Geopolitical mosaic: the United States and Britain make a list of targets in Syria, and Gorbachev’s granddaughter thinks that Europeans look at Russia through rose-colored glasses
West invade Syria? - America is waiting for failure. - A new series of terrorist attacks in Iraq. - Amos Yaron found guilty. - The secret base of British intelligence. - Nation under supervision. - Angela Merkel against the cancellation of Greek debts. - The Poles will die for the Balts. - In Bulgaria, the cemetery of the heroes of the Russian-Turkish war will be restored. - The Latvian Ministry of Health does not know what they are doing? - Association with the EU is an economic suicide of Ukraine. - And again the Russians are to blame. - Gays decree is not a decree. - Greenpeace v. Russia. - DPRK opens and criticizes. - On the "Fukushima" rubbed seams. - Problems on "Pilgrim." - The American nuclear commander grossly violated safety rules. - In the United States will be the city of racists. - American pastors were afraid of gay lawsuits. - Democracy for the elect. - Frustrated Cuban. - How Snowden got around the NSA. - Millions for Facebook. - Spying on the UN and Russians. - "Spicy materials." - Russia is "wrong." - Restructuring in the United States will begin after Obama.
West invade Syria? The Pentagon will relocate ships in the Mediterranean Sea closer to Syria. The purpose of the redeployment is to prepare a military strike if Barack Obama decides. About this, with reference to US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel writes "Washington Post", reports Alexander Samozhnev ("Russian newspaper").
As the US Secretary of Defense specified, B. Obama instructed the Pentagon to prepare possible options for a military solution to the Syrian problem.
As noted by Egor Skvortsov ("Vesti"), the strike script for Syria has already been written. Formal reason - the use of chemical weapons last wednesday.
The main role in the conflict, according to the plans of the Pentagon, must be played by opposition fighters in Syria. As for air support, then the Americans are in difficulty: the creation of a no-fly zone involves the suppression of enemy air defenses, and in Syria, the Russian C-300 systems ...
(By the way, as reported in bmpd.livejournal.com With reference to the report for the 2012 financial year of OAO Nizhny Novgorod Machine Building Plant (NMZ, which is part of OAO Concern PVO Almaz-Antey), there is data on the production and shipment of the first batch of the two divisions of ZRS C to 2012. -300PMU2 for Syria. In addition, the remaining two divisions of the designated ZRS will be shipped to the landfill and implemented in the 2013 year. It is also noted that the main volume of production for export last year fell on the manufacture of four C-300PMU2 divisions for Syria - that is, the Syrian order played an important role for the enterprise).
According to Vladislav Vorobiev ("Russian newspaper"), The Pentagon today is ready for a repetition in Syria of not just the Libyan scenario, but with impurities of the Iraqi one. True, while Obama hesitates. The wars in Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan have shown that military spending does not patch up old holes in the US budget, but creates new ones.
In addition, the next round of talks between Moscow and Washington on the convening of the Geneva-28 is scheduled for August 2. Therefore, it is possible that the events of the past few days are an act of pressure on Russia and China.
Meanwhile, aggressive plans were announced by Britain and France.
The British Navy began preparations for a joint military operation with the United States in Syria. Reports about it "Lenta.ru" with reference to The Telegraph.
It is noted that the British authorities blamed the attack on the Syrian authorities. France adheres to the same position.
RIA News" cites a statement by the head of the French Foreign Ministry, Laurent Fabius, made during his visit to Jerusalem.
The minister called the alleged use of poisonous substances in the suburbs of Damascus “the obvious responsibility of the regime”: “The chemical massacre in Syria is a clear responsibility of the regime. It cannot remain unanswered. This is the position of France, as well as other democracies. I hope that what happened will receive a decisive response. "
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, in turn, called what is happening in a neighboring country "a crime committed by the Syrian regime against its own people."
America is waiting for failure. The leadership of Western countries will not go to the military operation in Syria, said Bashar Assad. Talk about it "Vesti" with reference to an interview with Assad newspaper "Izvestia".
“The issue of the military invasion of Syria has been raised not for the first time,” said Assad. - From the very beginning of the crisis, the United States, France and the United Kingdom tried to make a military invasion, but to their misfortune the matter took a different turn. They tried to convince Russia and China to change their position in the UN Security Council, but this did not happen. They could not convince their people and the whole world that their policies in the Middle East are smart and useful. ”
If the United States decides to strike or invade the country, they are “waiting for failure, as in all previous wars they have started, starting from Vietnam to the present day,” comrade Assad said.
New series of terrorist attacks in Iraq. As a result of a series of attacks by extremists in Iraq (in the cities of Kayyara and Balad), at least 42 people died. Reports about it ITAR-TASS with reference to local media.
Responsibility for the attacks has not yet taken over any of the groups operating in Iraq. With high probability, the cause of the attacks can be called a heightened conflict between Sunnis and Shiites.
Amos Yaron found guilty. According to globalresearch.ca (translation source - Mixednews.ru), the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal from 21 to 23 August held hearings on charges of war crimes and genocide against retired Israeli army general Amos Yaron and the State of Israel.
Amos Yaron’s first charge of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide is: “As commander-in-chief of military control in the Sarb and Shatila refugee camps in Israeli-occupied Lebanon in September 1982, Defendant Amos Yaron committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. He deliberately promoted and gave permission for the massacre of the inhabitants of the two aforementioned camps, thereby violating the Hague land warfare rules established in 1907; the rules of the Fourth Geneva Convention 1949 of the Year; 1948 Genocide Convention; Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal (1945); general international law, the rules of warfare and international humanitarian law ".
According to the prosecution, the purpose of the actions of the accused was the complete or partial destruction of the people of Palestine.
As transmits 9tv.co.il, the Kuala Lumpur court found Yaron, and in his person, the State of Israel, guilty of war crimes and genocide of the Palestinian people. Amos Yaron was convicted of the deaths of the inhabitants of the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon in September 1982.
The secret base of British intelligence. British intelligence agencies have created a secret base in the Middle East, intercepting electronic correspondence, network traffic and information about the telephone calls in the region. He writes about it "Lenta.ru" with reference to The Independent.
Authorities obtain information by connecting to fiber optic cables. The collected data on Middle East users is sent to the UK Government Communications Center, which then shares information with the NSA.
"The Independent" refused to tell in more detail about this database. The publication recalled that the detailed publication of information from Snowden led to a conflict between the British authorities and the newspaper The Guardian.
As for the Guardian, there has just appeared an editorial on the harassment and abuse of freedom of speech in Britain.
Nation under supervision. Material in The Guardian (translation source - "InoSMI") is dedicated, among other things, to the fact that the nature of espionage in our time has changed, as E. Snowden told the world. “What was previously an exception has now become almost universal. The obvious goal was to take entire nations under surveillance. ”
But thanks to Snowden, the discussion began. And the Guardian got into trouble with the government pretty quickly. Fortunately, the newspaper “took some precautions and passed on some material to our colleagues from news agencies in America, where there are more powerful mechanisms to protect serious journalism. "
Thus, the continuation from Snowden will be transmitted from New York. Part of the material transferred to the New York Times.
