Welcome to Sott.net
Thu, 04 Nov 2021
The World for People who Think

Puppet Masters
Map

Target

Trump's 'Prosper Africa' strategy - while an admission of defeat - is also a wily trap

Andrew Korybko
Eurasia Future
Fri, 14 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
Trump africans
© Brookings
President Trump and African dignitaries.
National Security Advisor John Bolton recently announced the Trump Administration's new "Prosper Africa" strategy, which is basically a tacit admission of defeat acknowledging that the US' objectives there haven't been achieved since the end of the Old Cold War, but it's also a wily trap for encouraging China and Russia to overextend themselves in this resource-rich but high-risk continent as the Great Power competition between the unipolar and multipolar blocs heats up all across the "Global South".

Acknowledging Defeat

The Trump Administration officially promulgated its "Prosper Africa" strategy on Thursday after National Security Advisor John Bolton presented it to an exclusive audience at the neoconservative Heritage Foundation think tank, and it basically boils down to a continental application of the "Trump Doctrine's" America First policy in Africa's contemporary geopolitical and economic conditions. Bolton emphasized that the US' new approach will focus on trade and commercial relations, anti-terrorist cooperation, and the effective and efficient disbursement of aid (including to various peacekeeping missions), all of which will openly promote America's agenda in Africa. As much as he probably hated to admit it, Bolton was forced to acknowledge that the US has failed to achieve its objectives in this part of the world since the end of the Old Cold War and that this has therefore created opportunities for his country's Chinese and Russian Great Power competitors to become powerful forces in Africa.

Comment: The US doesn't do 'mea culpa' (and mean it) so Bolton's message and "Prosper Africa" are ploys for other purposes than his flimsy cover story of 'see we're doing stuff, too'.

      Read More...
Nuke

Ukraine wants nukes - will the West accommodate the regime in Kiev?

Federico Pieraccini
Strategic Culture Foundation
Thu, 13 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
Missile firing
© Unknown
This could be Ukraine...!
Efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation are one of the few issues on which the great powers agree, intending to continue to limit the spread of nuclear weapons and to prevent new entrants into the exclusive nuclear club.

The former Ukrainian envoy to NATO, Major General Petro Garashchuk, recently stated in an interview with Obozrevatel TV:
"I'll say it once more. We have the ability to develop and produce our own nuclear weapons, currently available in the world, such as the one that was built in the former USSR and which is now in independent Ukraine, located in the city of Dnipro (former Dnipropetrovsk) that can produce these kinds of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Neither the United States, nor Russia, nor China have produced a missile named Satan ... At the same time, Ukraine does not have to worry about international sanctions when creating these nuclear weapons."

Comment: R-36 intercontinental ballistic missile (USSR/Ukraine) (NATO name SS-9 Scarp and SS-18 Satan)


Comment: Was the real impetus, for grand-scale Russiaphobia and the threats to exit the INF and START treaties, to get nuclear armament installed next door to Russia? Leverage and proximity.

      Read More...
Rocket

Russia offers draft UNGA resolution to save INF Treaty


RT
Sat, 15 Dec 2018 02:37 UTC
missiles 1989
© MSGT Jose Lopez Jr./U.S. Defense Department
Soviet inspectors and their American escorts stand among U.S. Pershing II missiles destroyed in accordance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
In an attempt to salvage the cornerstone treaty limiting the deployment of nuclear missiles, which the US has decided to unilaterally suspend, Moscow has introduced a draft resolution to the United Nations General Assembly.

The US decision to leave the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty could seriously undermine international non-proliferation as well as arms control mechanisms, and would jeopardize world security, the Russian delegation said, presenting the draft to the UNGA.

The resolution urges the parties to engage in consultations on strategic issues and key points of concern, in the hope that constructive dialogue will not only lead to compliance with the treaty but pave the way for further efforts in global arms reduction. The document also calls for additional 'confidence-building' measures, and urges the international community to safeguard the INF treaty.

Washington has accused Russia of being in breach of the treaty and said it will unilaterally pull out in two months unless Moscow provides convincing evidence that it is compliant. While the US accuses Russia of building banned missiles, Moscow denies the claims and in turn says American missile defense systems in Europe, presumably designed to counter Iran and North Korea, could be used offensively against Russia. Moscow is also concerned about American heavy combat drones, which can perform the functions of ground-launched cruise missiles, in violation of the treaty. Russia has vowed to observe the INF treaty as long as the US does, and is trying to foster a dialogue to maintain the agreement.

