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China Is America’s Biggest Rival, and Russia Isn’t Even Close

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President Trump’s decision to move the remaining American troops out of Syria came under heavy criticism from the mainstream media the day it was announced. Trump’s Syria blunder marks “a win for Putin,” reports The Washington Post. The New York Times labels Russia “a winner” in the Syria decision.

Everything Trump does seems to be giving leverage to a more powerful and hungry Russia, says the media, so much so that Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank is now claiming that Trump singlehandedly “lost [America] the Cold War.”

It is no surprise that the media exaggerates the scale of Russia’s threatening nature whenever given the chance. Many American journalists, relishing the way Trump’s foreign policy dovetails into the media’s narrative of his collusion with Russia over the 2016 election, have an interest in doing so. But all this talk of Russia over the past two years has diminished attention towards the far bigger, more poised, and more capable geopolitical threat America faces today: China.

China easily economically dominates Russia. The gross domestic products of the United States, China, and Russia are mapped in the Google public data graph... The United States still has the world’s highest GDP, but China’s economic growth in the past ten years has doubled that of the United States and put it on track to compete directly for the world’s economic supremacy. Russia, meanwhile, has a GDP lower than that of Italy.

China’s military adventurism, too, outpaces Russian expansionism. In contrast, China’s moves into the South China Sea have made its control over an extremely large portion of East Asian waters practically “a done deal.” Who cares about ocean waters, one might ask? How about maritime traders and aircraft carriers, for a start? It is true that Russia annexed Crimea in a show of force. But while Russia gained access to one strategic port, China’s recent exploits have cemented legions of ports and bases across East Asia for years to come. (Read more from “China Is America’s Biggest Rival, and Russia Isn’t Even Close” HERE)

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Charles Blow’s Latest Column Accidentally Reinforces That Russia Collusion Is a Hoax

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The New York Times published an opinion article Sunday by Charles M. Blow titled, “What Would Happen If,” which attempts to argue that the day of reckoning with accusations of Trump-Russia collusion has arrived for President Trump supporters. RealClearPolitics.com assigned it the misleading click-bait title, “It’s Becoming Clear Trump Colluded with Russia.”

I’ve been searching for a coherent and updated Russia collusion piece for some time, because it’s been so clear for so long that the Trump-Russia collusion story is a hoax. What am I missing? Maybe this New York Times article can explain to me how liberals continue to believe the story in spite of the mounting evidence to the contrary. I thirst for evidence contradicting my beliefs, because I find it so hard to believe that honest liberal journalists would knowingly continue to advance a story that appears to have been so thoroughly debunked as a hoax. So I took the bait and clicked.

Blow begins with one of those famous “We know” statements that pundits tend to use when they actually don’t know, but don’t want to argue threshold assumptions. “A crime has been committed by Russia and Trump cheered the crime and used the loot thereof to advance his candidacy,” Blow writes. “That is clear.” I looked for a hyperlink to support this bold statement, to no avail. I’m left to guess what he means. What crime? What loot? . . .

For a more detailed write-up, click here. Alternatively, the crime to which Blow so un-clearly refers might be the case against the named Russian GRU operatives, which again, are mere allegations and not proven. That case will likely never see the inside of a courtroom and probably ended with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s self-congratulatory press conference. To quote Rosenstein during the press conference: “There is no allegation in this indictment that any American citizen committed a crime. There is no allegation that the conspiracy changed the vote count or affected any election result.”

I assume “any American citizen” includes candidate Donald Trump. Indeed, the culpability for the Democratic National Committee server hack and the John Podesta email hack have not been established beyond the mere indictment. As far as the DNC server is concerned, intelligence experts have offered plausible alternate theories. Why is this still not clear two years after the hack? Because the DNC’s subcontractor Crowdstrike likely destroyed the original evidence before obtaining a third-party review of its attribution accusing the Russians. (Read more from “Charles Blow’s Latest Column Accidentally Reinforces That Russia Collusion Is a Hoax” HERE)

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Why Putin’s Game of Russian Roulette With Ukraine Is a Big Deal

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In a stunning sequence of events, the Russian military opened fire then seized three Ukrainian navy vessels in an unprovoked attack on the Black Sea last Sunday. In the melee, several Ukrainian sailors were wounded and 24 captured. Moscow followed up this flagrant act of war by parading the sailors on Russian television to give clearly coerced confessions of guilt.