Journalists are counting on the fact that the US Attorney General will fulfill his promise. He recently assured the public that he would not hold journalists accountable for the fact that "they are doing their job."
Government officials, the Guardian believes, should not define the boundaries of public discussions and should not limit the discussion with the help of the law, that is, “trying to criminalize the act of journalism itself — without which no discussion can begin”. As for citizens, they “have the right to protect the integrity of their personal life from the state. The state is obliged not only to ensure security, but also to protect freedom of speech. ”
The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the actions of the British government, which demanded that The Guardian destroy physical media containing copies of documents provided by Snowden. The statement of the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was published on the website of the department, writes "Lenta.ru".
The Foreign Ministry spokesman said that the actions of the British side run counter to its declared principles of adherence to universal standards in the field of human rights and media freedom.
Angela Merkel against the cancellation of Greek debts. German Chancellor opposed the cancellation of part of the debts of Greece, the channel reports "RT".
In an interview with the magazine "Focus", the head of government said that the write-off could cause a "domino effect." The willingness of private investors to invest in the eurozone can be reduced to zero.
“RT” recalls that earlier it was a question of the so-called voluntary write-off by private creditors of 50% of the debt of Greece (approximately 100 billion euros). Relevant agreements should reduce the country's debt to 2020 to the level of 120% of GDP (it is now approaching 180%). In turn, the eurozone states have pledged to provide for Greece another € 100 billion before the year 2014.
The Poles will die for the Balts. In November, the international NATO exercise “Steadfast Jazz 13” will be held in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, writes Nikolay Astrovsky ("Military-political review").
The initiator of the "Steadfast Jazz 13" - the Polish side. All the more surprised the Polish side by such a funny fact that, according to the plan of major maneuvers, it is the Polish Army that will be assigned the main role in protecting the Baltic states from the “threat from the East”.
This situation caused a strong reaction from the Ministry of National Defense and the Polish General Staff. Warsaw decided that the West had deceived her. After all, from now on, the Polish army will have to worry for its borders and help to repel aggression to the Balts.
In Poland, they realized that the country was "lurked by the prospect of a repetition of the events of September 1939, when it alone remained before the aggression of Hitler's Germany." The idea of holding “Steadfast Jazz 13” is an expression of the US strategic aspirations in the region. The Polish leadership realized (probably, suddenly) that the NATO allies "reckon only with strong alliance partners, and only so they are ready to provide military and political support."
Consequently, the North Atlantic bloc does not consider neither Lithuania, nor Latvia, nor Estonia those allies for whom the Western soldiers should die. Let the Poles perish for them - along with the Czechs, Slovaks and Hungarians.
Bulgaria will restore the cemetery of heroes of the Russian-Turkish war. Representatives of the Bulgarian and Russian business, as well as non-governmental organizations took part in the project to restore the Russian military cemetery in the park at the temple-monument of the Nativity of Christ at Shipka, reports "RG" with reference to ITAR-TASS.
Chairwoman of the Initiative Committee "Shipka" Gina Khadzhieva says: "Now all the work is in the initial stage, we have begun to clear the military cemetery from the undergrowth." In the future, new tombstones will be installed here, as the old ones have become unusable. Some graves have to be identified. ”
Latvian Ministry of Health does not know what they are doing? The largest food industry enterprises in Latvia expressed outrage at the proposal of the Ministry of Health to impose excise tax on unhealthy food, reports "RG" with reference to ITAR-TASS.
They expressed disagreement in a letter to Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis: “We want to see calculations on how this proposal will affect the food industry and the national economy as a whole, on tax revenues to the budget and the purchasing power of the population. It is unacceptable that the Ministry of Health is trying to solve the problem of lack of funds by raising taxes and introducing new ones, without realizing the consequences of their actions. ”
The text was signed by the Latvian Federation of Food Industry Enterprises.
Earlier, in order to increase the revenue side of the country's budget, the Ministry of Health of Latvia proposed imposing excise tax on unhealthy foods on the list: potato chips, popcorn, salty maize snacks, ready-made soups and broths, chocolate, chocolate and confectionery, sugar, salt, margarine, lard, etc. .
Association with the EU is an economic suicide of Ukraine. New restrictions on trade with Russia were supposed to be a warning to Ukraine from the “suicidal” step - the signing of an association agreement with the European Union. This was stated by Vladimir Putin’s chief economic adviser, Sergei Glazyev. In this regard, it is difficult to blame him for ambiguity, according to The Economist (the source of the material is "InoTV").
Under particular pressure may be Ukrainian businessman Dmitry Firtash, whose interests are closely linked with Russia. It is through him, according to some experts, that you can reach Yanukovych.
Moscow may try to act through gas. Such a scenario hits not only in Kiev, but also in the European Union.
Ukraine will not be able to wage either a trade or a gas war - and will go to an agreement, the journalist said.
By the way: the Ukrainian economy in January-June was the worst in the CIS, notes "Today.ua".
According to the State Statistics Service, the decline in GDP in the country in January-June 2013 of the year compared to the same period last year was 1,1%. The situation with industrial production is also the worst among the CIS countries: in January-June, a decrease of 5,3% to that of 2012 was noted.
As Vladimir Zykov writes (Technopolis Tomorrow), Mykola Azarov is going to Moscow. The Ukrainian delegation decided to discuss all issues relating to the rapprochement of Ukraine and the EU. Yes, just discuss something? The author notes that there were a lot of proposals from Russia: both the entry into unions, and the reconstruction of the Ukrainian pipe, and cheap gas. But Ukraine said no.
Vladimir Zykov reminds of two radar stations where "electricity often began to suddenly disappear", after which Russia refused them, having built a modern station in Voronezh. He also writes about a simulator for pilots of aircraft carriers "NITKA", for the maintenance of which Russia paid, but which for some reason turned out to be faulty. Russia built the same on its territory. The following describes the An-70 program. The plane was supposed to go to Russia, but “the Ukrainian Minister of Defense suddenly blurted out that we are not obliged to give it up - we need it ourselves. This was the last straw: instead of an order for 60 aircraft - zero. Eat yourself, and we will manage IL-476, the production of which was also withdrawn from Tashkent. And at the same time Su-25 from Tbilisi. ”
Further, the author writes:
And again the Russians are to blame. A part of the European press has long been working according to the principle: a problem has emerged - we must blame Moscow. The recent diplomatic conflict between Romania and Hungary is no exception, writes Valentin Mindreshescu ("Voice of Russia").
It seems to be impossible to blame Russia for the exacerbation of the Romanian-Hungarian relations, but German journalists could do it. As the author notes, they showed miracles of stubbornness in opposition to logic and common sense.
The journalists of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung announced that Stalin was to blame for the conflict. It was he who forced Romania to create the Hungarian autonomy in Transylvania, specifically, of course, in order to “embroil Romania and Hungary”. Autonomy was subsequently abolished, but the desire to restore it still excites Hungarian nationalists.
Journalists from another newspaper, already Austrian, Salzburger Nachrichten, added Alexander Dugin, the “ideologist of national Bolshevism,” to Stalin.
Finally, the surveys of German and Austrian journalists were translated into Romanian and published on the Deutsche Welle website. Now the Romanians are aware that everywhere you should look for the “hand of Moscow”.
