The passing of former Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze has roused praise from the West – though opinions are mixed among the people he served – but one point missing in the obits was the U.S. promise made to him (and broken) not to exploit Moscow’s retreat, ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern writes.
Amid the flag-waving in Sochi, U.S. commentators instructed American TV viewers on the evils of modern Russia in what looks like a reprised cold war. Left out of these denunciations was any balance from looking in the mirror at a litany of U.S. misdeeds, writes Danny Schechter.
People around the world were gripped by the grim drama of Troy Davis’s execution by authorities in Georgia, after the state clemency board brushed aside grave doubts about his murder conviction and the U.S. Supreme Court rebuffed his final appeal. American peace activist David Swanson followed the ups and downs of those final hours.