Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Russia continues to shadow Trump | Donald Trump Long Sought a Real-Estate Foothold in Russia - WSJ

War With Russia Looms, Says Former NATO General in New Book:

“Of all the challenges America faces on the geopolitical scene in the second decade of the 21st century, the most dangerous is the resurgence of Russia under President Putin.”
Admiral James Stavridis

“Europe needs to step up to the mark,” Shirreff says. He also says the West needs to commit once more to a dialogue with Russia. That’s made harder by the fact that Russia is always sensitive to lectures from the West, resentful about perceived condescension from Europe and the U.S. Still, stony silence is unlikely to bring a resolution. “Communication” is what Shirreff hopes for, not war. “But it’s gotta be backed up by strength.”

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Why Did Russia Send ‘The Terminator’ on a Humanitarian Mission in Syria? - The Daily Beast:

"Christopher Harmer, a military analyst at the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for the Study of War, told The Daily Beast, “To a far greater extent than the United States, Russian transport helicopters are designed for dual use in an attack role. The Mi-8 was originally designed as medium-lift utility transport but the Russians use it extensively as an attack helicopter. This particular model may have been selected so that they could portray the mission as humanitarian in nature, but the overwhelming majority of Russian rotary-wing operations in Syria are attack missions.”

Regardless of whether the Russian claim that the helicopter was returning from a humanitarian mission is true, the fact that it was carrying rocket pods meant that it would have been perceived as a real threat from the ground, making it a legitimate target."

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Russia continues to shadow Trump:

"If we accept the position that big states can ride roughshod over little states, that treaties are irrelevant and that we don't care whether we have solemn commitments to allies we are encouraging further attacks against our allies in Europe, Asia and the Middle East," said Stephen Blank, a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council.

Whether the Crimean people welcomed Russia's invasion is irrelevant, said Blank, as "it was still a clear aggression of a country." And he noted that Trump's remarks have a potential ripple effect, providing an invitation for the estimated 25 million Russian minorities in post-Soviet states "to agitate for the dismemberment of their countries" and a return to the Russian fold."

Donald Trump Long Sought a Real-Estate Foothold in Russia - WSJ

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Donald Trump Finds a Russian Policy He Won’t Defend:

"Mr. Trump may have been correct when he said, “The people of Crimea, from what I’ve heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were.” But the point is that such matters are, in this century, meant to be decided democratically, not by a military conquest shrouded in deception.

This may be why Mr. Trump, for all his praise of Mr. Putin, could not back him on Crimea."

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How Russia Is Courting the Gulf:

"In short, Russia is using closer economic ties and diplomatic overtures towards the GCC countries as a stepping-stone for a diplomatic reengagement of Saudi Arabia on Putin’s terms. Even though Saudi Arabia desires Assad’s overthrow, Riyadh’s overarching agenda is to reduce its security dependence on the United States and maintain Saudi Arabia’s position as the Arab world’s most influential country. Therefore, Saudi Arabia is likely to respond favorably to Russian diplomatic overtures, if Putin can build a broad-based Arab coalition around a political solution to the Syrian crisis that includes Assad. Should Putin’s relationships with the GCC bloc continue to strengthen, Moscow’s relationship with Saudi Arabia is more likely to thaw than to descend into prolonged hostility."

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Donald Trump Long Sought a Real-Estate Foothold in Russia
Tuesday August 2nd, 2016 at 1:36 PM

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump repeatedly sought to gain a place for his Trump-branded towers in Russia and other former Soviet states, even in the 1980s, when the communist empire was first opening itself up to Western business investment.

While those efforts weren’t successful, the New York businessman has been able to attract investors from the former Soviet Union to Trump-branded projects outside of Russia.

Included among those are the Trump SoHo in New York, built by Bayrock, a development group headed by a wealthy Kazakh businessman, and the Trump International Hotel & Tower Toronto, which was developed by a Russian émigré.

A spokesman for the Trump campaign said the candidate didn’t have a comment on specific projects, but he said Mr. Trump hasn’t had and doesn’t currently have projects in Russia.

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In an interview with ABC News over the weekend, Donald Trump seemed to suggest that Russia doesn't have a presence in Ukraine even though its forces invaded the country and took control of a region called Crimea in 2014. On Monday, Trump said that he meant Russia wouldn't go further into Ukraine if he was president. Photo: AP

Mr. Trump sparked fierce criticism last week from Democrats and members of the U.S. national security community when he invited the Russian government to find thousands of missing emailsfrom Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s private server. On Thursday, Mr. Trump said he was “being sarcastic” when he made those comments.

The presidential candidate has long called to improve relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In an interview Sunday on ABC, Mr. Trump said the U.S. would have a “better relationship with Russia” under a Trump presidency.

Mr. Trump also told ABC that he had no investments or debts in Russia. But he has made clear over the past two decades that he was interested in doing deals there from the time the former Soviet Union began to open up.

In his book “The Art of the Deal,” published in 1987, Mr. Trump and his co-author wrote about his attempt to build a “large luxury hotel” across the street from the Kremlin in a joint-venture partnership with the Soviet government after meeting the Soviet ambassador at a luncheon.

ENLARGE

Donald Trump and Tevfik Arif, a Kazakh businessman, at the Trump SoHo launch in 2007 in New York. Photo: Mark Von Holden/WireImage/Getty Images

After receiving encouragement from the ambassador that Soviet Union tourism officials might be interested in a deal, Mr. Trump said he flew with his then-wife to Moscow and stayed in Lenin’s former suite at the National Hotel.

“I was impressed with the ambition of the Soviet officials to make a deal,” Mr. Trump wrote. The project never got off the ground.

In the 2000s, he began working with a Kazakhstan metals businessman, Tevfik Arif, who sought to help Mr. Trump build hotels in Moscow, in Kiev, in Poland and elsewhere.

The overseas projects proposed by Mr. Arif also fell through, but Mr. Trump said at the time that he expected to do more deals in Russia.

Asked in a 2007 legal deposition whether he had any concerns about doing business in Russia, Mr. Trump said he didn’t.

“I think there’s risk in doing any deal,” Mr. Trump said. “It’s ridiculous that we wouldn’t be investing in Russia. Russia is one of the hottest places in the world for investment.”

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In the wake of allegations that Russia may have been behind the DNC email hack, Donald Trump said he hopes the Russians are able to access and release Hillary Clinton's past emails. Photo: AP

In the same deposition, a lawyer asked Mr. Trump about a newspaper report that quoted him saying that he would be “crazy” to invest in Russia.

Mr. Trump responded that he would never have said that because he wouldn’t want to invite the displeasure of a Russian politician since he hoped to do business there in the future.

Mr. Arif built Trump SoHo, giving Mr. Trump an ownership stake in exchange for the use of his name. Mr. Arif’s firm, Bayrock, counted Alexander Mashkevich, a billionaire in the metals industry whose business is based in Kazakhstan, as a key funding backer, according to a document reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Mashkevich, through a spokeswoman, declined to comment.

Mr. Trump has offered varying accounts of his relationship with Mr. Arif. In a 2007 deposition in a civil lawsuit, he said Mr. Arif was his primary contact at Bayrock, now defunct. In a 2011 deposition for a different lawsuit, he said he didn’t know Mr. Arif well.

In an interview with the Journal in May, Mr. Trump said he believed he came to know Bayrock through the late developer Tamir Sapir, who was an investor with Mr. Arif’s company in Trump SoHo.

Mr. Sapir, who emigrated from Georgia in the Soviet Union to New York in the 1970s, leveraged business ties in his home country to become a successful developer, according to his corporate biography. He was a booster of trade between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in the 1980s, which led him to become a foreign partner for Russia’s emerging oil industry.

In a speech in 2008, published in a trade publication, Mr. Trump’s son Eric said: “Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets,” including the SoHo project.

Mr. Arif couldn’t be reached for comment.

Mr. Trump’s partner in his Canadian project, Trump Toronto, is Alexander Shnaider, a Russian-born émigré who was until recently married to the daughter of Boris Birshtein, a Lithuanian-born international trader. Mr. Shnaider has said in interviews with Canadian media that his former father-in-law opened doors for him in the former Soviet Union and helped establish him in steel trading, where he made his fortune.

Mr. Shnaider’s spokesman said he had no desire to discuss Mr. Trump.

In his 2015 financial disclosure, Mr. Trump also reported that he made more than $2.5 million from an Azerbaijan deal that lent his name to a tower being developed by the son of an Azerbaijan government minister.

Write to Alexandra Berzon at alexandra.berzon@wsj.com, Alan Cullison at alan.cullison@wsj.comand Michael Rothfeld at michael.rothfeld@wsj.com

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How Russia Is Courting the Gulf
Tuesday August 2nd, 2016 at 1:34 PM

The National Interest

Since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, relations between Russia and the Gulf Cooperation Council have deteriorated sharply due to disagreements between both actors over thefuture of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Russia has strongly supported Assad, claiming that his Baathist regime is a bulwark against Islamic extremism. By contrast, the Saudi-led GCC has actively supported Assad’s ouster, as his demise would reduce Iran’s regional influence. This discord, combined with a Russian-Saudi oil-price war, has caused many Middle East experts to argue that Russia-GCC relations are at a historic nadir.

A closer examination of geopolitical dynamics in the Middle East reveals that growing perceptions of a crisis in Russia-GCC relations are misplaced. In fact, a credible case can be made that Russia’s geopolitical influence and soft power in the Persian Gulf has increased since the start of President Vladimir Putin’s third term in 2012. Through stronger investment linkages and diplomatic overtures, Russia has attempted to carve out a more prominent geopolitical role in the Persian Gulf. Russia is unlikely to threaten Saudi Arabia’s hegemony over the GCC bloc. But stronger relations between Moscow and Saudi Arabia’s closest allies have caused some GCC countries to be more receptive to Russia’s calls for a political solution in Syria. Saudi Arabia’s fear of being isolated from the Arab world’s consensus could cause Riyadh to eventually soften its belligerent anti-Assad approach and diplomatically reengage with Russia. This scenario differs dramatically from the Russian-Saudi collision course predicted by many regional analysts.

Notwithstanding their disagreements over Syria, Russia has strengthened economic ties with Qatar, the UAE, Oman and Kuwait to balance against Saudi Arabia’s hegemony in the Persian Gulf. These economic linkages have been successful in resolving long-standing disputes that have impeded cooperation between Russia and the Gulf states for decades.

