When music captures the spirit of freedom it can cross any border. It crossed the Berlin Wall and eventually helped to bring it down. By Chris Bowlby.

We might assume that philosophy is an ivory tower discipline that has little effect on the unlovely operations of government, driven as they are by the concerns of middle class wallets, upper class stock portfolios, and the ever-present problem of poverty. But we would be wrong. By Josh Jones.

Cyber-criminal efforts to hack into U.S. government databases are epidemic, but this ugly reality is now being exploited to foist blame on Russia and fuel the New Cold War hysteria, reports Gareth Porter.

A founding Russia-gate myth is that all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies agreed that Russia hacked into and distributed Democratic emails, a falsehood that The New York Times has belatedly retracted, reports Robert Parry.

Jimmy Dore interviews Norman Solomon on his recent article, “Russiagate: When Progressives Sound Like Demagogues.”

The document allegedly leaked by whistleblower Reality Winner reinforces assertions made by President Trump that the Russia story is fake news. By Scott Ritter.

Jump into your time machine and let me transport you back to another age. By William Astore.

If ever there was a man who displayed on his face the evil on his mind, it was Zbigniew Brzezinski… By John Helmer in Moscow.

She says she’s not running for anything but… come on. By Roqayah Chamseddine.

Modernization, or first-strike capability? By Hans M. Kristensen, Matthew McKinzie, Theodore A. Postol.

You’ve all seen Dr. Strangelove, which means I’m pretty sure you understand the general idea behind a doomsday device: if you destroy us, we destroy you, no matter what. The concept of an automatic system that guarantees nuclear retaliation if a country is subjected to a nuclear attack has been part of the collective nuclear nightmare for decades. It’s not just a concept, though. Such a doomsday device exists, and it goes by the chilling name Dead Hand. By Jason Torchinsky.

A photographer travels the globe visiting defunct cold war sites. By Kenneth Dickerman and Matt Slaby. (Nov. 30, 2016)

While images of children struggling to breathe and survive is sickening, there must be some sober consideration about the realities on the ground in Syria. By Kevin Gosztola.

Behold, virtuous American republic, the degradation Vladimir Putin has in store for you! By Yasha Levine.

Louise Mensch is delusional, which is why she gets to write for the New York Times… By Nathan J. Robinson and Alex Nichols.

As the neo-McCarthyite search for Americans with Russian “contacts” spreads, the new Cold War is increasingly fraught with possibilities of hot war. By Stephen F. Cohen

The Democrats won’t admit that they lost to Donald Trump because they ran a deeply flawed, corporate-oriented candidate, so they blame Russia instead, a very dangerous diversion, says Nicolas J S Davies.

“Many of them have started eating independently again, they go to the toilet on their own, even some who were bed-ridden have got up.” By Justin Huggler.

“This is supposed to be an opposition party? A party of 'resistance' to Trumpism? It’s sure hard to see it.” By Dave Lindorff.

The influence of the Pictures Generation, a loosely affiliated Reagan-era movement of New York Artists, continues to resonate today.