The West, the long time champions of "Rules-Based" Law (rather than and different to "International" Law - which they have long held in disdain) appear to have suddenly dropped that 'rules-based' can of worms and have today accused Russia, the long time ('always, since it began', is a long time) champions of "International" Law, of... Continue Reading →
A Self-Limiting Rule of Law?
I had to think carefully on what I would write about today. Something global? Something local? Something Upbeat? Something Downbeat (I don't have time to find appropriate synonyms for upbeat/downbeat)? Something funny? Something entertaining? Something caustic? Something soothing? Or what? There are examples of stories which could slot into any of those categories appearing every... Continue Reading →
On Constancy, Consistency and Trustworthiness
"Germany, France seek to maintain dialogue with Russia - statement" - TASS Neither inconstancy nor inconsistency are desirable attributes for a nation. Russia is perhaps the most constant and consistent nation of all, in its attitude to international affairs. France and Germany, on the other hand, are like ducks on a pond in that arena. Bobbing... Continue Reading →
West V. East – The Final Move?
"China ready to protect world order based on international law together with Russia" - TASS "Moscow and Beijing should act as guarantors of justice in international affairs, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said," as quoted from the article linked above. It is a fact that the only two nations in a position to curb and... Continue Reading →
EU At Odds With US? Now There’s A Thing! It’s Sometimes Referred To As Self-Preservation
The state of depravity to which the machinery of US government will sink sometimes beggars belief - though there is sufficient past history for any outrageous action of that entity to be taken as merely routine, able to be anticipated, even though its schemes never seem to bottom out but consistently find new depths to... Continue Reading →
Turkey’s Broken Agreement on Syria’s Idlib
For the first time since hostilities ceased in Syria's Idlib province last March under an agreement between Russia and Turkey made under pressure from the UN Security Council (as far as I remember), a combined Russia/Turkey military patrol of the M4 highway (which marks the ceasefire line) has been carried out successfully. Previous attempts have... Continue Reading →
Drain Hole to Nowhere
Well, it seems the European Union has just enjoyed a rare moment of sanity and has taken another timid step away from partnership with the almost universally hated US. Of course this has more to do with the fact that US sanctions under the rather pompous and self-defeating Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act is actually... Continue Reading →
Misconstruing the ‘Fact Patterns’
Situations around Golan Heights and Crimea "manifestly different" — Pompeo So, Pompous Mike Pompeo thinks "The situations around the Golan Heights and Crimea are..." well "...it's complicated, but suffice it to say as we evaluated each of those situations we felt that they were manifestly different as a matter of international law, and we attempted... Continue Reading →
Not Something Else 