Madrid: One of the real, but polemic ways to defeat COVID-19

2020/08/31

COVID-19 is not just a disease; it is also a state of mind, a psychosis, a fear. It is an event that, all over the world, unleashed irrational behavior by the governments, individuals, and media. It triggered speculations, bizarre analyses, and selective 'cut-and-paste science.'

Result: while there are, undeniably, few optimistic success stories, including the Russian vaccine, China's and Vietnam's ability to contain the pandemic without ruining economy and livelihood of the citizens, the great majority of the world is undoubtfully in disarray. Hundreds of millions of people are literally tossed into a gutter. Other billions, all over Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and to some extent, the United States and the U.K. are locked in, unable to travel abroad, and unwilling to accept visitors from other countries.

All this is pure insanity. Families are divided, broken apart. People are locked out of their homes in other countries. Lovers are told they cannot see each other, perhaps for years.

Extreme right-wing governments that are ripe to fall, like those in Thailand or Chile, are hiding behind the COVID-19, not allowing anyone to enter and face their downfall.

International life patterns of billions of people are ruined. Which leads to suicides, deep depressions, violence, as well as COVID-19 unrelated but lockdowns-related health issues.

In brief: The world is crewed! Most likely, billions of human lives are.

Apart from my work in several parts of the United States after the murder of George Floyd, and then in Aruba, from where the NATO is threatening Venezuela, I spent almost five months in a brutal lockdown in Chile. Truly brutal, because I arrived there after covering several conflict zones in Asia, with the COVID-19 at my heels. One airport after another was closing behind me, after my departure. A journey took eight days: Hong Kong to Bangkok, then Seoul, Amsterdam, Suriname, Brazilian Belem, Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Lima, and finally, Santiago.

At the conflict zones, including when I was filming in devastated Borneo, my guts and eyes got attacked by some vicious parasites (or was it COVID-19, after all?), and something happened to my feet; I could hardly walk. Well, once in a while, I have this tendency to run myself to the ground, after the excessive doses of Afghanistan, Syria, Indonesia, Iraq, DR Congo, Kashmir, Gaza... I never stop until it is too late, or more precisely, until I fall on my face.

But then, after I do, after I find myself flattened on the ground, I know precisely what to do. Which is: a few months of rest, rigorous exercises, foot massages, sea, diet, sun. Until I can move again, and return to performing duties, I have towards humanity.

But this time it was different. With a single digit of popularity, Chilean Pinochet-style regime utilized COVID-19 in order to stay in power, to crack on the opposition and to rob indigenous people of that little they still had left. Result: bizarre, total lockdowns with tanks on the streets, with the meaningless curfews, with even a small park at the back of my building out of reach to the tenants.

My only 'walks' were inside the apartment. I needed to get to my place in Bangkok; small, but with a gym and pool and with a garden. But Thailand's rulers made sure to keep the foreigners out, too. Clearly, for political reasons.

And so, I was forced to spend the longest time in my life in one place. The longest since I was 15 years old if I remember correctly.

And instead of improving, my health deteriorated in that monstrous lockdown, where I was facing bare, depressing winter Andes, and the 160-average pollution levels (US AQI). When I was finally departing, I could hardly walk and had to use a cane.

I ran away on one of the first re-introduced non-stop Iberia flights to Madrid. I was lucky that I could, as one of my passports was that of the EU.

It had to be Madrid or Italy. I would also happily run to Russia, but in August, it was still closed.

When I was very young, I used to escape to Madrid, in order to be as far away as possible from New York. I despised my life in the United States. I couldn't write there. In Italy and Madrid, I could easily. For months I would be saving, and then disappear from the United States, for 5-6 weeks. My plan was to travel all over Spain, but Madrid was so absorbing, so fascinating that in the end, I lost all my desire to leave it. Cafes on Plaza de Olavide were where I used to write my fiction.

And now, beaten, hardly able to move, I returned. Before my interviews in Turkey and Serbia, and before at least some parts of Asia would be re-opening, Madrid became my logical destination.

Life is much stronger than death

I anticipated what would be waiting for me here. And all of my expectations came through.

In Madrid, life didn't stop. It slowed down, to some extent, yes. Some visible and invisible barriers were erected. Many precautions have been taken. But there was no 'full stop.' Unlike in New York and Santiago, colors were everywhere, and so was beauty, elegance, and harsh Castellan sense of humor.

First of all, Madrid was clearly demonstrating that life is much stronger than death, but only if life is pitched against death, and lived with unwavering strength and passion.

In Prado Museum, I rediscovered one of the greatest and most frightening artworks of all times: Pieter Bruegel's the Elder: "The Triumph of Death." I searched for it, and I found it in one of the main halls.

Here, in this surreal, powerful, and highly perverse artwork, it was depicted all. Yes, Death is frightening. Yes, it has tremendous strength, and it has its own 'army of skeletons.' And yes, in the end, it always wins.

But you look out, through the windows of Prado, and you see the ancient, green, and beautiful trees, you see the splendid architecture, and lovers holding hands. Death may have the last word for all human beings, but life goes on, too. It never gets defeated, and it never surrenders. There is time to live and time to die.

Bruegel, who painted his macabre masterpiece c. 1562, wanted us to live in constant fear of death.

Today's Madrid, with its passion, wants us to forget about death, at least for that short but brilliant moment, which is called life.

This new and hopefully short-lived era of COVID-19 terror is throwing us, human beings, back to the middle ages, where continuous anxieties and images of horrors were masterfully manufactured, even mass-produced, in order to poison our existence and strip us of dreams, of power, and joy.

Throughout the middle ages, at least in Europe, suffering and fear were habitually glorified. Joy and desires were suppressed, often chastised.

In the middle ages, Christianity reached perfection in scaring humans to death, in stripping life of almost all delights, and in administering brutal, grotesque punishments. And this is when the Muslim armies arrived, liberating a large part of Spain from the religious fundamentalism. Glorious Caliphate of Cordoba was erected, synonymous with the Golden Age of Islam; Caliphate admired for knowledge, poetry, playfulness, eroticism, the quest for freedom and beauty.

There, Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived together; they freely mingled together, building one mighty, tolerant, and creative society. It was a society without fear, society full of hope.

Caliphate of Cordoba also defeated Death, at least from one's birth till demise. Great Pakistani thinker, Tariq Ali, wrote beautifully about that era, many years before COVID-19 appeared on the horizon.

I took Talgo, highspeed train, to Cordoba. I had to revisit the old mosque, where the fight for tolerance began. All this was now relevant. It was not just the medicine, not just the science, which had to be mobilized.

The battle against COVID-19 has to be also fought by thinkers, by artists, by all those who can make life meaningful, or at least bearable.

COVID-19: Smiling through face masks

Spain and its capital Madrid can easily 'go either way.' The city can be oppressive and harsh when it goes through the 'bad wave.' It can ruin millions of lives, as it did when it embarked on the horrid colonialist expeditions, religious fundamentalism, or fascist dictatorship.

But Madrid can also be highly enlightened, creative, and forward-looking. It can be light and reasonable, embracing life.

