Alexander Zakharchenko, leader of People's Republic of Donetsk, killed in 'Separatist' cafe explosion

2018/08/31

Russia's Ministry for Foreign Affairs reacted to the death of the head of the People's Republic of Donetsk, Alexander Zakharchenko, who was killed as a result of explosion in Donetsk on August 31.

Maria Zakharova, an official representative for the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation, believes that the Kiev authorities were behind Zakharchenko's murder.

In her opinion, Ukraine wants to proceed to a "bloody massacre" in the Donbass, rather than implement the Minsk Accords.

"There is every reason to believe that the Kiev regime is behind his murder. This regime has repeatedly used similar methods to eliminate dissidents and disloyal individuals. Instead of implementing the Minsk agreements and finding ways to resolve the internal conflict, the Kiev war party is implementing the terrorist scenario, exacerbating the already complicated situation in the region. They have not kept their promises of peace and apparently decided to proceed to a bloody massacre," Zakharova said.

"The world community should demand, and, considering the puppet system of Ukraine's political system, control the impartial investigation into the crime that was committed in front of civilians," she said.

Alexander Zakharchenko, the head of the breakaway People's Republic of Donetsk, was killed in an explosion that ripped through "Separatist" cafe in the center of Donetsk on August 31. He died of his injuries at hospital. The Minister of Revenues and Charges of the self-proclaimed republic, Alexander Timofeyev, also known by his nickname Tashkent, was seriously injured in the explosion too.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

Why did Yeltsin lie to Clinton about Putin?

2018/08/31

Boris Yeltsin lied when he said that he had been looking for a successor in the person of Vladimir Putin for a long time, historian Andrei Fursov told Pravda.Ru.

Declassified transcripts of Bill Clinton's phone conversations with Boris Yeltsin in 1999 show that the late Russian president says that it took him long to find the man who would be in charge of Russia in 2000. "I came across him eventually, this is Putin. You will work with him," Yeltsin told Clinton promising that Putin would continue his line of Russia's democratic development and expand Russias contacts.

Historian and political scientist Andrei Fursov noted in an interview with Pravda.Ru that Boris Yeltsin was reporting his decisions and ideas to Bill Clinton. "He informed his boss about his choice. It brings up the memory of Yeltsin's call to George H. Bush after the decision to disintegrate the Soviet Union. Bush was the first man whom Yeltsin called. Gorbachev was hurt by that. In another episode, Yeltsin tried to assure US Congress that communism would never be back on the Russian territory. This transcript is another evidence to prove the fact that Russia used to be a semi-colony during Yeltsin's presidency," the expert said.

"I think that Yeltsin lied when he said that he had been searching for a successor for a long time. From what I know about the events of the late 1990s, Yeltsin did not intend to quit his job, but there were several aspects that forced American masters to put pressure on him. First, there was a conspiracy in the army led by Rokhlin to remove Yeltsin from power. Rokhlin's murder ruined the plan, and people in Yeltsin's team realised that there was serious discontent brewing in the army.

"Secondly, not long before that, the parliament had nearly impeached Yeltsin. In addition, Russia suffered a default in 1998. Those three events drew the line under Yeltsin's rule, and he had to quickly search for a successor. Apparently, he counted on Stepashin at first, but then it turned out that the latter was ready to compromise with the Primakov-Luzhkov team, so a need in another candidate arose.

"Today, the Russian leadership should give a moral assessment to Yeltsin's rule. In today's Russia, many tend to despise Gorbachev a lot, but they dislike Yeltsin to a lesser degree. Yeltsin was a product of Gorbachev's rule. Yeltsin was working within the corridor of opportunities set by Gorbachev. Gorbachev is still alive, and the man who destroyed the USSR should be held accountable for that. At the same time, I understand that Putin does not want to criticise Yeltsin because it was Yeltsin who made Putin his successor," the expert told Pravda.Ru. 


The Unknown Putin. Part 1

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

Russia to share its Syrian experience with China during Vostok 2018 war games

2018/08/31

China will take part in Russia's Vostok-2018 military exercises. These are not just common  manoeuvres, but large-scale exercises with offensive goals. What made China change its principle of staying in the shadow?

The Pentagon called Russia and China strategic opponents of the United States. Introducing the new defence strategy in the beginning of 2017, US Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis called Russia and China "revisionist powers" who seek to create a world that would correspond to their authoritarian models. The head of the Pentagon stressed that it was the competition between powers, rather than terrorism, that became the focus of the US national security strategy.

The threat from Washington was not new for Russia, but the publication of America's national defence strategy became a real challenge to Beijing.

China has not held military operations since 1970 (the war with Vietnam), so Beijing needs to acquire military experience somewhere. The South China Morning Post wrote an article on the subject under the headline "Vostok 2018 war games: China's chance to learn Russia's military lessons from Syria." However, it goes about Russia's largest military exercises that the country is going to have in its Soviet and post-Soviet period. They could be compared to the manoeuvres in 1981 in Belarus, when the West imposed sanctions on the USSR for the invasion of Afghanistan. These days, it appears that history does repeat itself. Symbolically, Vostok 2018 war games kick off on September 12, and the manoeuvres of 1981 began on September 12 too.

In 1981, Soviet troops trained their skills for an offensive and landing operation in the rear of the conditional enemy. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Vostok 2018 drills would be similar to Zapad-81, although they would be larger. "Just imagine 36,000 units of military hardware in motion simultaneously - tanks, armored personnel carriers, BMP vehicles. And all this, of course, will be staged in conditions that would be as much close to combat actions as possible," Shoigu said.

In other words, Beijing is aware of such parallels, but China will still send up to 3,200 servicemen of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and 30 aircraft to Vostok 2018 war games. Military expert from Beijing, Zhou Chenming, told the South China Morning Post that "the PLA's participation in Vostok 2018 was also a sign of Beijing's political support for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is under diplomatic pressure on various fronts."

The newspaper also cites Jonathan Holslag, professor of international politics at the Free University of Brussels, who noted that Russia and China hold the drills to send a signal of deterrence to the Western world.

"It shows that, while there is still a lot of distrust between Moscow and Beijing, Moscow sees no other choice but to work with China, especially as relations with the US remain unstable and Chinese financial support is needed to mitigate the effects of Western sanctions," said Holslag, the newspaper wrote.

The head of the School of Oriental Studies of the Higher School of Economics, Alexei Maslov, told Pravda.Ru that China is demonstrating the existence of the military-political alliance with Russia to the United States. "Military exercises are held on a regular basis and they become bigger and bigger. This is very important for stabilising the situation around China, which the United States wants to contain. China wants to show its stability and military power," Alexei Maslov said in an interview with Pravda.Ru.

For Russia, it is important to show that China is an economic component of the new world, whereas  Russia is the military one. Mongolia's participation in the drills is a real breakthrough that opens the doors to inner and eastern Asia for Russia, the expert added.

These actions come as counterbalance to USA's military drills, which America regularly conducts in the region with South Korea.  Alexei Maslov does not think that Russia and China should set up a NATO-like military bloc in Asia. Yet, the Chinese will be able to learn a lot from Russia during the upcoming war games, just like as Russia is going to learn a lot about China's military system," the expert told Pravda.Ru.

Photo credits: Mil.ru

Lyuba Lulko (Stepushova)
Pravda.Ru

Read article on the Russian version of Pravda.Ru

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

Syria: False Flag chemical attack imminent to incriminate Assad

2018/08/31

Syria: False Flag being planned by USA and supporters?

By supporters, read terrorists undermining the democratically supported Syrian government and fellow members of the FUKUS Axis. Kids kidnapped as bait

Syria. Peaceful towns and villages where people of different ethnic groups and creeds and races intermingled for tens of thousands of years in peace, sharing figs and olives and bread, celebrating their religions and customs in peace, thrown into chaos as the FUKUS Axis (France-UK-US) once again stuck its ugly nose into other people's business and started supporting splinter terrorist groups with dubious and violent backgrounds to create chaos in the Middle East and impose their model for the area. More lines on maps.

While the FUKUS governments told their people that they were supporting freedom fighters, what in fact they were supporting was rapists, murderers, torturers, thieves, arsonists, child kidnappers. They raped nuns, they raped little girls before and after they were decapitated, they sliced the throats of children after they were forced to watch their parents being hacked to death, or worse, they sliced the breasts off women in the street, they impaled boys on stakes because they were "the wrong religion". They played soccer with the heads of the girls thei had raped after decapitation, giggling as the eyes popped out of the sockets, the teeth splattered around the improvized playing field and bellowing in delight when the head scored a goal. And what were you, the readers of this piece, the citizens of the UK, France and USA, doing all this time? Nothing, supporting your governments which perpetrated these disgusting acts by proxy through the terrorist groups they supported. Now you will sit back in silence as a terrorist chemical attack is perpetrated against Syrian children, blame Assad and still do nothing.