Gays decree is not a decree. Vladimir Putin signed a decree implying the creation of a restricted area in Sochi, which will be in effect during the 2014 Winter Olympic Games of the year, reports "InoTV" with reference to The Daily Telegraph.
From January 7 to March 21, any “meetings, rallies, demonstrations, processions and pickets not related to the Olympic Games” will be prohibited.
However, despite the ban, representatives of the Russian LGBT community intend to organize a rally in the city, writes the French newspaper L'Express.
“President Putin’s decree on the moratorium on freedom of assembly during the Olympics in Sochi is unconstitutional. Gay Pride will still be ", - quotes "InoTV" microblogging on Twitter of gay activist Nikolai Alekseev.
Another violator, not a potential one, but a real one, was Greenpeace. No, it's not about the "blue", but about the Arctic.
Greenpeace v. Russia. As transmits "InoTV", Greenpeace icebreaker headed for the Northern Sea Route despite the ban of the Russian authorities. Environmentalists are trying to prevent the exploration of oil and gas in the Arctic, reports the Financial Times.
"We reject the illegal attempts of the Russian government to forbid us to show how dangerous it is to conduct drilling operations in the Arctic," said Christie Ferguson, head of the Greenpeace campaign in defense of the Arctic.
The DPRK opens and criticizes. According to Oleg Kiryanov ("RG"), North Korea is heading for attracting foreign visitors and developing tourism business. Tour groups will now be able to visit the Juche Country throughout the year, and not only during the “open periods”. This was reported on the Facebook page of the Koryo Travel Agency.
The company "Kore" notes that for foreigners in the DPRK are becoming more and more places available to the public.
South Korean experts believe that innovations mean attempts by the DPRK authorities to find new sources for foreign exchange. It is also possible that Kim Jong Un takes steps towards opening the country.
In another report, Oleg Kiryanov ("RG") reports that the decision of the Governments of Switzerland and Italy to refuse the DPRK to supply lifts for the ski resort has caused a negative reaction. These actions were regarded as “intolerable insult” and even “violation of the UN Charter”.
The DPRK planned to purchase lifts from Switzerland and Italy for the ski resort under construction. But at the last moment, the governments of two European countries banned exports, deciding that the supplies would violate the sanctions imposed against the DPRK: after all, the UN banned the supply of luxury goods to the DPRK, namely, the Italians and Swiss carried the ski lifts.
In a statement by the DPRK Ski Federation, the actions of the Europeans were described as “an intolerable insult against the North Korean people.” At the same time, according to Pyongyang, Europe violated the UN Charter: after all, the refusal caused suffering to the people of the DPRK. North Korean skiers, with irony, said that ski lifts are not what nuclear bombs make.
Fukushima rubbed seams. Fukushima reported the alleged causes of a recent leak of radioactive water. The release provoked rubbed seams and deflection of the reactor, writes "RT" with reference to The Australian.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. reported that the tank was re-assembled after transportation. The company said that after the assembly the reactor was tested for resistance to water. The accident could trigger the destruction of rubber joints, which should prevent the deformation of the reactor. Water flowing out of it could get into the Pacific Ocean and the soil. The company also announced a shortage of radioactive water tanks.
The Japanese Ministry of Economy, in turn, announced its intention to assist emergency nuclear power plants.
Problems with nuclear power plants began in Massachusetts (USA).
Problems on "Pilgrim." The Pilgrim nuclear power plant in Massachusetts was closed. The reason for this was a problem in the electrical system that provides pumps for water supply to cool the reactor core. Reports about it "RG" with reference to RIA "News".
According to the company’s management, “there are no threats to public security, the causes of the problems are being investigated.”
The American nuclear commander grossly violated safety rules. The command removed the post of Colonel David Lynch, the commander of the Malmstorm Air Force Base, where intercontinental ballistic missiles are located, reports RIA News" with reference to the Associated Press.
At this airbase, the 341 has a missile wing, armed with the Minuteman-3 ICBM. The decision to remove the commander of the unit, whose duties include the launch of missiles with nuclear warheads, was the result of a gross violation of the rules of security in the garrison.
In the US, the city will racists. Craig Poll Cobb, a resident of Leith (population - 19 people, state - North Dakota), is buying up abandoned houses. He wants to turn the town into a racist settlement, "RT".
Mr. Cobb will oblige anyone who buys the land to hang the Nazi flag in the yard. The city will be renamed "Cobbswil".
It is noteworthy that the Leith administration had no idea about Cobbs’s plans. “I had no idea who he was until he bought the house for $ 5 thousand in cash, without even asking what his condition and what he looked like when he learned that he was on his way to Leith,” said the city’s mayor Ryan Shock .
According to Cobb, supporters of the domination of the white race should live in the town. He propagandizes his go online: “To begin with, we could declare the city closed to illegal immigrants from Mexico and Israeli spies. If journalists or opponents of such a device try to create problems for us, this can be considered a violation of our laws, and then they will be arrested. ”
Cobb erected a concrete prison on the territory of the town: guilty journalists would be put in there.
American pastors were afraid of gay lawsuits. In religious institutions of the United States urgently change the statutes: make there the instructions of the Bible, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. This tells "Reedus"referring to the Associated Press.
Priests fear that otherwise they will be overwhelmed with lawsuits. Some churches believe that legal proceedings are only a matter of time.
“I have always believed that marriage is a union between one man and one woman, but the Supreme Court considers otherwise,” said Gregory S. Erwin, a representative of the Association of Southern Baptist Churches. “I think it is better to prepare, because the law is changing. America is changing, ”he added.
Democracy for the elect. The authorities of Columbia (South Carolina) adopted a law imposing restrictions on the movement of the homeless in the city. From now on, the entry into the business part of the city was ordered to the homeless. The territory will be patrolled by the police, all violators will be delayed, reports fbii.org.
The creation of a similar zone in Columbia is the most serious restriction of homeless rights over the past 30 years. This was stated by Michael Staps, an activist of the National Coalition for the Homeless.
The city authorities have promised to pay the costs of 24-hour shelters, but Columbia’s shelters have only 240 beds, and the number of homeless people in the city is almost 6 times more. In addition, the rules by which shelters operate are not much different from prison facilities: a person is deprived of the right to leave these establishments without the permission of the administration.
"Electoral democracy" also operates in Miami, Tampa and Paolo Alta: homeless people there have also been barred from being in the city.
Frustrated Cuban. Edward Snowden changed his plans to fly from Moscow to one of the countries of Latin America after the threat of Cuba to refuse to land the Aeroflot plane. About this, pass "Vesti" With reference to Interfax, writes the newspaper Kommersant.
According to newspaper sources, Cuban authorities, under pressure from the United States, informed Moscow that Aeroflot’s plane would not be allowed to land in Havana if Snowden was on board. In this case, the source of the publication, close to the State Department, confirmed: Cuba was indeed among the states whose authorities received a warning from the United States that any assistance provided to Edward Snowden would cause "undesirable consequences."
A source in the Russian government explained to Kommersant that the American spent two days in the Russian embassy in Hong Kong. He applied there himself, stating that he intended to seek asylum in one of the countries of Latin America, and presenting an Aeroflot ticket to Havana via Moscow on 23 June.
