2020-02-23: News Headlines

RT (2020-02-23). Russia may soon become world's largest producer of colored diamonds. rt.com One of Russia's top diamond producers, Alrosa, is poised to take the lead in the global colored-diamond market as soon as Australia's Argyle mine — currently the largest supplier of the precious rare stones — closes. | The Argyle diamond mine, widely regarded as the world's number one source of treasurable pink gems, as well as other colored diamonds, is expected to close in late 2020 after more than 30 years of operation, due to the depletion of economically viable stones. The closure is expected to have an impact on the whole global diamond industry, and may also make Russia the top supplier of t…

RT (2020-02-23). UK is the '51st state'? Uproar as Britain's secret deal to buy nuclear warheads from US without Parliament's consent is revealed. rt.com Furious Brits have accused their government of being a lapdog for Washington, after it was inadvertently revealed that the UK had quietly inked a nuclear weapons deal with the US, forgoing public debate. | The Pentagon recently disclosed that Britain has agreed to purchase new US nuclear warheads to replace Trident, its own homegrown nuclear program. However, the deal came as a surprise to British lawmakers, who were reportedly kept in the dark about the nuclear weapons. | The agreement, which involves the US sharing the technology used in its W93 sea-launched warhead, is expected to cost billions of pounds.

RT (2020-02-23). Tripoli govt invites Pentagon to redeploy troops to NATO-ravaged Libya… to 'deter Russia'. rt.com Nine years after the US helped bomb what was once the wealthiest African nation back to the Stone Age, the Tripoli-based government says it would welcome American troops on Libyan soil — to fight terrorism and 'deter' Russia. | In the wake of plans voiced by US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to scale back America's military presence in the region and re-focus its forces globally towards confronting adversaries such as Russia and China, Fathi Bashagha, the interior minister for the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), told Bloomberg that Libya would be happy to help. | If the US asks for a…

RT (2020-02-23). Tommy Robinson locks horns with RT's 'Worlds Apart' as the British activist brings his 'Rape of Britain' lecture to Russia. rt.com Tommy Robinson had a lively exchange with RT about his campaign to stop Muslim grooming gangs in the UK. The firebrand activist arrived in Russia to give a presentation about the "Rape of Britain." | Robinson sat down with RT's Oksana Boyko to discuss his provocative views about Islam and the alleged epidemic of Muslim grooming gangs in the United Kingdom. The former leader of the right-wing English Defense League said his theory is that Islam is incompatible with Western values, and even condones rape and pedophilia. | Boyko took issue with the idea that Islam is to blame for the grooming gangs that have come…

Juan Cole (2020-02-23). Why the Russian Petro-State Is Actually Terrified of a Bernie Sanders Presidency: The Green New Deal. commondreams.org Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) introduce public housing legislation as part of the Green New Deal outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, November 14, 2019. (Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/bernie_sanders_10.jpg

Juan Cole (2020-02-23). Russian Petro-state is terrified of a Sanders Presidency. zcomm.org How do I know that Russia would actually hate, abhor and despise a Sanders presidency? Because Sanders's Green New Deal would bankrupt Russia…

sputniknews (2020-02-23). Russia Will Not Host New Libya Peace Conference — Senior Diplomat. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia does not plan to host a global conference on Libyan peace and expects warring parties to act on the commitments made in Berlin, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on Sunday.

sputniknews (2020-02-23). 'Sick People': Russian Officials Blast Pentagon Over Drill Simulating 'Russian Nuclear Attack'. sputniknews.com On Friday, the Pentagon reported that it had staged a "mini-exercise" in which Russia dropped a low-yield nuke on a European NATO member. The drill followed a recent House Armed Services Committee hearing in which a senior Pentagon official said that the US needed a plan to be able to "fight and win" wars in a nuclear-contaminated environment.

sputniknews (2020-02-23). Tatami and Ice: Contents of Putin's 'Personal Sports Arsenal' Revealed. sputniknews.com As the Russian president's spokesman explained, Putin keeps himself fit via a combination of swimming, martial arts training and general physical fitness exercises.

sputniknews (2020-02-23). Mayor of Russian 'Black Sky' City Responds to Greta Thunberg's Post. sputniknews.com The city of Krasnoyarsk in central Siberia is known for its "black sky" — a period when exhaust fumes and industrial gases accumulate in the atmosphere, posing particular risks to people with heart and lung conditions.

sputniknews (2020-02-23). GNA Offers US Right to Build Libya Base to Contain Russia — Report. sputniknews.com Libya, which was thrust into a violent, nine-year-long civil war in the aftermath of a militia uprising backed by NATO airstrikes in 2011, has returned to the forefront of international attention in recent weeks as major powers increase support for the two factions vying for control of the oil-rich nation.

