Vladislav Krasnov Ph.D. Dear friends of the Russia & America Good Will Association (www.raga.org) and antiwar colleagues!
Since my last February 22 RAGA Newsletter, Antidote 24, a number of very elucidating articles have appeared, and I am in a hurry to share them with you right away. (For announcements, please skip to the end).
Fay Voshell's article, written originally for American Thinker, recently was run in Russia Insider and with a good reason. The majority of Western observers focus on economics and politics, but ignore the fundamental spiritual evolution of Russia as a Christian country that has been re-emerging from under the ashes of totalitarian atheist USSR. In fact, the recent meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill underscores Russia's rebirth as a Christian country.
Fay Voshell,
Who Will Save Middle East Christians: Obama or Putin?
October 6, 2015, American Tinker
Few Western foreign policy analysts have taken seriously Vladimir Putin's radical reorientation of Russia from communism back to Russian Orthodox Christianity. ..
While some in the West are looking askance at Russia's support of Assad's regime in Syria, seeing only the realpolitik of Russian expansionism, others who are concerned about the eradication of Syria's ancient Christian community tend to see as legitimate Putin's concern that the Christian minority in that country will be persecuted if Assad is toppled. The beleaguered Christians in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East doubtless see the very recent Russian bombing of ISIS headquarters as a gift from God, and Putin as their potential deliverer from martyrdom...
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/10/who_will_save_middle_east_christians_obama_or_putin.html
The intrepid contrarian British journalist Robert Fisk takes Western leaders to task for the failure to defend "Western values" in Syria
Robert Fisk
Why is David Cameron so silent on the recapture of Palmyra from the clutches of Isis?
Sunday 27 March 2016, Independent
In the end, it was the Syrian army - and its Hizballah chums from Lebanon, and the Iranians, and the Russians - who drove the Isis murderers out of Palmyra.
The Syrian official in charge of the Roman ruins (of which we cared so much, remember?) was himself beheaded. Isis even put his spectacles back on top of his decapitated head, for fun. And we were silent then.
Doug Bandow, a Libertarian scholar, praises what Russia is doing in the Crimea and scorns Ukrainian leaders in Kiev
MAR 23, 2016 @ 06:00 AM 35,389 VIEWS
Crimea Celebrates Its Second Anniversary As Part Of Russia: Time To Drop Sanctions Against Moscow
...argued Hungarian Foreign Minister Pere Szijjarto, renewal (of Western sanctions against Russia) “cannot be automatic” and must “be decided at the highest level.” He added: “You cannot decide on sanctions by sweeping the issues under the carpet.” Also skeptical of continued economic war are Cyprus and Greece. Moreover, farmers across Europe, suffering from retaliatory Russian measures, recently mounted protests in Brussels over lost trade.
Doug Bandow
Busted Fantasies In Kiev: America And Europe Won't Save Ukrainian Maiden In Distress
MAR 25, 2016, 10:00 AM 37,870 VIEWS, FORBES
Many Ukrainians expect America and Europe to save them. Suggest that they are living a fantasy gets you tarred as a blatant fool and Russian stooge. Yet Ukraine shouldn’t waste time posing as a fairy tale maiden in distress waiting for rescue by the Western knight in shining armor. Kiev risks ending up as a failed state.
Jon Hellevig, a Finnish businessman based in Moscow, shares his insights about
The Hidden Story of Crimea's Economic Success
Since reunification with Russia Crimea's economy has not only overcome all obstacles but is booming with dramatic increases in living standards and quality of life.
Wed, Mar 23, 2016, Russia Insider
Russia's investments in the Crimean economy have already repaid themselves and are contributing substantially to Russia's balance of payments....With great foresight, President Putin had launched an underwater electricity transmission line from the mainland across the Kerch Strait. Working against the clock the Russians were able to open ahead of schedule the first line of the four cables in early December and the second leg already Mid-December, thus already neutralizing the Ukrainian threat. The remaining two lines are due for April and May respectively.
Already in the difficult transition year of 2014, the proceeds from the tourist industry doubled to a value of about $1.5 billion from the level of the Ukrainian years of $700 million.
