(2020-08-23). Nuclear Complacency and the Dangerous Drift Toward a New Cold War with China. zcomm.org For relations among states having nuclear weaponry, stability is achieved by relying on various forms of deterrence combined with the implementation of the nuclear apartheid regime…
(2020-08-23). US Threatens Fresh Sanctions Against Iran, JCPOA Members. peoplesdispatch.org The US withdrew from the JCPOA or the Iran nuclear deal in 2018. However, it is now trying to get sanctions imposed on Iran claiming violations of a deal it is not even part of…
(2020-08-23). Iran is Russia's strategic partner: Russian Defense Min. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 23 (MNA) — The Russian Defense Min. Sergey Shoygu referred to the join strategical, regional and international goals and interests between Tehran and Moscow, underlining the developing mutual defense cooperation between the two sides.
(2020-08-23). Russia plans COVID-19 vaccine output at 6 mln doses a month. yenisafak.com Russia expects to produce between 1.5 million and 2 million doses per month of its potential COVID-19 vaccine by the year end, gradually ramping up production to 6 million doses a month, the RIA news agency cited industry minister Denis Manturov as saying on Sunday.Large-scale testing of the vaccine, developed by Moscow's Gamaleya institute, is due to start in Russia next week.
(2020-08-22). Fort Hood WMD specialist missing amid string of mysterious deaths & disappearances around army base. rt.com 
The US Army has asked the public for help finding a biological, chemical and nuclear specialist stationed at Fort Hood in Texas, the latest soldier to vanish after a spate of puzzling deaths and disappearances around the base. | The 23-year-old sergeant, Elder Fernandes, was reported missing earlier this week, last seen by his staff sergeant on Monday at a residence near the Fort Hood army base in Killeen, Texas,
(2020-08-22). Half of Russians don't want to take world's first Covid-19 vaccine — only 42% willing to try Sputnik V. rt.com 
A majority of Russians don't want to be vaccinated against coronavirus, according to a brand-new survey, which showed only 42 percent of the country wants to be immunized with the homegrown 'Sputnik V' formula, unveiled last week. | On August 11, Russia's president Vladimir Putin announced that the country had registered the world's first Covid-19 vaccine. Developed by Moscow's Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, the vaccine will be available to the general public from January 2021, but is to be offered to teachers and medical workers first. The process of creating the vaccine has bee…
(2020-08-22). Belarus is being used as 'trampoline' to attack Russia, Lukashenko tells RT, amid post-election crisis. rt.com 
Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko says he and Vladimir Putin "agree" that the forces allegedly directing the ongoing political crisis in Belarus are aiming to attack Russia next. | "In Russia, I often see the media saying: 'Oh, in Belarus, in Belarus…' But it's happening right here, on the western border [of Russia]," Lukashenko told RT in the city of Grodno, where he spoke at a supporters' rally on Saturday. | "We're being pressured, hounded. Myself and Putin have agreed that they're hounding us here to jump on Russia later. It's a trampoline, and we must destroy it. It's an opinion we share with Pr…
(2020-08-22). Lukashenko calls Belarus protests 'Color Revolution,' accuses foreign countries of meddling. rt.com President Alexander Lukashenko has likened recent events in Belarus to color revolutions, saying protesters are trying to follow a similar, foreign-backed template to overthrow the government. | "Everything is clear. As we expected, everything is following the plan of color revolutions by whipping up domestic political tensions in the country," Lukashenko said. | The embattled leader, who has headed Belarus for 26 years, also accused foreign countries of interfering with its internal affairs and of seeking "regime change." | 'Color Revolution' is a term used to describe anti-government movements throughout the…
(2020-08-22). Belarusian opposition leader Tikhanovskaya to meet with senior US State Department official — says Lukashenko will 'have to leave'. rt.com 
Exiled Belarusian presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has revealed she will meet with US diplomat Stephen Biegun to discuss this month's disputed election, controversially awarded to incumbent Alexander Lukashenko. | She has also said Lukashenko "will have to leave" office. Tikhanovskaya's meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun will take place in Lithuania on Monday and focus on the current crisis in Belarus, prompted by the controversial presidential election, her team told Reuters on Saturday, during an online interview she was giving to the news agency. | "During the campaign, I…
(2020-08-22). Selfie boomstick: Kalashnikov unveils new SMART shotgun & 5.56 NATO rifle AK-19 (VIDEO). rt.com 
Ahead of the 'Army-2020' expo, Russian arms maker Kalashnikov unveiled a futuristic-looking shotgun, capable of connecting to smartphones and apparently even taking pictures. This is on top of their new 5.56 NATO-chambered rifle. | The new smooth-bore gun, the –ú– -155 Ultima, was unveiled by the concern ahead of the major arms forum, which will kick off on Sunday at Patriot Expo military theme park outside Moscow. | The weapon, based on the trusty semi-automatic MP-155 shotgun, features a display on its stock and, apparently, an under-barrel digital camera — at least the gun's options…
(2020-08-22). Catapulting Russian-Meddling Propaganda. strategic-culture.org 
The New York Times is leading the full-court press to improve on what it regards as Special Counsel Robert Mueller's weak-kneed effort to blame the Russians for giving us Donald Trump. | Ray MCGOVERN | The fresh orgy of anti-Russian invective in the lickspittle media (LSM) has the feel of fin de siècle. The last four reality-impaired years do seem as though they add up to a century. And no definitive fin is in sight, as long as most people don't know what's going on. | The LSM should be confronted: "At long last have you left no sense of decency?" But who would hear the question — much less any answer? The…
(2020-08-22). Former Green Beret arrested for selling classified info to Russia. nationofchange.org "According to the allegations, Mr. Debbins knowingly provided information to self-proclaimed members of Russia's Intelligence Service, the GRU."
