Daily Archives: August 21, 2020

2020-08-21: News Headlines

Andrew Korybko (2020-08-21). NATO Poses a Threat to Belarus: Why Did Russia Reaffirm Its CSTO Support to Belarus but Not to Armenia? globalresearch.ca Russia's reaffirmation of its CSTO mutual defense obligations to Belarus was made in response to Lukashenko's claims that NATO poses a threat to Belarus, which Moscow evidently believes are at least credible enough to remind the alliance about its red …

Conn Hallinan (2020-08-21). China and the US: the 21st Century's "Great Game" counterpunch.org From 1830 to 1895, the British and Russian empires schemed and plotted over control of Central and South Asia. At the heart of the "Great Game" was England's certainty that the Russians had designs on India. So wars were fought, borders drawn, and generations of young met death in desolate passes and lonely outposts. In

Stephen Lendman (2020-08-21). Russia/US New START Extension Talks, No Resolution of Major Differences. globalresearch.ca In not renewed, New START expires on February 5, 2021. | Months earlier, Trump falsely called it a "bad deal." | He never read it and knows no more about it than what Pompeo and other regime hardliners told him. | The decade-ago …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-08-21). Iran rejects US bid to reimpose sanctions. peoplesdispatch.org The United States, despite no longer being part of the JCPOA or the Iran nuclear deal, has been seeking the resumption of sanctions against Iran for supposed violations of the provisions of the deal…

yenisafak (2020-08-21). Siberian hospital diagnoses Kremlin critic Navalny with metabolic disease. yenisafak.com The head doctor at the Siberian hospital treating Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said on Friday he had been diagnosed with a metabolic disease caused by low blood sugar.Alexander Murakhovsky, the head doctor at the hospital treating Navalny in the city of Omsk, added that traces of industrial chemical substances had been found on the 44-year-old's clothes and fingers.Navalny, a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin, is in a serious condition after drinking tea on Thursday morning that his allies believe was laced with poison.

yenisafak (2020-08-21). Russia has not contacted us, Belarusian opposition politician Tsikhanouskaya says. yenisafak.com Belarusian opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said on Friday that Russia had not made contact with her campaign, speaking at her first press conference since fleeing into exile last week following a disputed presidential election.Tsikhanouskaya has led the biggest challenge to President Alexander Lukashenko's 26-year rule of Belarus. Mass protests broke out against Lukashenko, accusing him of rigging the August 9 election, which he denies. Russia has warned the West not to intervene and offered military help to Minsk.

WSWS (2020-08-21). Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny hospitalized as crisis in Belarus deepens. wsws.org Navalny's hospitalization comes amid an escalating crisis around the protests and mass strikes in Belarus which have heightened tensions in Europe and Russia.

Andrew Korybko (2020-08-20). The Geopolitics Of The Belarusian Crisis: Anti-Russian, Neutral To China, Pro-Polish. thealtworld.com The Belarusian Crisis is an American Hybrid War against Russian interests in support of Poland's US-backed regional ones related to the "Three Seas Initiative", which won't harm China's interests even in the worst-case scenario despite Beijing's plans for the Eurasian Land Bridge to transit through the Color Revolution-beleaguered former Soviet Republic since the People's Republic has already pioneered several complementary East-West corridors that it could rely on instead. | Geopolitical Basics | The "

WSWS (2020-08-20). New Senate Intelligence Committee volume on "Russian interference" smears WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. wsws.org The one-thousand-page fifth volume of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence investigation is largely devoted to building an elaborate and false narrative against WikiLeaks.

RT (2020-08-20). German NGO sends in ambulance plane to pick up 'poisoned' Kremlin critic Navalny at Pussy Riot co-founder's request. rt.com The Berlin-based Cinema for Peace Foundation has readied an ambulance aircraft, specialized for transporting coma patients, to pick up Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny to transfer him to Germany for treatment. | The NGO said the plane will fly to Russia late on Thursday. The activists noted the transfer was requested by Navalny's fellow opposition figure, Pyotr Verzilov, best known as the co-founder of the punk band Pussy Riot. | "For humanitarian reasons, at Pussy Riots Pyotr Verzilov's request, we will send at midnight an air ambulance with medical equipment and specialists with which Navalny can be…

