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Lack of noticeable progress in India-Pakistan relationship - so far

Vladimir Terehov
New Eastern Outlook
Tue, 18 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
ImranKhan
© UnknownPakistani PM Imran Khan
We have already reported earlier that the victory of the Movement for Justice party, headed by the current Prime Minister Imran Khan, in the parliamentary elections in Pakistan at the end of June of this year added a glimmer of hope to the prospects of India-Pakistan relations. Imran Khan's election campaign rhetoric had given rise to such hopes.

However, a series of events that followed once again illustrated that between pre-election speeches and a final resolution of lingering political issues lies a long path with many obstacles. By autumn, it seemed as if the India-Pakistan relations had come full circle and would stay this way for quite some time.

However, in the second half of November, Pakistani leadership introduced two new initiatives to reach out to India. Firstly, an invitation to attend the upcoming SAARC summit (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation with 8 member-nations) was sent to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi via the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Comment: Old wounds, real and/or politicized, are hard to heal. All one may be able to do is try and try again.
See also: India snubs Pakistan by refusing to attend key regional summit in Islamabad

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Clipboard

68 nations endorsed whatever provocation now comes from Kiev, says Russian senator


RT
Tue, 18 Dec 2018 11:15 UTC
Poroshenko soldiers
© Valentyn Ogirenko/ReutersYet another photo-op with soldiers...a message?
The nations which voted for the Ukrainian resolution on Crimea at the UN General Assembly will bear shared responsibility with Kiev, if it chooses to escalate tensions with Russia, a Russian senator said.

The resolution passed on Monday condemned the presence of the Russian military in the Crimean Peninsula and the surrounding waters of the Black Sea and the Azov Sea. It also criticizes Russia for construction of a bridge connecting the region with mainland. The document was supported by 66 members of the UNGA, while 19 voted against it. The majority of nations - 72, abstained from the vote.

"The resolution is not just useless, even if it's non-binding legally," said Konstantin Kosachev, the chair of the Russian Senate's Foreign Relations Committee. "It may have political and military consequences. As a matter of fact, Kiev was given a go for all sort of action, even of the crazy kind."

Ukraine is currently in a perilous political situation with presidential elections scheduled for late March. The incumbent President Petro Poroshenko is scheduled for a humiliating defeat, judging by his approval ratings, and has the incentive to escalate tensions with Russia in an attempt to rally public support.

Comment: See also:

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Star of David

Israel wants Germany to defund organizations that have a critical perspective of Israel

Jonathan Ofir
Mondoweiss
Mon, 17 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
merkelNeti,moustache
© Marc Israel SellemThe shadow remains cast.
Last week, the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung reported that Israel asked German Chancellor Angela Merkel to stop funding the Jewish Museum in Berlin, among other institutions (cited in Haaretz).

The reason behind the demand was the museum's exhibition on Jerusalem, which "presents a Muslim-Palestinian perspective of the city," the report said.

The letter was sent directly to the chancellor's bureau and not through the Israeli embassy, where Merkel was also asked to defund other organizations that Israel claimed were anti-Israeli. These included the Berlin International Film Festival, pro-Palestinian Christian organizations, and the Israeli site +972 Magazine, which receives funding from the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

Comment: The Holocaust has become the greatest and most useful 'leverage' of all time.

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Rocket

Putin: Russia can easily design new missiles for defense if US pulls out of INF


RT
Tue, 18 Dec 2018 13:48 UTC
Iskander missile
© Sputnik/Pavel LisitsynAn Iskander ground-based missile is loaded into a launch vehicle.
Russia may easily respond to the US withdrawal from the milestone INF Treaty by developing new types of land-based missiles, Vladimir Putin said, warning that Washington's decision to pull out "is one step towards an arms race."

The Russian president reiterated that Moscow did not violate the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), but if Washington ditches it, Russia will be left with no choice but "to react accordingly" to defend itself.

"As you know, we do have sea and airborne [missile] systems and there will be no difficulty to carry out research-and-development and make them land-based if needed," Putin told a Defense Ministry conference on Tuesday.

Russia's successes in developing sea- and air-launched missiles became a source of concern for "our partners," prompting them to undermine the treaty. Putin had also praised Russia's newest Kalibr cruise missiles which saw action against terrorists in Syria.

Comment: See also:

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Attention

James Comey, a menace to society

Patricia McCarthy
American Thinker
Sun, 16 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
FBComey
© DonkeyHotey/KJN
Is there a person on earth more oleaginous than James Comey? The man known for his phonogenic and photogenic memory suddenly can hardly remember anything at all. In short, he lied, over and over again while being questioned by members of Congress recently. Given his memory deficits, he was most assuredly too incompetent and unaware to be head of the FBI . Yeah, right. He has a good memory and he's a practiced but bad liar. He thinks he is a cover-up artist.

If there is any justice left in America, he will be charged with a panoply of crimes. He obviously should have been fired long ago, certainly on the first day of the Trump administration. Like his pal Robert Mueller, Comey has long pretended to be non-partisan when in fact he is a vicious and supremely arrogant anti-Trump zealot. In the talk he gave at the 92nd Street Y a week ago, he bragged about flaunting the process and took advantage of the "chaos" of an administration four days old.

