In response to the exchange of five high-level Taliban operatives for one US soldier–Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl–the US Senate Intelligence Committee held a closed-door briefing Tuesday, wanting answers as to why they were not included in the process, which from the beginning has raised concern for various reasons. Among the criticisms are that the exchange … Read more
Russia is being sued by Ukraine for 1 trillion Ukrainian Hryvnias (UAH) for the illegal annexation of Crimea. The announcement was made by Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk Tuesday in the Verkhovna Rada. The PM told the Parliament, “Ukraine has begun the process. The General Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation. And in a criminal case, the Ukrainian government … Read more
Bill HR4490, which has already passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee with bipartisan support, and is expected to be taken up by the full House as early as this summer, would create a new “federal news network,” called Freedom News Network, which would subsume other US international news agencies. Under a section of the bill headed “Creation of … Read more
A new bill has passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee with bipartisan support. The USICA bill, if it passes into law–it is expected to be taken up by the full House as early as this summer and the Senate is working on a similar bill–will abolish the current USIB Act, and the current bipartisan board in … Read more
4,500 Russian fighters have illegally crossed the Ukraine border from Russia into Donetsk and Lugansk, said Yaroslav Gonchar, deputy commander of the Azov battalion to the Ukraine Independent Information Agency (UNIAN) Thursday. “According to the information that I have, approximately four and a half thousand fighters from Russia have entered into Donetsk and Lugansk regions … Read more
Joseph Grima, editor-in-chief of Domus magazine, recently commented on the state of design in Italy–a country with a long design tradition and which has undergone a prolonged crisis, saying that “an era is drawing to an end for Italian design,” and “a new idea will be born.” Grima’s words on the current state and future … Read more
MIA self-directed the music video for her latest release, “Double Bubble Trouble,” in which attractive, customized 3-D printed guns in various shapes and sizes owned and shared by young people and neon peace-sign drones hover over groups of girl dancers. The video also flashes an infomercial of 3-D printing guns, 1984, groups of teen boys … Read more
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statements, affirmations and denials in recent months have caused the US State Department, the New York Times, and other news agencies to begin to publish articles labeling his words “lies,” “fiction” and “false claims.” Putin has maintained strong stances against accusations of Russian involvement in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, as well as … Read more
Alexsandr Boroday, the leader of the Donetsk Peoples Republic in East Ukraine held a press conference Saturday in which he admitted that the pro-Russian actions in Crimea as well as those in Donetsk, Lugansk and other contended areas in Eastern Ukraine, made up a team and were organized by “a single command.” Boroday, who is … Read more
Tuesday, the US government released satellite images which show Russian forces still near Ukraine’s eastern border, contradicting assertions by the Russian government of late that the forces had been withdrawn. The photos were published by the US State Department and on the US Mission to NATO’s Twitter account. The troops pictured are assembled at Belgorod, … Read more
The petition to designate Russia a “state sponsor of terrorism” has passed the half way mark at the Obama Administration’s White House. The petition currently has 54,085 signatures, and needed only 45,915 signatures by May 23 to to qualify for reaching its goal of 100,000. The petition, created April 23, reads, “In its unannounced war against Ukraine, … Read more
The peace deal signed by South Sudanese leaders President Salva Kiir and Dr Riek Machar in Addis Abada, Ethiopia, Friday has been broken. Both sides are blaming the other. The agreement came at the urging of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who visited South Sudan Friday and spoke to the two warring leaders. Pressure has … Read more