US State Department Warns Citizens Against Visiting Crimea, East Ukraine

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The US Department of State has issued a new travel warning urging US citizens to put off their travel to Crimea and conflict-torn eastern Ukraine.

The State Department warned US citizens "to defer all travel to the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk" in a new travel warning issued Monday, as violent clashes continue in parts of the regions despite the Minsk ceasefire agreement, resulting in "thousands of injuries and deaths." The new travel advice supersedes a previous warning issued in August last year.

McCain, Other US, French Officials Accused of Visiting Syria Illegally

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Syria has filed a complaint with the United Nations accusing US Senator McCain as well as other high-ranking US and French officials of illegally entering the country without visas, thus violating its sovereignty.

Syria has accused several senior US and French officials, including Senator John McCain, former French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and former US diplomat Peter Galbraith, of entering the country without visas, thus violating its sovereignty, according to a Reuters report.
"Such actions are a blatant violation of Syria's sovereignty and of the resolutions of the Security Council concerning Syria," the agency quotes Syria's ambassador to UN Bashar Ja'afari as writing in a letter dated December 30, which Reuters received Monday.

Past Russian wars: a quick look at history

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The number of well-informed commentators, politicians, blogger and observers who are predicting a war - or at least of a serious risk of war - between Russia and the USA is sharply rising.  Though I myself am rather inclined to believe that the US will use the Ukrainian junta to attack Russia rather then risk a direct confrontation,  I would not go as far as saying that I find a direct US-Russian war impossible.  If only because many wars are not deliberately started, but rather stumbled into.  For all these reasons, it is, I think, high time to look at the historical record of Russia in wars.

Putin Addresses the Nation With Annual New Year's Speech

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During his traditional New Year address to the nation, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed sincere gratitude to Russian people "for staunch loyalty in both times of triumph and of woe."


 Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned Olympic Games 2014 in Sochi, the reunification of Crimea with Russia and expressed sincere gratitude to Russian people for "unity and solidarity" during his traditional New Year address to the nation.

Should criminals be in charge of correcting the wrong they inflicted?

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Puerto Ricans vote in elections every 4 years at an 80% level of participation. Puerto Rico has been a colony of the United States (US) government for the past 116 years. If the US government has the final say in what happens in Puerto Rico, what is the purpose of these elections? The purpose is to fool the world that Puerto Rico is a democracy. 

The United Nations (UN) declared colonialism a crime against humanity in 1960. The UN has asked the US government 33 times to decolonize Puerto Rico immediately. The US government has refused. It says that Puerto Rico’s political relationship with the United States is none of the UN’s business. The US says that it is a domestic affair.

Historic Moment: Ramzan Kadyrov offers Putin his own *personal* volunteer Chechen special force

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Amazing video, thanks so much to all those who translated it in less then 24 hours!!  The video begins by showing the Chechen special forces equipped with Russian military and police special forces uniform.  Notice that the average age seems to be in the 30s.  You can tell that these are hard core, experienced fighters.  Will Putin actually use them and, if yes, how so?  It is hard to tell.  Probably not officially, but is obvious to me that these are ideal forces to send anywhere were "plausible deniability" is needed or to operate in a Muslim society (Lebanon? Xinjiang? Syria?).  What is certain is that they are already present in Novorussia.
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The US cannot start a major war in Ukraine

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By Nikolai Starikov 
Translated by Val from Osa 

http://www.vz.ru/opinions/2014/12/25/722171.html 

How long the West is willing to pay for the crumbling economy of Ukraine without guarantees of the beginning of its war with Russia? The Western strategy rule says: lost control over the territory - create the Antithesis. 

It is possible to understand what is happening in Ukraine, it is much more difficult to evaluate and forecast the development of events. Whatever the case, it is necessary to consistently follow one rule: set emotions aside. Blood, death and destruction are the most serious emotional blows, but if you follow your emotions, neither proper assessment nor correct forecast will result. 

2014 "End of Year" report and a look into what 2015 (WW3?) might bring - by Saker

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Introduction: 
By any measure 2014 has been a truly historic year which saw huge, I would say, even tectonic developments. This year ends in very high instability, and the future looks hard to guess. I don't think that anybody can confidently predict what might happen next year. So what I propose to do today is something far more modest. I want to look into some of the key events of 2014 and think of them as vectors with a specific direction and magnitude. I want to look in which direction a number of key actors (countries) "moved" this year and with what degree of intensity. Then I want to see whether it is likely that they will change course or determination. Then adding up all the "vectors" of these key actors (countries) I want to make a calculation and see what resulting vector we will obtain for the next year. Considering the large number of "unknown unknowns" (to quote Rumsfeld) this exercise will not result in any kind of real prediction, but my hope is that it will prove a useful analytical reference.

MH17: Not BUK-M1: new video proof

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Check out this excellent report by Dutch journalist Max Vanderwerff who debunks the reports allegedly showing a  video of a Buk-M1 launch:

http://7mei.nl/not-buk-m1-new-video-proof/

There is no doubt my mind that MH17 was shot down by a Ukrainian SU-25, possibly one of several Su-25s patrolling the skies that day to intercept a civilian airliner the downing of which was to become the "surprise" Poroshenko promised and which Kolomoiskii probably organized.