(2020-08-22). The Biden campaign and the attempt to "rescue" American hegemony. wsws.org The factions of the state backing the Biden campaign have set out to "reclaim America's place in the world" by "getting tough" with Russia and China.
(2020-08-22). Iran-Russia military coop. 'positive, progressive': Hatami. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 22 (MNA) — Iranian Minister of Defense Brigadier General Amir Hatami said that military cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation is 'positive and progressive'.
(2020-08-22). Iran Arms Embargo: America's Alleged 'Over the Top Ridiculousness' Added to US Isolation in UN Vote. sputniknews.com Last week, the UN Security Council rejected a draft resolution introduced by Washington to indefinitely extend a weapons embargo on Tehran envisioned by the 2015 Iran nuclear deal ahead of the embargo's expiration on 18 October.
(2020-08-22). Lukashenko Reveals What Putin Told Him Before Belarusian President Addressed Supporters. sputniknews.com The president showed up at a rally of his supporters in Grodno following two weeks of opposition-organised protests and strikes in the country. Lukashenko accused foreign countries of funding the riots with the aim of ousting him under the made-up pretext of rigging the election.
(2020-08-22). Russia's Povetkin Defeats Whyte Winning WBC Interim Heavyweight Title. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russian boxer Alexander Povetkin has defeated UK's Dillian Whyte, winning the World Boxing Council (WBC) interim heavyweight title.
(2020-08-22). Police Officers to be Deployed Overnight Near Hospital Where Navalny is Treated. sputniknews.com BERLIN (Sputnik) – Police officers deployed near the Charite hospital in Berlin, where Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny is being treated, said on Saturday that they will stay at their position overnight.
(2020-08-22). Iranian Envoy to Russia Says Tehran-Moscow Military Cooperation 'Will Reach New Levels'. sputniknews.com The announcement comes as a UN embargo on weapons sales to the Islamic Republic is about to expire amid continuing opposition to the move by the United States.
(2020-08-22). U.S. Isolated From Double-Think & Arrogance on 'Snapback' Sanctions Against Iran. strategic-culture.org More than two years ago, in May 2018, the Trump administration unilaterally walked away from the international nuclear accord with Iran signed by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany. President Trump derided the deal as the "worst ever" and proceeded to re-impose crippling U.S. sanctions on Iran. | This week the United States
(2020-08-22). China and the U.S.: The 21st Century's 'Great Game'. strategic-culture.org Conn M. HALLINAN | 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 the end, it was all illusion. Russia never planned to challenge British rule in India and the bloody wars settled nothing, although the arbitrary borders and ethnic tensions stoked by colonialism's strategy of divide and conquer live on today. Thus China, India, Pakistan, Afgh…
(2020-08-22). Bismarck, Britain's COVID -19 Crisis and the Failure of the National Health Service. strategic-culture.org The appalling record of Britain's National Health Service in dealing with the continuing COVID-19 pandemic has also revealed the country's false pride, ignorance and arrogance about the NHS in striking contrast with that of Russia and Germany. | It is often commented that after the exhausted and bankrupt British were forced to give up their enormous global empire after World War II, they comforted themselves — very much in the manner of a spoiled and immature child sucking his or her favorite frozen sweet — by assuring each other that they had the most advanced and impressive free health care service…
(2020-08-22). Protesters hold seventh anti-Kremlin march over detained governor. yenisafak.com Around 1,500 people marched through the streets of the Russian far eastern city of Khabarovsk on Saturday, marking the seventh consecutive weekend of protests after the region's governor was detained in early July.Residents of Khabarovsk, 6,110 km (3,800 miles) east of Moscow, have protested since the detention of Sergei Furgal, the region's popular governor, on July 9 in connection with murder charges which he denies.His supporters say the detention is politically motivated.People marched on Saturday with posters reading "Freedom to Furgal" and "Belarus – Khabarovsk is with you" – a sign of support for oppositio…
(2020-08-22). Russian oppositionist Alexei Navalny flown to German hospital after doctors dispute poisoning claims. wsws.org Russian doctors declared Friday that Navalny's critical illness was caused by a metabolic disorder brought on by hypoglycemia, not poisoning.
