Meet the nuke the U.S. keeps in Europe, just waiting to not be used

Meet the nuke the U.S. keeps in Europe, just waiting to not be used

    Tuesday, March 29, 2022   No comments

Media review: 

Near steep vineyards of riesling grapes, in an underground vault at an air force base in western Germany, sits an American nuclear bomb. More than one of them, actually. Each bomb is about the length of two refrigerators laid down end to end and as heavy as the average adult male musk ox. The bombs are slender and pointy and a little more than a foot wide.

Experts estimate that there are about 100 such bombs stored among five NATO countries, ready to be loaded on jets and dropped by the United States and its allies - old-school style, parachute and all - toward an enemy target. One version of this bomb can carry the explosive equivalent of 11 Hiroshimas.

source: 

... countinue reading the original article

Ukrainian government representatives appear to accept Russia's demands, including neutral status, disarmament, and non-NATO membership

Ukrainian government representatives appear to accept Russia's demands, including neutral status, disarmament, and non-NATO membership

    Tuesday, March 29, 2022   No comments

Based on the optimism of the first round of talks between Russia and Ukraine, it would appear that Ukraine will in fact give up its drive to join NATO, remove or limit nuclear capacity, allow for a referendum on autonomy or independence of eastern regions, where Russian speaking people are majority, and negotiate the status of Crimea. Should Ukraine agree to these terms now, Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, would appear to have made the costliest miscalculations. Since these are the same terms put forth by Russia before the war, had he accepted them then, he would have saved many lives, avoided the destruction of the nation's infrastructure, and perhaps reached even a more favorable agreement. But his home that EU and the West will step in to help led him to believe that Russia will not attack. He now negotiates from a weaker position, with Russian troops just miles away from his seat of government, not outside the border. 

Here is a summary of the first day of talks held in Turkey:

The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, confirmed today, Tuesday, that "the negotiations with Ukraine were constructive," at the conclusion of the first round of negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul.

Medinsky added, "We have received written proposals from Ukraine confirming its quest to be a neutral state free of nuclear weapons," which was confirmed by the Ukrainian negotiating delegation, explaining that "Kyiv proposed adopting a neutral situation in exchange for security guarantees."

Medinsky said that "Russia will study Ukraine's proposals," noting that "President Vladimir Putin will see them."

The chief Russian negotiator pointed out that "a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is possible, but after preparing the text of the agreement between the two countries."

He stressed in the context that "negotiations will continue in the coming weeks," noting that "if negotiations continue in this way, reaching an agreement will be much easier and faster."

Head of the Ukrainian delegation: Kyiv will not join "NATO"

In turn, the head of the Ukrainian delegation stressed that his country "will not join NATO" and that it will not host foreign military bases on its territory.

He added, "We are seeking security guarantees," noting that "Turkey may be among the guarantor countries."

With regard to the Donbas region, the head of the Ukrainian delegation considered that "a completely different issue, and a popular referendum can be held in the region," explaining that "the issue of Crimea can also be discussed calmly and without resorting to arms and fighting."

President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier that "the issue of Ukraine's neutrality, which is one of the central items in negotiations with Russia to end the conflict, is being studied in depth."

The delegations of Moscow and Kiev had held 3 rounds of negotiations in Belarus, and a meeting in Turkey, between the foreign ministers of the two countries, Sergey Lavrov and Dmitry Kuleba.

The many ways Ukraine war exposed Western racism and double standard: Paris to Russia: the satirical cartoon is “Unacceptable”

The many ways Ukraine war exposed Western racism and double standard: Paris to Russia: the satirical cartoon is “Unacceptable”

    Friday, March 25, 2022   No comments

 You simply can't make this stuff up!

Today, Friday, Paris summoned the Russian ambassador to the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after he posted on his Twitter account cartoons that French diplomacy considered "unacceptable".

  

"We are striving to maintain a necessary channel of dialogue with Russia, but this behavior is totally inappropriate," the French Foreign Ministry said, referring in particular to a cartoon showing Europeans kneeling in front of Uncle Sam, who symbolizes the United States.

  

It should be noted that, France supported and defended the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist as protected form of freedom of speech even if they offend Muslims.

 

The Russian Embassy confirmed that “the question of the published tweet had been raised, among other points” during the interview on Friday morning. The Russian ambassador has on his side “draw the attention of our French colleagues to the provocations and acts of vandalism against Russian diplomatic representations in France” she added.

