Russia sends two satellites into space
Moscow (XNA) Apr 29, 2014 -
A Russian carrier rocket brought two satellites into space successfully, federal space agency Roscosmos said Monday.
The Proton-M rocket, carrying Russian satellite Luch-5V and Kazakh
communication satellite KazSat-3, blasted off from the Baikonur space
center in Kazakhstan at 8:25 a.m. Moscow time (0425 GMT), Roscosmos said on its website.
At 08:34 a.m. Moscow time (0434 GMT), the o ...
morehttp://www.space-travel.com/reports/Russia_sends_two_satellites_into_space_999.html
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Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Russia Set to Boost Space Cooperation With India, China
Russia Set to Boost Space Cooperation With India, China
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Apr 29, 2014 - Russia is set to develop its space cooperation with India and China, the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos Oleg Ostapenko said on Thursday. "Recently, we received an invitation from Japan to discuss an array of questions," he added. The announcement was made amid threats of Russia's western partners to freeze or cut cooperation with Russia amid tensions over Ukraine and Crim ... morehttp://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Russia_Set_to_Boost_Space_Cooperation_With_India_China_999.html
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Apr 29, 2014 - Russia is set to develop its space cooperation with India and China, the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos Oleg Ostapenko said on Thursday. "Recently, we received an invitation from Japan to discuss an array of questions," he added. The announcement was made amid threats of Russia's western partners to freeze or cut cooperation with Russia amid tensions over Ukraine and Crim ... morehttp://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Russia_Set_to_Boost_Space_Cooperation_With_India_China_999.html
Rouhani defends plan for nuclear deal with West
Rouhani defends plan for nuclear deal with West
Tehran (AFP) April 29, 2014 - President Hassan Rouhani defended a potential nuclear deal with the West on Tuesday, insisting that an agreement would benefit the majority of Iranians, while encountering resistance. In a primetime interview lasting 90 minutes, Rouhani, who is under growing pressure from hardliners and hard-pressed citizens, stood by the steps taken to ensure removal of sanctions imposed on Iran over its nu ... morehttp://www.spacewar.com/reports/Rouhani_defends_plan_for_nuclear_deal_with_West_999.html
Tehran (AFP) April 29, 2014 - President Hassan Rouhani defended a potential nuclear deal with the West on Tuesday, insisting that an agreement would benefit the majority of Iranians, while encountering resistance. In a primetime interview lasting 90 minutes, Rouhani, who is under growing pressure from hardliners and hard-pressed citizens, stood by the steps taken to ensure removal of sanctions imposed on Iran over its nu ... morehttp://www.spacewar.com/reports/Rouhani_defends_plan_for_nuclear_deal_with_West_999.html
Recognize the Nakba
Recognize the Nakba
Israel must make the history of the Palestinians an integral part of every school curriculum.
A Palestinian refugee walking past a banner during a Nakba Day protest in Jordan last month. /
Photo by Reuters
Haaretz Editorial
Published 03:30 29.04.14
In a special announcement, made in public and in
both Arabic and English, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared
that the murder of Jews in the Holocaust was “the most heinous crime to
have occurred against humanity in the modern era,” and expressed
sympathy for the victims and their families.
This statement, the first of its kind by a Palestinian president, received a chilly reception from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said Abbas had made it “to placate international public opinion.” Netanyahu, who himself has turned the Holocaust into a political tool for harnessing public opinion against Iran and uses it to justify his policies in the West Bank, could not bring himself to welcome Abbas’ remarks, which could serve as an example for other Arab leaders. It seems as if the fear that Abbas will score some points http://www.haaretz.com/mobile/1.587925?v=08327BD4C68BB63B18EE7E977D6DE12B
Despite the Crisis Over Ukraine, America Will Likely Need Russia Soon
Ivan Eland
Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on Peace & Liberty, The Independent Institute
Despite the Crisis Over Ukraine, America Will Likely Need Russia Soon
Posted:
04/29/2014 6:12 pm EDT
Updated:
04/29/2014 6:59 pm EDT
SINOGRAPH Ukraine crisis forces Eurasian evolution
SINOGRAPH Ukraine crisis forces Eurasian evolution (Apr 30, '14)An historic investment-for-resources deal between Russia and China will neuter Europe's punitive efforts over Ukraine and redraw the world's energy map, but more importantly create a Eurasian dynamic that otherwise would take decades to evolve. In the 1970s, former US president Richard Nixon used the region's complexities to divide Cold War enemies. Now his doctrine is being used against America. - Francesco Sisci
BEIJING - It has not happened yet, but expectations are already enormous. A massive strategic and economic shift is expected to result from Russian President Vladimir Putin's to China in May.
After decades of fruitless talks, Moscow and Beijing are now likely ready to sign a sweeping deal which will see China invest billions of dollars in Russia, with vast resources being sold in the other direction. This correspondent first saw the agreement signed 20 years ago, when Boris Yeltsin and Jiang Zemin were the presidents, and not much occurred since. However, this time things seem to be real.