Comment: The US needs to power trip its way into negotiations. Its show of 'strength' instead reveals its weakness.
See also:

      Read More...
Jet5

In 2018, Russian defense detected more than 3K spy planes near its borders

Paul Antonopoulos
FRN
Fri, 14 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
Russian radar coverage
© Planeman 2010
In 2018, anti-air defense forces detected and escorted about 3,000 foreign fighter aircraft, of which more than 1,000 were reconnaissance aircraft, reported the Russian Aerospace Force.

The exact number of foreign military aircraft was announced by the commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces Radiotechnical Troops, Major General Andrei Koban, in an interview with the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper:
"The intensity of air traffic within the limits of responsibility of the Radiotechnical Troops is what mainly hampers military service. In 2018, the units in service of the Radiotechnical Troops detected and monitored more than 980,000 aerial targets, among which there were about three thousand foreign airplanes including more than 1,000 reconnaissance aircraft."
At the same time, the Russian major general underlined that the air defense units were put in combat readiness more than four thousand times.

"This is clear evidence of the high voltage of the service in the Radiotechnical Troops, which we are accustomed to and for which we are ready," Koban said.

In his words, Russian anti-aircraft units detect and escort more than five thousand aerial objects daily, of which about 2,500 are foreigners. In addition, each day about 20 military units are put in combat readiness.
      Read More...
Arrow Down

US faces its African 'moment of truth': It is losing out to China

Michael Cohen, Samer Al-Atrush
Bloomberg
Fri, 14 Dec 2018 12:00 UTC
Bolton
© Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg
US National Security Advisor John Bolton
When a press release announced that President Donald Trump's National Security Adviser John Bolton would unveil a new American strategy for Africa, it raised the question: What was the old one?

From Algeria to Zimbabwe, the U.S. risks losing sway over the 1.2 billion people who inhabit the world's second-most populous continent. Bolton's speech on Thursday acknowledged as much, as he framed the administration's strategic rethink around countering gains made by the U.S.'s primary geopolitical rivals.

"Africa is incredibly important," Bolton said Thursday at the Heritage Foundation in Washington. "If we didn't understand it before, the competition posed by China and Russia and others should highlight that for us."

But much of the strategy Bolton laid out, including counterterrorism and overhauling foreign aid, may result in a more narrow focus on the continent. And the administration's trade initiatives -- Bolton said the U.S. will look for bilateral deals -- wouldn't arrive for years to come.

That means the U.S. could miss investment opportunities in a region with the world's fastest-growing middle class, a continent that will account for half of global population growth by 2050. Led by Ghana and Kenya, African nations are stitching together a trade union designed to bolster intra-Africa commerce. The initiative has a long ways to go, but if it can achieve critical mass, the continent's combined GDP would be almost the size of Germany's.

Comment: See also:

      Read More...
Star of David

Australia has recognized West Jerusalem as the Israeli capital


BBC
Sat, 15 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
Jerusalem dome
© Getty Images
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed that his government will recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. However, he said Australia's embassy would not move from Tel Aviv, until a peace settlement was achieved. He added Australia also recognised the aspirations of the Palestinians to a state with a capital in East Jerusalem.

The status of Jerusalem is one of the most contested issues between Israel and the Palestinians. Opposition Labor party leader Bill Shorten said he would reverse the decision if he won next year's elections.

US President Donald Trump drew international criticism last year when he reversed decades of American foreign policy by recognising the ancient city as Israel's capital. The US embassy was relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May.
      Read More...
Target

Maduro: Military must be combat ready to defeat 'imperialistic plots'


Sputnik
Fri, 14 Dec 2018 07:47 UTC
Maduro
© AP/Ariana Cubillos
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said he had instructed the Armed Forces to maintain the highest level of combat readiness to defeat "imperialistic plots."

"I have instructed our Armed Forces to be ready and maintain the highest level of readiness, discipline, leadership and training to defeat imperialistic plots and support peace. Venezuela relies on you," Maduro wrote on Twitter.

Maduro has accused US National Security Adviser John Bolton of plotting to overthrow and assassinate him with the help from Colombia, whose president Ivan Duque, Maduro claimed, was part of the plan.

On Thursday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza handed a note of protest to the top US diplomat in the country, Jimmy Story, over an alleged coup plot.

Comment: See also:

      Read More...
Bad Guys

Kosovo's US-backed army: A nominal claim to statehood, revenge on EU and future NATO vassal


RT
Fri, 14 Dec 2018 19:23 UTC
Kosovo Security Force
© Reuters / Laura Hasani
Kosovo Security Force
Kosovo has upset just about everyone (except the US) by creating its army, in a move that researchers see as revenge against both Serbia and the EU, and an attempt to better stake a claim for the breakaway region's sovereignty.