Along comes Russia, Syria's ally, conducting an anti-terrorist operation, and is then accused by the same people perpetrating these horrors as an aggressor when all Russia is doing is supporting the democratically elected and supported government of President Bashar al-Assad and exterminating groups of terrorists.

Breaking: False flag attack by terrorists to incriminate Assad imminent

Now that the operation reaches its final phase, around Idlib where the terrorist forces are concentrated and hemmed in, no doubt along with their foreign supporters, mercenaries and mentors, breaking news: another false flag event is allegedly being planned, serving as a reason for a massive strike by the FUKUS Axis against the Syrian Armed Forces.

The Russian Defense Ministry has announced exactly this, that a chemical weapons attack is being planned to frame Damascus, in the words of Major General Igor Konashenkov, spokesperson for the Russian Defense Ministry. General Konashenkov goes further, outlining the plan in detail: operationals from the al-Nusra Front (now Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, in other words, al-Qaeda) in Idlib, are preparing the attack, delivering eight canisters of chlorine to a village near Jisr al-Shughur. It is said that the British security company Olive has operationals in the area, which are working with a separate group of terrorists, disguised as volunteers from the White Helmets, who are ready to show a chlorine gas attack on children, who have already allegedly been kidnapped for the ploy.

The FUKUS Axis already launched a bomb and missile attack on Syria in April after another false flag operation in Douma, before a team from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was able to carry out research into what had happened. Many are those accusing FUKUS allies in the region of ferrying in chemical weapons to the theater of war to create such events, amplified by a willing bought media and swallowed hook, line and sinker by populations brought up on lies and dampened down by reality TV, junk food and soccer.

Let us ask ourselves a question: why are Syrian chemical attacks aimed at non-combatants in areas crawling with Syrian Army personnel which have just won the battle? You do not use weapons against children, you use them against terrorists and you do not use them when you are winning. You use them against chindren who you have kidnapped if you are terrorist filth which has perpetrated the crimes we see above to incriminate the winning forces and garner support from the west, which is pulling your strings. It is not rocket science.

Let us ask ourselves who the White Helmets are, and let us use the words of Syrian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Walid Muallem:


"Behind the creation of the pseudo-organization the White Helmets, are the British special services: they sponsor them, they lead them. They were behind the organization of those fabricated scenarios for the use of chemical weapons and now they are preparing such a development of the situation with the use of chemical weapons in Idlib".

 

Let us now ask ourselves why the White Helmets are accused by multiple sources of kidnapping 44 children in Idlib, as indeed children had been kidnapped days before the Douma incident.

The bottom line is, will the FUKUS Axis admit defeat in Syria, allowing the last bastion of al-Qaeda to fall, as it lies surrounded by the Syrian Arab Army on land and facing the might of the Russian Navy and Air Force? Or will the FUKUS not accept defeat and help al-Qaeda prolong the war by creating a false flag event, blaming the Syrian government and launching massive strikes against military positions?

The final question is how long will Washington, London and Paris go on supporting terrorists to pursue their intromissive and meddling policies overseas?

Photo: By VOA News: Scott Bobb reporting from Aleppo, Syria. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDAxseKRHw4, Public Domain, https://ift.tt/2orLDY8

Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey

Pravda.Ru 

Twitter: @TimothyBHinchey

timothy.hinchey@gmail.com

*Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey has worked as a correspondent, journalist, deputy editor, editor, chief editor, director, project manager, executive director, partner and owner of printed and online daily, weekly, monthly and yearly publications, TV stations and media groups printed, aired and distributed in Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Portugal, Mozambique and São Tomé and Principe Isles; the Russian Foreign Ministry publication Dialog and the Cuban Foreign Ministry Official Publications. He has spent the last two decades in humanitarian projects, connecting communities, working to document and catalog disappearing languages, cultures, traditions, working to network with the LGBT communities helping to set up shelters for abused or frightened victims and as Media Partner with UN Women, working to foster the UN Women project to fight against gender violence and to strive for an end to sexism, racism and homophobia. A Vegan, he is also a Media Partner of Humane Society International, fighting for animal rights. He is Director and Chief Editor of the Portuguese version of Pravda.Ru.

Join the most international forum on the Net

http://engforum.pravda.ru/

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

Russia to hold first-ever joint-force military drills in Mediterranean in September

2018/08/31

On August 30, the Russian Defence Ministry announced joint-force exercises of the Russian Navy and Aerospace Force in the Mediterranean Sea. This will be the first time when Russia holds such joint-force exercises in modern history. The drills will take place on September 1-8.

Commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy Vladimir Korolev will be in charge of the manoeuvres. Warships of the Northern, Baltic, Black Sea fleets, as well as the Caspian Flotilla and long-range aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces will take part in the drills. The exercises will also involve 26 warships and vessels, including two submarines and 34 aircraft. Missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov of the Northern Fleet will be the flagship of the group.

Strategic missile carriers Tu-160, anti-submarine aircraft Tu-142 and Il-38, as well as Su-33 fighters and Su-30SM aircraft will carry out sorties as part of the drills.

The manoeuvres will be held to train skills in anti-submarine warfare and anti-aircraft defence, protection of maritime communications, countering piracy and providing assistance to ships in distress. They will also hold practical rocket and artillery fire.

In order to strictly implement international law and ensure security, the area of the military exercises was declared temporarily dangerous for navigation.

Strategic missile carriers Tu-160 armed with cruise missiles such as X-101, anti-submarine aircraft Tu-142MK and Il-38, Su-33 fighters and Su-30SM aircraft will perform combat training tasks from Khmeymim airbase in Syria.

Officials with the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the drills would not be related to the state of affairs in Syria, even though it has been growing more intense lately as the Syrian army was getting ready for an offensive in the province of Idlib.

However, it is also believed that Russia is holding joint-force drills in the Mediterranean in response to recent actions of the United States in the region. The USA has deployed at least two Ohio and Virginia submarines in the region. Those submarines are capable of striking a missile blow on Syria, and Russia is holding the drills to train, inter alia, anti-submarine defence skills.

Maria Zakharova, an official spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated that Russia was concerned about the concentration of a large Western military group in the Mediterranean region. The United States, France and the UK have about 70 carriers, about 380 air-launched cruise missiles, two American destroyers, USS Carney and US Ross, with each of them carrying 28 Tomahawk missiles on board. Two more US Navy destroyers - USS Donald Cook and USS Porter - are now based in Spain, and they can strengthen the grouping within 24 hours, if necessary.

On August 28, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu stated that Russia would hold largest military exercises in 37 years on September 11-15. The drills, Vostok-2018, will involve as many as 300,000 military men and more than 1,000 warplanes and helicopters. 


Russia showcases new weapons at Army-2018 forum

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

Iconic monument to be removed from Moscow's Red Square

2018/08/31

The State Historical Museum and the Russian Historical Society announced the all-Russian campaign to raise funds to restore the monument to Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. The iconic monument, commonly known as Monument to Minin and Pozharsky, stands in front of the St. Bazil's Cathedral on Moscow's Red Square.

The monument was the first sculptural piece that was erected in Moscow on Red Square 200 years ago in honour of the victory of the Russian militia over foreign interventionists in 1612.

On February 20, 1818 in a solemn atmosphere, Emperor Alexander I and members of the imperial family unveiled the Monument to Minin and Pozharsky on Red Square. In the summer of 1931, the monument became a hindrance to demonstrations and parades, so it was moved from its historical site, from opposite the Upper trading rows, to the facade of the Intercession Cathedral. During this movement, the structure of the monument was damaged.

In late 2016, the maintenance of the monument was delivered to the State Historical Museum. Experts examined the monument and came to conclusion that it required serious restoration is required. The works were preliminary evaluated at 46 million rubles.

Within a year, the sculptural group will be dismantled from the pedestal on Red Square to be  transported to workshops, where the sculptures and the bas-reliefs of the monument will be restored.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

Wedding Photos of Mari People of Russian Empire

2018/08/30
Читать далее ...

New data on mysterious dark matter

2018/08/30

New data on mysterious dark matter

Scientists from the XENON International Experience discuss new data on the mysterious dark matter of the Universe in Coimbra, Portugal.