The Demonization of Hamas What ‘Destruction of Israel’?
April 29,
2014
The Demonization of Hamas
What ‘Destruction of
Israel’?
by JOHN V.
WHITBECK
http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/04/29/what-destruction-of-israel/?utm_source=feedly&utm_reader=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-destruction-of-israel
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Warns U.S. Could Use Trampoline To Access ISS.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Warns U.S. Could Use Trampoline To Access ISS.
NBC Nightly News (4/29, story 6, 0:30, Williams)
broadcast that with more U.S. sanctions against Russia for its actions in
Ukraine, Russia’s deputy prime minister said that the U.S. could “use a
trampoline” if it wanted to get its astronauts to the ISS. According to the
broadcast, this is a “dicey” situation because of the U.S. reliance on Russia
for transport.
The Washington
Post (4/29, Birnbaum) briefly noted Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry
Rogozin’s comments in an article primarily about how the sanctions do not seem
to be working as Russian as officials say the U.S. and Europe are causing more
damage to themselves.
Reuters
(4/29, Baczynska) reported that despite the statement, analysts believe that
Russia will not halt launches because it is extremely reliant on the millions
the U.S. spends per launch. Sergei Oznobishchev, director at the Institute for
Strategic Assessments, believes that Russia will lose out in the end because
Russia also needs the West’s high-tech electronic components and is not prepared
at this time to produce them.
WDRB-TV
Louisville, KY (4/29) reported that Rogozin’s statement comes about a month
after astronaut Reid Wiseman and cosmonaut Max Suraev said at a press conference
that the astronauts still had good relations. The pair, along with German
astronaut Alexander Gerst, are scheduled to launch to the ISS next month “if all
goes well.”
Deutsche
Welle (DEU) (4/30), not mentioning Rogozin’s comments, detailed how reliant
both the U.S. and Europe are on Russia for launches.
Also covering the story are the Bloomberg
News (4/29, Silva) “Political Capital” blog, AFP
(4/29), Voice
of Russia (4/30), Moscow
Times (4/29, Bodner), NBC
News (4/29, Boyle) website, and other media sources.
Defense
Authorization Markup Requires Development Of RD-180 Alternative Engine.
The
Hill (4/29, Wong) reported that in the markup of the 2015 National Defense
Authorization Act, the House Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee calls
on the government to work on developing an alternate engine for U.S. rockets
over the next five years so that there is no more reliance on Russia. According
to the legislation, “any company certified to launch a national security
payload” would be able to bid on the contract.
Space
News (4/29, Gruss, Subscription Publication) noted that in the bill, the
Department of Defense would need to coordinate with NASA to make sure both
agencies can use the alternate to the RD-180 engine.
China’s Economy Surpassing U.S.? Well, Yes and No
China’s Economy Surpassing U.S.? Well, Yes and No
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2014/04/30/chinas-economy-surpassing-u-s-well-yes-and-no/?mod=WSJBlog
Mirable Dictu! Americans Diss Obama’s Ukraine Adventurism, Want US to Play More Modest Global Role
Mirable Dictu! Americans Diss Obama’s Ukraine Adventurism, Want US to Play More Modest Global Role
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/04/mirable-dictu-americas-diss-obamas-ukraine-adventurism-want-us-play-modest-global-role.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29
Despite Pentagon spending cap, projects such as Growler jet get another chance at funding
Despite Pentagon spending cap, projects such
as Growler jet get another chance at
funding
By Christian Davenport,
China poised to pass US as world’s leading economic power
April 30, 2014
The US is on the brink of losing its status as the world’s largest economy, and is likely to slip behind China this year, sooner than widely anticipated, according to the world’s leading statistical agencies. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d79ffff8-cfb7-11e3-9b2b-00144feabdc0.html?siteedition=intl#axzz30Gwg5BzF
China poised to pass US as world’s leading economic power
By Chris Giles, Economics EditorTuesday, April 29, 2014
Kerry Grovels over Israeli ‘Apartheid’
Kerry Grovels over Israeli ‘Apartheid’
http://consortiumnews.com/2014/04/29/kerry-grovels-over-israeli-apartheid/
Senate Agrees: US People Can't Know Overseas Drone Death Toll
Senate Agrees: US People Can't Know Overseas Drone Death Toll
http://www.commondreams.org/
http://www.commondreams.org/
Kerry “apartheid” controversy shows limits on debate over Israel
Kerry “apartheid
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/04/29/kerry-apartheid-controversy-shows-limits-on-debate-over-israel/
Brzezinski's Rx for Keeping Ukraine Independent
By Gerald F. Seib
Brzezinski's Rx for Keeping Ukraine Independent
Former National Security Adviser Say West Needs to Arm Ukraine and Stand Up to Russia's Putin
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304163604579531940358081088?mg=reno64-wsj
John Kerry and Israeli Apartheid
John Kerry and Israeli Apartheid
by Ali Abunimah
The Anti-Defamation League declared itself “startled and disappointed”
that Kerry would use the “offensive term ‘apartheid’ to warn what might
become of Israel should an agreement not be reached with the
Palestinians.” The neoconservative Emergency Committee for Israel has
meanwhile demanded that Kerry be sacked.http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/john-kerry-and-israeli-apartheid
Sorry Democrats, Obamacare is still electoral kryptonite
Sorry Democrats, Obamacare is still electoral kryptonite
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/marc-thiessen-sorry-democrats-obamacare-is-still-electoral-kryptonite/2014/04/28/41ca0af2-cede-11e3-a6b1-45c4dffb85a6_story.html
Israel approved record 14,000 settlements during "peace" talks with Palestine - report:
Israel approved record 14,000 settlements during "peace" talks with Palestine - report:
Israel
approved "an unprecedented" number of 13,851 new settler homes during
nine-months of peace talks with Palestine, an Israeli NGO revealed.