Updated story (3/29/2022): 

Limits of Freedom of Speech in Europe: German states to ban "Z" symbolizing support for Russia's war.

Apparently, publishing cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in offensive ways to millions of Muslims is an absolute right; but taking a position on an a war in Europe is not freedom of speech.

 References: 

Russia-Ukriane War, after 1 month of fighting: about 1 Russian solier dead for every 10 Ukrainians, plus global economic costs

Russia-Ukriane War, after 1 month of fighting: about 1 Russian solier dead for every 10 Ukrainians, plus global economic costs

    Friday, March 25, 2022   No comments

Today, the Russian war on Ukraine completes its first month, amid continuing battles on several fronts, tightening sanctions against Russia and its leaders, and Western summits threatening Moscow with further escalation.

The Russian army announced Friday that 1,351 of its soldiers had died since the start of the country's war on Ukraine on February 24, accusing Western countries of making a "mistake" in delivering weapons to Kiev.

"During the special military operation, 1,351 soldiers were killed and 3,825 others were wounded," Deputy Chief of Staff Sergei Rudskoy told a press conference.

On the Ukrainian side, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that more than 14,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and about 16,000 wounded during the month of the war.

Control map after one month of fighting:

Adding to at least 3 other indepedent reports with the same conclusion, aUN Human Rights Report Says Israel Guilty of ‘Apartheid’

Adding to at least 3 other indepedent reports with the same conclusion, aUN Human Rights Report Says Israel Guilty of ‘Apartheid’

    Thursday, March 24, 2022   No comments

The UN’s human rights body has accused Israel of the “crime of apartheid,” saying it has established a “regime of systematic racial oppression and discrimination” against Palestinians. The conclusion follows a long line of similar findings from from Israeli, Palestinian and international organizations.

A report issued Monday by United Nations investigator Michael Lynk states that Israel’s system “ensures the supremacy of one group over, and to the detriment of, the other,” namely in the occupied West Bank, arguing that it meets the legal definition for apartheid.

“The political system of entrenched rule in the occupied Palestinian territory which endows one racial-national-ethnic group with substantial rights, benefits and privileges while intentionally subjecting another group to live behind walls, checkpoints and under a permanent military rule… satisfies the prevailing evidentiary standard for the existence of apartheid,” he wrote.

Lynk’s report mirrors previous findings from a number of humanitarian orgs, among them Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and B’Tselem, which have each similarly accused Israel of apartheid and the persecution of Palestinians. 

Read the Reports...

In the first visit of its kind... the Chinese Foreign Minister arrives in Kabul

In the first visit of its kind... the Chinese Foreign Minister arrives in Kabul

    Thursday, March 24, 2022   No comments

 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Kabul today, according to a Taliban official, a week before Beijing hosts a meeting between Afghanistan's neighbors to discuss ways to help the country after the Taliban seized power.

In the context, a government official, Ahmed Yasir, wrote in a tweet, that "the Chinese Foreign Minister arrived in Kabul to meet officials from the Islamic Emirate."

The minister arrived in Kabul from Islamabad, where he participated, over two days, in a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

It is noteworthy that China shares with Afghanistan a small part of its border, 76 kilometers at a very high altitude, but Beijing has long feared that its neighbor could become a base for separatists and Islamists from the Uighur ethnicity.

Before the Taliban seized power on August 15, Beijing sought to maintain its ties with the hardline Islamic movement, at a time when US and NATO forces were withdrawing from Afghanistan.

FBI Documents Link Saudi Spy to Attacks on 9/11

FBI Documents Link Saudi Spy to Attacks on 9/11

    Monday, March 21, 2022   No comments

 A 510-page secret FBI report, written in 2017 and declassified last week without any fanfare by the FBI or Justice Department, concludes that the California-based Saudi spy, Omar al Bayoumi, not only helped several 9/11 hijackers to find housing in San Diego, but that there was a “50/50 chance” he “had advanced knowledge” of their deadly plans.

While heavily redacted, the report offers the most direct link yet between the Saudi government, its secretive royal family and the team of 19 operatives of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terror network who hijacked four jetliners on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. 

The findings in the FBI report are coming to light just as the Biden administration is reportedly reaching out to several oil producing nations — including Saudi Arabia — to increase production and help curtail rising gas prices across the United States. Whether the FBI’s report will impact negotiations with Saudi oil officials remains to be seen. But for decades, critics have pointed to Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves and their importance to the economies of many western nations as a reason the U.S. has not pushed harder for more information on alleged Saudi links to 9/11 and other Islamist-based terrorist attacks.  

