links of the day 12/18/2014 (a.m.)

• Putin Dissolves Task Force for Missile Defense Cooperation with NATO

• NATO Debates Directing Missile Shield Against Russia

• Cuba’s Half Century of Isolation to End - Bloomberg

• Shopping in Russia Just Got Really Weird - Businessweek

• Here's Why the Russian Ruble Is Collapsing - Businessweek

• Nobody Knows How 21st-Century Russians Will Respond to Crisis - Bloomberg

• Obama's Unambiguous Message to Putin About Cuba: We Win and You Lose - Bloomberg

• After Alan Gross release, Obama seeks to resume full diplomatic ties with Cuba - Yahoo News

• The Cuban spy at the center of the Obama-Castro deal - Yahoo News

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.