(2020-06-12). Russians "Stirring Up Trouble": An Obama Retread Sees Moscow's Hand in US Protests. globalresearch.ca If one ventures into the vast wasteland of American television it is possible to miss the truly ridiculous content that is promoted as news by the major networks. One particular feature of media-speak in the United States is the tendency …
(2020-06-12). Washington steps up strategic bomber flights threatening Russia, China. wsws.org As social anger grows over police brutality and the COVID-19 pandemic, the danger that the ruling elite will try to suppress class conflict with external wars is rising.
(2020-06-12). The New Cold War with China. zcomm.org How Will It Affect You?
(2020-06-12). NATO's Call on 'Like-minded Nations' to Stand Up to the Rise of China Is Just a Desperate Bid for Global Relevance. globalresearch.ca As the influence of the US and Europe wanes in the face of a new geopolitical reality, their Cold War progeny, NATO, seeks to redefine itself as a global player. The problem is NATO is not capable of even stepping …
(2020-06-11). Russia shoots down "Ridiculous" Trump demand for Arms Embargo on Tehran. zcomm.org The Neoconservative wing of the Trump administration, which is dying to drag the United States into a war with Iran, suffered an embarrassing setback on Monday when its latest flimsy scheme crashed and burned.
(2020-06-11). Remembering the Crimes of Global Capitalism: "The Jakarta Method" globalresearch.ca Any self-identifying socialist will be met with the question at some point in their lives: How many people have been killed in the name of socialism? They might have pointed out in response that Soviet-style state socialism is about as …
(2020-06-11). Finnish communist youth slam proposal to remove friendship memorials. peoplesdispatch.org A Conservative MP in Finland has proposed the removal of the Hakaniemi World Peace Statue in Helsinki and the Friendship of Peoples Monument in Ità§keskus, both symbolic of friendship with the people of Russia…
(2020-06-11). Nord Stream 2 Trade Geopolitics: Towards a US-Germany "Tariff War". Washington Threatens Germany with Sanctions. globalresearch.ca The United States continues to threaten Germany with sanctions if the European country proceeds with the Nord Stream 2 project — a strategic partnership with Russia to build a large gas pipeline that would facilitate the energy flow between Russia …
(2020-06-11). Trump agitates to restart the global nuclear arms race. truepublica.org.uk By TruePublica: Time Magazine says Donald Trump is both "dangerous, impatient and foolish." EuroNews says Trump — "is a grave danger to the US and the world." The 2017 book entitled — The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, contains the essays from 27 psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals describing the "clear and present …
(2020-06-11). Romantic Republicans seeking a return to Cold War aggression are deluded — no-one values America's tarnished values anymore. thealtworld.com Right-wing members of Congress have issued a report calling for the US to move to defend itself against a reimagined global threat. But it ignores the fact that, after George Floyd, America's world standing is irreparably damaged. | A
(2020-06-10). Disastrous oil spill ravages pristine Arctic lake. peoplesworld.org 
A 21,000 tonne (approximately 23,000 U.S. ton) oil spill that prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to declare an emergency last week has now reached a pristine Arctic lake, and there are concerns it could contaminate the Arctic Ocean. Environmentalists and local officials have raised alarms about the disaster, which they say is the worst of its kind in the Russian Arctic, according …
(2020-06-12). US Bombers Are So Ridiculously Expensive Air Force Forced to Make Up for Low Numbers by Planning Cargo Planes for Combat. anti-empire.com 
Editor's note: A decent article but which does not explain the background of why the Air Force is experimenting with using cargo planes in this way. Despite having a massive budget the hardware the service orders from the defense industry is so ridiculously expensive the stable just isn't large enough. That is also the reason the ancient but reliable B-52s are still kept in service (and indeed form the backbone of the nuclear and heavy bomber force) and will outlive far newer but overly-complicated and troubled machines like the B-1 from the corporate handout era: Curious taxpayers might wonder why we need the Lon…
(2020-06-11). Video: Explosion Targets Russian Military Police Patrol in Northern Syria. Who Was Behind It? globalresearch.ca On June 9, an improvised explosive device exploded on the route of the patrol of the Russian Military Police near the town of Ayn al-Arab (also known as Kobani) in northern Syria. Initially, Kurdish sources claimed that at least 3 …
(2020-06-13). Fire on French nuclear submarine at Toulon extinguished. yenisafak.com A fire on a nuclear submarine docked at the French Mediterranean port of Toulon was extinguished early on Saturday morning, the Defence Ministry said.Some 100 firefighters had been called in to tackle the blaze on the Perle, which lasted 14 hours and ended at around 00: 50 a.m. (2250 GMT). the ministry said. It confirmed an earlier statement that no nuclear material was aboard when the fire broke out on Friday.Nobody was hurt and no nuclear materials or weapons were on board the vessel, which was in dry dock for repairs, authorities said on Friday.Toulon is France's biggest naval base and is home to most of its fl…
(2020-06-11). Cherry season ensues in Idlib, Syria. yenisafak.com Syrian civilians have started harvesting cherries in the Idlib de-escalation zone in the northwest of the country amid relatively secure environment since cease-fire agreement inked between Turkey and Russia on March 5.Idlib is home to hundreds of thousands of cherry trees.However, farmers returning to their homes after the cease-fire have been badly affected by skyrocketing fertilization, tree pruning, transportation and fuel prices."We suffered a lot during the migration period. We returned to our land after the cease-fire. We look forward to this month every year," Syrian farmer Haci Ahmet Muhammad told Anadol…
(2020-06-12). Russian Embassy Says Fake Statement of US Official on Libya, Syria Will Further Spoil Relations. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The Russian Embassy in the United States said the fake statement by a high-ranking US official, including recent remarks on the situation in Syria and Libya, will only spoil relations between Moscow and Washington even further.
