18 May 2013 — Strategic Culture Foundation
Can There be Rapprochement in Syria? (II)
18.05.2013 | 12:04 | Najmuddin A. SHAIKH
New routes for supplying the Syrian opposition with arms have now been opened through Jordan. Qatar is said to have expended $3 billion for providing arms to the opposition and assistance to the Syrian refugees. Now Saudi Arabia is apparently taking the lead in the supply of arms through this new route.More carnage lies ahead and therefore any and every effort to find a solution no matter how hopeless it may seem must be pursued… more
US Spying in Venezuela: Coup in Works
18.05.2013 | 00:00 | Nil NIKANDROV
U.S. national Timothy Hallett Tracy was arrested by the Bolivarian Security Service (SEBIN) on April 25 in the airport of Maiquetia, just before leaving Venezuela. The arrest took place according to direct order coming from President Nicolas Maduro, who had been informed about the American’s suspicious activities, including gathering intelligence information, instigation to unrest, funding non-government organizations…
Erdogan Calls on Washington for a Lifeline in NATO’s Syrian Quagmire
17.05.2013 | 08:46 | Finian CUNNINGHAM
Turkey’s prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in Washington to drum up more direct NATO intervention in Syria’s conflict…The Erdogan government has indeed allowed its border crossings with Syria to become logistical hubs for NATO-backed militants to launch attacks against the Syrian army of President Bashar al-Assad…Credible reports also say that the American CIA and other Western military intelligence agencies are providing the Syrian mercenaries with training and logistics from the NATO Incirlik base in Turkey’s Hatay Province…
Will US Intervene in Libya?
17.05.2013 | 00:00 | Andrei AKULOV
According to Associated Press reports, Marines and other U.S. forces in Europe are on a heightened state of alert in response to a deteriorating security situation in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, U.S. officials said on May 10. The combat readiness condition encompasses a U.S. special operations team based in Stuttgart, Germany and a Marine group of air and ground forces based in Moron, Spain, according to the officials, who, as the agency reports, were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity…
UN Approves anti-Syria Resolution: Defeat or Victory?
16.05.2013 | 16:31 | Alexander MEZYAEV
On April 15 the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning violence in Syria, a document co-sponsored by thirty seven states. The resolution, which is not legally binding though it can carry moral weight, was approved by a vote of 107-12 (including Russia) with 59 abstentions… The resolution contains no expression of support for the Russia-United States agreement to call an international conference on Syria, which was reached just a few days ago during the US State Secretary John Kerry’s recent visit to Moscow…The correlation 107 to 12 does not really reflect the situation. In reality 86 states did not support the resolution, that is the resolution supporters got only twenty votes more than those who voted otherwise. It goes to show that many states are not ready to say yes to the brazen use of force against Syria and this is an important achievement of Russian foreign policy and diplomacy.
The Central Banks’ Gold: a story of silent expropriation (II)
16.05.2013 | 00:03 | Valentin KATASONOV
…Germany is already in discussions for the return of its gold from the USA, England and France (a total of 2,360 tonnes). The Netherlands, Switzerland, Ecuador and Azerbaijan have also started preparations for the return of their gold from abroad. The campaign to get gold home could turn into a panic that will seize tens of countries (according to certain information, there is gold belonging to 60 countries in the vaults of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York alone)…
The Travails of Pakistan’s Sharif
16.05.2013 | 00:00 | Melkulangara BHADRAKUMAR
Following the initial sense of jubilation over the magnificent victory of Pakistan Muslim League led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in last week’s parliamentary poll, the inevitable reality check is about to commence. A mixed picture is bound to emerge. On the face of it, Sharif’s party secured 126 seats out of the 273, which were up for grabs in the poll. This is a most impressive tally and by far exceeds the prognosis by sympathizers and well-wishers within Pakistan and abroad…But on closer examination, it also emerges that out of the tally of 126 seats, Sharif’s party garnered as much as 118 from a single province, namely, Punjab…
Can There Be Rapprochement in Syria? (I)
15.05.2013 | 00:00 | Najmuddin A. SHAIKH
Amid the welter of bad news from Syria – the only positive news is the agreement reached between Russia and the USA after long hours of intensive discussion to convene an international conference by the end of the month to discuss the Syrian situation and to carry forward the implementation of the decisions reached in Geneva in 2012…
On the Foreign Policy Concept of Russia
15.05.2013 | 00:00 | Alexander MEZYAEV
A new version of the Foreign Policy Concept of Russia was approved 12 February 2013. President Putin signed a decree regarding the development of this concept on the day of his inauguration, which clearly shows how much importance the Russian head of state attaches to foreign policy…The new version of the Concept says that the possibilities for the West to dominate the world economy and policy are continuing to decrease. Global potential for power and development is decentralizing and moving to the East, first and foremost to the Asia Pacific region…
US Fields New Weapons
14.05.2013 | 00:00 | Andrei AKULOV
On May 1, 2013 an experimental unmanned aircraft developed for the US Air Force has flown at more than five times the speed of sound in a test off California. The test marked the fourth and final flight of an X-51A by the Air Force. This is a breakthrough in scramjet technology that allegedly can be used to deliver strikes around the globe within minutes… The X-51A aircraft is known as the Wave Rider because it stays airborne, in part, with lift generated by the shock waves of its own flight… The Wave Rider is designed to reach speeds of Mach 6 or above, six times the speed of sound and fast enough to cross the Atlantic Ocean and strike a target in Europe in less than an hour. Many details of the program are classified…
Nuclear Industry Re-Energizing after Fukushima
14.05.2013 | 00:00 | Igor ALEXEEV
Reconstructing nuclear confidence in post-Fukushima world is a long and painful process. But real-life energy demands especially in the developing countries predetermine a significant share of nuclear energy in their national energy consumption structure. Russian experience in this field can offer some interesting solutions to the decision-makers…
The Central Banks’ Gold: a Story of Silent Expropriation (I)
13.05.2013 | 00:00 | Valentin KATASONOV
…In recent times, gold has become a key topic in the world’s media. Interest in this yellow metal is warming up reports about the plans of Germany and other countries to repatriate their gold reserves from the USA and Great Britain, to where they were moved at various times. Heated debates have begun regarding how responsibly central banks and finance ministries are storing the gold reserves that have been entrusted to them. There are also suspicions that there is less gold there than is being officially reported. This article is going to put forward the theory that there is virtually no gold left in the vaults of central banks in leading economically developed countries…
The other Tsarnaevs in waiting
13.05.2013 | 00:00 | Wayne MADSEN
…The CIA, Soros, and neocon / Salafist interference in Russia is akin to Russia promoting independence for dozens of Native American tribal nations, as well as U.S. territories, states, and even counties. The United States would strongly resist such outside interference and look unkindly upon foreign support for such causes. Yet, the United States and its swath of NGOs across the globe feel free to support separatist and radical activities in Russia and other countries around the world, including China, Indonesia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Venezuela, Bolivia, and other nations.
Handshakes and diplomacy belie America’s new Cold War
12.05.2013 | 00:00 | Finian CUNNINGHAM
…Putting these two ominous developments in perspective – the continuation of the long historical trend of destabilizing Russia’s borders with violent dissident groups, from Nazi war criminals and partisans to today’s various Jihadist networks, plus the expansion of nuclear threat – one is left with the compelling conclusion that Washington is not serious about fostering mutual relations, but rather is engaging in a new Cold War of hostile intent towards Moscow. The diplomatic handshakes, smiles and pseudo-agreements are merely window-dressing for what’s really in the American store.
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The New Dark Age 