85 researchers involved in XENON, an international experience of advanced research on the dark matter of the Universe, will meet in Coimbra on September 5, 6 and 7.

At the meeting, held for the first time in Portugal, some of the world's leading scientists in the field, including Manfred Lindner (director of Max Plank Institute, Germany), Elena Aprile (Univ. Columbia, USA), Laura Baudis (Univ. Zurich, Switzerland), among others.

This meeting takes place at ISEC / Coimbra Engineering Academy and follows the announcement of new results of the experiment (https://ift.tt/2PTBnEy), whose scientific paper has already been accepted for publication in the prestigious Physical Review Letters, which "Confirms the leadership of this consortium in the search for dark matter in the Universe", added José Matias, coordinator of the Portuguese team that integrates XENON and researcher at the Laboratory of Instrumentation, Biomedical Engineering and Radiation Physics (LIBPhys) of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of University of Coimbra (FCTUC).

In its most recent history, collaboration has been in operation since 2016 "the most sensitive instrument ever produced by mankind for the detection of this unknown type of material - XENON1T -, installed in the Gran Sasso National Laboratory, Italy. largest underground laboratory in the world, under 1,300 meters of rock to shield the cosmic ray system on the surface", notes the researcher.

The installation consists of a water tank 10 meters in diameter and 10 meters high, where XENON1T is immersed, and an adjacent service building with three floors, to support the operation of the system.

This collaborative effort, says José Matias, "has a strong engineering component, because most of the wide range of instruments and technologies used are specially developed for this purpose, creating better and more advanced instruments than those that existed before, a bit the image of what happens with space programs. "

The XENON collaboration consists of 160 scientists from 27 research groups from the USA, Germany, Portugal, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Japan, Israel and Abu Dhabi. Portugal has been a partner in this collaboration since its inception in 2005 through the team of LIBPhys of the Department of Physics of FCTUC (xenon.fis.uc.pt), composed of six scientists and an engineer.

The meeting opens at 9 am on 5 September.

Cristina Pinto

University of Coimbra • Faculty of Science and Technology

Translated by Ekaterina Santos

Portuguese version, Pravda.Ru

Note:

If we cannot see dark matter, how do we know it exists? Gravitational characteristics observed in and around celestial bodies lead towards the theory that if some sort of unseen or dark matter did not exist, these gravitational pulls would also not exist. The general theory runs along the lines that dark matter is composed by sub-atomic particles which have yet to be discovered and studied. Dark matter is thought to exist everywhere in the Universe and is thought to compose 85 per cent of total matter and 25% of the energy density.

This leads experts to conclude that there is not enough gravitational force in galaxies to prevent them from disintegrating, the planets and suns flying in different directions instead of rotating around a central point and the force responsible for this is dark matter.

Dark matter is also held responsible for phenomena observed in studies of the cosmic microwave background, the behavior of galaxies inside clusters of other galaxies, and observations of galactic collisions. Apart from dark matter, there is a far greater source of mass called dark energy, which is equally unknown.

Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey

Director,

Portuguese version, Pravda.Ru

Photo:  By Lucas Taylor / CERN - https://ift.tt/1vVghV4, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://ift.tt/2dw1ezW

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

Proto Bread Loaf Vans of USSR

2018/08/30
Читать далее ...

It’s Raining Bugs in Yakutia (the video is really creepy)

2018/08/30
Читать далее ...

Putin loses everything he has

2018/08/30

President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev have played the game of bad cop and good cop in their efforts to explain the essence of the pension reform to the people of Russia. Putin's behaviour in relation to the prime minister looks unethical, just as it looks wrong in relation to his electors. It appears that Putin may eventually lose control of the patriotic idea - the only idea that still helps him stay in his office.

After the president's televised address to the nation on August 29, it became clear that it was Putin who initiated the pension reform in Russia. This is evidenced by his harsh affirmation about the lack of alternatives to the reform. Until recently, however, Putin tried to distance himself from his government, which he had allegedly commissioned to develop and implement the unpopular reform. As a result, Medvedev failed to handle the psychological burden and disappeared from the public eye for a while. When he reappeared in front of the cameras, one could see him as a tired and sick person.

Putin is being unethical towards his voters as well. Putin's voter is commonly known in Russia as "vatnik", who values Putin's achievements in building the Russian world, limiting the influence of American globalism and oligarchic structures.

During the above-mentioned speech, Putin referred to experts twice without naming them. Apparently, it goes about Alexei Kudrin, experts of the Higher School of Economics - liberal, pro-Western people, whom Putin's voters despise. Thus, Putin has shown disrespect to his electors in a hope that people are ignorant and they do not need to know any names.

Addressing the nation with his speech, Putin said: "Even if we sell all buildings of the Pension Fund, the money will be enough only for a few months. And then what?" However, we understand that it goes about all the knick-knacks, apartments and plots of land that our fat officials, MPs and oligarchs have. Putin clearly gave it to understand that he would never rip epaulettes off their shoulders.

As a matter of fact, we do not understand now what makes Putin different from late Boris Yeltsin, who also entrusted everything to "Chicago boys" and plunged the country into chaos. We can see Putin threatening us now that the system will not have money for pensions in six or seven years if everything remains the same.

The first reason for the looming crisis, as Putin says, is demography. "In 2005, the ratio of working citizens, who replenish the Pension Fund regularly, and citizens receiving old-age insurance pensions, is nearly 1.7 to one, but in 2019,  it will be 1.2 to one," Putin said noting that life expectancy in Russia had increased by eight years.

The trend is the same in Western countries. Robots continue to replace humans depriving them of jobs, but the pension system in the West is far from collapsing. In Western countries, the pension fund gets replenished through the growth in people's wages and, accordingly, deductions to the budget. The most surprising thing is that such a system works identically in Russia too, although officials tend to conceal it in order to speculate on the topic of who feeds whom.

Thus, the average Russian citizen during his work service of 20 years and an average salary of 40,000 rubles gives away about 2.4 million rubles to the Pension Fund. Russian male pensioners live for an average of eight years, during which they receive back only 1.600 million, and the state keeps the remaining 800,000 rubles in the budget. No one knows what that money goes for, although it is obvious that the state wants to take and spend even more.

It is worthy of note that when speaking about the growth, Putin refers to Russia during the 1990s. Why not compare indicators of the year 2018 to 2014, when the West started imposing sanctions on Russia one after another, and the Russian economy started rolling down the hill?

Putin dismisses all alternative proposals for financing the Pension Fund. He did not mention the amendment on the progressive scale of taxation, although there was such a proposal made at the hearings in the State Duma on August 21. That money could be used to compensate entrepreneurs for their contributions to the Pension Fund to support people of pre-retirement age.

Putin does not want to attract oil revenues to finance the Pension Fund either. According to him, this money will not be enough to pay pensions for as little as two months. Yet, oil revenues constitute a supplementary, rather than the only source of income for the Pension Fund. "What if oil prices go down?" Putin says. Indeed, the government would then need to find a way to increase tax collection from other sources.

For comparison, the deficit of the Pension Fund in 2018 will amount to 257 billion rubles, while the net outflow of capital in 2017 was 31.3 billion dollars, which is about 1 trillion 966 billion rubles. The National Welfare Fund holds 4 trillion 844 billion rubles. Gazprom's profit is evaluated at 997 billion rubles. The profit of Russia's largest state-run bank, Sberbank, is 542 billion rubles. The Russian shadow economy is evaluated at 33.6 trillion rubles, or 39 percent of GDP, said business ombudsman Boris Titov.

Therefore, all of the measures that Putin voiced in his speech look superficial. We have an impression that all of the "gifts" that Putin mentioned in his speech had been included in the reform in advance. Obviously, the inflation will eat up the promised addition of 1,000 rubles per year. Putin speaks about a pension of 20,000 rubles by 2024, whereas in Europe, pensions make up 40 percent of what a people get during their work service.

One can only guess why Putin takes such a position. Probably, this is due to the overwhelming external pressure. If Putin had tried to explain that, people would have probably understood. Instead, they saw their president laying the burden of responsibility for the future of the country on the population. Putin does not feel guilty for the fact that Russia has not been able to amass enough money during the 2000s to finance social programs and build an independent financial system. He does not feel guilty for showing insufficient resistance to the shadow economy and corruption. Instead, he was trying to come to terms with oligarchs. An agreement with them has turned out to be more important for him than an agreement with the people.