How Snowden went around the NSA. The US government is trying to determine which NSA's classified documents are in Snowden’s possession, but the whistleblower hid traces by circumventing the security programs, reports "RT".
Snowden erased entries in the logging system, reports the Associated Press.
The fact that the NSA is still unable to establish exactly what documents Snowden has stolen, calls into question Obama's statement that all information received by the NSA is carefully guarded.
"RT" recalls that the National Security Agency has already acknowledged the facts of deliberately exceeding the authority of its specialists when tracking communications.
Millions for Facebook. Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Yahoo all get millions of dollars from the NSA for helping to keep track of users. This is evidenced by the latest data released in the media by Snowden. This is the first direct evidence of financial transactions between network giants and US intelligence. Details - in the report corr. "RT" Marina Portnoy.
According to the court’s decision, declassified by the Obama administration, the NSA could not separate US domestic traffic from foreign traffic. The Agency has now begun work on a solution to a process deemed illegal.
The network giants Facebook, Microsoft, Google and Yahoo allegedly incurred costs due to new requests for access: the entire process cost PRISM participants millions of dollars. These costs were covered by the NSA Special Sources Division.
According to The Guardian, Snowden described this division as "the most important section of the NSA." Such an exposure is direct evidence of the existence of financial relations between network companies and the NSA. Taxpayers' money was used to cover the costs of companies.
A Yahoo representative has already admitted that the company requested reimbursement of expenses "in accordance with the law." Facebook stated that they had never received financial compensation from the government for facilitating data provision. As for Google, the giant did not answer the newspaper’s questions. "Microsoft" refused to give an answer under the record.
Spying on the UN and Russians. New data on the US surveillance program from Snowden published the magazine Spiegel. The NSA collected intelligence from EU offices and even had access to UN videoconferences. At the top of the list of priority targets for espionage were, of course, Russia and China. This is reported by the channel "RT".
The German edition has published a table that lists US surveillance targets. The most important were Russia, China, Iran and the DPRK.
The next priority is recognized by the UN. Information about the foreign policy of an international organization is received by employees of aenbashniki who work undercover there. Employees of special services penetrated into the internal network of the organization. One of the documents explicitly states: “The data stream gives us access to UN internal videoconferences, hurray.”
The EU missions to the UN in New York and Washington came under the gun of the special services. Through the "bugs" in the building of the organization, the NSA gained access to digital media.
"Spicy materials." Representatives of the NSA followed their lovers, using the code word "Love-int" for "piquant materials", writes "RT".
Spying on spouses began when they left the United States. For the year of such cases of violation of privacy has accumulated more than 3 thousands, reports «Associated Press».
The head of the National Security Agency, John Delong, didn’t find anything better than to say that listening to most private calls was happening "by mistake." True, according to him, there were also violations that were made intentionally.
Russia is "wrong." Many people, both inside and outside Russia, are wondering “where does the country go,” writes Scott Belinsky, an American expert living in Moscow, on the pages of The Hill. In his opinion, notes "InoTV", "Everyone agrees on one thing: Russia has chosen the wrong course."
Having returned to power, Putin “tightens his screws more and more”, striving, “according to some commentators — for example, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — to create a new USSR,” notes Belinsky. Moreover, the expert continues, Putin has already “restored the one-party system” in Russia.
Worsening relations between Washington and Moscow also testify to the return of the Soviet order. Their tensions "have reached their highest levels since the end of the Cold War," continues Belinsky. Especially the cold war reminds the author of the arrival in Moscow of Edward Snowden.
But the most "obvious and creepy example of the slide of Russia to the Soviet Union," Belinski calls "attempts to restore the former territorial greatness." With this supposed purpose, Moscow created the Customs Union in 2010, which will clearly be under the control of Russia.
Moscow seeks to expand the alliance to the west. However, "the states that join the CU are unlikely to do this of their own free will." Thus, Ukraine, the author writes, “is daily forced to bear the pressure of Russia, forcing Kiev to join the union.”
What should the West do?
And he needs to “take preventive measures to stimulate democracy in the post-Soviet space,” says Belinsky.
Another picture of the western vision of Russian realities is given by the Canada Free Press resource (a Russian-language source - "InoTV").
Some American conservative political analysts began to look at Putin with admiration. The Canada Free Press has decided to open the eyes of readers to the true state of affairs in Putin’s Russia: after all, Washington has nothing to borrow from Moscow.
Russia has been called “an authoritarian regime that, according to the index of democracy, is in the 122 position in the world (from the 167 possible)”. Libya, Iraq, Algeria and Nigeria are higher in this list, and Russia's indicator of democracy is only slightly better than Ethiopia, Cuba, Rwanda and Angola.
Since the middle of the 1990-s in Russia, the level of freedom of speech, assembly and the media has decreased, and corruption has increased. In terms of the perception of corruption, freedom of the press and economic freedoms, Russia in each rating is among the last forty countries.
“Canada Free Press” summarizes: America should look for answers to questions in the works of its founding fathers, and “not from a cheap Eurasian gangster”.
Finally, an additional touch to the picture of Russia was given by the granddaughter of Mr. Gorbachev.
Ksenia Gorbachev is trying to stay away from politics, however, in an interview with Die Welt, she somehow spoke about the situation in Russia. Her words leads "InoTV". Granddaughter was primarily concerned about the situation of gays.
“Now in Russia, gays are not just intimidated, but also killed. Initially, the state should take care not to kill people because of hair color, race or sexual orientation, but in Russia it's the other way around, ”she said.
The main thing in her statement, it seems, were the words that the inhabitants of Europe (in particular, Germany) have completely wrong ideas about Russia. According to the granddaughter of M. S., Europeans look at the country through "rose-colored glasses."
The newspaper reminds that Ksenia Gorbacheva is the chief editor of the fashion magazine “L'Officiel Russia”.
Restructuring in the United States will begin after Obama. As noted by "American Thinker" (source material - "InoTV"), geopolitical players are beginning to focus not on the United States, but on Russia.
The publication believes that there are several reasons for this: 1) Russia is starting to position itself as a defender of Christianity; 2) taking into account good relations with Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria, Russia can play the role of a peacemaker in the region; 3) Russia is the only state with a nuclear potential capable of protecting itself and its allies and holding back enemies.
Then the magazine compares Putin with Peter I: after all, the Russian leader is rebuilding the country after decades of imperial excesses and decline. Putin is a good leader, writes the publication.
“If, during the Soviet empire, the rise of Russia would be perceived as very bad news,” now, the magazine writes, it would rather give the United States the opportunity to deal with its internal problems. The United States could begin with the introduction of Putin's single income tax. After all, “this idea originally appeared in America, but our political class treats it with undisguised contempt. If this tax is successful in Russia, wait for new publicity and restructuring, but this time in America amid the return of our ideas from abroad. It seems that after Obama we will need it, ”- writes with irony“ American Thinker ”.
Thus, let us add, the closeness of “perestroika” in the United States, as it turned out, is seen not only by Russian analysts, but also by American analysts. If Hillary Clinton, for example, takes up “acceleration” and “publicity” in the United States in 2017, for example, the results that Mikhail Sergeyevich has achieved in the USSR will historically fade.
