Russian Ukraine Invasion: Director Oleg Sentsov at the front: Russians ′are scorching the earth′

When Russia attacked Ukraine, Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov joined his country's Territorial Defense Forces and went to fight. Since 2014, Sentsov has been an icon of Ukrainian resistance to Russia's annexation of Crimea.

In May of that year, he was arrested by Russian secret services on suspicion of planning terrorist activities, and taken to Moscow. In 2015 he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment and transferred to a Russian penal colony. Filmmakers from all over Europe called repeatedly for him to be released. Ukraine and the West deemed him a political prisoner. Oleg Sentsov was finally able to return to Ukraine in September 2019, when he was freed as part of a prisoner exchange.

Read more at: Director Oleg Sentsov at the front: Russians ′are scorching the earth′ | Europe | News and current affairs from around the continent | DW | 01.06.2022

EU Presidency: Six takeaways as Macron unveils priorities of French EU presidency

France's upcoming presidency of the European Union will aim to "move towards a powerful Europe in the world, a fully sovereign Europe, free to make its own choices and able to master its destiny," said French president Emmanuel Macron.

The six-month tenure, due to start on January 1, overlaps with the country's presidential election.

Here are six takeaways from Macron's speech on Thursday as he unveiled Paris' priorities for the rotating presidency of the 27-nation bloc.

Read more: Six takeaways as Macron unveils priorities of French EU presidency | Euronews

COP 26: Greta Thunberg: Activist calls on banks to stop funding climate 'destruction'

The teenage Swedish climate activist is in London to take part in protests demanding the financial system stops funding fossil fuel projects.

She told the BBC's Andrew Marr that "change is possible" at the summit, if pressure on politicians is maintained.

But she added she has not been "officially" invited to speak at the event in Glasgow.

Read more at: Greta Thunberg: Activist calls on banks to stop funding climate 'destruction' - BBC News

Afghanistan: Taliban′s newly ′moderate′ claims fade in face of harsh reality

While Taliban officials insisted in press conferences and statements to media outlets that they will hold members of the militant group accountable for their actions and investigate reports of reprisals, evidence of violence and atrocities carried out by the group continued to emerge Saturday.

The Taliban said it is preparing to form a new government and will roll out those plans in the coming weeks. The earliest days of the group's return to the capital of Kabul have left many worried that even as the Taliban tries to strike a conciliatory tone, the group's actions belie the same ruthless barbarism that defined its time in power from 1999 to 2001.

Read more at: Afghanistan: Taliban′s newly ′moderate′ claims fade in face of harsh reality | News | DW | 21.08.2021

US NATION BUI;DING POLICY IN DEEP TROUBLE ; Yes, the Taliban’s extreme, but I secretly welcome this defeat of the US ideology of globalism, liberalism and consumerism - -By Brett Sinclair

Around the world, the reaction to the US withdrawal is similarly unsympathetic (as it was to the initial invasion), and both Russia and China have stepped in to offer tentative ties to the newly liberated nation of Afghanistan.

However, how can a Westerner like me feel sympathy for the Taliban? Believe it or not, there are many who view the recent dramatic turn of events with an observer's dark joy. Those who are tired of seeing their own culture and religion eroded from within, and who feel a kind of secret relief at seeing someone successfully resist globalism, feminism, LGBTQ+ and critical race theory (CRT) ideology. They can see that their society has been turned into something dark by a manufactured value-system, promulgated by political elites and the money-power behind them.

Read complete report at : : Yes, the Taliban’s extreme, but I secretly welcome this defeat of the US ideology of globalism, liberalism and consumerism — RT Op-ed

US Middle East Policy: Deadly clash in Syria a vivid reminder of US troops' ill-defined mission

US Middle East Polcy: Since Trump abruptly ended his pact with the Kurds, the US presence in the country’s north-east has been stuck in a quagmire

Read more at:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/13/syria-us-troops-mission-qamishli-quagmire?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Add_to_Firefox

The Environment: EU Beats U.S., Adopts Its Own Green New Deal

The European Union today launched a package of 50 policy measures including decarbonizing by 2050 and instituting a carbon border tax. But Eastern European countries are fiercely resisting.

Read more at:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davekeating/2019/12/11/eu-beats-us-adopts-its-own-green-new-deal/

Migration Policy EU: - While EU split on migration widens - by Jess Smee

Illegal immigration poses an ongoing political crisis for the European bloc and politicians' failure to act has left Europeans reportedly more concerned about immigration than climate change.

