Russia 2

Greece's Lesson For Russia -  by Paul Craig Roberts

http://dissidentvoice.org/2015/07/greeces-lesson-for-russia/

"Greece's lesson for Russia, and China and Iran is to avoid all financial relationships with the West. The West simply cannot be trusted. Washington is committed to economic and poliitcal hegemony over every other country and uses the Western financial system for asset freezes, confiscations and sanctions.

Countries that have independent foreign policies and also have assets in the West, cannot expect Washington to respect their property rights or their ownership. Washington freezes or steals countries' assets..."

Russia: Tit For Tat 

http://www.unz.com/ishamir/russia-tit-for-tat/

"The tempest is all around. A weaker nation would become hysterical. Putin and Russia remain nonplussed. Now you understand why Russians are in favour of sanctions."

Russia Disowns Soldiers Captured in Eastern Ukraine in May:

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/russia-disowns-soldiers-captu...

I don't think this is going to have a good effect on army morale, or willingness to enlist.

Patrick Armstrong has returned from a break and resumed his Russian Federaion SITREP. This retired Canadian diplomat absolutely rips the head off the innumerable frothing Russophobic prejudices and backs up his claims with meticulously footnoted links and references. Just brilliant. I see Russian media (Russia Insider, RT, etc.) is picking up his independent stuff now.

PS Russophobes shouldn't bother to read his stuff. You already know everything -  including the obvious fact of Russian inferiority, criminality, malevolence, desire to conquer the world, how they keep moving their country closer to "our" military bases, etc.

Patrick Armstrong. Rips 'em a new one. Again.

Quote:

EID AL-FITR. Interesting video that shows Russia is also a rather Muslim country. The Chief Mufti supports Putin, by the way. (For those of you who think it’s some evil scheme cooked up by Orthodoxy).

MH17. Watch this BBC interview. Shootdown by Buk “most credible scenario” but also looking at Buk fired “from another region, another place” and scenario of “an air-to-air missile.” Can only mean 2) Buk fired from the Kiev side or 3) Kiev aircraft shot it down. Somebody’s lost control of the narrative. We are told by a Ukrainian official that the report will be published 10 August but not made public. (If scenarios 2 and 3 are really being considered, why is Ukraine even part of the investigation?) Retired US int professionals again call on Washington to release what it has. Simply put, here’s all you need to know: the absence of evidence is the evidence.

 

UKRAINE: THE WAR. The rebels have announced a pull-back of weapons under 100mm calibre (Minsk II requires 100mm+ weapons moved out of range). Why? I think the Saker is correct: to show they are abiding by Minsk II; but it’s also a trap. OSCE observers corroborate that at least some weapons have been withdrawn and they are off to confirm full withdrawal. But they have also said – I don’t recall this before – that Kiev forces are shelling civilians: “In both cases, the SMM was able to conclude the direction of fire to have been from the area of government-controlled Pisky (11km north-west of Donetsk) and Pervomaiske (17km north-west of Donetsk).” So much for the US Ambassador’s retort “How do you know? Were you personally present for this?”. Or RL’s reprinting Kiev claims that the rebels are shelling themselves.

UKRAINE: TRANSCARPATHIA. Ethnically mixed, many former owners, little enthusiasm for Kiev regime. Smuggling: tobacco and borders. Right Sector people got into a fight in Mukachevo; Poroshenko ordered the Interior Ministry to restore order (perhaps a regime split on how to handle it? Certainly no one is very popular in Ukraine today.) Right Sector ran for cover and now the place is full of Interior Ministry forces and small-scale fighting. Stay tuned. (Of course, maybe Putindunnit.)

UKRAINE: RIGHT SECTOR. A headline to remember: “Kiev Forced to Fight Its Own Fascist Militias”. After Mukachevo, Right Sector declared mobilisation, demanded resignations all round and set up blockposts here and there. There was a sizeable demonstration in Kiev on Tuesday; Yarosh demanded a referendum on confidence in the government and an end to obedience to it. Analyses of the situation from Gordon Hahn, Alexander Mercouris and Nikolai Petro. BBC actually notices. Many of us have been awaiting the next stage of the Ukrainian demolution (a new word coined by Miquel Puertas: demolition + revolution) – Nazi Spring, as it were. We are a step closer. But it’s extremely fluid: witness what Yarosh is saying now. A weak government to be sure but Right Sector may not have the street power it thinks it has.