In the age of COVID-19, Madrid decisively refused to lock up millions of people in the proverbial cages.  Few weeks of confusion and enough! The government tried, half-heartedly, but failed to impose full oppressive order.

By the middle of August 2020, the number of Covid-19 cases was higher in Spain, than in many other EU countries. Madrid made it to the 'red list' in such countries as Germany and the U.K.

But walk through the streets of the city, sit in its cafes, look at children playing in the elegant parks, and then compare all this with terrible stress in those societies full of rules and regulations, such as Germany or Macron's France.

Brueghel's skeletons are clearly depicting destruction and death. Scenes are full of nihilism. They fit perfectly well into the devastated landscapes of the excessively locked down, terrified cities.

Some cities with a relatively small number of infections, like Bangkok, already died. How come? They lost, they handed victory to Death. They threw up their hands without the battle. They surrendered, offering to Death precisely what she has been demanding: Voluntarily, they stopped living.

In the United States or such places like Southeast Asia, Facebook, Amazon, Apple have been making fortunes. Bookstores, museums, theatres all surrendered; they closed down.

Madrid introduced social distancing, imposed masks regulations, a limited number of visitors, but rapidly reopened cinemas, gardens, galleries. Cafes are functioning, too, and so are the restaurants. Soon, after the summer holidays end, the city's theatres and concert halls will reopen.

It is not because the city is reckless. Not at all. Disinfectants are everywhere, and when walking or in public places, people are wearing masks. The streets of Madrid are meticulously clean. Various safety regulations are imposed. But life goes on. Airplanes are taking off towards many parts of the world. Madrid is an open city. Not yet to all, but at least to many.

And as a reward, there are smiles. There are politeness and kindness. People do not look suicidal. They do not explode at the slightest conflict. No honking, no shouting. No animalistic, all-consuming fear.

Madrid understands that there is a certain degree of danger. But it deals with this state of siege with admirable dignity and courage.

After the panic and ugly behavioral patterns that I observed in the United States and Chile, Madrid impressed me enormously. COVID pandemic brought economic and social hardship to some, but there was no national agony so clearly noticeable in New York, Washington D.C., or Santiago.

Even if they struggled, people made sure to put on their best, to behave with dignity, and confront danger with both strength and heart.

When my still weak feet let go on the third day, when I stumbled and fell on an ancient sidewalk, several people immediately ran to my rescue. They fought for me. In my own way, I came here in order to fight for them, too.

Madrid is not a perfect city. Actually, I keep repeating it again and again: there are no 'perfect cities' in this world.

And Madrid's way is not the only example of how to fight and defeat the latest deadly pandemic.

But perhaps it is the most agreeable one: full of smiles, support from friends and families, with the exposure to the sun, to excellent food, nature, culture, and arts.

It is the Latin spirit, joie de vivre, which is put to work here, in order to overpower Brueghel and his army of skeletons, together with the excessive religious asceticism of El Greco.

We still don't know how to defeat COVID-19, scientifically, but in such places as Madrid, we are learning how to prevent it from defeating us.

Nine days in Madrid did not fully 'cure me,' but it gave back the optimism to my scarred soul. It gave me the strength to fight again. As well as the desire to walk forward!

[First published by NEO - New Eastern Outlook - a journal of the Russian Academy of Sciences]

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India should listen to Putin's advice

2020/08/31

US senator Marco Rubio (Republican, Florida) is the Acting Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Co-Chair of the Congressional Executive Commission on China and a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. He wrote an article in Nikkei Asian Review titled India should ignore Putin's offer to broker accord with China. He is trying to convince India that Putin is incapable of helping India, and he cannot be a mediator because he will not be neutral and will be tilted toward China. What  Rubio is trying to tell India is that Russia can no longer be a capable and a reliable friend of India and India should ally with America to confront and fight China. Basically, he wants India to give up its most time tested and trust worthy friend for a country that has always treated India as a potential adversary.

Rubio reminds of the story about King Solomon when he was able to find out who was the real mother of a child whom two women claimed to be theirs. King Solomon ordered that the baby should be cut in two pieces and divided between the two women. While the fake mother said that this was a good idea, the real mother said that the baby should not be cut into pieces and the other woman can have it. Russia is trying to save India from fighting a war with China that can prove disastrous for both countries. America wants India to fight China so that America can kill two birds with one stone; weaken its biggest adversary as well as its potential adversary. Russia sincerely wants to help India, a long time friend. We can look at the history of India-Russia and India-America relations since India's independence and this will become clear that who is India's true friend.

We can look at the voting pattern in the UN and this will become clear who stood up for India and who introduced resolutions against India. India and Russia have voted on the same side about 90% of the time, whereas India and America have voted on opposite sides most of the time. Russia had to veto anti India resolutions supported by America. Even today, about 60% of the heavy weaponry of the Indian army is of the Russian origin. Russia has always provided India with its latest and most advanced military technology. Whereas America has been very stringent as far as transfer of such technology is concerned.

America sent its seventh fleet against India during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. It was the Soviet Union that came in to help India. We should not forget the lessons of history, otherwise we will not be able to decide who are our time tested and trust worthy friends.

Some may argue that past history has become irrelevant  and now there is a convergence of American and Indian interests. However, even today, there is a fundamental difference in the American and the Indian interests. America wants to preserve the unipolar world order that is dominated by the only superpower in the world, America. Whereas both India and Russia want to change the present world order to a multipolar world, where no one country dominates the whole world.

True friendship can only exist among equals. America considers itself superior to others. This superiority is practiced under different names such as American exceptionalism and America first. I have no qualms about accepting that America is a great country. However, I feel uncomfortable when some Americans insist that America is the greatest. When you subscribe to the philosophy that America is superior to the others, then you cannot qualify to be a true friend because you are promoting inequality. Russia has never considered itself superior to the countries that it considers its friends. Russia has always considered India its friend.

India should listen to a true friend. India should recognize the gravity of the situation. The stakes are much higher than the 1962 war. India's survival as a country is at stake. We need all the sincere advice we can get. Instead of ignoring Putin, we should listen carefully to him and see what he has to offer. President Putin wants a trilateral meeting of the Indian Prime Minister Modi, the Russian President Putin and the Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the upcoming G-20 meeting in October. We should never shut our doors to a diplomatic solution.

Whereas President Putin, as a sincere friend of India, wants India to have a realistic understanding of its conflict with China; America and the western countries, with ulterior motives, want India to overestimate its strength and underestimate China's strength. This approach can prove very dangerous for India because it increases the likelihood of a war between the two countries that the western countries will like to see. With this purpose in mind, America and the western countries have been engaged in the propaganda that India's economy is growing at much faster rate than China and is soon going to overtake China. This may happen, but it is going to take a long time.

At present, China's economy is about five times bigger than India's. According to some military experts, the difference in the military budget is even bigger. They feel that  China spends much more in real terms than the available figures. Therefore, at present, the two countries are not exactly equal in their strength. However, in terms of importance they are equal. China understands that America is its main adversary and a conflict with India will only strengthen its main opponent. Therefore, China wants an amicable settlement with India. President Putin is in a position to help both India and China. Russia, India and China share a common interest: to transform the present unipolar world into a multipolar world.                                              

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Life during Trump second term: Paramilitary democracy accelerates

2020/08/31

"We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must -at that moment-become the center of the universe." Ellie Weisel.