Putin's voters want a strong social state that would successfully support the foreign policy of the Kremlin from the inside. The living standard in Russia has been decreasing for the last five years, and Putin wants his electors to pedal back. Putin's rating may eventually collapse, and the president will lose control of the idea of patriotism that he has been talking about for so long. People will feel humiliated and betrayed when they realise that their president lied to them.

Lyuba Lulko (Stepushova)
Pravda.Ru

Read article on the Russian version of Pravda.Ru

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

USA and Russia exchange ultimatums on Syria

2018/08/30

A batch of chemical weapons has been delivered to Syria to stage a fake chemical attack to subsequently justify another missile attack that the United States intends to conduct on Syrian government troops.

According to Aleksey Tsygankov, the head of the Center for Conciliation of Parties, members of the White Helmets organisation delivered chemical weapons to the warehouse of Akhrar Al-Sham group in the city of Sarakib. According to independent sources, field commanders of the opposition accepted the cargo. Some of the unmarked barrels were transported to another settlement.

It was said that the provocation with the use of chemical weapons was to be staged in the city of Kafer-Zait. The fake chemical attack on civilians will then be used as a reason to strike another missile attack on Syrian government troops.

Representatives of the Russian Defence Ministry said that, according to intelligence sources, the  provocation with the use of chemical weapons could take place in the next couple of days.

Officials with the US State Department said that the United States would strike another blow on Syria if Bashar Assad uses chemical weapons against civilians.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, White Helmets take part in the campaign to demonise the Syrian authorities. At the same time, members of the organisation claim that they act in the interests of the civilian population, because they take a neutral position and do not take part in hostilities. However, one could see videos on the Internet, in which White Helmets make staged films about rescuing victims, telling people what to say. Earlier, Syrian President Bashar Assad suggested that White Helmets support Al-Qaeda (terrorist organisation, banned in Russia).

Russia and the United States have concentrated significant naval forces and aviation in the Mediterranean. A false-flag operation with the use of chemical weapons in the province of Idlib may trigger a new round of confrontation in the Middle East.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

Joseph Kobzon, the main voice of the USSR, dies

2018/08/30

Joseph Kobzon, a legendary singer, a voice of several generations, died on August 30 in Moscow. Kobzon's family members confirmed the singer's death.

On July 27, it was reported that Joseph Kobzon was connected to the assisted breathing machine. Before he died, the artist had been transferred to the intensive care unit in the department of neurosurgery in one of Moscow hospitals.

Kobzon was diagnosed with cancer in 2005.

Joseph Kobzon, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee for Culture, People's Artist of the USSR, was 80 years old.

Joseph Kobzon, a Soviet and Russian singer, was born on September 11, 1937 in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. He was a deputy of the State Duma of II-VII convocations. He also served as First Deputy Chairman of the Duma Committee on Culture since 2011.

Joseph Kobzon is a Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation (2016), People's Artist of the USSR (1987), laureate of the USSR State Prize (1984), of Lenin Komsomol Prize (1976), and RF Government Prize (2011).

In 2002, he participated in negotiations with terrorists during the hostage crisis at the Moscow music cheater and helped several hostages out of the building.

Joseph Kobzon's repertoire has about 3,000 songs, including best songs written by Dunayevsky, Blanter, Pokrass brothers, Novikov, Solovyov-Sedoi, Fradkin, Feltsman, Tulikov, Pakhmutova, Tukhmanov and other Soviet composers.

Many in today's Russia, especially those who were born in the Soviet Union, love his renditions of such classic Soviet songs as "Smuglyanka", "Old Maple", "Where the Motherland Begins", "I Love You, Life", "Moments", "Dark Night", "Victory Day", "In the City Garden".

The actor led an active social life and was engaged in charity activities.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

Russian and Chinese Jets Flying at ARMY-2018 Expo Forum

2018/08/29
Читать далее ...

Water of Gulf of Finland Near Petersburg is Now Emerald

2018/08/29
Читать далее ...

Revolutionary Optimism, Western Nihilism, by Andre Vltchek, A Review

2018/08/29

By Deena Stryker

American progressives have been desperate lately that their cries merely echo through a wilderness, but now comes Andre Vltchek's latest book, Revolutionary Optimism, Western Nihilism to magnify our voices.

As a Russian born but Western raised 'professional expat', Vltchek has spent his life covering the world's tragedies, in film and word, until he can no longer bear the pain. As revealed by a series of short takes written over the last few years, Vltchek's only hope is the energetic optimism that animates revolutionaries the world over. I was privileged to observe that phenomena in early sixties Cuba, as was at other periods Vltchek. But Andre has also seen and documented the horrors of empire across our troubled world, over and over again until cry out he must.

Remembering how Hugo Chavez was vilified in the name of politeness for mocking George W. Bush at the UN in 2006, he warns: "Well, that is not how real revolutions have been ignited. This is not how the successful anti-colonialist wars are fought. When the real battle begins, 'politeness' is actually mostly unacceptable, simply because the oppressed masses are endlessly pissed off, and they want their feelings to be registered and expressed forcefully by the leaders. Even the search for 'objectivity' is often out of place, when still fragile revolutions have to face the entire monumental hostile propaganda of the regime (of the Empire), as well as foreign sponsored 'opposition', NGOs and corrupt 'civil societies'."

It's twelve years later, and Donald Trump has been wondering aloud whether it's time to invade Chavez's hand-picked successor, Nicholas Maduro for failing to maintain the privileges of the few as he tries to ensure the survival of the many. Vltchek castigates the 'Western left-wing' for failing to support revolutions around the globe, and As Trump tries to cut a deal with North Korea, he points out something of which few in the US are aware: the 'hermit kingdom' joined Cuba in Angola and Namibia's fights against colonialism. His description of what, on the other hand, passes for intellectual is a paean to those of us who have fled academia:

Cults of formal learning, of facts and information have been erected. Holed up in innumerable officially recognized institutions, the scholars, certified demagogues, researchers and media people have been 'studying' each other, recycling and quoting each other, filling millions of books with essentially the same narrative. 'New' and 'revolutionary' academic discoveries mostly lead to the same old conclusions, to stale intellectual and moral passivity, cowardice and spinelessness.

Vltchek's prescience is remarkable, given that these essays were written before the election of Donald Trump, which, with deep state accusations of 'Russian interference in our (sic) democracy', has triggered internet wars over 'truth'. Donald Trump's cries of 'fake news', suggest that "It is now easy to imagine that the Empire might soon introduce some fascist institution like a 'Department of Truth'".

When Western journalists refer to revolutions or simply, existing socialist countries, the emphasis is always on violence (as is the current review of 1968 demonstrations in In These Times attests)... For all Vltchek's penchant for drama, it is interwoven with crucial information:

The legal systems of socialist societies with their emphasis on socio-economic protection and support of the workers, are completely different from those of the capitalist societies, in which the central role of law is to protect private property and ease the flow of capital, in opposition to the interests of the workers.

Indeed, the Western media invariably talks about Russia either with accusations or disdain, never mentioning the fact that its current president rescued the socialist baby from the bathwater that Yeltsin was throwing out, and that his high domestic approval ratings are largely due to real improvements in the lives of ordinary Russians, even as he modernizes the country in the face of Western disparagement.

For those of us who have been pursuing the crusade against empire for decades, feeling our efforts are almost in vain, Vltchek's latest contribution is both a passionate cry and a breath of fresh air.

***

Link to paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Revolutionary-Optimism-Western-Nihilism-Vltchek/dp/6025095418/

Link to e-book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Revolutionary-Optimism-Western-Nihilism-Vltchek-ebook/dp/B07G38G3V3/

 

***

 

About Deena Stryker:

Born in Phila, I spent most of my adolescent and adult years in Europe, resulting over time in several unique books, my latest being Cuba, Diary of A Revolution

CUBA: Diary of a Revolution, Inside the Cuban Revolution with Fidel, Raul, Che, and Celia Sanchez

Lunch with Fellini, Dinner with Fidel: An Illustrated Personal Journey from the Cold War to the Arab Spring

America Revealed to a Honey-Colored World

A Taoist Politics: The Case For Sacredness

I began my journalistic career at the French News Agency in Rome, spent two years in Cuba finding out whether the Barbudos were Communists before they made the revolution ('Cuba 1964: When the Revolution was Young'). After spending half a decade in Eastern Europe, and a decade in the U.S., studying Global Survival and writing speeches in the Carter State Department, I wrote the only book that foresaw the fall of the Berlin Wall AND the dissolution of the Soviet Union ("Une autre Europe, un autre Monde'). My memoir, 'Lunch with Fellini, Dinner with Fidel', tells it all. 'A Taoist Politics: The Case for Sacredness', which examines the similarities between ancient wisdom and modern science and what this implies for political activism; and 'America Revealed to a Honey-Colored World" is a pamphlet about how the U.S. came down from the City on a Hill'.

www.otherjonesii.blogspot.com

*

Andre Vltchek is a philosopher, novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He has covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. Three of his latest books are Revolutionary Optimism, Western Nihilism, a revolutionary novel "Aurora" and a bestselling work of political non-fiction: "Exposing Lies Of The Empire". View his other books here. Watch Rwanda Gambit, his groundbreaking documentary about Rwanda and DRCongo and his film/dialogue with Noam Chomsky "On Western Terrorism". Vltchek presently resides in East Asia and the Middle East, and continues to work around the world. He can be reached through his website and his Twitter.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

Putin to give up on Iran in exchange for Ukraine and lifting of sanctions?

