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On the Road to United Eurasia

Following is an article written by Pepe Escobar who is often ahead of the international “news train”––this time regarding the Russia-China trade alliances which are taking place alongside the showdown in Ukraine, Crimea and Syria. I haven’t followed the jumble of trade acronyms listed below, but have come to respect Pepe’s insights and predictions.

His latest piece takes me back to the 90s and early 2000s when I urged Dick Gephardt, Newt Gingrich and other congress members, to drop the Jackson-Vanik Amendment trade restrictions regarding Russia. The rationale was simple: if Washington refused to become trade partners with Russia, her leaders would eventually be forced to seek China and other less desirable partners for trade alliances.

They didn’t heed––and the predictions have now come true. If even half of Pepe’s forecasts below materialize, we in the US will be the greatest international net losers. Nothing can be done now; it’s too late. Washington has literally forced these unintended trade agreements into being by refusing Russia’s attempts to partner.

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US Conference of Mayors (1,407 cities) Speak Out!

Dear CCI Friends,

At last America’s Mayors speak out against President Obama’s decision to spend $1,000,000,000,000 (trillion) on advanced American nuclear weapon systems in the near future.

Unfortunately our mainstream media don’t cover this kind of material today, perhaps believing that it’s better not to alarm Americans? Or simply wishing not to be stopped in their tracks?

If Americans across the country learn of this, it could help spearhead a nationwide rejection of the dangerous position in which we find ourselves in 2016.

Please call your Mayor and learn his/her position on this resolution. Let us know your response. Let’s find ways to buttress this effort and increase its momentum.

Since they’re not likely to hear about the Mayors’ action through the mainstream media, please consider letting your friends and colleagues know about this blog post.

Together we might make a difference.

Sharon

theAntiMedia.org

1,400 US Mayors Just Slammed the White House for Risking Nuclear War With Russia

Everett Numbers

(ANTIMEDIA) Indianapolis, IN — War games and nuclear policy perpetuated by the Obama administration are “fueling growing tensions”with Russia and putting the world at risk of a nuclear war, according to an official nonpartisan organization consisting of 1,407 mayors and other leaders of cities with 30,000 or more inhabitants.

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The Media’s Incessant Barrage of Evidence-Free Accusations Against Russia

TheNation

In one month, its government has been accused of hacking the DNC, orchestrating the Brexit, tacitly supporting Trump, and more.

By James Carden

If there is one country in the world which garners media coverage bereft of even the most basic journalistic standards, it is Russia. Over the past month, the Russian government has been accused of hacking the DNC, orchestrating the Brexit, tacitly supporting the candidacy of Donald J. Trump, and much else.

On June 14, the Washington Post’s Ellen Nakashima published what, at first sight, looked to be a blockbuster scoop, a Watergate scandal for the cyber-age. The report alleged that the Democratic National Committee’s computer network was compromised by Russian hackers who stole caches of DNC opposition research on Trump. According to Nakashima, the Russian hackers were so thorough that they were able to access the DNC’s email and chat traffic. Yet the firm which supposedly spotted the hack, Crowdstrike, admitted that they were “not sure how the hackers got in.” They were definitely sure, however, that it was the Russians.

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Russia Doesn’t Look Like a Failing State

Dear friends,

Yalta Scene
Street scene in Yalta.

I’m writing this while in flight having just left Russia. This trip was the “richest” experience in my hundreds of trips to Russian cities in the past 33 years. U.S. media tell us that under the pressure of sanctions and low oil prices the Russian economy is failing, but after seeing Russia this spring one has to question this.

I traveled to Russia numerous times during the drabness and product scarcity of the Soviet years (1983 – 1989). Following that, I spent months each year in Russia amid the disintegration, lawlessness and chaos of the 1990’s. During this period Russians had lost all hope in themselves and in Russia at large. I watched during the 2000’s as a semblance of order began to slowly emerge. During this period I also noticed Russians beginning to question “Who are we? What is our “National Idea?”

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Europeans Contest US Anti-Russian Hype

Consortium News

Besides the Brexit rejection of U.S.-style neoliberal economics, some European voices are protesting, finally, the U.S.-led, anti-Russian propaganda campaign that has justified an expensive new Cold War, notes Joe Lauria.

By Joe Lauria

A significant crack has been unexpectedly opened in the wall of Europe’s disciplined obedience to the United States. I’m not only referring to the possible long-term consequences for U.S.-European relations in the wake of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, but the unlikely blow against Washington’s information war on Moscow delivered by Germany’s foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who a week ago shockingly accused the North Atlantic Treaty Organization of “war-mongering” against Russia.

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