"In November, Black Girls Ride will rev our engines, we will go to the polls and fill the ballot boxes of this nation and choose a leader that will provide the unity our country needs. We invite you to vote like your life depends on it. Thank you."  Porsche Taylor, Black Girls Ride at the Get Off Ours Necks rally in Washington, DC.

Two Headed Monster: One Side is Out of Control

Sides must be taken.

Americans must choose the side of the Kenosha, Wisconsin protestors and the two men killed by a teenage YMCA lifeguard and supporter of President Donald Trump. Trump must be soundly defeated on November 3, 2020. He is America's Mussolini and his followers the equivalent of the Black Shirts.

The American election process only produces two candidates for presidential office. For the foreseeable future, Americans are stuck with a system dominated by Republicans and Democrats, awash in large donor money and polluted by Political Action Committees. Talk of imposing term limits, eliminating the Electoral College, instituting referenda, and developing robust third parties are just that: talk. Americans are too lazy to be revolutionaries for change which is one of the many reasons cookie-cutter candidates from both political parties make the grade as presidential timber.

Indeed,  Americans are represented by a two-headed monster and it is difficult to divine the difference between the two parties. But one head of that monster, the Republican ghoul in the guise of Donald Trump, has gone off the rails. It is trying to rip itself away from the Janus-faced Democratic side of its body and intends to reconstitute itself as a singular sort of Republican Lotan not only of the sea but adapted to the land.  The Republican party has become home to racists, fascists, militant cops, Q'Non, the Boogaloo Boys, a rag tag army of right wing militias, and corporate vampires who want to pay no taxes, privatize Social Security, and rule over a wasteland of unemployed and homeless Americans. In short, it is the Republican party is the party of ignorance and oppression.

Joe Biden, a kind of conservative, not quite an elderly Yoda, called from exile on Planet Delaware, is no Ha'dad Ba'al to Lotan, but a vote for Biden represents a hold-the-line measure until a Ha'dad Ba'al arrives in some form to purge the United States of the social and environmental diseases that Trump and the Republicans have exacerbated over the past four years (with complicity of many Democrats)

Yes, Biden's fatherly advice was absent when it came to Hunter Biden; the nefarious "yes" vote for the second Iraq War; his support for the 1994 Crime Bill (although there is a lot of fog around some of the facts on the matter); and his Wall Street ties leads to a grimace. Further, Biden seems to be "playing not to lose" which is a dangerous strategy. "Protecting the lead" by going conservative is not a smart play.

So what's an American citizen supposed to do? Not vote and proclaim to friends and family that the candidates are beneath one's dignity and, well, "I can't morally cast my vote for x or y." Or, "Oh me, oh my, it's the lesser of two evils and I voted for y instead of x. I held my nose even." Bull*&^%!

The importance of the 2020 election can be found in the impassioned, and convincing, speeches from the Get Off My Neck March. There really is only one sane choice.

Trump Dystopia:

Democracy

During a Trump second term, the militarization of the United States will accelerate. National Guard and active duty military personnel will occupy urban spaces which will become the site of relentless anti-Trump and pro-Black Lives Matter protesters.

  • Increased violence between right and left wing groups across the United States will be the norm. Left wing groups will arm themselves forming counter-militias of their own. Gun battles will take place between the two opposing groups during nationwide protests against a Trump reelection. Police will be overwhelmed as they will not be able to quell riots, stop gun battles or perform routine policing duties. A wild card will be urban gangs. What alliances will they make? The active duty military will have to intervene.
  • Austerity measures to pay the bill for the COVID19 Pandemic relief will be put into force. Unemployment and homelessness will explode. Work camps will need to be setup to deal with the needy masses. Chain-gang style employment, without the chains, will be initiated to work on infrastructure projects. Defense contractors and prison industries will make millions as they oversee work camps and provide security.
  • Mutated COVID19, mixed with seasonal flu strains, will flow throughout the United States causing increased infections and death. Trump and his minions will encourage this development because it will clear the system of minorities, the elderly and the infirm.
  • The US healthcare system will drown in a new wave of COVID19/Flu cases. States and localities will go bankrupt because they will not receive financial assistance or proper supplies. Americans will still scoff at the idea of paying more taxes to fight the Pandemic. Death rates for other diseases (cancer, heart disease, etc.) will soar as non-COVID19 patients will be turned away from care. Insurance companies will go broke paying on policies. The infected will be sent to and imprisoned in unused athletic stadiums. The military will be used to herd the sick into holding pens and secure them there.
  • Right-wing, fascist Boogaloo Boys and Q'ANon will continue to designate as Republican, run for political office, and, once elected, begin to infiltrate local, state and federal representative bodies.
  • Trump will take the nation to war against Iran. Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will be allies, even as American business in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria has not been concluded: US troops still remain active in these countries. It is likely the United States would have to draft its young people to fight such a war. Anti-American violence will explode in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, and scores of other countries around the globe.
  • Environmental regulations, species protections will be eliminated.
  • "[America's] atrocious record with regard to the human rights of its citizens suggests that, with parliamentary complicity, it is degenerating to the status of a paramilitary democracy." The United States will continue to slide into military state.
  • Under relentless attack by Trump and his stooges, the First Amendment will be shattered. Media will become further centralized. Americans will be fed larger doses disinformation. Alternative media sites will come under threat of removal if they incur the wrath of Trump & Friends. Thus: "Hazards of centralized mass media include the following: 1.) A disproportion of power occurs and disproportionate informational power accrues to those who control centralized mass media; arguably, it is inherently undemocratic. 2.) An inability to transmit tacit knowledge; the context of content presented must either be explicitly explained or is assumed to be understood by the receiver. 3.) An inclination to focus on the unusual and sensational to capture the receivers' attention, leading to a distortion and trivialization of reality. 4.) The deliberate promotion of emotions such as anxiety, fear, or greed can be used to sell a particular agenda. 5.) An inability to deal with complex issues because of time and economic constraints leads to simplification, further distorting and trivializing reality." (US Army Special Forces Manual, 2008).

John Stanton can be reached at jstantonarchangel@gmail.com

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Staying afloat as a gig worker is a lot easier than many may think

2020/08/31

Are you a gig worker trying to stay afloat without having to buckle down and get a job? If so, you're not alone. It's not easy being a gig worker in any economy, and with the coronavirus pandemic still wreaking havoc on the world, the economy is even tougher.

Although the economy is tough, gig workers are in a unique position. Not being tied down to a 9-5 job provides the flexibility needed to take on paid projects from around the world. 

To be a successful gig worker, you need to be a master of your craft and also have the skills to generate high-quality clients, produce top-notch work, and get paid on time. If you've got room to grow in those areas, the following courses will be an asset to you.

1. Financial accounting

Learning how to balance your own books and manage your business finances is critical when you're a gig worker. Being a gig worker isn't like getting a paycheck where you can just deposit the money and spend it as you wish. You have to keep track of more than just money in and money out.

As a gig worker, you need an organized way to track expenses and income, manage client billing, and track other aspects of your financials. It's not as easy as it looks. Taking a financial accounting course from FutureLearn will help. 