RT (2020-02-22). Dangerous games: US NUKES Russia in 'mini exercise' attended by Pentagon chief. rt.com US Defense Secretary Mark Esper played himself in a drill at the US Strategic Command HQ in Nebraska, which featured a bizarre scenario of America nuking Russia in response to its own nuclear strike against a 'NATO ally'. | US military exercises simulating various crises are not that uncommon, yet, out of all plausible scenarios, this particular drill apparently simulated a highly unrealistic one. The classified exercise conducted at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha on Thursday focused on an imaginary nuclear conflict between the US and Russia in Europe. | According to the drill scenario, Moscow somehow dec…

RT (2020-02-22). Trump mocks 'fake news' for running 'Russian Sympathizer Bernie' smear, but doesn't miss a chance to score points. rt.com It seems Donald Trump is yet to decide whether he would rather lampoon left-wing media for adding Democrat frontrunner Bernie Sanders to Team Russia or take the opportunity to mock his potential rival in the November poll. | Just a day apart, two steaming-hot scoops landed in the US media cycle. First, the New York Times said Russia was helping Donald Trump to get reelected. Then the Washington Post claimed Russia was helping Bernie Sanders's campaign. All based on anonymous sources, innuendos, and other traits with which even casual followers of the 'Russiagate' saga are all too familiar. | One of the princip…

RT (2020-02-22). 'Totally sane': Dems can't make up their minds about who is a supposed 'Russian agent'. Trump? Bernie? Or… both? rt.com Former presidential candidate Eric Swalwell performed mental gymnastics on CNN to defend Bernie Sanders over alleged help from Russia, claiming Moscow does it in order to help its 'agent' Donald Trump. | The Democrats' overuse of Russian collusion conspiracy theories appears to be collapsing in on itself. First Trump supposedly worked with the country to meddle in the 2016 presidential election — something there is still no actual proof of, despite the extensive Mueller investigation — and now even Dems like Sanders are facing accusations of getting help from Moscow. | Thanks to a Washington Post <...

RT (2020-02-22). Russia isn't only behind election hacking! They're also trying to smear US over coronavirus … according to State Department. rt.com Not satisfied with just blaming Russia for election meddling, US officials are now claiming Moscow is trying to "sow discord" by spreading disinformation about the coronavirus and the US' role in its creation and global response. | US State Department officials are claiming Moscow is behind an internet campaign to blame the coronavirus on the US government. | Without citing specific examples, officials told

Eric Zuesse (2020-02-22). How Bernie Sanders Will Destroy the Deep State if He Becomes President. dissidentvoice.org Joe Lauria at Consortium News headlined on February 21st, "Apparent US Intel Meddling in US Election With 'Report' Russia is Aiding Sanders", and he noted that, If the story is true and if intelligence agencies are truly committed to protecting U.S. citizens, the Sanders campaign would have been quietly informed and shown evidence to back …

South Front (2020-02-22). Video: Turkey's Sultan-in-Chief Erdogan To the Rescue of Al-Qaeda in Idlib. globalresearch.ca Tensions between the United States and Russia are growing in northeastern Syria. On February 19, a video appeared online showing how an armored vehicle of the U.S. military was pushing a vehicle of the Russian Military Police off a road. …

Stephen Lendman (2020-02-22). "Russia AgainGate": Phony Accusations of Russian "2020 Election Meddling".The Big Lie that won't Die. globalresearch.ca So-called "new information" that doesn't exist about Moscow intending to interfere in primaries and the US general election this year indicates lots more of this rubbish to come in the run-up to November.

Juan Cole (2020-02-22). Russia Wants Trump Reelected, and May Be Making a Bet That Bernie Sanders Can't Defeat Him (They're Wrong). commondreams.org President Donald Trump speaks to the media at the White House on August 17, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/donald_trump_4.jpg

Mojmir Babacek (2020-02-22). Psychotronic and Electromagnetic Weapons: Remote Control of the Human Nervous System. globalresearch.ca Note to readers: please click the share buttons above | This article was originally published on January 31, 2013. | *** | In March 2012 the Russian defense minister Anatoli Serdjukov said: | "The development of weaponry based on new physics principles; direct-energy weapons, …

WSWS (2020-02-22). U.S. Intelligence agencies meddle in Nevada primary to sabotage Sanders. wsws.org On the eve of Nevada Democratic caucuses, the Washington Post reported that "US officials" told Sanders the Russian government was working to aid his campaign.