Israel also declared a record amount of territories its state land,
meaning more settlements may follow.
'Last Thing US Wants in the World is Democracy. It Wants Control' By Chris Hedges
'Last Thing US Wants in the World is Democracy. It Wants Control'
By Chris Hedges
Using fake evidence is usual Washington tactic.
Why is Putin in Washington's Crosshairs? By Mike Whitney
Why is Putin in Washington's Crosshairs?
By Mike Whitney
Washington
wants a weak Russia that won't challenge US presence in Central Asia
or its plan to control vital energy resources.
Economics of disintegration in Ukraine
Economics of disintegration in Ukraine
'Shock therapy' was imposed on the post-Soviet world by the West, with catastrophic results.
'Shock therapy' was imposed on the post-Soviet world by the West, with catastrophic results.
Now, we are planning on repeating that experiment in Ukraine.
by John Weeks
John Weeks is Professor Emeritus, School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London, and author of Economics of the 1%: How mainstream economics serves the rich, obscures reality and distorts policy, Anthem Press, published earlier this year.
[Chart here http://www.opendemocracy.net/
Ship Aimed at Breaking Gaza Blockade Rocked By Explosion
Published on Tuesday, April 29, 2014 by Common Dreams
Ship Aimed at Breaking Gaza Blockade Rocked By Explosion
'You can sink a boat but you can't sink a movement'
- Sarah Lazare, staff writer
Obama, McCain, and the NATO/EU Gang: Better war than saying: “It’s our fault”?
Posted: 29 Apr 2014 07:10 AM PDT
Once
again Americans are watching their government involve itself in an
issue in which the United States has nothing at stake economically and
no genuine national security interest at risk. Ukraine is a place that
is worth neither a single American dollar nor more than a brief scan of
the headlines by U.S. citizens. And [...]http://non-intervention.com/1189/obama-mccain-and-the-natoeu-gang-better-war-than-saying-%E2%80%9Cit%E2%80%99s-our-fault%E2%80%9D/
How Will We Know When China is Number One?
Apr 29, 2014 02:00 am | Peter Harris
It
has been conventional wisdom for well over a decade that China is a
rising power. The statistics on China’s current size and projections
about its future growth have become such clichés that they scarcely
warrant repeating. Suffice to say that most observers agree that China,
already the world’s most populous country and one of its military and
economic powerhouses, will replace the United States as the world’s
largest economy at some point mid-century. The implied corollary is
that, if unstopped either by external pressure or internal fissure,
China inexorably is set to replace the United States as the world’s
dominant military and geopolitical force in due course. Pax Sinica impends.By most accounts, however, the American Era is far from over. As of 2014, the United States still boasts the largest economy in the world and a vastly superior GDP per capita to China, which, its leaders are keen to remind the world, still considers itself a developing nation. It is U.S. leadership that remains truly essential for global agreements to be concluded and implemented, and it is towards Washington that the world looks when global, regional and local crises emerge. The Pentagon’s budget continues to dwarf those of its rivals. And while the People’s Liberation Army might look menacing from the perspective of Tokyo, Taipei or Manila, China’s military hardly constitutes a direct threat to the United States. China, on the other hand, finds itself encircled by a string of formal and tacit U.S. alliances from the western Himalayas to the East China Sea.
read morehttp://nationalinterest.org/commentary/how-will-we-know-when-china-number-one-10357
Does America Have Ukraine's Back?