UKRAINE: NEIGHBOURS. Very interesting article by a Polish writer who contemplates where the burning fuse is going: a Ukrainian “Banderland” is not in Poland’s interests and (so much for NATO and the EU) “if the West needs Poland, it’s only as a battlefield for a possible conflict with Russia”; maybe better if Ukraine were partitioned. Other Poles are concerned about the glorification of Bandera and the OUN; and a movie is on the way. Hungary has cleared its throat, so to speak, about Hungarians living in Transcarpathia. The violence in Transcarpathia has made neighbouring countries strengthen their borders – after all the armed Right Sector people are hiding somewhere nearby. Meanwhile, Schengen members are cutting down on issuing visas to Ukrainians. Remember “the end of history”? Neither do they.

???!!! Did Washington supply Stingers to Kiev? Anyway, the Donbass fighters now have them. This may make sense in some universe, but not the one we’re living in.

KYRGYZ REPUBLIC. Several people have suspected an American attempt to start a “colour revolution” there – to many the choice of mission head is diagnostic. In this respect the announcement of a “human rights” award to a dissident was protested by the government. When the US did nothing, the PM denounced the 1993 assistance agreement with the USA.

IRAN DEAL. We’ll see. Many in the USA want to denounce it and that may happen. In which case who will follow Washington and who won’t? It’s good (and proper) that Obama thanked Russia, but I don’t expect much. As to European missile defence being cancelled, let’s ask Putin. But undeniably a major event.

Did it hurt? It shouldn't.

CrossTalk: Watching  Media (and vid)

http://www.rt.com/shows/crosstalk/310643-ukraine-chaos-western-media/

"As Ukraine continues to descend into political and financial chaos, Western media - for the most part - remain focused on Russia's so-called aggression. How does the mischaracterization of this important story undermine the sad realities being played out on the ground?

CrossTalking with Dmitry Babich, Mark Sleboda and Anton Fedyashin

Regime Change in Russia? Think Again Neocons  -  by Neil Clark

http://www.rt.com/op-edge/310744-neocons-regime-change-russia/

"As events in Syria have proven, Russia is the biggest block on the endless war lobby's plans for world domination, which is why the removal of Putin and his replacement with a marionette who will do exactly what the neocons want is their overriding objective..."

The Seeds of Eurasia: A Vision Manifests  - by Pepe Escobar

http://www.vineyardsaker.co.nz/2015/07/26/the-seeds-of-eurasia-a-vision-...

"Pepe's 'Eurasian Big Bang' has all the potential to set things in motion that the very Masters of the Universe may not be able to stop. And that is what makes this the seed of actions to come for generations..."

Damned Lies and Statistics: The Guardian View on Putin's Mysterious Popularity

http://off-guardian.org/2015/07/26/damned-lies-and-statistics-the-guardi...

"Vladimir Putin is very popular in Russia. This is simply undeniable. He has won three presidential elections in the last 15 years and currently enjoys approval ratings on a par with Franklin D Roosevelt the day after Pearl Harbor and Bush Minor on September 12, 2001.

This, to the mainstream media (and, for some reason, in particular The Guardian) is a very inconvenient truth. Maybe the most inconvenient truth, of a world full of square pegs refusing to fit through round holes..."

The New Russian Naval Doctrine - One Very Important Sentence/

http://thesaker.is/the-new-russian-naval-doctrine-one-very-important-sen...

"A defining factor in (our) relations with NATO means that for Russia the following is unacceptable: the alliance's plan to move its infrastructure to the borders of Russia and the attempts to give the alliance a global role.'

The message is clear: we will not let you prevail."

Russian debtors despair as boom turns to bust:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33717488

I Am a Kremlin Troll (Poem)

This could easily go in the Russophobia thread.

Quote:

My Western friends, I must confess,

That I am a Kremlin troll.

I turn your brain into a mess

With propaganda droll.

I lie, delude, deceive and fool,

And even when I sleep,

My evil Russian tricking tool

Still turns you into sheep.

But there is a way, you see,

To break the Russian spell –

Just turn on, let’s say, BBC,

And everything is well…

Reshuffling Eurasia's Energy Deck - Iran, China & Pipelineistan  -  by Pepe Escobar

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/08/04/reshuffling-eurasias-energy-deck-...

