The man of conscience turns out to be a whiner, and of course a snitch, an informer to the secret police, Animal Farm’s resident weasel. When Orwell’s secret denunciations surfaced a few years ago, there was a medium-level commotion…
Tensions are mounting between Russia, China, and Japan in the Pacific (Business Insider)
…At the same time that Japan seeks to hedge against Chinese military expansion in the East and South China Seas, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said last week that Russia would study the possibility of building a naval base, and deploying advanced missile systems on the Kurile islands.
Stephen F. Cohen: If America ‘Won the Cold War,’ Why Is There Now a ‘Second Cold War with Russia’?
Stephen F. Cohen, Professor Emeritus of Russian Studies and Politics at NYU and Princeton, and John Batchelor continue their (usually) weekly discussions of the new US-Russian Cold War. Any attentive observer of relations between Washington and Moscow at least since the early 2000s could have seen the unfolding reality, but only recently have authoritative representatives of the bipartisan American establishment acknowledged the new Cold War or “second Cold War with Russia.”
John Kerry’s Remarks With Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow
John Kerry noted during his recent visit to Moscow, “In the past months, as Sergey mentioned, we’ve met a fair amount, and I think there’s something to show for it. We worked together very closely on the Iran nuclear agreement. We worked together to be able to remove chemical weapons from Syria. And God knows what would have happened had that not taken place and Daesh had access to those weapons today.”
Katrina vanden Heuvel: The Nuclear Posture Review Signals a New Arms Race
On Friday, the Pentagon released its 2018 Nuclear Posture Review. Its debut demands more attention, because it announced a renewed round in the nuclear-arms race, one inevitably bringing us ever closer to the unthinkable – a nuclear war of catastrophic consequences.
Nato commander calls for return to service of U-2 spy plane to help conduct surveillance on a resurgent Russia (Independent)
Exclusive from the Independent: General Philip Breedlove said the iconic jet was among ‘additional intelligence collection platforms’ needed to effectively counter an increased threat posed by Moscow
Lev Golinkin: In Eastern Europe, Revisionist Holocaust Bills And Anti-Semitism
Poland’s brazen decision to pass a law protecting Holocaust denial should come as no surprise. Three years ago, the international community was largely silent when the government of Ukraine passed similar legislation. Today, we’re witnessing the fruits of that silence.
Turkey is deliberately ‘unleashing’ Isis terrorists into Europe, says Jordan’s King Abdullah (Independent)
Turkey is exporting Isis-linked terrorists to Europe, according to King Abdullah of Jordan. The monarch’s remarks came in a meeting with members of the US Congress, in which he said that Islamist militants were being “manufactured in Turkey” and “unleashed” into Europe.
Matt Taibbi: Donald Trump’s Thinking on Nukes Is Insane and Ignorant
If one could adjectivize the president, there has never been anything Trumpier than Donald Trump’s posture on nuclear weapons.
CIVIL RIGHTS IN THE DONBAS AND “PROGRESSIVE EUROPEAN PRECEDENT” (Ukraine Comment)
… it is long overdue for friends of Ukraine, particularly those in the west to whom parliamentarians are purportedly looking for advice, to speak out against the crude, hard-hearted, tone-deaf dehumanization of Donbas civilians. No matter what the ideological preferences of those civilians may be.
Glenn Greenwald: Dutch Official Admits Lying About Meeting With Putin: Is Fake News Used by Russia or About Russia?
Over the past year, there have been numerous claims made by Western intelligence agencies, mindlessly accepted as true in the Western press, that have turned out to be baseless, if not deliberate scams.
Lawyer Defending Russian Soldier in Ukraine Is Found Dead (NY Times)
Bloomberg: U.S. Strikes Killed Scores of Russia Fighters in Syria, Sources Say
U.S. forces killed scores of Russian mercenaries in Syria last week in what may be the deadliest clash between citizens of the former foes since the Cold War, according to one U.S. official and three Russians familiar with the matter.
Introduction to Ukraine in crisis (Nicolai N. Petro)
In a special issue of European Politics and Society a distinguished group of Canadian, Ukrainian, and American scholars examine various aspects of the Ukrainian crisis, and consider its impact on Europe. Topics include Russian narratives about Ukraine; the conflicting assumptions underlying their divergent nation-building agendas; new findings about the far right’s involvement in the Maidan protests; the Ukrainian crisis from the perspective of Western grand strategy; the security implications of Russia’s geopolitical agenda in Ukraine; the factors that contributed to the rise of separatism in Donbass; and the economic costs for Ukraine of choosing economic integration with Europe rather than Eurasia.
Amos Harel: Putin’s Phone Call With Netanyahu Put End to Israeli Strikes in Syria
Prior to Saturday call, senior Israeli officials were still taking a militant line and it seemed Jerusalem was considering further military action.
Busted Fantasies In Kiev: America And Europe Won’t Save Ukrainian Maiden In Distress (Doug Bandow)
Many Ukrainians expect America and Europe to save them. Suggest that they are living a fantasy gets you tarred as a blatant fool and Russian stooge. Yet Ukraine shouldn’t waste time posing as a fairy tale maiden in distress waiting for rescue by the Western knight in shining armor. Kiev risks ending up as a failed state.
Fred Weir: US policy doc hints at ‘limited’ nuclear arms use, alarming Russians
Russians read a new Pentagon policy document as allowing the use of nuclear weapons outside the bounds of ‘mutually assured destruction’ – a change to decades of nuclear arms philosophy that makes US-Russia relations more uncertain.
Restraint in Short Supply in the Pentagon Budget (Caroline Dorminey)
The DoD’s plan to counter Russian aggression involves an investment of $3.4 billion in FY2017 alone under the European Reassurance Initiative. This request more than quadruples last year’s request for $789 million.
Brian Milakovsky: Ukrainians Abroad: The Economics and Politics of Labor Migration
In December, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan made a statement that raised many eyebrows in his country. “We have no reason to travel to Russia,” he told reporters.
For Ukraine, EU Sanctions on Russia Hang in the Balance (Stratfor)
Ukraine still needs the West more than the West needs Ukraine, and the government is in no position to pressure the European Union. For this reason, Kiev will continue to employ a range of tactics, including diplomatic measures and threats to intensify the conflict if sanctions on Russia are eased.