Will November's change of leadership in the European Commission help improve its track record on the humanitarian emergency?

Large numbers of migrants continued to arrive on European shores this summer and hundreds of people died en route so far this year.

But while immigration dominates the headlines, Europe is divided on how to respond, meaning that the issue tops the to-do list for incoming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Pressure is rising on Europe to take a firm stance on the extended emergency.

In August, Greece underscored its calls for the EU to share the burden of new arrivals amid a sharp increase in migrants landing on Greek islands in recent weeks.

Deputy minister for citizen protection Giorgios Koumoutsakos even warned that the country had "exhausted its capacity" to cope with the newcomers - and called on the rest of Europe for help.

And as well as loud complaints from the front-line nations, Europe is struggling to bridge increasingly polarised political positions on immigration.

Read more at: EU split on migration widens

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EU: A new made for action for the EU - proritising - the polity - by Sophie Pornschlegel

Read more at:
https://www.socialeurope.eu/a-new-mode-of-action-for-europe-prioritising-the-polity

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US Foreign Policy: US Cuba Policy Is an Embarrassment and both Canada and the EU protest and warn of reprisals .- by César Chelala

The Trump administration’s recently decided to allow Cuban-American immigrants to sue the Cuban government for property confiscated from them after Fidel Castro took power in 1959.

The administration is also limiting the amount of money that Cuban Americans can send to their relatives on the island, as well as the frequency of transactions.

These are wrong decisions that will only increase the suffering of the Cuban people, and unnecessarily increase the antagonism between the Cuban and U.S. governments.

James Williams, president of Engage Cuba, a Washington-based advocacy group which is working to lift the embargo on Cuba, wrote in a statement that
“The only way to get property claimants what they deserve is through diplomatic negotiations, which President Trump just threw off the table.”

At the same time, limiting remittances to the island will only increase the suffering of Cubans who depend largely on the financial aid from their relatives in the United States.

Shortly after President Trump announced his decision allowing U.S. lawsuits, the European Union and Canada issued a joint warning against the United States.

“The EU and Canada consider the extraterritorial application of unilateral Cuba-related measures contrary to international law,” stated EU’s foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini and Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, in a statement also signed by Canada’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland.

They also warned U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that enforcement of these measures would lead to reprisals in Europe.

Read more at: US Cuba Policy Is an Embarrassment - The Globalist

EU Headscarf policy: European countries consider differing bans on the headscarf

It is not just in Austria where young girls could soon be banned from wearing headscarves in classrooms.

The leader of Germany's liberal Free Democratic Party, the FDP, has also proposed a ban in the North Rhine-Westphalia region - and nationwide.

A tweet quoting party leader Christian Lindner said "A ban on girls under the age of 14 is proportionate and strengthens personal development."

While the FDP wants to bring a debate on the issue to Germany's parliament, Austria's new coalition government has proposed a ban on headscarves for girls aged under 10 in schools.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said his goal was to confront any development of what he termed "parallel societies" in Austria.

European countries have different policies on the headscarf. While Austria's ban could come in next year, in Germany and Switzerland they already apply to some female teachers, but not to schoolgirls.

Meanwhile in France, children are not allowed to wear headscarves, kippas or larger crosses in the classroom. Only small religious signs are allowed.

But Italy, Belgium and Switzerland allow individual schools to decide.

Read more: European countries consider differing bans on the headscarf | Euronews

EU - when will the EU sit up and smell the roses when it comes to its relations with the US - by RM

EU-US Relations on collision course

When President Trump sits around the table with his policy advisors you can be sure that the EU is not on top of the agenda.

Just compare last weekends state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Trump Estate in Palm Beach Florida to the "sober, cold shoulder" reception by Trump given to European Heads of State, Angela Merkel and Theresa May in Washington DC.

That probably says it all as to how President Trump ranks Europe in his thought process.

Trump has also said that he trusts German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin equally. Does that imply that the United States will pursue a policy of equidistance between the EU and the Kremlin?

Everything is possible .

It is not an idle question. Trump has made it obvious that established partnerships, alliances, rules, and protocols mean little to him. In his tweets, he rants about the media, attacks independent judges, targets individuals and companies, and belittles international organizations.

But even though the US under Trump is now a very unattractive ally for Europe, writing off the US as a European partner – which some in Europe would like to do sooner rather than later – would probably be a major mistake.

In the meantime, maybe Mr. Trump and his advisors should start to read-up on how important the EU and the US are to  each others economic well being.