RT (2020-08-20). Riding Russiagate? New Call of Duty game promises return to COLD WAR with colorful propaganda & interview with KGB defector. rt.com Makers of the Call of Duty video game series have gone full Cold War, setting their latest shooter in that era and using the infamous 'active measures' interview with a KGB defector in the teaser trailer. | Activision unveiled the cover artwork for the 'Cold War' installment of its 'Call of Duty: Black Ops' series on Thursday, featuring a split-screen of Soviet and American propaganda from the era. | ùöÉùöíùöñùöé ùöíùöú ùöù&…

RT (2020-08-20). US formally requests 'snapback' of UN sanctions against Iran, even though it exited nuclear deal. rt.com US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has sent a formal request to the UN Security Council to 'snap back' sanctions against Iran, claiming Tehran violated the 2015 nuclear deal that Washington has unilaterally ditched. | The letter accuses Iran of "significant non-compliance" with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 arrangement negotiated with Tehran by the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany. | The deal was codified by the UNSC Resolution 2231, which the US is now citing as grounds for invoking the "snapback" provision, even though the Trump administration unilaterally lef…

RT (2020-08-20). Doctors say condition of Moscow protest leader Navalny has stabilized, as Kremlin promises probe if traces of poison are found. rt.com The team treating Alexey Navalny has managed to stabilize his condition, a lead medic has said. Dr Anatoly Kalinichenko said Russia's best-known anti-corruption activist was in intensive care and getting the necessary treatment. | The doctor also said there are no plans to transfer Navalny to Moscow. His supporters have requested that be moved to Germany or France so he can be admitted to a specialist clinic. Earlier, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that "if the Kremlin or the Russian Health Ministry received a request for Navalny's transfer to a foreign hospital, it would be considered…

RT (2020-08-20). Leaky vessel: ISS crew to relocate to Russian module as station starts to seep air. rt.com A "higher-than-normal" rate of leaking air has been detected aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The crew will now spend the weekend trying to isolate and fix the issue. | The minor leak was first revealed by NASA on Thursday. The rate of leaking air is still within "segment specifications" and there's no immediate danger to the station or its crew, the agency stressed. | Over the weekend, all segments of the ISS will be isolated with hatches closed, while the crew will temporarily relocate to Russian habitat module. | The Exp 63 crew will spend the weekend in the station's Russian segment so mission…

RT (2020-08-20). Big Brother ain't so bad, after all? Almost half of Muscovites support city's ever-expanding facial recognition system. rt.com Moscow's CCTV system, recently used to catch people violating the Covid-19 quarantine, continues to split opinion. A survey has revealed that just under half of the capital's residents support the expansion of facial recognition. | According to research conducted by the Levada Center, 42 percent of Muscovites oppose the installation of facial recognition cameras, with 47 percent supporting it. The Russian capital has an extensive citywide CCTV system, allowing the authorities to track and find criminals wanted by law enforcement. In recent months, the cameras were used to detect and punish citizens for breakin…

RT (2020-08-20). Remember Russiagate? Vox writer ROASTED for claiming Democrats 'mostly CONTAINED' their conspiracy nuts. rt.com A senior writer at the liberal explainer site Vox got the left and right to unite in laughter and mockery, as they dunked on his claim that Democrats have nothing like QAanon and have done better with their conspiracy "nuttery." | "Conspiracy theories typically flourish among parties out of power," Zach Beauchamp Beauchamp was referring to a Republican candidate for Congress who ju…

_____ (2020-08-20). Western Media Misperceptions About Belarus, Lukashenko & Putin. strategic-culture.org The West is trying to engineer popular opinion in Belarus towards a "color revolution," fairly obviously. But they are on a sticky wicket. Western Ukraine was genuinely enthusiastic to move towards the west and the EU, in the hope of attaining a consumer lifestyle. Outside of central Minsk, there is very little such sentiment in Belarus.

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-08-20). Berlin Dismisses Washington's Threats: The Construction of the Nord Stream 2 Gas Pipeline with Russia Will Proceed. globalresearch.ca Although the U.S. can threaten Germany, now during the American election campaign, threats cannot prevent the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Germany. It is interesting to observe how for the first time this century …

Stephen Lendman (2020-08-20). Trump Regime Unilaterally and Illegally Imposing Snapback Sanctions on Iran. globalresearch.ca Unanimously adopted Security Council Resolution 2231 that affirmed the JCPOA nuclear deal eliminated UN sanctions on Iran. | Its provisions and the P5+1 approved nuclear agreement are binding international and US constitutional law under the Supremacy Clause — Article VI, Clause …

