Sino/Russia Ties: World’s Most Important Strategic Partnership (Source globalresearch.ca) On July 4, Putin and Xi Jinping concluded two days of informal and formal talks in Moscow – above all else, affirming the vitally important relationship between themselves and their countries. Putin called Xi’s visit “a key event in terms of building bilateral relations” now and henceforth, adding: “Economic issues have always been in the center of our attention, but we are not only dealing with this, we are taking steps to unite our efforts on the international arena, the security area, and fight against modern threats and challenges.” China is Russia’s largest trading partner. Considerable potential remains to be developed. Each nation contributes significantly to the economic health of the other. “President Putin and I attach great significance to trade and economic cooperation between China and Russia and (their) development,” said Xi. “Trade and economic ties are far-reaching and offer enormous potential in practical cooperation between our countries. China maintained its status as Russia’s largest trading partner for the seventh year in a row.” “Trade turnover amounted to $69.53 billion and grew by 2.2% compared to 2015.” During the first five months of 2017, it “surged 26%. Expectations are that trade turnover may be over $80 billion” by year-end. A China/Russia investment fund is involved in the Far East of both countries. A Russian company floated Panda Bonds on China’s exchange for its ambitious One Belt One Road initiative.
Both leaders urge a denuclearized Korean peninsula, a freeze in Pyongyang’s ballistic missile program, provocative US-led regional war games halted, resolving issues with Pyongyang diplomatically, belligerence ruled out, respecting the DPRK’s sovereignty, and removal of so-called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile systems in South Korea. They’re more about targeting Russia and China than the DPRK. Unrelated to their stated goals, they gravely threaten the strategic security of neighboring countries. Their presence undermines regional peace and stability.

Ryan pledges action on Russia sanctions amid CIA concerns (Source Associated Press) House Speaker Paul Ryan pledged on Wednesday to passing a “strong, bold” Russia sanctions bill even as President Donald Trump’s spy chief voiced concerns over the legislation that aims to punish Moscow for meddling in the presidential election.
“I’m a Russia hawk,” Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters. “We want to move this Russia sanctions bill.”
Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, urged the House to act quickly. He said “dilly dallying” over a constitutional issue that has slowed the bill’s passage in the House has amounted to “a ridiculous waste of time.”
“This is all doing nothing but helping Russia,” said Corker, R-Tenn. “Every day that goes by around here, mischief can happen.”
But separate comments from House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy suggested the Trump administration is attempting to weaken the bill, which passed the Senate last month with 98 votes. McCarthy said CIA Director Mike Pompeo informed him that the Russia sanctions package would affect the “ability to do his work and his job, a few elements of it.”
McCarthy, R-Calif., didn’t specify what Pompeo was referring to. He also denied the White House is leaning on him to water down the Russia sanctions bill. Any attempts to alter the legislation would face stiff opposition from congressional Democrats and even a large number of Republicans because of their wariness over Trump’s desire for better relations with Moscow.
Those concerns heightened following revelations that Trump’s eldest son met with a Russian lawyer after being promised damaging information on Hillary Clinton supplied by the Kremlin.
The sanctions legislation, which also would hit Iran with new economic penalties, stalled in the House over a dispute that’s led Democrats to accuse Republicans of seeking to shield Trump from rigorous congressional oversight.
“I don’t believe that having the president’s party in a position to protect him from any oversight is good policy for our country, and in fact it’d be dangerous for our country,” Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 House Democrat, said during his weekly news conference.