• Total US investment in the EU is three times higher than in all of Asia.
• EU investment in the US is around eight times the amount of EU investment in India and China together.
• EU and US investments are the real driver of this EU-US  transatlantic relationship, contributing to growth and jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. It is estimated that a third of the trade across the Atlantic actually consists of intra-company transfers.
• The transatlantic relationship also defines the shape of the global economy as a whole. Either the EU or the US is the largest trade and investment partner for almost all other countries in the global economy.
• The EU and the US economies account together for about half the entire world GDP and for nearly a third of world trade flows.

Nevertheless, it is also very important for the EU to realize, if they haven't already, that they can't continue to be a "lackey" of the US, having to say "how high", whenever  the US says "jump". .

But first,  before issuing an avalanche of "directives", the EU Commission, which has been running a pretty colorless "operation", should set itself a primary goal, which is to get all the member countries of the EU running in the same direction.This is not the case at present.

They can do this by initiating some basic changes as to how the EU operates, in order to make it more homogeneous and people friendly including:

* Having the President of the EU Commission, who is presently appointed,  instead elected by popular vote in all EU member states.
* Develop an independent foreign policy for the EU, which is not aligned with any other country's foreign policy.
* Develop an independent EU Military defense force, which includes a central EU command and is not aligned with any other foreign military force.  

It is  no secret that NATO (which includes many EU member states)  and which was initially intended, after WW2, to protect Europe from Soviet aggression during the cold that followed, was gradually expanded by the US into a US government policy controlled global strike force.

Its purpose being to support US foreign policy in military operations around the world.

For the past past 16 years, however, mainly focusing on Afghanistan and the Middle East.

So far the results of these NATO military operations in Afghanistan and the Middle East (Iraq, Syria, Libya) have been a complete disaster.

In the meantime, NATO and US military campaigns in the Middle East over these past 16 years have also resulted in hundreds of thousands of people killed, created millions of displaced persons, flooding the EU and Turkey with refugees,and created major economic and social hardship.

Last but not least, the turmoil surrounding these wars  in the Middle East also resulted in the birth of the so-called Islamic State, which in reality is an assortment of former Iraqi soldiers, disturbed Islamic radicals and young indoctrinated Islamic fanatics from Europe and other parts of the world who have made terrorism their trade mark around the globe.   

Unfortunately, there is very little time left for the EU to change cours in this turbulent world..

The EU  must be warned, however, that if they fall apart into smaller states again, these individual states will become "chopped meat" in serving US, Russian and Chinese interests and ambitions to obtain global dominance

If BREXIT wasn't a wake-up call, Mr. Trumps foreign policy "tap-dance" with Russia and China certainly is a signal for the EU Commission to sit up straight and smell the roses.

EU-Digest

EU Economy: What will the European economy look like in 2017? - by Lizzie O'Leary and Stephen Beard

There were three big electoral events affecting the global economy in the second half of 2016.

The biggest event  by far, of course, occurred in the U.S. on November 8th. The other two were in Europe and are set to have repercussions well into 2017: the vote for Brexit in the U.K. and the "no" vote in the Italian referendum.

Marketplace European Bureau Chief Stephen Beard joined Lizzie O’Leary to take a look at Europe moving into the New Year.

Read more: What will the European economy look like in 2017?

USA: Betrayed: America's Day of Reckoning Exposed - by JL Yastine December 15, 2016

Recently, a rogue economist walked into my office, sat down and with a calm voice that did not waver, said: “They betrayed us.”

Knowing that this economist has met with and counseled the world’s most powerful leaders including former presidents Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr. and Bill Clinton, I immediately gave him my full attention.

“This is a bigger financial threat than Islamic terrorism or a Nuclear Iran,” he explained. Our fiercest enemies and closest allies have just formed a 57-nation alliance. They have one goal: to dethrone America as the world’s financial superpower.”

Taking documents from his briefcase, this man revealed how this “alliance” has already obtained a $47 trillion financial arsenal — 300% larger than that of the United States.

He exposed their exact plot, naming names and pulling reams of intelligence from his briefcase … diplomatic cables, photos, data sheets and more…

My stomach turned as he revealed why the financial fallout from this betrayal could equate to three Great Depressions — striking all at once — sending tens of millions of Americans from Starbucks lines to breadlines.

“Life savings will be vaporized by 80%. The stock market will plummet by 60%. Real estate will fall by 50%,” he warned. “Millions of seniors will go from luxurious retirement communities to government-sponsored nursing homes as Social Security and Medicare get slashed.”

