Rick Rozoff (2021-12-06). NATO threat to redeploy nuclear arms led to Belarus to moot basing Russian nuclear weapons — analyst. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Lukashenko's suggestion to host Russian nuclear weapons seen as response to Western threats By suggesting to host Russian nuclear weapons Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has responded to the West's threats to deploy its nuclear capabilities in Poland and the Baltic countries, editor-in-chief of the Russian magazine Natsionalnaya Oborona [National Defense] and military expert Igor Korotchenko …

Rick Rozoff (2021-12-06). Poland coordinating military response with Ukraine, consulting with NATO. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Poland seeks closer ties with Ukraine amid migrant crisis: defence minister [Polish Defense Minister] Mariusz B≈Çaszczak said that intelligence obtained from Kiev suggested migrants might be redirected by Belarus authorities to Ukraine…. B≈Çaszczak also told the interview that "Poland, together with its allies, is closely monitoring the situation in the conflict area between Russia and …

Dr.Nadia Helmy (2021-12-06). Democracy Summit: Excluding countries and igniting the Cold War in the Middle East. moderndiplomacy.eu A number of American leaks have appeared at the present time for several American think tanks that have reached a dangerous conclusion, which is: (The United States of America must re-use the influence of the extremist Islamic currents and radical political Islam movements in the Middle East and Africa to confront the rise of China …

Dr.Nadia Helmy (2021-12-06). U.S. nationalism and the arms market sales deals in the Gulf states. moderndiplomacy.eu The idea of "the feeling of nationalism and heading east to China and Russia among the Egyptian people has risen among the Egyptian people after the June 30th revolution in the face of American policies and interference in our internal affairs", at a time when the majority of Egyptians believe that the increase in these …

Editor (2021-12-06). SVR — United States push Ukraine to relaunch Donbass conflict, while accusing Russia of wanting to attack. mronline.org The head of the SVR, Sergey Naryshkin, told a journalist from the Rossia 1 channel that behind the reports that Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine lies Washington's desire to push Kiev to attack the Donbass.

Aaron Maté (2021-12-06). War in Ukraine? NATO expansion drives conflict with Russia. thegrayzone.com Russia is seeking a legally binding pledge that NATO will stop expanding east, including to Ukraine. If the US refuses, is war next? Richard Sakwa joins Pushback. Russia is seeking a legally binding pledge that NATO will stop expanding east, including to Ukraine. If the US refuses, is war next? Scholar and author Richard Sakwa analyzes the growing Russia-Ukraine conflict and how Russiagate fueled it. Guest: Richard Sakwa. Professor of Russian and European politics at the University of Kent. His …

Rick Rozoff (2021-12-06). Turkey's provision of combat drones for war in Donbass has nothing to do with war in Donbass — official. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com The claim will be dutifully duplicated in the Russian press. The Ukrainian government said in June that when the Bayraktar drones arrived they would be used in the Donbass. Kiev also prominently displayed one of the drones in July's U.S./NATO thirty-nation Sea Breeze war games. But neither Ankara nor Moscow had the faintest idea they …

Rick Rozoff (2021-12-06). U.S. ambassador: Ukraine, Georgia will join NATO, Russia be damned. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com It is for Georgia to decide what alliances it wants to be part of to protect its own territory — Kelly Degnan It is for Georgia to decide what alliances it wants to be part of to protect its own territory. Such a statement [was] made today [by] the U.S. Ambassador to Georgia. "NATO Secretary …

Rick Rozoff (2021-12-06). U.S. Senator Murphy warns/threatens Russia of/with "next Afghanistan" antibellum679354512.wordpress.com US Senate warns Russia about possibility of repetition of 'Afghan lesson' in Ukraine Democratic United States Senator for Connecticut and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee Chris Murphy on December 5 warned Russia that "Ukraine can become the next Afghanistan for Russia." Murphy said this on Sunday program of Fareed Zakaria on CNN. Warning …

WSWS (2021-12-06). Amid pandemic, Washington escalates war threats against Russia. wsws.org Washington and its NATO allies are recklessly stoking military tensions with Russia to distract from their criminally irresponsible policies on the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

_____ (2021-12-05). How China Is Taking On Billionaires And Big Tech To Combat Inequality. popularresistance.org China is imposing harsh regulations on private education, big tech, and billionaires. The new Cold Warriors in the U.S. government and media call these moves authoritarian, leftward tyranny, and bad for business. But Chinese president Xi Jinping calls it part of a "common prosperity" agenda to create a more equitable society on the road to building socialism. To help understand the Chinese point of view, Rania Khalek was joined by Tings Chak, a writer and researcher with Dongsheng News and the Tricontinental Institute.

