Washington, D.C., July 9, 2024 - Hailed at the time as an historic change “burying” a Cold War rivalry, the NATO-Russia Founding Act of 1997 was privately characterized as a “forced step” by Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who told U.S. President Bill Clinton that he opposed NATO expansion but saw no alternative to signing the accord. Yeltsin’s blunt admission is one of several revelations from a new set of declassified documents published today by the National Security Archive to mark the NATO 75th Anniversary Summit in Washington. 

The documents show that the Clinton administration’s policy in the 1990s emphasizing two tracks of both NATO enlargement and Russian engagement often collided, leaving lasting scars on Yeltsin, who constantly sought what he called partnership with the U.S. But as early as fall 1994, according to the documents, the Partnership for Peace alternative security structure for Europe, which included both Russia and Ukraine, was de-emphasized by U.S. policymakers, who only delayed NATO enlargement until both Clinton and Yeltsin could get through their re-elections in 1996. 

Yeltsin and his foreign minister in 1997, Yevgeny Primakov, provided the Americans neither the “grudging endorsement” of NATO expansion that the U.S. hoped for nor even the “acquiescence” that subsequent American memoirs claimed. Rather, as Yeltsin told Clinton personally at Helsinki in March 1997: “Our position has not changed. It remains a mistake for NATO to move eastward. But I need to take steps to alleviate the negative consequences of this for Russia. I am prepared to enter into an agreement with NATO, not because I want to but because it is a forced step. There is no other solution for today.” 

The newly declassified documents also show that Yeltsin and his top officials continued to cooperate with NATO on more flexible arrangements under the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty (CFE) even while NATO was bombing Belgrade during the Kosovo crisis of March-April 1999. 

These newly published records come from the Clinton Presidential Library and are the result of Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) requests filed by the Archive and other researchers and a successful Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit brought by the Archive against the State Department to open the files of Strobe Talbott, who was a top adviser on Russian affairs (1992-1993) and Deputy Secretary of State (1994-2001) during the Clinton administration.

Here's a video that CNN and BBC do not want us to see. Four brave Ukrainian soldiers did not want to die for the corrupt and fascist regime ruling Kiev. So they made makeshift rafts out of plastic bottles and swam all the way across the Dnieper River to surrender to Russian forces. All of them made it across safely.

Image is of the Big Wet Boy surviving an assassination attempt with his Matrix-esque bullet dodging skills.

Trump's victory, and the further mass oppression of minorities, is closer than ever before. May god have mercy on our souls.

The COTW (Country of the Week) label is designed to spur discussion and debate about a specific country every week in order to help the community gain greater understanding of the domestic situation of often-understudied nations. If you've wanted to talk about the country or share your experiences, but have never found a relevant place to do so, now is your chance! However, don't worry - this is still a general news megathread where you can post about ongoing events from any country.

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In his opinion, AFU will soon leave Chasov Yar, and the situation near Toretsk remains tense. In an interview with Der Spiegel, he noted that although a catastrophic breakthrough of the front was avoided, “the Russian offensive has not yet been defeated.”

Gadi warns against excessive optimism about Kharkov, emphasizing that the city remains strategically important for Russia as it links Ukrainian connections. The expert notes Ukraine’s problems with mobilization and the age composition of soldiers: in some units the average age of infantrymen reaches 45 years. Although troop morale is still high, fatigue is growing among the soldiers.

Problems with Ukraine's air defense are also becoming increasingly acute due to a shortage of missiles for systems, especially the Soviet S-300. Gadi warns that continued destruction of critical infrastructure could lead to significant power outages, causing a new wave of refugees into Europe.

The discussed delivery of F-16 will not be a solution for Ukrainian air defense, as these aircraft are vulnerable to Russian air-to-air missiles. According to the expert, additional supplies of American Patriot air defense systems will bring more benefit, but it is not yet known whether they will arrive in Ukraine.

https://web.archive.org/web/20240708033730/https://www.haaretz.com/life/2024-07-07/ty-article-magazine/.premium/burned-nova-cars-scattered-on-the-way-to-netanyahus-home/00000190-8d55-d5d5-a1b5-8d75a63a0000

I paste the article text below but I assume it’s a false, planted narrative (even more so because it’s Go-Troops™ San Diego).

Snip:

"The Hannibal Directive or Hannibal Procedure is an Israeli military policy that says it is permissible to kill Israeli soldiers and settlers to prevent them from being taken captive by an enemy, including the Palestinian fighters."

Zionist propagandists always love to claim that the 'State of Israel' exists to "protect Jews." In reality, Tel Aviv is more than happy to kill Jews to prevent prisoner exchanges with Palestinian resistance movements. That is the entire purpose of this barbarously fascist "Hannibal Directive."

bear baiting's back jack

archived link

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/2934489

CNN — AI images have become an unavoidable roadside attraction on Facebook and other social media, where dramatic and outlandish depictions of emotional scenes lure users into doling out likes, shares and “Amens.”

Among the funhouse images of fake children crying in the street and police officers saving inexplicably huge Bibles from the rain, countless depictions of Jesus Christ seem to take up an outsized amount of AI real estate.