(2020-06-12). Liquefied Gas Tank Explosion in Russia's Kazan Kills 1, Injures 2, Tatarstan Health Ministry Says. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – A gas explosion at a Gazprom distribution centre in the Russian city of Kazan has killed one person and left three injured, the Russian Emergencies Ministry said.
(2020-06-12). Militants Shell Settlement in Syria's Idlib, Russian Military Says. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* terrorist group has attacked a settlement in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, Rear Admiral Alexander Shcherbitsky, the head of the Russian Defence Ministry's centre for Syrian reconciliation, said on Friday.
(2020-06-12). Anti-Iranian circles seek to create fear regarding NPT: Ulyanov. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 12 (MNA) — Russia's Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said that anti-Iranian circles are striving to create fear and claim that the recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) calls for immediate action regarding the non-proliferation treaty.
(2020-06-11). Iran's Zarif to visit Moscow next week: Russia. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 11 (MNA) — Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will travel to Russia next week.
(2020-06-12). 'We're Russia, we're together': WATCH aerobatic team paint the skies on Russia Day. rt.com 
In celebration of Russia Day, a group of daredevils took to the skies over the Moscow Region, sending a patriotic message to all Russians to stay strong and united in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. | The Perviy Polet (First Flight) squadron is the only aerobatic team in the country that uses propeller planes, including the iconic Yakovlev Yak-52 Soviet trainer aircraft. | Footage of the stunt, filmed by multiple cameras on the ground and on the wings of the planes, shows the team taking off from the airfield. Five machines fly in formation, writing "We're Russia! We're together!" with a trail of smok…
(2020-06-11). WATCH as Russian police bike is OBLITERATED during high-speed crash in Moscow. rt.com 
A Moscow cop suffered serious injuries after his motorbike crashed into a taxi during a high-speed chase. The impact was so powerful that the bike was shattered into pieces, while the officer was sent flying into the air. | The freak accident occurred in the Russian capital on Thursday afternoon, with surveillance footage surfacing online shortly afterwards. | The disturbing video shows a police motorbike approaching an intersection at high speed and crashing into a taxi, which was turning left. The bike apparently passed a red light. | The impact appears to have been very powerful, as the vehicle was liter…
(2020-06-11). The Powers That Be Are Ecstatic That the Left Believes the Biggest Problem Right Now Are Statues of Dead White Men. anti-empire.com 
In the US and the EU both, we've witnessed the biggest monetary heist in history. We're sailing into a depression that central banks have set up for us over the past two decades. And we're doing so in the worst possible condition thanks to the Draconian, harebrained and unnecessary lockdowns that the politicians imposed on us. | Several of Empire's wars and occupations continue in Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, and Syria. Tension is being needlessly cultivated with China and Russia, and the entire architecture of nuclear arms control is just about done being thrown in that trash bin of history. | Simultaneously the…
(2020-06-13). Russia Aiming to Realize Greater Eurasia Dream. strategic-culture.org The Russian role will be to balance the hegemonic powers, as a guarantor of a new union of non-aligned nations | Pepe ESCOBAR | Professor Sergey Karaganov is informally known in influential foreign policy circles as the "Russian Kissinger" — with the extra bonus of not having to carry a "war criminal" tag from Vietnam and Cambodia to Chile and beyond. | Karaganov is the dean of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at the National Research University Higher School of Economics. He's also the honorary chairman of Russia's Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy. | In December…
(2020-06-13). Russia and Europe: Two Different Histories. strategic-culture.org A considerable amount of baggage has become attached to the word "European" over the half-millennium that Europe has dominated the world. There's the geographical meaning — from the Atlantic to the Urals — but, because Europe is a peninsula on the western end of Asia, the frontier is subject to debate. Diplomats sometimes use the word to mean members of the European Union. But the most important meaning is the value-laden one — to be "European" is to be modern, civilised, rational, to hold "values", to be successful. To be powerful. Not to be "European" is to be none of these things, perhaps eve…
(2020-06-13). Narrative Control Operations Escalate as America Burns. strategic-culture.org Caitlin JOHNSTONE | In 2017, representatives of Facebook, Twitter, and Google were "Civil wars don't start with gunshots, they start with words," the representatives were told by cold warrior think tank denizen Clint Watts. "America's war with itself has already begun. We all must act now on the social…
(2020-06-12). Why the Sudden U.S. Keenness for Arms Control Talks With Russia? strategic-culture.org The answer to the above question comes down to one word: China. | U.S. envoy Marshall Billingslea is, rather belatedly, making enthusiastic sounds about arms control talks to be held with Russia later this month. The talks are scheduled for June 22 in Vienna. The Kremlin has confirmed the venue and discussions, with deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov representing the Russian side. | On