Fight Back (2020-02-22). Germany: Lenin comes to Gelsenkirchen! fightbacknews.org On March 14, the Russian revolutionary, Marxist working-class theorist and leader of the October Revolution of 1917 will come to Gelsenkirchen, Germany. 150 years after his birthday he will move permanently into Gelsenkirchen-Horst – in the form of an over two meter tall, artfully shaped cast-iron statue in front of the Horster Mitte, the federal headquarters of the Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD). | "This will also be the start of a nationwide movement 'Don't give anti-communism a chance,'" says Gabi Fechtner, the chairwoman of the MLPD. "In times where monuments of the great communist th…

Eric Waddell (2020-02-22). World Conquest: The United States' Global Military Crusade (1945- ). globalresearch.ca The first period was characterized by US military intervention in Europe, the second by a concern to confine the Communist bloc and to prevent the emergence of pro-communist regimes elsewhere in the world, and the third, focused on gaining control over the former Soviet republics and the oil-rich Middle East.

RT (2020-02-21). Zombie collusion? Clinton pounces on latest 'Russian meddling' report to rally the troops, because it worked so well in 2016. rt.com Hillary Clinton has seized upon the latest claim that Russia is 'interfering' in the 2020 election to renew her assault on US President Donald Trump, while a lack of evidence casts even the vague report into doubt. | Clinton crowed an 'I told you so' in response to an NBC reporter's tweet suggesting Trump had desperately wanted to keep the latest installment in the never-ending 'Russian meddling' soap opera under wraps. Accusing the president of "taking Russian help for himself," she exhorted her followers to keep "Putin's Puppet" from securing a second term. | Putin's Puppet is at it again, taking Russian hel…

RT (2020-02-21). 'Russians helping Sanders!' MSM takes abrupt break from anti-Trump frenzy for a 'never Bernie' moment on the eve of Nevada caucus. rt.com As Bernie Sanders surges to the front of the pack for the Democratic nomination, the Washington Post has dropped an anonymous "bombshell" claiming that Moscow seeks to help him as well as its "puppet," US President Donald Trump. | On the word of "people familiar with the matter,"

RT (2020-02-21). 'Hoax!' Trump hits back at latest claims that Russia will 'aid' his 2020 campaign. rt.com US President Donald Trump has slammed the recently reported (but unsubstantiated) claims that Russia will interfere to help him win the 2020 presidential election, saying the rumors are just "another misinformation campaign." | The New York Times and other media reported on Thursday that Moscow is "aiding" Trump in the upcoming election, citing only anonymous intelligence officials. | Cable networks like MSNBC and CNN instantly amplified the unverified claims, setting in motion another round of 'Russiagate' conspiracy theorizing, almost eleven months after the two-year-long Mueller investigation found no evide…

Staff (2020-02-21). Headlines for February 21, 2020. democracynow.org Roger Stone Sentenced to 40-Month Prison Term, Trump Lashed at Intel Chief over Warning of Russian Meddling in 2020 Election, Germany Mourns Victims of Right-Wing Terror Attacks, Suspect Arrested in Stabbing at London Mosque, U.K. to Close Borders to "Unskilled" and Non-English-Speaking Immigrants, Protests Erupt as Acting ICE Director Challenges New York Pro-Immigrant Laws, Mexican Radio Journalist Murdered in Ciudad Juárez, February Flowers Bloom in Moscow Amid Record-High Winter Temperatures, 28 Arrested in Seattle Protesting Chase Bank Fossil Fuel Ties, Rail Blockades Continue as Protests Grow Against Coastal…

Stephen Lendman (2020-02-21). Russia and Turkey, "Allies" Fighting One Another: On Opposite Sides of the War on Syria. globalresearch.ca US forever war in Syria shows no signs of ending because restoration of peace and stability to the country would be a major strategic blow to Washington's aim for controlling the Middle East — NATO and Israel serving as junior …

Ted Rall (2020-02-21). Bernie Should Own the Socialist Label. counterpunch.org Bernie Sanders is currently the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination. He and everyone else knows exactly how the Republicans will attack him if and when he becomes the nominee: old-fashioned redbaiting. China became communist in name only during the 1980s, the Soviet Union shut its doors in 1991, the Cold War is dead, and

Andrew Korybko (2020-02-21). Russia Bans Most Chinese from Entry: 'Pure Racism' or 'Preventive Reaction'? globalresearch.ca Russia unexpectedly banned all Chinese except those with diplomatic, business, humanitarian, and transit visas from entering the country, but this unprecedented move was made as a preventive reaction against the spread of the coronavirus and not for racist purposes, though …

WSWS (2020-02-21). Fighting mounts as Washington backs Turkish attack on Syria, Russia. wsws.org US-backed Turkish military operations targeting Syrian and Russian units in Syria could escalate into an all-out clash between Russia and the entire NATO alliance.

