Google’s European boss told MPs he does not know his own salary during a grilling over the tech giant’s controversial tax affairs. Matt Brittin appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday to answer questions regarding a deal struck between Google and the government, whereby the internet company paid a mere £130 million (US$185 million) in tax in the last 10 years. [...]

NATO and its allies talk about sending forces into Syria not to defeat ISIS but out of fear the Syrian government in alliance with Russia, Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards may defeat ISIS, political analyst Caleb Maupin told RT. The Western media is reporting that Russia is to propose a ceasefire in Syria starting March, 1 as part of a growing frenzy over Moscow's involvement [...]

In an angry tirade Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Washington of causing the bloodbath in Syria by not recognizing as terrorists the Kurdish forces fighting against Islamic State in the region. Bringing a new level of pressure to bear on its NATO ally, the Turkish president questioned Washington’s commitment as a fellow coalition member. [...]

When western media makes up stories about Russia, it's no big deal. When Russian media get things wrong, it's "hybrid war." Last week, British state-controlled TV created hysteria with a documentary about a putative Russian invasion of Latvia. [...]

Hillary Clinton lost the New Hampshire primary vote, but her concession speech sounded like that of a winner, specifically the one who had just defeated her: Bernie Sanders. On the issues of big banks and campaign finance reform, the echo was clear. “Senator Sanders and I both want to get secret unaccountable money out of politics,” Clinton told supporters on Tuesday night after results sh [...]

Kiev risks returning the country to an uncontrolled economic crisis if reforms and tight fiscal policy are not continued, Ukraine’s Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko said on Wednesday. Last year Ukraine's GDP contracted 10.5 percent while inflation hit more than 45 percent, the second-worst after Venezuela. [...]

NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels have agreed to form an “enhanced” rotational force in Eastern Europe and step up military exercises there. The move comes despite multiple Russian appeals to the alliance to avoid provocative steps. “NATO Defense Ministers agreed on an enhanced forward presence in the eastern part of our Alliance,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said [...]

Air Force Maj. Gen. James F. Martin Jr. fainted at the rostrum during a media briefing when he was talking about the F-35 plane in Pentagon on Wednesday. The high-ranking officer was delivering a report on the Air Force budget and in particular about the future of the ill-fated F-35 program when he experienced a dizzy spell. [...]

The premier of the German state of Bavaria has lashed out at Chancellor Angela Merkel's handling of the refugee crisis, calling the current policy a “rule of injustice” – a term typically used to describe dictatorships or oppressive regimes. [...]

Two US Air Force A-10 warplanes carried out airstrikes on Aleppo Wednesday, destroying nine facilities, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported. The same day, the Pentagon accused Moscow of bombing two hospitals, despite no Russian flights over the city. [...]

The neocons and liberal hawks who dominate the U.S. foreign policy and media establishment are pushing the world toward a nuclear showdown with Russia as few people hear a comprehensive response from the other side, an imbalance that a new Russian documentary addresses, writes Gilbert Doctorow. Without mincing words, the new Russian documentary World Order is a devastating critique of U.S. glob [...]

The twin explosions of post-9/11 national security extravagance and Citizens United political spending bonanza have reshaped Washington — not only in its political outlook but physically, with this New Class preferring lavish McMansions to show off their newfound wealth, as Mike Lofgren describes. In 1927, H.L. Mencken rode by train through the Pennsylvania coal country. [...]

Hillary Clinton is under fire for defending the millions of dollars she has collected from Wall Street and other monied interests, as critics charge that her rationalization of those contributions ignores the dangers of a pay-for-play political system and amounts to an acceptance—if not a "tacit embrace"—of the role of money in politics. [...]

I won’t vote against Hillary Clinton because she’s female, but I don’t intend to vote for her because I am. We need more fundamental changes in this country I am a feminist. And I would like to one day break the glass ceiling with a progressive woman who sees class and race as fundamental problems in American society. [...]

Clear evidence that the Syrian conflict has reached a critical stage comes with the Saudi announcement that it is willing to send troops to Syria – along with the UAE and Bahrain – to help try and overthrow Assad under the pretext of fighting ISIS. Just four months ago, the fate of the Assad government appeared all but sealed. [...]

Moscow provided the Netherlands with radar and other data on the MH17 crash but it has all been ignored, a Russian aviation official said, responding to the relatives of Dutch victims who recently wrote to President Vladimir Putin. Oleg Storchevoy, the deputy head of Rosaviatsia, the agency representing Russia in the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash investigation, has personally addressed th [...]

Prominent US linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky has lashed out at Turkish President Recep Erdogan, who has accused him of being “dark” and having “mentality of colonialism” for signing an open letter protesting Ankara’s military op against the Kurds. [...]

Many Middle Eastern countries have repeatedly expressed their desire to purchase large shipments of Russian T-90 tanks. If not a direct opposition from Washington, this machine possibly would have become indispensable in Arab East and in Iran. [...]

Hillary Clinton “won” the Iowa caucuses, in part because of 6 coin tosses all of which she won! Six precincts, at least, ended up with a dead tie between the two candidates. The tie was broken and a winner declared based on a coin toss in each case. [...]

The senator from Vermont has 16-point lead on Clinton in New Hampshire, and other results show he'd win against any Republican nominee, which Clinton wouldn't Bernie Sanders is not only ahead of Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire, where the next U.S. presidential primary will take place on February 9, he is also leading her among female voters and proves more electable against Republican rivals, [...]

Riled by a meeting between a US official and members of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which controls the Syrian town of Kobane, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told Washington to choose between Turkey and, as he put it, the “terrorists.” [...]

The Saudi plan to send ground troops into Syria appears to be just a ruse. But this is precisely the kind of reckless saber-rattling that could ignite an all-out war, one that could embroil the United States and Russia. Saudi rulers have reportedly amassed a 150,000-strong army to invade Syria on the alleged pretext “to fight against terrorism” and to defeat the so-called Islamic State (a [...]