As we reported in April 2012, leading Chinese economic analyst (and American ex-pat) professor Michael Pettis argued in 2011 that China’s GDP might already higher than America’s in terms of purchasing power parity. And we noted that Arvind Subramanian – former assistant director in the Research Department of the International Monetary Fund, and now senior fellow jointly at the Peterson Institute for International Economics – says that China passed up the USA in 2010.

Alleged OSCE Observers Held in Slavyansk by Pro-Russian Forces Are Active Duty NATO Military Officers Out of Uniform, Many from Geilenkirchen Intelligence Base Where Awacs Are Flown; Visit Was Sponsored by German Defense Ministry, Which Is Pressuring Osce To Keep Up Attempted Camouflage of Possible Spy Mission-or Worse

Press TV: Now looking at the current events with OSCE observers, it goes to show the level of mistrust people in eastern and southern Ukraine have with regards to anything connected with Europe. How do you see the role they are playing?

Tarpley: I would have to say first of all, we should stop calling them OSCE observers because all indications are that they are not. That is what the OSCE has been saying continuously since the start of it and you can see it on their website. They basically are two versions. The Western media say OSCE observers, but the mayor Mr. [Vyacheslav] Ponomaryov, the pro-Russian mayor of Slavyansk, knows them as spies. I'm afraid reality seems to be going in the direction of Mr. Ponomareyov. These are active-duty NATO military officers. They are four from Germany, one from Sweden, the Czech Republic, Denmark, and Poland. All NATO or European Union (EU). The German officers come from a place called Geilenkirchen, which is a very important NATO base. This is where the Awacs planes are flown from. It's one of the big NATO reconnaissance centers and they particularly belong to a unit of the German army, the bundeswehr, which is called the center for enforcement or verification tasks. In other words, it's military intelligence. What seems also to be the case, is that they were accompanied by five active-duty Ukrainian officers of the pro-Kiev forces, the ones that are controlled by the regime. The complicating factor is they were riding around in OSCE vehicles. They were in a bus that seems to have been displaying OSCE markings. Now, when they were captured, there was obviously tremendous pressure exercised by the German Defense Ministry and the whole NATO apparatus on the OSCE to play along with this charade, pretending that they were sent by the OSCE, but it hasn't worked.

Christof Lehmann: Captured Soldiers Not OSCE Observers as Claimed
VoR: Elite German special forces unit ready to storm Slavyansk to release "OSCE observers"

The US has been behind the Ukrainian crisis from the beginning, but was initially flying low, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. He added that if sanctions continue, Russia will have to reconsider who has access to key sectors of its economy. “I think what is happening now shows us who really was mastering the process from the beginning. But in the beginning, the United States preferred to remain in the shadow,” Putin said, as quoted by RIA Novosti. Putin stated that since the US has taken a lead role in resolving the political crisis in Ukraine, it is “telling that they originally were behind this process, but now they just have emerged as leaders” of it. The "Maidan cookies" policy paves the way to a broader crisis, Putin warned, referring to US officials showing up in central Kiev and encouraging protesters during demonstrations. “It is necessary to understand that the situation is serious and try to find serious approaches to the solution,” he said. Putin said that he has called on Kiev to start an all-Ukrainian dialogue, adding that other countries should not be blamed for the crisis.

RT.com: "Trans-Atlantic global leadership" at stake in Ukraine – Kerry ● NATO must return to its original goal of fending off Russia, seizing the chance presented by the Ukrainian crisis to sever Europe from Moscow and move it closer to America, the US secretary of state said. Or else the bloc’s global leadership may be lost.

Mike Whitney: Why is Putin in Washington’s Crosshairs? ● Washington wants to weaken Moscow economically by slashing its gas revenues and, thus, eroding its ability to defend itself or its interests. The US does not want an economically-integrated Europe and Asia. The de facto EU-Russian alliance is a direct threat to US global hegemony.”

Antiwar.com: Kerry: US Military Will Defend Every Inch of "NATO Territory" ● In a speech today in Washington which was presented as a “warning” to Russia, Secretary of State John Kerry warned Russia would not be allowed to “change the security landscape” of Europe and that the US was prepared to defend “every single piece” of NATO territory. There is no indication, of course, that Russia has any designs on any territory of any NATO member nations. Rather, that narrative has been advanced primarily by politicians in eastern NATO states, courting major boosts in US military aid.

Barry Grey ■ In an extraordinary interview with the Wall Street Journal given Monday and published Tuesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry made clear that the Obama administration and the US military/intelligence establishment are fully aware that they are risking the outbreak of nuclear war by pursuing a reckless and provocative policy towards Russia. ■ Summarizing the interview, Journal columnist Gerald F. Seib wrote: “His greatest fear now? ‘I think it could deteriorate into hot confrontation,’ even without Russian troops crossing into Ukraine, Mr. Kerry said. ‘And there are provocateurs who are perfectly capable, who are trying to instigate that kind of flare-up.’ “The fact that it hasn’t happened so far, he said, is a tribute to the discipline and restraint of the fledgling Ukrainian government. ‘But obviously,’ he added, ‘you could have a flash point here.’” ■ Kerry’s talk of the “discipline and restraint” of the US puppet regime in Kiev is a fraud. But he knows very well about the danger of provocateurs, since he is working intimately with them in stoking up the conflict with Russia.