Nicolai Petro, an American professor and my former colleague, who spent a year in Odessa, Ukraine, as a Fulbright scholar, knows well
Why Ukraine needs Russia more than ever
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/09/ukraine-needs-russia-nicolai-petro
Wednesday 9 March 2016, The Guardian
With country at risk of becoming a failed state, Kiev must recognize that economic survival depends on Moscow not the west.
By severing banking ties with Moscow, Kiev has denied itself investment and a vital economic lifeline – the remittances sent back home by zarobitchane, Ukraine’s migrant workers. Up to seven million Ukrainians have sought work in Russia, sending back $9bn in 2014 – three times the total foreign direct investment Ukraine got last year.
Patrick Lawrence seconds Professor Petro's warning about waste of US dollars
US Still Pouring Taxpayer Billions Into Ukrainian Black Hole
Mon, Mar 7, 2016, Russia Insider
Originally appeared in Salon under the byline Patrick L. Smith.
Add it all up: $550 million for the Nazi-peppered military in cold hard cash, a recent $1 billion “loan guarantee” (actually just a gift) from the ever generous Joe Biden , and a $40 billion loan from the IMF, 90% funded by the US, which is also likely never to be paid back.
John Helmer, an Australian journalist, based in Moscow and well familiar with Russian economy, thinks
Russians Pack Their Troubles into Their Grocery Baskets
Putin Gains, Medvedev Loses, US War Aim Fails
(Dances with Bears) Thu, Mar 10, 2016
<<The political opinion polling demonstrates the way in which the perception of foreign threats is reinforcing support for Putin and his leading subordinates. It is also showing the fallacy in the theory of the Obama Administration that isolating and sanctioning Putin “cronies”, like the Rotenbergs, would arouse Russian resentment against them, and turn against Putin himself.>>
John Helmer (Dances with Bears) knows why we, the casual readers, don't know ANY good things about Russia, for truthfulness is the first victim of the West's Info War against Russia
Fossilizing the US Infowar Against Russia
Wed, Mar 23, 2016, Russia Insider
There <<must not become a state subsidy for the failing veracity and fortunes of people like Anne Applebaum (first lead image), Eliot Higgins (2nd), Edward Lucas (3rd), and Peter Pomeranz (4th). They call themselves infowarriors on the US side against Russia. >>
Timothy Karr elaborates on the shrinking limits of free speech
It's Time for Western Journalists to Start Standing Up for Whistleblowers
The media requires free-flowing information — and so does our democracy
Wed, Mar 16, 2016, Russia Insider
The Obama administration’s ongoing crusade against government whistleblowers — which culminated last year in the imprisonment of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling — has reignited a debate over the role journalists should play in defending their profession and the sources and networks on which it depends.
Reporters Without Borders now ranks the United States 49th out of 180 countries in its Press Freedom Index. “That’s a 14-place drop since 2012,” says Delphine Halgand, the group’s U.S. director.
It’s not enough for journalists to defend their own rights. They need to ask how they can better advocate for the people who are indispensable to their work. Their jobs depend on freeing the flow of information — and so does our democracy.
John Pepper, former CEO of Procter & Gamble
Beyond a New Cold War
http://www.thenation.com/article/beyond-a-new-cold-war/
The threats of terrorism, failed states, and civil wars cannot be resolved without respectful collaboration between Russia and the United States, says the former CEO of Procter & Gamble.
MARCH 11, 2016, The Nation
William Perry, former US Secretary of defense
Russian hostility 'partly caused by west', claims former US defence head
William Perry says US contempt toward Russia as ‘third-rate power’ after end of Cold War played a big role
Wednesday 9 March 2016, The Guardian
“Our first action that really set us off in a bad direction was when Nato started to expand, bringing in eastern European nations, some of them bordering Russia. At that time we were working closely with Russia and they were beginning to get used to the idea that Nato could be a friend rather than an enemy ... but they were very uncomfortable about having Nato right up on their border and they made a strong appeal for us not to go ahead with that.”
Mr. Perry is right, except he failed to mention NATO's illegal war in Yugoslavia
17 years after war — Yugoslavia again protesting NATO
By Heather Cottin, March 22, 2016
On March 24, 1999, the U.S. led its European NATO allies in a 78-day bombing campaign targeting Serbia in order to destroy Yugoslavia, the last socialist country holding out in Europe. NATO planes bombed hospitals, factories, schools, trains, television stations, bridges and homes, killing thousands of Yugoslavs.
In 2000, the same NATO forces destabilized what remained of Yugoslavia — the republics of Serbia and Montenegro — then overthrew its political leader, Slobodan Milosevic, later imprisoning and trying him in a pro-NATO court in The Hague, Netherlands, for alleged war crimes. Failing in its attempt to convict him, the court case ended when Milosevic died there on March 11, 2006. Many suspect NATO forces had him poisoned.
NATO’s pattern for the destruction of Libya and Syria — and also of Iraq and Afghanistan, with variations — was based on the experience in Yugoslavia: demonization of a leader, with false charges of “ethnic cleansing” to give a pretext for a NATO “humanitarian intervention,” followed by slaughter of civilians from the air and destruction of the infrastructure.
March 25, 2016: THE HAGUE — Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader, was convicted of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity by a United Nations tribunal on Thursday for leading a campaign of terror against civilians in the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II....Mr. Karadzic, 70, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for his role in lethal ethnic cleansing operations.No punishment was meeted out against illegal NATO war and its minions
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/25/world/europe/radovan-karadzic-verdict.html?_r=0
David, a British friend of mine and RAGA associate whom I met some time ago in my native town of Perm when he was visiting as a member of Oxford-Perm Sister Cities group, wrote me a rather alarming and depressing email:
<<I have been very silent for the past year for the reason that I have found very little, almost nothing, to support the Russian side in newspaper reports on Ukraine and Syria. I have been horrified and depressed that even the Guardian has been sadly lacking in this respect, and even worse, the so-called impartial BBC and some of its famous international reporters have almost always taken the side of the EU and USA in reports which are overtly or covertly anti-Russian.>>
As the US now ranks 49th out of 180 countries in Press Freedom Index (see above), I can hardly console our British friend by pointing to the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. But then we must expect so much more from the remaining truthtellers (see above). In fact, David suggested one from the UK, and I was happy to feature Robert Fisk on top of the list.
There was an alarming news from Russia too. Sharon Tennison, the founder and president of the Center for Citizen Initiatives and the site Russia: Other Points of View, shared with me her plan to resume Good Will tours of Russia for Americans, and RAGA was happy to promote her cause.
Now she writes: <<The June trip to Russia had been on hold until I could get assurance that my next Visa would be issued by Russian authorities. I was unexpectedly picked up and detained by Volgograd Immigration authorities in late February. This coming trip rested on whether the pickup was a mistake or was part of a crackdown that could have included someone like me who has operated freely in Russia for the past thirty years. I’ve now been assured it was due to hyperactive protectors of their area–and extreme current concern about foreign government-funded NGO's that may actually be implementing foreign political objectives. (In the early 2000's CCI did receive State Department funding for some of its programs, which may have contributed to the misunderstanding.)>>
RAGA is happy that the conflict was resolved to Sharon's satisfaction.
Read more at http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-sharon-tennison-detained-us-agent/27558544.html
By Carl Schreck, February 17, 2016
Now two announcements:
(1) SCHILLER INSTITUTE CONFERENCE
Thursday, April 7, 2016, 9:00am - 9:30pm
Building A World Land-Bridge: Realizing Mankind's True Humanity NEW YORK CITY
Pre-registration is required to attend this conference
*To pre-register call 201-562-9890 or CLICK HERE
**Registration is $25 for the conference, checks are made payable to Schiller Institute
Tim Rush <timrush@larouchepub.com>
(2) Ed Lozansky asked me to invite people to The US-Russia educational forum, Preliminary agenda
Saturday, April 9; 10 AM – 5.00PM; George Washington University, Lindner Commons, 1957 E Street, NW, 6th floor.
10.00 - 10.30 AM: Welcoming remarks from organizers and special guests
Peter Rollberg, Director, Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University
Hon. Sergei Kislyak, Russian Ambassador to the United States
Veniamin Kaganov, Deputy Minister of Science and Education via Video
Edward Lozansky, President, American University in Moscow
10.30 AM- 1.00 PM:
James Carden, American Committee for East-West Accord, "The role of academic exchanges in time of crisis in US – Russia relations"
Mikhail Strikhanov, Rector, National Research Nuclear University, “International Science and Educational Programs at NRNU”
Oleg Zhiganov, Director, Russian Cultural Center, “Opportunities for US-Russia educational Exchanges”
Joan Mower, Director of the BBG Development and International Media Training, "International Media Training: Opportunities for US-Russia Cooperation"
Ilya Ilyin, Dean, Department of Global Affairs at Moscow State University - “International Science and Educational Programs at Moscow State University
Lubov Vartikovsky, National Institute of Health, Russian – American Science Association, “Development of cooperation between American and Russian scientists”
Paul Robinson, Vice-Dean, Department of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, “Academic exchanges in contexts of Russian-Canadian relations”
Sergei Myasoedov, Vice-rector, The Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA); Ph.D (Ec. and Sociology). "US-Russian educational cooperation in liberal arts and management. How we see the new opportunities from the biggest national University of RANEPA"
Richard Robin, Professor, Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, "US -Russia Distance Learning Potential"
1.00 - 2.00 PM – Lunch break
2.00 – 4.30 PM
Sigfried Hecker, Professor, Stanford University, US - Russia Nuclear Security Educational Programs (TBC)
Steven Harding, Professor, Harvard University, “Building communication bridges for the future generations of world’s leaders”
Alexander Arefiev, Sociological Center, Russian Ministry of Science and Education, “New Tendencies in the education of American students in Russia”
Andrei Rezaev, Professor, St. Petersburg State University, “TANDEM” – a joint US – Russia research program”.
Grigory Klucharev, Institute of Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences, “Perspectives and problems in distance education in Russia”.
Sam Potolicchio, Director of Global Education, Georgetown University and Professor and Department Chair, RANEPA (Moscow), "International Exchange and the Future of Higher Education"
Irina Mukhina, Innovative Educational Center of Arts and Sciences, “Canadian Experience in International Educational Cooperation”
4.30 - 5.00 PM Concluding remarks
6.30 - 8.30 PM Reception at the Russian Embassy, 2650 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Sunday, April 10; 11.00 AM – 1.00 PM, Russian Cultural Center,
1825 Phelps Place, NW
As before, I want RAGA associates to be aware of Dr. John Morrow's ground-breaking study The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World . I have translated his booklet Six Covenants of the Prophet Mohammad with the Chistians of His time into Russian and am looking for a publisher. John asks all Muslims, Sunni, Shi’ite, and Sufi, from all schools and spiritual paths, scholars and non-scholars, to append their names to the following declaration in defense of the Christians: http://covenantsinitiative.com/
After attending the April 9-19 conference in Washington DC, I am scheduled to go to a Russian Muslim scholars forum in St. Petersburg at the end of April so I could introduce John Morrow's work to a Russian audience.
There is hardly any person, not even in Russia, who has done so much to show the world the uniqueness of Russian architecture, as William Brumfield, Professor of Russian Literature at Tulane University. He does it by travelling across Russia (when his university schedule permits) and finding architectural monuments which, from his viewpoint, deserve to be known outside of Russia. He takes care of supplying the viewer with a historical perspective. Below is his latest
<<My current article for Russia beyond the Headlines is devoted to the remarkable restoration of the wooden Church of Eiljah the Prophet at the northern village of Tsypino (near Ferapontov Monastery): http://rbth.com/special/discovering_russia/2016/03/18/miracle-at-tsypino-the-resurrection-of-a-russian-wooden-church_577065
To see the slide show full screen, click the 4-arrow icon at lower right of photo window.
This is the 146 th of my articles and photo essays on Russia's architectural and cultural heritage for the foreign-language service of the Russian national newspaper Rossiiskaia Gazeta. A unified link to the series can be found at: http://rbth.ru/discovering_russia Through this link a total of 4,258 photographs from my documentary work in Russia are now accessible.>>
We appreciate feedback!
Sincerely,
W George Krasnow (Vladislav Krasnov)
President, RAGA
www.raga.org
Facebook
Malice to None. Good Will to All.
Peace and Justice to the World.
миру мир и благоволение в сердцах
From RAGA site:
"We are an association of Americans who believe it is in the U.S. national interests to foster friendship with Russia on the basis of mutual Good Will and non-interference in each other's affairs. RAGA is a gathering of people who share common interests in Russia's history, culture, religion, economy, politics and the way of life. We feel that Russian people have made outstanding contributions to humankind and are capable of greater achievements. We envision Russia as a strong, independent, proud and free nation and as a partner in achieving peace in the world."
Since my last February 22 RAGA Newsletter, Antidote 24, a number of very elucidating articles have appeared, and I am in a hurry to share them with you right away. (For announcements, please skip to the end).
Fay Voshell's article, written originally for American Thinker, recently was run in Russia Insider and with a good reason. The majority of Western observers focus on economics and politics, but ignore the fundamental spiritual evolution of Russia as a Christian country that has been re-emerging from under the ashes of totalitarian atheist USSR. In fact, the recent meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill underscores Russia's rebirth as a Christian country.
Fay Voshell,
Who Will Save Middle East Christians: Obama or Putin?
October 6, 2015, American Tinker
Few Western foreign policy analysts have taken seriously Vladimir Putin's radical reorientation of Russia from communism back to Russian Orthodox Christianity. ..
While some in the West are looking askance at Russia's support of Assad's regime in Syria, seeing only the realpolitik of Russian expansionism, others who are concerned about the eradication of Syria's ancient Christian community tend to see as legitimate Putin's concern that the Christian minority in that country will be persecuted if Assad is toppled. The beleaguered Christians in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East doubtless see the very recent Russian bombing of ISIS headquarters as a gift from God, and Putin as their potential deliverer from martyrdom...
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/10/who_will_save_middle_east_christians_obama_or_putin.html
The intrepid contrarian British journalist Robert Fisk takes Western leaders to task for the failure to defend "Western values" in Syria
Robert Fisk
Why is David Cameron so silent on the recapture of Palmyra from the clutches of Isis?
Sunday 27 March 2016, Independent
In the end, it was the Syrian army - and its Hizballah chums from Lebanon, and the Iranians, and the Russians - who drove the Isis murderers out of Palmyra.
The Syrian official in charge of the Roman ruins (of which we cared so much, remember?) was himself beheaded. Isis even put his spectacles back on top of his decapitated head, for fun. And we were silent then.
Doug Bandow, a Libertarian scholar, praises what Russia is doing in the Crimea and scorns Ukrainian leaders in Kiev
MAR 23, 2016 @ 06:00 AM 35,389 VIEWS
Crimea Celebrates Its Second Anniversary As Part Of Russia: Time To Drop Sanctions Against Moscow
...argued Hungarian Foreign Minister Pere Szijjarto, renewal (of Western sanctions against Russia) “cannot be automatic” and must “be decided at the highest level.” He added: “You cannot decide on sanctions by sweeping the issues under the carpet.” Also skeptical of continued economic war are Cyprus and Greece. Moreover, farmers across Europe, suffering from retaliatory Russian measures, recently mounted protests in Brussels over lost trade.
Doug Bandow
Busted Fantasies In Kiev: America And Europe Won't Save Ukrainian Maiden In Distress
MAR 25, 2016, 10:00 AM 37,870 VIEWS, FORBES
Many Ukrainians expect America and Europe to save them. Suggest that they are living a fantasy gets you tarred as a blatant fool and Russian stooge. Yet Ukraine shouldn’t waste time posing as a fairy tale maiden in distress waiting for rescue by the Western knight in shining armor. Kiev risks ending up as a failed state.
Jon Hellevig, a Finnish businessman based in Moscow, shares his insights about
The Hidden Story of Crimea's Economic Success
Since reunification with Russia Crimea's economy has not only overcome all obstacles but is booming with dramatic increases in living standards and quality of life.
Wed, Mar 23, 2016, Russia Insider
Russia's investments in the Crimean economy have already repaid themselves and are contributing substantially to Russia's balance of payments....With great foresight, President Putin had launched an underwater electricity transmission line from the mainland across the Kerch Strait. Working against the clock the Russians were able to open ahead of schedule the first line of the four cables in early December and the second leg already Mid-December, thus already neutralizing the Ukrainian threat. The remaining two lines are due for April and May respectively.
Already in the difficult transition year of 2014, the proceeds from the tourist industry doubled to a value of about $1.5 billion from the level of the Ukrainian years of $700 million.
Nicolai Petro, an American professor and my former colleague, who spent a year in Odessa, Ukraine, as a Fulbright scholar, knows well
Why Ukraine needs Russia more than ever
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/09/ukraine-needs-russia-nicolai-petro
Wednesday 9 March 2016, The Guardian
With country at risk of becoming a failed state, Kiev must recognize that economic survival depends on Moscow not the west.
By severing banking ties with Moscow, Kiev has denied itself investment and a vital economic lifeline – the remittances sent back home by zarobitchane, Ukraine’s migrant workers. Up to seven million Ukrainians have sought work in Russia, sending back $9bn in 2014 – three times the total foreign direct investment Ukraine got last year.
Patrick Lawrence seconds Professor Petro's warning about waste of US dollars
US Still Pouring Taxpayer Billions Into Ukrainian Black Hole
Mon, Mar 7, 2016, Russia Insider
Originally appeared in Salon under the byline Patrick L. Smith.
Add it all up: $550 million for the Nazi-peppered military in cold hard cash, a recent $1 billion “loan guarantee” (actually just a gift) from the ever generous Joe Biden , and a $40 billion loan from the IMF, 90% funded by the US, which is also likely never to be paid back.
John Helmer, an Australian journalist, based in Moscow and well familiar with Russian economy, thinks
Russians Pack Their Troubles into Their Grocery Baskets
Putin Gains, Medvedev Loses, US War Aim Fails
(Dances with Bears) Thu, Mar 10, 2016
<<The political opinion polling demonstrates the way in which the perception of foreign threats is reinforcing support for Putin and his leading subordinates. It is also showing the fallacy in the theory of the Obama Administration that isolating and sanctioning Putin “cronies”, like the Rotenbergs, would arouse Russian resentment against them, and turn against Putin himself.>>
John Helmer (Dances with Bears) knows why we, the casual readers, don't know ANY good things about Russia, for truthfulness is the first victim of the West's Info War against Russia
Fossilizing the US Infowar Against Russia
Wed, Mar 23, 2016, Russia Insider
There <<must not become a state subsidy for the failing veracity and fortunes of people like Anne Applebaum (first lead image), Eliot Higgins (2nd), Edward Lucas (3rd), and Peter Pomeranz (4th). They call themselves infowarriors on the US side against Russia. >>
Timothy Karr elaborates on the shrinking limits of free speech
It's Time for Western Journalists to Start Standing Up for Whistleblowers
The media requires free-flowing information — and so does our democracy
Wed, Mar 16, 2016, Russia Insider
The Obama administration’s ongoing crusade against government whistleblowers — which culminated last year in the imprisonment of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling — has reignited a debate over the role journalists should play in defending their profession and the sources and networks on which it depends.
Reporters Without Borders now ranks the United States 49th out of 180 countries in its Press Freedom Index. “That’s a 14-place drop since 2012,” says Delphine Halgand, the group’s U.S. director.
It’s not enough for journalists to defend their own rights. They need to ask how they can better advocate for the people who are indispensable to their work. Their jobs depend on freeing the flow of information — and so does our democracy.
John Pepper, former CEO of Procter & Gamble
Beyond a New Cold War
http://www.thenation.com/article/beyond-a-new-cold-war/
The threats of terrorism, failed states, and civil wars cannot be resolved without respectful collaboration between Russia and the United States, says the former CEO of Procter & Gamble.
MARCH 11, 2016, The Nation
William Perry, former US Secretary of defense
Russian hostility 'partly caused by west', claims former US defence head
William Perry says US contempt toward Russia as ‘third-rate power’ after end of Cold War played a big role
Wednesday 9 March 2016, The Guardian
“Our first action that really set us off in a bad direction was when Nato started to expand, bringing in eastern European nations, some of them bordering Russia. At that time we were working closely with Russia and they were beginning to get used to the idea that Nato could be a friend rather than an enemy ... but they were very uncomfortable about having Nato right up on their border and they made a strong appeal for us not to go ahead with that.”
Mr. Perry is right, except he failed to mention NATO's illegal war in Yugoslavia
17 years after war — Yugoslavia again protesting NATO
By Heather Cottin, March 22, 2016
On March 24, 1999, the U.S. led its European NATO allies in a 78-day bombing campaign targeting Serbia in order to destroy Yugoslavia, the last socialist country holding out in Europe. NATO planes bombed hospitals, factories, schools, trains, television stations, bridges and homes, killing thousands of Yugoslavs.
In 2000, the same NATO forces destabilized what remained of Yugoslavia — the republics of Serbia and Montenegro — then overthrew its political leader, Slobodan Milosevic, later imprisoning and trying him in a pro-NATO court in The Hague, Netherlands, for alleged war crimes. Failing in its attempt to convict him, the court case ended when Milosevic died there on March 11, 2006. Many suspect NATO forces had him poisoned.
NATO’s pattern for the destruction of Libya and Syria — and also of Iraq and Afghanistan, with variations — was based on the experience in Yugoslavia: demonization of a leader, with false charges of “ethnic cleansing” to give a pretext for a NATO “humanitarian intervention,” followed by slaughter of civilians from the air and destruction of the infrastructure.
March 25, 2016: THE HAGUE — Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader, was convicted of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity by a United Nations tribunal on Thursday for leading a campaign of terror against civilians in the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II....Mr. Karadzic, 70, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for his role in lethal ethnic cleansing operations.No punishment was meeted out against illegal NATO war and its minions
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/25/world/europe/radovan-karadzic-verdict.html?_r=0
David, a British friend of mine and RAGA associate whom I met some time ago in my native town of Perm when he was visiting as a member of Oxford-Perm Sister Cities group, wrote me a rather alarming and depressing email:
<<I have been very silent for the past year for the reason that I have found very little, almost nothing, to support the Russian side in newspaper reports on Ukraine and Syria. I have been horrified and depressed that even the Guardian has been sadly lacking in this respect, and even worse, the so-called impartial BBC and some of its famous international reporters have almost always taken the side of the EU and USA in reports which are overtly or covertly anti-Russian.>>
As the US now ranks 49th out of 180 countries in Press Freedom Index (see above), I can hardly console our British friend by pointing to the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. But then we must expect so much more from the remaining truthtellers (see above). In fact, David suggested one from the UK, and I was happy to feature Robert Fisk on top of the list.
There was an alarming news from Russia too. Sharon Tennison, the founder and president of the Center for Citizen Initiatives and the site Russia: Other Points of View, shared with me her plan to resume Good Will tours of Russia for Americans, and RAGA was happy to promote her cause.
Now she writes: <<The June trip to Russia had been on hold until I could get assurance that my next Visa would be issued by Russian authorities. I was unexpectedly picked up and detained by Volgograd Immigration authorities in late February. This coming trip rested on whether the pickup was a mistake or was part of a crackdown that could have included someone like me who has operated freely in Russia for the past thirty years. I’ve now been assured it was due to hyperactive protectors of their area–and extreme current concern about foreign government-funded NGO's that may actually be implementing foreign political objectives. (In the early 2000's CCI did receive State Department funding for some of its programs, which may have contributed to the misunderstanding.)>>
RAGA is happy that the conflict was resolved to Sharon's satisfaction.
Read more at http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-sharon-tennison-detained-us-agent/27558544.html
By Carl Schreck, February 17, 2016
Now two announcements:
(1) SCHILLER INSTITUTE CONFERENCE
Thursday, April 7, 2016, 9:00am - 9:30pm
Building A World Land-Bridge: Realizing Mankind's True Humanity NEW YORK CITY
Pre-registration is required to attend this conference
*To pre-register call 201-562-9890 or CLICK HERE
**Registration is $25 for the conference, checks are made payable to Schiller Institute
Tim Rush <timrush@larouchepub.com>
(2) Ed Lozansky asked me to invite people to The US-Russia educational forum, Preliminary agenda
Saturday, April 9; 10 AM – 5.00PM; George Washington University, Lindner Commons, 1957 E Street, NW, 6th floor.
10.00 - 10.30 AM: Welcoming remarks from organizers and special guests
Peter Rollberg, Director, Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University
Hon. Sergei Kislyak, Russian Ambassador to the United States
Veniamin Kaganov, Deputy Minister of Science and Education via Video
Edward Lozansky, President, American University in Moscow
10.30 AM- 1.00 PM:
James Carden, American Committee for East-West Accord, "The role of academic exchanges in time of crisis in US – Russia relations"
Mikhail Strikhanov, Rector, National Research Nuclear University, “International Science and Educational Programs at NRNU”
Oleg Zhiganov, Director, Russian Cultural Center, “Opportunities for US-Russia educational Exchanges”
Joan Mower, Director of the BBG Development and International Media Training, "International Media Training: Opportunities for US-Russia Cooperation"
Ilya Ilyin, Dean, Department of Global Affairs at Moscow State University - “International Science and Educational Programs at Moscow State University
Lubov Vartikovsky, National Institute of Health, Russian – American Science Association, “Development of cooperation between American and Russian scientists”
Paul Robinson, Vice-Dean, Department of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, “Academic exchanges in contexts of Russian-Canadian relations”
Sergei Myasoedov, Vice-rector, The Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA); Ph.D (Ec. and Sociology). "US-Russian educational cooperation in liberal arts and management. How we see the new opportunities from the biggest national University of RANEPA"
Richard Robin, Professor, Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, "US -Russia Distance Learning Potential"
1.00 - 2.00 PM – Lunch break
2.00 – 4.30 PM
Sigfried Hecker, Professor, Stanford University, US - Russia Nuclear Security Educational Programs (TBC)
Steven Harding, Professor, Harvard University, “Building communication bridges for the future generations of world’s leaders”
Alexander Arefiev, Sociological Center, Russian Ministry of Science and Education, “New Tendencies in the education of American students in Russia”
Andrei Rezaev, Professor, St. Petersburg State University, “TANDEM” – a joint US – Russia research program”.
Grigory Klucharev, Institute of Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences, “Perspectives and problems in distance education in Russia”.
Sam Potolicchio, Director of Global Education, Georgetown University and Professor and Department Chair, RANEPA (Moscow), "International Exchange and the Future of Higher Education"
Irina Mukhina, Innovative Educational Center of Arts and Sciences, “Canadian Experience in International Educational Cooperation”
4.30 - 5.00 PM Concluding remarks
6.30 - 8.30 PM Reception at the Russian Embassy, 2650 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Sunday, April 10; 11.00 AM – 1.00 PM, Russian Cultural Center,
1825 Phelps Place, NW
As before, I want RAGA associates to be aware of Dr. John Morrow's ground-breaking study The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World . I have translated his booklet Six Covenants of the Prophet Mohammad with the Chistians of His time into Russian and am looking for a publisher. John asks all Muslims, Sunni, Shi’ite, and Sufi, from all schools and spiritual paths, scholars and non-scholars, to append their names to the following declaration in defense of the Christians: http://covenantsinitiative.com/
After attending the April 9-19 conference in Washington DC, I am scheduled to go to a Russian Muslim scholars forum in St. Petersburg at the end of April so I could introduce John Morrow's work to a Russian audience.
There is hardly any person, not even in Russia, who has done so much to show the world the uniqueness of Russian architecture, as William Brumfield, Professor of Russian Literature at Tulane University. He does it by travelling across Russia (when his university schedule permits) and finding architectural monuments which, from his viewpoint, deserve to be known outside of Russia. He takes care of supplying the viewer with a historical perspective. Below is his latest
<<My current article for Russia beyond the Headlines is devoted to the remarkable restoration of the wooden Church of Eiljah the Prophet at the northern village of Tsypino (near Ferapontov Monastery): http://rbth.com/special/discovering_russia/2016/03/18/miracle-at-tsypino-the-resurrection-of-a-russian-wooden-church_577065
To see the slide show full screen, click the 4-arrow icon at lower right of photo window.
This is the 146 th of my articles and photo essays on Russia's architectural and cultural heritage for the foreign-language service of the Russian national newspaper Rossiiskaia Gazeta. A unified link to the series can be found at: http://rbth.ru/discovering_russia Through this link a total of 4,258 photographs from my documentary work in Russia are now accessible.>>
We appreciate feedback!
Sincerely,
W George Krasnow (Vladislav Krasnov)
President, RAGA
www.raga.org
Malice to None. Good Will to All.
Peace and Justice to the World.
миру мир и благоволение в сердцах
From RAGA site:
"We are an association of Americans who believe it is in the U.S. national interests to foster friendship with Russia on the basis of mutual Good Will and non-interference in each other's affairs. RAGA is a gathering of people who share common interests in Russia's history, culture, religion, economy, politics and the way of life. We feel that Russian people have made outstanding contributions to humankind and are capable of greater achievements. We envision Russia as a strong, independent, proud and free nation and as a partner in achieving peace in the world."
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