He then handed me a video saying, “This reveals everything.”

I posted that exact video right here.Click here to watch it.

 Read more: Betrayed: America's Day of Reckoning Exposed - The Sovereign Investor

Middle East: Obama’s Syria Policy: The Illusion of US Power in the Middle East - Gareth Porter

The U.S.-Russian ceasefire agreement has collapsed and the the massive Russian bombing campaign in Aleppo has escalated. As a result, the frustration of hawks in Washington over the failure of the Obama administration to use military power in Syria has risen to new heights.

But it is the Obama administration’s role in Syria over the past five years that has led to its present inability to do anything about the Russian military escalation in Aleppo.

The problem is that the administration has pursued policy objectives that it lacked the means to achieve. When Obama called on President Bashar al-Assad to step down in September 2011, the administration believed, incredibly, that he would do so of his own accord.

As former Hillary Clinton aide and Pentagon official, Derek Chollet, reveals in his new book, The Long Game, “Early in the crisis, most officials believed Assad lacked the necessary cunning and fortitude to stay in power.”

Administration policymakers began using the phrase “managed transition” in regard to U.S. policy toward the government, according to Chollet.

The phrase perfectly reflected the vaulting ambitions of policymakers who were eager to participate in a regime change. They saw this regime change as a big win for the United States and Israel and a big loss for Iran.

Not a shred of evidence has ever surfaced suggesting that the US has done anything to pressure its allies to cut off the channels of arms that were strengthening the al-Qaeda-linked militant group, al-Nusra Front.

As a result, the Sunni arms-to-jihadists strategy and the U.S. support for “moderates” were two parts of a broader political-diplomatic strategy of pressure on Assad to step down.

As former U.S. ambassador, Robert Ford observed in February 2015, “For a long time the administration had “looked the other way” while the U.S.- supported forces were coordinating with Nusra Front.

Read more: Obama’s Syria Policy: The Illusion of US Power in the Middle East - The Globalist

Europe's Convinced U.S. Won't Solve Its Problems - Josh Rogin

Europe is facing a convergence of the worst crises since World War II, and the overwhelming consensus among officials and experts here is that the U.S. no longer has the will or the ability to play an influential role in solving them.

At the Munich Security Conference, the prime topics are the refugee crisis, the Syrian conflict, Russian aggression and the potential dissolution of the European Union's very structure. Top European leaders repeatedly lamented that 2015 saw all of Europe’s problems deepen, and unanimously predicted that in 2016 they would get even worse.

“The question of war and peace has returned to the continent,” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the audience, indirectly referring to Russian military interventions. “We had thought that peace had returned to Europe for good."

What was missing from the conference speeches and even the many private discussions in the hallways, compared to previous years, was the discussion of what Europe wanted or even expected the U.S. to do.
Several European officials told me that there was little expectation that President Barack Obama, in his last year in office, would make any significant policy changes to address what European governments see an existential set of crises that can’t wait for a new administration in Washington.

“There’s a shared assessment that the European security architecture is falling apart in many ways,” said Camille Grand, director of the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris. “There is a growing sense that this U.S. administration is focused on establishing a legacy on what has already been achieved rather than trying to achieve anything more. Yet the problems can get much worse.”

During the first day of the conference, the U.S. role in Europe was hardly mentioned in the public sessions. In the private sessions, many participants told me that European governments are not only resigned to a lack of American assertiveness, they also are now reluctantly accepting a Russia that is more present than ever in European affairs, and not for the better.

“There’s not a lot of talk about how the United States can be part of the solution. We seem to be disappearing from their calculations,” said Walter Russell Mead, a historian with the Hudson Institute. “From the European standpoint, Putin has become somebody that like it or not that they have to deal with.”

On Saturday, Secretary of State John Kerry gave a speech filled with optimism about the future of Europe and the trans-Atlantic alliance. He sought to assuage concerns about American withdrawal from the region and paint the current state of affairs in a positive light.

“We know many Europeans right now feel overwhelmed by the latest round of challenges,” he said. “I want to express the confidence of President Obama and all of us in America that, just as it has so many times before, Europe is going to emerge stronger than ever, provided it stays united and builds common responses to these challenges … We are going to do just fine.”


Many in the audience noted that Kerry has little leverage with which to pressure Russia to abide by any cease-fire. There’s little faith among European officials I spoke with that Russia has any plan to end the fighting, unless it is on Moscow's own terms. Lavrov spoke after Kerry and reiterated that Russia would continue to bomb the "terrorists” in Syria, and that Russia’s view of “terrorists” was expansive.