Read the FBI Report

   

On the anniversary of the outbreak of the events that led to his islation by Gulf States, President Assad of Syria visits the UAE

On the anniversary of the outbreak of the events that led to his islation by Gulf States, President Assad of Syria visits the UAE

    Friday, March 18, 2022   No comments

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited UAE, where he met Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Friday. 

The Emirates News Agency said that the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi received the Syrian President, and discussed with him "brotherly relations, cooperation and joint coordination."

The agency added that the UAE Prime Minister affirmed his country's keenness to "discover new paths for constructive cooperation with Syria, and to monitor opportunities through which various aspects of cooperation can be pushed forward."

The agency indicated that Assad left the UAE after meeting with senior officials.

The UAE has been at the fore in the efforts of some Arab countries to normalize relations with Syria in recent times.

Al-Assad received in Damascus the UAE Foreign Minister, Abdullah bin Zayed, last November, and this was the first visit of a high-ranking Gulf official since several Gulf countries cut diplomatic relations with the Syrian government following the outbreak of violence in Syria in 2011. The United States expressed its dissatisfaction with the visit.

Other Gulf States, especially, Qatar, is holding back normalization with the Syrian government given their initial support of the armed groups that wanted to overthrow the Syrian government. In 2012, Qatar hosted the Arab League Summit, its leader, Hamad, offered Syria's seat to an opposition figure, which they recognized as the only legitimate representative of the Syrian people. Saudi Arabia, too, held the position that "Assad must go--peacefully or violently." 

It is not clear if UAE will try to mend relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia, though it is unlikely that it will advocate for the warming of relations between Qatar and Syria goven that UAE still has frosty relations with its neighbor.

View from China: China sends tough signal ahead of Xi-Biden talk to set firm position on bilateral ties, Ukraine issue

View from China: China sends tough signal ahead of Xi-Biden talk to set firm position on bilateral ties, Ukraine issue

    Friday, March 18, 2022   No comments

 

Just hours before the phone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden on Friday, China, in a rare move, sent tough signals, stating it will never accept US threats and coercion over the Ukraine issue and vowing to make a strong response if the US takes measures harming China's legitimate interests. 

In an exclusive interview with the Global Times, an anonymous Chinese official said China accepted the US' proposal for the phone call between the heads of the two countries on China-US relations and the Ukraine situation out of considerations of bilateral relations, promoting peace talks and urging the US to take right stance. 

Continue to read the article...

Saudi Arabia executes 81 people in one day; No reaction from Western Democracies

Saudi Arabia executes 81 people in one day; No reaction from Western Democracies

    Monday, March 14, 2022   No comments

 Saudi Arabia beheaded at least 81 people in one day, including seven Yemenis and one Syrian, state media reported on Saturday. 

Activists said, 41 of them were Shia Muslims from the eastern Qatif region.

The mass carrying out of capital punishment appears to be the largest execution in the kingdom in its modern history. The total number of those put to death surpassed that of the January 1980 mass execution of militants convicted of seizing the Grand Mosque in Mecca, which saw 63 people beheaded.

Human rights group Reprieve condemned the executions and said it feared for prisoners of conscience, including individuals arrested as children, on Saudi death row. 

"The world should know by now that when Mohammed bin Salman promises reform, bloodshed is bound to follow,"  said Reprieve deputy director Soraya Bauwens in a statement. 

"Just last week the crown prince told journalists he plans to modernise Saudi Arabia’s criminal justice system, only to order the largest mass execution in the country’s history.

Since taking power, Crown Prince Mohammed under his father has increasingly liberalized life in the kingdom, opening movie theaters, allowing women to drive and defanging the country's once-feared religious police.

However, U.S. intelligence agencies believe the crown prince also ordered the slaying and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, while overseeing airstrikes in Yemen that killed hundreds of civilians.

World reacts--or not

Other than Iran, no government, including Western democracies, reacted to the mass killing.  Iran has unilaterally suspended talks aimed at defusing longstanding tensions with regional rival Saudi Arabia, Iranian state media reported on March 13.

The New York Time noted the silence of Western demcracies linking it to events in Ukraine.

Noting that Western countries were looking to Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest oil producers, to help make up for the shortfall in oil supplies as many countries shun energy from Russia because of President Vladimir V. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, she added, “We cannot show our revulsion for Putin’s atrocities by rewarding those of the crown prince.” https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/12/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-executions.html 

Media Coverage Sample: