Geopolitical mosaic: Obama is not as peaceful as it seems, and American secret agents are considered fools even by prostitutes.
Obama's presidency helped advance his first speech at an anti-war rally held 10 years ago, in 2002, “when the drums of the war in Iraq were beating louder and louder”. Obama spoke to people gathered in Chicago in front of a stage at Federal Plaza; There were about a thousand of pacifist listeners out there. On the raised posters it was written: “War is not an option!”
At that rally, many anti-war songs were played (for example, “Where did all the flowers go?”, “Give the world a chance” and others), and Obama complained to Betty-Lou Salzman and Marilyn Katz (these are the key figures in the liberal world of Chicago): don't think about anything else but music? ”
“That simple fact,” writes D. Maranis, “that he was there, speaking out against Iraq at the very beginning, played a decisive role in his support among MoveOn.org and other anti-war groups in 2008 during the presidential elections. But his regret about music, as well as the content of his speech (he pointedly stated that he is not against all wars, but only the war in Iraq) implies a more subtle understanding of his behavior as president. On a personal level, he seems to be doing wrongly in the presence of soldiers and sailors - even more than in the midst of an anti-war rally, but at the political level, it is probably more convenient for him to have the authority of the commander in chief. ”
Obama, the journalist writes further, is the first president of the United States, for whom Vietnam is “the ancient story". When he “came of age, the war and projects were over. His liberal mother felt “at home” in the peace movement, and he learned a lot from her, but he was also irritated by her idealistic naivety, which seemed to him to be a relic of the 60's. ” Since childhood, Obama wanted to be pragmatic and cold, and, as Maranis notes, “his use of the military option in foreign policy reflects his dual sensitivity.”
Obama feels closer to his grandfather's generation (Stan Dunham, who fought in World War II in Europe) than to his mother, or at least his grandfather, he considers "culturally more attractive." Barack Obama is “an avid viewer of the Mad Men series and says some scenes remind him of his grandparents, with whom he lived as a teenager.”
The future president, the journalist reports, grew up surrounded by military facilities: “The Hickam airbase, the Schofield barracks, Fort Shafter, the naval base at Pearl Harbor and the Marine Corps base in Hawaii were part of his teenage environment. He grew up in comfort with military culture, and not at all in alienation from it. Some of his friends came from military families ... "
“Examine the faces of the soldiers who welcomed Obama in Afghanistan this month — those of blacks, and Hispanics, and whites — and you can feel an almost intuitive connection with the president ...”
To conclude the article, the author suggests that anti-war hymns for Obama be replaced by Marvin Gay's song “What is happening?”
If the soldiers welcome Obama, then the Afghans do not really welcome the American military in their homeland. Quote from reportage Eugene Poddubny ("Vesti"):
“The situation in Afghanistan has strained to the limit. Explosions are heard every day, there are so many terrorist attacks that most are not even reported. The US military operation in this country has been going on for more than 10 years, but it’s difficult to talk about the successes of Americans. So, their intelligence reports that the Taliban over the past two years has only become stronger.
The main targets of militants in Afghanistan are foreign military and civilian specialists, as well as local officials and law enforcement officers. <…>
Government buildings, hotels and even private houses are surrounded by triple fences, and police officers are constantly on duty at city crossroads, but even such security measures are ineffective here. <…>
A large family of girls from a refugee camp in the suburb of Kabul fled from Kandahar province three years ago. Now for 11, a person is a home. There is a kitchen in one corner, a bedroom in the other, a tarpaulin overhead. Even by the standards of Afghanistan, these are terrible conditions.
“Our wall collapsed in the winter, and because of the cold weather, 25 people died in the camp,” said a local resident.
Such as Zardat in the camp "Charai Kombar" about five thousand people, and most have a similar history of the move.
"The Americans bombed our homes and many fled here to save the lives of the children, but many took weapon and went to the mountains, they lost their families because of the USA and now they will fight with strangers, they have nothing to lose, they have already lost everything, ”explained Zardat Atamuhamad, a refugee from Kandahar.