A financial accounting course will teach you bookkeeping basics like:

  • How to write profit and loss statements
  • How to create a balance sheet
  • How to manipulate equations and formulas
  • The double-entry bookkeeping system
  • How to balance off accounts at the end of an accounting period
  • And more

By the end of your course, you'll know how to manage your own books, which will save you valuable time and money.

2. Teamwork and collaboration

Everyone benefits from teamwork and collaboration skills. Even if you're flying solo, you'll need to collaborate with other people at some point in time, even if it's just hiring a programmer or working with a client.

Effective collaboration doesn't come naturally, even though it seems easy. For example, working in a group environment presents different dynamics than working as an individual. Even when you've got the best solution, you need solid skills to bring everyone around to your view. You can't just tell your team you have the solution and expect everyone to see it. 

Also, collaborating as a group requires letting go of minutia and staying focused on the end result, even if the road to get there isn't perfect.

3. Basic tax prep

Taking a basic tax prep course is important because you don't want to mess up your taxes. If you're paying income taxes as a business, you're subject to different rules than you would be as an individual. Gig workers (freelancers) are considered businesses for tax purposes in Russia.

Even if you normally pay someone to prepare your taxes, you'll benefit from taking a basic course. It's always good to have at least a basic understanding of the tax system, even when someone else is handling your filings for you. 

4. Time management/task management

Time management skills seem overrated, but it's truly something every gig worker can benefit from honing. 

Chances are, you've got things in your life you want to do, but can't because you're a slave to your gigs. Or, you might want to take on larger projects, but you don't feel you have the ability to get the work done quickly.

Time and task management strategies can help you tidy up your workdays to free up time to pursue your personal hobbies or take on larger projects.

5. Communication

Communication is the key to landing high paying clients, keeping good clients, understanding clients, and delivering projects on time.

A large part of communication involves persuasion, and there is power in persuasion. You can become more persuasive by learning how to use body language, building rapport, and appealing to the person you're communicating with.

The other important aspect of communication is actually listening. Listening is 50% of communication. In fact, the majority of all communication takes place inside of listening. For example, say you're explaining a difficult concept to a client. Your communication will be received only while they're listening.

Keep learning

There are countless reasons to keep learning. If you're a gig worker, you're already a self-starter and self-motivated. Continue learning about things that interest you and will help you in your career. There will always be people who know more than you, and you can learn a lot from those people.

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Russian scientist says when COVID-19 pandemic is going to end to sure

2020/08/31

The coronavirus pandemic will have three waves before it subsides by the summer of 2021.

This opinion was expressed by Mikhail Paltsev, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Director of the Center for Immunology and Molecular Biomedicine of the Moscow State University.

The expert draws attention to the fact that in the summer the incidence has decreased, but it is expected that a new wave may come in autumn. The academician believes that there are three seasons, during which epidemic waves have taken place and are likely to reoccur: spring, autumn and the upcoming spring of 2021.

Mikhail Paltsev believes that it will be possible to return to a normal lifestyle only by the summer of 2021.

To confirm his point of view, the scientist recalls that other viral epidemics also had three waves. The first one turned out to be quite strong, the second one was even stronger, while the third wave was weaker due to the emergence of herd immunity. Mikhail Paltsev in particular referred to three waves of Spanish flu that took place in the early 20th century.

According to him, the herd immunity occurs if more than 60 percent of the population experiences  the disease, and the infection disappears when 95 percent of the population recovers.

"These are theoretical conclusions, but they are confirmed by most authors, including practicing doctors. Let's see. The virus is new, so one needs to study and observe statistics," the expert says.

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Briatore hospitalized for prostatitis and other media fake news in recent weeks

2020/08/30

Briatore hospitalized for prostatitis and other media fake news in recent weeks

by Enrica Perucchietti

 

Translator note: Mrs. Enrica Perucchietti is an Italian journalist and blogger. This column was published August 26th, and it is about the COVID-19 information climax in Italy.

After a day of insinuations, articles published in the major Italian media and then taken up by all the others - up to the New York Times [1]-, insults and debates, it turns out that Flavio Briatore [2] is hospitalized at San Raffaele for prostatitis.

"I only have a severe prostatitis" confirmed to Candida Morvillo of Corriere della Sera [3], explaining that he arrived at the hospital on the evening of Sunday 23 August.

The San Raffaele today afternoon announced that the swab had given a positive result [4] and that the Piedmontese businessman has been isolated.

However, that was not the reason for the hospitalization, as suggested by the media. Who are gloating now because they see fulfilled their prophecies.

Mass media

Just the mass media yesterday spread blatantly false news stating that Briatore had been hospitalized in "serious conditions" [5] for Covid, then that his conditions were "stable". They made believe he was in intensive and severe care with pneumonia when contacted by phone by Morvillo he showed he was fine and had been hospitalized for other reasons.

Then the version started from l'Espresso [6] according to which, Briatore as paying, he had therefore had access to a non-Covid department in a privileged manner. Therefore, everybody in a  chain to resume and distort the news, as in the old game of the wireless phone!

Finally the denial and the correct version of the story: prostate inflammation.

Mrs. Daniela Santanché, a friend of the entrepreneur, had already been speaking to In Onda on La7 last night to declare that Briatore had been hospitalized for a recurrence of prostatitis:

«Positive for coronavirus? Who says that? At this precise moment I can say that he was hospitalized for recurrent prostate infection, he had it 3 months and 6 months ago. To date, I have no evidence on the outcome of the swab and I am one of her best friends. In serious condition? A fake news ». (Watch the video) [7]

Mainstream media

For the colleagues of the newspaper il Fatto quotidiano, however, Santanché would have raved about, questioning the "official" version of the mainstream media [8]... and on the today front-page of the newspaper they teased against the so-called deniers: "Those that Covid DID NOT EXIST" [9].

Given that it is not my intention to defend Briatore or express sympathy towards him, here it is a question of being objective and analyzing the state of information in our country.

The reason for the dirty propaganda that was staged yesterday is clear: to ridicule the entrepreneur who harshly criticized the measures taken by the government against the infection, to make it appear that he had been "punished by karma" [10] and that he had fallen ill. On the other hand, continue the catastrophic narrative that has been staged in recent weeks to demonize young people and keep the climate of fear high.

Yes, because in recent weeks:

Information professionals have spread a series of false news, without bothering to check them. No verification, as in the case of Briatore.

Let's see some striking cases.

Lopalco's false alarm

Pierluigi Lopalco, the chief epidemiologist of the task force in Puglia, candidate for the Regionals, on August 14, 2020 in an interview with Ansa [11] had raised the alarm regarding the hospitalization in "severe conditions" of five guys aged between 20 and 30 years:

"They have pneumonia caused by Covid-19 and for this it was necessary to be hospitalized" [12].

The official data, however, showed something else: in the Regional Epidemiological Bulletin, provided every day by the Puglia Region, there were in fact only two hospitalizations: a 63-year-old woman hospitalized in the Infectious Diseases Unit of Bisceglie on 11 August and a 83-year-old man hospitalized in intensive care at the Bari Polyclinic on 12 August.