New details emerge on Moscow real estate deal that led to the Trump-Kremlin alliance (Source Yahoo)
While in Moscow for the Miss Universe pageant in November 2013, Donald Trump entered into a formal business deal with Aras Agalarov, a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin, to construct a Trump Tower in the Russian capital. He later assigned his son, Donald Trump Jr., to oversee the project, according to Rob Goldstone, the British publicist who arranged the controversial 2016 meeting between the younger Trump and a Kremlin-linked lawyer.
Trump has dismissed the idea he had any business deals in Russia, saying at one point last October, “I have nothing to do with Russia.”
But Goldstone’s account, provided in an extensive interview in March in New York, offers new details of the proposed Trump project that appears to have been further along than most previous reports have suggested, and even included a trip by Ivanka Trump to Moscow to identify potential sites.
According to the publicist, the project — structured as a licensing deal in which Agalarov would build the tower with Trump’s name on it — was only abandoned after the Russian economy floundered. The economic downturn resulted in part from sanctions imposed by the U.S. and the European Union following Russia’s intervention in Ukraine.
Goldstone’s version of events implies a possible explanation for Trump’s interest in lifting sanctions on Russia — a policy move his administration  HYPERLINK “https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-administrations-secret-efforts-ease-russia-sanctions-fell-short-231301145.html” quietly pursued in its first few weeks until it ran into strong opposition from members of Congress and officials within the State Department. Goldstone placed Donald Trump Jr. at the center of the Trump Tower deal, saying that his father assigned his eldest son the job of moving the project to fruition after the signing of a “letter of intent” between the Trump Organization and Agalarov’s company, the Crocus Group. It is not clear if the future president personally signed the “letter of intent,” but Michael Cohen, a longtime lawyer for Trump, told Yahoo News Tuesday that it would have been standard practice for Trump, as president of the Trump Organization, to do so.

The 15 best US beach towns to live in (Source Business Insider)
Rank #6 Charleston, SC
Charleston is a city loved by locals and tourists alike
When you think of the most beautiful beaches in the United States, you probably think of Southern California, Hawaii, and Florida. However, there are tons of gorgeous beach towns all over the country — and not all of them are on the ocean. HYPERLINK “https://wallethub.com/” WalletHub, a personal finance website, just released a  wallethub.com/edu/best-beach-towns-to-live-in/36567/” ranking of the best beach towns to live in, and many of them are in locations you wouldn’t expect. The site gathered experts from a wide range of fields, including economics, urban planning, and environmental studies, to develop a methodology for the ranking. The experts came up with a system based on affordability, weather, safety, economy, education, health, and quality of life.

Leafing Las Vegas: recreational marijuana goes on sale in Nevada (Source theguardian.com) Nevada has become the fifth state in the US selling cannabis-climate-chhttps://thesbocc.com/blog/wp-admin/post-new.phpange-fossil-fuels” marijuana for recreational purposes, opening a market that is eventually expected to outpace any other in the nation thanks to the millions of tourists who flock to Las Vegas. People began purchasing marijuana in the state shortly after midnight on Saturday, after voters approved legalization in November, marking the fastest turnaround from the ballot box to retail sales in the US. ” Nevada joins Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Alaska in allowing adults to buy the drug that is still banned by the federal government. Hundreds of people lined up at Essence Cannabis Dispensary on the   Las Vegas Strip. People were excited and well-behaved as a lone security guard looked on. A valet was available to park the cars of customers. A cheer erupted when the doors opened. Those 21 and older with a valid ID can buy up to an ounce of pot. Tourists are expected to make nearly two of every three recreational purchases in Nevada, but people can only use the drug in a private home.

Trump says he’s sending federal help to Chicago to combat violence (Source cbsnews.com) President Trump said Friday that he’s sending “federal help” to Chicago to deal with the city’s spate of gun violence. He posted the news in a tweet. Crime and killings in Chicago have reached such epidemic proportions that I am sending in Federal help. 1714 shootings in Chicago this year! Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are expected to hold a joint news conference Friday afternoon with officials from Illinois State Police and the Justice Department to “announce a major partnership to target gun violence in Chicago”, according to the chief communications officer for Chicago police. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that 20 ATF agents have been sent to Chicago to combat gun violence and are working with the city’s police department and state police on a “strike force.” Chicago’s police department personally asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions for additional resources a few months ago.