Russia’s economic overtures towards Qatar encapsulate how trade linkages can ameliorate deep-rooted hostilities. The assassination of prominent Chechen politician Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev in Doha in 2004, and Russian ambassador to Qatar Vitaly Churkin’s alleged threat to destroy Qatar in 2012, severely strained Putin’s relationship with the Qatari monarchy.

Yet Russia has attempted to find common ground with Qatar through energy sector cooperation. Russian energy giant Gazprom has expanded its cooperation with Qatargas on liquefied natural gas production.

When asked about the Russian energy minister’s calls for $500 million in annual trade between Moscow and Doha in June, Qatar’s Energy Minister Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada called for a significant expansion of bilateral economic cooperation at both the governmental and private-sector levels. Qatar’s long-standing strategy of omnibalancing to maximize its regional influence means that expanding economic ties with Russia is a rational move for Doha. Therefore, Russia has an opportunity to carve out an economic foothold in the Gulf country that has historically been the most hostile towards Moscow.

A similar pattern can be observed in Russia’s relationships with other Gulf countries. According to Evgeny Satanovsky, president of the Moscow-based Institute of the Middle East, Oman’s trade linkages are largely detached from broader geopolitical developments in the Middle East. This detachment has allowed Russian-Omani trade relations to grow from $13 million in 2010 to $100 million in 2014.

Investment linkages have strengthened Russia’s relationship with the UAE as well. Emirati businessmen have invested in facilities for the 2014 winter Olympic games in Sochi, assisted in the construction of a major port near St. Petersburg and cooperated with Rosneft in pipeline construction projects. These financial deals, combined with Russia’s historically robust partnership with Kuwait and increasingly close ties with Bahrain, have expanded Russia’s economic presence in Saudi Arabia’s backyard.

Despite a significant uptick in economic cooperation between Russia and the Gulf states, Moscow has struggled to develop reliable security partnerships in the GCC. These alliance-building struggles have caused many Saudi policymakers to view Russia as a marginal player in the Gulf. In a recent interview with GMU Professor Mark Katz, a leading expert on Russia’s Middle East strategy, Katz told me that before the Syrian crisis, Saudi Arabia viewed Russia’s policy in the Gulf as entirely mercenary. Therefore, many Saudi policymakers believed that they would be able to get Russia to comply with Riyadh’s preferences simply by outbidding Iran as a trade partner and purchasing Russian arms.

To demonstrate to Saudi Arabia and the international community that Russian diplomatic activities in the Gulf are not solely motivated by Moscow’s economic interests, Kremlin policymakers have actively engaged GCC countries on achieving a political resolution to the Syrian conflict that aligns with Russian objectives.

Oman and Kuwait are the GCC states that have been most willing to seriously consider Russia’s proposal for a political solution to the Syrian conflict that includes Assad. Oman’s position can be explained by its long-standing use of mediation to maximize its regional influence. Omani foreign minister Yusuf bin Alawi’s October 26 meeting with Assad, and the country’s active support for a U.S.-Iranian thaw during last year’s nuclear-deal negotiations, reveal how Muscat can increase its international status through diplomacy. While Oman remains a peripheral actor in the Gulf, the support of any GCC country is a victory from Russia’s standpoint, as it adds to a growing coalition of Arab League countries favoring a political solution in Syria.

Kuwait has carved out a unique role in the Syrian conflict by adopting a stance that meets both Saudi Arabia and Russia halfway. In line with the GCC consensus, Kuwait has expressed solidarity with Syrian rebel groups. As Daniel DePetris noted in a July 2013 article for the National Interest, Kuwaiti private donors have provided enthusiastic support for anti-Assad forces in Syria. But by mid-2015, Kuwait had also aligned with Russia by supporting an all-inclusive political solution to the Syrian conflict and implicitly criticizing Riyadh’s belligerent anti-Assad approach.

Even though the UAE’s stance on Syria has at times been ambiguous, Russia has made some progress towards achieving a Kuwait- and Oman-style bargain with Abu Dhabi. On June 3, 2016, the UAE’s Federal National Council speaker praised Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov’s active role in promoting peace negotiations in Syria. Senior UAE officials have also expressed openness to a settlement involving all major political actors in Syria, including President Assad. Abu Dhabi’s shift in position differs strikingly from Saudi policy in Syria, and demonstrates Russia’s ability to pry GCC states away from Riyadh’s hegemony.

By diplomatically engaging Oman, Kuwait and the UAE on Syria, Russia has created a coalition to balance against the Saudi-Qatari bloc that dominates the GCC. As escalated Russian diplomatic activity in the Gulf has corresponded with Moscow’s strengthening of ties with Algeria, Iraq and Egypt, Putin has attempted to shift the Arab League consensus in Russia’s favor. Should he succeed, Saudi Arabia and Qatar could risk regional isolation if they do not moderate their intransigent opposition to Assad.

Donald Trump Finds a Russian Policy He Won’t Defend
Tuesday August 2nd, 2016 at 1:14 PM

WASHINGTON — Donald J. Trump’s statements on Russia tend to follow a pattern. He will say something in support of the country, praising its leader or promising to realign some aspect of American policy to its benefit. Foreign policy experts will express outrage, and Mr. Trump, ever defiant, will refuse to budge.

But on Monday, he found a Russian policy he could not support: the country’s aggression againstUkraine, including its 2014 annexation of Crimea.

It began on Sunday, when Mr. Trump said of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, “He’s not going into Ukraine, O.K., just so you understand.”

When pressed, he added: “O.K., well, he’s there in a certain way. But I’m not there.”

The muddled comments left analysts to guess at Mr. Trump’s meaning. Given his record of defending Russia, it seemed possible he was toeing the Kremlin line on Ukraine.

But on Monday, Mr. Trump said he had meant that, if he became president, his leadership would deter Russia from further meddling, a position consistent with his past statements.

That he for once backed out of a controversy, rather than embracing it, underscores how much Russia’s actions in Ukraine outraged world leaders: Even Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly stated his desire to work with Russia, will not defend them.

What happened in Crimea

Russia’s interference in Ukraine began in February 2014, after Ukrainian protesters toppled the pro-Kremlin president.

With Ukraine in chaos, Russia deployed a small number of special forces out of uniform to the Crimean Peninsula. The Russian state news media blanketed the region with false reports that Ukrainian neo-Nazis were coming to cleanse Crimea of ethnic Russians, who are a majority there. Local pro-Kremlin groups agitated to secede to Russia.

The Russian forces, posing as local self-defense militias, seized key buildings and transit points, putting the region under an unannounced Russian occupation. A few days later, Mr. Putin sent in regular troops to restore order, as he described it. Crimea held an unmonitored referendum on leaving Ukraine to join Russia, which formally annexed the territory in March. Only a month later did Mr. Putin acknowledge that the “militias” had been Russian troops.

The annexation set the tone for Russia’s continuing intervention in Ukraine, blending 21st-century “hybrid” warfare methods — disinformation, deniable proxy forces, cyberattacks — with imperial power politics more typical of the 19th century.

It was the first successful war of territorial conquest since 1976, when Morocco annexed part of the Spanish colonial territory now known as Western Sahara, and it was the only one in Europe sinceWorld War II. Russia violated one of the most central norms of the postwar global order — that states would no longer seize one another’s territory — horrifying world leaders who see that norm as crucial for upholding peace.

Mr. Trump may have been correct when he said, “The people of Crimea, from what I’ve heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were.” But the point is that such matters are, in this century, meant to be decided democratically, not by a military conquest shrouded in deception.

This may be why Mr. Trump, for all his praise of Mr. Putin, could not back him on Crimea.

The United States and the European Union placed severe sanctions on Russia to punish it for the annexation, but its meddling in Ukraine did not end.

The continuing war

Within a few weeks, pro-Russian separatist rebels began seizing towns in southeastern Ukraine, which has close cultural and political ties to Russia. Mr. Putin armed the rebels, independent analysts and Western intelligence agencies concluded, setting off a full-blown war.

While it initially appeared that Mr. Putin might be tempted to repeat his Crimea strategy in eastern Ukraine, he instead demanded that the region be given special autonomy, which would preserve Russian influence there. He stationed troops along Ukraine’s borders, hinting that he might invade to “protect” the region’s Russian speakers if Ukrainian troops tried to restore order.

When Ukraine tried exactly that over the summer, the once ragtag separatist rebels were suddenly seen operating heavy weapons systems, including powerful surface-to-air missiles. On July 17, 2014, a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet was shot down over rebel-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine, killing all 283 people on board.

Western leaders and analysts, furious with what they saw as a reckless Russian policy of arming rebels with equipment they did not know how to use, pushed for Ukraine to retake the rebel-held territory once and for all.

Many people expected that the downing of the plane would so embarrass Moscow that it would have to drop its support for the rebels and agree to peace efforts. Instead, Russia deepened its involvement: Under the cover of an “aid convoy” into Ukraine, Russian troops, tanks and artillerystreamed across the border, according to NATO officials.

Ukrainian troops captured young Russian men who said they were government troops ordered to invade, and Western intelligence agencies released satellite images showing what appeared to be a significant Russian invasion. Mr. Putin angrily denied that anything of the sort was occurring.

The Russian troops and tanks, having prevented Ukraine from retaking its territory, eventually receded. But the conflict has continued at a low boil ever since, sometimes eased temporarily by peace talks or cease-fires that never seem to go anywhere. Analysts suspect that Mr. Putin wants to maintain a “frozen conflict” to keep Ukraine, which has shifted to favor the West, weak and susceptible to Russian interference.

It shows the severity of this conflict, and the degree to which Moscow has appalled Western leaders, that Mr. Trump — for all his love of crossing the normal lines of political discourse — felt that defending it, even tacitly, would be going too far.

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Russia continues to shadow Trump
Tuesday August 2nd, 2016 at 1:07 PM

In the past week, the Republican presidential nominee has been pilloried for his comments expressing openness to Russia's annexation of Crimea, has called on the Russian government to share emails it possibly hacked from Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and drawn rebukes from critics who say he's soft on a traditional US adversary.