In short, no trace of the five guys in "severe conditions".

The other fake news on the hospitalization of young people after the crazy nights in the disco

In the same days, the news was spread that a girl who returned to Palermo from Malta [13] had contracted the coronavirus and had been hospitalized in intensive care [14].

The accountable health department of the Cervello hospital, reached by telephone by [Italian] senators Lello Ciampolillo and Carlo Martelli, denied the news, declaring that "the intensive care of the Covid ward is empty" [15].

Same dynamic for the news released in August concerning the hospitalization of a twenty-year-old Roman woman in intensive care [16] after having been for a week in Sardinia and having frequented with her friends some famous clubs in Porto Cervo such as the Billionaire, the Just Cavalli club, The Temple nightclub Canteen in Poltu Quatu [17].

The newspapers, as in the previous cases, shared the news underlining the contagion emergency among young people who, after "crazy nights at the disco", would have returned home infected at the end of the holidays [18], with the clear intention of treat thoise young people as "irresponsible" and "criminals" [19], making them yet another scapegoat.

Spallanzani hospital had to issue a statement for:

"Categorically deny any false information relating to the presence of a twenty-year-old Roman girl in intensive care."

Another fake news concerns the news of the hospitalization in Padua in intensive care of a girl of only 5 years, positive for Covid.

After terrifying public opinion by clearing the idea that the age of infections has lowered, taking this case as an example, the Venetian governor Luca Zaia intervened to clarify that

 "The pathology that brought her into the intensive care unit is not the coronavirus but quite another" [20]

speaking about a "rare disease" [21] which the little girl would suffer from.

The problem is that, as in the previous cases listed above, even this fake news has not been denied by the mass media, except by very few who have reported Zaia's words, preferring therefore to continue to terrorize people.

Since when did rumors and gossip become news, spreading hoaxes and inventing stories without verifying them?

 Since when is propaganda now indistinguishable from information?

The paradox is that on the wave of the health emergency there was the pretext to obscure those contents on the web that do not align with the mainstream narrative and some task forces were baptized and the Parliamentary Commission on fake news was approved.

These repressive measures obviously do not apply to everyone: media experts are immune to them.

In other words, we are faced with a double-thinking, as hypocritical as it is schizoid, which echoes the motto of pigs in Orwell's Animal Farm:

All animals are the same,

but some are more equal than others.

In this case, too, some members of the community would be "more equal than others": they would be allowed to manipulate public opinion and, in particular, those who are considered "mere spectators". That is, the flock that must be oriented in its choices so that it does not wake up and, above all, does not express its thoughts in a free and critical way.

Final note

Showing that the information spread by the mass media is more and more superficial, unverified, if not downright false and indistinguishable from propaganda, does not mean defending this subject (such as Briatore) or another (Kim gives him for dead or in a coma every three weeks). Nor does it mean becoming a denier or being a conspiratorialist.

It means hoping that ceases the exploitation and constant disinformation with which the masses continue to be terrorized, and consensus manipulated and heterodirected.

The coarse, exaggerated, gut reactions of these months are the consequence of the climate of psychosis that has been deliberately induced in public opinion, also resorting to the Divide et Impera and pitting us against each other.

As fear is one of the golden techniques to disorient and manipulate the masses, keeping us perennially divided to fight among us is only playing the game of the Powerful.

In particular, it is to blame the double-thinking that it would be legitimate to create task forces against fake news aimed at censoring independent information and the web, when these are also and constantly disseminated by the mass media.

[1] https://ift.tt/31EtM4y

[2] Italian businessman and entrepreneur: https://ift.tt/O5keob

[3] https://ift.tt/2YMXRNc

[4] https://ift.tt/3jfg7Xn

[5] https://ift.tt/3lxkTSk

[6] https://ift.tt/3baiSGF

[7] Italian only: https://ift.tt/3lhrm3A

[8] https://ift.tt/3lhrm3A

[9] https://ift.tt/3gPNO0p

[10] https://ift.tt/3liq0pi

[11] https://ift.tt/31HI9Fm

[12] https://ift.tt/3aG9OcF

[13] https://ift.tt/2Q7O9k9

[14] https://ift.tt/3lyIO3t

[15] https://ift.tt/2Z4Gh7V

[16] https://ift.tt/3lxl00c

[17] https://ift.tt/3leWjoV

[18] https://ift.tt/3iR5yJY

[19] https://ift.tt/2GcMDvh

[20] https://ift.tt/2YK9yEn

[21] https://ift.tt/3hjXNfi

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

Original column by Enrica Perucchietti:

https://ift.tt/3gDbJ2J

Translation by Costantino Ceoldo

Photo: https://ift.tt/2EKkNWz

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Cars To be Seen in Russian Villages

2020/08/30

Люксовые машины, странно смотрящиеся на фоне деревень в российской глубинке

Let us check out what cars are used in Russian villages…

Люксовые машины, странно смотрящиеся на фоне деревень в российской глубинке

Люксовые машины, странно смотрящиеся на фоне деревень в российской глубинке

Люксовые машины, странно смотрящиеся на фоне деревень в российской глубинке

Люксовые машины, странно смотрящиеся на фоне деревень в российской глубинке

Люксовые машины, странно смотрящиеся на фоне деревень в российской глубинке

Люксовые машины, странно смотрящиеся на фоне деревень в российской глубинке

Люксовые машины, странно смотрящиеся на фоне деревень в российской глубинке

Люксовые машины, странно смотрящиеся на фоне деревень в российской глубинке

Люксовые машины, странно смотрящиеся на фоне деревень в российской глубинке

Люксовые машины, странно смотрящиеся на фоне деревень в российской глубинке

Люксовые машины, странно смотрящиеся на фоне деревень в российской глубинке

Люксовые машины, странно смотрящиеся на фоне деревень в российской глубинке

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The Woman Who Understands What Lukashenko is Doing

2020/08/30

Наталья Эйсмеонт в синем костюме на фоне осенней листвы

It’s hard to understand what the president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko is doing these days. People are opposing, world leaders consider him as threat, but Natalia Eismont periodically speaks on his behalf and explains that the leader of Belarus does everything right.

Наталья Эйсмонт на правительственном мероприятии в черном платье с бейджем на груди

Наталья Эйсмонт на мероприятии в белой рубашке и коричневой кофе

Наталья Эйсмонт в бордовом платье и Александр Лукашенко в синем костюме

Наталья Эйсмонт в небоскребе в пиджаке в серую клетку и белой сумкой

Наталья Эйсмеонт с длинными волосами на телевидении

Наталья Эйсмонт на правительственном мероприятии в черной пиджаке и белой блузке с охраной

Наталья Эйсмонт в поле с пшеницей и девушкой

Наталья Эйсмонт танцует с мужчиной в сером платье

Наталья Эйсмонт на природе в сером костюме с черной кофтой

Наталья Эйсмонт на набережной в цветном платье

Наталья эйсмонт в белой рубашке и черном костюме на фоне белого вертолета

Наталья Эйсмонт в зеленом пиджаке и темных брюках в поле из желтых цветов

Наталья Эйсмонт в корзиной роз в белом пуховике на улице

Наталья Эйсмонт с медалью во рту после пробега

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Ukraine is waiting for Turkish troops to have the Crimea back

2020/08/28

Turkey will send its military men to participate in Cooperative Best Effort 2020 military exercises in Ukraine.

