Geopolitical mosaic: the UN believes that the “Assad regime” is guilty of torture, rape and kidnapping, the EU refused to negotiate with Ukraine, and the planned economy will save Russia
And again the prince. - Saudi trace. - On the destruction of the Syrian chemical weapons not enough money. - UN: Assad's army kills, tortures, rapes and kidnaps. - Captive nuns. - Israeli construction. - Death of Arafat: no poisoning. “The police in Geneva detained eight polar bears.” - In Britain, journalists are confused with terrorists. - The rights of non-citizens. - Polish business. - Maidan greetings from the West. - “You are a part of Russian culture”. - Saakashvili was in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. - The president called guest workers home. - Chan Song Taek fell into disgrace. - Partisan past. - The most capable students in the world are Chinese. - Russia will save only a planned economy. - Serdyukov released. - Stalin is a symbol of order, severity ... - Up to seven years. - legitimate socialism. - About marijuana. - The end of shale euphoria? - Detroit went bankrupt. - America, take care of yourself. - Illegal Obama.
And again the prince. Vladimir Putin met in Moscow with Prince Bandar bin Sultan, director of Saudi Arabia’s general intelligence service. This was reported by the TV channel "Al-Arabiya". The information was confirmed by the press secretary of the head of state Dmitry Peskov. “During the conversation, the situation in the Middle East and North Africa was discussed,” ITAR-TASS said.
“In particular, positive dynamics were noted in the framework of international efforts to resolve the problem of the Iranian nuclear dossier,” the press secretary quotes Newsru.com. "In addition, a detailed exchange of views took place on the state of affairs around Syria, including in the context of the preparation of the Geneva-2 conference," he added.
Saudi trace. The leader of Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, accused Saudi Arabian intelligence of organizing a terrorist attack at the Iranian embassy in Beirut, which killed 23 people. Reports about it "Lenta.ru" with reference to France-Presse.
Nasrallah aired on the Lebanese television channel OTV. According to the sheikh, the head of the Sunni group "Brigade Abdullah Azzam", who took responsibility for the attack, is a citizen of Saudi Arabia. This, according to the sheikh, indicates that the group is associated with Saudi intelligence.
Nasrallah said that the attack on the embassy, which is in controlled Hezbollah Beirut, is explained by Saudi Arabia’s revenge on Iran for supporting the Assad regime in Syria.
The destruction of the Syrian chemical weapons is not enough money. The United Nations Trust Fund for the Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons has 2 million dollars allocated by the United States. This is stated in the letter of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, sent to the Security Council of the world organization, reports correspondent ITAR-TASS Oleg Zelenin.
According to the Secretary General, another on 250 thousand euros pledged to provide Denmark and Luxembourg.
It also follows from the published letter that in a similar trust fund of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, as of 25 in November, there were 10,8 million euros. “This amount came from contributions from Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Canada, Latvia, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States, Finland, Switzerland and Estonia,” Ban Ki-moon explained.
The Secretary General also recalled that on November 10, the OPCW established a third trust fund to finance the activities of private companies as part of international efforts to eliminate Syrian chemical weapons. The estimated cost of work that the private sector can undertake is estimated at 19-35 million dollars.
The Secretary General noted the acute shortage of material and technical resources allocated by the international community and recommended that Member States "resolve these issues bilaterally with the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic."
UN: Assad's army kills, tortures, rapes and kidnaps. According to the UN, the Bashar Assad regime is responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria, according to an editorial article "Die Welt". The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, stated that her office had collected a huge amount of evidence of the involvement of the country's top leadership in these crimes, notes "Inopressa".
The lists of suspected war criminals, according to Pillay, are kept locked up and will be made public only if a case is initiated in a national or international court.
The investigation, which was conducted by the UN Commission, refers to systematic killings, torture, rape and kidnapping by government troops.
Well, now about who and who is actually abducting.
Captured nuns. As transmits correspondent ITAR-TASS Dmitry Zeleninthat the nuns from the Syrian monastery of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Föcklah taken hostage "are alive and in the city of Yabrud," said the representative of the Patriarchate of Antioch, Metropolitan Luka Khuri. According to him, “they managed to establish contact with their captors and pass on the products to the sisters”.
As the correspondent reminds, twelve novices together with Mother Superior Baladzhia fell into the hands of extremists after their attack on Monday at the ancient monastery in the city of Maalyulya in 55 km north of Damascus.
Metropolitan Luke informed the service News An-Nashra that "all sisters are healthy, and none of them was hurt." He did not mention which group had abducted the nuns, but emphasized that the militants had been requested to “immediately release the hostages”.
According to the Al-Mayadin TV channel, the Syrian soldiers and the people's defense forces are preparing to storm Maalyuli. Now the city is captured by jihadists associated with al-Qaeda.
Israeli construction. Israeli bulldozers are clearing the land on which construction is planned for a home for settlements in Judea and Samaria, said Palestinian official Abdullah Lavadeh on the eve of the visit of John Kerry, reports MIGnews.com.
In the Nakhle settlement, 255 houses will be built from the planned 800, which were approved by the Ministry of Construction in October. The Palestinians were given two months to "real objections to the decision," but, according to Lavadeh, "the authorities did not wait, and the bulldozers were already preparing the land to create housing for the Israelis."
"The construction of 829 houses was approved this month by a special commission of the Israeli military administration of the West Bank," said a representative of the organization Lior Amihai.
The houses will be built in the settlements of Givat Zayev north of Jerusalem, Nofei Prat, Shiloh, Givat Shalit and Nokdim.
A spokesman for the President of the Palestinian Authority, Nabil Abu Rudeine, was negative about the construction plan.
According to Israeli officials, settlement settlement is part of the agreements reached with the Palestinians. However, the latter categorically deny and condemn the construction of settlements.