(2020-06-11). The EU Continues to Talk Utter Baloney About Libya. But What's the Real Reason Its Warships Are in the Eastern Mediterranean? strategic-culture.org It's often said that the EU plays no role whatsoever in the conflict in Libya and takes no side. And given that Italy, being the odd man in Europe, supports the incumbent government and its ragtag coalition of soldiers and militias it employs fighting under the so-called GNA — whereas most EU countries are more aligned to General Haftar (supported by Russia, Egypt, UAE and Saudi Arabia), it's easy to see how the EU can't take a single position. | But it has. Although at the end of May there was more waffling by the EU's foreign policy wonk, Spanish socialist Josep Borrell, who, undoubtedly frustrated by…
(2020-06-11). Russians Stirring Up Trouble: An Obama Retread Sees Moscow's Hand in Protests. strategic-culture.org If one ventures into the vast wasteland of American television it is possible to miss the truly ridiculous content that is promoted as news by the major networks. One particular feature of media-speak in the United States is the tendency of the professional reporting punditry to go seeking for someone to blame every time some development rattles the National Security plus Wall Street bubble that we all unfortunately live in. The talking heads have to such an extent sold the conclusion that China deliberately released a lethal virus to destroy western democracies that no one objects when Beijing is elevated from b…
(2020-06-11). Trump's Touted Troop Pullout From Germany Is More Rift Than Gift. strategic-culture.org President Donald Trump's reported order to withdraw nearly 10,000 US troops from bases in Germany has engendered frissons of angst about the future of NATO, the transatlantic relationship, and European security. The most preposterous reaction came from American and European security officials who All the media excitement is sound and fury signifying little. Trump's troop drawdown is not a gift to Russia. Rather, it is more an expression of rift and a temper tantru…
(2020-06-10). 'The Ascent': 1970s Soviet film affirms deeply human values in dangerous times. peoplesworld.org 
The Ascent is not the type of movie you would expect about World War II—or the Great Patriotic War, as it was known in the Soviet Union where the film was made. First, a little background: The Soviet Union generally boosted the heroics of that war in popular culture whenever possible, and for good reason. …
(2020-06-10). Putin stresses importance of Libya ceasefire in phone call with Erdogan. rt.com 
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday and stressed the importance of a ceasefire in Libya as soon as possible, the Kremlin's press service said. | The two leaders expressed "mutual concern over the mass armed clashes ongoing in the country," the statement said. Putin also stressed the need for renewed inter-Libyan dialogue. | Discussing Syria, Putin and Erdogan underlined the need to implement Russian-Turkish agreements on the Idlib de-escalation zone. | The presidents discussed joint efforts during the coronavirus pandemic, and noted the…
(2020-06-10). Call Russia 'sponsor of TERROR'! Imperial-minded House Republicans urge return to Cold War footing & drastic sanctions policy. rt.com 
The largest House GOP caucus has released a 'national security strategy' that envisions escalating sanctions against China and Russia, more war on terrorism in the Middle East, and a Cold War-type infowar, among other things. | The 120-page It offers a laundry list of possible actions agains…
(2020-06-10). Cracked silo at under-construction UK nuclear plant releases DUST CLOUD after accident. rt.com 
A silo at Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in Somerset has suffered structural damage, releasing a cloud of granulated slag into the surrounding area and temporarily halting work on the joint French-Chinese venture. | The 115-foot (35-meter) tower buckled at around 7: 30 am local time on Wednesday. Although initial reports were of an explosion, the smoke was in fact a cloud of Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS), which was being used to reinforce the concrete, according to a spokesperson with Electricite de France (EDF). | No one was injured and no radiation was released in the incident, according to…
(2020-06-10). Russia's ruling class nervous over spreading global protests. wsws.org The Kremlin's seeming smugness over the crisis gripping the United States seeks to mask deep-seated fears that similar mass protests could erupt in Russia.
(2020-06-10). Liberal Leaders Aiding and Abetting Rioters. Just the Latest Campaign Strategy to Usurp Trump. globalresearch.ca In a fractious election year that has already witnessed Russiagate, impeachment and a pandemic, Americans are now forced to contend with the malignant scourge of rioting and looting following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a white …
(2020-06-10). Erdogan, Putin discuss Libya, Idlib over phone. yenisafak.com Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday spoke over the phone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss the latest situation in Libya and Idlib, northwestern Syria.According to the Turkish Communications Directorate, the two leaders also discussed regional issues and steps to be taken in…
(2020-06-10). Iran, Russia voice concern over humanitarian crisis in Yemen, Syria. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 10 (MNA) — Iranian Foreign Minister's Senior Assistant for Special Political Affairs Ali Asghar Khaji held a phone conversation with Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin over the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and Syria.