In collusion with John Brennan, James Clapper, Andrew McCabe, the Clinton campaign and the Obama administration, Comey orchestrated the agreed-upon plan to take Trump down and out before the election with their fake "dossier" and then, once Trump won, to see that he would not be inaugurated or would be removed from office posthaste.
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No Entry

Russia passes a law to thwart foreign meddling in its elections


RT
Tue, 18 Dec 2018 12:41 UTC
Russian ballotbox
© Sputnik/Vitaly AnkovAn election official seals ballot boxes before start of a poll in Russia.
The Russian parliament has passed a law which says foreign organizations meddling in any kind of election in Russia may be declared 'undesirable' and ousted from the country. Election observers are exempt.

The law, passed on Tuesday, will make a small amendment to the legislation which regulates how a non-governmental organization (NGO) may be barred from operating in Russia.

The current rules say Russia may oust an NGO, which is considered a threat to Russia's "constitutional order, defense or security". The new piece of legislation, once signed into law, would clarify that such a threat may be posed by meddling in elections in Russia.

The meddling is defined as promoting or obstructing candidates or issues for a referendum or affecting the outcome of a ballot, but does not include the activities of registered international observers monitoring the campaign.

Comment: This sort of legislation should be made standard in all countries.

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Stock Up

China to mark 40th anniversary of economic miracle, reforms pulled 700M out of poverty


RT
Mon, 17 Dec 2018 13:17 UTC
China 40 yrs
© ReutersInstallation, marking the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up, lights up during the Guangzhou International Light Festival in Guangdong.
China has pledged more economic reforms to push growth higher and help offset any impact from the US trade conflict. It comes as the world's second-largest economy marks the 40th anniversary of "reform and opening up" this week.

Statistics show that more than 700 million Chinese people have shaken off poverty since Beijing started its program of economic reforms four decades ago. The figure accounts for over 70 percent of global poverty reduction during that period.

The first wave of reform, which lasted from 1978 to 1989, was characterized by agricultural reform and revival of the private sector. The second wave of reform (from 1992 to 2012) resulted in the legalization of the market economy, China's accession to the WTO, and a booming private sector.

Comment: But will it continue? Recent estimates are doubtful.
See also: A financial 'winter is coming': Subservience to bankers, failure to reform will lead to another crash

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Star of David

Lebanon registers violations: Israel invades its domestic airspace on a regular basis


Sputnik
Mon, 17 Dec 2018 23:21 UTC
Israelijets
© Unknown
Lebanon registers breaches of its airspace by Israel almost on an everyday basis, Lebanese Ambassador to Moscow Chawki Bou Nassar told Sputnik Monday, calling on the global community to put an end to aggression against Beirut.
"Israel almost daily invades Lebanese airspace and territorial waters and sometimes violates the border of Lebanon. Almost every day they violate Lebanese airspace, which constitutes a breach of an international law. Therefore, we have called on the international community and countries that have an influence on Israel to take a clear stand opposing any aggression against Lebanon."
However, the situation on the border with Israel remains calm despite the ongoing Israeli operation dubbed Northern Shield, the ambassador noted. "The situation on the ground is stable, calm, there are no military clashes," Bou Nassar added.

In late November, the Israeli army launched the Northern Shield operation in order to expose and neutralize cross-border attack tunnels that Hezbollah dug from Lebanon into Israel.

After the launch of the operation, the Lebanese army and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) increased the number of patrols along the Blue Line in order to prevent incidents that could lead to increased tensions in the border area.

Comment: See also:

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Black Cat

Best of the Web: Christopher Steele told court that Trump-Russia dossier was created so Clinton could challenge 2016 election results


RT
Tue, 18 Dec 2018 19:11 UTC
bill hillary clinton
© Jewel Samad/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesHillary Clinton concedes 2016 presidential election to Donald Trump
The British ex-spy who authored the infamous dossier alleging collusion between Donald Trump and the Kremlin said one of his goals was to give Hillary Clinton legal basis to challenge the 2016 election results.

Christopher Steele's salacious 17-page report was commissioned by Fusion GPS, a firm connected to Clinton's campaign.

"Based on that advice, parties such as the Democratic National Committee and HFACC Inc. (also known as 'Hillary for America') could consider steps they would be legally entitled to take to challenge the validity of the outcome of that election," Steele wrote in recently unsealed declaration that was published by the Washington Times.

Comment: May Mr. Gubarev prevail in court.

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Gear

Japan approves major defense spending plan: $242 billion over next five years


France 24
Tue, 18 Dec 2018 18:12 UTC
helicopter carriers
© JIJI PRESS/AFP/FileJapan's new five-year defence plan calls for the military to upgrade two existing "helicopter carriers" so that they will also be able to launch fighter jets Japan's new five-year defence plan calls for the military to upgrade two existing "helicopter carriers" so that they will also be able to launch fighter jets
Japan on Tuesday approved plans to convert two ships into aircraft carriers -- the nation's first since World War II -- as it tries to counter growing Chinese military power in the region.

The new five-year defence plan calls for the military to upgrade two existing "helicopter carriers" so that they will also be able to launch fighter jets, and is the latest in a series of steps under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to boost Japan's military.

Abe's government argues the efforts are necessary given growing defence challenges in the region, including tensions with North Korea.

Japan says the secretive expansion of China's military footprint creates "strong concerns" in the region.

Comment: How long before Germany cops on and follows suit? Maybe once Merkel is shooed into a retirement home...

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