Apr 29, 2014 02:00 am | Nikolas K. Gvosdev
In
March 1992, as war loomed on the horizon, the various factions met in
Lisbon to try and craft a deal that would hold Bosnia together and avert
the predictable tragedy. Reluctantly, the country's Muslims, Croats and
Serbs grappled with the creation of a decentralized country in which
each ethnic group would have predominance in different cantons, bound
together in a loose federation. At the last minute, the agreement was
torpedoed. Many asserted that the president of Bosnia, Alija
Izetbegovic, whose own authority (and that of the Muslim community over
all of Bosnia) would have been diminished by the accord, had rejected
it, having supposedly received assurances from the Americans (who did
not like the overt partition of Bosnia on ethnic lines) that Washington
would support the Bosnian government in the event of war. Three years
later, after a brutal and devastating conflict in which the Bosnian
government was dealt a series of devastating blows, a U.S.-sponsored peace agreement at Dayton ratified the division of Bosnia into distinct ethnic entities.read morehttp://nationalinterest.org/commentary/does-america-have-ukraines-back-10358
How the U.S. Created the Afghan War -- and Then Lost It The Unreported Story of How the Haqqani Network Became America's Greatest Enemy By Anand Gopal
How the U.S. Created the Afghan War -- and Then Lost It
The Unreported Story of How the Haqqani Network Became America's Greatest Enemy
By Anand Gopal
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175837/tomgram%3A_anand_gopal%2C_how_to_lose_a_war_that_wasn%27t_there/#more
Yes, Corruption Is Bad for Development. No, Corruption Is Not a Western Obsession
Yes, Corruption Is Bad for Development. No, Corruption Is Not a Western Obsession
Recently there has been a spate of commentary in the blogosphere that revives a set of tired old canards about corruption and development — the related claims (1) that the focus on corruption and governance in the development discourse is misplaced, because there isn’t a lot of evidence that corruption matters much for development, poverty reduction, etc.; and (2) that anticorruption is a fixation of wealthy, mostly Western countries, because it enables people in those countries congratulate themselves about their moral virtue and to look down on habits and practices in the poor, benighted South. Recent examples include Chris Blattman’s posts on his blog (here, here, and here), Michael Dowdle’s contributions to the Law & Development blog (here and here), and Jason Hickel’s post on Al Jazeera English, though there are others as well.
Sigh. Do we really need to go through this again? OK, look: Yes, there are still lots of unanswered questions about corruption’s causes and consequences, and its significance for various aspects of economic development. And yes, some anticorruption zealots have sometimes over-hyped the role of corruption relative to other factors. But the overwhelming weight of the evidence supports the claim that corruption is a big problem with significant adverse consequences for a range of development outcomes. And the evidence is also quite clear that the focus on corruption as a significant obstacle to development comes as much or more from poor people in poor countries as it does from wealthy Western/Northern elites.
http://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2014/04/29/yes-corruption-is-bad-for-development-no-corruption-is-not-a-western-obsession-2/
Killing the Putin-Obama ‘Trust’
Killing the
Putin-Obama ‘Trust’
Last year, Russian
President Putin and U.S. President Obama became a geopolitical odd couple as
they worked to cool off hotspots such as Syria and Iran. But U.S. hawks
succeeded in killing that collaboration via the crisis in Ukraine, ex-CIA
analyst Ray McGovern explains.
BOEING: Here's Why Lockheed's F-35 Is Flawed And Needs Our Help
BOEING: Here's Why Lockheed's F-35 Is Flawed And Needs Our Help
http://www.businessinsider.com/f-35-needs-electromagnetic-cover-from-growlers-2014-4?utm_source=alerts&nr_email_referer=1
DRONES: Commercial Drones Are Becoming A Reality, With Huge Impacts For Many Industries
DRONES: Commercial Drones Are Becoming A Reality, With Huge Impacts For Many Industries
http://www.businessinsider.com/drones-navigating-toward-commercial-applications-2-2014-1?utm_source=alerts&nr_email_referer=1
The U.S. Opts for Ineffective Sanctions on Russia
The U.S. Opts for Ineffective Sanctions on Russia
By George Friedman
The United States announced new sanctions on seven Russian government officials April 28. A long-used tactic, sanctions can yield unpredictable effects or have no effect at all, depending upon how they are crafted. It is commonly assumed that sanctions are applied when a target country's actions are deemed unacceptable. The sanctioning nation presumably chooses sanctions to avoid war when war would be too costly or could result in defeat.
Sanctions' stated purpose is to induce behavioral changes in a target state by causing economic pain. To work, sanctions must therefore cause pain. But they must not be so severe that they convince the target state that war is more desirable than capitulating to the demands of the sanctioning nation. Read more »http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/us-opts-ineffective-sanctions-russia?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20140429&utm_term=Gweekly&utm_content=readmore
By George Friedman
The United States announced new sanctions on seven Russian government officials April 28. A long-used tactic, sanctions can yield unpredictable effects or have no effect at all, depending upon how they are crafted. It is commonly assumed that sanctions are applied when a target country's actions are deemed unacceptable. The sanctioning nation presumably chooses sanctions to avoid war when war would be too costly or could result in defeat.