3 and 4 May in Moscow hosted a conference on EUROPRO. Its zero result results "Voice of America" (Viktor Vasilyev, Vadim Massalsky): “The United States does not exclude that in the future Moscow and Washington may sign some agreement that will contain legal guarantees on the non-directionality of the European missile defense system against Russia, but this should be preceded by the conclusion of an agreement on cooperation in the field of missile defense. So in some Russian media interpreted the statement made by the US Special Representative for Strategic Stability and Missile Defense Ellen Tauscher in Moscow on 4 on Friday in May. ”
At present, one can only talk about one thing: the positions of Moscow and Washington have not changed, and the bureaucracy has not made any progress in the negotiation process, which is justly considered a dead end. “Some kind of agreement” with “legal guarantees” (which smacks much of the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact), before which it is necessary to write another “agreement on cooperation in the field of anti-missile defense” is translated from the language of diplomacy into the language of the philistine, only confirmation of that each side will go its own way.
There is an opinion voiced by the Voice of America that Russia does not want to negotiate with America at all, because it needs an external enemy, whose name now is the West. Maybe I am somewhat free to interpret the vision of the European missile defense system by Alexander Goltz, and therefore judge for yourself:
“His vision of the situation is with military analyst and independent journalist Alexander Golts. He saw in the statement Tauscher some concession to the American side. But at the same time, the Russian expert has no doubt that this will in no way affect the status quo, “since Russia does not want to reach an agreement.”
“And it became obvious at the Moscow conference,” Golts said in a conversation with the correspondent of the Russian service of Voice of America. - The parties have different goals. The United States wants to somehow stop the senseless Russian claims, come to some kind of agreement and find a formula that will satisfy Russia. ”
Moscow, in his opinion, is not going to negotiate at all.
“Russia is interested in long, rather meaningless negotiations. And most importantly, she is interested in the fact that all the time there was some reason that would allow her to verbalize in military terms her displeasure with the West. Even if this irritation is caused by completely different reasons than the missile defense itself, ”the analyst concluded (”“Voice of America”, Viktor Vasilyev, Vadim Massalsky).
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton, while in Beijing at the annual bilateral talks, advised the North Korean government to take care of its people: its food and education. In addition, the DPRK, in her words, should join the "international community" (probably democratic). That's when the United States will begin to help Pyongyang again. Reports about it "Voice of America".
In America, the economic crisis does not end. And in assessing the situation, it seems that this time the Republicans are right, not the Democrats. Unemployment in the US fell by only 0,1 percent. point (up to 8,1%), while the pace of job creation has slowed down (they make up only 2,2%, which looks a bit weak against the background of 8,1%). ITAR-TASS correspondent Ivan Lebedev reports from Washington: “Such contradictory data was released on Friday by the US Department of Labor, which enabled President Barack Obama to declare“ good the news", But at the same time allowed his Republican rival Mitt Romney to point out" no progress "in the recovery of the American economy." Unemployment among Americans under 25 has already reached 16,4%.
In France, the day of silence - before tomorrow's second round of presidential elections. “According to the Electoral Code, candidates are prohibited to campaign today, and the media to publish new public opinion polls that may affect the mood of the electorate. Thus, 45 million French voters are given the opportunity to prepare for voting in a relaxed atmosphere ”(correspondent ITAR-TASS Sergey Shcherbakov).
Sarkozy’s rating is about 6% lower than the socialist Hollande’s rating, which many French tipped victory. Quote: “Nicolas Sarkozy, who this week will have to defend his presidency in the second round of elections, is still lagging behind his rival, the socialist Francois Hollande. According to opinion polls, after the first round, the head of state was able to play a part of the lag, however, his rating is still about 6% less than that of Hollande. According to experts, to win the second round of voting, which will take place this Sunday, Sarkozy must be very lucky ”(Interfax).
Marine Le Pen will not give his vote to anyone. Interfax reports: “The leader of the far-right National Front party, former French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, said that in the second round of the presidential election, she would vote with an empty ballot. “The election is over, the recruitment process has begun. Nicolas Sarkozy or Francois Hollande, it doesn't matter who will be chosen for 6 in May, he will be an employee of the European Central Bank who will regularly report to Angela Merkel,” she said at a May Day rally. in Paris, dedicated to Joan of Arc's 600 anniversary. ”
French Algerian physicist Adlen Ishore was sentenced to five years in prison for terrorism. He writes about it "Lenta.ru" with reference to "Le Figaro".
