Monthly Archives: December 2021

2021-12-10: News Headlines

teleSUR (2021-12-10). Extradiction of Assange Darkens Human Rights Day: Russia Says. telesurenglish.net On Friday, Russia's Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova harshly criticized the decision of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales to approve the extradition of WikiLeaks Julian Assange to the United States. | RELATED: | "The U.K. High Court has authorized Julian Assange's extradition to the United States. This shameful verdict as part of the political case is yet another manifestation of the Anglo-Saxon t…

Dr. Matthew Crosston (2021-12-10). NATO's Projectile Dysfunction: Deterring Russia and Ukrainian Bluffs. moderndiplomacy.eu The shrill lamentations over Ukraine are reaching fever pitch here in the United States: The New York Times discusses how Ukrainian commanders say a Russian invasion would overwhelm them. CNN reports that Biden promises withering sanctions if Russia invades. Military.com is devoting first page space on its site to how the US military could mobilize …

_____ (2021-12-10). The Chief Outcome From the Two-Hour Biden-Putin Summit. strategic-culture.org By Eric ZUESSE | The two-hour December 7th Biden-Putin conversation (via video-conference) focused mainly on the conflict between Ukraine and its breakaway former Donbass region, which is in Ukraine's far east and borders on Russia. | In order to understand the conversation, some basic history that produced the current situation there needs to be stated, because this is the point-of-reference behind the summit-conversation that occurred on December 7th: | The 5 September 2014 Minsk Protocol, and its followup 12 February 2015 Minsk II Agreement, established the agreements between Ukraine and the Donbass breakaway…

_____ (2021-12-10). Russia-Ukraine Coverage Continues to Lack Insight. strategic-culture.org By Michael AVERKO | With the likes of CNN regularly giving puff segment to Kiev regime officials and other anti-Russian leaning sources, there's considerable room for Anglo-American mass media improvement in the analysis of Russian-Ukrainian issues. One of a limited exception of good analytical journalism on the subject, is the John Batch…

_____ (2021-12-10). The Fierce Determination of Ordinary People to Build an Extraordinary World. popularresistance.org United States President Joe Biden has suborned 111 countries to attend his Summit for Democracy on December 9—10, ending on Human Rights Day. 'We welcome all countries, organizations, and individuals to support the goals of the Summit', the US State Department wrote. However, there are 82 countries that have not been invited, including two large countries that are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (the People's Republic of China and Russia) and two small countries from the Caribbean (Cuba and Haiti). In the name of democracy, the US government is pushing its own agenda to consolidate…

WSWS (2021-12-10). The "Summit for Democracy": Biden gathers anti-democratic forces against Russia and China. wsws.org The function of Biden's summit is to escalate global pressure on Russia and China while dressing this up as a defense of "democracy" against "autocracy."

Caitlin A. Johnstone (2021-12-10). Super serious news reporting: notes from the Edge of The Narrative Matrix. mronline.org Hi I'm a very serious news reporter. The Russians are controlling our thoughts with Facebook memes and scrambling our brains with invisible ray gun attacks. In other news, capitalism is working fine and our wars defend freedom and democracy. The government never lies. Here's Bob with the weather.

Editor2 (2021-12-10). Assad, Syria and China's new Silk Road. orinocotribune.com By Matthew Ehret — Dec, 07 2021 | Count on Syria becoming an important West Asian hub in China's Belt and Road Initiative | Ever since Russia and China began challenging the Anglo-American scorched Earth doctrine in 2011 with their first vetoes against US intervention into Syria, the Gordian knots that have tied up the Arab world in chaos, division and ignorance for decades have finally begun to unravel. | Where just one decade ago the unipolar vision of the 'new American century' reigned unchallenged, by 2013 the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) had sprung into life, and the largest purges of China's deep sta…

_____ (2021-12-10). Parisian "Wheeling and Dealing" in the Persian Gulf. journal-neo.org The first official European assessment of the recent round of talks in Vienna between the representatives of Iran and those of the E3 (Great Britain, France, and Germany), Russia, China, and the US came, oddly enough, from Dubai, where the quick-witted French president Emmanuel Macron announced what he called the failure of the foregoing phase …

The Socialist Program (2021-12-10). The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union — Lessons for Socialists. liberationnews.org The Russian Revolution in 1917 brought the Bolsheviks to power. For the first time in history the working class seized and held state power. What was the experience of the Soviet Union? How did it change global politics in the 20th century? What did socialism achieve and what caused the Soviet Union to fall in 1991?>

Staff (2021-12-10). "Hold the Line": Watch Filipina Journalist Maria Ressa's Full Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech. democracynow.org Filipina journalist Maria Ressa and Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov accepted the Nobel Peace Prize Friday for their "efforts to safeguard freedom of expression." "There are so many more journalists persecuted in the shadows with neither exposure nor support, and governments are doubling down with impunity," said Ressa in her acceptance speech at Friday's Nobel ceremony, which we play in full.

