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Russia

UPDATE: U.S. Intelligence Report on Russian Hacking of Presidential Election

Saturday, January 7, 2017 at 9:06 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

Yesterday, the Washington Post published what it deemed are the most important lines in the intelligence community’s report on Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. Significantly, those lines affirm what I inferred from testimony the community’s leaders presented at a congressional hearing on Thursday. I bulleted those inferences in yesterday’s commentary, “Trump Is Trump,… Read more.

Trump Is Trump, and Intelligence Is Intelligence, and Never the Twain Shall Meet

Friday, January 6, 2017 at 11:39 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

It has become self-evident that Donald Trump and human intelligence are parallel forces of nature. The obvious reason for this is that Trump’s need to feed his ego — even in the face of brazen hypocrisy or imminent danger — knows no bounds. Hence, any truth that does not make him look good is suspect —… Read more.

Athletes Boycotting more Effective than Countries Sanctioning Rogue Russia

Thursday, December 15, 2016 at 8:26 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

Western countries have been sanctioning Russia for years. Their aim has been to punish it for everything from launching military incursions into neighboring countries (e.g., Georgia and Ukraine/Crimea) to assassinating political dissidents (e.g., Boris Nemtsov and Alexander Litvinenko). Unfortunately, sanctions have done little to curtail Russia’s rogue behavior. Nothing attests to this quite like: The… Read more.

Russia Withdraws from ICC to Avoid (Nuisance) Prosecution…

Monday, November 21, 2016 at 8:38 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Wednesday to withdraw Russia from the International Criminal Court, which rules on such grave charges as genocide and crimes against humanity… Putin’s decree, published on the Kremlin’s website, comes a day after the U.N. General Assembly’s human rights committee approved a resolution condemning Russia’s ‘temporary occupation of Crimea’… Read more.

China Buying the Global Influence Russia and US Fighting For…

Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at 6:38 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

Egypt’s new capital city moved a step closer to reality with the announcement that Chinese developers will largely fund the mega project. The China Fortune Land Development Company (CFLD) agreed to provide $20 billion for the currently unnamed city, after a meeting between heads of the firm and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi. This… Read more.

Truth about Viral Image of (Another) Syrian Boy

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 at 8:43 PM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

A boy, covered in blood and in obvious shock, became the “image of the war” in Syria last week. It “sent shock waves around the world,” evoking conscience-stricken calls for the international community to “act now” to prevent a recurrence. The media abandoned all pretense of objectivity as it validated this reaction. On Monday’s edition of… Read more.

Rio Olympics: Day 8

Saturday, August 13, 2016 at 11:38 PM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

Swimming This was the last day of competition. Michael Phelps insists it was his last too. Which constrains me to reprise what I wrote in this regard on the last day of competition at London 2012: He insists that he will now rest on his laurels, and who can blame him. But I fully expect… Read more.

IOC Failure to Ban Russia Proves It’s in Putin’s Pocket

Monday, July 25, 2016 at 5:19 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

I was in the vanguard of those calling on the IOC to ban the entire Russia team from the Rio Olympics. I argued in “Track Officials Ban Russians from Rio Olympics for Doping,” June 18, 2016, that: I suspect Track and Field athletes are being punished for the sins of Russian athletes in every other sport.… Read more.

Clarion Call to Ban All Russian Athletes from Rio Olympics for Doping

Monday, July 18, 2016 at 6:29 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

On June 16, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) published a damning report on state-sponsored doping among Russian Track and Field athletes. On June 18, a month ago today, I published “Track Officials Ban Russians from Rio Olympics for Doping,” in which I argued that athletes in other sports had to be doping too.  ______________________ I suspect… Read more.

Track Officials Ban Russians from Rio Olympics for Doping

Saturday, June 18, 2016 at 3:53 PM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

Last November, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) published a report, which found that Russia perpetrated state-sponsored doping to enhance the performance of Track and Field athletes. It made two major recommendations: The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the sport’s governing body, should suspend all Russian athletes from international competition. The Russian Athletic Federation (RusAF)… Read more.