22 April 2021 — Moon of Alabama
Some two month ago we discussed how the U.S. focus on narratives will let it collide with reality. It is certainly not only the U.S. government that creates narratives, comes to believe in them, and then fails when it is confronted with reality. Carried by think tanks and media the narrative mold has grown throughout the wider ‘western’ world.
21 April 2021 — Moon of Alabama
“Nice sidekick, Shere Khan. A hyena who laughs at his own bad jokes.”
― Bagheera to Shere Khan about Tabaqui
Today Russia’s President Vladimir Putin made his annual Address to the Federal Assembly (English transcript).
Most of his talk was about domestic and economic issues. At the end he made some remarks towards international developments and other governments.
20 April 2021 — Moon of Alabama
Thanks to a monoculture of anti-Russia hawks in U.S. policy institutions relations between the U.S. and Russia are likely to further decline. But some hope might be seen at the horizon.
Scott Ritter predicts the end of a generation of anti-Russian influencers in Washington DC who depict Russia and is policies as being run by just one man:
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17 April 2021 — Moon of Alabama
The policies of the Biden administration towards Russia and China are delusional. It thinks that it can squeeze these countries but still successfully ask them for cooperation. It believes that the U.S. position is stronger than it really is and that China and Russia are much weaker than they are.
17 April 2021 — Indian Punchline
US President Joe Biden departs after delivering remarks on Russia in the East Room at White House, Washington, DC, April 15, 2021In his landmark foreign policy speech delivered from the US state department on February 4, President Joe Biden had proclaimed that “America is back. Diplomacy is back at the centre of our foreign policy.” That maxim was put to test last week. And it failed to make the grade.
15 April 2021 —
The thirty-member North Atlantic Council, the political decision-making body of NATO consisting of the ambassadors of all member states, posted a statement supporting the Joe Biden administration’s declaration of a national emergency attributed to Russian actions, real or fancied.
9 April 2021 — Moon of Alabama
Yesterday CNN said that the US is considering sending warships to the Black Sea amid Russia-Ukraine tensions. That the U.S. is ‘considering’ this is however disinformation:
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5 April 2021 — Moon of Alabama
Last night Brian MacDonald, an Irish journalist currently working for RT, picked up on a theme we previously noted here.
Bryan MacDonald @27khv – 19:21 UTC · Apr 4, 2021
With the US/UK press in full Russia hysteria mode, right now, it’s time for a thread on things the Anglo-American media has accused Moscow of “weaponising.”
We shall start with Charlie Sheen.
Yes. Really. Not a joke.
Take a bow, @ak_mack & @ForeignPolicy
Brian MacDonald’s thread is a good opportunity to update our list of all the issues, ideas and things Russia has weaponized.
2 April 2021 — Internationalist 360°
Vostok-2018 manoeuvres span vast expanses of Siberia and Asia-Pacific, the Arctic and the Pacific Ocean and showcase the military might of Russia and China
The center of gravity of the world economy and power has shifted back from the North Atlantic to Asia, the brief, supposedly unipolar moment of absolute and incontestable hegemony is over, and clear signs of this are represented by the re-emergence of Russia as a major player on the world stage, and the blossoming of China as the great superpower of the 21st century; in addition to the emergence of regional powers and political processes that are betting on sovereignty and self-determination without submitting to the vassalage or absolute domination of U.S. power, its allies, and the transnational powers of the global North or the collective West.
3 April 2021 — Indian Punchline
US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Porter sails in the Bosphorus, Istanbul, on its way to the Black Sea, January 28, 2021The terrible beauty of “frozen conflicts” is that it takes hardly any effort to turn up the heat and re-escalate them into hot violence, but pressing the “pause” button later would need consensus, which is not so easy. The frozen conflict in Ukraine’s Donbass has gone through this cycle repeatedly, and is lurching toward another.
1 April 2021 — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
Vyacheslav Nikonov: The word “war” has been heard increasingly more often lately. US and NATO politicians, even more so the Ukrainian military, have no trouble saying it. Do you have more reasons to be concerned now than ever before?
Sergey Lavrov: Yes and no. On the one hand, the confrontation has hit bottom. On the other, deep down, there’s still hope that we are adults and understand the risks associated with escalating tensions further. However, our Western colleagues introduced the word “war” into the diplomatic and international usage. “The hybrid war unleashed by Russia” is a very popular description of what the West perceives as the main event in international life. I still believe that good judgment will prevail.
29 March 2021 — Russia Observer
Einstein is said to have observed that insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, and expecting a different result. What a perfect description for US foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. Two decades in Iraq and Afghanistan is not enough: keep doing it. Sanctions on Russia haven’t made any difference, keep doing them. Beijing is not the least deterred by “freedom of navigation” cruises, keep doing them. Iran won’t bend to Washington’s will, keep doing the same thing.