China, Russia offer plan for easing North Korea tensions (Source Associated Press) Russia and China on Tuesday proposed a plan for defusing tensions over North Korea, suggesting that Pyongyang declare a moratorium on nuclear and missile tests while the United States and South Korea refrain from large-scale military exercises. The Russian and Chinese foreign ministries made the recommendation in a joint statement after talks between President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping and another North Korean missile test. The missile flew higher and longer than previous ones North Korea has launched, sparking concerns around the world. Moscow and Beijing called Tuesday’s test “unacceptable.” The foreign ministries said that as a “voluntary political decision,” North Korea should declare a “moratorium on testing nuclear devices and test launches of ballistic missiles.” In turn, the U.S. and South Korea should “accordingly refrain from large-scale joint maneuvers,” the joint statement added. They said “the confronting parties” involved should sit down for talks to agree on principles that include a refusal to use force and a pledge to make the Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons. At the same time, the document emphasized that the North’s “sensible concerns” must be respected and urged other nations to create a “peaceful atmosphere of mutual trust” to help launch the talks. In an apparent hint at the U.S., Beijing and Moscow spoke against the “non-regional powers’ military presence in Northeast Asia and its buildup under the pretext of countering North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.” They specifically opposed U.S. missile defense systems in the region, saying their deployment “seriously damages strategic security interests of regional powers, including Russia and China” and hinders peace and stability.

Russia details agenda for Putin’s meeting with Trump (Source Yahoo)
Russian President  Vladimir Putin will demand the return of two diplomatic compounds seized by the United States when he meets in Germany this week with President  Trump for the first time, the Kremlin said, as a senior Russian official warned that Moscow’s patience on the issue was running out. Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said his government showed “unusual flexibility” by not retaliating in December when then-President Obama confiscated the two compounds, in New York state and Maryland, and expelled 35 Russian diplomats as punishment for Moscow’s alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S.”http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/elections/presidential-election.htm” \t “_blank” presidential election. Ushakov urged Washington to “free Russia from the need to take retaliatory moves,” according to The Associated Press. The White House has reportedly been  HYPERLINK “http://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/wireStory/officials-us-mulls-return-russian-diplomatic-compounds-47772638” \t “_blank” mulling returning the compounds in an effort to improve relations with Moscow, and in recent days Russian officials have warned that retaliatory measures have been drawn up if the compounds are not returned. They were nominally used by the Russian Embassy as recreational facilities, but U.S. intelligence has long argued they were bases for espionage. In a separate statement released today, the Kremlin said Putin would raise the issue with Trump when the two meet in Hamburg, Germany, where the G-20 summit is being held Saturday. The statement said that the Kremlin expected Putin would convey the need to find the “most rapid resolution” on the issue, which it described as an “irritant” in Russian-U.S. relations. The two leaders’ first meeting is highly anticipated, coming as investigations continue into possible collusion between members of Trump’s presidential campaign and Russian officials and as relations between Moscow and Washington are being described as at their worst since  HYPERLINK “http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/history/the-cold-war.htm” \t “_blank” the Cold War. There has been intense speculation for months over when the two presidents might come face to face. Since confirming the meeting last week, the White House has been light on details about what they will discuss. Russia’s Foreign Minister  HYPERLINK “http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/world/sergey-lavrov.htm” \t “_blank” Sergey Lavrov  told the news agency Interfax he hoped the meeting would lend clarity to the relationship and warned that not seeking to normalize relations would be a “huge mistake.”In reality, however, it’s unclear that, beyond the return of the diplomatic compounds, there is much Putin and Trump will be able to ask of each other. In many areas, U.S. and Russian interests have little overlap, and that has not appeared to change under Trump.