Former CIA Director Michael Hayden became the latest heavyweight in the George W. Bush administration to lash out at Trump when he criticized the candidate Monday night for making conflicting statements about his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I recognize that flexibility and creativity might actually be good selling used cars and selling real estate, but when you want to be the head of an international superpower, precision and consistency are really important," Hayden told CNN's Erin Burnett.

Hayden's comments come after Trump told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that he has no relationship with Putin -- a remark that conflicted with Trump's long history of saying the opposite and embracing Putin's praise for his candidacy.

And a

new CNN/ORC poll

finds that most Americans see the Russian leader differently, with nearly 6-in-10 viewing the country as unfriendly, and about half saying they think the Russian government is attempting to influence the outcome of the US presidential election.

President Barack Obama, speaking Tuesday at a White House news conference, said Russia's potential hacking of the DNC wouldn't necessarily prompt a complete freeze in relations between the the country and the United States.

Noting the FBI was still investigating the hack, Obama said cybersecurity was just another dispute on a long list between himself and Putin.

"If, in fact, Russia engaged in this activity, it's just one on a long list of issues that me and Mr. Putin talk about," Obama said. "I don't think that it wildly swings what is a tough, difficult relationship that we have with Russia right now."

The debate over Trump's sympathy for Putin or take on world affairs is more than an esoteric squabble over foreign policy, experts said. By calling into question established structures and alliances that have held since World War II, Trump is unsettling allies and encouraging potential instability that inevitably draws the US to intervene.

Donald Trump: Russia will not move on Ukraine

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In his "This Week" appearance, Trump also echoed Moscow's claim that Crimeans welcomed Russia's annexation and seemed to suggest that Russia hadn't entered Ukraine at all, telling host George Stephanopolous, "The people of Crimea, from what I've heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were."

As for Putin's foray into Ukraine, Trump said, "He's not going into Ukraine, Okay, just so you understand. He's not going to go into Ukraine, all right?"

"Well, he's already there, isn't he?" Stephanopolous replied.

Sunday's exchange came in the wake of an alleged Russian computer hack of the Democratic National Committee -- seen as an unprecedented foreign effort to interfere in a modern US election -- and Trump's own call to Russia, which he later described as "sarcastic," to help find deleted emails sent by Clinton.

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And the associations that his staffers have with Russian businesses and pro-Moscow interests complicates the campaign's efforts to push back against criticism on the subject and fend off questions about the Trump team's motivations.

Trump adviser Carter Page has extensive dealings with Gazprom, the Russian state-run energy company with strong ties to Putin and his inner circle. Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort consulted for former Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovich, a key Putin ally, until his ouster in February 2014. In the chaotic aftermath, Russian-backed separatists seized the Crimea, a Ukrainian territory that Moscow later annexed.

In this context, Trump's comments expressing admiration for Putin are unsettling, said Evelyn Farkas, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia.

Trump's comments seemingly excusing Russia's invasion of Crimea throw into question his commitment to a system that has built a relatively peaceful and prosperous post-war order, said Farkas, now a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. At a time when Russia as abrogated arms control treaties and its planes are buzzing US ships in the Baltic Sea, Trump has praised Putin as a canny leader who he respects.

Since the end of WWII, there has been an existing consensus among nations that borders should not be altered by force. Russia has deviated from that twice, in Georgia in 2008 and again in Ukraine.

"The international system is set up the way it is, and has provided relative peace and prosperity for decades," Farkas said. "To violate that is shocking and the bipartisan response has been 'this can't stand.' "

"The whole reason we have alliances like these is to deter countries like Russia from laying a finger on our allies. It's a way to prevent war, plain and simple," Farkas said.

Ukrainian Ambassador to the US Valeriy Chaly echoed Farkas' point Monday, telling CNN that while he didn't want to get involved in US election politics, Trump's comments concerned him.

"We count United States will be predictable, will have predictable leadership and predictable foreign policy," Chaly said.

Tal Kopan contributed to this report.

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War With Russia Looms, Says Former NATO General in New Book
Tuesday August 2nd, 2016 at 12:43 PM

Newsweek

The first female president of the United States faces her first major international conflict: Seeking to consolidate the Slavic nations of Eastern Europe, Russia has seized the three Baltic states—Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia—all members of NATO. That requires a response beyond just a caustic tweet or sharply worded press release. For the first time since the Cuban missile crisis, there is serious talk of nuclear war.

This is the basis of 2017 War with Russia, the unsettling new book by General Sir Richard Shirreff, who retired in 2014 as NATO’s deputy supreme commander of Europe, as well as its highest-ranking British officer. Although 2017 is technically a novel, this “future history” is really just a war game on the printed page, its preoccupations much closer to those of von Clausewitz and Churchill than those of Woolf or Wordsworth. Shirreff’s book is subtitled “An urgent warning from senior military command,” and he makes plain in his introduction that the novel’s primary intention is to convey the urgency of containing Russian President Vladimir Putin. He likens today’s Mother Russia to Germany in the late 1930s, when it seized the Sudetenland in brazen contravention of established borders. War-weary Europe let the matter slide, hoping that talk of a Thousand Year Reich was just bluster.

“I’m worried, very worried, that we’re sleepwalking into something absolutely catastrophic,” Shirreff tells me, speaking on a Friday evening from his home in Hampshire, in the bucolic country outside of London. A graduate of Oxford who served in the British army, with deployments in the Middle East and the Balkans, he is not a natural writer, so the judgment of the Financial Times—that this is a “literary disaster”—is not as stinging as it might otherwise be, since that same review praised Shirreff’s grim geopolitical vision as one of “profound importance.” 2017 is an unabashedly didactic work, a real-life warning with the bold-faced names changed.

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The novel opens with the Russians staging an attack on a school in Donetsk, the breakaway region of the Ukraine controlled by pro-Kremlin separatists since 2014. Close to 100 children are killed, and Ukrainian forces are blamed, thus giving the Russians the perfect pretext for further aggression.Russia used a similar ploy—the bombing of several apartment buildings in Moscow in 1999—to begin the first Chechen War. But let’s not give Putin too much credit: He likely learned the tactic from Hitler, who was probably behind the Reichstag fire of 1933, which allowed the Nazis to eliminate political opponents before moving on to more grandiose aims.

A member of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic forces stands guard near buildings destroyed during battles with Ukrainian armed forces, at Donetsk airport, Ukraine, June 1. Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

The Ukrainian operation is only the start. Putin—his identity is very lightly disguised by Shirreff, as is that of Hillary Clinton, though he says she wasn’t necessarily his model for the American president—has his eyes on the Baltics, which Russia has long regarded as its birthright. The Kremlin is bolstered by a conviction that Western Europe and the United States will do anything to avoid the use of force. “The West may have great economic capability, but they think only of social welfare,” one Kremlin adviser says in 2017. “They have forgotten to stand up for themselves.”

When I spoke to Shirreff, he lamented the ease with which Russia invaded both Georgia (2008) and the Ukraine (2014). “That was a slick, very professionally executed operation,” he says of the conquest of Crimea, one that Putin may well try to replicate in the Baltics, given how little genuine resistance he encountered from the West two years ago. “Russia despises weakness and respects strength,” Shirreff tells me. It’s no accident that, every few months, the nation goes agog over images of Putin, stolid and shirtless, wrestling a bear or cuddling with a Siberian tiger.

Until a few weeks ago, most American readers of 2017 would not have thought twice about the preface by James Stavridis, the now-retired American admiral who served as the NATO Supreme Commander of Europe. But in July, media outlets reported that Stavridis was being seriously considered by Clinton as her vice presidential candidate. If he is to serve as an advisory role in her presidency, his view of Russia would be useful. And as presented here, that view is utterly unambiguous: “Of all the challenges America faces on the geopolitical scene in the second decade of the 21st century, the most dangerous is the resurgence of Russia under President Putin.” When Mitt Romney said as much during his 2012 presidential bid, he was mocked for stoking anachronistic Cold War fears. “The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back,” President Obama said glibly of Romney’s warning.

But the 1980s actually saw the rise of nuclear disarmament, as well as a broader thawing of Russo-American relations. This moment, the one we live in, feels closer to the 1960s, with American missile defense shields rising in the former Soviet bloc countries of Romania and Poland, as well as military exercises that seem like preparations for the real deal. Annoyed by such exercises in Eastern Europe conducted by NATO, a Kremlin senior official put the matter as bluntly as one of Shirreff’s characters: “If NATO initiates an encroachment—against a nuclear power like ourselves—it will be punished.” This kind of bluster could easily have come from the Kremlin of Khrushchev, as both sides prepared for mutual assured destruction.

I spoke to Shirreff just days after hackers universally believed to be associated with the Kremlin broke into the servers of the Democratic National Committee, a breach the director of national intelligence called “a version of war” (though he also tried to temper suggestions that Russia was at fault). Donald Trump openly encouraged further such incursions, as long they helped his quest for the White House.

When I first spoke with Shirreff, he declined to comment on Trump’s overtures to the Kremlin, but by the next morning, he’d changed his mind and sent me an email that said, in part: “What could suit Putin better than to embarrass the Democrats and so propel into the White House a candidate who has undermined NATO’s doctrine of collective defence by raising questions over America’s willingness to support an ally if attacked?” He was referring to Trump’s suggestion that the United States would not come to the aid of NATO allies who hadn’t made the requisite defense expenditures.

Russian warships sail past exploding anti-missile ordnance during a rehearsal for the Navy Day parade in the far eastern port of Vladivostok, Russia, July 30. Yuri Maltsev/Reuters

It is far more likely, according to most projections, that the next president will be Clinton, a longtime foe of Putin who has shown a willingness to use American force abroad. Shirreff believes that nuclear war with Russia is a possibility: Kaliningrad, a region of Russia that borders the Baltic States, now serves as a growing repository for both conventional and nuclear weapons, including Iskander missile systems that have nuclear capability and a range of 300 miles. These could be fired at the West—and will be, if Putin finds Russia’s borders with Europe threatened. Of course, if he invades the Baltics, such a counterattack would be required by the “collective defense” doctrine of the North Atlantic Treaty, known as Article 5. “If NATO goes to war with Russia,” Shirreff says, “that means nuclear war.”