“Kerry is coming in there telling them this is what he hopes they will do, without having a way to elicit a response to them,” said Mead. “That looks like a negotiation, but that’s not actually a negotiation.”
Derek Chollet, who served in the Obama administration from 2009 until last year, told me the White House believes that while the U.S. should stay committed to European security, it is the Europeans who will have to do more to solve their problems.

“It’s a false choice to say either America solves every problem or the problems don’t get solved,” he said. “All of our allies for justifiable reasons want more of the United States, but more of everything is not a strategy.”

In a world of limited resources, according to Chollet, the Obama administration is seeking a way to balance several competing strategic interests and manage the related trade-offs.

“You can put together a long list of individual things you could do more of, but when you add all that up it’s not a sustainable strategy,” he said. “We are not going to solve the European Union’s problems for them.”

That view is not universally held inside the U.S. government. There are officials in the State Department, the U.S. military, and especially in Congress who believe the administration should be doing much more. For example, some support giving arms to the Ukrainian military, establishing safe zones inside Syria, giving the Syrian rebels advanced weaponry to defend themselves, and doing more to remove Assad from power.

In fact, at different times Kerry has supported every one of these policies, but has repeatedly been rebuffed by the White House. Based on his speech, we can conclude he has now come to the same conclusion as European leaders: Obama is not going to drastically change his policies before he leaves office.
For Europe, that might be too long to wait.

Note EU-Digest - Indeed, Europe needs to solve its own problems, but disunity is not the answer to solving any problems. Unity and a stronger united EU is the only answer.  If Europe continues to choose for" individual nationalistic acts",  every country will eventually be gobbled up - one by one- by forces far bigger than them.

Read more: Europe's Convinced U.S. Won't Solve Its Problems - Bloomberg View

U.S.-Turkish War on ISIS: Disaster in the Making - by Conn M. Hallinan

The recent agreement between Turkey and the U.S. to cooperate against the Islamic State (IS) in Syria brings to mind the sociologist C. Wright Mills description of those who make American foreign policy as “crackpot realists”: realists about advancing their careers, crackpots about the policies they pursue.

The plan will allow the U.S. to use Turkish airbases to bomb the IS in exchange for Washington’s support for Ankara re-igniting its 40 year old war with the Kurds. The U.S. will also buy in to creating a “buffer zone” on Syria’s northern border that, according to Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, will allow “Moderate forces like the Free Syrian Army…to take control of areas freed from the ISIL,” or IS. One U.S. official describe the agreement as “a game changer.”

In reality it will entangle the U.S. more deeply in the Syrian civil war and give cover to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’ gambit to deepen ethnic divisions in Turkey as part of a strategy to bring his conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) back into power.

The “plan” will also toss the Kurds, one of Washington’s most reliable allies in the fight against the Islamic State, under a bus. “The Americans are not very clever in calculating this sort of thing,” Kamran Karadaghi, former chief of staff to Iraqi President and Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani, told the Independent’s Patrick Cockburn. “Maybe they calculate that with Turkey on their side, they don’t need the Kurds.”

While Turkey is also bombing the IS, the major focus of its attacks have been the Kurds. On July 23 a few Turkish F-16s bombed a handful of IS targets in Northern Syria. In contrast, 75 Turkish F-16s and F-4Es pounded the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) with 300 smart bombs, striking hundreds of targets.

Asked about the bombings, U.S. State Department official Brett McGurk said that Washington recognized Turkey’s “right to self-defense.”

The massive bombing attack on the PKK in Iraq’s Qandil Mountains shatters a two-year truce in a four-decade old war that has killed more than 40,000 people. The ostensible reason for re-starting a war with the Kurds was a PKK assassination of two Turkish policemen following an Islamic State bombing that killed 31 young Kurdish activists in the Turkish border town of Suruc July 20. The Kurds have long complained that the Erdogan government has encouraged the Syrian insurgents, including turning a blind eye to the activities of the IS.

Read more: U.S.-Turkish War on ISIS: Disaster in the Making

The-collapse-of-Turkey’s-Syria-policy

Catastrophic for Syria and disastrous for Turkey — the consequences of Turkey’s intervention in Syria over the past two years can be summed up in this way. While not admitting that they were wrong, the architects of this policy, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, now appear to be backing off, at least to the extent of tightening border security and seeking to repair the damage they have caused to relations with neighbouring states.

