Russia’s foreign minister believes that the peace plan offered by the Ukrainian president is “unrealistic” and calls of the US and the EU to persuade Kiev to stop using heavy artillery and airstrikes against the civilian population in the country’s east. ● “We assume that the most important thing is for Washington and Brussels to demand Kiev do the same thing they demand in any other conflict: stop using heavy artillery, aviation against the cities, against civilians; not to destroy schools, hospitals,” Sergey Lavrov said on Monday, addressing students at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

RIA Novosti: Poroshenko's Entire Peace Plan Means Militia Lay Down Arms, Be Destroyed - Lavrov
Itar-Tass: Lavrov: There will be no military interference to Ukraine

In a recent op-ed, a former CIA official suggested the "removal" of Russian President Vladimir Putin, by assassination if necessary, should be the primary objective of the Obama administration in its strategy for Ukraine. Herbert E. Meyer, who served as a Special Assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence under the Reagan administration, said the goal of U.S. sanctions against Russia “should be to get the Russians who’ve been keeping Putin in power, or tolerating Putin in power, to throw that knockout punch.”

The speech by former US Vice-President Al Gore was apocalyptic. ‘The North Polar ice cap is falling off a cliff,’ he said. ‘It could be completely gone in summer in as little as seven years. Seven years from now.’ Those comments came in 2007 as Mr Gore accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for his campaigning on climate change. But seven years after his warning, The Mail on Sunday can reveal that, far from vanishing, the Arctic ice cap has expanded for the second year in succession – with a surge, depending on how you measure it, of between 43 and 63 per cent since 2012. To put it another way, an area the size of Alaska, America’s biggest state, was open water two years ago, but is again now covered by ice.

Despite a federal court order directing Microsoft to turn overseas-held email data to federal authorities, the software giant said Friday it will continue to withhold that information as it waits for the case to wind through the appeals process. The judge has now ordered both Microsoft and federal prosecutors to advise her how to proceed by next Friday, September 5. ● Let there be no doubt that Microsoft's actions in this controversial case are customer-centric. The firm isn't just standing up to the US government on moral principles. It's now defying a federal court order. "Microsoft will not be turning over the email and plans to appeal," a Microsoft statement notes. "Everyone agrees this case can and will proceed to the appeals court. This is simply about finding the appropriate procedure for that to happen."

Justin Raimondo ■ You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but what if the dog can pass off an old hoax as a new one? And that’s why I’m here: to remind you. Speaking of America’s Good Jihadists, a.k.a. the Syrian Free Army, I was struck by this nugget from an account of the killing of Douglas McAuthur McCain, an American fighting for ISIS in Syria, in the New York Times: "The rebels who killed him were fighting for the Free Syrian Army, a rival group backed by the United States, and they went on to behead six ISIS fighters – but not Mr. McCain – and then posted the photographs on Facebook." Yes, these are the "moderate" Syrian rebels, backed by your tax dollars and the prestige of the United States government. Oh, but don’t worry, kids: they’re our barbarians – so beheading is okay, even praiseworthy, since they’re doing it on behalf of spreading "freedom" and "democracy." ■ And speaking of hoaxes, here’s a biggie: they’re telling us that the long-awaited Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine has finally arrived! Yay! You can almost hear the sigh of relief all the way from Washington. The War Party’s journalistic camarilla – which has been telling us for the past six months or so that Putin’s move was "imminent" – yelped "we told you so!" in unison. Neocon hysteric Anne Applebaum screeched that this proved that we have to prepare for "total war" with nuclear-armed Russia – which, she claims, is planning to "use nuclear weapons to bomb Poland and the Baltic countries." There’s just one problem with this alleged "invasion" – there’s zero evidence for it.

Pete Papaherakles ■ Is ‘IS’ a CIA-Mossad Creation? || IS is intended to be a provocative agent, which gives the West the justification to enter countries that are considered a threat to Israel in order to destroy them. This would then give Israel the opening it needs to take over a large swath of the Middle East and establish the Zionist dream of “Greater Israel” from the Nile to the Euphrates.

Ben Reynolds ■ Iran Didn’t Create ISIS; We Did

Israel on Sunday confiscated nearly 1,000 acres of privately owned Palestinian land near an Israeli settlement south of Bethlehem in the West Bank — a move described by Israeli rights group Peace Now as “unprecedented in its scope since the 1980s." ● Settlements built on Palestinian land occupied by Israel, including East Jerusalem, are deemed illegal by the United Nations. Israel’s refusal to halt their construction and expansion has at times arrested the peace process and increased resentment and distrust among Palestinians. In a statement published on its website, Peace Now condemned the latest land confiscation and said it further damaged the chance of achieving a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians based on a two-state solution. [...] Palestinian landowners in the villages of Surif, Husan, Al-Jabaa, and the city of Bethlehem were given 45 days to submit formal objections to the announced confiscation in Israeli courts, Palestinian news website Maan reported. If the landowners do not contest the order, territories seized will be declared Israeli state-owned land. In the past, Palestinians have complained that their objections were largely ignored or denied by Israeli authorities that seek to create facts on the ground to bolster claims on Palestinian territories in a future peace settlement. "The intention of appropriating the land is to create territorial continuity between the Green Line and settlements of Beitar Illit, Kfar Etzion, and Gvaot," Haaretz reported. "The announcement is the latest in a series of plans designed to attach the Etzion settlement bloc to Jerusalem and its environs." Some 243 acres in the area were declared state land last April.

Stephen Lendman ■ Israel's Latest Land Grab
zuddhi ■ The land rejects you, the stones cry out against you

Dear friends, There is no overstating the importance of this press conference by by Alexander V. Zakharchenko, Chairman of The Council of Ministers of The Donetsk National Republic. As as soon as I saw it myself, I asked two of our Teams (Russian and Oceania) to work together on a translation as fast as possible. They did as stellar job and I can now share this video with you. I want to especially mention and thank the following people:

● Transcription/Translation and Timecoding by Marina - Without Marina this would simply not be possible. Heavily indebted to her help!
● English proofreading and editing by Erebus, Michael and Vaughan
● French Translation and release by Jean-Jacques (in progress as we speak) @ The French Saker
● English editing and video publishing: Augmented Ether

To all of you we all - and I personally - owe a huge THANK YOU for your fantastic work, professional skills and heroic dedication to bring the voice of Novorussia to the rest of the world. In this "information war" the speed at which you made this crucial press conference available is a major victory against the Empire's propaganda machine! This is the first time that we hear what the new - post Strelkov - commanders have to say. This is the first time that the Novorussians are going on the offensive. And this is the first time that we get to hear the views, values and ideas of the people fighting against the Nazi junta. This is truly a watershed moment. Many thanks and kind regards, The Saker

PS: There is an important error in the translation: at 16:53, the subtitles say "we did not capture any regional administrations". They SHOULD say: "We were not THE FIRST to capture any regional administrations.".

P. C. Roberts ■ The West, the greatest cause of War in human history, stands stripped of all Legitimacy
Moon of Alabama ■ Ukraine Lost A Battle - West Escalates With More Russia Sanctions
Eric Zuesse ■ Our ‘Enemies’ in Ukraine Speak
Pål Steigan ■ Ukraine: A War Over Oil And Gas
AWIP: The crimes of Euromaidan Nazis