(2021-07-31). Is Russia Helping Syria or Stripping it of its Few Remaining Resources? juancole.com 
By Scott Lucas | — All the standard public relations ploys were in evidence for the recent meeting between Syria's leader Bashar al-Assad and Russian envoy Alexander Lavrentiev in Damascus. More than 230 officials from 30 federal executive bodies, five Russian regions, and the Russian defence ministry had trekked to the Syrian capital. There were …
(2021-07-31). Renewables for first time on Record generated more Electricity than either Coal or Nuclear in US in 2020: EIA. juancole.com 
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — The Energy Information Administration, the primary authority in the federal government on energy numbers, concludes that renewables, primarily hydro, wind and solar, rose to become 21% of electricity generation in the US in 2020. This is the first time on record that renewables were the second-largest generator of electricity in …
(2021-07-31). Deadly attack on Israeli-operated ship off Oman coast was carried out by drone, US Navy says. rt.com 
The attack that killed two people aboard an Israeli-operated vessel off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea on Thursday, is believed to have been a drone strike, US Navy's Fifth Fleet, which operates in the region, has said. | American explosives experts, who have examined the Mercer Street product tanker, have discovered "clear visual evidence that an attack had occurred" on the ship, the Fifth Fleet said, in a statement on Saturday. | "Initial indications clearly point to a (drone)-style attack," it stated, without elaborating on how such a conclusion was reached. | Two US warships — nuclear-powered ai…
(2021-07-31). Military Situation In Syria On July 31, 2021 (Map Update). southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On July 30, Russia reported that Idlib militants violated the ceasefire regime in Greater Idlib 27 times: 14 — in Idlib province, 6 — in Latakia province, 6 — in Hama province, 1 — in Aleppo province | On July 30, SAA artillery shelled positions of Turkish-backed forces in Banin and Deir Sonbol | On July 30, artillery of Turkish-backed forces shelled SDF positions in Tokhar and al-Jat | On July 30, artillery of Turkish-backed forces shelled SDF posi…
(2021-07-31). A 'New Cold War' has already started, but Russia & China are winning against a 'weakening' West, says former Kremlin adviser. rt.com 
The Soviet Union might have lost the first Cold War, but Russia is ahead in the rematch with the US and, this time, has every chance of coming out on top. That's according to one well-known Moscow scholar, Sergey Karaganov. | Speaking to Russian newspaper Argumenty I Fakty, the academic argued that Moscow is now much stronger than it was during the late Soviet period, and the West has weakened in that time. | Karaganov has been one of Russia's top foreign-policy theorists for decades, and has also advised President Vladimir Putin in the past. He is currently the head of the World Economy and International Affa…
(2021-07-31). For First Time on Record, US Renewables Generated More Electricity Than Either Coal or Nuclear in 2020. commondreams.org Following the killing of President Jovenel Moïse, Haitians are hesitant to seek aid from the United States, due to the West's long history of intervention in the island nation.
(2021-07-31). Saturday 7/31: Africa, Namibian MUN Miners & Union Busting By Chinese National Nuclear Corporation CNNC. indybay.org Virtual Program Go To Website…
(2021-07-31). U.S. Fears of China Nuclear Expansion… Déjà Vu of Soviet Missile Gap Hype. strategic-culture.org China is providing the equivalent scaremongering of the Soviet "missile gap" in order to sustain America's militarist-dependent capitalist economy. | Media reports from the U.S. this week — regurgitated by the European press — highlighted concerns that China is embarking on a massive scale-up of underground silos for launching nuclear weapons. | Hundreds of silos are alleged to be under construction in the western regions of Xinjiang and Gansu, according to U.S. media reports citing commercial satellite data. American military officials and State Department diplomats are quoted as saying they are "de…
(2021-07-30). 'No Reason for the US To Maintain Cold War,' Cuban FM Says. telesurenglish.net Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla remarked on Friday that it makes no sense for the U.S. to continue its cold war against Cuba. This, amid widespread international support and solidarity with the Cuban people despite U.S. sanctions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | "There is no reason to maintain cold war policies against Cuba. There are no excuses to apply coercive economic suffocation measures against our…
(2021-07-30). US Treasury Announces More Sanctions on Cuban Security Forces. telesurenglish.net Due to a severe shortage of medical goods on the island caused by US sanctions, solidarity groups in the US have donated millions of syringes to help Cuban doctors administer the country's highly effective self-developed COVID-19 vaccines. Mexico, Russia, and Nicaragua have also shipped hundreds of tons of aid to Cuba.