"Pipelineistan - the prime Eurasian energy chessboard - never sleeps. Recently it's Russia that has scored big on all fronts; two monster gas deals sealed with China last year: the launch of Turk Stream replacing South Stream, and the doubling of Nord Stream to Germany.

Considering all of the above, it's not hard to identify the real winner of all these interlocking Pipelineistan power-plays - way beyond individual countries; deeper Eurasia integration.

And so far away from Western interference."

Book banning and self-delusion:

http://gu.com/p/4bax7/sbl

A denial of what happened and what everyone knows about says something about a government.

Russia Submits 1.2 Million Sq Km Arctic Claim to UN

http://www.rt.com/business/311627-russia-submits-arctic-claim/

"Russia has filed an application to expand the boundaries of its continental shelf in the Arctic. Moscow made a similar claim in 2002 but the UN turned it down for lack of scientific support. If Russian scientists prove that these ranges are the continuation of the Russian continental shelf, Moscow will be entitled to an exclusive right to develop these resources, the volume of which, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources, may reach 5 billion tons of untapped oil and natural gas reserves worth as much as $30 trillion."

US is Destroying Europe  -  by Eric Zuesse

http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2015/08/07/us-is-destroying-europe...

"Obama overthrew the neutralist government of Viktor Yanukovich in Ukraine in Feb 2014 under the fake cover of 'democracy' demonstrations, to install a rabidly anti-Russia, racist-fascist, or nazi government next door to Russia.

The fact that all of Europe is sharing in the devastations that Obama and other American conservatives - imperialists even - impose, is of little if any concern.

By weakening European nations, and not only nations in the ME, Obama's war against Russia is yet further establishing America as 'the last man standing' at the end of the chaos and destruction that America causes."

Ossetia 2008 War Anniversary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc-l2aUUgzQ

EU report: Georgia initiated attack, Russian actions justified.

It's not Ukraine anymore. It's the liberated territory of the DPR and LPR. Neither Russia nor Ukraine. Mind you, if the Banderistan regime and its NATO backers want to set up a Cuban style blockade, then that will drive the Novorossiyans towards Russia faster than you can say, 'Buh bye, fascists!"

The Kursk submarine: Chronicles of a tragedy

"15 years ago the ‪#‎Kursk‬ submarine sank in the Barents Sea. Most of the crew died instantly, but 23 survived for several hours. Questions continue to surround the disaster – was Russia too slow in accepting international help and could the lives have been saved? RBTH spoke to the families of several of the dead and one of the rescue divers about their experiences."

Why Moscow Opposed Grexit:

http://carnegie.ru/eurasiaoutlook/?fa=60746

Corruption eats Russia-annexed Crimea from within:

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/08/corruption-eats-russia...

In previous discussion with babbler NDPP, I made some remarks about the BRICS countries and quoted the Canadian Communists on those group of states. (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa)

I think more can, and should, be noted about this - as it relates to Russia. I spend enough time discussing and providing links to the endless evidence of pathological Russophobia, but not much time on the more positive foreign policy (in relation to the bellicose and frothing policies of the US and its NATO satellites like Canada) and where it comes from.

Communist Party of Canada wrote:

The BRICS cooperate around shared interests, but this group is not a stable, much less a coherent anti-imperialist, alliance. They operate within and largely accommodate themselves to the dynamics of global capitalism, even if some take positions on certain international issues which overlap with the stance of the peace and anti-imperialist forces around the world. At the same time however, it would be equally wrong to dismiss the BRICS as a just another rival, imperialist formation. BRICS policies and actions that help to inhibit the aggressive agenda of imperialism should be welcomed; BRICS policies and actions which undermine international peace and security and/or run counter to the interests of the working class and oppressed peoples (including the working class and peoples of their own countries) should be criticized and resisted.

Now the above is in relation to the group of BRICS member states. But about Russia specifically, I think it bears underlining that there is a certain residue of the Soviet regime still visible in Russian foreign policy today. Let me give an example.

Russian Federation Foreign Ministry wrote:

""I would like to reiterate that Russia does not practice social engineering, we do not appoint or dismiss foreign presidents, being it on our own will or in agreement with somebody else. It concerns Syria and other states in the region, which are able to decide their future by themselves," Zakharova stressed."