_____ (2021-12-05). 'Summit For Democracy' — The Apex Of Hypocrisy. popularresistance.org President Biden's December 9-10 "Summit for Democracy" has already stirred up a storm. The White House says the summit will have "three principal themes: defending against authoritarianism, fighting corruption, and promoting respect for human rights" — clearly targeting Washington's chosen "autocratic states," China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua. | The government of Taiwan is among the 100-plus invitees, prompting suspicions that a key goal is de facto recognition of the island as a sovereign state. This continues the systematic gutting of the 1972 Shanghai Communiqué, signed by Richard Nixo…

Rick Rozoff (2021-12-05). Georgia: NATO consolidates military outpost on Russia's southern flank. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com The SNGP's annual briefing was held at the Ministry of Defense Defense Ministry [described? praised? the] NATO-Georgia Substantial Package (SNGP) within the achievements and activities of the briefing. The meeting was attended by senior officials of the Ministry of Defense, representatives of the diplomatic corps of NATO member states and the NATO core group (Nato …

Rick Rozoff (2021-12-05). Pentagon chief, predecessors: stand up to Putin. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com SecDef Austin 'very concerned' about Russian aggression toward Ukraine Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is "very concerned" about the potential for a Russian incursion into sovereign Ukrainian territory…. "They've invaded before, and as we look at the numbers of forces that are in the border region, as we look at some of the things that are …

Rick Rozoff (2021-12-05). Turkey offers to mediate between Russia and Ukraine. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Turkey possesses NATO's second-largest population and second-largest armed forces. It has provided 24 Bayraktar TB2 combat drones of the sort used against Russian allies in Syria, Libya, Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia to Ukraine, which have been used in Donetsk, and has a contract in the works with Ukraine to produce over 500 Bayraktar and Akinci drones, …

Rick Rozoff (2021-12-05). German coalition government: new Drang nach Osten NATO command, old U.S. nuclear bombs, black T-shirts and white sneakers. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com The first and previously only Social Democratic Party-Green Party coalition government no sooner came to power in 1998 than it, in the person of Social Democrat Chancellor Gerhard Schrà∂der and Green Party Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, gave Germany its first air war in 1999 (against Yugoslavia) and its first ground war in 2001 …

Rick Rozoff (2021-12-05). Janes: Germany to order 30 nuclear-capable bombers from U.S. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Germany 'Approves' Nuclear-Capable F/A 18 Super Hornets, EW Aircraft EA-18G Growlers To Modernize Fleet — Media Germany is likely to send the US government a letter of request (LOR), requesting to procure the Boeing F/A 18 Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler aircraft, Janes reported quoting local German media. *** In 2020, Germany's Defense Minister Annegret …

Rick Rozoff (2021-12-05). Week-long NATO nuclear drills: "Combination of F-35A and B61-12 significant improvement of NATO dual-capable aircraft posture in Europe" antibellum679354512.wordpress.com NATO Concludes Annual Nuclear Exercise NATO has wrapped up its annual week-long nuclear deterrence exercise, called Steadfast Noon, across southern Europe with aircraft and personnel from 14 allied countries. *** A different NATO country hosts Steadfast Noon each year.The alliance normally does not identify the host country, with the exception of last year when NATO …

Yves Engler (2021-12-04). Claims of Russian Interference in Ukraine Reek of Hypocrisy. dissidentvoice.org The Russians are up to no good and we must prepare to protect Ukraine. Moscow interferes in US and Canadian elections. That's what Washington, Ottawa and their media sycophants claim. But is this just another case of accusing others of doing the things you do? An age-old propaganda technique designed to deflect attention away from …

Brian Williams (2021-12-04). Mine explosion in Russia kills over 50 workers, dozens injured. themilitant.com The bosses' drive for profit at the expense of safety led to a deadly coal mine methane gas explosion in the Kemerovo region of southwestern Siberia Nov. 25. Over 50 people were killed and dozens more hospitalized. Five workers who came to help in rescue operations were among those killed, and one survived. | The explosion occurred after a ventilation shaft began filling with toxic gas while 285 people were working underground in the Listvyazhnaya mine, government officials said. Methane gas levels were dangerously high prior to the blast, but no action was taken either by the company — SDS-Coal — or…

_____ (2021-12-04). Near-Octogenarian Joe Biden Taps Teen Spirit to Snub China and Russia. strategic-culture.org Biden is trying to foist an anachronistic dichotomy on the world whereby geopolitical rivals China and Russia can be cast as malign. | Inviting some while not inviting others to your party is usually a ploy one associates with petulant, insecure teenagers. It's my party, so there! U.S. President Joe Biden turned 79 last week — near enough an octogenarian — and in the same week announced the invitation list for a so-called "democracy summit" to be held on December 9-10. | China and Russia aren't on the list. Neither are a lot of other countries many of whom happen to be on U.S. blacklists for sanctions…

_____ (2021-12-04). This Is How the Russia-Ukraine War Will Unfold. strategic-culture.org Russian troop movements earlier this year have prompted speculation that Moscow might consider a military attack on the neighboring Ukraine. Head of the Ukrainian military intelligence announced the date of the Russian offensive, saying it will take place in late January 2022. Strategic Culture obtained details of this secret plan to present them in this exclusive infographic.

_____ (2021-12-04). Russia Is Primed for a Persian Gulf Security 'Makeover'. strategic-culture.org By Pepe ESCOBAR | It's impossible to understand the resumption of the JCPOA nuclear talks in Vienna without considering the serious inner turbulence of the Biden administration. | Everyone and his neighbor are aware of Tehran's straightforward expectations: all sanctions — no exceptions — must be removed in a verifiable manner. Only then will the Islamic Republic reverse what it terms 'remedial measures,' that is, ramping up its nuclear program to match each new American 'punishment.' | The reason Washington isn't tabling a similarly transparent position is because its economic circumstances are, biza…