(2021-07-30). Russian Warplanes Continue To Hummer Militant Positions In Greater Idlib (Videos, Photos). southfront.org 
FILE PHOTO: Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft before departing for its permanent base in Russia from Khmeimim Air Base in Syria. © Vadim Grishankin / Sputnik | On July 30, warplanes of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) carried out seven airstrikes on the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib, where several terrorists groups are present. | The Russian airstrikes targeted the outskirts of the towns of Mashoon, Kansafra, Mareian and al-Fatterah in southern Idlib. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR)…
(2021-07-30). Central Syria: Hundreds Of Russian Airstrikes killed Or Injured 35 ISIS Terrorists During July. southfront.org 
File image. | Russian warplanes carried out more than 800 airstrikes on Syria's central region over the last 30 days, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on July 30. | The airstrikes targeted hideout of ISIS cells in the deserts of Homs, Deir Ezzor as well as in the Hama-Aleppo-Raqqa triangle. The terrorist group has been very active in these areas. | According to the London-based monitoring group, at least 16 terrorists of ISIS were killed and 19 others were wounded as a result…
(2021-07-30). Armenia Claims Azerbaijan Continues Violations, Calls For Russian Soldiers Along Entire Border. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | The Armenian Defense Ministry claimed that Azerbaijan has violated the ceasefire and shelled its positions again."On July 30, between 11: 20 and 11: 30 (10: 20-10: 30 Moscow time), Azerbaijani units opened fire from sniper and other small arms at Armenian positions deployed in the Yeraskh sector (70 kilometers from Yerevan) ", reads the release of the military department. | It also noted that the fire was suppressed by retaliatory actions, there were no casualties. | Acting Prime Minister o…
(2021-07-30). Russian diplomat realizes NATO's anti-Russian war games on Russia's border may have anti-Russian bias. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Yeah, it sort of came to me like a revelation, an epiphany…. The Putinite Praetorian Guard is a bit slow in discerning — say twenty years late — that all NATO exercises, troops, armored vehicles, interceptor missiles, battle groups, cyber warfare centers, missile radar sites, warships, advanced combat aircraft, AWACS aircraft and so forth deployed …
(2021-07-30). Georgia,Turkey: NATO's front line against Iran and Russia. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Excerpts from Daily Sabah and Anadolu Agency. The two nations, one a NATO member and the other a NATO Enhanced Opportunities Partner, are also united in isolating Russia in the Black Sea region and turning the sea into a NATO preserve. August 8 will mark the thirteenth anniversary of Georgia's invasion of South Ossetia and …
(2021-07-30). U.S. deploys F-16s to Poland to "increase lethality" antibellum679354512.wordpress.com The U.S. F-16s will join Turkish F-16s at the air base at Malbork in Poland as part of a NATO operation, which recently intercepted Russian aircraft flying from Russia's Kaliningrad oblast to the main body of Russia. F-16s arrive in Poland for Aviation Detachment Rotation U.S. Airmen and F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft assigned to the …
(2021-07-30). Belarus: Biden is obsessed with Russia to the point of derangement. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com From today's Belarusian Telegraph Agency. Political support for the "fugitives" [Belarusian dissidents?> has produced nothing and is limited to their unending road tours along the lines of "Biden will help us". Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement as he met with government officials on 30 July to discuss urgent issues of the public and …
(2021-07-30). Caucasus war: Russia urges "both sides" to exercise restraint. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Never mind that Russia is obliged to support Armenia under Article 4 of the Collective Security Treaty Organization charter. Russia urges Baku, Yerevan to exercise restraint Moscow calls on Baku and Yerevan to refrain from actions that could further escalate the situation on the border, a deputy spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Alexander Bikantov, …
(2021-07-30). Is the US Heading for the Exit? counterpunch.org It was all so long ago, in a world seemingly without challengers. Do you even remember when we Americans lived on a planet with a recumbent Russia, a barely rising China, and no obvious foes except what later came to be known as an "axis of evil," three countries then incapable of endangering this one?
(2021-07-30). NATO deployed warplanes to intercept aircraft flying from one part of Russia to another. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com If turnabout is fair play, here's an illustration of what's involved: in 1985 a headline would have appeared in a publication of the Warsaw Pact which read Warsaw Pact scrambled Polish, Bulgarian warplanes to intercept American plane flying from Alaska to Washington State. Somehow one suspects an event of that nature might have garnered some …