His solution is paradoxical: a show of strength and unity by NATO that would discourage any offensive moves on Russia’s part, so that NATO’s strength would never be tested. In other words, frighten Russia into acceptable, rational-actor behavior. Shirreff adds that Trump is “absolutely right” about many European nations failing to meet their financial obligations to NATO, even if the failed casino magnate couched his criticism in undue threats about abandoning treaty commitments. “Europe needs to step up to the mark,” Shirreff says.

He also says the West needs to commit once more to a dialogue with Russia. That’s made harder by the fact that Russia is always sensitive to lectures from the West, resentful about perceived condescension from Europe and the U.S. Still, stony silence is unlikely to bring a resolution. “Communication” is what Shirreff hopes for, not war. “But it’s gotta be backed up by strength.”

Read the whole story

· · · · ·

Why Did Russia Send ‘The Terminator’ on a Humanitarian Mission in Syria? - The Daily Beast
Tuesday August 2nd, 2016 at 12:36 PM

Duel Purpose

08.01.16 5:30 PM ET

Why Did Russia Send ‘The Terminator’ on a Humanitarian Mission in Syria?

Russia’s Defense Ministry says the aircraft was returning from a ‘humanitarian cargo’ mission. If so, it was a strange model to use.

While we don’t yet know which rebel group shot down a Russian military helicopter in Syria today, killing all five on board, photographic and video evidence of the wreckage reveals that what Russia is presenting as a pacific tool of humanitarian aid was in fact an assault craft rigged with rocket pods.

According to General Sergei Rudskoy, the helicopter had been returning to the Russian-operated Hmeemeem Air Base, in the coastal province of Latakia, after delivering food and medical supplies to Aleppo when it was shot down by “ground fire.” He also claimed that the area where the copter crashed, near the city of Saraqeb, is controlled by Jabhat al-Nusra, the former name of al-Qaeda’s official franchise in Syria.

Yet no rebel group has yet claimed credit for the downing.

The bodies of two of the crew were abused on camera, being dragged around and stamped on by Syrians surveying the wreckage, according to a video uploaded to YouTube by the Thiqa Agency, which appears to be a Syrian news-gatherer that began covering the war four months ago.

Photos of the passports and other documents belonging to the crew have appeared online, one of them identifying an Oleg Shelamov from Torzhok. This man has beentracked by the Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT), a group of independent Russian investigative bloggers, to a military unit in Klin that operated the type of helicopter that was downed. He was the pilot.

According to General Rudskoy, the two passengers on board were officers from the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria, a Potemkin peace-building initiative meant to lend a gloss of humanitarianism to the Kremlin’s war for Assad.

However, the Russian Defense Ministry’s insistence that this helicopter was not involved in a combat mission, particularly given the Russia Air Force’s punishing campaign in Aleppo, is complicated by the identified make and model. The wreckage reveals a Mil Mi-8AMTSh, according to Joseph Dempsey of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and the CIT.

The Mil Mi8-AMTSh, nicknamed “the Terminator,” is an assault variant of the veteran transport helicopter, equipped with multiple hard points for carrying missiles and unguided rockets. In several videos of the wreckage we can see a B-8V20A rocket pod.

Nic Jenzen-Jones of Armament Research Services (ARES), an Australia-based weapons monitoring group, told The Daily Beast:

“In this case, the Mi-8 AMTSh appears to have been fitted with two B-8V20A rocket pods, each capable of carrying 20 80 mm S-8 rockets. From the images available so far, it is not clear whether the rocket pods were loaded. The helicopter in question was also equipped with the Prezident-S electronic countermeasures suite, designed to warn and protect the aircraft against anti-aircraft threats emanating from the ground, as well as naval and aerial platforms.”

If the rocket pods were empty, then the helicopter either took off unarmed—rather inadvisable in a war zone—or had fired all of its munitions before crash-landing.

While it’s not uncommon for helicopter gunships to be repurposed for noncombat missions, such as medical evacuations, Moscow says this aircraft was delivering humanitarian cargo. Archival footage shows demonstrably cramped quarters inside the “Terminator” for the transport of crates of food and medicine, even absent two passengers.

Christopher Harmer, a military analyst at the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for the Study of War, told The Daily Beast, “To a far greater extent than the United States, Russian transport helicopters are designed for dual use in an attack role. The Mi-8 was originally designed as medium-lift utility transport but the Russians use it extensively as an attack helicopter. This particular model may have been selected so that they could portray the mission as humanitarian in nature, but the overwhelming majority of Russian rotary-wing operations in Syria are attack missions.”

As Jenzen-Jones noted, this is not the first of the type to be blown up in Syria.

On November 24, a Mi-8AMTSh was destroyed on the ground by fighters from the First Coastal Division of the Free Syrian Army using a U.S.-made TOW missile, killing one Russian marine. The helicopter had been taking part in the search and rescue effort to recover the navigator from the Russian Sukhoi Su-24 bomber that was shot down by Turkish fighters earlier that day.

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mikenova shared this story from ThereAreNoSunglasses. Current air traffic over Incirlik Air Base. Trucks lined-up to enter Incirlik 1,000s Turkish forces surround NATO’s Incirlik air base for ‘inspection’ amid rumors of coup attempt A mi...

» U.S. wrestles with how to fight back against cyberattacks - WITN - WITN
01/08/16 08:09 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from James R. Clapper Jr. - Google News. WITN U.S. US wrestles with how to fight back against cyberattacks - WITN WITN It has been an open secret throughout the Obama presidency that world powers have escalated...

» Sophisticated spy malware found on Russian government computers
01/08/16 08:08 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from intelNews.org. According to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), a meticulously coded and sophisticated virus has been found on the computer networks of at least 20 major Russian agencies and organi...

» Dave Solomon's State House Dome: Should mentally ill be subject to gun-buyer background checks? - The Union Leader
01/08/16 07:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from fbi aclu report - Google News. The Union Leader Dave Solomon's State House Dome: Should mentally ill be subject to gun-buyer background checks? The Union Leader THE CONTROVERSIAL question of whether court-...

» Tackling Cyber Espionage
01/08/16 07:53 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Defense News - Home. Michael Daly, Chief Technology Officer for Cybersecurity at Raytheon discusses battling the increase in cyber espionage.

» Defense Chops of the VP Candidates
01/08/16 07:53 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Defense News - Home. Robert Levinson of Bloomberg Government discusses defense qualifications of the presidential candidate's vice president choices with Defense News Congress Reporter Joe Gould. &#...

» DEBKA: Assad owes his mounting war gains to 5 plus points
01/08/16 07:52 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from DEBKAFile. July 31, 2016, 9:00 AM (IDT) The strides made by the armies of Bashar Assad, Hizballah and Iran in the Aleppo arena and on the Damascus periphery have dropped the Syrian insurgency on a downward...

» Turkey again locks down US airmen, jets, nuclear arms in Incirlik
01/08/16 07:51 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from DEBKAFile. July 31, 2016, 10:35 AM (IDT) Some 7,000 armed Turkish police with heavy vehicles have surrounded and blocked the Incirlik Air Base in Adana, locking in some 1,500 US air crew personnel for the ...

» The CIA's guide to what women want - Tech Insider - Tech Insider
01/08/16 07:50 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from cia - Google News. Tech Insider The This is the CIA's guide to what women want - Tech Insider Tech Insider Since the CIA wants more women within its ranks, the spy agency had to figure out what women reall...

» The Mystery of Jane Wallis Burrell: The First CIA Officer To Die in the ... - smallwarsjournal (blog)
01/08/16 07:49 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from cia - Google News. The Mystery of Jane Wallis Burrell: The First CIA Officer To Die in the ... smallwarsjournal (blog) On January 6, 1948, an Air France DC-3 from Brussels crashed on approach to the Le Bou...

» CIA chief talks social media for spies, government role on Internet at ... - Colorado Springs Gazette
01/08/16 07:49 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from cia - Google News. SOFREP (press release) (subscription) Aljazeera.com CIA chief talks social media for spies, government role on Internet at ... Aspen seminar Colorado Springs Gazette ASPEN - In a rare pu...

» ISIS: Putin, We’re coming for you!
01/08/16 07:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from DEBKAFile. August 1, 2016, 8:14 AM (IDT) The Islamic State (ISIS) Sunday released a nine-minute video on YouTube calling on adherents to carry out jihad in Russia. "Listen Putin, we will come to ...

» Moscow confirms downing of Russian helicopter in Syria
01/08/16 07:40 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from DEBKAFile. August 1, 2016, 1:19 PM (IDT) The Russian Defense Ministry stated Monday that it is investigating the fate of “three crew members and two reconciliation center officers who were aboar...

» Five Russians killed in downed helicopter over Idlib, Syria
01/08/16 07:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from DEBKAFile. August 1, 2016, 2:05 PM (IDT) Three Russian crew members and two officers were killed when a Russian military chopper was shot down from the ground in Syrian rebel-held Idlib, the Kremlin said M...

» The Latest: Russian Helicopter Shot Down in Syria - New York Times
01/08/16 07:33 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. CNN The Latest: Russian Helicopter Shot Down in Syria New York Times A Saudi Morals Enforcer Called for a More Liberal Islam. Then the Death Threats Began. Where CPR on a Boy Is ...

» The Briefing: Putin's Purge
01/08/16 07:29 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. On this week's Power Vertical Briefing, we look at the fallout and implications of last week's massive shake-up of regional and federal elites in Russia.

» Venezuela authorities warn opposition over three banned lawmakers
01/08/16 07:02 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan authorities over the weekend admonished the opposition-run National Assembly for reinstating three lawmakers banned over fraud accusations, heightening t...

» At NYC Trump Tower, Amusement and Debate Unfold in Monument to Luxury
01/08/16 06:58 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. While New York City has often elected Republican mayors, and members of Congress and Senate, it has not supported a Republican candidate for president since 1924, the year the United Stat...

» Obama pointing to strides in veterans' health care
01/08/16 06:56 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from AP Top News at 6:06 a.m. EDT. WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is touting strides in reducing homelessness among military veterans as his administration reaches the halfway point in building a mas...

» Russian helicopter shot down in Syria
01/08/16 06:46 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from BBC News - World. A Russian helicopter with five people on board has been shot down by rebels in northern Syria, Russian military officials say.