West invade Syria? The Pentagon will relocate ships in the Mediterranean Sea closer to Syria. The purpose of the redeployment is to prepare a military strike if Barack Obama decides. About this, with reference to US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel writes "Washington Post", reports Alexander Samozhnev ("Russian newspaper").
As the US Secretary of Defense specified, B. Obama instructed the Pentagon to prepare possible options for a military solution to the Syrian problem.
As noted by Egor Skvortsov ("Vesti"), the strike script for Syria has already been written. Formal reason - the use of chemical weapons last wednesday.
The main role in the conflict, according to the plans of the Pentagon, must be played by opposition fighters in Syria. As for air support, then the Americans are in difficulty: the creation of a no-fly zone involves the suppression of enemy air defenses, and in Syria, the Russian C-300 systems ...
(By the way, as reported in bmpd.livejournal.com With reference to the report for the 2012 financial year of OAO Nizhny Novgorod Machine Building Plant (NMZ, which is part of OAO Concern PVO Almaz-Antey), there is data on the production and shipment of the first batch of the two divisions of ZRS C to 2012. -300PMU2 for Syria. In addition, the remaining two divisions of the designated ZRS will be shipped to the landfill and implemented in the 2013 year. It is also noted that the main volume of production for export last year fell on the manufacture of four C-300PMU2 divisions for Syria - that is, the Syrian order played an important role for the enterprise).
According to Vladislav Vorobiev ("Russian newspaper"), The Pentagon today is ready for a repetition in Syria of not just the Libyan scenario, but with impurities of the Iraqi one. True, while Obama hesitates. The wars in Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan have shown that military spending does not patch up old holes in the US budget, but creates new ones.
In addition, the next round of talks between Moscow and Washington on the convening of the Geneva-28 is scheduled for August 2. Therefore, it is possible that the events of the past few days are an act of pressure on Russia and China.
Meanwhile, aggressive plans were announced by Britain and France.
The British Navy began preparations for a joint military operation with the United States in Syria. Reports about it "Lenta.ru" with reference to The Telegraph.
It is noted that the British authorities blamed the attack on the Syrian authorities. France adheres to the same position.
RIA News" cites a statement by the head of the French Foreign Ministry, Laurent Fabius, made during his visit to Jerusalem.
The minister called the alleged use of poisonous substances in the suburbs of Damascus “the obvious responsibility of the regime”: “The chemical massacre in Syria is a clear responsibility of the regime. It cannot remain unanswered. This is the position of France, as well as other democracies. I hope that what happened will receive a decisive response. "
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, in turn, called what is happening in a neighboring country "a crime committed by the Syrian regime against its own people."
America is waiting for failure. The leadership of Western countries will not go to the military operation in Syria, said Bashar Assad. Talk about it "Vesti" with reference to an interview with Assad newspaper "Izvestia".
“The issue of the military invasion of Syria has been raised not for the first time,” said Assad. - From the very beginning of the crisis, the United States, France and the United Kingdom tried to make a military invasion, but to their misfortune the matter took a different turn. They tried to convince Russia and China to change their position in the UN Security Council, but this did not happen. They could not convince their people and the whole world that their policies in the Middle East are smart and useful. ”
If the United States decides to strike or invade the country, they are “waiting for failure, as in all previous wars they have started, starting from Vietnam to the present day,” comrade Assad said.
New series of terrorist attacks in Iraq. As a result of a series of attacks by extremists in Iraq (in the cities of Kayyara and Balad), at least 42 people died. Reports about it ITAR-TASS with reference to local media.
Responsibility for the attacks has not yet taken over any of the groups operating in Iraq. With high probability, the cause of the attacks can be called a heightened conflict between Sunnis and Shiites.
Amos Yaron found guilty. According to globalresearch.ca (translation source - Mixednews.ru), the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal from 21 to 23 August held hearings on charges of war crimes and genocide against retired Israeli army general Amos Yaron and the State of Israel.
Amos Yaron’s first charge of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide is: “As commander-in-chief of military control in the Sarb and Shatila refugee camps in Israeli-occupied Lebanon in September 1982, Defendant Amos Yaron committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. He deliberately promoted and gave permission for the massacre of the inhabitants of the two aforementioned camps, thereby violating the Hague land warfare rules established in 1907; the rules of the Fourth Geneva Convention 1949 of the Year; 1948 Genocide Convention; Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal (1945); general international law, the rules of warfare and international humanitarian law ".
According to the prosecution, the purpose of the actions of the accused was the complete or partial destruction of the people of Palestine.
As transmits 9tv.co.il, the Kuala Lumpur court found Yaron, and in his person, the State of Israel, guilty of war crimes and genocide of the Palestinian people. Amos Yaron was convicted of the deaths of the inhabitants of the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon in September 1982.
The secret base of British intelligence. British intelligence agencies have created a secret base in the Middle East, intercepting electronic correspondence, network traffic and information about the telephone calls in the region. He writes about it "Lenta.ru" with reference to The Independent.
Authorities obtain information by connecting to fiber optic cables. The collected data on Middle East users is sent to the UK Government Communications Center, which then shares information with the NSA.
"The Independent" refused to tell in more detail about this database. The publication recalled that the detailed publication of information from Snowden led to a conflict between the British authorities and the newspaper The Guardian.
As for the Guardian, there has just appeared an editorial on the harassment and abuse of freedom of speech in Britain.
Nation under supervision. Material in The Guardian (translation source - "InoSMI") is dedicated, among other things, to the fact that the nature of espionage in our time has changed, as E. Snowden told the world. “What was previously an exception has now become almost universal. The obvious goal was to take entire nations under surveillance. ”
“Have governments ever thought about such a concept as consent?” Didn't it occur to engineers, heads of intelligence, ministers, congressmen and presidents that such serious changes in the contract between the state and the citizens require some discussion? ”
But thanks to Snowden, the discussion began. And the Guardian got into trouble with the government pretty quickly. Fortunately, the newspaper “took some precautions and passed on some material to our colleagues from news agencies in America, where there are more powerful mechanisms to protect serious journalism. "
Thus, the continuation from Snowden will be transmitted from New York. Part of the material transferred to the New York Times.
Journalists are counting on the fact that the US Attorney General will fulfill his promise. He recently assured the public that he would not hold journalists accountable for the fact that "they are doing their job."
Government officials, the Guardian believes, should not define the boundaries of public discussions and should not limit the discussion with the help of the law, that is, “trying to criminalize the act of journalism itself — without which no discussion can begin”. As for citizens, they “have the right to protect the integrity of their personal life from the state. The state is obliged not only to ensure security, but also to protect freedom of speech. ”
The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the actions of the British government, which demanded that The Guardian destroy physical media containing copies of documents provided by Snowden. The statement of the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was published on the website of the department, writes "Lenta.ru".
The Foreign Ministry spokesman said that the actions of the British side run counter to its declared principles of adherence to universal standards in the field of human rights and media freedom.
Angela Merkel against the cancellation of Greek debts. German Chancellor opposed the cancellation of part of the debts of Greece, the channel reports "RT".