Sanctions' stated purpose is to induce behavioral changes in a target state by causing economic pain. To work, sanctions must therefore cause pain. But they must not be so severe that they convince the target state that war is more desirable than capitulating to the demands of the sanctioning nation. Read more »http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/us-opts-ineffective-sanctions-russia?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20140429&utm_term=Gweekly&utm_content=readmore
Obama Administration Argues in Favor of Right to Fire Public Employees Who Testify at Corruption Trials
US infrastructure: Broken system
US infrastructure: Broken system
The looming crisis in the transport network is explored in the first of three articles
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/20c50478-ca16-11e3-ac05-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=crm/email/2014429/nbe/Analysis/product&siteedition=intl#axzz30Gwg5BzF
Obama Urged to Show Restraint on Ukraine
consortiumnews.com/2014/04/28/
MEMORANDUM TO: The President
FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)
SUBJECT: Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S. National Interest
Dear Mr. President:
We the undersigned are veteran intelligence, military, and law enforcement officers. Taken together, our years of service to our country total nearly 200 years. Unlike many experts and advisers who base their arguments on abstract notions about the international scene, our insights are drawn from a depth of hands-on experience inside the U.S .government — here and abroad.
Given this background, we share a profound understanding of the great responsibility that accompanies great power. We feel an obligation to lay our views on Ukraine before you — the more so, inasmuch as the airwaves, TV, and newspapers are giving a great deal of space to the same pundits and academics who got Iraq so wrong just over a decade ago.
A number of us, in our government roles, were involved with policy relating to the then-Soviet Union and also with its successor state, the Russian Federation. We have observed the recent slide of Moscow toward a more authoritarian form of government and have also been concerned over the playing-out of great power rivalry over Ukraine.
Our still-vivid memories of the Cold War and the harm it inflicted on the world’s security prompts us to argue that the troubles in Ukraine should not be permitted to usher in a return to a bipolar world in which two heavily armed superpowers confront each other at every level, including on a global scale.
We are particularly concerned over what appears to be a largely unfocused yet virulent mood among members of Congress and the mainstream media to “do something” about Russia — a sentiment that is both ill-advised and quite the reverse of what this nation should be doing to nurture a constructive and ultimately beneficial relationship with Moscow and the rest of Europe.
While we support U.S. efforts to aid the development of a pluralistic democracy in Ukraine, including assistance in conducting free and fair elections, we believe that military support and direct involvement by U.S. troops is a step that will virtually guarantee escalation of the conflict, possibly leading to direct confrontation between two nuclear-armed great powers — a situation that should, and can, be easily avoided if the interests of all countries, including Russia, are taken into account.
To put it in stark terms, Russian engagement with Ukraine — a country that is on Moscow’s doorstep and which is, in part, ethnically Russian — does not threaten vital U.S. interests; nor does it threaten any U.S. allies. Washington’s response should be a measured one, based on the actual risks versus possible gains. Sanctions should be employed with considerable restraint, as their effectiveness is questionable and they frequently serve only to harden adversarial positions. Significant military moves, whether unilateral or in conjunction with NATO, should be avoided as they can be seen as provocative while providing no solution to existing disagreements.
We argue for more, not less, diplomatic engagement, based on our own experience as witnesses to many missed opportunities over the past 50-plus years, in which the United States — to our regret — has found itself all too often on the wrong side of history. The Bay of Pigs fiasco in 1961 entrenched communism in Cuba; indiscriminate U.S. support of anti-communist groups and political parties in Europe both weakened fledgling democracies and strengthened corruption; overtures by former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev for complete nuclear disarmament were dismissed, encouraging nuclear proliferation among other states.
When the Soviet Union finally fell, specific agreements not to expand into the former Warsaw Pact states were promptly ignored, with both NATO and the European Union quickly moving eastward. The rape of the Russian economy in the 1990s, engineered by Western “entrepreneurs” working with local oligarchs followed. It was described as “shock therapy” at the time, but most Russians more accurately view the events as wholesale pillage, fueling much of the current mistrust of the West.
Russia could hardly have been expected to ignore Washington’s de facto encouragement and achievement of “regime change” in Ukraine — resulting in the unseating of the duly elected (though thoroughly corrupt) government in Kiev. Moreover, continued efforts by the West to draw Ukraine into NATO would guarantee Russian hostility for many years to come. Both of these are existential issues for Moscow; may we remind you of the U.S. parallel in the enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine in our own “backyard.”
In our view, the situation need not spin out of control. The door is still open to enforcing the measures agreed upon on April 17 in Geneva. Russia’s willingness to continue to work with us on destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons and on the Iranian nuclear issue remains encouraging and could foster cooperation on other mutual interests.
Perspective
As for Crimea, with all the misleading rhetoric filling the air waves, we want to remind you that Crimea became part of Russia in the late 18th Century. Sixty years ago, Ukrainian Nikita Khrushchev, who was then head of the Soviet Communist Party, simply gave Crimea to the Ukraine — one of the 15 “republics” comprising the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). There was no referendum at the time; it appeared not much more than a formality since all areas of the USSR danced to Moscow’s tune.