» The Latest: Russian helicopter shot down in Syria
01/08/16 06:46 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from World. The Latest on the developments in the war in Syria (all times local):

» The Kremlin factor in the White House race, Opinion News & Top Stories
01/08/16 04:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . LONDON • If current media allegations are to be believed, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his intelligence services are now behind any major crisis in the Western world. It was Russia, allegedly, w...

» Trump adviser: Melania nude picture...
31/07/16 19:38 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from trump - Google News. Trump adviser: Melania nude picture "nothing to be embarrassed about" CNNMoney - ‎4 hours ago‎ A key adviser to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump says ther...

» Zika Cases in Puerto Rico Are Skyrocketing
31/07/16 16:14 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . In February, the governor’s office and the health department announced ambitious battle plans . Millions of old tires where mosquitoes breed would be collected. Cemeteries would be drained of standing w...

» Melania Trump’s Nude Picture Released – Is This How Potential First Lady Will Be?
31/07/16 16:05 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The Inquisitr News. If Donald Trump will become the next President of United States, then his third wife and former model Melania Trump is going to be the next First Lady. Like her husband, Melania’s...

» Nude Photos of Melania Trump Are A Distraction & Here's Why
31/07/16 16:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . A set of lightly censored nude photos of Melania Trump were published online by The New York Post on Saturday. The pictures are from Trump's former modeling career, taken in 1996, and were originally publishe...

» After Trump insults mother of slain soldier, NY Post distracts with nudes of Melania
31/07/16 15:58 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Death and Taxes. On Saturday night, many a male gaze tilted towards the website of the New York Post after they published an exclusive titled “Melania Trump like you’ve never se...

» Spread of Zika Virus in Puerto Rico Accelerates
30/07/16 21:08 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . The speed at which the Zika virus is spreading in Puerto Rico has accelerated sharply, according to new federal data, complicating already difficult efforts to prevent thousands of pregnant women in the terri...

» Arrested Afghan cleric defends marriage to six-year-old girl, saying she was a 'religious offering'
30/07/16 19:13 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News. None

» Власти Крыма рассказали о тренировочных лагерях ИГИЛ на юге Украины - РБК
30/07/16 19:10 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. Комсомольская правда Власти Крыма рассказали о тренировочных лагерях ИГИЛ на юге Украины РБК У северных границ Крыма со стороны Украины расположены тренировочные лагеря запрещенной...

» «Коммерсантъ» назвал уволившихся из-за дела Шакро Молодого следователей - РБК
30/07/16 19:09 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. РБК «Коммерсантъ» назвал уволившихся из-за дела Шакро Молодого следователей РБК Руководитель управления СКР по ЦАО Алексей Крамаренко и несколько его подчиненных были уволены из ор...

» СМИ: с американской военной базы в Штутгарте украли оружие - РИА Новости
30/07/16 19:09 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. РИА Новости СМИ: с американской военной базы в Штутгарте украли оружие РИА Новости МОСКВА, 30 июл — РИА Новости. С американской военной базы Panzer Caserne в Штутгарте украли писто...

» Trump is Putin’s ‘Most Useful Idiot’ Because He Believes What He Says, Piontkovsky Says
30/07/16 19:07 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Window on Eurasia -- New Series. Paul Goble Staunton, July 30 – Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for US president, is Vladimir Putin...

» At Least 16 Die in Crash of Hot Air Balloon in Texas
30/07/16 19:06 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. At least 16 people were killed early Saturday morning in the crash of a hot air balloon in Texas, officials said. A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said the balloon caug...

» Turkish President Erdogan to drop charges against all accused of insulting him
30/07/16 19:05 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The Independent - Europe. 'For one time only, I will be forgiving and withdrawing all cases against the many disrespects and insults that have been levelled against me'

» Turkey coup attempt: Government cancels 50,000 passports amid international concern over crackdown
30/07/16 19:05 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The Independent - Europe. President Erdogan hit out at the European Union after it raised concerns

» Donald Trump and Russia: a web that grows more tangled all the time
30/07/16 19:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia | The Guardian. Frank Mermoud, a key figure at the recent Republican national convention, has strong business ties with Ukraine – the latest in a series of Trump staffers with worrying links to Russ...

» US military plane makes emergency landing on Russian airstrip - CNN
30/07/16 19:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. CNN US military plane makes emergency landing on Russian airstrip CNN Washington (CNN) At the same time that political tensions between Washington and Moscow were raging this week, th...

» After Hacking Claims, Here's The View From Russia On The US Campaign - NPR
30/07/16 19:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. NPR After Hacking Claims, Here's The View From Russia On The US Campaign NPR Russia is indignant about allegations that it was involved in hacking the Democratic National Committee an...

» Russia Deploys Biological Weapons In the War on Christmas - Gawker
30/07/16 19:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Gawker Russia Deploys Biological Weapons In the War on Christmas Gawker A heatwave sweeping across western Russia's Yamal tundra, above the Arctic circle, has triggered an outbreak of...

» Russia has motive, capability and form for US email hack - Reuters
30/07/16 19:02 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Reuters Russia has motive, capability and form for US email hack Reuters President Vladimir Putin said in February he had seen specific intelligence suggesting Russia's foreign enemie...

» Donald Trump's ties to Russia explained - CNNMoney
30/07/16 19:02 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. CNNMoney Donald Trump's ties to Russia explained CNNMoney The head of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign suggested the hack and subsequent leak of the emails was carried out by R...

» How entangled with Russia is Trump? - Washington Post
30/07/16 19:02 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Washington Post How entangled with Russia is Trump? Washington Post Be the first to know about new stories from PowerPost. Sign up to follow, and we'll e-mail you free updates as they...

» Computer Systems Used by Clinton Campaign Are Said to Be Hacked, Apparently by Russians - New York Times
30/07/16 19:02 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. NEWS.com.au Computer Systems Used by Clinton Campaign New York Times Clinton Campaign Computers Are Said to Be Hacked, Apparently by Russians New York Times Souvenirs at a Clinton ral...

» Gang leader who fought with ISIS in Syria, killed in Southern Russia – antiterrorism committee - RT
30/07/16 19:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. RT Gang leader who fought with ISIS in Syria, killed in Southern Russia – antiterrorism committee RT Some parts of southern Russia have a long-term insurgency problem fueled by foreig...

» Experts wary about China's new coziness with Russia in the South China Sea - The Sydney Morning Herald
30/07/16 19:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. The Sydney Morning Herald Experts wary about China's new coziness with Russia in the South China Sea The Sydney Morning Herald The alarm should have sounded a couple of months ago whe...

» 20 Russian high-profile organizations attacked by spy malware in coordinated op – FSB - RT
30/07/16 19:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. RT 20 Russian high-profile organizations attacked by spy malware in coordinated op – FSB RT Computer networks of some 20 Russian state, defense, scientific and other high-profile orga...

» Donald Trump and Russia: a web that grows more tangled all the time - The Guardian
30/07/16 19:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. The Guardian Donald Trump and Russia : a web that grows more tangled all the time The Guardian The FBI is investigating, with all signs pointing to Russian involvement, though Moscow ...

» The NSA Is Likely 'Hacking Back' Russia's Cyber Squads - ABC News
30/07/16 18:59 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. ABC News The NSA Is Likely 'Hacking Back' Russia's Cyber Squads ABC News U.S. government hackers at the National Security Agency are likely targeting Russian government-linked hacking...

» If Russia Did Hack, How Should Obama Retaliate? - New York Times
30/07/16 18:52 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. New York Times If Russia Did Hack, How Should Obama Retaliate? New York Times So far, the administration has stopped short of publicly accusing the Russian government of President Vla...

» Russia May Have Done To US What They've Done In Europe For Years - Daily Caller
30/07/16 18:51 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Russia May Have Done To US What They've Done In Europe For Years Daily Caller Russia has morphed old school soviet “active measures” with cyber spying, to create one of the most effec...

» Donald Trump's ties to Russia explained - WGN-TV
30/07/16 18:51 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. WGN-TV Donald Trump's ties to Russia explained WGN-TV NEW YORK — Donald Trump is being accused of having business ties to Russia . In reality, he'd love to have them — but he hasn't s...

» Trump’s Thunderbolts
30/07/16 18:49 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia. The Republican presidential nominee responded to questions about the Democratic convention, including things said about him there.

» How to Counter the Putin Playbook
30/07/16 18:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia. Undermining democracies is part of Russia’s plan to extend its influence. The U.S. must push back.

» Why Putin Hates Hillary, the Meaning of Russia’s Doping Scandal, and the March of Siloviki
30/07/16 18:46 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Home - Institute of Modern Russia. In this week’s Western media highlights, Mark Galeotti argues in the Guardian that the doping scandal facing the Russian Olympic team is a symptom of the regime’s decline...

» Turkey Releases Over 800 Soldiers After Failed Coup
30/07/16 18:45 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Turkish courts have released over 800 enlisted conscripts who were under arrest as part of the investigation into the July 15 failed coup, state media has reported.

» Владимир Путин в ходе словенского визита сильно изменил риторику в отношении НАТО - Газета.Ru
30/07/16 18:45 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. Газета.Ru Владимир Путин в ходе словенского визита сильно изменил риторику в отношении НАТО Газета.Ru Президент России открыл в Любляне памятник российским и советским воинам, поги...

» Russian News Group Walks Tightrope in Covering U.S. Election
30/07/16 18:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia. RT, formerly known as Russia Today, has long been scrutinized for being a propaganda outlet of sorts for the Putin government, which oversees its finances.

» Oleksandr Yefremov, former Head of Ukraine’s Party of Regions Faction, Arrested at Airport for Aiding LNR
30/07/16 18:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The Interpreter. Ukraine Day 894: LIVE UPDATES BELOW. Yesterday’s live coverage of the Ukraine conflict can be found here . READ OUR SPECIAL REPORT: An Invasion By Any Other Name: The Kremlin’s Dirty...

» After Alexander
30/07/16 18:37 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Washington Free Beacon. In 336 B.C., on the death of his father, Alexander the Great set out to conquer an empire—the largest empire the ancient world had ever known. It reached from Greece to India along ...

» US Provides Evidence Against Pakistan In India’s Pathankot Probe
30/07/16 18:35 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from ThereAreNoSunglasses. US dossier bares Pakistan’s role in Pathankot terror attack Neeraj Chauhan | TNN A file photo of NSG commandos guarding IAF base at Pathankot. NEW DELHI: In a boost to IndiaR...