The court found a scientist who was previously an employee of the European Center for Nuclear Research and who worked at the Large Hadron Collider, in connection with the North African branch of Al-Qaeda. Ishor was also found guilty of conspiring to commit terrorist acts. Among other things, he also plotted an assassination attempt on French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
In Syria, unauthorized demonstrations were broken up yesterday. It is reported ITAR-TASS correspondent Dmitry Zelenin, referring to the Lubnan Al-En News Agency: “... opposition supporters appeared on the streets after Friday prayers in the metropolitan areas of Tadamun, Kaboun, Jubar and El Assali. In a number of places, law enforcement officers opened fire to force the belligerent crowd to disperse. Opposition sources received information about one dead and several wounded. In the suburbs of Damascus, crowded meetings, the participants of which demanded the resignation of President Bashar Assad, were held in Mlikh, Arbin and Dumeira. The police made arrests. ”
Riots and protests also took place in Aleppo. Here, “according to the information of the so-called“ people's coordinating committees, ”the security forces also used weapons to curb street riots. The main events took place in the Salaheddin and Sakkari quarters, as well as on the approaches to the northern capital. There are dead and wounded among the demonstrators. ”
In addition, opposition forces spoke at Enkhel, at Al-Hasik, and at Hama, where UN observers are stationed.
The head of the UN mission to monitor the cease-fire in Syria, General Robert Mood, meanwhile acknowledged that "the assistance of the Syrian authorities greatly facilitated the mission and allowed us to monitor the truce and record what was happening directly at the scene of events." According to him, the number of observers in Syria has reached 60 people.
Syrian law enforcement agencies continue to fight terrorists. SANA reports that a citizen of Riyad Khaled Leyla was injured in Hama during an explosion, the body of Sheikh Khaled Mahmoud Darwish abducted by militants was found in Al-Salyamiyah in the province of Hama; railway in the Bishmarun area. Reported and other terrorist attacks.
In Egypt yesterday, new clashes occurred that spread from Cairo to Suez.
“Another wave of unrest swept over Cairo when, on the square in front of the building of the Ministry of Defense in Abbasia, already the former scene of bloody clashes a few days ago, after the Friday prayer, the demonstrators gathered again. The peacefully protest against the government of the country turned into violent clashes between the military police and the protesters, who in the afternoon were joined by hundreds of Egyptians, who went on demonstration in the central square of the capital of Tahrir.
To disperse the raging mob, army units were dragged to the defense ministry, using tear gas grenades and water cannons. Currently clashes continue. The protesters are throwing guards and military men with stones and incendiary bottles ”(correspondent ITAR-TASS Dina Drunk).
“The riots in Egypt spread to the city of Suez, located east of the country's capital. On Friday evening, clashes broke out between servicemen and demonstrators. According to the Internet portal Al-Ahram, the clashes took place in the city center near the local administration building, located next to the Suez Security Directorate "(ITAR-TASS). One dead soldier and 373 affected are reported.
Armenian police are considering different versions with balloon explosions that occurred on Friday. RIA Novosti correspondent Hamlet Matevosyan transmits:
“During the pre-election rally of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia on the eve of the parliamentary elections of 6 in May, balloons filled with gas exploded on Republic Square in Yerevan. The people who were in close proximity to the scene suffered. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, as a result of the 144 explosion of a person, including children, got burned and were hospitalized.
“Several versions are being worked out. Among the possible versions are spontaneous combustion, violation of fire safety rules, violation of storage rules for flammable substances, intentional or accidental harm to health, ”the message says.”
"Voice of America" reports the explosions of balloons as follows: "It has not yet been established what exactly caused the explosions, but some journalists report that the fire may have occurred because people smoked cigarettes in close proximity to the balloons."
"ArmInfo" thinks it's not just about cigarettes, but also about a silly joke:
“The stupid joke of one of the participants of the festive concert on the Republic Square of Yerevan, completing the election campaign of the ruling Republican Party almost ended in tragedy.
As ArmInfo correspondent reports from the main square of the Armenian capital, one of the rally participants decided to make a joke and brought a burning cigarette to a balloon filled with oxygen. There was an explosion that detonated on numerous other balls held by students. ”
Sudan will fight with South Sudan - until the latter withdraws its troops from the territory of the former. The UN resolution, adopted this week on Wednesday and providing for the introduction of economic and diplomatic sanctions against both states during 48 hours, does not interfere with the war. RIA "Novosti" correspondent Yulia Troitskaya reports from Khartoum:
“Representative of the Sudanese army, Savarmi Khaled Saad, on Friday accused the South Sudanese army in a statement to the press for violating the UN resolution and continuing the occupation of Sudanese territory.
“Sudan announced that it is committed to implementing the UN resolution on the cessation of hostilities, but the troops of the other side still remain on our territory, occupied two districts and did not stop their hostile actions,” he said.