Stephen Lendman (2020-08-20). The Hariri Assassination: Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) Verdict. Fake Justice on Behalf of Israel. globalresearch.ca In May 2007, Security Council Resolution 1757 established the STL "on the outskirts of the Hague." | Ten SC members voted "yes," none "no," Russia, China, South Africa, Indonesia, and Qatar abstaining. | Five judges were involved in proceedings, Judge David Re…

_____ (2020-08-20). Saying Iran Is Paying Bounties To Kill Americans Is Pure Parody. popularresistance.org It was Russia in June, now it's Tehran. Don't US analysts understand that Taliban fighters really don't need any more motivation to target American troops? This is simply politicized (un)intelligence that isn't fooling anyone. | According to CNN, the Iranian government has paid "bounties" to the Haqqani network, a terrorist group with close links to the Taliban, for six attacks on US and coalition forces in Afghanistan in 2019, including one on December 11 which targeted Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, which wounded four US personnel.

Finian Cunningham (2020-08-20). As US stalls on extension of New Start treaty seeking to gain control over China, the world is on verge of dangerous arms race. thealtworld.com After three rounds of talks with Russia wrapped up this summer, the US is still equivocating on …

Mehr News Agency (2020-08-20). Great strides taken in Iran's nuclear industry. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 20 (MNA) — AEOI, in a tweet on Thursday, said with or without the activation of the trigger mechanism against Iran, the body has taken major steps in empowering its nuclear industry and providing 90,000 SWU.

sputniknews (2020-08-20). US Air Force May Have Accidentally Revealed Interest in Nuke-Armed Hypersonic Missiles. sputniknews.com Eyebrows already askew were raised even further last week when the US Air Force quietly but quickly withdrew a request for information that seemed to suggest it was looking to build a hypersonic nuclear weapon.

sputniknews (2020-08-20). Iranian FM Zarif Calls on UN Security Council to Prevent US From Reimposing Iran Sanctions. sputniknews.com UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sent a letter to the UN Security Council calling on the members to prevent the United States from attempting to re-impose United Nations sanctions against Iran because it is not anymore a participant in the 2015 nuclear agreement.

sputniknews (2020-08-20). For Skeptics and the Curious: RDIF Releases Information On Development of Russia's COVID-19 Vaccine. sputniknews.com According to Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, the organization and its partners have received requests from over 20 countries for a total of 1 billion doses of the coronavirus vaccine.

_____ (2020-08-20). Washington's Gift to President Putin. strategic-culture.org Russia is often portrayed as resisting international norms and rejecting honest olive branches from the West. But Russia has made many attempts at peace and partnership only to be rejected. Watch the video and read more in the

_____ (2020-08-20). Why the U.S. Should Keep Its Distance From Belarus. strategic-culture.org Russian leaders have reason to regard Ukraine and Belarus as being within Moscow's rightful sphere of influence. Indeed, those two nations are within Russia's core security zone, and the Kremlin will likely go to great lengths to prevent an even bigger NATO military presence on its borders than the one that exists now.

yenisafak (2020-08-20). Doctors offer contradictory information on condition of Russia's Navalny. yenisafak.com Medics on Thursday provided contradictory information about the health of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, saying his condition had stabilised, but that there was still a threat to his life.His spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said on Twitter he was in a serious but stable condition.She had earlier said that he was in a coma in a Siberian hospital after drinking a cup of tea that she said she believed was laced with poison.

yenisafak (2020-08-20). South Korea says Russia violated its air defense zone. yenisafak.com South Korea on Thursday alleged that at least six Russian aircraft violated its air defense zone.According to South Korean military officials, the Russian military air activity prompted its Air Force to respond and push them out of the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ), the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency reported.Details released by the South Korea military said two Tu-95MS strategic bombers and four other Russian military jets on Wednesday entered the KADIZ near South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo in the East Sea."There was no prior notice" about the air activity by the Russian side, the South…

Andrew Korybko (2020-08-19). Lukashenko Just Hinted at a 'Phased Leadership Transition' in Belarus. globalresearch.ca Belarusian President Lukashenko's announcement that presidential elections will follow a planned constitutional referendum possibly paves the way for a "phased leadership transition" in the Color Revolution-beleaguered former Soviet Republic, one which opens up an opportunity for Russia to protect its …

Staff (2020-08-19). Headlines for August 19, 2020. democracynow.org Joe Biden Formally Wins Democratic Presidential Nomination, Postmaster General Promises to Suspend Service Cuts Until After Election, Notre Dame Cancels In-Person Classes Amid COVID-19 Outbreak Linked to Party, Coronavirus Death Toll from U.S. Prisons and Jails Tops 1,000, World Health Organization Says Young People Are Driving Coronavirus Outbreaks, Malian President Deposed in Military Coup Following Weeks of Protests, Senate Intelligence Committee Alleges Trump Campaign Associate Was Russian Agent, Far-Right Activist, Banned from Twitter over Racism, Wins Florida House GOP Primary, RNC to Feature St. Louis Coup…

Ashley Curtin (2020-08-19). Greg Palast investigates: The looming vote by mail crisis that could decide the 2020 election. nationofchange.org Are Americans playing Russian Roulette with their vote?>

RT (2020-08-19). Trump demands full restoration of UN sanctions on Iran, as Pompeo warns Russia & China not to meddle. rt.com US President Donald Trump said the State Department will soon attempt to trigger a "snapback" of UN sanctions on Iran, as the top American diplomat threatened consequences for Moscow and Beijing if they try to block the effort. | "Today I'm directing the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to notify the United Nations Security Council that the United States intends to restore virtually all of the United Nations sanctions on Iran — it's a snap back, not uncommon," Trump told reporters during a White House press conference on Wednesday. | When the United States entered into the Iran deal, it was clear the United…

RT (2020-08-19). 'We won't budge': Belarus sends MISSILES & DRONES to western border – says it is responding to 'NATO activity'. rt.com The Belarusian defense minister has ordered troops in the western Grodno region to be reinforced with tactical missile units, drones, and air defense systems, after President Alexander Lukashenko told him to "keep an eye" on NATO. | Earlier, Lukashenko said that increased NATO activities on the nation's western borders had sparked some concerns in Minsk, adding that movements near the Grodno region, in particular, "got you thinking." During a Security Council meeting on Wednesday, the president also ordered the Defense Ministry to keep a close eye on the alliance. | The Belarusian military apparently took his…

RT (2020-08-19). The second coming of the Soviet Union? Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine will one day reunite, says Moscow professor. rt.com Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine will "sooner or later" reunify into a single state, as they share a common Orthodox-Slavic culture, according to Vladimir Sokolov, Professor at Moscow's RANEPA university. | Sokolov, who teaches in the Department of Civil Service and Recruitment Policy, believes the three neighboring countries will reunite, prompted by the "general decline of Western values." | Read more | | In a…

RT (2020-08-19). A possible future use for bitcoin? Russian bank issues loan using cryptocurrency as collateral for first time. rt.com A Russian bank has issued a loan secured by cryptocurrency for the first time ever, marking a new milestone in the history of the controversial digital alternatives to existing financial instruments. | The loan, issued by Expobank to businessman Mikhail Uspensky, used the currency known as 'waves' as collateral. It was founded by Ukrainian entrepreneur Alexander Ivanov in 2016. However, the loan amount and terms of the agreement have not been made public. | Cryptocurrencies such as waves and bitcoin have, until recently, been in a legal grey zone inside Russia. Earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Put…

RT (2020-08-19). Abandoning Union State agreement with Russia would cost Belarus 25% of GDP, Lukashenko's financial advisor warns opposition. rt.com A key aide to Belarus's embattled President Lukashenko has warned opposition members to think again about any idea of withdrawing from the 'Union State' treaty with Moscow. Valery Belsky says it would collapse living standards. | The two countries form a unique partnership under a 1999 agreement, enthusiasm for which has fluctuated over the past two decades. The deal has helped Belarus maintain considerably higher living standards than other similar post-Soviet states, such as Western-leaning Ukraine and Georgia. According to the International Monetary Fund, Belarus's GDP per capita (when measured by purchasin…

RT (2020-08-19). Biden plays president, demands Russia fall in line on Belarus. rt.com Joe Biden may be an uncertain election away from becoming president, but he's already tweeting like one. Following an entirely predictable script, Biden demanded that Russia "be told not to interfere" in Belarus' affairs. | "The brave citizens of Belarus are showing their voices will not be silenced by terror or torture," Biden tweeted on Wednesday. "The U.S. should support Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's call for fair elections. Russia must be told not to interfere—this is not about geopolitics but the right to choose one's leaders." | The brave citizens of Belarus are showing their voices will not be silenc…

RT (2020-08-19). Lithuania declares Lukashenko persona non grata ahead of EU sanctions on Belarus. rt.com Lithuania has apparently decided not to wait for its European partners, which are still deliberating over their collective response to the protests in Belarus, and has imposed an entry ban against President Alexander Lukashenko. | Seemingly deciding to set an example to the rest of Europe, Vilnius raced to compile a blacklist of Belarusian officials in response to the ongoing protests in the neighboring nation, issuing it before the European Union had come up with a list of its own. | The move was announced by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius, who said his country welcomed the EU's "determination"

WSWS (2020-08-19). Merkel, Macron call Putin as mass strikes escalate in Belarus. wsws.org Shocked by the eruption of workers' anger in Belarus, Berlin and Paris hope Moscow can suppress it by brokering a deal between the regime and the official opposition.

teleSUR (2020-08-19). Russia Tests Chinese Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine. telesurenglish.net Russia's company Petrovax Wednesday began the last phase of human trials of the recombinant Ad5-nCoV vaccine, which was got by the partnership between the People's Liberation Army (EPL) and the Chinese biopharmaceutical company CanSino Biologics. | RELATED: | After promising results were obtained in earlier research, Russian scientists coordinated with CanSino Biologics to apply the drug to 625 volunteers at eigh…

_____ (2020-08-19). Lebanon: The Top Ten Myths About The Country And Its Conflicts. popularresistance.org Plenty of folks finally know the CIA-Soviet-Afghan thread of that backstory; fewer are familiar with the Lebanese layer. They should be. After all, an impressionable young Saudi named bin Laden tuned in to America's dastardly dalliances there in the 1980s, and vowed revenge. | Then as now, the US was hardly alone among the opportunist foreign vultures who've picked the Lebanese carcass throughout its centenary existence. However, Americans — those most confidently uninformed and incurious of peoples — keep proving those repeatedly-wrong-on-the-Mid-East New York Times editors right: Lebanon does remain…

sputniknews (2020-08-19). Trump: US to Restore All 'Snapback' Sanctions on Iran. sputniknews.com On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said he intends to restore all economic sanctions against Iran, which were reimposed in 2018 when Trump accused Tehran of breaking the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal.

yenisafak (2020-08-19). Russia reports 4,828 new coronavirus cases. yenisafak.com Russia reported 4,828 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, pushing its nationwide tally to 937,321, the fourth largest in the world.Russia's coronavirus taskforce said 117 people had died over the last 24 hours, bringing its official death toll to 15,989.

Ben Norton (2020-08-18). US govt-funded Coda Story smears American journalists who undermine new Cold War propaganda. thegrayzone.com With backing from the US government's regime-change arm, an Operation Mockingbird-style website called Coda Story is attacking American journalists who…

_____ (2020-08-18). SouthCom Feels Threatened By Russia's 'Fundamental' Support Of Venezuela. popularresistance.org The head of the Southern Command of the United States Armed Forces, Craig Faller, declared that Russia and Cuba represents a threat to them due to the "fundamental" support they give to Venezuela, a country on which the Donald Trump regime has imposed a brutal total blockade and continually threatens military invasion. | In viralized statements on social networks, Faller says that they have had to set off the alarms because of "the size of the threat" represented by "Russian influence" and the support that the Eurasian country gives to the government presided over by Nicolás Maduro. | "I cannot describe the size…

RT (2020-08-18). Not with a bang, but a whimper: Final 'Russiagate' report provides 'BREATHTAKING' evidence of… nothing. rt.com A new Senate report resurrects the corpse of 'Russiagate' and promises new evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow. However, it reached its so-called conclusions by relying on some literal fake news. | The Senate Intelligence Committee released its fifth and final

RT (2020-08-18). Vodka no longer in top 50 items sold in Russian alcohol stores — time to retire tired & outdated Russian drinking stereotypes? rt.com In the first seven months of 2020, Russians were less likely to buy vodka, preferring to purchase other drinks – primarily beer – in alcohol stores, according to the analytical department of cashback company CheckScan. | By studying 130,000 receipts from two of Russia's most popular liquor chains, 'Krasnoe & Beloe' and 'Bristol', the analysts discovered that Russians have turned towards beer as their beverage of choice. From January to July, the golden brew took the top spot in alcoholic rankings every single month, with the old Soviet-era staple, vodka, failing to even make the top 50. | We are now a long way…

Stephen Lendman (2020-08-18). Trump Gives Chinese Parent Company 90 Days to Divest from TikTok. globalresearch.ca US cold war on China risks turning hot if bipartisan hardliners in Washington push things too far. | Their hostile actions are all about wanting China's development, growth, and prominence on the world stage undermined. | Since Trump took office, scores of …