2018/08/29

Washington hopes that Moscow will sacrifice Tehran to single-handedly govern the post-war Syria. Putin has an excellent opportunity to take control of Ukraine and get rid of sanctions.

The situation around Syria began to heat up again after the meeting of US-Russian national security advisors John Bolton and Nikolai Patrushev ended with no results. Earlier, representatives of the Russian Defense Ministry warned about a possibility for another provocation with the use of chemical weapons to take place in Syria's Idlib. The United States, Russian officials said, wanted to stage another fake chemical attack in Syria to strike another missile blow on the country.

In April of this year, after the alleged chemical attack in Syria's Douma, Donald Trump ordered to launch "smart missiles" on Iranian units.

Marwan Kabalan wrote in an article for Al Jazeera that until recently, Russia had viewed Iran as an important partner in Syria. "Iran helped Russia achieve common objectives, including defeating the Western-backed rebellion in Syria, preventing Turkey and the Arab Gulf states from winning the war in Syria, and taking revenge for what Putin believes a master deception plan by the west to intervene in Libya and remove a Russian ally," the author points out. However, he continues, the interests of the two allies began to differ.

According to Kabalan, Russia wants to use its advantageous positions in Syria as a bargaining chip to resolve most fundamental issues: Ukraine and economic sanctions:  "Iran wants to enhance its military presence in Syria as a deterrence to prevent a possible US or Israeli attack against it. As the US and Israel show more determination to force Iran out of Syria, Putin's role becomes more crucial. If he chose to cooperate, Iran's position would become untenable."

According to Kabalan, Putin will agree to part with Iran only if the agenda transforms into "Iran for Ukraine" deal. "Until he can get there, Iran will stay in Syria even if a few kilometres away from the borders with Israel," the author concludes.

Vladimir Avatkov, director of the Center for Oriental Studies, International Relations and Public Diplomacy, told Pravda.Ru that Russia does not engage in such geopolitical exchange deals. "This is beyond Russian political traditions. Unlike the Americans, we are trying to build a security system in the Middle East that would respect the rights, interests and values of all regional players. In this connection, I suppose that such a deal is impossible," Vladimir Avatkov said in an interview with Pravda.Ru.

In his opinion, Al Jazeera's fake news has a goal to undermine upcoming talks between Russia, Turkey and Iran. Moscow, Ankara and Tehran have managed to establish effective partnership, "and it's wonderful that Turkey is moving away from its pro-Western policy and gaining its own position in international affairs," the expert added. At the same time, he continued, one needs to understand that Turkey and Iran have their own interests in Syria. "That's why Iran and Syria concluded a military cooperation agreement and continue to negotiate with Turkey," Vladimir Avatkov told Pravda.Ru.

During the tripartite talks between Russia and Iran and Turkey in Tehran next week, the parties will discuss questions related to the restoration of Syria, return of refugees and the future arrangement of Syria's statehood. "As for the possible missile attack, the Americans want to slam the door beautifully and grab at the phantom possibility of regime change demonizing it in every way," the political scientist said in an interview with Pravda.Ru.

Lyuba Lulko (Stepushova)
Pravda.Ru

Read article on the Russian version of Pravda.Ru

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

Pedophilia in Russia: We won't tell mom

2018/08/29

In July 2018, activists of Liza-Alert (volunteer organization that looks for missing people) launched an Internet flashmob in Russia under the hashtag  #wewonttellmom. Hundreds of Russians started sharing their stories on social media, in which they confessed how they were either harassed or molested in their childhood. Organizers of the flashmob believe that so many confessions from so many people should attract public attention to the subject.

It is worthy of note that the number of cases of sexual ill-treatment over minors increased in 2017. In 2016, there were 5,038 cases filed, but their number increased to 7,011 in 2017.

It has been observed that in 70 percent of cases, a child becomes a victim of sexual violence committed by their relative or acquaintance. Adolescents become victims of harassment at a much lesser extent. Smaller children, as a rule, do not even understand what is happening to them and treat everything as a game that an adult man wants to play with them.

At the same time, nine out of ten minors do not talk about what happened to anyone: pre-school children can not put everything in words properly, while older children are usually too ashamed and scared to tell their stories to anyone else. Moreover, children's relatives may often choose to hush up the incident and prefer not to go to law enforcement bodies. Only 10-12 percent of victims go to police.

According to the World Health Organization, 20 percent of women and 5-10 percent of men encountered incidents of sexual ill-treatment during their childhood.

Below are just a few stories that we picked from social media under the above-mentioned hashtag to translate into English.

Tatiana, Izhevsk

"I was about ten years old. We were out in the street with a little brother of a friend of mine. We found a sled behind the house. There was a nice-looking young man there. He had such a soft face and such a soft voice and he convincingly started asking us to follow him to a very good ice slide. Me and Misha (that was the boy's name) followed the man. He brought us to the kindergarten, but it was a day off, so he opened the gate with a key (he probably worked there). Then he took us to a site where there was an ice slide. The man told Misha to play there, and then he took me to the veranda to find out something important. He put me in front of him and started taking off my pants saying: "Let me see how warm you are, as you can get cold there on the slide." I began to break away from him, but then he said: "OK,  let's try from behind." I managed to run away from him, I ran to Misha, and we both escaped....It's been 35 years, but I still remember the grayish face of that pedophile, I remember how anxious and excited he was."

Irina:

"I was 11 years old. I was staying at my girlfriend's, who had an older brother. Suddenly he locked his sister in the bathroom for no reason and threw himself at me, trying to kiss me. I was very scared, I started screaming as much as I could. Then he threw me on the bed and began ripping off my tights and my underwear saying that it would only be one time, that he has done that to his sister and to his sister's girlfriends, and I was next. I was losing strength, but still I was trying to pull my tights up. The next moment, his sister broke free from the bathroom and rushed to rescue me. I never told my parents about that attack."

Ekaterina, Moscow:

"We were going back home from a sports class. I said bye-bye to my friends and was walking alone, when a big man grabbed me. I was eight at that time, and it was winter. I screamed, my friends heard me, but he put a knife to my throat and told me that I should say I was all right, and so I did. He started undressing and groping me and told me to grope him. He then said that if I liked it then I could see him more often. I said "Yes" because I was afraid that otherwise he would kill me. I came home in tears, all my clothes were unbuttoned. I told my parents about what happened. My  father took a knife and went to look for that man. Thank God, he did not find him, or he would have been jailed. We hadn't reported the incident to the police. Afterwards, I had had fear of adult men, even if they were just passers-by."

Diana, Moscow:

"My mother used to work as a cleaner at a driving school in the evenings. She would often take me there with her. I was five or six years old, and while she was cleaning the rooms I was playing around as there were so many interesting things there. It was a good driving school where mostly men worked, and everyone treated me very well, I trusted everyone there. I do not remember much about how this situation happened. I remember there was a guard there, who asked me to show my wee wee to him and he showed me his. He asked me to touch it, and I even poked my finger at it once. I did not show him mine - I didn't want to and I was wearing layers of clothes. Then my mother came and I started asking her to spend the night in the driving school. My mother was very surprised, she took me home, of course. I realized the horror of the story only in my adolescent age. I do not know why I let the guard do it all, I don't know why I didn't want to run away. I never saw that man there again, though my mother worked at the driving school for several years afterwards."