Stephen Lendman: More Kerry Bullying, Bluster and Big Lies ■ He's no diplomat. He's a world class thug. He mocks legitimacy. He disgraces the office he holds. He represents the worst of America's dark side. He's a serial liar. He's been caught red-handed lying numerous times before. He's at it again. Big Lies infested his Monday Wall Street Journal interview. Truth was nowhere in sight. [...] You can't make this stuff up. Other lies followed. US media scoundrels proliferate them. Truth is whitewashed. It doesn't have a chance. At risk is world peace. Ukraine is ground zero for potential East/West confrontation. All bets are off if it happens.

A prisoner in the US state of Oklahoma died of a heart attack following a botched execution on Tuesday, triggering claims of torture by attorneys for the death row inmate. ● Clayton Lockett, 38, died around 40 minutes after his execution was halted due to a botched lethal injection. He was convicted of murder, rape, kidnapping and robbery for a 1999 crime spree. Lockett was administered a new and untested three-drug combination. Following the injection of the three lethal drugs, Lockett writhed on the gurney, clenched his teeth, and strained to lift his head off the pillow before he died, according to witnesses. Lockett's lawyers say he was tortured to death and have called for an independent investigation and autopsy to learn what really went wrong. "It was a horrible thing to witness. This was totally botched," said Lockett's attorney, David Autry.

Kate Randall: Oklahoma: Botched lethal injection forces postponement of second planned execution
Katie Fretland: State-Sanctioned Murder: Clayton Lockett death witness speaks - Audio
UPI.com: Oklahoma inmate suffers fatal heart attack in botched execution

A daughter of Saudi King Abdullah has posted an online video in which she expressed solidarity with anti-regime protesters. ● In her You Tube message, Princess Sahar called on Saudi people to continue their struggle against the ruling family’s oppression. Princess Sahar and her three sisters have been locked up in the city of Jeddah for the past 13 years. Meanwhile, Saudi Prince Khalid bin Farhan has expressed solidarity with the four sisters and hailed them for defending anti-regime protesters in the kingdom’s Eastern Province. According to some estimates, over 40,000 political prisoners, mostly prisoners of conscience, are held in Saudi Arabia. Most of the prisoners are those who oppose the kingdom’s absolute monarchy and subservience to Western policies.

Israel approved nearly 14,000 new settler homes during nine months of peace talks with the Palestinians, a settlement watchdog says. ● Israel approved plans for nearly 14,000 new settler homes during the nine months of peace talks with the Palestinians, an Israeli settlement watchdog says as the negotiation period formally ended. Figures quoted by Peace Now on Tuesday showed that during the talks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government approved at least 13,851 new housing through the advancement of plans and the publication of tenders. "This is an unprecedented number representing an average of 50 housing units per day or 1,540 per month," it said.

Stephen Lendman: Unprecedented Settlement Construction Exposes Sham Peace Talks ■ Peace talks mock legitimacy. [...] They're a deplorable charade. Both sides agreed to continue them until April 29. D-day arrived. Resolution remains as distant as ever. Chances for peace are nil. Believing otherwise is fantasy. Throughout months of talks, Israeli lawlessly demolished over 500 Palestinian homes and structures. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported it. Nearly 900 Palestinians were forcibly displaced. An entire Jordan Valley village was destroyed. Throughout the negotiating period, nearly 3,700 Palestinians were lawlessly detained. Thousands of political prisoners languish in Israel's gulag. Multiple daily community incursions target Palestinians lawlessly. Beatings and arrests follow. Children are vulnerable. So are women. Barbarism defines Israeli policy.

PressTV: Israel to use steal tax collected for Palestinian Authority

Ted Pike ■ In 2013 Johns Hopkins geneticist Eran Elhaik, Ph.D. very largely destroyed prevailing genetic theory concerning the origin of eastern European “Ashkenazi” Jews -- roughly three quarters of Jews in the world today. In his groundbreaking article “The Missing Link of Jewish European Ancestry: Contrasting the Rhineland and the Khazarian Hypotheses,” published in the prestigious scientific journal Genome Biology and Evolution, Elhaik reported the results of his first major study of Ashkenazim genetics. He said the genetic evidence indicates the roots of most “Jews” today are to be found in the east, in the ancient kingdom of Khazaria, converted to Judaism in the 8th century AD. So compelling is Elhaik’s research that the scientific community remains stunned. It could be even more stunned in months to come. Elhaik told me by email: "My goals are to raise enough money to genotype the Khazar skeletons we found and deliver the final evidence to the origin of European Jews and publish the findings." This is explosive in its potential. If, indeed, he is able to determine through genetic tests that DNA within ancient Khazar bones generally corresponds to DNA within modern eastern European Jews, it will settle with finality that most "Jews" today are descended from an 8th century A.D. Eurasian nation of traders and warriors, not Abraham.

Window To Palestine: New Genome Study Destroys Zionist Claims to Palestine
Jim W. Dean: Zionists design myth of Jewish genome to usurp Palestine