This attack is but the latest escalation in the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine that has been churning since 2014. It’s also the first great test for the Trump administration regarding Russia and one that will have lasting consequences on the future of Europe and the world. . .

The war in Ukraine began in 2014 after Russian special forces seized Crimea. The tactic Moscow used is what I dubbed, in U.S. Army publications, “the strategy of ambiguity.” Putin directed that his troops remove all symbols and anything else that would identify them as Russian soldiers.

This had the desired effect, as American journalists breathlessly reported of the ridiculously labeled “little green men” from unknown origins taking control of Crimea. President Obama and the rest of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies wrung their hands on what to do. The tactic worked––as President Obama dithered, Russia seized Crimea within a week without firing a shot in anger.

The takeover of Crimea was quickly followed by local referenda to ascertain if Crimea desired to become part of Russia––a vote, of course, that overwhelmingly supported the idea. The deal was sealed just a month after the little green men seized the country, with Putin announcing that Crimea would be annexed by Russia. (Read more from “Why Putin’s Game of Russian Roulette With Ukraine Is a Big Deal” HERE)

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Trump Abruptly Cancels Meeting With Putin

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By Washington Times. President Trump on Thursday said he was canceling plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin because of escalating military tension in Crimea.

The announcement tweeted from Air Force One in route to the G20 summit in Argentina was an abrupt reversal of comments just 40 minutes earlier, when Mr. Trump said he would probably go through with the meeting.

“Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin,” the president said in a series of tweets.

He added, “I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!” . . .

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news services that the Kremlin learned of the cancelation from Mr. Trump’s tweet and had not received formal notification. (Read more from “Trump Cancels Meeting With Putin” HERE)

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Trump Cancels G-20 Meeting With Putin, Citing Ukraine Crisis; Decision Follows Michael Cohen Guilty Plea in Russia Probe

By CNBC. President Donald Trump on Thursday abruptly canceled his meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin at this weekend’s G-20 summit in Argentina.

Trump in two tweets blamed the cancellation of Saturday’s expected encounter with Putin on the failure of Russia to return three ships and their sailors seized from Ukraine last weekend in the Black Sea.

But the social-media scuttling of the sitdown came an hour after he personally told reporters that he would probably meet with Putin.

And it came just two hours after Trump’s ex-lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the president’s involvement in an aborted real estate deal in Moscow.

(Read more from “Trump Cancels G-20 Meeting With Putin, Citing Ukraine Crisis; Decision Follows Michael Cohen Guilty Plea in Russia Probe” HERE)

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Russia Opens Fire on Ukrainian Navy Ships

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By Washington Times. Russia’s coast guard opened fire on and seized three of Ukraine’s vessels Sunday, wounding two crew members, after a tense standoff in the Black Sea near the Crimean Peninsula, the Ukrainian navy said.

Russia blamed Ukraine for provoking the incident, which sharply escalated tensions that have been growing between the two countries since Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, and it has worked steadily to bolster its zone of control around the peninsula.

Earlier in the day, Russia and Ukraine traded accusations over a separate incident involving the same vessels, prompting Moscow to block passage through the narrow Kerch Strait, which separates the peninsula from the Russian mainland.

The Ukrainian navy said two of its gunboats were struck and Russian crews boarded and seized them and an accompanying tugboat.

Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB and which oversees the coast guard, said there was “irrefutable evidence that Kiev prepared and orchestrated provocations … in the Black Sea. These materials will soon be made public.” (Read more from “Russia Opens Fire on Ukrainian Navy Ships” HERE)

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Tension Escalates After Russia Seizes Ukraine Naval Ships

By BBC News. Russia has fired on and seized three Ukrainian naval vessels off the Crimean Peninsula in a major escalation of tensions between the two countries.

Two gunboats and a tug were captured by Russian forces. A number of Ukrainian crew members were injured.

Each country blames the other for the incident. On Monday Ukrainian MPs are due to vote on declaring martial law.

The crisis began when Russia accused the Ukrainian ships of illegally entering its waters.

The Russians placed a tanker under a bridge in the Kerch Strait – the only access to the Sea of Azov, which is shared between the two countries. (Read more from “Tension Escalates After Russia Seizes Ukraine Naval Ships” HERE)

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Trump Announces That the U.S. Will Leave a Cold War-Era Disarmament Treaty With Russia

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President Donald Trump confirmed on Saturday that the United States would be leaving a Cold War-era nuclear disarmament treaty with the Soviet Union. . .

The Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty (INF) was signed by the United States and the Soviet Union in 1987. It bans either nation from creating ground-launch nuclear missiles capable of hitting a target within a range of 500 km to 5,500 km. The treaty led to the destruction of 2,700 nuclear missiles between the two nations. It also offered assurance to U.S. allies in Europe.

After finishing a rally in Nevada on Saturday, Trump told reporters “We’ll have to develop those weapons,” adding “we’re going to terminate the agreement and we’re going to pull out.”

On Friday, The Guardian reported that National Security Adviser John Bolton was pushing for the U.S. to withdraw from this treaty. The treaty has an expiration date of 2021, but Russia has already expressed interest in renewing the pact.

The U.S. has accused the Russians of already violating the treaty with its 9M729 cruise missiles. On Oct. 2, U.S. ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison said that Russia was “on notice” because of its use of these missiles, and that the United States “would be looking at the capability to take out a (Russian) missile that could hit any of our countries” referring to NATO member nations that would be in range of missiles banned by the 1987 treaty. (Read more from “Trump Announces That the U.S. Will Leave a Cold War-Era Disarmament Treaty With Russia” HERE)

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Russian Official Linked to Trump Tower Lawyer Dies

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By Market Watch. A Russian official who allegedly directed the lawyer who met with representatives of the Trump campaign at Trump Tower in the summer of 2016 has died, the Daily Beast reported Thursday, apparently in a helicopter crash. Saak Albertovich Karapetyan, a Russian deputy attorney general who reportedly had a hand in a number of notorious foreign intelligence operations at the orders of President Vladimir Putin, was killed when his helicopter crashed into a forest northeast of Moscow during an unauthorized flight. (Read more from “Russian Official Linked to Trump Tower Lawyer Dies” HERE)

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Russian Official With Ties to Lawyer in Trump Tower Meeting Dies in Helicopter Crash

By The Hill. A Russian deputy attorney general, who is thought to have directed Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya in her efforts abroad on behalf of Russia’s government, reportedly died Wednesday night in a helicopter crash. . .

Karapetyan was reportedly behind Veselnitskaya’s global efforts to lobby lawmakers to overturn anti-corruption acts such as the U.S. Magnitsky Act, which passed in 2012. The U.S. legislation is similar to others around the world which commemorate Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer who died while trying to expose a $230 million fraud scheme in Russia. The acts have reportedly incensed Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Daily Beast reported that Karapetyan signed a letter sent on behalf of Russia’s government to a U.S. court in 2014 refusing assistance into an investigation concerning Magnitsky’s death. The letter was drafted reportedly with aid from Veselnitskaya.

Two years later, Veselnitskaya was involved in a meeting with President Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., his son-in-law Jared Kushner and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort at Trump Tower. The meeting, which occurred during the 2016 presidential election, was reportedly set up under the presumption that Veselnitskaya would present damaging information on Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to the Trump campaign. (Read more from “Russian Official With Ties to Lawyer in Trump Tower Meeting Dies in Helicopter Crash” HERE)

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Watch: Feminist Pours Bleach on Over 60 Men’s Crotches to Fight ‘Manspreading’

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Feminist activist and Russian law student Anna Dovgalyuk has taken to pouring a bleach and water mixture on the crotches of unsuspecting men on the St. Petersburg Metro for their anti-feminist sin of “manspreading.” . . .

In a “video manifesto,” Dovgalyuk dumps the mixture contained in a water bottle onto over 60 men’s crotches. Most are too stunned to react, but others attempt to confront her for her abhorrent actions.

“This solution is 30 times more concentrated than the mixture used by housewives when doing the laundry,” she claims in the video, per The Sun. “It eats colours in the fabric in a matter of minutes — leaving indelible stains.”

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Этот ролик — мой второй видеоманифест. С его помощью я хочу привлечь внимание к проблеме мэнспрединга — отвратительного явления, с которым борятся во многих странах. И которое до сих пор умалчивается в России. Для меня крайне важно привлечь внимание людей к этой проблеме, вызвать обсуждение. Потому что публичное неуважение к женщине — это позор для общества! Снять ролик мне помогли друзья, полностью разделяющие мою позицию. This is my new video manifesto, dedicated to the problem of manspreading. The disgusting act that is being fought with around the world and it is hushed up in us. Men demonstrating their alpha-manhood in the subway with women and children around, deserve contempt. If you publicly show what kind of macho you are, we will publicly cool you off! This video manifesto was created in assistance with friends who share my position.