On Friday, the parliament of the breakaway Serbian region of Kosovo voted to create a 5,000-strong standing army. Belgrade has denounced the move, calling it the "most direct threat to peace and stability in the region." But even the EU, despite its support for Kosovo's self-proclaimed independence, was not entirely happy, and NATO has objected to it, calling it "ill-timed." Meanwhile, the UN Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, told TASS that any effort to block the presence of the existing international peacekeeping force would violate UN Security Council resolution 1244. Out of the major international players, only the US cheered Pristina on.

Three researchers who studied the history, politics and conflicts of former Yugoslavia and the greater Balkans, have weighed in on why Kosovo chose to seemingly alienate its regional allies.

Comment: Kosovo should be careful about hedging all its bets on an ailing super power like the US:

See also:

      Read More...
Gingerbread

It's actually happening: German court mandates that 'diverse' be added as a 'gender' to national birth register


Deutsche Welle
Fri, 14 Dec 2018 00:00 UTC
Men and woman
The German parliament was forced by the courts to make "diverse" an option on the birth register. Critics are split on whether the law goes too far, or not far enough.

Germans will soon be able to choose a third gender on the register of births, with "diverse" set to become an option.

Up until now, people had to choose between "male" and "female" when giving their gender, or leave the option blank.

But following a vote in the German parliament late on Thursday intersex people - people whose sexual anatomy does not fit the typical definitions of male and female - will be allowed to change their entry to "diverse."

Comment: Wow, this is actually happening.

See also:
Sweden's own Jordan B. Peterson: Professor refuses to comply with medical school demanding 'correct' gender terminology
Are gender feminists and transgender activists ignoring science?

      Read More...
Headphones

Putin: Drug content in rap songs is concerning, but banning will only make things worse


RT
Sat, 15 Dec 2018 19:18 UTC
putin drugs
© Global Look Press / Kremlin Pool (L) / Castello-Ferbos / Godong (R)
Banning rappers is a bad idea, and the state should fight drug culture rather than youth culture, Vladimir Putin has said, weighing in on the scandal over some Russian rap gigs, canceled for their links to narcotics and violence.

The Russian president on Saturday warned against attempts to ban and prosecute rappers, describing such measures as "the least effective, the worst ones anyone could come up with."

"The effect of them would be opposite to the desired one," Putin said.


Comment: Putin has learned the lesson of the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, some Russians haven't, in addition to practically everyone on the Left in the Western world...


Putin delivered the remarks during a meeting of the presidential council on culture in St. Petersburg, where rap culture, which has recently been a hot topic in Russia, was one of the topics. Over the past few months, Russia's authorities have canceled several concerts featuring the genre at the last minute, justifying it by the artists' promotion of drugs, obscene language and insinuations of a need for violence.

Comment: Note how RFE/RL, the U.S.'s state-run propaganda outlet, puts it:
Speaking at a meeting with cultural advisers at the Kremlin on December 15, Putin said the music should not be banned but controlled.

"If it is impossible to stop, then we must lead it and direct it," Putin was quoted by Russian media as saying at the meeting.

His comments come amid a wave of cancellations of concerts by popular artists who commentators say are channeling the political and economic frustrations of young Russians.

The crackdown has evoked Soviet-era censorship of the arts.
Yeah, sure. But it wasn't so long ago that great bastion of democracy - the USA - banned music for similar reasons:
The 1978 Supreme Court case FCC v. Pacifica Foundation established that the FCC had the power to regulate the broadcast of content considered "indecent" on terrestrial radio and television.

In 1985, the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), founded by Tipper Gore, published the "Filthy Fifteen"-a list of fifteen songs it deemed to be the most objectionable due to their references to drugs and alcohol, sexual acts, violence, or "occult" activities.
In 1948, Memphis police confiscated records from stores and destroyed those they considered obscene. In 1952 the Weavers were blacklisted for their political beliefs. Cleveland banned rock concerts in 1965. The BBC banned Sgt. Pepper's in 1967, and Jimi Hendrix in 1969. Nixon censored songs about drug use. The BBC again banned songs deemed too 'sensitive' for the Gulf War in 1991 (including Lennon's "Imagine", The Bangles' "Walk Like an Egyptian" and Phil Collins's "In the Air Tonight"). Clear Channel recommended a post-9/11 song ban (again including "Imagine", in addition to Rage Against the Machine).

      Read More...
Amazon Smile
Revolt! T-shirts