Marina, Moscow

"I was seven years old, I just started going to school. My mom had to go to work an hour earlier than my school was starting, so I was one of the first kids to come to school. My mom was working not far from my school, so she would take me there with her, and I had to finish my way to school alone. One day, as I was going to school alone, a man stopped in front of me. He opened up his coat and tried to force me to take it into my mouth. I was trying to run away, but he was strong, he was trying to make me do it. He was saying that it would not hurt, that I had to help him. I didn't know whether it was good or bad, I had not seen a penis before. I only remember that I managed to escape. I never told my mother. I just decided not to use that way to school anymore."

Elena, Novocherkassk

"In my distant Soviet childhood, I was once sitting on a bench, when a man whom I didn't know approached me and started telling me very emotionally about his sick daughter at home, who had no friends. He wondered whether I could go with him to his place to meet his daughter and play with her. Of course, I agreed, because I was a Little Octobrist, I felt it was my duty to help the sick girl. It turned out that the man lived in the apartment building nearby. When we entered the apartment, he suddenly pricked up his ears. The next moment, his wife came out of the kitchen. As soon as she saw us, she started yelling in a very frightful way: "Again?? Again???? You scum, you bastard!" She then literally plunged her nails into his face while saying to me quickly: "Little girl, please go home, please." The man was mumbling something, and his wife was sobbing and yelling at him. I did not understand anything and ran home. When I was home, I told the story to my mother, and to my surprise she got really scared and started preaching me to never talk to strangers. I was eight years old when it happened. I now understand, of course, that that man's wife knew about his perversion, but my mother! She knew that there was a pedophile living next door, but she took no effort to do anything about that."

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

Putin about the pension reform in Russia: In detail

2018/08/29

On August 29, President Vladimir Putin appeared in a televised address to the nation regarding changes in the pension legislation. His speech lasted for about 35 minutes.

Putin stressed that the main task of the pension reform is to ensure stability of the pension system for years to come.

The president suggested a number of measures that would make it possible to mitigate the reform.

The retirement age for women should be lowered from 63 to 60 years. Mothers of many children will have the right to early retirement.

"If a woman has three children, she will be able to retire three years ahead of schedule, if four children - four years earlier. For women who have five or more children, everything should remain as it is now - they will be able to to retire at 50," said the president.

For citizens who were to retire under the old legislation in the next two years, a special privilege will be introduced - the right to receive a pension six months before the new retirement age.

The state will provide additional guarantees that will protect interests of older citizens on the labor market.

"During the transition period, the pre-retirement age shall be the period of five years before retirement. A whole package of measures is required here. For example, one needs to establish administrative and even criminal liability for employers for dismissing workers of pre-retirement age, as well as for refusal to hire citizens for age reasons," the president said.

For citizens of pre-retirement age, a special program for professional development will appear. The program will be financed from the federal budget.
The amount of unemployment allowance for citizens of pre-retirement age will be increased twice:  from today's 4,900 rubles to 11,280 rubles from January 1, 2019. The payment period will be one year.

For indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North, the current conditions for the appointment of pensions shall be preserved unchanged.

Unemployed pensioners living in the countryside will receive a 25 percent supplement to their pension.

 The length of service that entitles one to early retirement will be reduced by three years: for women  - to 37 years, and for men - to 42 years.

All federal benefits in force as of December 31, 2018 shall be preserved until the reform of the pension system is completed.

During his speech, Putin noted that Russia will face a demographic crisis caused by the low birth rate that the nation experienced during the 1990s.

"Today, this very small generation of those born during the 1990s is entering the working age. This will increase the burden on the pension system even more, because it is built mainly on the principle of solidarity," the head of state said.

According to Putin, if one shows indecision now, both the stability of the society and the security of the country will be jeopardized.

"We must develop, we must overcome poverty and ensure decent life for people of the older generation - both today's and future pensioners," the president added.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

Those who fire older employees should be jailed - Putin

2018/08/29

Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that one should introduce administrative and even criminal responsibility in Russia for dismissing employees of pre-retirement age.

"I deem it necessary to introduce administrative and even criminal responsibility for employers for  dismissing workers of pre-retirement age, as well as for refusing to hire citizens for work because of their age," Putin said in a televised address to the nation in connection with the widely discussed pension reform in Russia.

One should envisage such responsibility within in the framework of additional guarantees that will protect interests of older citizens on the labor market.

Today, the retirement age in Russia is 60 years for men and 55 years for women. This retirement age was introduced during the 1930s. The need to raise the retirement age in Russia has been discussed for a long time already due to the increased life expectancy and the inability to provide a decent pension while the number of employed individuals in the country is decreasing, and the number of pensioners is growing. In most countries of the world, the retirement age is 60-65 years.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

Putin lowers retirement age for women to 60 years, changes nothing for men

2018/08/29

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced changes in pension reform in Russia. In a televised address to the nation, Putin announced that the retirement age for women would be raised by five years - to 60 years. Earlier, the Russian government suggested raising the retirement age for women by eight years - to 63 years.

"In our country, we share special and tactful attitude to women. We understand that not only they work at their jobs, but also usually take care of the household, the whole family, their children and grandchildren. The retirement age for women should not be raised higher than for men. Therefore, I consider it necessary to reduce the proposed raise in the retirement age for women from eight to five years," Putin said.

Until this week, President Putin has distanced himself from discussing the issue of raising the retirement age win Russia. On July 20, during a meeting with volunteers in Kaliningrad, the president said that the final decision on the matter had not been made yet. "I do not like any of the variants, and I assure you, there are few of those in the government, if there are any at all, who like it," he then said.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

Revolution in the USA: A monkey with a grenade is going bananas

2018/08/28

While the world is discussing the phenomenon of the paranoia of sanctions in the United States, the lawyer of the American president and former mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani, found time to shock the viewers of a popular American TV channel.

Rudolph Giuliani, like Maxim Gorky's Stormy Petrel, informed the public about his concerns about a possibility for a revolution in the United States.

The former mayor of New York is convinced that the Americans will arrange an uprising if Donald Trump is removed from power trough impeachment.

It appears that in addition to all those chemical Novichok agents, WADA urine samples, hackers, sanctions and other geopolitical perversions, the USA has yet another reason for a headache - a revolution.

Indeed, Trump's competitors in the Democratic camp do not conceal their intention to impeach the sitting president and kick him out of the White House. If Trump's opponents receive a majority in the Congress at the forthcoming midterm elections in November 2018, impeachment would be just around the corner.

Donald Trump said before that his impeachment would cause global markets to collapse. It could be possible, although no one can say for sure whether the impeachment procedure is going to materialize. Apparently, Democrats would like to think about it as a "highly likely" thing, similarly to all the "highly likely" fake news that they have been generously generating lately.

Donald Trump does not have to search for words. He turned around and said that he has already made America great again. Mr. Trump has thus inadvertently given a trump card to his opponents, because it just so happens that he has done his job and can be free to go.

Russia's meddling into America's happy political life has never been proved. Trump's ill-wishers keep digging in his dirty linen looking for porn actresses and photo models, such as Stephanie Clifford and Karen McDougall. Let us remind you, dear reader, that no one had been a witness to any intimate encounters that then presidential candidate Donald Trump may have had. All accusations are based on the testimonies of the ladies, who did not even bother to exhibit any stained dresses.

The statement from Rudolph Giuliani can easily be used as another reason for yet another portion of anti-Russian sanctions. If Trump is an agent of the Kremlin, then a possible revolution in the US may also look like an insidious plan of Russian hackers.

Rudolph Giuliani does not exaggerate much when he talks about the probability of an uprising, because some may want to grab arms in their hands to defend Donald Trump.

One can always make jokes about Donald Trump and his funny hair, but, as they say inside the US, he has indeed cut unemployment and breathed new life into American industry and agriculture.

A revolution in a nuclear power, if it comes to an armed confrontation, may cost quite a fortune to the rest of the world, especially given that the United States has been behaving like a monkey with a grenade on the world arena: unpredictably, resolutely and impudently.

Probably, neither the results of the congressional elections nor the subsequent presidential campaign in the US will be able to stop the destruction of the unipolar world order. One can only watch this process and minimize its impact on other countries, if possible. This is what they try to do in  the European Union, Russia, China, Iran and other states that continue to suffer from American exceptionalism.

Unquestionably, this is a unique historical process that we are all witnessing. It pays to listen to what Rudolph Giuliani says.

Vasily Amirjanov
Pravda.Ru

Read article in Russian

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

Russia to hold largest military drills in 37 years

2018/08/28

Almost 300,000 troops will take part in Vostok 2018 (East 2018) military maneuvers that are said to be the largest in 37 years. 