In early August Davutoglu visited Tehran, and now President Hassan Rouhani of Iran has been invited to Ankara. So has Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, with Davutoglu due to visit Baghdad in a few days’ time.
 Both Davutoglu and Erdogan have also shut down the vociferous support they have been expressing for the deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood government. Now they seem to agree that what happens in Egypt is the business of the Egyptian people.

By throwing its weight behind an armed movement seeking the overthrow of the Syrian government, the Turkish Justice and Development Party (the Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi or AKP) took Turkey where no other government had gone since the proclamation of the Turkish Republic in 1923. It provided space for the mobilisation of armed men crossing the border to kill Syrian soldiers and civilians (described as loyalists to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad). It backed the establishment of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the so-called Syrian National Council, a group of exiles which has been absolutely dysfunctional from the start despite the millions of dollars shovelled its way by Turkey and other “friends” of Syria.

There has been no argument that Syria’s oppressive political system needed changing. The starting point of the debate was how and at what cost. With the single exception of open armed intervention, the policy pursued by these so-called “friends” of the Syrian people has been the worst possible option even from the point of view of Syrians who do not like the ruling Syrian Baath Party. There have been no benefits, save for the solidarity engendered amongst the people by this attack on their country. Instead, it has been massive death and destruction all the way.

Turkey’s role has been pivotal in the campaign launched by the “Friends of the Syrian People” to bring down the Syrian regime. In the allocation of responsibilities, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Libya have supplied arms and/or money for bribes and the purchase of weapons. The US has provided intelligence, training and coordination, and perhaps arms, as well as the officially declared “humanitarian” support and provision of non-lethal military equipment. But the opening up of territorial space as a rear base for the armed groups by Jordan and Turkey has been no less of a critical element in the campaign to destroy the government in Damascus.

Read more: The-collapse-of-Turkey’s-Syria-policy - Al-Ahram Weekly

China's strident tone raises concerns among Western governments, analysts - by John Pomfret

China's indignant reaction to the announcement of U.S. plans to sell weapons to Taiwan appears to be in keeping with a new triumphalist attitude from Beijing that is worrying governments and analysts across the globe.

From the Copenhagen climate change conference to Internet freedom to China's border with India, China observers have noticed a tough tone emanating from its government, its representatives and influential analysts from its state-funded think tanks.

"There has been a change in China's attitude," said Kenneth G. Lieberthal, a former senior National Security Council official who is currently at the Brookings Institution. "The Chinese find with startling speed that people have come to view them as a major global player. And that has fed a sense of confidence." Lieberthal said another factor in China's new tone is a sense that after two centuries of exploitation by the West, China is resuming its role as one of the great nations of the world.

For more: China's strident tone raises concerns among Western governments, analysts - washingtonpost.com

OpedNews: Building Economic and Poltical Systems based on Reality - by Michael Richards

For the complete report from OpedNews click on this link

Building Economic and Political Systems based on Reality - by Michael Richards

"This is a call for active citizens to build a new community order. A new world order will rise up from the grassroots as we organize sustainable communities at the local level. We will build networks of communication and connection to build the emerging planetary culture. For two hundred years, the human race has been calling for major change. The American Revolution answered the call, however, the admonition from Thomas Jefferson that we “need a revolution in each generation was not heeded. The advances of human liberty have suffered progressively ever since that time. We are now at a crisis in human civilization; are we going to choose the path of liberty again or let fear lead us down the road to totalitarian government?In our current political milieu, Barack Obama may use the word “change” as an empty political slogan, but neither he nor any other present leader is presenting options for real systemic change. All of our present “leaders” are selling some lame version of the status quo that can no longer work. Our present “leaders” are all asleep at the wheel, heading down a one way road to oblivion. We need to have the courage to face the fact that we have no real leaders at present.When there are no leaders in sight, it is time to step forward and lead. A new leader must offer a “new covenant”… a new perception, a way to renew society with methods that work in the real world. Our planet has a clearly defined set of ecological systems that we must integrate with. The problem is, our present leaders are stuck in a past paradigm that is now totally obsolete. They cannot offer any real solutions because they do not have the perception to see new solutions. I step forward as a new leader with a clearly focused new perception. A new way of thinking and a new way of acting. I call out to my fellow evolutionaries to gather in small communities to build a new society from the ground up. Our present economic structures are so corrupt that we must begin anew. We must now create new structures by applying the scientific method to human action and interaction. Our present systems are based on myth, rather than on reality."