Hurry Up, Kids; World War 3 Is On! If You Miss The First Five Minutes, You're Gonna Be Confused!

So far, its all quiet on the Western MSM front (Red Alert!  Tom Brady said something scandalous!), but the tension has definitely ramped up between Greece and Israel and Turkey(and consequently, Russia, the U.S., and China..). 

The reasons vary, but combine for some potentially deadly inertia.  Turkey is angry because of Israel's actions concerning the Freedom Flotilla earlier this year.  Israel is pissed because Turkey supports political reform in Middle Eastern countries involved in 2011's Arab Spring, reforms that will further isolate Israel, and the Israelis are also mad that   Turkey downgraded their diplomatic status.  So now Israel has started hanging out with Turkish enemies the Greeks, the Armenians AND the Kurds.  This all pretty intense, seeing how these two nations(Israel and Turkey) were strong allies only months ago..

And now, the Greeks and the Turks are at odds of Turkey's oil exploration in the Mediterranean.  Due to the activation of existing defense pacts, if hostilities escalate, Israel and Greece (and Russia!) will be on one side, Turkey, Iran, and the United States will be on the other.  Uh-Oh!  And to really send the whole situation into Defcon 1 land, China might end up siding with Turkey, Iran, and the U.S.  Overlapping diplomatic and defense pacts are awesome!  And they'll probably insure our complete involvement, confusion, and ultimately, destruction! 

And please, bear in mind, my explanation is terribly simplistic, not factoring in other alliances with nation-states (Syria, Lebanon..), political factions(Hezbollah, PKK), escalating tensions between Palestinians and Israelis, Palestine's lobbying for U.N. Statehood status, and rich, western countries sticking their ass in this ever-growing potential apocalypse..  And the fact these people have hated each other for a millennia.. 

Imagine a tangled ball of Christmas lights the size of your house.  Untangle it.  Oh yeah; it's electrified.  That's kinda what we're dealing with, here..

It's a good thing this will be on television, or I'd be worried that it's all real!

The Freshness, Brought To You By The Sisters Of Sorcha Faal..

Rip In ‘Space-Time Vortex’ Over Russian City Shocks Scientists  Ahh.. That's the good stuff..

If The World Wasn't Imploding, This Would Be Huge News..

Georgian President Lauds Moscow Terror Attack as ‘Payback’ for 2008 War Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili rockets to the top of the "Crazy and suicidal enough to fuck with Putin/ Medvedev" chart today. I guess the President outgrew his "Tie-eating" phase(The kooky starts at 1:01).. Look for escalation at the Russian/Georgian border shortly. First link excerpts:

While most of the world reacted with the predictable combination of shock and eagerness for more security measures in the wake of Monday’s suicide bombing in the Moscow Domodedovo Airport, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili is openly cheering it.
According to Saakashvili, the bombing was “payback” for the brief Russo-Georgian War of 2008, and that he had recently told Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that he would face “payback for his country for supporting separatists.”

Wow. Saakashvili really enjoys starring in his own International/ Political version of Kenny Rogers Jackass.. From The Independent/ UK

Mr Saakashvili and the Russian leadership have exchanged regular insults since the 2008 war between the countries over the breakaway territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but his comments are likely to enrage Moscow, coming so soon after the blast at Domodedovo Airport that killed 35 people.
..
"I discussed this personally with Vladimir Putin a while ago. I said to him that the payback for his country for supporting separatists would be that violence would come back to hit them as well," Mr Saakashvili said. "Putin said, 'No, if anyone tries anything against us, we shall crush them like cockroaches,' while jabbing and twisting his thumb on the table in front him."

Before his interview with The Independent, the Georgian President made similar comments in a televised question-and-answer session. "Russia has a political mentality which is on the level of a reptile, like a crocodile ready to swallow you up," Mr Saakashvili said. There is a well-documented personal enmity between Mr Saakashvili and Mr Putin. The Georgian President once said that talking to Mr Putin was "like somebody standing with an axe at your head and saying: "Don't worry, everything's OK, close your eyes and relax.'"
And:
Yesterday, Mr Putin said preliminary investigations into Monday's blast suggested that the bomber did not come from Chechnya. It was unclear whether he meant he had no links to the North Caucasus, or was from a neighbouring republic such as Dagestan. He also ruled out negotiation with terrorist groups.