Zapad 2017 drills: Russia tests new T-80 tank

Russia has not held such large-scale maneuvers since 1981.

"They will be similar to Zapad-81, but they will also be larger. There will be more aircraft involved, nearly 300,000 troops on almost all range grounds of the Central and Eastern military districts. Of course, the Pacific Fleet and the Northern Fleet will be fully involved along with Airborne Forces," the minister said.

Tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, as well as military aircraft, helicopters and drones will also take part in Vostok 2018 drills that are to be held on September 11-15.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

Russia's Army-2018 Military Forum: New weapons, new horizons, new records

2018/08/28

Twenty-six thousand exhibits and 30 signed contracts for the supply of military equipment - this is a brief summary of Army-2018 annual military-technical arms show that was held near Moscow in Patriot Park. Representatives of more than 100 countries came to take part in the arms show this year.

Russia's Defense Ministry signed a contract to purchase a large batch of new T-14 tanks and T-15 armored combat vehicles on the universal Armata platform. The Russian Armed Forces will receive 132 units of equipment before 2021. The first nine tanks are to be supplied already this year.

During the forum, a number of innovative weapons were showcased together with well-known models. For example, it is 2C38 Derivation-Air Defense anti-aircraft artillery complex. The system has a 57-millimeter gun with a rate of 120 rounds per minute. Another novelty is the wheeled armored platform Boomerang, designed for the transportation of military personnel, as well as for combat missions targeting enemy infantry, armored personnel carriers and even tanks.

The organizers of the forum held large-scale demonstrations to let everyone see the new weapons in action.

Dozens of design bureaus and shipbuilding companies presented their developments at the forum as well: warships, submarines, weapons and radar systems. It was said that the Russian Navy would soon receive18 frigates of project 22350 and 36 corvettes of project 22380. These ships with a displacement of 4,500 tons are 135 meters long and 15 meters wide. They develop the speed of up to 29 knots, have the navigation range of up to 4,500 miles and endurance of up to 30 days.

For the first time, the forum demonstrated an unmanned underwater vehicle, the tests of which are to start in November or December of this year. The underwater drone will be used to protect ports, bridges, naval bases and ships from saboteurs.

The Krylov State Research Center showed the concept of a light multipurpose aircraft carrier Storm-KM with a displacement from 37 to 44 thousand tons. The ship can take on board about 50 aircraft - heavy Su-33 fighters, light MiG-29K, long-range radar patrol aircraft and multi-purpose helicopters Ka-27. The ship is powered with a 110,000 hp gas turbine. The construction of the  exhaust system makes the vessel less noticeable.

It was said during the forum that Russia's fifth-generation Su-57 aircraft would be upgraded further to receive artificial intelligence. The control system and sighting equipment will be upgraded to the level of automatic combat use. The Su-57 will also be equipped with an onboard defense complex that includes new frequencies and operating modes.

For the time being, Russian Air Force pilots operate ten such aircraft - fighters undergo a series of military tests in the air and on the ground. Russia also develops a new vertical take-off and landing aircraft for aircraft carriers. The implementation period of the project up to ten years. The project is included in the state armament program and comes as a continuation of the Soviet development - the Yak-38 aircraft.

It is worthy of note that the contracts signed within the scope of Army 2018 forum are evaluated at over 130 billion rubles, which is three times as much as last year.


Russia showcases new weapons at Army-2018 forum

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

Italy: They sense the end

2018/08/27

The city of Rome is experiencing a civil rebirth that has no equal in the contemporary history of our country and the merit is largely of its brave and intelligent mayor, the wonderful and wonderful Virginia Raggi. Merit not all of her, of course, because it is fair to recognize the value and commitment of many of her precious collaborators. But she is the mayor in office and is Mrs. Raggi who had the courage to take the burden of a fatigue worthy of Hercules: giving back dignity to a city that corrupt politicians and criminals had led to a disarray cannot be considered an easy thing to do. Since the situation was under the eyes of everyone in both moral and material degradation, we must believe that there was also a certain amount of presumption in accepting this challenge, but great tasks require great commitments, knowing how to risk, exposing oneself in the first person. There is indeed the possibility of failing and the certainty of always receiving unwarranted criticism: not only for the silly game of low-level politics, but also for the will of criminals to recover the ill-gotten gains and return to power.

I believe that Virginia Raggi is succeeding in her task: slowly, step by step, thanks to a hard and honest daily work, she is literally upsetting Rome for the better, bringing it back to the level that is due to History and tradition. Road maintenance proceeds at a sustained rhythm, improving the road network but above all doing what the previous administrations have not done in this regard. The management of the aqueduct has improved to the point that there have been no water emergencies in the past torrid summer. Social services have been improved. Public homes distributed in quantities and speeds previously unknown. Urban hygiene and waste collection both received a positive boost. Public transport is undergoing a radical transformation to make it more efficient without dismissing personnel, optimizing costs, modernizing transports, eliminating inefficiencies. The synergy between the Capitoline administration and the new national government has had the first positive effects also in the fight against some criminal clans that in the past have made a mess with the lives of honest people.

But if I had to use a further adjective to characterize Virginia Raggi and her administration, besides the positive ones I wrote before with admiration and love, then I would definitely use the word dangerous.

Yes: Virginia Raggi is dangerous. She is dangerous because she reminds us with the facts that it is possible to work honestly for the good of the community. She is dangerous because she reminds us with the facts that it is possible to combine economy with humanity, so that people are not reduced slave of money. She is dangerous because she reminds us with the facts that there is an alternative, that is, it is not true that there are no alternatives to the disgust we have been in for years and that was presented to us as the only and the best of all possible worlds.

She is dangerous, she is absolutely dangerous, she is dangerous beyond any acceptable limit, because on such examples a people can wake up and rise again to recover their own destiny and their place in the world.

And it is not just Virginia Raggi to be as dangerous. Even the new Italian government is dangerous, the government came out from the results of last March 4, the government chaired by Giuseppe Conte, the government that the Italian people wanted. This government a few days ago dared the inconceivable: it raised his voice with Brussels coming to threaten the veto on the approval of the next European budget if the European Union does not accept its responsibilities in the management of immigrants. Matteo Renzi also threatened to do so when he was Prime Minister but nobody paid him any attention. Now Giuseppe Conte does it and immediately the great Italian press, the one that once far in time had perhaps something to say, has stigmatized fiercely the intention of our government, hoping it fall shortly. Yet Prime Minister Conte has a dignified bearing, speaks excellent English and, at the moment, does not seem to maintain any harem of bitches with which to make orgies. Among the priorities of his government there is precisely that work that the economic crisis in Italy has made so difficult to find and keep. He has been in office for a few months, and although ruling a Nation is not like ruling a city, I like to think that he has chances and that he will last longer than his detractors want. However, it is well known that the current Italian government is also a coalition of different parties, such as those that preceded it, and within a coalition between parties there are also relations not always immediately visible. In addition, it seems to me that there are emerging some (not so clever) fifth columns, even in key positions. From September, we will know what awaits us.

Why did I use these two examples for a maybe little too long introduction?

Browsing the net I came across an article by accident, "But plan B can not work" [here, in Italian: https://keinpfusch.net/ma-il-piano-b-non-puo-funzionare/]. I read it once, listlessly and I immediately went over for content that seemed more interesting. But something stayed inside me. Little worms began to gnaw and back on my feet, I reread the article more carefully. I do not know much about this "plan B" that the Italian "sovereigns" would like to implement against Brussels to solve the Italian debt crisis and to whose criticism the author dedicates the article, pulling in dance (sic!) even fascism. However, reading the article and surfing the blog that contains it has crystallized a very precise idea, first latent and nuanced. And the idea is this: there are forces in Europe that suddenly have sensed their end.

These forces have always known that they were pulling too much the rope with the countries that disgracefully they called PIIGS, pigs, but they preferred to ignore the warnings of common sense because they were inebriated by the scent of the victories that they achieved. As compulsive bulimics, they were never satisfied with the success that they reaped in achieving either the continued despoliation of a Greece devoted to self-extinction, or what to many seemed to be the voluntary submission of an Italy ruled by people about whom the future History could have some reservations.

Always winning and therefore always preserving if not even increasing their wealth, these forces were easily self-convinced to represent a future in progress devoid of alternatives and, messianically as it was inevitable, from the purely economic sphere already in itself suffocating for the peoples, only widened to the social one, starting to corrupt the societies with Soros-style models. The absolute control of the media has initially facilitated this process but the weapons (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc) and the methods that have been designed to neutralize the opponents, now begin to be used against their own creators to bring into the parliaments of the Nations, which both still exist despite their efforts, people and political parties that share the same common idea: there is an alternative. This idea began to spread, impossible to stop.