The transfer of Crimea to Ukraine began to matter significantly in 1991, when the Soviet Union imploded and Crimeans found themselves no longer citizens of Russia. President Vladimir Putin addressed this directly in his major speech of March 18 when he recalled that Russia had “humbly accepted” the situation in 1991. He explained that Russia “was going through such hard times then that realistically it was incapable of protecting its interests.”
Today, Russia is capable of protecting its interests in the areas it calls its “near frontier.” It will not accept the incorporation of Ukraine into NATO. Attempts to force that issue will not make Europe more secure; rather, it will increase the danger of war.
There is an important step you can take, Mr. President. We recommend that you ask NATO to formally rescind the following part of the declaration agreed to by the NATO heads of state in Bucharest on April 3, 2008: “NATO welcomes Ukraine’s and Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership in NATO. We agreed today that these countries will become members of NATO.”
Meanwhile, let cooler heads prevail. Sending significant numbers of military forces into countries bordering Ukraine amounts to pouring gasoline on what are now relatively isolated and limited outbreaks of fire, mostly in eastern Ukraine. The fragile accord reached in Geneva on April 17 can still provide the basis for discussion among mature leaders and prevent the kind of provocation, machismo, and escalation that 100 years ago launched the war that was supposed to end all wars. Two short decades later came the Second World War.
In the wake of that carnage, Winston Churchill made an observation that is equally applicable to our 21st Century: “To jaw, jaw, jaw, is better than to war, war, war.”
Respectfully submitted for the Steering Group, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity:
William Binney, former Technical Director, World Geopolitical & Military Analysis; co-founder, SIGINT Automation Research Center (ret.)
Thomas Drake, former Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service, NSA
Philip Giraldi, CIA, Operations Officer (ret.)
Larry Johnson, CIA & State Department (ret.)
David MacMichael, former Senior Estimates Officer, National Intelligence Council (ret.)
Ray McGovern, former chief of CIA’s Soviet Foreign Policy Branch & presidential briefer (ret.)
Tom Maertens, former Foreign Service Officer and National Security Council Director for Non-Proliferation
Elizabeth Murray, former Deputy National Intelligence Officer for the Near East, National Intelligence Council (ret.)
Todd E. Pierce, US Army Judge Advocate General Corps (ret.)
Coleen Rowley, former Chief Division Counsel & FBI Special Agent (ret.)
Obama Urged to Show Restraint on Ukraine
April 28, 2014
Across Official Washington and the mainstream U.S. media, there is a rush to restart the Cold War with all its black-and-white propaganda, ignoring Russia’s understandable concerns and portraying the “U.S. side” as always right. But some U.S. intelligence veterans urge a more adult response.MEMORANDUM TO: The President
FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)
SUBJECT: Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S. National Interest
Dear Mr. President:
We the undersigned are veteran intelligence, military, and law enforcement officers. Taken together, our years of service to our country total nearly 200 years. Unlike many experts and advisers who base their arguments on abstract notions about the international scene, our insights are drawn from a depth of hands-on experience inside the U.S .government — here and abroad.
Given this background, we share a profound understanding of the great responsibility that accompanies great power. We feel an obligation to lay our views on Ukraine before you — the more so, inasmuch as the airwaves, TV, and newspapers are giving a great deal of space to the same pundits and academics who got Iraq so wrong just over a decade ago.
A number of us, in our government roles, were involved with policy relating to the then-Soviet Union and also with its successor state, the Russian Federation. We have observed the recent slide of Moscow toward a more authoritarian form of government and have also been concerned over the playing-out of great power rivalry over Ukraine.
Our still-vivid memories of the Cold War and the harm it inflicted on the world’s security prompts us to argue that the troubles in Ukraine should not be permitted to usher in a return to a bipolar world in which two heavily armed superpowers confront each other at every level, including on a global scale.
We are particularly concerned over what appears to be a largely unfocused yet virulent mood among members of Congress and the mainstream media to “do something” about Russia — a sentiment that is both ill-advised and quite the reverse of what this nation should be doing to nurture a constructive and ultimately beneficial relationship with Moscow and the rest of Europe.
While we support U.S. efforts to aid the development of a pluralistic democracy in Ukraine, including assistance in conducting free and fair elections, we believe that military support and direct involvement by U.S. troops is a step that will virtually guarantee escalation of the conflict, possibly leading to direct confrontation between two nuclear-armed great powers — a situation that should, and can, be easily avoided if the interests of all countries, including Russia, are taken into account.
To put it in stark terms, Russian engagement with Ukraine — a country that is on Moscow’s doorstep and which is, in part, ethnically Russian — does not threaten vital U.S. interests; nor does it threaten any U.S. allies. Washington’s response should be a measured one, based on the actual risks versus possible gains. Sanctions should be employed with considerable restraint, as their effectiveness is questionable and they frequently serve only to harden adversarial positions. Significant military moves, whether unilateral or in conjunction with NATO, should be avoided as they can be seen as provocative while providing no solution to existing disagreements.