It makes sense. The central figure of Christianity invokes potent reactions from billions of followers around the globe. For the last 2,000 years, faithful hands have labored to create likenesses of their professed savior, projecting onto him various theologies and mythologies combined with aesthetics of the time: Jesus suffering on the cross, Jesus as the Good Shepherd, Jesus the creator of miracles, Jesus the word made flesh, Jesus as cosmic judge.

Now, in the age of AI, Jesus can assume an infinite variety of roles with just a few keystrokes. Jesus as a durian fruit, for instance. Or Jesus battling shirtless with Satan. Sometimes, Jesus is cuddling a person in need in a hospital bed, his chiseled features and strong hands providing divine comfort.

None of these things are in the Bible, but they are alive in the minds of particularly imaginative Christians, or just those who want some easy engagement on Facebook.

What’s unsettling is how many AI-created images of Jesus are unnecessarily handsome and rugged, like one of those Instagram influencers who wears a lot of pendants and is always wandering barefoot through an island jungle.

There’s nothing wrong with that, per se. The Bible doesn’t get specific about Jesus’ looks, and certainly artists over the millennia have taken creative license when it comes to his physique (and, to a different point, his skin tone).

However, generative AI, like the kind that can create images from text prompts, doesn’t work like an artist’s brain. All of these handsome AI Jesus images are created from patterns a machine picks up from the information it is fed. What does that say about us, and how we view the figures most important to our cultural identities?

wasn't there c/the_dunk_tank posts about this lmao

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/2934407

Niger's military leader, speaking alongside the junta chiefs from Mali and Burkina Faso, has said they are "irrevocably" turning their backs on the wider West African bloc, Ecowas.

The three men are meeting together for the first time to cement an alliance created in the face of opposition from neighbouring countries.

Soldiers took power in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in a series of coups from 2020 to 2023.

All three countries – which now form the Alliance of Sahel States - have been affected by jihadist violence, in part a reason given for the army takeovers.

In January, they all announced a plan to leave Ecowas, which is holding its own summit on Sunday.

Speaking at Saturday’s meeting in the Nigerien capital, Niamey, the country's leader, Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani, said that in the place of Ecowas, the junta chiefs wanted to build a community of sovereign peoples "far from the control of foreign powers. A community of peace, solidarity, prosperity based on our African values.”

Gen Tchiani is hosting the talks with Burkina Faso’s Capt Ibrahim Traoré and Mali’s Col Assimi Goïta.

In a message on X, external, the Burkinabé leader said that "together, we will consolidate the foundations of our true independence".

Speaking at the summit, Capt Traoré went on to say that "this continent has suffered and continues to suffer from the fire of the imperialists. These imperialists have only one cliché in mind: 'Africa is the empire of slaves'."

Security co-operation is high on the agenda, but the alliance, known by its French acronym AES, will also look towards forming closer economic ties, including the aim of creating a common currency. This would be a rejection of the France-backed CFA Franc, which is used in many states across the region.

All three countries have expelled French soldiers who were there as part of an anti-jihadist mission and turned towards Russia for military assistance.

Calls for greater sovereignty and a rejection of the former colonial power have been a key part of the rhetoric coming from the junta leaders.

The countries have also resisted calls from Ecowas for a rapid return to civilian rule.

Capt Traoré arrived in Niamey a day ahead of the meeting and was welcomed with an enthusiastic reception. Television pictures show cheering crowds waving Nigerien and Burkinabé flags.

Among them was Sidi Mohamed, the head of the National Youth Council.

"Today, as Africans, we are very proud to see a summit where it's an African summit, a summit where states have decided to pool their energies, to pool their forces to create an alliance for their development, without any foreign stakeholders, without any counterparts from the powers that are used to ruling over us,” he told journalists.

Col Goïta arrived on Saturday.

The presidents of the wider West African bloc will have their chance to respond at a heads of state meeting in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, on Sunday.

They are also due to announce the activation of a standby force to fight regional insecurity.

Over the past decade, the Sahel has become an increasing focus of Islamic State militant activity, creating insecurity and instability.

The juntas in Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali have so far failed to quell the violence.

TLDR:

• they basically met in person for the first time at a summit (as the Alliance of Sahel States)
• they are activating their own standby force
• they are looking towards closer economic ties and a common currency

CNN — Israel’s government has approved a large land seizure in the occupied West Bank – the biggest since the 1993 Oslo Accords set out a path for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, according to the Israeli rights group Peace Now.

The Israeli military’s Civil Administration department, which manages civilian matters in the West Bank, issued the declaration on June 25 converting the area into state land, according to a document from the body, but the official notice wasn’t posted until Wednesday, Peace Now said.

The declaration covers a 1,270 hectare (3,138 acre) section of the Jordan Valley in the eastern West Bank near Jericho, the document from the Civil Administration shows. Peace Now, an Israeli rights group that monitors illegal Israeli settlement expansion, criticized the move in a statement on Wednesday, saying that the seizure makes it even more difficult to establish “a Palestinian state alongside Israel.”

The group also noted that the latest declaration followed several previous announcements that have made this year the biggest, by far, for Israeli land seizures in the Palestinian territory, according to data it has collected that dates back to 1993.