The Italian journalist Giulietto Chiesa in 2003 defined in one of his books as Superclan those group of people, forces, interests and economic-military powers that began to cross national borders from the end of the Soviet Union, acting as a structure with a monolithic appearance. But the election of Donald Trump has formalized a rift in the US Superclan which is de facto a rift in the Western Superclan. The European side is now without a single referent in Washington and this influences Italy too.

The European Superclan, that apparently makes chiefly to Germany and other mythical (so to speak) Nations of Northern Europe, has sensed its end and if it is not really its end, at least it's afraid of receiving such a blow to feel it in the bones. The current Italian government is in fact a break with the past experience because now it is clear that no one in Italy wants to end up like Greece: "... over, dead and buried ... exploited to the limit and the carcass thrown to the dogs" as in the tragic words of Paul Craig Roberts.

It is not the Italian government now in office to be fascist, to overestimate the allies (but who would these our allies be?), to underestimate the duration of the war and the resistance of the enemy, as apparently suggested by the author of the article. It is not the Italian government in office that is and does all this, just as it wants to avoid to Italy the Greek scenario. If anything, the Italian government is day after day all too aware of the incredible array of enemy forces ahead, many of them unfortunately Italian, in compliance with the principle that there is an irrational desire to disappear into nothingness that sometimes affects people, sometimes the individual.

It is the counterpart, the Superclan, who realized that it was fractured in what previously it was deluding himself thinking as its unchangeable (because natural) monolithic structure, and now can no longer cull himself with the idea of ​its own invincibility. As the elephant in the savannah can not really conceive the hunter who can shortly knock it down until he does it, so the Superclan can not conceive even the simple idea that someone can really oppose it, maybe even from the inside, even if for different reasons. But once seen the danger, it attacks with the methods it has already successfully tested in the past and which are now, at least partially, ineffective.

Not all enemies are equal. Not all of them carry the same honor in dealing with them. Therefore, we should ask ourselves how much fear it is right that we allow ourselves of an old man like Schäuble, who growls at us from a wheelchair. Or of old man like Juncker, who, according to many, seeks his truth in the bottoms of bottles. Or of someone like Merkel, fat and childless.

If indeed "the architecture of the euro is conceived in such a way as to balance the peripheral crises to the advantage of the center" as the mysterious author says; if indeed "the markets will teach Italy to vote for the right thing" as tweeted Oettinger, who stubbornly persists on the same line; if it's really all this, so now more than ever it is worth resisting and fighting for our country. The alternative, however, we already have it: it is Tsipras' Greece, in the tragic words of Craig Roberts.

Honesty is dangerous because it leads to the awakening of consciences: it leads you to see your neighbor as a part of yourself and makes you willing to sacrifice yourself for him that is also part of you. It does not save you from mistakes but it encourages you to go further. A national government that operated with this criterion would realize a miracle because it would reawaken our people, disbanding Quislings and filthy figures still in the service with the Superclan, court buffs disguised as politicians. An honest government, demonstrating with the facts of knowing how to work for the good of the Nation and how to speak to people's hearts, would lead the Italians to volunteer to make their contribution, aware of the sacrifices but willing to face them. This is what the other side fears: the awakening of our people.

I hope that Giuseppe Conte's government will succeed in this difficult task. It goes to the fate of our Nation.

*************************

Costantino Ceoldo - Pravda freelance

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

Germany to change strategy of relations with USA

2018/08/27

German Foreign Minister Haiko Maas said that he would present Germany's new foreign policy towards the United States.

To promote the new strategy, Maas will take advantage of the year of Germany in the United States, which starts on October 3. "It is about time we should reassess the transatlantic partnership in sober, critical and even self-critical ways," the German minister said.

Earlier, Maas noted that the United States and Europe had been moving away from each other for many years to the detriment of their common interests and values.

Maas believes it would be reasonable to follow the idea of balanced cooperation, in which Germany would assume responsibility for this balance. "We will take on the role of a counterweight where the United States has drawn red lines," German Foreign Minister said.

The ultimate goal of Germany's foreign policy is to build strong and independent Europe. At the same time, a balanced relationship with the United States, the minister believes, is possible only in close cooperation with France and other European countries. "The European Union should become a pillar for international order - a partner for everyone. This is what the EU is for, because compromise and balance is in its DNA," Maas said adding that Europe should respond accordingly if the USA crosses a red line.

The relationship between the United States and the European Union worsened after Washington pulled out from the nuclear deal with Iran and imposed trade duties on steel and aluminum. In response, the EU introduced a law to overturn USA's extraterritorial sanctions against Iran on the territory of the European Union. Brussels also imposed additional tariffs of 25 percent on a whole range of commodities from the United States.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

USA gets ready for another missile attack on Syria - Russian Defense Ministry

2018/08/27

The United States has been drawing up destroyers and bombers equipped with cruise missiles into the Middle East region, officials with the Defense Ministry of the Russian Federation said. The US is preparing to strike Syria after another chemical attack is staged in the war-torn country.

The US has been increasing the number of cruise missiles carriers in the Middle East. Igor Konashenkov, an official spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, said that the United States was preparing another attack on Syria. The attack is to be conducted after another provocation with the use of chemical weapons is staged in Syria's Idlib province, he added.

"These preparations are a new confirmation of the intention of the United States to use militants of  Hayat Tahrir Ash Sham terrorist group (formerly known as Jabhat An Nusra - banned in Russia) with the active participation of British intelligence in the province of Idlib to stage the alleged use of chemical weapons by Syrian government forces," Konashenkov said.

On August 25, US destroyer the Ross with 28 cruise missiles Tomahawk on board entered the Mediterranean, Konashenkov said. Another American destroyer, The Sullivans, carrying 56 cruise missiles, arrived in the Persian Gulf. In addition, strategic bomber B-1B of the US Air Force with 24 JASSM air-to-surface cruise missiles was relocated to El Udeid airbase in Qatar.

On August 26, Igor Konashenkov said that certain forces would conduct an attempt to stage another chemical attack in Syria to destabilize the situation in the country. According to Konashenkov, the target in the attack would be the settlement of Kafer-Zait, located 6 km to the south of Habit. English-speaking experts had already arrived in Syria to assist in the campaign, the official said.

Militants trained by British private military company Oliva will conduct the fake chemical attack and then put up the operation to rescue the victims, the Russian Defense Ministry informed.

The provocation will serve another reason for the US, Britain and France to strike a missile blow on Syria's state and economic facilities, Igor Konashenkov said.


What weapons does Syria have to strike back?

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...

Russia to deploy nuclear weapons in foreign countries in response to new sanctions

2018/08/27

Russian MPs believe that the United States has crossed the red line in the policy of pressure on Russia through sanctions. They alluded to a possibility of deploying Russian nuclear weapons in the Middle East, namely in Syria.

"I think that Russia should also draw its own red lines," first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, Innovative Development and Entrepreneurship, Vladimir Gutenev, said. "It is about time experts should consider option of asymmetric responses to the United States that would level off their sanctions and cause them to suffer counter damage," the official said.

The MP believes that Russia could deploy tactical nuclear weapons in other countries, for example, in Syria. Russia could also switch to cryptocurrencies for arms deals. To crown it all, Russia may pull out from several landmark treaties with the USA, including the non-proliferation of missile technologies.

Russia should follow the example of the United States and deploy its tactical nuclear weapons in other countries, Gutenev said.

The United States already imposes sanctions on the countries that purchase Russian arms. In the future, the MP believes, the USA may create instances for the companies that want to buy civil products from Russia. In this connection, Russia could consider operations in gold-pegged crypto-currencies. "This would be a very interesting option for China, India, and other countries," the parliamentarian said.

"When you're on a boxing ring, you just can't avoid all the punches without punching your opponent back, especially when boxing turns into martial arts and referees - the WTO and other international institutions - sit on their hands and do nothing," Gutenev added.

As for the current sanctions, they will not be able to cause serious damage to the domestic defense industry, the MP said. "The import substitution program has shown very good results, alternative suppliers have been found, and the necessary nomenclature base for electronic equipment has been purchased for several years in advance. However, they do not want to slow down the sanctions, this policy becomes inevitable, which is an alarming trend," he concluded.


🔴Top 5 Russian arms NATO is afraid of

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Читать далее ...