April 7, 2017: Security Council Meets on Syria (7919th meeting, with link to video)
See UN WebTV, “The situation in the Middle East (Syria) – Security Council, 7919th meeting 7 Apr 2017 – 1. Adoption of the agenda 2….
Vladimir Putin
Two of top three candidates in French presidential primary are friendly to Russia
Developing Russia is reportedly intervening in the French presidential elections, right now. Two of the top three candidates in the April primary are friendly to…
Homework for Rex Tillerson before traveling to Moscow
As he prepares to travel to Moscow to meet with foreign minister Sergey Lavrov (and possibly with Vladimir Putin, whether publicly or in secret), U.S….
Putin threatens life of leading opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, then arrrests him and others at demonstrations in Russia — Meanwhile, Tillerson is racing to Moscow
When the life of the leading opposition figure in Russia is directly threatened, we may safely assume that the action did not occur without the knowledge and direction of Russia’s all-powerful dictator, Vladimir Putin.
On March 19, 2017, Alexsei Navalny, that opposition leader, was attacked with a green chemical that turned ut to be benign. Following the recent assassination in Malaysia of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, by having a deadly chemical smeared on him, the threat and the lesson for Navalny could not have been clearer: Next time it could be a deadly chemical. Putin in the past has demonstrated that Russia has great mastery and experience in this area.
Pro-Russian President Donald Trump directs Secretary of State to skip NATO summit, travel to Moscow instead
News that Rex Tillerson would skip an upcoming NATO foreign ministers meeting and travel instead to Moscow is the kind of news that produces a…
The level-of-analysis problem in assessing and reacting to Trump’s assault on American democracy
The outlines and methods of President Donald Trump’s asault on the institutions of American democracy and their underling traditions and values are now clear.
First, he has conducted an all-out assault on the very concept of the truth.
Third, Trump not only lies about everything all of the time, but also engages in defamation of the leading news media in the United States on a daily basis, having labeled them “the opposition party” and “the enemy of the people.”
We face a dramatic situation.
We have a president who lies about everything all of the time.
We have a presdient and administration which reject the concept of accountability, dismissing criticism will lies and charges of “fake news”. The president openly defies the requirements of the Enmoluments Clause of the constitution…
We have a president who is under strong suspicion of colluding with the Russians in their intervention into the November 2016 elections in the United States, who has not criticized Putin or Russia directly in any significant way…
Given Trump’s ongoing assaults on the pillars of American democracy, and the values which underlie them, Democrats, Independents and Republicans need to start thinking, with great urgency, about how Trump and Bannon can be removed from office–at an early date.
More on the “Golden Showers” dossier prepared by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele: Sources
British press reports add considerably more detail to the story regarding the credibility of the “Golden Showers” dossier prepared by ex MI6 agent Christopher Steele.
Particularly intriguing is the Christmas death of fomer KGB chief was was reportedly a go-between between Putin and a key associate.
Analysis: Russia scandal closes in on Trump
With revelations of the Sessions and Kushner meetings with the Russian ambasador, the circle of suspicion is tightening around President Donald Trump himself.
Are we to believe that all of these people who had contacts with Russian officials were all free-lancing, and that Trump had no knowledge of their activities, during a prolonged period in which Trump made absolutely no criticism of Vladimir Putin or any of Russia’s actions?
Flynn represents an extraordinary danger for President Trump, as he may have been at the center of contacts with the Russians
The Trump Paradox: “Making America Great Again” without the values that have made America great
The great paradox of President Donald Trump is that he promises to the American people that he will “make America great again” but in practice appears to want to do so without honoring and defending the values that have made America great in the past.
REPRISE: Russia’s utter and continuing violation of international law in the Ukraine: U.N. General Assembly Resolution A/RES/25/2625 (1970) on Principles of International Law and Friendly Relations Among States
In 1970, at the height of the Cold War and only two years after the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union and its Warsaw…