The U.S. and Global Security Review - Blog by Michael Novakhov

Beware Putin’s Special War in 2015   by John R. Schindler Tuesday December 23 rd , 2014  at  4:57 PM The InterpreterThe Interpreter 1 Share December 2014 is the month Putin’s Russia was plunged into undeniable crisis. Between the dramatic drop in oil prices and the collapse of the ruble, under Western sanctions pressure, Russians are going into the new year in a dramatically different, and lessened, economic situation than the one they enjoyed at the beginning of the year now ending. This will bring myriad hardships to Russians, particularly because  even Moscow is admitting that low oil prices may be the “new normal”  until the 2030’s. Caveats abound here. The vast majority of Russians don’t travel abroad, much less have vacation properties in Europe, nor do they have hard-currency mortgages (the ruble now having returned to its Soviet-era pariah status). Moreover, the average Russian has a physical and mental toughness about getting by in tough

Ismaaiyl Brinsley Videos / Instagram Screenshot Bleaubarricuda King Ismaaiyl. Two NYPD Officers - YouTube Sunday December 21 st , 2014  at  10:14 PM 1 Share Published on Dec 20, 2014 Ismaaiyl Brinsley shot and killed two NYPD officers before committing suicide in Brooklyn’s Bed Stuy neighborhood just before 3 p.m. on December 20. He’s believed to have walked up to the cop’s patrol car and opened fire, “execution” style. Here’s what you need to know: 1. Brinsley Shot Himself Dead on a Crowded Subway Platform After the shooting, he took his own life. Brinsley, 28, ran to the platform of a Subway station on Marcy Avenue and killed himself with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, reports NBC New York. He was taken to a Brooklyn hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Police recovered a silver handgun from his death scene. One witness told the New York Daily News that Brinsley just walked up “shot the cop in the head.” Ismaaiyl Brinsley Photos: The