In an interview with the magazine "Focus", the head of government said that the write-off could cause a "domino effect." The willingness of private investors to invest in the eurozone can be reduced to zero.
“RT” recalls that earlier it was a question of the so-called voluntary write-off by private creditors of 50% of the debt of Greece (approximately 100 billion euros). Relevant agreements should reduce the country's debt to 2020 to the level of 120% of GDP (it is now approaching 180%). In turn, the eurozone states have pledged to provide for Greece another € 100 billion before the year 2014.
The Poles will die for the Balts. In November, the international NATO exercise “Steadfast Jazz 13” will be held in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, writes Nikolay Astrovsky ("Military-political review").
The initiator of the "Steadfast Jazz 13" - the Polish side. All the more surprised the Polish side by such a funny fact that, according to the plan of major maneuvers, it is the Polish Army that will be assigned the main role in protecting the Baltic states from the “threat from the East”.
This situation caused a strong reaction from the Ministry of National Defense and the Polish General Staff. Warsaw decided that the West had deceived her. After all, from now on, the Polish army will have to worry for its borders and help to repel aggression to the Balts.
In Poland, they realized that the country was "lurked by the prospect of a repetition of the events of September 1939, when it alone remained before the aggression of Hitler's Germany." The idea of holding “Steadfast Jazz 13” is an expression of the US strategic aspirations in the region. The Polish leadership realized (probably, suddenly) that the NATO allies "reckon only with strong alliance partners, and only so they are ready to provide military and political support."
Consequently, the North Atlantic bloc does not consider neither Lithuania, nor Latvia, nor Estonia those allies for whom the Western soldiers should die. Let the Poles perish for them - along with the Czechs, Slovaks and Hungarians.
Bulgaria will restore the cemetery of heroes of the Russian-Turkish war. Representatives of the Bulgarian and Russian business, as well as non-governmental organizations took part in the project to restore the Russian military cemetery in the park at the temple-monument of the Nativity of Christ at Shipka, reports "RG" with reference to ITAR-TASS.
Chairwoman of the Initiative Committee "Shipka" Gina Khadzhieva says: "Now all the work is in the initial stage, we have begun to clear the military cemetery from the undergrowth." In the future, new tombstones will be installed here, as the old ones have become unusable. Some graves have to be identified. ”
Latvian Ministry of Health does not know what they are doing? The largest food industry enterprises in Latvia expressed outrage at the proposal of the Ministry of Health to impose excise tax on unhealthy food, reports "RG" with reference to ITAR-TASS.
They expressed disagreement in a letter to Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis: “We want to see calculations on how this proposal will affect the food industry and the national economy as a whole, on tax revenues to the budget and the purchasing power of the population. It is unacceptable that the Ministry of Health is trying to solve the problem of lack of funds by raising taxes and introducing new ones, without realizing the consequences of their actions. ”
The text was signed by the Latvian Federation of Food Industry Enterprises.
Earlier, in order to increase the revenue side of the country's budget, the Ministry of Health of Latvia proposed imposing excise tax on unhealthy foods on the list: potato chips, popcorn, salty maize snacks, ready-made soups and broths, chocolate, chocolate and confectionery, sugar, salt, margarine, lard, etc. .
Association with the EU is an economic suicide of Ukraine. New restrictions on trade with Russia were supposed to be a warning to Ukraine from the “suicidal” step - the signing of an association agreement with the European Union. This was stated by Vladimir Putin’s chief economic adviser, Sergei Glazyev. In this regard, it is difficult to blame him for ambiguity, according to The Economist (the source of the material is "InoTV").
Under particular pressure may be Ukrainian businessman Dmitry Firtash, whose interests are closely linked with Russia. It is through him, according to some experts, that you can reach Yanukovych.
Moscow may try to act through gas. Such a scenario hits not only in Kiev, but also in the European Union.
Ukraine will not be able to wage either a trade or a gas war - and will go to an agreement, the journalist said.
By the way: the Ukrainian economy in January-June was the worst in the CIS, notes "Today.ua".
According to the State Statistics Service, the decline in GDP in the country in January-June 2013 of the year compared to the same period last year was 1,1%. The situation with industrial production is also the worst among the CIS countries: in January-June, a decrease of 5,3% to that of 2012 was noted.
As Vladimir Zykov writes (Technopolis Tomorrow), Mykola Azarov is going to Moscow. The Ukrainian delegation decided to discuss all issues relating to the rapprochement of Ukraine and the EU. Yes, just discuss something? The author notes that there were a lot of proposals from Russia: both the entry into unions, and the reconstruction of the Ukrainian pipe, and cheap gas. But Ukraine said no.
Vladimir Zykov reminds of two radar stations where "electricity often began to suddenly disappear", after which Russia refused them, having built a modern station in Voronezh. He also writes about a simulator for pilots of aircraft carriers "NITKA", for the maintenance of which Russia paid, but which for some reason turned out to be faulty. Russia built the same on its territory. The following describes the An-70 program. The plane was supposed to go to Russia, but “the Ukrainian Minister of Defense suddenly blurted out that we are not obliged to give it up - we need it ourselves. This was the last straw: instead of an order for 60 aircraft - zero. Eat yourself, and we will manage IL-476, the production of which was also withdrawn from Tashkent. And at the same time Su-25 from Tbilisi. ”
“Well, the replacement of the Ukrainian“ Satan ”is now being developed at the Moscow Institute of heat engineering. Orders, of course, will not be placed in Dnepropetrovsk. ”
Further, the author writes:
“... But even by these examples, it is clear how much damage Ukraine caused Russia, and quite deliberately. Each new plant is a cost of billions of dollars. And now go to Moscow to ask for something? Is it not clear what they say?
Ukraine is no longer needed by Russia as a trading partner; it is not needed economically. And no one will feed 45 to millions of unattractive and largely hostile-minded population. Want to Europe - please, but not at our expense. ”
Ukraine is no longer needed by Russia as a trading partner; it is not needed economically. And no one will feed 45 to millions of unattractive and largely hostile-minded population. Want to Europe - please, but not at our expense. ”
And again the Russians are to blame. A part of the European press has long been working according to the principle: a problem has emerged - we must blame Moscow. The recent diplomatic conflict between Romania and Hungary is no exception, writes Valentin Mindreshescu ("Voice of Russia").
It seems to be impossible to blame Russia for the exacerbation of the Romanian-Hungarian relations, but German journalists could do it. As the author notes, they showed miracles of stubbornness in opposition to logic and common sense.
The journalists of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung announced that Stalin was to blame for the conflict. It was he who forced Romania to create the Hungarian autonomy in Transylvania, specifically, of course, in order to “embroil Romania and Hungary”. Autonomy was subsequently abolished, but the desire to restore it still excites Hungarian nationalists.
Journalists from another newspaper, already Austrian, Salzburger Nachrichten, added Alexander Dugin, the “ideologist of national Bolshevism,” to Stalin.
Finally, the surveys of German and Austrian journalists were translated into Romanian and published on the Deutsche Welle website. Now the Romanians are aware that everywhere you should look for the “hand of Moscow”.
Gays decree is not a decree. Vladimir Putin signed a decree implying the creation of a restricted area in Sochi, which will be in effect during the 2014 Winter Olympic Games of the year, reports "InoTV" with reference to The Daily Telegraph.