Saakashvili's almost gleeful remarks not only requires Putin to respond, but is, if not this close to an admission of Georgian involvement, or at least facillitation to the bombing. Or, maybe not.. And Putin just ruled out Chechnya. On purpose or not, President Saakashvili now has the complete attention of Vladimir Putin; again.

I wonder what flavor of tie goes with Provoked Russian Invasion, Winter, 2011?

Russians say UN Security Council meeting needed to send 'a restraining signal' to North Korea

Sunday morning at 11 a.m EST.  The tension is still building,   Excerpts:

Russia's U.N. ambassador says Moscow called for an emergency Security Council meeting because of escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Vitaly Churkin said the Russian government believes the Security Council must send "a restraining signal" to North Korea and help launch diplomatic actions to resolve all disputes between North Korea and South Korea.

From Bloomberg/Business Week South Korea to Hold Drill This Week; Security Council to Meet
..
The artillery exercises will take place on Dec. 20 or Dec. 21, a spokesman at the Joint Chiefs of Staff who declined to be named, citing military policy, said today by telephone in Seoul. North Korea warned it will retaliate if the exercise takes place.

Shelling by South Korea “would make it impossible to prevent the situation on the Korean peninsula from exploding,” North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency cited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as saying in a statement yesterday. South Korea sees no reason for abandoning the drill just because other countries say it shouldn’t happen, the South Korean military spokesman said today.

The Security Council meets later today, and neither side will budge.  It's not good, but there's your update.

I'll Take Geopolitical And Thermonuclear Trash Talk For $800 Please, Alex..

N.Korea 'will rely on nuclear might for defence'


Pyongyang will rely on nuclear might to defend itself against the United States and South Korea, North Korea's Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun told Russia's Interfax news agency Friday.

Anyone taking this threat seriously?  Russia, I'm looking in your direction..

Moments after his comments, the Russian foreign ministry issued a statement stating that "all sides must avoid taking any actions that can escalate the situation."

Japan seems a little agitated by how this whole crisis has unfolded..

Japan's usual quiet approach to tensions with its neighbors is giving way to more military exercises, critical statements and discussions of what was once unthinkable: development of a nuclear arsenal.

In recent weeks, Japan has issued blunt positions against North Korea and China over the North's attacking of a South Korean island and China's refusal to rein in its Korean ally.

This month, Japan refused to renounce its claim to islands to its south whose waters are rich in minerals and that China says is its property. And Friday marked the eighth day of military drills with the U.S. aimed at countering a ballistic missile attack on Japan.  (If I were Japanese, I'd be more worried about China directly, rather than indirectly via North Korea.  But that's just splitting nuclear hairs..)

And, despite favorable talks between China and the U.S., no one seems ready to blink just yet..

This Is Most Assuredly Not Awesome..

China, Russia quit dollar.  Excerpts/Italics:

St. Petersburg, Russia - China and Russia have decided to renounce the US dollar and resort to using their own currencies for bilateral trade, Premier Wen Jiabao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin announced late on Tuesday.

Chinese experts said the move reflected closer relations between Beijing and Moscow and is not aimed at challenging the dollar, but to protect their domestic economies.
..
The yuan has now started trading against the Russian rouble in the Chinese interbank market, while the renminbi will soon be allowed to trade against the rouble in Russia, Putin said.
And:
Wen said Beijing is willing to boost cooperation with Moscow in Northeast Asia, Central Asia and the Asia-Pacific region, as well as in major international organizations and on mechanisms in pursuit of a "fair and reasonable new order" in international politics and the economy.

Sun Zhuangzhi, a senior researcher in Central Asian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the new mode of trade settlement between China and Russia follows a global trend after the financial crisis exposed the faults of a dollar-dominated world financial system.

Pang Zhongying, who specializes in international politics at Renmin University of China, said the proposal is not challenging the dollar, but aimed at avoiding the risks the dollar represents.

This is some pretty dire news.  The systems and relationships propping up the Dollar-as-World-Currency are failing, one by one, and soon, it'll be too big to ignore.  But for now, take solace in Bristol Palin flaming out on Dancing With The Stars.  No need to think about a plan of action just yet, right?

This Won't End Well..

At least two dead after shooting in Russia’s Chechen parliament. When Russia storms in and shoots up the place, we'll join CNN International for Breaking News and continuing coverage..