We argue for more, not less, diplomatic engagement, based on our own experience as witnesses to many missed opportunities over the past 50-plus years, in which the United States — to our regret — has found itself all too often on the wrong side of history. The Bay of Pigs fiasco in 1961 entrenched communism in Cuba; indiscriminate U.S. support of anti-communist groups and political parties in Europe both weakened fledgling democracies and strengthened corruption; overtures by former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev for complete nuclear disarmament were dismissed, encouraging nuclear proliferation among other states.
When the Soviet Union finally fell, specific agreements not to expand into the former Warsaw Pact states were promptly ignored, with both NATO and the European Union quickly moving eastward. The rape of the Russian economy in the 1990s, engineered by Western “entrepreneurs” working with local oligarchs followed. It was described as “shock therapy” at the time, but most Russians more accurately view the events as wholesale pillage, fueling much of the current mistrust of the West.
Russia could hardly have been expected to ignore Washington’s de facto encouragement and achievement of “regime change” in Ukraine — resulting in the unseating of the duly elected (though thoroughly corrupt) government in Kiev. Moreover, continued efforts by the West to draw Ukraine into NATO would guarantee Russian hostility for many years to come. Both of these are existential issues for Moscow; may we remind you of the U.S. parallel in the enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine in our own “backyard.”
In our view, the situation need not spin out of control. The door is still open to enforcing the measures agreed upon on April 17 in Geneva. Russia’s willingness to continue to work with us on destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons and on the Iranian nuclear issue remains encouraging and could foster cooperation on other mutual interests.
Perspective
As for Crimea, with all the misleading rhetoric filling the air waves, we want to remind you that Crimea became part of Russia in the late 18th Century. Sixty years ago, Ukrainian Nikita Khrushchev, who was then head of the Soviet Communist Party, simply gave Crimea to the Ukraine — one of the 15 “republics” comprising the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). There was no referendum at the time; it appeared not much more than a formality since all areas of the USSR danced to Moscow’s tune.
The transfer of Crimea to Ukraine began to matter significantly in 1991, when the Soviet Union imploded and Crimeans found themselves no longer citizens of Russia. President Vladimir Putin addressed this directly in his major speech of March 18 when he recalled that Russia had “humbly accepted” the situation in 1991. He explained that Russia “was going through such hard times then that realistically it was incapable of protecting its interests.”
Today, Russia is capable of protecting its interests in the areas it calls its “near frontier.” It will not accept the incorporation of Ukraine into NATO. Attempts to force that issue will not make Europe more secure; rather, it will increase the danger of war.
There is an important step you can take, Mr. President. We recommend that you ask NATO to formally rescind the following part of the declaration agreed to by the NATO heads of state in Bucharest on April 3, 2008: “NATO welcomes Ukraine’s and Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership in NATO. We agreed today that these countries will become members of NATO.”
Meanwhile, let cooler heads prevail. Sending significant numbers of military forces into countries bordering Ukraine amounts to pouring gasoline on what are now relatively isolated and limited outbreaks of fire, mostly in eastern Ukraine. The fragile accord reached in Geneva on April 17 can still provide the basis for discussion among mature leaders and prevent the kind of provocation, machismo, and escalation that 100 years ago launched the war that was supposed to end all wars. Two short decades later came the Second World War.
In the wake of that carnage, Winston Churchill made an observation that is equally applicable to our 21st Century: “To jaw, jaw, jaw, is better than to war, war, war.”
Respectfully submitted for the Steering Group, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity:
William Binney, former Technical Director, World Geopolitical & Military Analysis; co-founder, SIGINT Automation Research Center (ret.)
Thomas Drake, former Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service, NSA
Philip Giraldi, CIA, Operations Officer (ret.)
Larry Johnson, CIA & State Department (ret.)
David MacMichael, former Senior Estimates Officer, National Intelligence Council (ret.)
Ray McGovern, former chief of CIA’s Soviet Foreign Policy Branch & presidential briefer (ret.)
Tom Maertens, former Foreign Service Officer and National Security Council Director for Non-Proliferation
Elizabeth Murray, former Deputy National Intelligence Officer for the Near East, National Intelligence Council (ret.)
Todd E. Pierce, US Army Judge Advocate General Corps (ret.)
Coleen Rowley, former Chief Division Counsel & FBI Special Agent (ret.)
Animal Spirits of U.S. Hegemony
Animal Spirits of U.S. Hegemony
Stephen Glain
Overview
Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim has spent the last fifteen years in
and out of prison for challenging Kuala Lumpur’s autocratic regime. He’s
the kind of dissident the
world’s oldest democracy and most powerful country should promote and
embrace. Instead, U.S. President Barack Obama this week snubbed the
dissident and indulged the regime.