The Canary (2020-02-21). Britain First leader Paul Golding charged under the Terrorism Act. thecanary.co The leader of far-right political group Britain First has been charged with an offence under the Terrorism Act after refusing to give police access to his phone. | Paul Golding was stopped at Heathrow Airport in October on his way back from a trip to the Russian Parliament in Moscow by officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command. | He refused to give the pin codes for a number of his electronic devices. | Golding was later charged with refusing to comply with a duty under Schedule 7 of the act. | In a statement, Golding said he was not a terrorist and described the charges as "an abuse of legislation". | Sc…

Renee Parsons (2020-02-21). Why Renew the "Ultra Secret" Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court? globalresearch.ca As the emerging Quantum World continues to shake reality as we once knew it, it is no coincidence that the ultra-secret FISA Court has been unwittingly thrust into the public spotlight of the FBI Russiagate scandal — exactly where it …

Stephen F. Cohen (2020-02-21). The Kremlin Plans to Modernize Russia, Again. thenation.com The Kremlin Plans to Modernize Russia, Again…

Jason Ditz (2020-02-20). Turkey Kills Over 50 Syrian Troops, Russian Warplanes Intervene to Halt Offensive. theantimedia.com Russia called the situation a "worst case scenario."

Susan Price (2020-02-20). United States: New weapons raise danger of nuclear war. greenleft.org.au

Binoy Kampmark (2020-02-18). The Priorities of General Motors: Ditching Holden. dissidentvoice.org It seemed to be a case of grand misrepresentation. Holden cars, those great Australian acquisitions, along with home, lawnmower and nuclear family, gave the impression of indigenous pride, the home brand. It was also resoundingly masculine. But behind that image was a mighty American thrust, with General Motors holding the reins on investment as benevolent …

Jason Ditz (2020-02-17). DOJ Investigating Former CIA Director's Role in Russiagate. theantimedia.com The Justice Department is investigating the role of John Brennan in the assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.

Alexander Rubinstein (2020-02-13). State-backed Alliance for Securing Democracy disinfo shop falsely smears The Grayzone as 'state-backed'. thegrayzone.com In painting critical reporting on the Iowa caucuses debacle as a Russian plot, a Western government-backed information warfare shop smeared…

Strategic Culture (2020-02-08). US Deploys 'Mini-Nukes' in Deplorable Threat to World Peace. theantimedia.com These so-called "mini-nukes" represent—despite the diminutive-sounding name—an increased risk of nuclear war.

Tyler Durden (2020-02-08). Iraq and Russia Prepare to Boost Military Ties as US Threatens Sanctions. theantimedia.com Iraq and Russia are preparing for deepening military coordination.

Middle East Eye (2020-02-07). Russia Says Israel Used Civilian Plane as Human Shield During Syria Strikes. theantimedia.com Russia accused Israel of "making a total mockery of the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians."

Lawrence Wittner (2019-12-22). Americans Are Ready for a Different Approach to Nuclear Weapons. zcomm.org Although today's public protests against nuclear weapons can't compare to the major antinuclear upheavals of past decades, there are clear indications that most Americans reject the Trump administration's nuclear weapons policies. Since entering office in 2017, the Trump administration has withdrawn the United States from the nuclear agreement with Iran, scrapped the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces

Jon Rainwater (2019-11-07). Take Action — Some actual, SANE legislation. peaceaction.org Trump has plans to spend nearly $2 TRILLION over the next 30 years on unneeded and unnecessary nuclear weapons and delivery systems. This makes no sense. This is insane. That's nearly $100 million wasted every day for thirty years on weapons we are supposed to be getting rid of. To put that amount in perspective, …

Peace Action (2019-06-25). Peace Action Endorses Ilhan Omar for Congress. peaceaction.org Washington, DC — June 25, 2019 — Peace Action has announced its endorsement of Ilhan Omar for Congress in Minnesota's 5th Congressional District. Peace Action is a national grassroots organization working to advance nuclear disarmament, promote government spending priorities that support human needs, encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights, and support nonmilitary …

Peace Action (2019-06-24). Peace Action Endorses Kara Eastman for Congress. peaceaction.org Washington, DC — June 24, 2019 — Peace Action has announced its endorsement of Kara Eastman for Congress in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District. Peace Action is a national grassroots organization working to advance nuclear disarmament, promote government spending priorities that support human needs, encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights, and support nonmilitary …