Friends it is no accident that VVPutin so carefully choses his words to avoid inflaming situations, continues to call Americans “our Western Partners” even though in Washington, he’s routinely been likened to Hitler, Stalin, a thug and all manner of epithets for years now. Amazing ability to handle such encounters with grace! It certainly is putting out a message to the world about the value of a classical man who attempts to be honest, straightforward and leaves doors open for dialogue. If this is the result of early martial arts philosophy and training, we need to be getting our youngsters enrolled.

Sharon

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President of Russia Website
October 12, 2016

Answers to questions from French journalists from TF1 TV channel

The interview was recorded on October 11, 2016 in Kovrov, Vladimir Region.

President Putin answers questions from French journalists from TF1 TV channel.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: How did you end up here? This is a just a small provincial town. These days, you find French people wherever you go in Russia, in every village. This is very good and we are pleased to see it.

Question (retranslated): Mr President, could you explain why you are not going to Paris?

Vladimir Putin: It’s very simple. We had planned to hold an official opening ceremony for the newly built Russian religious and cultural centre in Paris. From the looks of things though, this is not the best moment for official meetings, given the lack of mutual understanding, to put it mildly, that we have over events in Syria, particularly the situation in Aleppo. But we are always open, of course, to any consultations and dialogue on this matter.

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Friends,

We may begin to see the Washington/NATO house of cards totter before this year ends.

By pushing the “threat-of-war card,” while U.S. Congress members endorse forcing Russia to depart Syria, the West’s bluff has been called by Russia. This is where the dangerous and unpredictable situation stands as of this writing. With U.S. mainstream media remaining silent, Internet news services and now former U.S ambassadors and other authorities are popping out of the woodwork with their much needed perspectives. They call for backing off and recognizing Russia’s legitimate concerns rather than demonizing and threatening consequences that could go nuclear in minutes.

Robert E. Hunter, U.S. Ambassador to NATO (1993 – 1998), who also has held many strategic positions since 1970, spells out a different position in the article below. His is a clear picture of how Washington missed one opportunity after another to pursue common-sense policies with Russia. Although the situation is near irretrievable at this late date, Hunter nonetheless remains somewhat hopeful that progress may be made after the November Presidential election.

Let’s hope more authorities like this Ambassador choose to “Speak Truth to Power” to our Congress and to the American public at large during this critical period.

Sharon

PS: If you wish to pass a short message to Ambassador Hunter, send to me and I’ll pass to him via email.

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LobeLog Foreign Policy
October 6, 2016

Ukraine and Syria: Linked Together by Russia

by Robert E. Hunter

The United States and Russia are now at daggers drawn over Syria. Following the collapse of the ceasefire negotiated last month by Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the United States has abandoned talks with the Russians on Syria. Meanwhile, in a supposedly unrelated part of the relationship, Russia has suspended the 2000 agreement between the two countries on ridding themselves of excess stocks of weapons-grade plutonium.

Not since Russia seized Crimea in February 2014 and began incursions, directly and through “little green men,” into other parts of Ukraine have relations between Moscow and Washington been so poor.

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Friends, the possibility/probability of Nuclear War is hardly mentioned in the U.S. today. WHY?

NATO and Russian bombers are in Syria’s airspaces daily. Seems to me this is a disaster waiting to happen. The rhetoric between the U.S. and Russia has never been more acrimonious. Nuclear spokespersons; William Perry, George Schultz, Thomas Pickering, Governor Jerry Brown, Ira Helfand from PSR and many others tell us that the relationship between Washington/NATO and Russia has never been closer to nuclear war than today.

Yet Nuclear War is the “unmentioned” elephant in the room across America! Somehow our presidential candidates avoid it completely. Our TV and print media seldom mention it. Many Americans go about their high-end life styles as though the latter will continue indefinitely. What kind of “cloud of denial” are we living under––and again, “ WHY”?

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Friends, Robert Parry, America’s top prize-winning Investigative Journalist, again speaks Truth amid blatant and dangerous “group think” advocates. This article is lengthy but to follow the facts, it’s near impossible to keep to short responses. Bear with it and understand what is happening under our watch …. and on which we as a nation must become better informed.

With hope for clarity on such fabrications,

Sharon

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Consortium News
October 5, 2016

New ‘Group Think’ for War with Syria/Russia

Exclusive: Official Washington has a new “group think” that is even more dangerous than the one that led to the Iraq War. This one calls for U.S. escalation of conflicts against Syria and nuclear-armed Russia, writes Robert Parry.

By Robert Parry

Not since the eve of the U.S. invasion of Iraq has Official Washington’s political/punditry class clamored more single-mindedly – and openly – for the U.S. government to commit a gross violation of international law, now urging a major military assault on the government of Syria while also escalating tensions with nuclear-armed Russia.

And, like the frenzied war fever of 2002-2003, today’s lawless consensus is operating on a mix of selective, dubious and false information – while excluding from the public debate voices that might dare challenge the prevailing “group think.” It’s as if nothing was learned from the previous disaster in Iraq.

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Friends,

My friend, John Pepper, remains a student/thinker/philosopher at heart, even though he was CEO of a major US corporation for years. Occasionally after reading a historic tome which has relevance for today, he sends his ponderings.

John’s latest note below speaks to the differences between the 1960s Cuban Missile Crisis and the threat of WWIII breaking out in the Middle East today. My 1962 memory is fleeing on a plane to get my children to Kentucky, hoping we might be out-of-range if our home in Dallas was hit. Also the overwhelming relief felt when it was announced on TV that the crisis was over. In today’s terms the Cuban crisis was the result of an early attempt at “regime change” complete with plans to assassinate another leader, Castro.

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