(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 …
(2020-08-21). Former US Allies Britain, France, Germany join Russia and China in Forcefully Rejecting Trump Iran Sanctions. commondreams.org The "Trump administration is perfectly capable of maintaining publicly that international UNSC sanctions on Iran have been restored even if no one goes along with Washington," writes Cole. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski / AFP) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/trump_alone.jpg …
(2020-08-21). Fighting Russia has become an existential necessity for NATO, if tensions are reduced alliance has no purpose — Russia FM Lavrov. rt.com 
Confrontation with Russia has become the sole reason for NATO's existence, and this encourages instability in Europe, creating artificial dividing lines on the continent. That's according to Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. | The veteran diplomat told the Moscow daily Trud that everyone knows there are no real threats to security in Europe but that NATO needs to invent them in order to keep itself relevant. Lavrov also drew attention to the fact that Russia has repeatedly proposed measures to reduce tensions and reduce the risk of incidents on the continent. | "Now, just like during the Cold War, fighti…
(2020-08-21). US ready 'to block Russia & China' if they disregard Iran sanctions, Pompeo warns, as Washington pushes for UN 'snapback'. rt.com 
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday that the United States is prepared to block Russia and China if they refuse to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran. | The statement came a day after Britain, France and Germany — who are still party to the Iranian nuclear agreement — joined Beijing and Moscow in Speaking to Fox News, Pompeo said Washington was disappointed its allies did not support the US effort to trigger a "snapback" of U…
(2020-08-21). 'Purely a medical decision': Anti-corruption activist Navalny won't be allowed to fly until his doctor allows it, says Kremlin. rt.com 
There are no obstacles preventing Moscow protest leader Alexey Navalny from flying abroad for treatment other than receiving permission from his doctor, according to Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov. | Navalny was taken to a hospital in the Siberian city of Omsk on Thursday morning, after becoming ill on a flight from Tomsk to Moscow. Members of his team believe the activist has been poisoned, and have arranged to fly him to the European Union. His associates have appealed to the Kremlin to allow him to be evacuated to a German specialist hospital, but Moscow insists the decision to let him go must be mad…
(2020-08-21). Former US Army Green Beret indicted for 'conspiring with RUSSIAN SPIES'. rt.com 
A former member of the US Army Special Forces has been charged with providing classified information to Russian intelligence for over 15 years and faces life in prison, the Department of Justice has announced. | Peter Rafael Dzibinski Debbins, 45, was arrested in Gainesville, Virginia on Friday and charged with "conspiracy to provide US national defense information to agents of a foreign government," He allegedly made contact with agents of the R…
(2020-08-21). Russian doctors say Moscow protest leader Navalny's condition has stabilized – he CAN be flown to Germany at family's request. rt.com 
Anti corruption activist Alexey Navalny, who remains in an artificially induced coma at a Siberian hospital, can be transferred to Germany within hours, his doctors have said, agreeing to family requests for treatment abroad. | Given the seriousness of Navalny's condition, he must be transferred to the airport with extreme care, the doctors of the Omsk clinic where the Moscow protest leader is hospitalized told the media on Friday. | An aircraft ambulance, dispatched by a German NGO to transport the activist, landed at the local airport earlier in the day. However, his doctors noted that while it will certainl…
(2020-08-21). Bigger bombs don't end wars. workers.org 
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the United States atomic bombing of Japan, the first and only use of nuclear weapons for warfare. On Aug. 6, 1945, the U.S. military dropped the "Little Boy" atomic device from a B-29 called Enola Gay onto the city of Hiroshima. Three days . . . |
(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
(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 …
(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…
(2020-08-21). Medical Jet With Alexei Navalny On Board Takes Off From Omsk Airport – Video. sputniknews.com OMSK (Sputnik) — Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny on Saturday left a hospital in the city of Omsk in a critical care transport that took him took the airport from where he will be flown to Germany.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(2020-08-21). The Manchurian Candidate in 2020. counterpunch.org The Manchurian Candidate is a fascinating backdrop for current political theater best evidenced by the Democratic National Convention right now. Many liberals became very worked up about Russiagate—the obsession over Russia's interference in the 2016 election. Similarly, The Manchurian Candidate captures a fear about interference from a menacing communist force propping up the right-wing in a horseshoe
(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 "
(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.
(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…
(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. | ùöÉùöíùöñùöé ùöíùöú ùöù&…
(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…
(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…
(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). 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…
(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…
(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.