» Army investigation found problems with soldier who became Dallas police killer
30/07/16 18:35 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Stars and Stripes. Two years before Micah Johnson gunned down five police officers in Dallas, an Army investigation into his service in Afghanistan revealed disquieting problems, including a grenade hidden...

» Putin tests West's sanctions resolve on visit to Slovenia
30/07/16 18:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Stars and Stripes. Russian President Vladimir Putin struck a conciliatory tone Saturday on a visit to Slovenia, shaking hands and honoring dead soldiers as he tested Western resolve in maintaining cripplin...

» Trump calls retired Marine officer who spoke for Clinton a 'failed general'
30/07/16 18:33 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Stars and Stripes. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Friday called retired Marine Gen. John Allen a "failed general" after the highly respected military veteran delivered a forceful endorseme...

» Russians suspected in 2nd Democratic breach - The Providence Journal
30/07/16 18:33 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from James R. Clapper Jr. - Google News. Toronto Star Russians suspected in 2nd Democratic breach The Providence Journal ... which would be an unprecedented and highly troubling turn of events. In May, Director...

» Russians suspected in hacking of Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - The Providence Journal
30/07/16 18:32 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from James R. Clapper Jr. - Google News. CBS News Los Angeles Times Russians suspected in hacking of Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee The Providence Journal ... which would be an unprecedented and hi...

» Reality check: The global flashpoints the candidates will see - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
30/07/16 18:32 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from James R. Clapper Jr. - Google News. Reality check: The global flashpoints the candidates will see Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The overviews of national security issues facing the United States, a custom since ...

» 'No hesitation' to brief Donald Trump on national security intelligence - The Sydney Morning Herald
30/07/16 18:32 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from James R. Clapper Jr. - Google News. The Sydney Morning Herald 'No hesitation' to brief Donald Trump on national security intelligence The Sydney Morning Herald However, America's Director of National Intel...

» US confronts a fine line in responding to cyberattacks - Alaska Dispatch News
30/07/16 18:32 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from James R. Clapper Jr. - Google News. US confronts a fine line in responding to cyberattacks Alaska Dispatch News Speaking at the Aspen forum Thursday, Clapper , while stepping around who conducted the hack,...

» FBI to complete handover of Clinton probe emails to State Dept. by Aug. 5 - Washington Post
30/07/16 18:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from james b. comey - Google News. Washington Post FBI to complete handover of Clinton probe emails to State Dept. by Aug. August 5 Washington Post On July 7, the Justice Department closed its investigation of ...

» Computer system used by Clinton campaign hacked, FBI investigating - Fox News
30/07/16 18:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from james b. comey - Google News. Fox News Computer system used by Clinton campaign hacked, FBI investigating Fox News The Justice Department declined to prosecute Clinton over her email practices, though FBI ...

» Crimea's Merger With Southern Russia Will Complicate West's Sanctions Game
30/07/16 18:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from GlobalSecurity.org. Russian authorities have announced that the special Crimean Federal District has been merged with the neighboring Southern Federal District. According to experts, the move, designed to ...

» Is America Facing a Police Crisis? - Wall Street Journal
30/07/16 18:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from fbi aclu report - Google News. Wall Street Journal Is America Facing a Police Crisis? Wall Street Journal Officers do not report on their colleagues, and prosecutors are averse to punishing people with who...

» FBI warns of senior citizens scams - KXII-TV
30/07/16 18:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from fbi - Google News. KXII-TV FBI warns of senior citizens scams KXII-TV DALLAS -- The FBI Dallas Division has received reports of a recent wave of scam attempts targeting senior citizens in North Texas -- pa...

» Clinton Campaign Turned Down FBI Help for Cyber-Attack Warning - Newsmax
30/07/16 18:29 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from fbi - Google News. Newsmax Clinton Campaign Turned Down FBI Help for Cyber-Attack Warning Newsmax The FBI warned Hillary Clinton's campaign that it was the target of a cyberattack five months ago, but was ...

» FBI Increases Efforts to Limit Identification of Mass Shooters - TWC News
30/07/16 18:29 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from fbi - Google News. TWC News FBI Increases Efforts to Limit Identification of Mass Shooters TWC News AUSTIN—Experts say some mass shooters commit their crimes simply for the notoriety, which is why the FBI ...

» FBI warned Clinton campaign last spring of cyberattack - WND.com
30/07/16 18:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from fbi - Google News. FBI warned Clinton campaign last spring of cyberattack WND.com (Yahoo!News) The FBI warned the Clinton campaign that it was a target of a cyberattack last March, just weeks before the De...

» FBI, Justice Department investigating cyberattacks on Democratic Party - CBS News
30/07/16 18:27 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from fbi - Google News. CBS News FBI , Justice Department investigating cyberattacks on Democratic Party CBS News CBS News correspondent Marlie Hall reports the FBI and Justice Department were investigating the...

» FBI expanding its hacking probe into a network used by Clinton campaign and other Democratic groups - Los Angeles Times
30/07/16 18:27 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from fbi - Google News. Los Angeles Times FBI expanding its hacking probe into a network used by Clinton campaign and other Democratic groups Los Angeles Times "The FBI is aware of media reporting on cyber...

» Ex-FBI Cyber Sleuth: DNC And Clinton Campaign Hack Part Of A Pattern - Forbes
30/07/16 18:26 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from fbi - Google News. Forbes Ex- FBI Cyber Sleuth: DNC And Clinton Campaign Hack Part Of A Pattern Forbes The hacks into the Democratic National Committee's computer networks are continuing to receive widespr...

» Former FBI agent doesn't deserve jail for lying at Bulger's trial, judge told - The Boston Globe
30/07/16 18:26 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from fbi - Google News. Former FBI agent doesn't deserve jail for lying at Bulger's trial, judge told The Boston Globe Former FBI supervisor Robert Fitzpatrick, who faces sentencing this week for lying on the s...

» Missile Defense Agency Needs To Fund More Research Into New Technologies, Ex-Director Says
30/07/16 18:25 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Defense News - Home. The Missile Defense Agency is facing a budget shortfall that could jeopardize research into next generation technology, a retired Air Force general said Friday. &#...

» Turkish prosecutor claims CIA, FBI trained coup plotters - RT
30/07/16 18:22 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from cia - Google News. RT Turkish prosecutor claims CIA , FBI trained coup plotters RT “The CIA and FBI provided training in several subjects to the cadre raised in the culture centers belonging to the Gulen m...

» Russia fears Pokemon Go is a CIA psyop to destabilize country - Destructoid
30/07/16 18:22 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from cia - Google News. Russia fears Pokemon Go is a CIA psyop to destabilize country Destructoid Playing Pokemon Go in Russia could land you in jail. The country is not taking well to Niantic and Nintendo's gl...

» CIA chief Brennan not optimistic about Syria's future as one country - Reuters
30/07/16 18:22 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from cia - Google News. Reuters CIA chief Brennan not optimistic about Syria's future as one country Reuters ASPEN, Colo. Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan said on Friday he was not optimistic a...

» CIA's Brennan: I don't know if Syria can be put back together - Reuters
30/07/16 18:21 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from cia - Google News. Reuters CIA's Brennan: I don't know if Syria can be put back together Reuters Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan said on Friday he was not optimistic about the future of S...

» Putin tests West’s sanctions resolve on visit to Slovenia
30/07/16 18:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from World. Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Slovenia, a member of both the European Union and NATO, testing Western unity in maintaining sanctions against the Kremlin for its role in Ukraine.

» Thousands, including PM, attends Stockholm’s gay pride march
30/07/16 18:00 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from World. Tens of thousands of people, including Sweden’s prime minister, have participated in Stockholm’s annual gay pride parade, walking along streets sprinkled with balloons and rainbow flags.

» French Church Attack: How Should Known Jihadis Be Tracked? - NBCNews.com
30/07/16 17:59 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from World - Google News. NBCNews.com French Church Attack: How Should Known Jihadis Be Tracked? NBCNews.com LONDON — France is facing questions over its monitoring of extremists after both of the attackers who...

» Navy Secretary Plans to Name Ship After Gay Rights Leader
30/07/16 17:58 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. The secretary of the Navy plans to name a new ship after a gay rights icon, according to a Navy official. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus sent a congressional notification July 14 stating...

» Hillary Clinton Campaign Reportedly Hacked - Daily Beast
30/07/16 17:57 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. Daily Beast Hillary Clinton Campaign Reportedly Hacked Daily Beast Hillary Clinton's campaign was hacked in a series of attacks on Democrat networks, sources tell Reuters. The ha...

» 3 Florida Wal-Mart employees charged in death of man suspected of shoplifting - Chicago Tribune
30/07/16 17:56 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. Chicago Tribune 3 Florida Wal-Mart employees charged in death of man suspected of shoplifting Chicago Tribune Authorities say three Florida Wal-Mart employees have been charged i...

» 90-year-old woman killed by alligator at South Carolina nursing home - wtvr.com
30/07/16 17:55 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. wtvr.com 90-year-old woman killed by alligator at South Carolina nursing home wtvr.com CHARLESTON, S.C. – A 90-year-old woman was found dead in a pond after she went missing from...

» Pressure Grows on Obama to Name DNC Hackers - Daily Beast
30/07/16 17:55 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. Politico Pressure Grows on Obama to Name DNC Hackers Daily Beast U.S. officials say the hackers who hit the DNC and Hillary Clinton campaigns are Russian. Lawmakers want the Whit...

» Clinton, Trump struggle for national security upper hand - Washington Post
30/07/16 17:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. Washington Post Clinton, Trump struggle for national security upper hand Washington Post WASHINGTON — In their struggle for the upper hand on national security, Hillary Clinton a...

» The execution of a former Turkish leader that still haunts Erdogan - Washington Post
30/07/16 17:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. Washington Post The execution of a former Turkish leader that still haunts Erdogan Washington Post ISTANBUL — In the shadow of medieval ramparts along the north of the old city l...

» Off-duty police officer shoots detective, flees to Ohio - USA TODAY
30/07/16 17:53 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. USA TODAY Off-duty police officer shoots detective, flees to Ohio USA TODAY An off-duty Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer shot a detective Friday night who was ...