_____ (2021-12-10). Ten Problems With Biden's Foreign Policy — And One Solution. popularresistance.org By and large, Biden's foreign policy already seems stuck in the militarist quagmire of the past twenty years, a far cry from his campaign promise to reinvigorate diplomacy as the primary tool of U.S. foreign policy. | In this respect, Biden is following in the footsteps of Obama and Trump, who both promised fresh approaches to foreign policy but for the most part delivered more endless war. | By the end of his second term, Obama did have two significant diplomatic achievements with the signing of the Iran nuclear deal and normalization of relations with Cuba. So progressive Americans who voted for Biden had some…

Editor2 (2021-12-10). Vienna Talks: Iran Says no Interactive, Flexible Attitude Seen on Other Side. orinocotribune.com The spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry has said that while Iran entered talks in Vienna on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal with an interactive and flexible attitude, "this was not the case for the other side." | Saeed Khatibzadeh made the remarks at a weekly presser on Monday, adding that the Vienna talks have not been halted and that the next round will kick off later this week. | The exact date will be determined by Iran's chief negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani and the European Union's Deputy Secretary General Enrique Mora soon, the spokesman said. | The seventh round of high-level talks between Iran and…

_____ (2021-12-10). A Pause in the Talks between the US and North Korea Continues. journal-neo.org Since the failure of February 2019's summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, relations between the US and North Korea have been put on hold, with no active dialogue, but no nuclear crisis or military stand-off. On the one hand, Pyongyang has avoided any talks on the question of denuclearization. On the other hand, it is …

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2021-12-10). "Wipe the Soviet Union Off the Map", 204 Atomic Bombs against 66 Major Cities, US Nuclear Attack against USSR Planned During World War II. globalresearch.ca According to a secret document dated September 15, 1945, "the Pentagon had envisaged blowing up the Soviet Union with a coordinated nuclear attack directed against 66 major urban areas.

Finian Cunningham (2021-12-09). Biden's Empty Warning Over Putin's Straw Man "Invasion" dissidentvoice.org © Sputnik / Sergey Guneev As we enter the Christmas season that's just pantomime on Pennsylvania Avenue. The private video call which lasted two hours on Tuesday was eagerly anticipated around the world amid mounting tensions and fears of a military confrontation over Ukraine. The next day headlines in Western media outlets were laden with …

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-12-09). Ukraine: The Danger is NATO. libya360.wordpress.com Fabrizio Casari Putin-Biden summit focuses on Ukraine. Image: TASS The West had better abandon the war it has opened against Russia, China, India, Iran and others for absolute domination of the planet by a superpower that loses wars, markets and leadership every day. To think that the world will stand by while a decadent empire…

Eric Zuesse (2021-12-09). Biden-Putin Teleconference: Putin Rejects Biden's Demand That U.S. Take Control Over Negotiations Between Ukraine and Its Former Donbass Region. covertactionmagazine.com The two-hour December 7th Biden-Putin conversation (via video-conference) focused mainly on the conflict between Ukraine and its breakaway former Donbass …

_____ (2021-12-09). Ukrainian Crisis: Are We on the Verge of WWIII or Pax Multipolarity? strategic-culture.org The highpoint in the Ukrainian crisis and the big visits by Nuland to Moscow and Austin to Kiev might actually be attempts by Washington to make lemons out of lemonade, Tim Kirby writes. | The Mainstream Media Eye of Sauron has turned its horrid gaze to the Ukraine. This is always cause for concern because it indicates that this is what the elites want America to be focusing on. This would not be so much of a problem if this growing game of chicken in the Donbass did not resemble a Cuban Missile Crisis for the 21st century. The Mainstream Media's headlines read of warnings to Russia not to attack, and move their…

Peter Koenig (2021-12-09). China Winter Olympics: US Boycott. dissidentvoice.org President Biden, in full mood of marking "red lines" against Russia and Ukraine in a virtual meeting with Vladimir Putin, does not forget the importance of boycotting China's Winter Olympic Games. It's a diplomatic boycott only, so says Madame Jen Psaki, White House press secretary. Nevertheless, she and Biden are wishing the US sport-participants best …

teleSUR (2021-12-09). China, Russia: 'Summit For Democracy' Is US Propaganda As Usual. telesurenglish.net On Thursday, China and Russia denounced that President Joe Biden's "Summit for Democracy" is a propaganda event that only serves the U.S. own interests. | RELATED: | China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin slammed the virtual meeting, saying that it has nothing to do with international justice or democracy, but rather about serving the U.S. own selfish gains and maintaining its hegemony. | "This is another example…

