Free Republic

The West shouldn’t stoke the fires engulfing Russia’s wounded economy. Talk in Washington and Brussels this week of levying further economic sanctions on Russia seems counterproductive and will only make matters worse for all parties involved. Like it or not, Russia’s economy has grown simply “too big to fail,” and its political and military might is too dangerous to ignore. The West might have better luck in advancing its goals in the region by helping, not hurting, the Russian bear in its time of need.

The Obama administration is refusing to discuss reports that emerged early Thursday claiming that the White House is considering imposing sanctions on Israel for continuing construction on Jewish homes in Jerusalem. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf dodged several questions on Thursday when confronted with reports that the administration had held secret internal meetings to discuss taking action against Israel for its ongoing building in East Jerusalem. The classified meetings were reportedly held several weeks ago and included officials from both the State Department and White House, according to the Israeli daily Ha’aretz, which first reported on the meetings. The possibility...

BRUSSELS - Europe’s new foreign relations chief has denied the EU is in talks on Israel sanctions, despite a leaked paper on the issue. Federica Mogherini, who chaired her first foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels on Monday (17 November), told press the leaked paper is a “technical working hypothesis” which “member states requested” when her predecessor was in office. She added: “It is not at the heart of today’s discussions on how to start a positive process with the Israelis and Palestinians. There’s currently no question of sanctioning anybody. The question is rather how to motivate people to … restart...

Matt Lee @APDiploWriter Follow "Reports we might be contemplating sanctions against #Israel (re settlements) completely unfounded & without merit," per @statedeptspox. 11:06 AM - 8 Dec 2014

President Barack Obama’s administration is reportedly considering putting some muscle behind its opposition to new settlement construction by Israelis in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. According to reports, the administration is weighing the possibility of imposing sanctions on the Israeli government. “Senior Israeli officials said that White House officials held a classified discussion a few weeks ago about the possibility of taking active measures against the settlements,” Haaretz reported on Thursday. When confronted with this rumor, administration officials did not deny it. “A few senior American officials approached by Haaretz did not deny this, but refused to disclose...

Members of Congress are demanding that President Obama come clean about controversial reports that he is considering leveling sanctions on Israel, according to a letter sent Friday afternoon by lawmakers to the White House. The Obama administration has found itself engulfed in controversy since reports emerged Thursday that the White House and State Department had met in secret to strategize about imposing sanctions on Israel for its continued building of houses in contested Jerusalem neighborhoods. State Department and White House officials have continued to dodge questions from reporters on the matter, maintaining that they will neither confirm nor deny the...

For the first time in history, an American president is considering slapping sanctions on the state of Israel.  The reason?  Israel is building new housing on its own land. Washington Free Beacon: The classified meetings were reportedly held several weeks ago and included officials from both the State Department and White House, according to the Israeli daily Ha’aretz, which first reported on the meetings. The possibility of sanctioning Israel for its ongoing construction sends a signal that the Obama administration is willing to go further in its denunciations of Israel then any previous White House. At the same time, the...

The Obama administration is refusing to discuss reports that emerged early Thursday claiming that the White House is considering imposing sanctions on Israel for continuing construction on Jewish homes in Jerusalem. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf dodged several questions on Thursday when confronted with reports that the administration had held secret internal meetings to discuss taking action against Israel for its ongoing building in East Jerusalem. The classified meetings were reportedly held several weeks ago and included officials from both the State Department and White House, according to the Israeli daily Ha’aretz, which first reported on the meetings. The possibility...

Prostitutes in the Russian Arctic port of Murmansk have unexpectedly hiked prices for their services by up to 40%, blaming the tumbling ruble exchange rate for their decision, it seems.

"How do you like the Journal's war?" So boasted the headline of William Randolph Hearst's New York flagship that week in 1898 that the United States declared war on Spain. While Hearst's Journal, in a circulation battle with Joe Pulitzer's World, was a warmongering sheet, it did not start the war. Yet the headline comes to mind reading the Wall Street Journal, whose editorial pages seem to have concluded that on Nov. 4 America voted for new wars in the Middle East, and beyond. On Nov. 13, the Journal's op-ed page was given over to Mark Dubowitz and Reuel Marc...