Pentagon: Russia Very Much a Threat to the United States (Source foreignpolicy.com) A Pentagon report warns of a rising military threat from Russia and says the Kremlin believes the United States is seeking regime change, an assertion that could color the already fraught relationship between the two powers. “Russia Military Power: Building a Military to Support Great Power Aspirations,” sketches a picture of a Russia that sees itself in opposition to the United States and with a leadership that harbors a strong desire to make the country again the prominent power it was during the Cold War era. “The Kremlin is convinced the United States is laying the groundwork for regime change in Russia,” the report says. Moscow started worrying about Washington’s hand in regime change during the so-called Color Revolutions in Eastern Europe in the early 2000s. Russia also sees the United States as responsible for the Arab Spring revolutions of 2010 and 2011, and the ousting of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014. The report comes at a time when the U.S. government is torn on how to handle the rising threat from Russia. While President Donald Trump has sung the praises of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and while he is reportedly  HYPERLINK “https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/29/white-house-sanctions-first-trump-putin-meeting” \t “_blank” preparing concessions to make to Moscow before his first meeting with Putin, Congress has chosen a different and much tougher tack. The Senate recently passed legislation that would slap new sanctions on the Kremlin and make it harder for the White House to roll back sanctions on its own. The intelligence community, judging by the report, sees less optimism for improved relations. “Moscow worries that U.S. attempts to dictate a set of acceptable international norms threatens the foundations of Kremlin power by giving license for foreign meddling in Russia’s internal affairs,” the report says.
The idea that Russia anticipates the United States will attempt to topple the Kremlin’s leadership tinges diplomatic relations between the two countries with suspicion. Russia has long been wary of U.S. involvement in regime change. Putin ran for president in 2012 in part because he was unhappy that then President Dmitry Medvedev HYPERLINK “https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/12/09/the-russian-reset-that-never-was-putin-obama-medvedev-libya-mikhail-zygar-all-the-kremlin-men/”  teamed up with the United States to effect regime change in Libya. Putin also blamed then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for instigating widespread protests in late 2011. Similarly, Russia has alleged that the United States orchestrated the protests in Kiev in late 2013 that ultimately ousted the pro-Kremlin Yanukovych, who allegedly  HYPERLINK “http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26427848” \t “_blank” asked Russia to intervene in Crimea.

The Ultimate Cold War Nightmare: A Nuclear War Between Russia and America (Source nationalinterest.org) It is no exaggeration to say that for those who grew up during the Cold War, all-out nuclear war was “the ultimate nightmare.” The prospect of an ordinary day interrupted by air-raid sirens, klaxons and the searing heat of a thermonuclear explosion was a very real, albeit remote, possibility. Television shows such as Threads realistically portrayed both a nuclear attack and the gradual disintegration of society in the aftermath. In an all-out nuclear attack, most of the industrialized world would have been bombed back to the Stone Age, with hundreds of millions killed outright and perhaps as many as a billion or more dying of radiation, disease and famine in the postwar period. During much of the Cold War, the United States’ nuclear warfighting plan was known as the SIOP, or the Single Integrated Operating Plan. The first SIOP, introduced in 1962, was known as SIOP-62, and its effects on the Soviet Union, Warsaw Pact and China were documented in HYPERLINK “https://nsarchive.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/1961-06-26a.pdf” \t “_blank”  a briefing paper created for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and brought to light in 2011 by the National Security Archive. The paper presupposed a new Berlin crisis, similar to the one that took place in 1961, but escalating to full-scale war in western Europe. Although the war scenario was fictional, the post-attack estimates were very real. According to the paper, the outlook for Communist bloc countries subjected to the full weight of American atomic firepower was grim. The paper divided attack scenarios into two categories: one in which the U.S. nuclear Alert Force, a percentage of overall nuclear forces kept on constant alert, struck the Soviet Union and its allies; and a second scenario where the full weight of the nuclear force, known as the Full Force, was used.
Under SIOP, “about 1,000” installations that were related to “nuclear delivery capability” would be struck. The scenario, which assumed advance warning of a Soviet attack and an American preemptive strike, would see the Alert Force attacking 75 percent of these targets. The attack would be a largely “counterforce” strike, in which U.S. nuclear forces attacked Soviet, Warsaw Pact and Chinese command-and-control and nuclear forces. The report states that 83 to 88 percent of all targets would be destroyed with 70 percent assurance.