From January 7 to March 21, any “meetings, rallies, demonstrations, processions and pickets not related to the Olympic Games” will be prohibited.
However, despite the ban, representatives of the Russian LGBT community intend to organize a rally in the city, writes the French newspaper L'Express.
“President Putin’s decree on the moratorium on freedom of assembly during the Olympics in Sochi is unconstitutional. Gay Pride will still be ", - quotes "InoTV" microblogging on Twitter of gay activist Nikolai Alekseev.
Another violator, not a potential one, but a real one, was Greenpeace. No, it's not about the "blue", but about the Arctic.
Greenpeace v. Russia. As transmits "InoTV", Greenpeace icebreaker headed for the Northern Sea Route despite the ban of the Russian authorities. Environmentalists are trying to prevent the exploration of oil and gas in the Arctic, reports the Financial Times.
"We reject the illegal attempts of the Russian government to forbid us to show how dangerous it is to conduct drilling operations in the Arctic," said Christie Ferguson, head of the Greenpeace campaign in defense of the Arctic.
The DPRK opens and criticizes. According to Oleg Kiryanov ("RG"), North Korea is heading for attracting foreign visitors and developing tourism business. Tour groups will now be able to visit the Juche Country throughout the year, and not only during the “open periods”. This was reported on the Facebook page of the Koryo Travel Agency.
The company "Kore" notes that for foreigners in the DPRK are becoming more and more places available to the public.
South Korean experts believe that innovations mean attempts by the DPRK authorities to find new sources for foreign exchange. It is also possible that Kim Jong Un takes steps towards opening the country.
In another report, Oleg Kiryanov ("RG") reports that the decision of the Governments of Switzerland and Italy to refuse the DPRK to supply lifts for the ski resort has caused a negative reaction. These actions were regarded as “intolerable insult” and even “violation of the UN Charter”.
The DPRK planned to purchase lifts from Switzerland and Italy for the ski resort under construction. But at the last moment, the governments of two European countries banned exports, deciding that the supplies would violate the sanctions imposed against the DPRK: after all, the UN banned the supply of luxury goods to the DPRK, namely, the Italians and Swiss carried the ski lifts.
In a statement by the DPRK Ski Federation, the actions of the Europeans were described as “an intolerable insult against the North Korean people.” At the same time, according to Pyongyang, Europe violated the UN Charter: after all, the refusal caused suffering to the people of the DPRK. North Korean skiers, with irony, said that ski lifts are not what nuclear bombs make.
Fukushima rubbed seams. Fukushima reported the alleged causes of a recent leak of radioactive water. The release provoked rubbed seams and deflection of the reactor, writes "RT" with reference to The Australian.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. reported that the tank was re-assembled after transportation. The company said that after the assembly the reactor was tested for resistance to water. The accident could trigger the destruction of rubber joints, which should prevent the deformation of the reactor. Water flowing out of it could get into the Pacific Ocean and the soil. The company also announced a shortage of radioactive water tanks.
The Japanese Ministry of Economy, in turn, announced its intention to assist emergency nuclear power plants.
Problems with nuclear power plants began in Massachusetts (USA).
Problems on "Pilgrim." The Pilgrim nuclear power plant in Massachusetts was closed. The reason for this was a problem in the electrical system that provides pumps for water supply to cool the reactor core. Reports about it "RG" with reference to RIA "News".
According to the company’s management, “there are no threats to public security, the causes of the problems are being investigated.”
The American nuclear commander grossly violated safety rules. The command removed the post of Colonel David Lynch, the commander of the Malmstorm Air Force Base, where intercontinental ballistic missiles are located, reports RIA News" with reference to the Associated Press.
At this airbase, the 341 has a missile wing, armed with the Minuteman-3 ICBM. The decision to remove the commander of the unit, whose duties include the launch of missiles with nuclear warheads, was the result of a gross violation of the rules of security in the garrison.
In the US, the city will racists. Craig Poll Cobb, a resident of Leith (population - 19 people, state - North Dakota), is buying up abandoned houses. He wants to turn the town into a racist settlement, "RT".
Mr. Cobb will oblige anyone who buys the land to hang the Nazi flag in the yard. The city will be renamed "Cobbswil".
It is noteworthy that the Leith administration had no idea about Cobbs’s plans. “I had no idea who he was until he bought the house for $ 5 thousand in cash, without even asking what his condition and what he looked like when he learned that he was on his way to Leith,” said the city’s mayor Ryan Shock .
According to Cobb, supporters of the domination of the white race should live in the town. He propagandizes his go online: “To begin with, we could declare the city closed to illegal immigrants from Mexico and Israeli spies. If journalists or opponents of such a device try to create problems for us, this can be considered a violation of our laws, and then they will be arrested. ”
Cobb erected a concrete prison on the territory of the town: guilty journalists would be put in there.
American pastors were afraid of gay lawsuits. In religious institutions of the United States urgently change the statutes: make there the instructions of the Bible, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. This tells "Reedus"referring to the Associated Press.
Priests fear that otherwise they will be overwhelmed with lawsuits. Some churches believe that legal proceedings are only a matter of time.
“I have always believed that marriage is a union between one man and one woman, but the Supreme Court considers otherwise,” said Gregory S. Erwin, a representative of the Association of Southern Baptist Churches. “I think it is better to prepare, because the law is changing. America is changing, ”he added.
Democracy for the elect. The authorities of Columbia (South Carolina) adopted a law imposing restrictions on the movement of the homeless in the city. From now on, the entry into the business part of the city was ordered to the homeless. The territory will be patrolled by the police, all violators will be delayed, reports fbii.org.
The creation of a similar zone in Columbia is the most serious restriction of homeless rights over the past 30 years. This was stated by Michael Staps, an activist of the National Coalition for the Homeless.
The city authorities have promised to pay the costs of 24-hour shelters, but Columbia’s shelters have only 240 beds, and the number of homeless people in the city is almost 6 times more. In addition, the rules by which shelters operate are not much different from prison facilities: a person is deprived of the right to leave these establishments without the permission of the administration.
"Electoral democracy" also operates in Miami, Tampa and Paolo Alta: homeless people there have also been barred from being in the city.
Frustrated Cuban. Edward Snowden changed his plans to fly from Moscow to one of the countries of Latin America after the threat of Cuba to refuse to land the Aeroflot plane. About this, pass "Vesti" With reference to Interfax, writes the newspaper Kommersant.
According to newspaper sources, Cuban authorities, under pressure from the United States, informed Moscow that Aeroflot’s plane would not be allowed to land in Havana if Snowden was on board. In this case, the source of the publication, close to the State Department, confirmed: Cuba was indeed among the states whose authorities received a warning from the United States that any assistance provided to Edward Snowden would cause "undesirable consequences."
A source in the Russian government explained to Kommersant that the American spent two days in the Russian embassy in Hong Kong. He applied there himself, stating that he intended to seek asylum in one of the countries of Latin America, and presenting an Aeroflot ticket to Havana via Moscow on 23 June.
How Snowden went around the NSA. The US government is trying to determine which NSA's classified documents are in Snowden’s possession, but the whistleblower hid traces by circumventing the security programs, reports "RT".