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-12-09). Secret 'CIA-Funded' Right-Wing Group Linked to UK Ministers. libya360.wordpress.com MATT KENNARD and MARK CURTIS Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng was funded by Le Cercle in 2019. (Photo: Dan Kitwood / Getty) The group, known as Le Cercle, was described by former Conservative minister Alan Clark in his diaries as "a right-wing think (or rather thought) tank, funded by the CIA, which churns Cold War concepts…

_____ (2021-12-09). EU has Launched its Own Quasi-BRI, Where Should Russia Stand? journal-neo.org This year on 1 December the European Commission — that is, the de facto government of the EU — launched a project which, if successful, may raise the Union to an entirely new level of significance in the international arena, making it one of the leading players in the modern "Great Game" of world politics. …

Staff (2021-12-09). "An Outrage": House Passes Largest Military Budget in Generations Despite End of Afghanistan War. democracynow.org President Biden may soon approve the largest military spending bill since World War II, which ramps up spending to counter China and Russia. Separately, the Senate voted down a bipartisan bid by Senators Bernie Sanders, Rand Paul and Mike Lee to halt $650 million in U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia amid the devastating ongoing war in Yemen. "The last thing we need to do is be throwing more money at the Pentagon," says William Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy. "This whole idea that China and Russia are military threats to the United States has primarily been…

teleSUR (2021-12-09). Talks Resume in Vienna With Iran on the Nuclear Deal. telesurenglish.net After a few days of pause, negotiations resume in Vienna between Iran and the world powers with the aim of saving the nuclear agreement of 2015. The diplomatic representatives of the signatory countries insisted that Tehran return with "more realistic proposals," calling the previous ones unacceptable. | Enrique Mora, European Union legislator arrives for a Joint Commission Iran talks meeting in Vienna, Austria, Nov. 29, 2021.

2021-12-11 02:18 | 22:18 EST | jz | 27 | 0 | 10 | 15 | 0 

2021-12-09: News Headlines

Finian Cunningham (2021-12-09). Biden's Empty Warning Over Putin's Straw Man "Invasion" dissidentvoice.org © Sputnik / Sergey Guneev As we enter the Christmas season that's just pantomime on Pennsylvania Avenue. The private video call which lasted two hours on Tuesday was eagerly anticipated around the world amid mounting tensions and fears of a military confrontation over Ukraine. The next day headlines in Western media outlets were laden with …

Eric Zuesse (2021-12-09). Biden-Putin Teleconference: Putin Rejects Biden's Demand That U.S. Take Control Over Negotiations Between Ukraine and Its Former Donbass Region. covertactionmagazine.com The two-hour December 7th Biden-Putin conversation (via video-conference) focused mainly on the conflict between Ukraine and its breakaway former Donbass …

Peter Koenig (2021-12-09). China Winter Olympics: US Boycott. dissidentvoice.org President Biden, in full mood of marking "red lines" against Russia and Ukraine in a virtual meeting with Vladimir Putin, does not forget the importance of boycotting China's Winter Olympic Games. It's a diplomatic boycott only, so says Madame Jen Psaki, White House press secretary. Nevertheless, she and Biden are wishing the US sport-participants best …

WSWS (2021-12-09). In bid to blow up nuclear talks, US imposes sanctions, steals Iranian oil. wsws.org Washington's provocations have been accompanied by increasingly bellicose threats and actions by Israel.

Gilbert Doctorow (2021-12-08). The United States pushes Russia to the brink of war, then cries "wolf" mronline.org The Russians have plainly said that they deem the Ukrainian government to be U.S-controlled, not a free agent, and they hold Washington directly responsible for whatever may happen on the ground in their neighborhood.

Staff (2021-12-08). A One-Sided Narrative: U.S. Press Focuses on "Russian Aggression" While Ignoring U.S. Escalation. democracynow.org During a virtual summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Biden threatened to impose new economic sanctions and other measures if Russia invades Ukraine. The talks were held amid growing tension between the two countries over the expansion of NATO in Eastern Europe and Russia's deployment of tens of thousands troops along the border of Ukraine. Editorial director and publisher at The Nation Katrina vanden Heuvel says the U.S. has a "one-sided narrative" of the Russia-Ukraine conflict that neglects to acknowledge its own role in escalating tensions. "This [t…

Anand Naidoo (2021-12-08). The Heat: Biden-Putin discuss Ukraine in video call. america.cgtn.com The stakes couldn't be any higher for diplomatic relations between the United States and Russia. U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a two-hour video call on Tuesday about the Russian buildup of troops along Ukraine's border and fears of a …

Eric Zuesse (2021-12-08). Putin: Ukraine Is to Russia What Cuba Was to America in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. moderndiplomacy.eu In an almost universally ignored speech by Putin, on December 1st (titled "Ceremony for presenting foreign ambassadors' letters of credence"), he said, merely as an aside [and I here shall add clarifications in brackets]: By the way, the threat on our western border [he was referring mainly to Ukraine] is really growing, and we have …