A post shared by Anna Dovgalyuk (@anna_boni_lu) on

“This is my new video manifesto, dedicated to the problem of manspreading,” writes Dovgalyuk via Instagram. “The disgusting act that is being fought with around the world and it is hushed up in us. Men demonstrating their alpha-manhood in the subway with women and children around, deserve contempt. If you publicly show what kind of macho you are, we will publicly cool you off!”

(Read more from “Watch: Feminist Pours Bleach on Over 60 Men’s Crotches to Fight ‘Manspreading'” HERE)

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Report Blames Russia for Sonic Attacks

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U.S. personnel assigned to diplomatic missions in Cuba have over the past year or so complained about a “sonic attack” that produces in victims abnormal sensations of sound and pressure. . .

So the FBI, CIA and other agencies have been investigating, and their conclusion is that it may have been Russia using electromagnetic weapons against Americans. . .

“U.S. officials said in July they were still investigating health problems at the U.S. embassy in Cuba, and do not know who or what was behind the mysterious illnesses, which began in 2016 and have affected 26 Americans,” the report said.

“NBC has achieved the seemingly impossible, somehow managing to incorporate mysterious brain-zapping weapons, evidence-free accusations from anonymous U.S. officials, and Russia, into a juicy smorgasbord of journalistic excellence,” the publication said.

“The bombshell report opens with a phrase that every American schoolchild already knows by heart – ‘Russia is likely behind’ – but this is no ordinary, Pulitzer-prize winning morsel of security state stenography. This time, the Russians ‘likely’ targeted U.S. diplomats stationed in Cuba and China with a powerful brain-altering weapon (which has yet to be identified/confirmed to actually exist), resulting in various injuries, ranging from hearing loss to ‘problems with cognition.’” (Read more from “Report Blames Russia for Sonic Attacks” HERE)

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Russian Threat Forces U.S. Military Action in Syria

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As Russia and Syria attacked Syria’s last major region held by anti-government rebels, the United States sent a warning to Russia’s Syrian-based forces in the form of a contingent of Marines.

Hours before reports of bombing began to come in from Idlib province, located in the northwest of Syria, more than 100 Marines were sent to a coalition base in Al Tanf, which the U.S. protects with a 35-mile security zone around the town. Marines conducted live-fire exercises in the region.

Tanf is located in the south, near Syria’s border with Jordan. Twice this month, Russian leaders have threatened the U.S. with military exercises in the region, and twice the Russians have been told the U.S. will not permit that, Fox News reported.

“The United States does not seek to fight the Russians, the government of Syria or any groups that may be providing support to Syria in the Syrian civil war,” said Lt. Col. Earl Brown, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, the Los Angeles Times reported. “However, the United States will not hesitate to use necessary and proportionate force to defend U.S., coalition or partner forces.”

The U.S. uses the Tanf base to train Syrian fighters to oppose Islamic State militants. Officials said they sent the Marines in response to fears that Russia could use its upcoming offensive in Idlib province as a time to also attack Tanf.

Initial reports Saturday from Idlib province said Russian jets were bombing civilian targets. At least four people were reported killed, according to The Guardian.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported there were more than 30 air raids Saturday in southwestern Idlib and Hama province, Fox News reported.

Health official Munzer Al-Khalil said there was “great fear” in Idlib province, Sky News reported.

“I fear we are about to face the most catastrophic crisis in our war,” he said. “When they decide to take an area, they first attack hospitals. I am worried this has already started.”

Neighboring Turkey issued a warning against escalating the attacks.

“Idlib is a ticking bomb,” said Turkish government spokesman Ibrahim Kalin. “We can turn it off and start a new process in Syria if the international community gets serious about the Syrian war and shows that they do care about the Syrian people.”

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump warned Syria against attacking Idlib.

“President Bashar al-Assad of Syria must not recklessly attack Idlib Province. The Russians and Iranians would be making a grave humanitarian mistake to take part in this potential human tragedy. Hundreds of thousands of people could be killed. Don’t let that happen!” Trump tweeted Monday.

With that in mind, Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said conversations have begun to develop military response options for Trump, NBC reported.

Dunford said no decision has been made.

“But we are in a dialogue, a routine dialogue, with the president to make sure he knows where we are with regard to planning in the event that chemical weapons are used,” he said during a trip to India.

Trump “expects us to have military options and we have provided updates to him on the development of those military options,” Dunford said. (For more from the author of “Russian Threat Forces U.S. Military Action in Syria” please click HERE)

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