals in the form of long-term discounts that we are offering even though our own economy is not going through the easiest time at the moment and these discounts do have an impact on us too and are quite painful.  But Ukraine’s economy is in an even more difficult situation, and so, for the sake of supporting our Ukrainian partners, we are ready to do what you have asked. 

At the same time though, rather than talking about the ‘traps that Russia is setting’, our partners in the Ukrainian government should remember that they have unpaid gas debts and that at any moment we could bring in prepayment for gas supplies, and as you rightly said, this would indeed be a completely different stage in our gas relations. 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: That’s agreed then. 

The situation is rather strange of course, because the contract currently in force was signed a long time ago, and by the very same people who are working in the government today.  Simply, they at some point along the way suddenly decided to renounce it.  It’s strange, but such are the facts. 

Let’s work and we will see what comes.  In order to support Ukraine’s economy and, to be honest, in order not to lose a customer, which is also important, we will act as we propose to our customers, that is to say, we will be open, honest, and as transparent as possible in our actions. 

Judging from what we see, a number of our European partners do understand the fairness of our position.  Let’s see what results the talks bring today or tomorrow and in the coming days.  We have agreed that we will not introduce prepayment before June 16 of this year, not before Monday, in other words. 

Babies Pay for Detroit’s 60-Year Slide With Mortality Above Mexico's [Excerpts] 

Jun 11, 2014 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2014-06-11/babies-pay-for-detroit-s-fall-with-mortality-above-mexico.html

Detroit’s 60-year deterioration has taken a toll not just on business owners, investors and taxpayers. 

It’s meant misery for its most vulnerable: children and the women who bear them. 

While infant mortality fell for decades across the U.S. [The World Tyrant], progress bypassed Detroit, which in 2012 saw a greater proportion of babies die before their first birthdays than any American city, a rate higher than in China, Mexico and Thailand. 

Physically larger than Manhattan, Boston and San Francisco combined, just 700,000 people call it home, down 60 percent from 1950. 

Health isn’t determined just by poverty, but by race, which plays a disproportionate role in Detroit.