_____ (2021-12-08). What Putin Really Told Biden. strategic-culture.org By Pepe ESCOBAR | So Russian President Vladimir Putin, by himself, and United States President Joe Biden, surrounded by aides, finally had their secret video link conference for two hours and two minutes — with translators placed in different rooms. | That was their first serious exchange since they met in person in Geneva last June — the first Russia-US summit since 2018. For global public opinion, led to believe a "war" in Ukraine was all but imminent, what's left is essentially a torrent of spin. | So let's start with a simple exercise focusing on the key issue of the video link — Ukraine [md…

Ann Brown (2021-12-08). 5 Things to Know About Lovett Fort-Whiteman: The Black Communist Who Was Taken To The Gulag in Russia. moguldom.com Lovett Fort-Whiteman was considered the first American-born Black Communist and first African American to receive training at Communist International in Moscow. Communist International (also known as Comintern) was an international organization founded in 1919 that advocated global communism. Despite his devotion to communism, Fort-Whiteman, a political and civil rights activist, spent the end of his …

_____ (2021-12-08). Russian-Vietnamese Relations and the Joint Fight Against the Pandemic. journal-neo.org The history of relations between Russia and Vietnam goes back to Soviet times when the USSR supported the Vietnamese communists in their war for creating their state, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV). After that, the Soviet Union became a major partner of the SRV for many years. The common ideology, joint opposition to the …

WSWS (2021-12-08). Biden threatens economic sanctions and a repositioning of NATO troops in meeting with Putin. wsws.org The meeting was preceded by threats against Russia from Biden and Germany's new Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and took place amidst the drum beat of war propaganda in the American and European press.

_____ (2021-12-08). U.S. Government Threatens Writers With Heavy Fines if They Continue To Write for Sanctioned Russian Outlet. strategic-culture.org By Natylie BALDWIN | Establishment institutions usually start their implementation of censorship and the throttling of press freedom by going after individuals and outlets that are small and/or not well liked by a cross-section of the public. The obscurity or general unpalatable nature of the target ensures the success of setting the precedent. | Most Americans have probably never heard of Strategic Culture Foundation (SCF) and many would be unsympathetic once they learn that the U.S. government claims it is a think tank and journal associated with Russian military intelligence, although no evidence is offered to…

WSWS (2021-12-08). Germany's New Green Foreign Minister Baerbock threatens Russia and China with nuclear weapons. wsws.org With an aggressiveness that is otherwise seen only from extreme right-wing and militarist circles, Annalena Baerbock linked Germany's ability to pursue an aggressive foreign and great power policy with nuclear rearmament.

Fidel Castro Ruz (2021-12-08). Fidel Castro's Message against Nuclear War: "In a Nuclear War the 'Collateral Damage' would be the Life of All Humanity." globalresearch.ca A forceful message calling for World peace and the survival of humankind.

Robert Hunziker (2021-12-08). Japan's Upcoming Nuclear Waste Dump. dissidentvoice.org Nuclear waste is an interminable curse that eternally haunts the future of civilization for hundreds/thousands of years. The challenge of making nuclear power safer doesn't end after the power has been generated. Nuclear fuel remains dangerously radioactive for thousands of years after it is no longer useful in a commercial reactor.1 There are 440 nuclear …

Juan Guahán (2021-12-08). En la relación con el FMI se juega el futuro de la Argentina. globalizacion.ca Argentina atraviesa por uno de los momentos más críticos de su historia. No se refiere a riesgos nucleares o climáticos, tampoco a los de una guerra convencional. Se trata de saber si continuará su declive hacia la nada o si…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-12-08). Amid talks to revive nuclear deal, US imposes fresh sanctions on Iranian entities and officials. peoplesdispatch.org The fresh sanctions were imposed citing alleged human rights violations. Iran and at least one other signatory to the nuclear deal have stated that such moves raise serious questions about the Biden administration's seriousness to revive the deal…

The Canary (2021-12-08). Foreign secretary admits £400m owed to Iran from the 70s is a legitimate debt. thecanary.co Liz Truss has said the £400m that Britain owes Iran is a "legitimate debt" that the government wants to pay. | A long time coming: | The foreign secretary was asked about the amount at a Chatham House event on 8 December, where she set out her foreign policy aims. Truss said the government was going to "work night and day to prevent the Iranian regime from ever getting a nuclear weapon". But she said they were also working to "resolve the issue" over the debt. It relates to a cancelled order for 1,500 Chieftain tanks dating back to the 1970s. And it's been linked to the continued detention of Naz…

2021-12-09 17:18 | 11:18 EST | jz | 21 | 0 | 15 | 4 | 0