russia

Paul Craig Roberts: Another Western War Crime In The Making

"The UK Independent reports that over this past week-end Obama, Cameron, and Hollande agreed to launch cruise missile attacks against the Syrian government within two weeks despite the lack of any authorization from the UN and despite the absence of any evidence in behalf of Washington’s claim that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against the Washington-backed “rebels”, largely US supported external forces, seeking to overthrow the Syrian government. Indeed, one reason for the rush to war is to prevent the UN inspection that Washington knows would disprove its claim and possibly implicate Washington in the false flag attack by the 'rebels.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Craig Roberts: Another Western War Crime In The Making

John Kerry: Syria guilty of ‘a moral obscenity’

"Speaking amid reports that Washington and its allies are preparing to launch a punitive cruise missile strike on Syrian targets, US Secretary of State John Kerry accused Bashar al-Assad’s regime of engaging in a cover-up. Kerry said Washington would provide more evidence of who was behind the attack, and that US President Barack Obama was determined that the guilty would face consequences. With China and Moscow expected to boycott any resolution backing a military strike, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the West could act even without full UN Security Council backing." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJohn Kerry: Syria guilty of ‘a moral obscenity’

Russia closes 700 schools amid dramatic drop in birth rates

"Russia saw birth rates drop dramatically in the turbulent 1990s and its demographic situation has remained negative, with more deaths than births, ever since. President Vladimir Putin last year urged Russians to have at least three children. 'We plan to close 733 schools this year,' said the outspoken public health official Gennady Onishchenko, quoted by the Interfax news agency. 'You understand the reason: there aren’t enough children.' 'For some reason we have forgotten why we came into the world and we came with only one aim: to create new life, to continue our line,' said Onishchenko, who has three children. A recent uptick in births is partly driven by a wave of immigrants." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRussia closes 700 schools amid dramatic drop in birth rates

Russian channel censored WWII series documenting ‘dark side’ of Soviet war effort

"Penal battalions in World War II employed convicted criminals and political prisoners and were essentially a taboo subject for decades, although they were used in near suicide missions between 1942 and 1945. The Russian parliament has already passed in an initial reading a bill to ban obscene language in literature and film. Another law that was recently proposed by pro-Kremlin lawmakers imposes fines and jail terms of up to five years for 'justification of fascism,' a broad measure which would punish people who talk about crimes committed by and within the Soviet army." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRussian channel censored WWII series documenting ‘dark side’ of Soviet war effort

Belarus and Russia in a ‘chocolate war’ against Ukraine

"Belarus will not allow confectionery manufactured by Roshen to cross its territory. That’s after the Russian sanitary services banned the confectioners products after the toxic hydrocarbon benzopyrene was found in Roshen milk chocolate. Roshen could stand to lose $200mn from the ‘chocolate war’ with Russia according to Oleksandr Sokolov, director of analytics at Pro-Consulting talking to Ukrinform. Kazakhstan, the third party to the Customs Union with Russia and Belarus, has so far not found any signs of benzopyrene in Roshen products. On Saturday Tajikistan said it had found no impurity in Roshen confectionary products imported into the country." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBelarus and Russia in a ‘chocolate war’ against Ukraine

Cyprus Bank’s Bailout Hands Ownership to Russian Plutocrats

"When European leaders engineered a harsh bailout deal for this tiny Mediterranean nation in March, they cheered the end of an economic model fueled by a flood of cash from Russia. The exercise was meant to banish what Germany and other Northern European nations viewed as dirty Russian money from Cyprus’s bloated banks. Instead, it has pulled Russia even deeper into Europe’s financial system by giving its plutocrats majority ownership, at least on paper, of the Bank of Cyprus, the country’s oldest, biggest and most important financial institution. 'Whoever controls the Bank of Cyprus controls the island,' said Andreas Marangos, a Limassol lawyer." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCyprus Bank’s Bailout Hands Ownership to Russian Plutocrats

Declassified intelligence reveals U.S.-India Cold War cooperation on U2 spy missions

"A declassified American intelligence report on the use of U-2 spy planes has shed new light on cooperation between the United States and India during the Cold War. The document traced the role of the US in monitoring Chinese incursions into India, at the request of New Delhi, which enjoyed a close relationship with the Soviet Union. Following the Sino-Indian conflict of October 1962, when China launched surprise attacks against Indian frontier forces, 'the Indian government appealed to the United States for military aid,' according to CIA historians who traced the events. India allowed the United States to build a base in India for the secret spy planes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDeclassified intelligence reveals U.S.-India Cold War cooperation on U2 spy missions

Eric Margolis: Kicking Sand In Russia’s Face

"Imagine if the US increased its arms supplies to Syria’s rebels and imposed a no-fly zone, as Sen. John McCain urges. Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missiles down US warplanes. The US launches attacks on Russian AA units, then on Russian ships delivering arms to the Assad government. It’s not hard to see how a direct clash over Syria could put Russia and the US on their most perilous collision course since the Cuban missile crisis. Instead of dealing with this major threat, Obama, under blistering attack from Republicans over the deaths of three Americans in Benghazi, Libya, is offending Putin and indeed all Russians." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEric Margolis: Kicking Sand In Russia’s Face

Russia Today’s Editor-In-Chief: ‘The West Never Got Over the Cold War Stereotype’

"Russian President Vladimir Putin has created an anti-CNN for Western audiences with the international satellite news network Russia Today. He commissioned the network in order to 'break the monopoly of the Anglo-Saxon mass media.' The government seems to be succeeding in its task, with the network gaining more viewers in major cities in the United States that any other foreign broadcaster. In Washington, 13 times as many viewers tune in to Russia Today than they do its German equivalent Deutsche Welle. A total of 2 million Brits watch the program. On Youtube, the Moscow-based broadcaster recently broke the one-billion-hit barrier." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRussia Today’s Editor-In-Chief: ‘The West Never Got Over the Cold War Stereotype’

Pepe Escobar: Bandar Bush, ‘liberator’ of Syria

"Bandar Bush's visit to Moscow simply could not have happened without a green light from Washington. So what's the (muddled) master plan? The Obama administration seems to believe in a remixed Sykes-Picot - almost a century after the original. The problem is they are clueless on how to configure the new zones of influence. Meanwhile, they're letting the Saudis do the heavy lifting. The first step was to eliminate Qatar from the picture. It's astonishing how fast the emirate, up to two months ago a prospective mini-superpower, now has been reduced to less than an afterthought." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPepe Escobar: Bandar Bush, ‘liberator’ of Syria