Late on June 24, when all good journalists were abed, and bad journalists were about some squalid business of their own, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe or PACE quietly set about undermining itself, its values, and quite possibly democracy in Europe. In a press release couched in an embarrassed and defensive tone,... Continue Reading →

The names of those suspected of being involved in shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17,  released on June 19 by the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team probing the atrocity will, perhaps, be unfamiliar to the public at large. But they should ring loud and clear bells with anyone who has been following the search for the... Continue Reading →

The release of Russian journalist Ivan Golunov from house arrest on June 11 has been trumpeted in Russia and abroad as a huge victory for Russia’s struggling independent media against the authoritarian regime of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. But those waiting for signs that the regime is crumbling shouldn’t break out the shampanskoye yet. The... Continue Reading →

Ukraine’s deployment to the Azov Sea on Sept. 23 of two warships, rusty, old and poorly armed though they are, is a significant development in the battle for control of the Azov Sea.  This overlooked yet strategically important body of water is slap bang in the middle of the Ukraine’s “anything-but-a-war” conflict with Russia. Since... Continue Reading →

First published on the Bordering on Lunacy blog on Friday, 22 May 2015 I’m sick of the word “allegedly.” In the context of Russia’s involvement in the conflict in Ukraine, its nine letters just spell out misrepresentation, confusion, and unjustified doubt. We see “allegedly” used in Western media reports, for instance, in conjunction with Ukraine’s claims that... Continue Reading →

First published on the Bordering on Lunacy blog on Wednesday, 12 November 2014 When  NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Philip Breedlove said on Wednesday that the alliance has for the past two days observed large columns of Russian military vehicles crossing the border from Russia into Ukraine, he picked his words carefully “We saw columns of Russian... Continue Reading →

First published on the Bordering on Lunacy blog on Wednesday, 8 October 2014 Everyone in the country was happy on the day of the Great Leader’s birthday - it had even been suggested that the day be made a national holiday. Songs were composed for him, art featuring him was exhibited (though some intellectuals quietly sniffed at... Continue Reading →

First published on the Bordering on Lunacy blog on Wednesday, 24 September 2014 There’s a story, possibly apocryphal, about the different approaches taken by the Americans and the Russians to a simple problem. At the height of the Cold War, during the space race, the Americans were having problems using their pens for checklists in zero-G spaceflights... Continue Reading →

First published on the Bordering on Lunacy blog on Monday, 8 September 2014 Do you think that the government in Ukraine was overthrown in a violent, Western-backed putsch, and the new government in Kyiv is dominated by far-right radicals? Do you suspect that the downing of MH17 was orchestrated by a Kyiv "junta" to garner support for... Continue Reading →

First published on the Bordering on Lunacy blog on Thursday, 28 August 2014 One of the problems of Western journalism, which Russia uses to its great advantage, is its apparent inability to identify a spade as a spade unless it is witnessed by three independent sources. Even after the capture of 10 Russian soldiers on Ukrainian soil... Continue Reading →