Published 28 April 2014 | http://www.beaconreader.com/Punishing an aggressive Russia is a fool’s errand
Punishing an aggressive Russia is a fool’s errand
America’s strategy should mix resistance with accommodation, says Thomas Graham
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/5d018602-cc9e-11e3-ab99-00144feabdc0.html#axzz30Gwg5BzF
Monday, April 28, 2014
Why Neocons Seek to Destabilize Russia
Why Neocons Seek to Destabilize Russia
Exclusive:
Any propaganda war starts by planting stories that your target is
getting rich, whether he is or isn’t, the latest move in
demonizing Vladimir Putin. But the larger question is what might happen
if the neocons succeed in destabilizing nuclear-armed Russia, asks
Robert Parry.
Killing the Putin-Obama ‘Trust’
Exclusive:
Last year, Russian President Putin and U.S. President Obama became a
geopolitical odd couple as they worked to cool off hotspots such as
Syria and Iran. But U.S. hawks succeeded in killing that collaboration
via the crisis in Ukraine, ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern explains.
Never Mind Cliven Bundy: Here’s the Real David vs. Goliath Story Between Ranchers and Feds
Never Mind Cliven Bundy: Here’s the Real David vs. Goliath Story Between Ranchers and Feds
The Next Plague: Alzheimer’s
The Next Plague: Alzheimer’s
he Next Plague: Alzheimer’s
http://angrybearblog.com/2014/04/23459.html
J. Paul Horne on Greece Tapping the Market (and what this says about Euroland)
J. Paul Horne on Greece Tapping the Market (and what this says about Euroland)
http://www.europeaninstitute.org/EA-April-2014/perspectives-greece-taps-the-market.html#ja-content
China's Anticorruption Crusade Is Reaching a Turning Point by Meng Lu
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China’s Anticorruption Crusade Is Reaching a Turning Pointby Meng Lu |
Xi Jinping is 18 month into his presidency and almost as long into his anticorruption crusade in China. As Wall Street Journal noted as
early as May 2013, anticorruption purges are hardly new in China,
but President Xi seems to be pursuing his anticorruption drive with
unprecedented vigour and commitment. Zhou Yongkang, the newest and arguably most prominent casualty of the purge, is evidence that this time is different. Shannon Tiezzi recently made the same underlying point in a piece in the Diplomat. Ms. Tiezzi takes issue with the oft-repeated claim that
President Xi is only using anticorruption to weaken political rivals
and promote his allies; she points out that while President Xi is indeed
using the purge to his advantage, political infighting couldn’t be his
sole motivation, since if it were “he would likely be winding down the
campaign now.”
I
don’t disagree with Ms. Tiezzi’s point. President Xi’s anticorruption
drive--the centerpiece of his tenure so far--has undoubtedly gone
further than others before him. More than 182,000 party members,
including 17 high-ranking officials, have been punished for corruption
since the beginning of his presidency. Yet despite this progress, recent
signals suggest that his campaign might be significantly curtailed in
the near future.
Kerry Warns Israel Could Become ‘An Apartheid State’
Kerry Warns Israel Could Become ‘An Apartheid State’
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/27/exclusive-kerry-warns-israel-could-become-an-apartheid-state.html
NBA owner Sterling reportedly sought to justify his racism by citing Israeli racism
The War of Ideas in the Middle East
NBA owner Sterling reportedly sought to justify his racism by citing Israeli racism
Philip Weiss on April 27, 2014
Donald SterlingFAS Roundup: April 28, 2014 B61 nuclear bomb family, DNI bans employees from talking to journalists, China SSBNs and more.
Having trouble reading this email? View it on the web.
FAS Roundup: April 28, 2014
B61 nuclear bomb family, DNI bans employees from talking to journalists, China SSBNs and more.
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The U.S. and the Gulf: A Failure to Communicate
Published on April 26th, 2014 | http://www.lobelog.com/the-u-
The U.S. and the Gulf: A Failure to Communicate
by Thomas W. LippmanIt was like a movie in which different characters see the same events in completely different ways.
At one of those Washington think-tank panel discussions the other day, senior U.S. national security and military officials insisted that the American commitment to security and stability in the Persian Gulf is iron-clad and will not change. The U.S Navy’s Fifth Fleet and the 35,000 soldiers and sailors in the region are staying, they said, and Iran will not acquire or develop nuclear weapons. They reminded the audience that President Barack Obama, his secretaries of state and defense, and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have told all this to Gulf Arab leaders over and over, most recently during the president’s visit to Saudi Arabia in March.
“We are present in a major and significant way,” one senior Pentagon official said at this gathering, organized by the Atlantic Council. “We are not leaving and we are not inattentive.”
Description: Agence Global Israeli Extremism or Zionism’s True Colors?
Israeli
Extremism or Zionism’s True Colors?
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by
Rami G. Khouri
23/4/2014
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