Politics

TTIP vs Democracy: London activists to resist controversial EU-US trade deal
Hundreds of political activists will gather in London on Saturday to protest a controversial EU-US trade agreement campaigners warn will enhance corporate power, and promote the privatization of vital public services. The trade deal, known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), is currently being negotiated behind closed doors in Brussels. It has been the subject of heate [...]
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Personal details of murdered journalist & ex-MP found posted on Ukrainian ‘enemies of state’ database
The journalist and ex-MP who were gunned down in Kiev this week were on an ‘enemies of the state’ database – a social media website supported by the aide to Ukraine's interior minister. The bloggers also have a Twitter account to share "successes." [...]
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US military instructors deployed to Ukraine to train local forces
Paratroopers of the US 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Vincenza, Italy, have arrived in western Ukraine to provide training for Ukrainian government troops. The announcement came on US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt's twitter account. The diplomat posted pictures of the US paratroopers marching through the airport in the western Ukrainian city of Lvov. [...]
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End of the “special relationship?” Secret US memo reportedly says UK losing influence with Washington
A secret memo prepared by a Congressional think tank and seen by the Daily Mail says that the US may need a "reassessment of the special relationship" with its key economic partner, Britain, "because its geopolitical setting has been changing." Winston Churchill's 1946 speech to Westminster College, in Fulton, coined the phrase "special relationship" to describe the exceptionally friendly polit [...]
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Vladimir Putin steals the show in TIME 100 reader’s poll
In a diverse field of competitors made up of pop stars, technology gurus, visionaries and politicians - and at a time when US-Russia relations have hit rock bottom - President Putin has emerged victorious in Time magazine - 2015 reader poll. Among the 100 most influential people in the world, as hand selected by the editors of TIME, the Russian leader proved his rock-star credentials by edging [...]
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Too little too late? NSA starting to implement “Snowden-proof” cloud storage
The NSA is implementing a huge migration to custom-designed cloud architecture it says will revolutionize internal security and protect against further leaks by data analysts with unfettered access to classified information. Put simply, the NSA hopes to keep future Edward Snowdens out by employing a cloud file storage system it built from scratch. [...]
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Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and King Hamlet might be dead – but Putin’s the ghost in everybody’s room
For the paranoia industry, the spectre of Vladimir Putin is the gift that keeps on giving. Theres rarely a situation these days in which many media elements won't invoke the Russian president's name. Shakespeare wasn’t exactly a horror writer, but the bard was rather fond of using ghosts as plot devices. Arguably the most famous is ‘King Hamlet,’ the eponymous hero’s late father. [...]
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US, UK thank Russia for evacuation of their citizens from Yemen
The British Foreign Office, as well as the US Secretary of State, have thanked Moscow for the evacuation of their citizens from war-torn Yemen, as Russian planes and ships take hundreds of Russian and foreign nationals from the conflict zone. In a phone conversation with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, US Secretary of State John Kerry “expressed gratitude for assistance in evacuati [...]
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Americans don’t want Congress to sabotage Iran deal – new poll
Although some lawmakers, including Democrats, believe Congress should have a say in any potential removal of Iranian sanctions, most Americans say Congress should not keep a possible a nuclear deal from being implemented. Roughly 61 percent of Americans support the framework agreement struck between Iran and the P5+1 (the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany) earlier this month, according [...]
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French military intelligence rules out “Russian invasion plans” for Ukraine
France's intelligence chief has questioned NATO's claims of Russia preparing to attack Ukraine as their agents failed to spot any activities signaling this - either before or after the crisis began. A statement by the chief of France’s military intelligence, General Christophe Gomart, was published on the National Assembly’s website. [...]
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Ukraine bans Communism & Nazism, celebrates UPA nationalists as ‘freedom fighters’
Ukrainian MPs have passed a law banning communist and national-socialist totalitarian regimes, and all their symbols. Another bill celebrates 20th-century nationalists accused of links to Nazi Germany, granting them social benefits. A new law equating communism to Nazism by banning both regimes was passed in the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, on Thursday. [...]
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5 ways Vladimir Putin is driving America crazy
Although Russian President Putin has worked to form a strong and lasting partnership with Washington - in fields as diverse as fighting terrorism and exploring outer space - the spirit of goodwill and bilateral relations has not been reciprocated. [...]
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Israelis vote against pretence of peace
Despite the predictions, the Israeli left has been soundly beaten in Tuesday's elections by its more honest "right wing", whose commitment to the total eradication of the Palestinians as any kind of political entity is openly stated. The defeat of the Zionist Union, ostensibly committed to negotiations and a two-state solution, should not, therefore, be read as the defeat of any genuine desire [...]
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6 ways US gov’t is breaking own censorship record
The Obama administration claimed an unmatched commitment to government transparency this week, even as it denied or delayed more requests for public information than ever, and claimed exemption from freedom of information laws. After announcing that its Office of Administration would no longer be subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on the National Freedom of Information Day, the Wh [...]
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“Rather be in prison than work for fascists” – Crimean Prosecutor Poklonskaya
The chief prosecutor of Russia's Crimean Republic says Ukrainian law enforcers threatened her with prison and death for accepting the post, but failed to make her fear them. “Agents from the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office called me and threatened me, said that they would throw me in prison, that they would kill me, tear me into pieces,” Natalya Poklonskaya told TASS in an interview [...]
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Most significant break between Germany and US since WWII
People in the US, like ex-CIA chief Michael Hayden, are trying to put Berlin back in place dissatisfied that the Germans are acting like adults but not like subservient servants from of the “five eyes” alliance, says Ray McGovern, a former CIA officer. Speaking at a Washington-based think tank, the New America Foundation, on Tuesday former NSA and CIA director, General Michael Hayden, said [...]
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33% of Americans out of workforce, highest rate since 1978
The number of Americans aged 16 and older not participating in the labor force hit 92,898,000 in February, tying December's record, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Over the longer trend, the labor force participation rate was between 62.9 percent and 62.7 percent from April 2014 through February, and has been hovering around 62.9 percent or lower in 13 of the [...]
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Germany slams NATO European commander’s comments on Ukraine as “dangerous propaganda” – Spiegel
A top NATO European commander’s exaggerated comments on the Ukrainian conflict are ‘dangerous propaganda,’ and put the West at risk of losing credibility, sources in the German Chancellor’s Office told Der Spiegel. General Philip Breedlove made [...]
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West’s “propaganda war for public opinion”
The West, particularly NATO states, have launched an aggressive and sophisticated propaganda war accusing Russia for the Ukraine crisis in order to get public support, Patrick Heningson of 21 Century Wire.com, told RT's In the Now. Why don’t facts seem to go anywhere in this Ukraine crisis? [...]
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