In this regard, the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sudan said that "the cessation of hostilities by Khartoum is possible only if the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army leaves its territory."
In Belgium, a “train to Auschwitz” appeared and disappeared. "Lenta.ru" writes:
“The passengers of one of the Belgian trains were unpleasantly surprised when instead of announcing the next stop they heard:“ Welcome to the train to Auschwitz. We ask all Jews to get off at Buchenwald station, ”writes Yediot Ahronot.
The operating company of the Belgian railways, SNCB, categorically condemned the "joke", stating that it would conduct an internal investigation to find out who was behind it. According to preliminary information, employees of the company have nothing to do with it. ”
For ex-President of Liberia 64-year-old Charles Taylor, the prosecution demanded eighty years in prison. This is reporting "Lenta.ru"referring to BBC News. Earlier, the International Tribunal in The Hague, Taylor was convicted of war crimes. The prosecution included 11 points, including killings, rape, terrorist activities, fueling armed conflict in neighboring Sierra Leone with Liberia, and even cannibalism.
American secret agents considers not only Obama a fool, but also prostitute Dania Londonio. RIA Novosti correspondent Dmitry Znamensky reports from Mexico City that the Colombian prostitute Londonio, due to which a scandal erupted around US secret agents in Cartagena, was interviewed by the media:
“Londoño on Friday spoke about the details of the scandalous night of the Colombian radio station La W Radio ... <...>
"They (agents of the Secret Service. - O. Ch.) Behaved like real fools," Londonio said. According to her, if the agent with whom she had spent the night had fulfilled all the financial conditions they had agreed on, there would have been no scandal. It was about the amount of 800 dollars that an American promised to pay her for the night. However, after the nightclub, from where they arrived in the morning, he slept the rest of the night, and then, when she demanded money from him, gave her 50 thousands of Colombian pesos (30 dollars), considering that this would be enough.
The agent made a mistake: the girl called the police, who brought the strolling American to their senses. As a result, all the agents in the hotel managed to collect 250 dollars, which were transferred to Londonio, but the police were already involved in the scandal, as a result of which the story came out.
The prostitute also described the rest of the Americans in a nightclub, where they met. “They drank a lot and danced,” the girl said. Moreover, her “gentleman” performed “crazy dances”, apparently trying to impress the representatives of the weaker sex in the hall ... ”
Thus, it is confirmed output: US secret agents are fools, boasters and drunks, who were supplemented by an economic crisis. Now, however, a new detail has emerged: they are also dancers.
In the Netherlands, the war against drug trafficking continues. started a year and a half ago by conservatives who came to power. 1 in May South Holland closed the doors of cannabis cafe to foreigners, and from 1 in January of 2013, the new law restricting the use of light drugs for visitors will extend to the whole country. For the effective implementation of the law, conservatives are going to introduce even “hemp passports” - something like membership cards of visitors to the “coffee shops”. This is reported Euronews. By the way, the mayor of Amsterdam - in company with the Association of Marijuana Sellers - is in favor of “drug freemen”. In South Holland, coffee houses are closed to foreigners because it is there that people regularly travel for “weed” Belgians and Germans.
Anthony Fayola, author of the article Washington Post, believes that the new law threatens Amsterdam's hemp culture. Here are located 250 cannabis cafe. The journalist writes: “From a“ macroscopic ”point of view, such a move could strike a global effort to legalize marijuana — a movement that has been growing steadily through drug sales in the United States, where even the TV preacher Pat Robertson spoke in favor of cannabis treatment ...”
Many cannabis cafe owners and their customers claim that they simply refuse to comply with the new law.
Technically, Fayola informs, the wholesale purchase of soft drugs in the Netherlands has always been illegal, but since 1976, a kind of “don't ask, don't say” policy has sprung up, spreading to less than five grams. By 1990, cannabis cafes were actually allowed ("licensed tolerance") to sell a small amount of soft drugs. Closed purchases of large stocks by the owners of such cafes clearly violate Dutch laws, but "the authorities simply look the other way."
Statistics, the author continues, actually shows that the rate of circulation of marijuana in the Netherlands is lower than in the US or the UK. The fight against "drugs for tourists" began as a result of the growth of organized crime. Opponents of lung drugs claim that "the Netherlands has become a wholesale supplier for illicit trade in Europe."
According to the owners of cannabis cafes in Amsterdam, if the new law is strictly applied, it will mean a return to the times of unsafe street deals.
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