Presidents Lukashenko of Byelarus, Putin of Russia, Hollande of France, Poroshenko Ukraine, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (center) met in Minsk to discuss steps toward a peaceful, diplomatic solution to the civil strife in Ukraine. The unfortunate State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki demanded punishment for Russia and pro-Russian separatists if they break the accord, but in response to questions from AP seemed to rule out the possibility that pro-Kiev forces might violate the Minsk agreements. Within hours, the Neo-Nazi Right Sector leader Dimitro Yarosh proved Psaki wrong by announcing that his fighters would not be bound by Minsk II, but would rather continue to wage war on their own.

Pablo Iglesias Turrión is the current party secretary of Spain’s Podemos. He claims to be the Spanish version of the Greek Syriza, but a comparison shows him painfully short on mass traction economic program and long on vague utopian cliches and backing from mainstream media controlled by Soros and other bankers. So far Iglesias is much closer to the hollow demagogy of Italy’s Beppe Grillo than he is to the substantive anti-austerity and New Deal program Tsipras and Varoufakis are fighting for. If Podemos is to succeed, Iglesias must either be ousted or commit convincingly to supporting the Greek demand for a new London Debt Conference where the amount owed by Greece, Spain, and other victims of the finance oligarchs would be cut by at least 50%; the mission of the European Central Bank changed to include defense of euroland government bonds and financing € 7 trillion in infrastructure Europe-wide and 5 million new productive jobs in Spain alone; all austerity cuts, firings, anti-union, and anti-worker measures would be rolled back; and immediate humanitarian support provided for the destitute and homeless; among other measures.

titre documents joints