The presidents of the two countries discussed this issue, having touched upon the prospect of signing the intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the defense sphere by the end of the year.

According to the press service of the Ukrainian president, the conversation was long. The parties discussed issues of economic cooperation, in particular, projects for the construction of roads in Ukraine, as well as the creation of a township for settlers from the Crimea in the Kherson region.

Cooperative Best Effort 2020 exercise comes as a response to Caucasus 2020 military exercise in the Crimea. Ukraine has already released a statement saying that the Russian exercise "will develop into aggression."

Ukraine's Defense Minister Andrei Taran assured that everything is quiet on the peninsula. The Defense Ministry also noted that they wanted to use the exercises "to test the ability of the General Staff in the new structure to act in accordance with NATO standards, to arrange interaction with command posts of the Armed Forces of NATO."

Up to 120,000 troops, as well as about 300 aircraft, 250 helicopters, 50 ships, 3,000 armored vehicles are to take part in the exercises.

After the exercises, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy may go to Turkey. For Kiev, this visit is important for the reason that Zelensky's team intends to create an international platform "for the de-occupation of the Crimea," which can hardly be possible without Turkey's participation.

Turkey's explosive success in the beginning of the 21st century (and above all, in the economy) was made possible owing to the efforts of its perhaps most pro-Western and pro-liberal government that Turkey has seen in its history.

In the first half of the AKP rule (Justice and Development Party), Turkey was an integral part of the greater West, the "Islamic democratic model" for the entire Middle East - with the Kurdish "opening," restriction of the army influence, pro-European reforms, etc.

The ideal "Islamic Europe" attractive to both the West and the Islamic world.

Actually, Kiev does not care - it is working diligently to attract Europe to its problems. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, after a recent meeting with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, noted that the Crimea would always be on the agenda.

Ukraine wants to keep the issue of the Crimea as a priority for the West, ensuring the policy of non-recognition of the Crimea and the policy of sanctions against Russia. Therefore, Ukraine needs players from the EU, the US and the UK.

Earlier it was reported that Ukraine wanted to obtain the status of the observer in the Turkic Council, which incorporates Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, in order to use the organization as a platform for voicing the problem.

Nevertheless, Zelensky stressed in an interview with Euronews that one should have addressed the issue earlier.

"We should not have given the Crimea away. This is a big problem. Today, however, we can no longer punch the air while talking about it. I am sure that one day everyone will be responsible for this."

In the meantime, Ukraine will cry for help to everyone who is not tired of listening to these cries. This could also be a technique, a useless one, though.

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Russia reduces imports of palm oil

2020/08/28

In the first half of 2020, Russia has decreased imports of palm oil for the first time in six years. During the first half of 2019, Russia imported 506,000 tons of palm oil, and only 473,000 tons - during the same period of this year. The imports of palm oil in the Russian Federation have thus decreased by seven percent.

Russia has ben continuously increasing palm oil imports since the late 1990s. This sector of imports has seen a tenfold increase over this period of time to a record-setting 1.06 million tonnes in late 2019. Palm oil enjoys great demand in the food industry: it is convenient for manufacturers to use it, and the cost of palm oil is lower in comparison with other vegetable and dairy fats.

Making one croissant on a traditional recipe requires about 25 grams of butter, which costs about four times as much as its vegetable analogues. When ready, the croissants will look absolutely the same in comparison with those made with the use of vegetable oil substitutes, so it makes no sense for manufacturers to use expensive raw materials.

During the last couple of years, Russia has been importing about one million tons of palm oil every year, primarily from Indonesia. Most of this volume - about 90 percent - is used in the food industry  by confectioners, bakers, and dairy products manufacturers.

The decline in the imports of palm oil in the first half of 2020 may be due to the strengthening of state control over the quality of dairy products. In 2019, it was forbidden to display food products containing milk fat substitutes on the same shelves with products that do not contain such substitutes.

The Russians consume only a small proportion of palm oil with milk substitutes - only 12-13 percent. Most often, palm oil is used in the confectionary industry. The decline in palm oil imports is not associated with the confectionery industry, it comes as a result of the introduction of new rules for the sale of products with milk fat substitutes, experts say.

The temporary closure of cafes and restaurants could affect palm oil imports, as cafes and fast food outlets use a palm oil containing mixture for deep-fried cooking.

Therefore, the demand in palm oil may go back to its common values already in 2020 due to a temporary decline in the purchasing capacity of Russian consumers amid the pandemic.

The good and bad of palm oil

Palm oil is 100% fat. It contains 50% of saturated acids, 40% of monounsaturated acids, and 10% of polyunsaturated acids.

One tablespoon of palm oil contains:

  • 114 calories;
  • 14g of fat;
  • 5g of monounsaturated fat;
  • 1.5g of polyunsaturated fat;
  • 11% of the daily intake for vitamin E.

Palm oil contains palmitic acid, oleic, linoleic and stearic acids. The reddish-yellow pigment comes from carotenoids, antioxidants like beta-carotene, which serves as the source for the production of vitamin A in the human body.

Like coconut oil, palm oil hardens at room temperature, but melts at 24 degrees, while the coconut oil melts at 35 degrees.

In the 1980s, it was believed that palm oil should be replaced with trans fats not to cause possible damage to the heart. Many studies report conflicting results on the effects of palm oil on the human body. The consumption of palm oil may raise cholesterol levels in those individuals who already have higher cholesterol.

In 2019, WHO experts published a report that mentioned articles on the benefits of palm oil. However, it became known later that four of the nine articles in the report were written by employees of the Malaysian Ministry of Agriculture, who were responsible for the development of the industry.

Palm oil can be beneficial healthwise. Palm oil improves cognitive function and has a positive effect on the brain. It is used to prevent vitamin A deficiency and serves as an excellent source of tocotrienols - forms of vitamin E with strong antioxidant properties. Studies show that these substances help protect body's polyunsaturated fats from breakdown, slow the progression of dementia, reduce the risk of stroke, and prevent the growth of lesions in the cerebral cortex.

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Shinzo Abe steps down, and Russia may forget about peace treaty

2020/08/28

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced his resignation on Friday, August 28. Having reported this, Abe stressed out that he had not yet resolved the issue of signing a peace treaty with Russia, of which he regrets.

Why Japanese Prime Minister has resigned

Only four days ago, Shinzo Abe set a record for serving as the head of the Japanese government - 2799 days. This is the longest tenure for the prime minister of Japan.

The decision to resign came very unexpected even for fellow members of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Shinzo Abe explained that he had made such a decision due to the aggravation of ulcerative colitis:

"Ulcerative colitis has returned. I need to continue treatment for some time. I made the decision, because I could not afford resign all of a sudden, like in my previous term," Shinzo Abe said.

The disease forced Abe to resign from the post of prime minister in 2007, but he had chaired the Japanese government for a very short time by that time, because he had taken the post in 2006. Five years later, Abe returned and set a record for leading the government.