Snowden erased entries in the logging system, reports the Associated Press.
The fact that the NSA is still unable to establish exactly what documents Snowden has stolen, calls into question Obama's statement that all information received by the NSA is carefully guarded.
"RT" recalls that the National Security Agency has already acknowledged the facts of deliberately exceeding the authority of its specialists when tracking communications.
Millions for Facebook. Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Yahoo all get millions of dollars from the NSA for helping to keep track of users. This is evidenced by the latest data released in the media by Snowden. This is the first direct evidence of financial transactions between network giants and US intelligence. Details - in the report corr. "RT" Marina Portnoy.
According to the court’s decision, declassified by the Obama administration, the NSA could not separate US domestic traffic from foreign traffic. The Agency has now begun work on a solution to a process deemed illegal.
The network giants Facebook, Microsoft, Google and Yahoo allegedly incurred costs due to new requests for access: the entire process cost PRISM participants millions of dollars. These costs were covered by the NSA Special Sources Division.
According to The Guardian, Snowden described this division as "the most important section of the NSA." Such an exposure is direct evidence of the existence of financial relations between network companies and the NSA. Taxpayers' money was used to cover the costs of companies.
A Yahoo representative has already admitted that the company requested reimbursement of expenses "in accordance with the law." Facebook stated that they had never received financial compensation from the government for facilitating data provision. As for Google, the giant did not answer the newspaper’s questions. "Microsoft" refused to give an answer under the record.
Spying on the UN and Russians. New data on the US surveillance program from Snowden published the magazine Spiegel. The NSA collected intelligence from EU offices and even had access to UN videoconferences. At the top of the list of priority targets for espionage were, of course, Russia and China. This is reported by the channel "RT".
The German edition has published a table that lists US surveillance targets. The most important were Russia, China, Iran and the DPRK.
The next priority is recognized by the UN. Information about the foreign policy of an international organization is received by employees of aenbashniki who work undercover there. Employees of special services penetrated into the internal network of the organization. One of the documents explicitly states: “The data stream gives us access to UN internal videoconferences, hurray.”
The EU missions to the UN in New York and Washington came under the gun of the special services. Through the "bugs" in the building of the organization, the NSA gained access to digital media.
"Spicy materials." Representatives of the NSA followed their lovers, using the code word "Love-int" for "piquant materials", writes "RT".
Spying on spouses began when they left the United States. For the year of such cases of violation of privacy has accumulated more than 3 thousands, reports «Associated Press».
The head of the National Security Agency, John Delong, didn’t find anything better than to say that listening to most private calls was happening "by mistake." True, according to him, there were also violations that were made intentionally.
Russia is "wrong." Many people, both inside and outside Russia, are wondering “where does the country go,” writes Scott Belinsky, an American expert living in Moscow, on the pages of The Hill. In his opinion, notes "InoTV", "Everyone agrees on one thing: Russia has chosen the wrong course."
Having returned to power, Putin “tightens his screws more and more”, striving, “according to some commentators — for example, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — to create a new USSR,” notes Belinsky. Moreover, the expert continues, Putin has already “restored the one-party system” in Russia.
Worsening relations between Washington and Moscow also testify to the return of the Soviet order. Their tensions "have reached their highest levels since the end of the Cold War," continues Belinsky. Especially the cold war reminds the author of the arrival in Moscow of Edward Snowden.
But the most "obvious and creepy example of the slide of Russia to the Soviet Union," Belinski calls "attempts to restore the former territorial greatness." With this supposed purpose, Moscow created the Customs Union in 2010, which will clearly be under the control of Russia.
Moscow seeks to expand the alliance to the west. However, "the states that join the CU are unlikely to do this of their own free will." Thus, Ukraine, the author writes, “is daily forced to bear the pressure of Russia, forcing Kiev to join the union.”
What should the West do?
And he needs to “take preventive measures to stimulate democracy in the post-Soviet space,” says Belinsky.
Another picture of the western vision of Russian realities is given by the Canada Free Press resource (a Russian-language source - "InoTV").
Some American conservative political analysts began to look at Putin with admiration. The Canada Free Press has decided to open the eyes of readers to the true state of affairs in Putin’s Russia: after all, Washington has nothing to borrow from Moscow.
Russia has been called “an authoritarian regime that, according to the index of democracy, is in the 122 position in the world (from the 167 possible)”. Libya, Iraq, Algeria and Nigeria are higher in this list, and Russia's indicator of democracy is only slightly better than Ethiopia, Cuba, Rwanda and Angola.
Since the middle of the 1990-s in Russia, the level of freedom of speech, assembly and the media has decreased, and corruption has increased. In terms of the perception of corruption, freedom of the press and economic freedoms, Russia in each rating is among the last forty countries.
“Canada Free Press” summarizes: America should look for answers to questions in the works of its founding fathers, and “not from a cheap Eurasian gangster”.
Finally, an additional touch to the picture of Russia was given by the granddaughter of Mr. Gorbachev.
Ksenia Gorbachev is trying to stay away from politics, however, in an interview with Die Welt, she somehow spoke about the situation in Russia. Her words leads "InoTV". Granddaughter was primarily concerned about the situation of gays.
“Now in Russia, gays are not just intimidated, but also killed. Initially, the state should take care not to kill people because of hair color, race or sexual orientation, but in Russia it's the other way around, ”she said.
The main thing in her statement, it seems, were the words that the inhabitants of Europe (in particular, Germany) have completely wrong ideas about Russia. According to the granddaughter of M. S., Europeans look at the country through "rose-colored glasses."
The newspaper reminds that Ksenia Gorbacheva is the chief editor of the fashion magazine “L'Officiel Russia”.
Restructuring in the United States will begin after Obama. As noted by "American Thinker" (source material - "InoTV"), geopolitical players are beginning to focus not on the United States, but on Russia.
The publication believes that there are several reasons for this: 1) Russia is starting to position itself as a defender of Christianity; 2) taking into account good relations with Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria, Russia can play the role of a peacemaker in the region; 3) Russia is the only state with a nuclear potential capable of protecting itself and its allies and holding back enemies.
Then the magazine compares Putin with Peter I: after all, the Russian leader is rebuilding the country after decades of imperial excesses and decline. Putin is a good leader, writes the publication.
“If, during the Soviet empire, the rise of Russia would be perceived as very bad news,” now, the magazine writes, it would rather give the United States the opportunity to deal with its internal problems. The United States could begin with the introduction of Putin's single income tax. After all, “this idea originally appeared in America, but our political class treats it with undisguised contempt. If this tax is successful in Russia, wait for new publicity and restructuring, but this time in America amid the return of our ideas from abroad. It seems that after Obama we will need it, ”- writes with irony“ American Thinker ”.
Thus, let us add, the closeness of “perestroika” in the United States, as it turned out, is seen not only by Russian analysts, but also by American analysts. If Hillary Clinton, for example, takes up “acceleration” and “publicity” in the United States in 2017, for example, the results that Mikhail Sergeyevich has achieved in the USSR will historically fade.
Observed and commented on Oleg Chuvakin
- especially for topwar.ru
- especially for topwar.ru
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