Switzerland lies at the heart of Europe. It is closely connected with its neighbouring states, the other European states and the European organisations – since time immemorial and of its own accord, not because an office in Brussels demands it.

 

Three decades ago, the newly independent country of Ukraine was briefly the third-largest nuclear power in the world.

Thousands of nuclear arms had been left on Ukrainian soil by Moscow after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. But in the years that followed, Ukraine made the decision to completely denuclearize.

In exchange, the U.S., the U.K. and Russia would guarantee Ukraine's security in a 1994 agreement known as the Budapest Memorandum.

Now, that agreement is front and center again.

Mariana Budjeryn of Harvard University spoke with All Things Considered about the legacy of the Budapest Memorandum and its impact today.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

A new document was recently extracted from British archives. It is dated 6 March 1991 and comes from a file on the negotiations between the United Kingdom, Germany and France. It slightly precedes the “Wolfowitz doctrine”, which marked the penetration of the Straussians into the upper echelons of the US administration.

THE WASHINGTON FOREIGN PRESS CENTER, WASHINGTON, D.C. 

MODERATOR:  Good morning, and welcome to the Washington Foreign Press Center.  My name’s Bill Martin, and I’ll be the moderator.  And now it is my distinct pleasure to welcome our distinguished briefer, Assistant Secretary Karen Donfried.  She’s Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.  Assistant Secretary Donfried will discuss U.S. policy on Russia and Ukraine, and the big picture of our relationship with Europe as the NATO Summit approaches. 

From the heat wave in India and Pakistan to the hunger crisis in East Africa, the signs that we are in the middle of a climate emergency are becoming more and more obvious with each passing day. And the damage caused by increasingly frequent disasters is taking a toll on the poorest — those least responsible for climate change.

With the ongoing Bonn Climate Change Conference, which began on Monday and will continue till June 16, world leaders must take bold steps to bring about climate justice. More specifically, they must agree to equitably and sufficiently address the loss and damage countries are experiencing as a result of climate change.

 

By Kalina Tsang

 

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Moscow is satisfied with the current diplomatic ties with Canada, despite the reaction of Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly to the presence of a senior Canadian representative at a Russia Day event at the Russian embassy in Ottawa, Russian Ambassador to Canada Oleg Stepanov told Sputnik.

Joly said on social media on Sunday that the presence of Yasemin Heinbecker, the deputy chief of protocol at Canada’s Department of Global Affairs, at the Friday Russia Day reception was "unacceptable" and "no Canadian representative will attend this kind of event again."

 

For France’s left-wing leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, today’s parliamentary elections are a “third round” of the presidential election held earlier this spring. Fresh from his 22 percent score in April’s presidential contest, he is hoping that the June 12 and 19 rounds of the legislative elections will hand his allies a majority in parliament — allowing him to become prime minister and defy the neoliberal course set by President Emmanuel Macron.

 

Alongside the continuation of the military conflict in eastern Ukraine, the media war continues to be in full swing and those who are at the origin of it – as well as their relays, conscious or unconscious – give more and more in the disproportion, as illustrated by the false and scandalous reaction of representatives of the pro-Russian forces following the death of Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, journalist of BFM TV . But this camp is not the only one to be excessive in terms of communication, Zelensky and his entourage particularly excel in this area.

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Florida) has accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of shutting down questions from two separate congressional probes into how the January 6th riots were allowed to occur in an interview with Fox’s Dan Bongino on Saturday.

 

“In the House, Nancy Pelosi has blocked the questions that make sense, like did you have embedded FBI assets, what happened to the intel report that the FBI sent to the Capitol police three or four days before January 6?” the congressman stated.
Pelosi also refused to answer “the biggest question of all,” he claimed. 

 

“What happened to the National Guard troops that Donald Trump authorized on January 4? How come they were not at the Capitol or even close by on January 6?”

“We are the provocateurs” — offered as a condemnation of current US foreign policy — might seem the sort of untutored comment attributed by establishment pundits to the “fake news” environment of the internet. Indeed, recent columns written by veteran foreign correspondent Patrick Lawrence condemning the expansion of NATO and President Biden’s promise of military support for Taiwan against China – a radical shift in U.S. policy — has resulted in his being ejected from Twitter, a verdict increasingly visited upon those who dare to dissent from the conventional wisdom.

 

Ralph Nader has worn many hats in his life: firebrand consumer advocate, three-time independent presidential candidate, author of more than a dozen books, Harvard Law School educated attorney, radio show host—the list goes on and on. His best-selling book “Unsafe at Any Speed” revolutionized auto safety standards that led to mandatory seat belts.

 

He is one of the foremost social and political critics, not only of American politics but also globally, known also for his work as a philosopher and founder of modern linguistics.

 

I leave the floor to you, Noam, it's up to you.

 

I can start ?

 

I had the great pleasure and privilege of participating in the first editions of the World Social Forum 20 years ago in Porto Alegre: memorable and exciting times, and the same goes for my presence among you today, whether it be virtually, to my great regret.

 Noam Chomsky giving his Speech to the 2022 World Social Forum

 

 

 

US President Joe Biden took a swipe at oil giant Exxon on Friday, accusing the company of making “more money than God” while Americans suffer at the pumps. However, Exxon says it’s scaling up production, while conservatives blame the high gas prices on Biden’s own policies.

Speaking at the Port of Los Angeles, Biden found a number of scapegoats for America’s record high gas prices and 40-year high inflation rate, including the shipping industry and Russian President Vladimir Putin, while also blaming supply-chain backlogs.

Regarding gas prices, Biden singled out oil giant Exxon for engaging in stock buybacks rather than expanding its drilling activity.

The college pranks migrated to TV where the participants of victimisation were famous and willing. This is the pits of stupidity, the apotheosis of shitcrap, yet popularity to goggle humiliation-plus, all in the spirit of a "charitable enterprise" has made it profitable for the owners of Channel Ten in Australia.... Yes the rich winner of the cash at the end, not in need for extra income-tax paperwork gives away the winnings to a "charity" that should feel shameful of such degradation of humanhood, even if willing, is used to make a buck.

 

Meanwhile some demeaning acts have led to students being arrested for "hazing":