Why the peace treaty didn't work

One of the main foreign policy tasks for Shinzo Abe was the signing of the peace treaty with Russia. Abe has developed very good relations with Russian President Putin. At times, it seemed that the talks on the treaty were developing successfully.

The stumbling block in the talks is the territorial dispute between Russia and Japan. Japan wants Russia to return its "northern territories" - several islands of the South Kuril chain. There was certain progress achieved in establishing cooperation, the Japanese began to visit the islands more frequently. However, the main thing remained unchanged - Tokyo linked the signing of the peace treaty with the delivery of the Russian islands to Japan.

From the Russian point of view, the Japanese had rather conditional "flexibility" in the matter. For example, at one point there was a rumor about the delivery of the islands in accordance with the 1956 Moscow Declaration. The Soviet Union had then agreed to consider the issue of the islands of Habomai and Shikotan provided that Japan fulfilled certain conditions, primarily after the signing of the peace treaty.

In general, there was no progressed reached in Russia-Japan peace treaty talks. The issue has been shelved yet again.

As for possible successors to Shinzo Abe as prime minister, almost all of them share a much stance. For example, they name the secretary of the Liberal Democratic Party, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba or the sitting Defense Minister and former foreign minister Taro Kono. They consider Shinzo Abe's stance on the negotiations with Moscow too soft.

In the foreseeable future, chances for Russia to conclude an agreement with Japan are extremely low.

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The role of Poland in Belarus protests: The pug does not see the elephant

2020/08/27

Poland does not have the potential to conduct its own geopolitics, but plays its destructive role in Belarus, Polish publicist and politician Mateusz Piskorski believes.

Three aspects of Poland's participation in the color revolution in Belarus

Poland acts as a subcontractor to the United States and the UK in their geopolitical projects. One of those projects is to destabilize Belarus. This is the reason behind the emergence of NEXTA channel, which broadcasts from Poland and manipulates the protesters, the publicist believes.

Mateusz Piskorski noted that its organizer, student Stepan Putilo, was unable to provide content and video materials for the channel on various resources. NEXTA is a branch of Belsat TV channel, which at one point was funded by the Polish Foreign Ministry and pursued anti-Belarusian and anti-Russian policies, the politician explained.

The first aspect of Poland's participation in the colour revolution in Belarus is related to the participation of mass media outlets in the protests, as it used to be the case in Ukraine.

The second aspect, Mateusz Piskorski continued, is related to advisers and instructors for the Belarusian opposition. There are about a dozen of them, and they are being coordinated directly. They appeared in Belarus shortly before the protests. One of them is, for example, journalist Slawomir Serakowski - he directly said at one of the Polish channels that he was giving instructions to protesters.

The third aspect of Polish involvement is related to militants. The politician explained that they are being prepared by the Center for Eastern European Studies at the University of Warsaw, which is funded by Western foundation.

The Prometheus doctrine works to cause Russia to collapse

The center is headed by Yan Malitsky, the publisher of New Prometheus magazine. "Prometheus" is a doctrine to divide the territory of Russia and create a hostile corridor of countries between the West and Russia. It appeared before World War II, and was developed by Polish intelligence, the politician said.

"Polish students, graduates of this center, were detained in Minsk. They are members of neo-Nazi organizations that collaborated with the Ukrainian Azov (the Azov battalion is banned in the Russian Federation as a terrorist organization - Ed.). The latter defended them on social media after their arrest," Mateusz Piskorski specified.

Separatism of Grodno is not yet possible

The politician does not believe that the topic of separatism of Grodno is on the agenda. Warsaw has not resorted to this factor yet, because the Polish minority does not conflict with the Belarusians, and it takes time to artificially create the ground for this.

"The Polish minority in Belarus is doing well, the Polish diaspora is law-abiding, its leader is a very adequate person. There is, however, the Union of Poles in Belarus, which is funded by Warsaw, but this is a small, grant-eating organization," said Mateusz Piskorski.

According to the politician, Poland does not have historical, political and cultural potential to influence the Belarusians. The Belarusians do not share Russophobia that could unite them with Polish nationalists, as it happened in Ukraine. The Poles do not even know that Grodno and Brest are primordially Polish lands - this is not part of their mentality, the expert added.

A military conflict with Russia is possible only on direct instructions from Washington

The politician does not see a potential for a military conflict in western Ukraine, in western Belarus, because Europe does not need these conflicts at its borders.

Poland has been strengthening its borders lately with the help of American military personnel, because this is what US curators want to do. They are not interested in Polish ambitions - the potential is aimed at containing Russia and will be used only on direct instructions from Washington.

Mateusz Piskorski believes that Moscow will not withdraw its military bases (radar stations) from Belarus, nor will it let anyone turn Belarus into yet another NATO stronghold. This will reduce Russia's defense capability and leave Kaliningrad defenseless. The West understands this well and conducts an active dialogue with Moscow on the subject, the publicist noted.

"If Poland wanted to secure its positions in Belarus, it would talk to Moscow too," the politician noted.

Russia needs to accelerate its integration with the countries of the former USSR

In his opinion, the Belarusian scenario may repeat in Russia in 2021 or 2024. In order to prevent this, one needs to accelerate Eurasian integration, implement and promote the Union State with Belarus as an example for the rest of post-Soviet space. However, Alexander Lukashenko is not ready for this psychologically.

"There is no such person who could fit into this purpose, and one has to raise one among Belarusian politicians," the publicist noted.

According to Mateusz Piskorski, if the Clinton clan wins the next US presidential elections, the situation around Russia will worsen. If Donald Trump remains in power, there is a chance that the United States will pay more attention to its confrontation with China. Thus, instead of escalating conflicts in Europe, the Americans will be focused on their positions in the Asia-Pacific region.

However, there will be no qualitative changes in US policy in post-Soviet space, the publicist concluded.

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The expansionist impulses and military escalation in South America

2020/08/27

The expansionist impulses and military escalation in South America

By Fabio Reis Vianna

In 1870, when it was devastated by the war against Prussia, the France of the deposed Emperor Napoleon III would fall into a fratricidal internal division that would take many years to heal.

The painful peace imposed by Bismarck would mark French society in that beginning of the Third Republic, where a country immersed in chaos sought a way out for its own survival.

One of the most shocking scenes of the fall of arm between Republic powers in Brazil was exposed in the first week of August, when Piauí magazine revealed that in a closed meeting with ministers - mostly men in uniform - President Bolsonaro had threatened to intervene militarily in the Supreme Court to, astonishingly, oust his judges.

After a deafening silence from both the Supreme Court and the presidencies of the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Republic, Brazil seems to be getting used to the systemic chaos resulting from the accumulation of crises that have dragged the country and its institutions into the abyss since the Color Revolution of June 2013.

  

More recently, the apparent gentleman's agreement staged after the threat of resignation of the minister of economy would give the illusory impression that the incendiary president had finally been domesticated.

Igreja Universal and Bolsonaro

It wasn't long before TV Record - belonging to a billionaire pastor, owner of the evangelical Igreja Universal -, one of the main media supporters of the Bolsonaro government, published in its main TV news an accusation by the dole maker Dario Messer that he was delivering packages of money to the members of the powerful Marinho family, owner of Rede Globo.