» At least three dead after shooting in small Washington town - New York Daily News
30/07/16 17:52 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. New York Daily News At least three dead after shooting in small Washington town New York Daily News Cops and worried family members were on scene early Saturday morning after a s...

» The Democrats' Putin dilemma - Politico
30/07/16 17:51 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. Politico The Democrats' Putin dilemma Politico Donald Trump was the bogeyman of this week's Democratic national convention. But placing a close second to Trump was Russia's Presi...

» Woman who vanished from nursing home was killed by alligator, authorities say - Fox News
30/07/16 17:51 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. CBS News TIME Woman who vanished from nursing home was killed by alligator, authorities say Fox News A 90-year-old woman who was found dead in a South Carolina pond after disappe...

» Hot Air Balloon Crashes Carrying 16 in Texas, Likely No Survivors: Sheriff - NBCNews.com
30/07/16 17:50 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. NBCNews.com Hot Air Balloon Crashes Carrying 16 in Texas, Likely No Survivors: Sheriff NBCNews.com A hot air balloon with 16 people aboard caught fire and crashed Saturday in Cen...

» Tunisian lawmakers vote to dismiss prime minister Essid
30/07/16 17:49 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian lawmakers voted on Saturday to dismiss Prime Minister Habib Essid during a no-confidence ballot in parliament, clearing the way for a new government that mus...

» Hackers Attack Hillary Clinton's Presidential Campaign; Russia Suspected
30/07/16 17:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign has been hacked as part of a larger cyber attack against U.S. Democratic Party institutions, U.S. media reported on July 29.

» Russia Denies Plan To Seize Syria's Aleppo After Civilian Evacuation
30/07/16 17:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov denied allegations that Russia and Syria are preparing to storm Syria's Aleppo after clearing civilians out of the city und...

» Putin Will Seek To Divide Slovenia From EU On Sanctions During Visit
30/07/16 17:47 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Russian President Vladimir Putin will seek to exploit divisions within the European Union over sanctions imposed over its aggression in Ukraine as he visits Slovenia on J...

» Turkey Arrests 17 Journalists Linked To Gulen On 'Terror' Charges
30/07/16 17:47 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. An Istanbul court placed 17 Turkish journalists under arrest for links to Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the government blames for this month's failed coup.

» Lula, Brazil’s Ex-President, Will Face Trial on Obstruction Charges
30/07/16 17:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is accused of obstructing the investigation into the bribery scheme at Petrobras, the national oil company. His lawyers denied the charges.

» Canada Judge Rules That Police Entrapped Couple in Bomb Plot
30/07/16 17:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. John Nuttall and Amanda Korody embraced after a Supreme Court judge ordered their release saying the Canadian couple were entrapped in a police sting operation.

» Malaysia’s Leader, Dogged by a Billion-Dollar Scandal, Proves Untouchable
30/07/16 17:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia in 2013. Over the years, he has been accused of having ties to a murder, taking kickbacks and helping concoct a criminal prosecution against a politic...

» Erdogan tells West 'mind your own business' over crackdown criticism
30/07/16 17:40 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News. None

» Former Brazilian president Lula faces trial for obstruction of justice
30/07/16 17:40 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News. None

» Clinton campaign hit by computer hackers as suspicion falls on Russian spy agencies
30/07/16 17:40 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News. None

» Fighters from Dagestan flow into Syria to join the Islamic State
30/07/16 17:38 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News. None

» Russia cyber attack: Large hack 'hits government'
30/07/16 17:35 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from BBC News - World. A "professional" cyber attack hits Russian government bodies, the country's intelligence service says.

» Air balloon carrying 16 crashes in US
30/07/16 17:35 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from BBC News - World. A hot air balloon with 16 people on board crashes in Texas, US media reports.

» Canada judge frees couple in bomb case, citing entrapment
30/07/16 17:35 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. VANCOUVER (Reuters) - A Canadian judge freed a couple found guilty of planting homemade bombs at a crowded Canada Day holiday party in 2013, saying on Friday the "unsophisticated" pair...

» CIA chief Brennan not optimistic about Syria's future as one country
30/07/16 17:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. ASPEN, Colo. (Reuters) - Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan said on Friday he was not optimistic about the future of Syria.

» Turkey kills 35 militants after they try to storm base: officials
30/07/16 17:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkey's military killed 35 militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party after they attempted to storm a base in the southeastern Hakkari province early on...

» Russia says spyware found in state computer networks
30/07/16 17:32 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's intelligence service said on Saturday that the computer networks of 20 organizations, including state agencies and defense companies, have been infected wit...

» Many Islamic State leaders trying to flee to Syria: Iraqi minister
30/07/16 17:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Many Islamic State leaders have fled Mosul with their families toward Syria ahead of a planned offensive by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces on the city, Iraq's defense min...

» Nine people found dead near Pemex pipelines in western Mexico
30/07/16 17:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The state prosecutor's office in Mexico's western state of Michoacan said on Saturday that nine people were found dead near Pemex pipelines in the municipality ...

» Policing protests when the protest is about police
30/07/16 17:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from AP Top News at 4:41 p.m. EDT. ATLANTA (AP) -- The images offer a sharp contrast: In some places, police in SWAT gear wield batons or carry long guns as they patrol streets teeming with protesters. Elsewher...

» Army report: Grenade found in room of Dallas gunman in 2014
30/07/16 17:27 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from AP Top News at 4:41 p.m. EDT. DALLAS (AP) -- The Army reservist who killed five Dallas police officers had kept an unauthorized grenade in his room on an Afghanistan base in 2014, according to a report by ...

» Clinton, Trump struggle for national security upper hand
30/07/16 17:27 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from AP Top News at 4:41 p.m. EDT. WASHINGTON (AP) -- In their struggle for the upper hand on national security, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are emphasizing strikingly different themes - he as the bold and...

» Questions remain about killing of San Diego policeman
30/07/16 17:19 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from AP Top News at 4:41 p.m. EDT. SAN DIEGO (AP) -- San Diego police were trying to determine whether a shooting that killed a veteran officer and wounded another was a deliberate attack....

» What's safe? Europe grapples with security after attacks
30/07/16 17:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from AP Top News at 4:41 p.m. EDT. PARIS (AP) -- You can't put a guard in every church and patrol every beach. But after a wave of attacks in Western Europe, authorities are struggling to protect their...

» Officials believe no survivors in Texas balloon crash
30/07/16 17:17 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from AP Top News at 4:41 p.m. EDT. LOCKHART, Texas (AP) -- Authorities say there appear to be no survivors after a hot air balloon carrying at least 16 people caught on fire and crashed in Central Texas....

» City officials: 3 dead, 1 hurt in shooting north of Seattle
30/07/16 17:02 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from AP Top News at 4:41 p.m. EDT. MUKILTEO, Washington (AP) -- A gunman killed three and injured a fourth person early Saturday in a suburban Seattle home where young people had gathered, police said....

» Donald Trump Says He Has One of the 'Best Temperaments' of Any Presidential Candidate - ABC News
29/07/16 17:53 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. WKRN.com Donald Trump Says He Has One of the 'Best Temperaments' of Any Presidential Candidate ABC News Republican nominee Donald Trump told a crowd of supporters on Friday that ...

» Turkey's Powerful Spy Network Failed to See Coup Coming
29/07/16 17:53 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from WSJ.com: World News. Juggling terror threats from Islamic State and Kurdish separatists, Turkey’s vast intelligence service struggled to make sense of clues before plotters sprung to action on July 15.

» Obstacles Are for Conquering
29/07/16 17:27 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from United States Defense and Military Forces. Plans rearranged by an accident, a Naval Academy graduate plans life with a Marine.

» NATO Aspirant Georgia Still Defenseless After All These Years
29/07/16 17:27 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Eurasia Daily Monitor - The Jamestown Foundation. It was a summit of modest expectations and modest results for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Warsaw on July 8–9. These results are of an ...

» Russia’s Futuristic Military Plagued by Old Problems
29/07/16 17:26 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Eurasia Daily Monitor - The Jamestown Foundation. As Russia’s military operations continue unabated in Syria, despite an earlier order to commence withdrawing deployed forces, the conflict has certainly su...

» Trump transition tests outsider's governing ability
29/07/16 17:23 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from AP Top News at 5:10 p.m. EDT. WASHINGTON (AP) -- His status as a presidential nominee barely a week old, Donald Trump is already tasked with assembling a complex transition team capable of hiring thousands...

» Hillary Clinton will reset Syria policy against "murderous" Assad regime
29/07/16 17:23 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News. None

» Melania Trump's website disappears after questions raised about university degree claims
29/07/16 17:20 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News. None

» FBI turns over thousands of Clinton documents to State - CNN
29/07/16 17:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from fbi - Google News. CNN FBI turns over thousands of Clinton documents to State CNN "Just as we appropriately processed the material turned over to the Department by former Secretary Clinton, we will appropr...

» At prayer ceremony, Muslim leader condemns those who kill in name of Allah
29/07/16 17:17 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Stars and Stripes. The killing Tuesday of an 85-year-old priest as he celebrated morning Mass sent shockwaves around France and deeply touched many among the nation's 5 million Muslims

» Bergdahl lawyers ask judge to remove soldier’s case from docket
29/07/16 17:17 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Stars and Stripes. Attorneys for accused Army deserter Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl have asked a judge to remove the soldier’s case from the service’s court calendar after prosecutors asked for additional time to re...

» US, Israel close to deal on biggest military aid package ever
29/07/16 17:16 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Stars and Stripes. A senior Israeli official will arrive in Washington next week for a final round of negotiations involving the largest military aid package the United States has ever given any country an...

» FBI probes another hack tied to Russia
29/07/16 17:16 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Stars and Stripes. Russian government hackers have breached the computers of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, according to individuals familiar with the matter.

» How synced can (and should) NSA and CIA be on cyber? - FCW.com
29/07/16 17:15 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from cia - Google News. FCW.com How synced can (and should) NSA and CIA be on cyber? FCW.com Michael Hayden, former director of the CIA and NSA, said it is better to keep the two agencies' main cyber organizati...

» Michael Flynn, former DIA chief, blasts John Allen, retired Marine general backing Clinton
29/07/16 17:15 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from www.washingtontimes.com stories: Security. Michael Flynn, the retired Army lieutenant general who was once a prospective running mate for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, blasted a fellow form...