27-28.12.2014 Ukrainian crisis news. War in Ukraine, Russia, Europe, USA, Afganistan

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China Launches Swaps, Forwards with Russia in National Currencies

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China launches swaps and forwards between the yuan and the Russian ruble starting Monday.

According to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS), the ruble has become the 11th currency in the yuans swaps trading.
On December 26, CFETS reported on its website that swaps and forwards trading between the yuan and national currencies of Russia, Malaysia and New Zealand would start on December 29.

Earlier in December, China's Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng claimed that China could increase the usage of yuan in trade with Russia amid the ruble's depreciation.
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US Condemns Crackdown on US-Funded Broadcaster in Azerbaijan: State Dep't

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US Department of State spokesperson said that the United States is alarmed by the crackdown on the US-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty by the Azerbaijani authorities.
The United States is alarmed by the crackdown on the US-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) by the Azerbaijani authorities, who say raids and detentions of the RFE/RL employees are part of a tax fraud investigation, the US Department of State spokesperson said.
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After 13 Years US Military Campaign in Afghanistan Proves to Be Inefficient

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The US-led coalition has formally ended its military mission in Afghanistan. Although top NATO officials are expressing optimism regarding the results of the campaign, an Islamist insurgency is still on the rise in the region.

The 13-year US military campaign in Afghanistan formally ended on Sunday, December 28; however, the longstanding military confrontation with the Taliban has not led to a victory over steadily-expanding Islamic extremism in the region.

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Europe Beware! – WWIII could destroy Europe for the third time in a Century by Peter Koenig

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Washington is hell-bent on a war with Russia. It is part of the PNAC (Plan for a New American Century) to take over the world. After Russia, China would follow. That’s the plan. China is being encircled as we speak. Never mind that Russia and China have recently concluded a pact, a close financial and military alliance – which to defeat will be next to impossible. 

Unless – and here is the crux of the matter – unless Washington initiates an all-out nuclear war, destroying the planet, including itself – but foremost Europe. 

Why America Can't Stop

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by Mikhail Khazin 

Translated by Roobit 

Or an attempt to describe how US problems correlate with international security. 

On several past occasions I have written that the United States is deliberately destroying the entire system of international security, the same system that they had built together with the USSR. Why did they start dismantling the international security system is also understandable, in the 1990s the generation of “victors” came to power in that country, these people are convinced that they had “defeated” the USSR (as our theory explains it is obviously not so, please refer to http://worldcrisis.ru/crisis/188291 ) and because they are “victors” they may do anything they please. They decided that collective security arrangements are onerous, and that they need their own security system, the one that only they will have control over. 

Rethinking Politics: The Irresistible Lure Of Socialism

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Today I am posting a first article in what I hope will become a series about "re-thinking politics".  By that I mean the following: we are told that communism is dead.  I am not so sure at all, but maybe.  I would argue that what we think of as "European social-democracy" has died this year after a long and painful agony.  The US is only a republic or a democracy in name, in reality it is a fascist oligarchy.  Chavez in Venezuela spoke of "Bolivarian Socialism".  Arundhati Roy in India seems to think that democracy is dead and that Maoist guerrillas might have the answer to a lot of questions.  One thing is sure, Fukuyama got in wrong and history has not ended (unless some crazy idiot in the White House launches an attack on Russia then yes, history will end).

26.12.2014 Ukrainian crisis news. Latest news of Ukraine, Minsk, Russia, China

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Russia in Talks With China Over Fast Neutron Nuclear Reactors Construction

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The USS Donald Cook's presence in the Black Sea is meant to reassure and at the same time demonstrate US commitment to work closely with NATO allies in order to enhance maritime security, the ship's commanding officer, was quoted as saying in the statement Thursday.


 — The USS Donald Cook is scheduled to enter the Black Sea Friday to maintain peace and stability in the region, US Naval Forces Europe-Africa said in a statement.

US Warship Destroyer Donald Cook Enters Black Sea Second Time This Year

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The USS Donald Cook's presence in the Black Sea is meant to reassure and at the same time demonstrate US commitment to work closely with NATO allies in order to enhance maritime security, the ship's commanding officer, was quoted as saying in the statement Thursday.


The USS Donald Cook is scheduled to enter the Black Sea Friday to maintain peace and stability in the region, US Naval Forces Europe-Africa said in a statement.

Visa, MasterCard Stop Operating in Crimea Over US Sanctions

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International payment systems Visa and Mastercard said they stopped issuing and servicing payment cards in Crimea over sanctions imposed on the region.


Two major US payment giants Visa and MasterCard have stopped servicing banks in Crimea because of the recent round of US sanctions imposed over the Black Sea peninsula's decision to reunite with Russia, the companies said Friday.
Visa said it stopped issuing and servicing payment cards in the region.

According to the company's Friday statement, MasterCard halts servicing payment cards issued by banks operating in Crimea.