Representatives of Ukraine and separatist rebels agreed Wednesday to pull back troops and weapons from several areas in eastern Ukraine in an attempt to shore up a fragile peace agreement
FAIR: The Utility of the RussiaGate Conspiracy
New McCarthyism allows corporate media to tighten grip, Democrats to ignore their own failings
Hillary Clinton Meets With Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (Daily Mail)
Hillary Clinton promised Ukraine’s Petro Poroshenko Monday that she would stand with the country against ‘Russian aggression’.
VIDEO: Rachel Maddow: All Russia. All The Time.
Is Rachel Maddow aware there is other news happening?
Russia denies carrying out air strike on UN aid convoy near Aleppo labelled an ‘attack on humanity’ (The Independent)
UN humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien said all warring parties had received notification of the convoy, which was carrying aid for about 78,000 people, warning that if the volunteers and aid workers were deliberately targeted “it would amount to a war crime.”
FT: US sanctions proposals shrugged off in Russia
US senators’ proposals for punishing new sanctions against Russia have met a muted response in Moscow, where investors are shrugging off fears that the new measures could prompt a repeat of April’s market sell-off.
Bloomberg News Reporter Asks Hillary Clinton: Was Russian Behind The NY-NJ Bomb Scare?
Bloomberg News reporter Jennifer Epstein asked Hillary Clinton on Monday: Are you concerned that this weekend’s attack — or, potential incidents in the coming weeks — might be an attempt by ISIS, or ISIS sympathizers, or any other group, maybe Russian, to influence the presidential race in some way, and presumably to drive votes to Donald Trump?
Sean T. Crowley: NATO ‘Encirclement’ May Be Creating a New Crisis with Russia.
NATO expansion has fueled some of Russia’s worst fears…and impulses.
Washington’s Hawks Push New Cold War (Alastair Crooke)
As a fragile and partial cease-fire in Syria totters, the back story is the political warfare in Washington where powerful hawks seek to escalate both the war in Syria and the New Cold War with Russia, ex-British diplomat Alastair Crooke explains.
Byron York: 12 times Christopher Steele fed Trump-Russia allegations to FBI after the election
Congressional investigators know that Christopher Steele, the former British spy who compiled the Trump dossier on behalf of the Clinton campaign, kept supplying allegations to the FBI after the 2016 election — and even after he was terminated as a source by the bureau for giving confidential information to the media.
With the Syrian cease-fire, the secretary of state takes a parting swipe at Russophobia (Patrick Lawrence)
It has been clear for some years that the policy cliques in Washington have been approaching a decisive limit. It is not merely that the Bush II framework — flouting international law, intervening at will, “pre-emptive” war, “regime change,” “nation-building” and so on — can be carried no further. There is a larger point.
Matt Taibbi: Beware the Slippery Slope of Facebook Censorship
Facebook was “helped” in its efforts to wipe out these dangerous memes by the Atlantic Council, on whose board you’ll find confidence-inspiring names like Henry Kissinger, former CIA chief Michael Hayden, former acting CIA head Michael Morell and former Bush-era Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff.
Syria Truce Hangs In The Balance (AP)
Syria’s week-long cease-fire, brokered by the United States and Russia, was in doubt Monday amid repeated violations and with no aid deliveries to the besieged rebel-held part of the northern city of Aleppo, a key point in the truce agreement.
Jonathan Chait Is the Last Person We Should Listen To When It Comes to Trump and Russia
Chait says Russiagate skeptics are foolish. Here’s why he’s completely wrong.
Russia stays loyal to Kremlin in election with record low turnout (The Guardian)
Russia’s new parliament will be overwhelmingly loyal to the Kremlin, after elections marked by a record low turnout threw up few surprises.
VIDEO: Noam Chomsky on Mass Media Obsession with Russia & the Stories Not Being Covered
Chomsky: So, take, say, the huge issue of interference in our pristine elections. Did the Russians interfere in our elections? An issue of overwhelming concern in the media. I mean, in most of the world, that’s almost a joke.
Truce teeters after raids on Aleppo, Syria troops (AFP)
Syria’s ceasefire was on the brink of collapsing Sunday, after a US-led coalition strike killed dozens of regime soldiers and Aleppo city was hit by its first air raids in nearly a week.
Paul Robinson: Cui Bono?
At present, politicians and political commentators are making much of the alleged threat to democracy posed by social media, ‘fake news’, and ‘disinformation’.
The US and Russia have less influence in Syria than they think (Patrick Cockburn)
Despite 10 months of negotiations between the US and Russia, the two biggest players in the Syrian conflict, the ceasefire is close to unravelling
Reuters: Russia to deploy military police on Golan Heights
Russia will deploy its military police on the Golan Heights frontier between Syria and Israel, its defense ministry said on Thursday, after weeks of mounting volatility in the area.