One of the supporters of the military regime that took root in the 1964 coup, Rede Globo, the biggest beneficiary of the old regime and more recently, the media arm of the hybrid war and lawfare processes responsible for the overthrow of the Workers' Party and the arrest of former President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, is today one of the biggest targets of the extreme-right government that has settled in the Planalto Palace.

Something apparently untouchable in recent decades - the intimidating power of Rede Globo hovering over institutions - seems to be breaking down, and with the arrival of the pandemic, internal divisions within the oligarchies are increasingly visible.

The fight within the Federal Prosecutor's Office - an operational tentacle of the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) since 2014 - is an explicit example of the internal war that broke out during Jair Bolsonaro's administration.

Within the Federal Police, this is clearly reflected in the open fight between the political police structure hitherto in the service of the Operation Car Wash, and the current political police structure now in the service of Bolsonaro's authoritarianism in the persecution of, for example, state governors not aligned with the federal government.

In broader terms, we could interpret this internal war as a reflection of post-Pandemic systemic chaos.

Systemic chaos

Just as in the Third French Republic, which had been born from the defeat of a war, today's Brazil, which buries the already old New Republic, has perhaps never been so divided and conflagrated. And just like that France that was entering the then new 19th century, Brazil in this early 21st century has never been in such a vulnerable position.

Following this reasoning, the recent agreement with the most traditional and corrupt oligarchic elites in the National Congress, and the consequent domestication of Bolsonaro, in the long run, would not be sustained by the fact that Brazil and South America today are one of the main battlefields for the global hegemonic dispute between the US and the Eurasian project.

In the wake of the radical changes in the world system that have accelerated with the pandemic, our internal systemic chaos - despite the apparent oligarchic appeasement - will still deepen. And a lot.

The logic of permanent competition in the interstate system was already visible, and has been endorsed by the United States, when it is abandoning its place as the holder of "western ethical values" for good.

On December 18, 2017 - and it is always necessary to remember - when announcing its new national defense strategy, the United States abdicated the benevolent leadership built alongside the institutions of the post-war Liberal Order and launched the "new normal" of the world system, that is, competition is now open and permanent, and the will of the hegemon will be imposed by force. And if necessary through war.

Aggressive posture of the USA

This kind of nationalistic prophylaxis that led Americans to a more aggressive posture in their performance in the world system is explained by the increase and audacity of the competitors who year after year began to question more and more the unipolar paradise that the Americans conquered with the end of the cold war.

And curiously, this permanent competition, which we could also call infinite war, became stronger with the arrival of the new coronavirus pandemic.

According to the analyst of the renowned Russian Think Tank Valdai Club, Dmitry Suslov, the pressure of internal problems on the governments of the United States and China will only increase in the coming years, something that will make their foreign policies even more impulsive.

In other words, the expansionist impulses that had already been afflicted before the crisis, with the pandemic, accelerated; and much because of the internal tensions caused by the social losses resulting from it.

  

The dramatic case of Brazil

In this sense, the specific case of Brazil is dramatic.

According to economic journalist José Paulo Kpufer , the new Treasury Secretary of the Bolsonario government is already signaling a post-crisis deepening of fiscal austerity, and consequently "unacceptable social losses.

Even so, and strangely, despite all the fiscal tightening proposed for the post-pandemic, the Ministry of Defense announced the expansion of the budget for 2021 from R$6.7 billion to R$9.2 billion, an increase of 37%.

Considering that military escalation accelerated sharply around the world during the pandemic, and not just among the major powers, let us not delude ourselves: the eagerness of our armed forces to turbocharger the defense budget is not far off the curve in this trend.

What makes it all the more worrying in this regard is the disclosure of the new National Defense Plan presented by the Brazilian government.

One passage of the plan suggests that "possible repercussions" of crises in neighboring countries would justify a more robust budget for "projects considered a priority for the military, such as the acquisition of fighter planes, rocket launchers and nuclear-powered submarines.

Reverberating this, according to Agência Estado, "the plan highlights the possibility of tensions and crises on the continent, which may lead Brazil to mobilize efforts to guarantee national interests in the Amazon or even help solve regional problems. South America is no longer considered a conflict-free area".

Even considering that the South American Amazon is a new hub of the dispute among the great powers for natural resources, it is worrying that our military generates unnecessary distrust and compromises Brazil's long diplomatic tradition of good relations with its border neighbors.

Not only in Venezuela, but even in Argentina, the alarm has already sounded.

In an interview with an Argentine radio station on August 20, influential Peronist politician Guillermo Moreno pointed to the great disparity between Brazil's and Argentina's defense budgets.

Moreno emphasizes with great concern Brazil's submission to the defense strategy of the United States and the unbelievable historical moment in which Brazil and Argentina, the two natural allies in the region, find themselves diplomatically separated.

However, what causes more astonishment to the Peronist - and certainly to all of us - is the possible loan of 90 billion dollars by the U.S. government so that the Brazilian "industrial-military complex" can modernize.

The US war machine

If we take into account that the U.S. war machine has long since been without a new war to call its own (paradoxically, despite warmongering rhetoric, no new conflict has been initiated in the Trump administration), it is not at all unlikely that in 2021 Venezuela will be the target.

The sudden concern of the Brazilian military to anabolize the war budget leads us to sense the worst-case scenario.

There are countless hotbeds of tension around the globe, starting with the biggest of all: the dispute between the United States and China in the Indo-Pacific region, which, like a hurricane eye, ended up widening and reverberating to other regions like the Eastern Mediterranean, the border between Poland and Belarus and, unfortunately, South America.

As the experienced and wise professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, José Luis Fiori, recently recalled: a former U.S. ally named Saddam Hussein, a day celebrated as a great democrat, was conveniently used by Americans in the war against Iran in 1980. It didn't take many years for the same old democrat to become a dictator, and thus discarded, and his country destroyed.

Let the alert remain for the Brazilian military.

Fabio Reis Vianna, lives in Rio de Janeiro, is a bachelor of laws (LL.B), MA student in International Relations at the University of Évora (Portugal), writer and geopolitical analyst. He currently maintains a column on international politics at the centennial Brazilian newspaper Monitor Mercantil.

Photo: By Public Domain, Public Domain, https://ift.tt/3b0bNZc

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Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

2020/08/27

Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

Some cool images from the international contest Next-Image Awards held in Russia recently. It’s the biggest contest of mobile photos and video clips made by mobile devices HUAWEI. Last year 520 000 the contest had 520 thousand participants. This year the contest was held in Russia where HUAWEI received more than 20 000 photographs taken with smartphones of the brand.

Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

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Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEIAuthor — KateKarmakova, made with HUAWEI P20 Pro

Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEIAuthor – Fayazov Shuhrat, made with HUAWEI P30 Pro

Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

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Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

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Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEIAuthor — n. kriushin, made with HUAWEI P20 Pro

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Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

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Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

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Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEIAuthor — SRG, HUAWEI P20 Pro

Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

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Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

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Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEIAuthor— Oleganoss, HUAWEI P30 Pro

Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

Author — Dedok, HUAWEI P20

Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

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Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

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Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

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Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

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Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

Russians Compete In the Photo Contest of HUAWEI

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