RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2016-241 :: Saturday, 31 December 2016

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2016-#241
Saturday, 31 December 2016
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1. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Despite political clout, Russian seniors find later life options limited. Though their numbers are increasing and their voting bloc powerful, elderly Russians generally lack either the savings or sufficient government pension to finance a comfortable retirement.
2. Kremlin.ru: Statement by the President of Russia.
3. www.foreignpolicy.com: Oliver Carroll, Putin’s Masterstroke of Nonretaliation. In refusing to expel U.S. diplomats in response to President Obama’s sanctions, the Russian leader pulled another fast one on the White House.
4. Medium: Jeffrey Carr, FBI/DHS Joint Analysis Report: A Fatally Flawed Effort.
5. Ars Technica: Dan Goodin, White House fails to make case that Russian hackers tampered with election. US issued JAR billed itself as an indictment that would prove Russian involvement.
6. Rolling Stone: Matt Taibbi, Something About This Russia Story Stinks. Nearly a decade and a half after the Iraq-WMD faceplant, the American press is again asked to co-sign a dubious intelligence assessment.
7. http://theduran.com: Alexander Mercouris, Straight out of a spy film: here’s why Obama’s attributions of the Clinton hacks to Russia’s GRU and FSB don’t add up. The attribution of the Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear hacking groups to (respectively) the FSB and the GRU, looks groundless and arbitrary, and appears to be contrary to the remit of these agencies, casting further doubt on the claims of Russia’s responsibility for the hacking of the DNC and Podesta.
8. www.washingtonsblog.com: Creator of NSA’s Global Surveillance System Calls B.S. On Russian Hacking Report. (William Binney)
9. www.rt.com: ‘Russian hackers’ penetrate US power grid with ‘outdated Ukrainian malware’
10. Forbes.com: Kenneth Rapoza, Wrong Again: Russia’s Anglo-American School Not Closing To Spite Obama.
11. Valdai Discussion Club: Fyodor Lukyanov, EXPULSION OF RUSSIAN DIPLOMATS IS AN ACT OF COLD WAR.
12. The National Interest: Nikolas Gvosdev, Russia Sanctions: What Will Congress Do? Are enough Republicans in Congress interested in constraining Trump’s freedom of action on Russia, and would an outgoing Obama administration be willing to use its last “lame duck” days in office to sign such legislation?
13. The National Interest: Thomas Graham, Russian Hacking: Obama’s Actions, Trump’s Options. For the incoming Trump Administration, the task is to find a way to defuse tensions consistent with American interests and purpose.
14. Russia Direct: Ivan Tsvetkov, The final endgame between Putin and Obama. Vladimir Putin’s restrained response to U.S. cyber sanctions could be an effort to ease the transition process for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. But will this strategy really pay off?
15. www.rt.com: Danielle Ryan, Three reasons for Obama’s new Russia sanctions that have nothing to do with ‘hacking’
16. Russia Observer: Patrick Armstrong, Strong Russia, Fake News.
17. Consortiumnews.com: Jonathan Marshall, Summing Up Russia’s Real Nuclear Fears. The mainstream U.S. media’s relentless Russia-bashing has obscured Moscow’s legitimate fears about Washington’s provocative nuclear-missile strategies, which could lead to Armageddon.
18. USNews.com: Denis Corboy, William Courtney, and Kenneth Yalowitz, No Quick Fix with Russia. Trump’s success in maintaining U.S.-Russia relations turns on small steps forward, not a total reset.
19. www.rt.com: Carter Page, Washington’s privatization: Taking knocks, learning lessons & moving on with Russia.
20. Russia Direct: Galiya Ibragimova, What threats will Russia and the world face in 2017? As 2016 comes to an end, pundits are coming up with gloomy forecasts for 2017 based on the wide range of geopolitical threats currently facing Russia and the world.
21. New York Times: Trump Gets an Opening from Russia, but the Path Is Risky.
22. Politico.com: Evelyn Farkas, Why Trump Would Be Crazy to Give Putin What He Wants. Trump says it’s time to “move on to bigger and better things.” What could be bigger than hijacking American democracy?
23. Washington Post editorial: Trump refuses to face reality about Russia. The U.S. cannot just “move on” from Vladimir Putin’s dangerous behavior.