» Pentagon says no US military support for Turkey coup
29/07/16 17:14 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from www.washingtontimes.com stories: Security. WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon is flatly rejecting allegations by Turkey's president that the U.S. military was somehow involved in or in any way supported the re...

» Nusra remains a target for US and Russia
29/07/16 17:09 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from ThereAreNoSunglasses. Despite breaking ties with al-Qaeda, Syria’s Nusra remains a target for US and Russia Militants of Nusra Front, Syria’s Qaeda branch. File photo The head of Al-Nusra Front in Sy...

» Путин поручил начать масштабную гуманитарную операцию в Алеппо - РБК
29/07/16 17:08 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. РБК Путин поручил начать масштабную гуманитарную операцию в Алеппо РБК Президент России поручил совместно с властями Сирии начать масштабную гуманитарную операцию в Алеппо, заявил ...

» Бывший премьер Турции рассказал о позволившем сбить Су-24 приказе - РБК
29/07/16 17:08 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. РБК Бывший премьер Турции рассказал о позволившем сбить Су-24 приказе РБК Бывший премьер Турции Ахмет Давутоглу в интервью телеканалу NTV Turk рассказал о подписанном им приказе, к...

» Путин объединил Крымский и Южный федеральный округа - РБК
29/07/16 17:07 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. РБК Путин объединил Крымский и Южный федеральный округа РБК Президент России Владимир Путин свои указом объединил Крымский и Южный федеральные округа. Его руководителем стал Владим...

» Глава генштаба Турции сохранил пост, несмотря на массовые перестановки - РИА Новости
29/07/16 17:07 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. РИА Новости Глава генштаба Турции сохранил пост, несмотря на массовые перестановки РИА Новости АНКАРА, 28 июл – РИА Новости, Алена Палажченко. Глава генштаба ВС Турции Хулуси Акар,...

» Turkey Warns Kazakhstan Over Schools Linked To Turkish Cleric Gulen
29/07/16 17:05 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Turkey's ambassador to Kazakhstan has warned the Central Asian nation over its schools linked to Fethullah Gulen, the Muslim cleric whom Turkey accuses of being behind a ...

» US Agency Says Afghan Forces Lost Territory in 2016
29/07/16 17:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. The Afghan government lost control of approximately 5 percent of the country's districts in the first five months of this year, and high attrition within the national army is affecting th...

» France considers ban on foreign financing for mosques as Prime Minister warns of more terror attacks
29/07/16 17:00 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The Independent - Europe. Manuel Valls predicted that France would be targeted by further terror attacks

» 'Religious apartheid': Leading Danish politician calls for ban on Muslim refugees
29/07/16 16:59 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The Independent - Europe. Deputy leader of the country's second biggest party, Soren Espersen, is accused of trying to create a 'religious apartheid' and threatening to destroy Denmark'...

» Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear: did Russians hack Democratic party and if so, why?
29/07/16 16:58 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia | The Guardian. Analysts and the US government suspect an official hand behind the breach of the DNC’s emails – but if so it would represent a major escalation of cyber-activity In April of last yea...

» The Guardian view on the battle for Aleppo: stop it now | Editorial
29/07/16 16:58 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia | The Guardian. This battle is an urgent humanitarian catastrophe which could end all hope of a negotiated peace The situation in Aleppo is now more critical than it has ever been since the start of...

» Attempt at US-Russia cooperation in Syria suffers major setbacks - Reuters
29/07/16 16:55 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Reuters Attempt at US- Russia cooperation in Syria suffers major setbacks Reuters "But we also remain committed to the proposals reached by the United States and Russia to better enfo...

» US intel head calls for end to 'hyperventilation' over Russia's alleged role in DNC hack - RT
29/07/16 16:55 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. RT US intel head calls for end to 'hyperventilation' over Russia's alleged role in DNC hack RT The Director of National Intelligence says Washington is still unsure of who might be be...

» Syria war: Civilians die as US-Russia plan falters - Aljazeera.com
29/07/16 16:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Aljazeera.com Syria war: Civilians die as US- Russia plan falters Aljazeera.com At least 15 civilians have been killed and dozens wounded in air strikes by the US-led coalition in Syr...

» Here's what we know about Donald Trump and his ties to Russia - Washington Post
29/07/16 16:53 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Washington Post Here's what we know about Donald Trump and his ties to Russia Washington Post On Wednesday, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump asked the Russians to release ...

» Despite denial, Trump's connection to Russia go back years - CBS News
29/07/16 16:53 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. CBS News Despite denial, Trump's connection to Russia go back years CBS News The Clinton campaign has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of leaking stolen Democratic National Co...

» A Second Cyber Attack Hits the Democratic Party - The Atlantic
29/07/16 16:53 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. The Atlantic A Second Cyber Attack Hits the Democratic Party The Atlantic NEWS BRIEF U.S. officials suspect the Russian government hacked into the Democratic Congressional Campaign Co...

» Who Loves America?
29/07/16 16:43 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia. Republicans’ flag-waving has nothing to do with patriotism.

» Secret Liaison in Tbilisi
29/07/16 16:42 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia. A flight from Russia, a flight from Qatar and romantic freedom in between.

» Ukraine Downplays Trump's Rethinking Of Russian Claim To Crimea
29/07/16 16:42 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations has downplayed a comment by U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that he would consider recognizing Russia's wid...

» U.S.: Turkish Military Purge Hurts Battle Against IS
29/07/16 16:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Turkey's purge of its military after a failed coup attempt is hindering cooperation with U.S. military and intelligence operations against the Islamic State militant grou...

» The Daily Vertical: Putin's Day Of The Long Knives (Transcript)
29/07/16 16:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. The Daily Vertical is a video primer for Russia-watchers that appears Monday through Friday.

» Podcast: The Invisible War
29/07/16 16:40 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Why is the conflict in the Donbas escalating? Listen to this week's Power Vertical Podcast.

» Putin Names New Envoy for North Caucasus
29/07/16 16:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. In a move first rumored in April, Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed Sergei Melikov, an Interior Ministry forces lieutenant-general who for the past two years...

» Norway Considers a Birthday Gift for Finland: The Peak of an Arctic Mountain
29/07/16 16:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NYT > Europe. A movement is afoot to turn over the summit of Mount Halti, already the highest mountain in Finland, to its neighbor.

» Terrorism Scares Away the Tourists Europe Was Counting On
29/07/16 16:38 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NYT > Europe. Belgian soldiers patrolling the main square of Brussels. It is normally a magnet for tourists, but concerns about terrorism have kept many visitors away.

» The Interpreter: D.N.C. Hack Raises a Frightening Question: What’s Next?
29/07/16 16:38 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NYT > Europe. Red Square in Moscow on Wednesday. Some analysts see the Russian practice of “kompromat” — obtaining information and using it to smear or influence public officials — being expanded to the...

Monday, August 1, 2016

FBI employee pleads guilty to acting as agent of China

World | Mon Aug 1, 2016 2:23pm EDT

FBI employee pleads guilty to

acting as agent of China

NEW YORK | BY NATE RAYMOND

A FBI electronics technician pleaded guilty on Monday to having illegally acted as an agent of China, admitting that he on several occasions passed sensitive information to a Chinese official.

Kun Shan Chun, also known as Joey Chun, was employed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation since 1997. He pleaded guilty in federal court in Manhattan to one count of having illegally acted as an agent of a foreign government.

Chun, who was arrested in March on a set of charges made public only on Monday, admitted in court that from 2011 to 2016 he acted at the direction of a Chinese official, to whom he passed the sensitive information.

That information included the identity and travel plans of an FBI agent; an internal organizational chart; and photos he took of documents in a restricted area related to surveillance technology, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Emil Bove.

"At the time, I knew that was wrong, and I'm sorry for my actions," said Chun, who was born in China and is a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Chun, 46, was released on bail following the court hearing. Under a plea agreement, he has waived his right to appeal any sentence of 27 months or less. He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 2.

"The truth is that Mr. Chun loves the United States and never intended to cause it any harm," Jonathan Marvinny, his lawyer, said in a statement. "He hopes to put this matter behind him and move forward with his life."

Chun was initially charged in March for having made false statements in order to conceal his contact with several Chinese nationals and a Chinese-based computer printer manufacturer called Zhuhai Kolion Technology Company Ltd.

The complaint said Chun was asked by individuals affiliated with the company to perform research and consulting tasks in exchange for, among other things, foreign travel.

Kolion had "government backing," and he was asked by associates in China who "deal with" the government to consult for it, Chun was recorded telling an undercover FBI agent in 2015, the complaint said.

According to the complaint, Chun told the agent that his Chinese associates sometimes paid for prostitutes for him and provided hotels when he traveled to China.

He said his parents urged him to work with those individuals because they were investors in Kolion, the complaint said.

Kolion did not respond to a request for comment.

News Reviews and Opinions - Blog by Michael Novakhov

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Russia continues to shadow Trump | Donald Trump Long Sought a Real-Estate Foothold in Russia - WSJ

War With Russia Looms, Says Former NATO General in New Book:

Why Did Russia Send ‘The Terminator’ on a Humanitarian Mission in Syria? - The Daily Beast:

Russia continues to shadow Trump:

Donald Trump Long Sought a Real-Estate Foothold in Russia - WSJ

Donald Trump Finds a Russian Policy He Won’t Defend:

How Russia Is Courting the Gulf:

Donald Trump Long Sought a Real-Estate Foothold in Russia
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How Russia Is Courting the Gulf
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Donald Trump Finds a Russian Policy He Won’t Defend
Tuesday August 2nd, 2016 at 1:14 PM

What happened in Crimea

The continuing war

Russia continues to shadow Trump
Tuesday August 2nd, 2016 at 1:07 PM

MUST WATCH

War With Russia Looms, Says Former NATO General in New Book
Tuesday August 2nd, 2016 at 12:43 PM

Why Did Russia Send ‘The Terminator’ on a Humanitarian Mission in Syria? - The Daily Beast
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08.01.16 5:30 PM ET

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Mike Nova's Shared NewsLinks Review

Monday, August 1, 2016

FBI employee pleads guilty to acting as agent of China

FBI employee pleads guilty to

acting as agent of China

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