[M]illions could be wandering through Europe, in migrant formation, before the end of the year. At that rate, Europe might end up with a majority non-White population before the United States… Germans are greeting this first wave of migrants with banners, cheers, and food. But don’t be surprised if these same Germans are hurling xenophobic epithets… Read more.
Russia
Egypt Sentences Morsi to Death; Exposes Fecklessness of U.S. Middle East Policy
Alas, Mohammed Morsi seems fated to become a martyr for the cause of democracy in the Middle East. He became Egypt’s first democratically elected president in June 2012. But army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi deposed him in July 2013 – in a coup that was, ironically, almost as popular as the student protests that… Read more.
Snowden Wants In from the Cold…
A Russian lawyer for Edward Snowden said on Tuesday the fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor who leaked details of the government’s mass surveillance programs was working with American and German lawyers to return home. ‘I won’t keep it secret … he wants to return back home.’ (Reuters, March 3, 2015) Well, that didn’t take… Read more.
Fated Assassination of Russian Opposition Leader Boris Nemtsov
It’s arguable that an opposition leader in Putin-controlled Russia is an even more endangered species than a Christian leader in ISIL-controlled Syria. But the best way to understand why opposition leaders in Russia invariably end up in prison, hopelessly marginalized, or dead is to understand that Putin eliminates them for the same reason the scorpion… Read more.
Ukraine: a New (Post-War) Germany in the Making
Ukraine, a new post-war Germany Ukraine is at the epicenter of a global power struggle reminiscent of historical flashpoints. Russia seems hellbent on mirroring Germany’s aggressive expansionist tactics of 1939. Its ongoing attempt to annex Ukraine is eerily reminiscent of Germany’s annexation of Poland. Russian forces in two armored columns captured a key southeastern coastal town near the Russian border Thursday after… Read more.
Russia Reopening Base in Cuba? Whoopty Friggin’ Doo
The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming (back to Cuba)! Russia has quietly reached an agreement with Cuba to reopen a Soviet-era spy base on America’s doorstep, amid souring relations between Moscow and Washington. The deal to reopen the signals intelligence facility in Lourdes, south of Havana, was agreed in principle during President Vladimir… Read more.
D-Day that ‘Saved the World’?
Every year Western leaders mark D-Day by hailing The Greatest Generation of Americans, Britons, Frenchmen, and Canadians who “saved the world.” Except that they invariably overlook the role Russians played. This constitutes a historic oversight (or slight). Moreover, it is at the root of much of the resentment that has beset Russia’s relationship with the… Read more.
Russia and China Make Kindred Bedfellows
China signed a landmark deal Wednesday to buy Russian natural gas worth about $400 billion, giving a boost to diplomatically isolated President Vladimir Putin and expanding Moscow’s ties with Asia. (The Associated Press, May 21, 2014) I’ve been forthright in pointing out foreboding analogies between what Hitler did in Europe during the late 1930s and… Read more.
Russia Gobbling Up Ukraine: First Crimea, Now Donetsk … Next Odessa?
Pro-Moscow insurgents in eastern Ukraine declared independence Monday and sought to join Russia, undermining upcoming presidential elections, strengthening the Kremlin’s hand and putting pressure on Kiev to hold talks with the separatists following a referendum on self-rule. (Associated Press, May 12, 2014) While President Vladimir Putin gobbles up even more of Ukraine, Western leaders are… Read more.
A Ukraine Divided Is the Only Way It Will Stand
It hardly bodes well for national unity in Ukraine that the pro-Western parliament is now calling not only for closer ties with Europe but also for Yanukovych’s arrest on charges of mass murder. Indeed, bear in mind that the country was virtually split down the middle at the last election in 2010—with those in the West… Read more.