Russia Slams Claims of Secret Deal on Future of Syria, Assad
Read more: http://sputniknews.com/politics/20150907/1026698433.html#ixzz3l597ugxO

Now we all know that the brutal US regime practices this sort of thing constantly, makes no effort to hide their intentions and actions to overthrow the leaders of sovereign states the world over, causing untold suffering and death in the millions, and will probably continue to do so until the day when the USA gets the extremely richly deserved military thrashing from an enraged planet. [A de-fanging of its odious and monstrous MIC would be more suitable, needless to say.]

In any case, the quote is from a foreign ministry spokesperson of the Russian Federation. The remarks relate to Israeli-circulated lies* in the MSM about some secret deal involving the Russians to depose the Syrian President, and, in the view of the Russian FM, is an attempt to shift responsibility for the abysmal failure of "Western" policy in the Middle East. This sort of insistence of simple respect for genuine international law, sovereign states, etc., is a carry over, I am convinced, from the best part of the Soviet tradition of helping small states deal with the brutal Yanqui juggernaut of death and imperialism generally. I don't give the current Putin government all the credit here; I think their foreign policy establishment, their political culture from the Soviet era that is not completely dissolved in a new, capitalist and imperialist Russia,  deserves some of the credit.

That is all. Despite the endless stream of projectile vomit, even here on a progressive website and discussion board, in which everything about the Soviet era is depicted as equal to (or worse than) Hitlerite fascism, it's nice to see that some of the silenced and positive traditions of the Soviet era still live, still shine,  in the darkness of our current brutal and violent age of late capitalism.

* the Israeli source is called YNet. A complete fabrication, dutifully spouted across the entire Western MSM, is the result.

Doug Woodard wrote:

Electoral Changes etc.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/electoral-changes-make-dum...

Hey Doug! Bet you didn't know that the Moscow Times gets funding from the US regime, Rupert Murdoch, and Pearson of Financial Times fame. What other papers do you quote from Murdoch, the State Department, and educational fundamentalists?

Just wondering. lol.

No More Regurgitation from the Moscow Times

Quote:

The Moscow Times, a small English-language daily outlet for a string of foreign causes since 1992, has been sold by its Finnish owner, Sanoma. ....

The asset value of the paper has not been disclosed by Sanoma,... In its analysis of the deal, the Moscow media have omitted to mention of the Moscow Times. Vedomosti remains part-owned by Rupert Murdoch and by Pearson, owner of the Financial Times.

Wait! There's more!

Quote:

Jon Hellevig (right), a Finnish national and Moscow-based lawyer and financial advisor, has commented that it’s good riddance to Sanoma. “Finland’s rabidly anti-Russian propaganda media group – calling for sanctions and war against Russia – is losing readers and advertisers, and making heavier and heavier losses. Many [Finns] say that they have stopped subscribing because they cannot stand to open the paper to a fresh load of hate propaganda every day. “

... can't stand to open the paper to a fresh load of hate propaganda every day....

bwa ha ha ha. bwa ha ha ha. This  is what the State Department left is reduced to?

There is an interesting article on The Intercept, reviewing a new book about how the Russian government controls all media, and particularly the internet, at least as harshly as the U.S. and other western governments. There is no reason, it seems, to prefer the Russian despots over the western ones.

Rupert Murdoch, who owns part of Moscow News that babbler Doug Woodard loves to quote, now owns National Geographic as well. That oughta help the scientists looking for grants ... when Murdoch is a notorious climate change denier.

Climate Change denier Rupert Murdoch owns National Geographic.

The obvious question that begs to be answered, of course: if Russian "state owned" media is questionable, why isn't the steady stream of projectile vomit from the Western "state media" (and the even worse for profit media) also questioned?

Question more. RT gets that right at least. The Guardian considers such views "propaganda". But the Guardian's views on Russia, like the views of Moscow News, are pretty well out-and-out fabrications of the virulent Russophobes employed there.

OPEC, Russia And The New World Order Emerging  - by F William Engdahl

http://journal-neo.org/2015/09/16/opec-russia-and-the-emerging-new-world...

"The OPEC oil-producing states of the Middle East, including Iran, through the skillful mediation of Russia, are carefully laying the foundations for a truly new world order. That tectonic motion will soon cause a political eathquake that well might save the planet from extinction by the endless wars of the Pentagon and their string pullers on Wall Street..."