Authored by James Durso via TheHill.com,
The Cold War was never won or lost; it just ended one day. Who even remembers where they were on December 3, 1989?
As the Cold War ended, the U.S. forswore a demand for unconditional surrender, thanked God it was over, and thought about how to spend the peace dividend. The message Russia took away was: We didn’t lose.
Authored by Norman Solomon via Counterpunch.org,
Any truthful way to say it will sound worse than ghastly: We live in a world where one person could decide to begin a nuclear war — quickly killing several hundred million people and condemning vast numbers of others to slower painful deaths.
Having broken its win-streak with the biggest drop in 4 weeks today following Russia comments, crude prices hovered around $45 as API reported a massive 5.8mm barrel crude draw (most since 2016) and 5.7mm gasoline draw (most in 4 months).
API
S&P futures were little changed at 2,425, ignoring the N.Korea tensions of the past two days which will likely be a major topic in the upcoming G-20 summit, as European stocks fluctuate and Asian markets advance. Crude oil fell, snapping the longest winning streak this year, as Russia said it opposed any proposal to deepen OPEC-led production cuts.
If there was any confusion whether in addition to Moscow, Beijing was also behind Assad, today all doubts were laid to rest when both Russia and China called on all involved parties "to support the efforts of the OPCW and the United Nations in investigating the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria," according to a joint statement by Russian and Chinese leaders on the current international situation posted on Kremlin website on Tuesday, following a meeting between Putin and China's president Xi Jinping.