(2018-11-14). America's Absence in Istanbul: A Sign of Decline, Not Surrender. consortiumnews.com Team Trump missed the summit on Syria. In that, Patrick Lawrence sees another sign of Washington's failure to accept its loss of diplomatic primacy. Lost in the Memory Palace: US Leads, But No One Follows By Patrick Lawrence Special to… Read more →
(2018-11-14). Alamedans Say Protect Mueller's Investigation. indybay.org On November 8, a rapid response action in Alameda called for the protection of Special Counsel Robert Mueller who is overseeing the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Photos by Lynn LaRocca, please credit the photographer.
(2018-11-13). Terrorists May Have Benefited From Millions Worth of US Aid for Iraq & Syria — Report. globalresearch.ca A recent USAID audit report found that some of its humanitarian programs for war-torn Syria and Iraq might have assisted terrorist groups. The assistance in question amounts to nearly $700 million. | The agency in charge of foreign aid provided by …
(2018-11-13). Acting AG Matt Whitaker Scrutinized over His Radical Judicial Beliefs & Past Dirty Work for GOP. democracynow.org 
Controversy is growing over President Trump's selection of Matt Whitaker to serve as acting attorney general following the ousting of Jeff Sessions. The state of Maryland is heading to court today to challenge the legality of Whitaker's appointment. The state contends that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein should have been named acting attorney general instead of Whitaker, who was not confirmed by the Senate for his previous post—chief of staff to Sessions. Meanwhile, pressure is growing on Whitaker to recuse himself from overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling i…
(2018-11-13). Mhardeh — A Syrian Christian Town Besieged and Targeted by the West. globalresearch.ca "We are a Christian city here, we need peace, no more bloodshed. Stop killing our babies" a Mhardeh resident told me on the 9th September when I entered this Christian town on the border with Idlib province, an area dominated …
(2018-11-13). Video: Clashes Erupt Between Al Qaeda Militants and Syrian Army in Idlib De-escalation Zone. globalresearch.ca On November 10th, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) announced that its special forces attacked a position of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the Turkman mount in Northern Lattakia. The terrorist group claimed that 10 Syrian soldiers were killed….
(2018-11-13). Fictitious Assets, Hidden Losses and the Collapse of MDM Bank. counterpunch.org 
In November 2016, two of Russia's largest banks MDM and B&N completed a merger. This new entity now ranked (by size of assets) in the top 10 of all Russian banks and the top 5 for private lenders. Following the merger CEO Mikail Shishkhanov declared, 'We have laid the foundation for the creation of an international-class bank'.[1] Yet a mere 10 months later it required a bailout in what could be one of the mostly costly rescues in Russian banking history. Mr Shiskhanov blamed these difficulties largely on MDM, whose losses 'turned out to be much more serious than assumed in the conditions of a falling market…
(2018-11-13). Acting Attorney General's Appointment Challenged in Court. truthdig.com WASHINGTON—Maryland is challenging the appointment of Matthew Whitaker as the new U.S. acting attorney general, arguing that President Donald Trump sidestepped the Constitution and the Justice Department's own succession plan by elevating Whitaker to the top job. | The Tuesday filing sets up a court challenge between a state and the federal government over the legitimacy of the country's chief law enforcement officer and foreshadows the likelihood of additional cases that present the same issues. | It comes as Democrats call on Whitaker to recuse himself from overseeing the special counsel's Russia investig…
(2018-11-13). 'Well-informed' Stanford Professor McFaul scoffs at idea of checking sources before tweeting. rt.com 
Ex-envoy to Russia Michael McFaul has shrugged off criticism he received after being duped by a well-known parody account, arguing that checking sources on Twitter is often too time consuming. Sage words from a Stanford professor?
(2018-11-13). China-US Dialogue: Polite Diplomacy, Illegal Sanctions, Washington's Unspoken Intent is to "Contain" China. globalresearch.ca Washington has interests, not allies. China and Russia are rivals, not partners. | After Beijing cancelled last month's high-level security talks with Trump regime officials, Pompeo and Mattis met with China's Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office director Yang Jiechi and Defense …
(2018-11-12). A Century After End of WWI, Trump Snubs Peace Summit While Macron Warns of Growing Nationalism. democracynow.org 
The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month—that's when World War I ended in 1918, 100 years ago this weekend. On Sunday, world leaders gathered in Paris to pay tribute to the dead, marking the anniversary of the armistice of what had been described as the "war to end all wars." Following the formal ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe, Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attended a peace conference with dozens of heads of state, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Trump was reportedly the only one among 72 leaders to skip the meeting. Trump also face…
(2018-11-12). Media Ignores the Plight of Kirill Vyshinsky: A Russian Journalist Imprisoned Without Trial in Ukraine. mintpressnews.com Eva Bartlett speaks with journalist Vladimir Rodzianko on the detention of Kirill Vyshinsky by Ukraine since May 2018. Ukrainian authorities accuse Vyshinsky of "treason" and have delayed his trials twice.
(2018-11-10). Lenin's view of World War I and the tasks of socialists. fightbacknews.org To mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, Fight Back! is reprinting some excerpts from the outstanding Russian revolutionary V.I. Lenin on the class nature of the war and what socialists should do about it. When the war broke out in 1914, the leadership of most socialist parties at the time often supported their 'own' governments. | Lenin and other revolutionaries put forward the correct proposition that the war was a battle between imperialist powers, in which working-class movement should work for the defeat of their 'own' rulers, and, where possible, take advantage of those defeats, turn the im…
(2018-11-08). US Air Force Preparing for War Against Russia and China. theantimedia.com 
The Air Force is undergoing its biggest expansion since the end of the Cold War, and the reasons are clear. (FPIF Op-ed) — In September, at the Air Force Association's annual Space & Cyber ‚Äã‚ÄãConference, Heather Wilson — Donald Trump's Secretary of the U.S. Air Force — presented the Trump administration's new roadmap for the U.S. Air Force: the …
(2018-11-08). Trump Fires AG Sessions, Installs New Loyalist Whitaker to Oversee Mueller Probe. democracynow.org 
President Donald Trump has fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions, replacing him with a Trump loyalist who has called special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation a "witch hunt." Matthew Whitaker, formerly Jeff Sessions's chief of staff, will now take charge of the Russia inquiry, prompting questions about the future of the Russia investigation and whether Trump will target Robert Mueller next. Some experts are raising questions about the legality of putting Whitaker in charge rather than Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who had been overseeing the Russia probe. The ACLU wrote in a statement, "Jeff…
(2018-11-07). Ukraine-Russia Tensions Rise in Church Row. consortiumnews.com With an apparent nod from the U.S., the Ecumenical Patriarch's ruling from Istanbul severed 1000-year ties between Moscow and the Orthodox church in Ukraine, raising further tensions between Kiev and Moscow, as Dmitry Babich reports. Moscow's Role in Ukraine Orthodox… Read more →
(2018-10-31). Venezuelan Vice President Cements Economic Ties During Asian Tour. venezuelanalysis.com Rodriguez met with Chinese and Russian economic specialists during the final day of a regional Asiatic tour.
(2018-10-29). ShamiWitness: How Bellingcat and Neocons Collaborated with the Most Influential ISIS Propagandist on Twitter. grayzoneproject.com How some of the best known Syria regime-change hustlers and "experts" helped transform the @ShamiWitness account from a cretinous troll into a…
(2018-09-16). Presenting The Syria Deception: Al Qaeda Goes to Hollywood (VIDEO). grayzoneproject.com An exclusive Grayzone investigative documentary rips the cover off of the most sophisticated and expensive campaign of humanitarian interventionist propaganda…