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry threatened to impose sanctions on the Palestinian Authority (PA) if it goes ahead with unilateral moves, such as asking the United Nations Security Council to set a deadline for Israel to withdraw from Judea and Samaria, the London-based al-Araby al-Jadeed newspaper reported on Monday Speaking on condition of anonymity, official sources confirmed to the newspaper that Kerry called PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and warned him against taking any unilateral measures, threatening to impose financial and political sanctions on the PA. He said the most effective way forward would be to resume negotiations. The sources...

Washington (AsiaNews / Agencies) - For the first time in 35 years, Boeing has sold aircraft components to Iran. Breaking the news, the industry itself stated that it has sold "aircraft manuals, drawings, and navigation charts and data" to Iran Air. The sale, which has yielded Boeing 120 thousand dollars, is the first since 1979, the year of the "hostage crisis" which was followed by United States sanctions on all trade useful to aviation. The sale, said the company, took place between June and September this year, producing 12 thousand dollars in profits and was possible thanks to a US...

No one knows if the Obama administration will manage in the next five weeks to strike what many in the White House consider the most important foreign policy deal of his presidency: an accord with Iran that would forestall its ability to make a nuclear weapon. But the White House has made one significant decision: If agreement is reached, President Obama will do everything in his power to avoid letting Congress vote on it.

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- New York businessman and prominent Democratic fund- raiser Hassan Nemazee was indicted Monday for allegedly defrauding three banks out of $292 million in loans. Nemazee, 59 years old, was charged with aggravated identity theft and three counts of bank fraud in the indictment. Each bank fraud count carries a term of up to 30 years in prison. A lawyer for Nemazee didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Nemazee, who was involved in various presidential campaigns and once served as finance chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, was initially charged criminally in August related...

Obama Sees an Iran Deal That Could Avoid Congress By DAVID E. SANGER OCT. 19, 2014 WASHINGTON — No one knows if the Obama administration will manage in the next five weeks to strike what many in the White House consider the most important foreign policy deal of his presidency: an accord with Iran that would forestall its ability to make a nuclear weapon. But the White House has made one significant decision: If agreement is reached, President Obama will do everything in his power to avoid letting Congress vote on it. Even while negotiators argue over the number of...

Rats or Humans? Inside Saddam's Extermination Plant(August 29, 2002)This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/ He was introduced as director of research and development at Falluja, one of the remote factories where the United States claims Saddam Hussein could be making chemical and biological weapons. Asked if he had worked on any of Saddam's chemical weapons programs, Dr Mohammed Frah played a straight bat: "In the early 1980s I worked for five years on the chemical and biological programs at Al-Muthanna." This is the name of a critical centre in Saddam's weapons program - a huge pesticide complex that produced...

Talks on easing sanctions against Russia imposed over the conflict in Ukraine could begin in the next few weeks, but more measures are possible if there is no progress over a ceasefire deal, the U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser said on Friday. The European Union and the United States have imposed economic sanctions on Russia, with the West accusing Moscow of providing pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine with troops and weapons. Russia denies the accusation. Last month, envoys from Ukraine, Russia, and the separatists negotiated a ceasefire in Minsk, and U.S. adviser Tony Blinken said sanctions could start to be...

Continuing this year's precipitous descent, Russia's ruble weakened to below 44.4 against the dollar-euro currency basket on Friday, crossing the threshold past which the Central Bank has committed to buying unlimited amounts of rubles to defend it. Having plummeted 6 percent against the basket in September, the ruble first entered the intervention zone on Oct. 1, forcing the Central Bank to spend some $4 million to halt its decline.

Russia is preparing legal action against France over the country's halt in the delivery of the Mistral-class landing helicopter dock (LHD) Vladivostok , Russian sources have told IHS Jane's . "We hope that despite the repeated statements of the French party concerning the possible refusal to hand over in late October through early November Vladivostok , the first of the ordered ships, it will eventually be delivered to Kronstadt where it will get a superstructure and onboard weapons. Anyway, the Rosoboronexport lawyers have received orders to start preparing all possible claims against DCNS as a contractor," a source involved in...

Russia used its annual appearance at the U.N. General Assembly on Saturday to accuse the United States and its Western allies of bossing the world around, complaining they were attempting to dictate to everyone "what is good and evil."