Death of Arafat: no poisoning. Yesterday, French experts completely excluded the possibility that Yasser Arafat died as a result of poisoning, reports "Lenta.ru" with reference to France-Presse.
According to French experts, Arafat died a natural death, and the immediate cause of his death was a “common infection,” writes BBC News.
Geneva police detained eight polar bears. In Geneva, eight Greenpeace activists were detained yesterday, staging a protest at an international conference on energy. He writes about it "Lenta.ru" with reference to France-Presse.
The detainees were taken to the police station for interrogation.
The protest was arranged at the hotel where the Global Energy - 2013 conference was held. Greenpeaceists opposed oil drilling in the Arctic, which Gazprom plans (the latter was one of the main sponsors of the conference). Greenpeace in polar bears costumes doused the snow in front of the hotel with oil from barrels with the Gazprom logo and stretched a banner on the roof of the hotel. Other protesters entered the building, disguised as waiters. They delivered black cocktails to the guests with polar bears figures floating in them. Through the audio system installed in the conference room, activists turned on a loud speech denouncing the management of Gazprom, which the guards managed to stop by breaking the audio system.
In Britain, journalists are confused with terrorists. Accusations against journalists of the Guardian can be brought under the article of the British anti-terrorism law because of the publication of documents from the Snowden file. This was stated at a hearing in parliament by the head of the special operations of Scotland Yard, Cressida Dick, writes "Voice of Russia" with links to RIA Novosti and ITAR-TASS.
The reason for the charges can be documents confiscated in August from a citizen of Brazil, David Miranda, assistant journalist Glenn Greenwald.
Scotland Yard cites article 58A of the anti-terrorism law, which states that the disclosure of secret information about British military and special services is a crime.
At the hearings in the parliamentary internal affairs committee, the chief editor of the Guardian newspaper, Alan Rasbridger, spoke He stated that journalists "will not let themselves be intimidated."
At the same time, Rasbridgeru reported that the newspaper published only 1% of the information from the Snowden documents, and assured that the newspaper selectively refers to which part of the “dossier” to make public.
According to correspondent ITAR-TASS Alan BadovTo the question of the deputy Kita Vaza, whether the Guardian journalists love this country, Alan Rasbridgeru said that he and his colleagues are patriots.
Corr. RIA Novosti Victoria Ivanova reports that journalist Glen Greenwald intends to publish new papers related to the activities of American intelligence services. This is written by the French media referring to the Greenwald interview, which will be released today in the magazine Telerama.
“I intend to publish these documents to the last. I'm not saying that the worst is ahead - people tend to get used to revelations, but I have a lot of papers about the National Security Agency, ”Greenwald said, stressing that he“ literally “sits on a mountain of documents.”
As the correspondent reminds. RIA Novosti, after being fired from the Guardian, Greenwald started his own project, which is funded by the money of the creator of the eBay trading platform, Pierre Omidyar.
Rights non-citizens. The Union of Non-Citizens of Latvia and the Union of Non-Citizens of Estonia decided to combine efforts in the protection of rights. Cooperation will help to draw more attention to the situation of non-citizens and will speed up the solution of the problem, says the head of the Union of Non-Citizens of Estonia, Oleg Besedin, writes Marianna Ozhereleleva ("Voice of Russia").
Estonian public figures decided to unite in solving the problems of stateless persons. The new public organization "Union of Non-Citizens" was headed by film documentary filmmaker Oleg Besedin. He answered the questions of the Voice of Russia correspondent.
He told the activist and a little about his human rights activities:
As for non-citizens in Estonia, the activist believes that the situation in Estonia can be changed for the better: to ensure that people will be represented in state bodies.
For two weeks about 300 people have shown a desire to join the new. social organization.
Polish business. In Strasbourg, hearings began on the secret CIA prison in Poland. Two Guantanamo prisoners filed a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights, says Asya Emelyanova ("Vesti").
The doors of the European Court of Human Rights are open. Details of the abduction and torture are now known to all.
What remains to answer Poland? Something like this: “We are cooperating ... We are still conducting an investigation ... Five years have passed, but we cannot speak ... It harms the national interests of the country."
In addition to Poland, two more countries were mentioned at the hearing: Lithuania and Romania. The prosecution suggests that the abandoned bases, converted into torture, were there.
Maidan greetings from the West. Topical topic Maidan devoted to a new review of Western publications from "Foreign Press".
Demonstrations in Ukraine are both humiliation and a threat to Putin: tens of thousands of Ukrainians are ready to tolerate frost and batons, if only the country is not drawn deeper into the sphere of Russian influence. So says the columnist of The Financial Times, Gideon Rahman.
The Russian government in vain "started a clumsy" tug-of-war "with the EU, forgetting the obvious lesson of the first Orange Revolution: if you try to decide the future of Ukraine, acting" over the heads ", people can take to the streets in such crowds that they can change the country's political orientation."
How the West is changing its “orientation”, we all know very well, we’ll add on our own. As for the “obvious lesson,” the teachers live in the West.
The reviewer of The Financial Times believes that for Putin the struggle for Ukraine is a struggle of civilizations, Russian and European. On this account the author, we note, has an opinion. He knows what is best for Ukraine. and for Russia.
“But in reality, the prospect of rapprochement between Ukraine and the rest of Europe is in the interests of Russia. Such a prospect can become a model for the further development of Russia itself. However, for the same reason, the events in Ukraine are a huge threat to the personal interests and ideology of President Putin and his entourage, ”writes Rahman.
For ten days now, numerous crowds of protesters have been demanding the resignation of Viktor Yanukovych. The journalist of "Le Monde" Matilda Gerard decided to find out who the main characters of the "battle for Kiev."
The first group of protesters are students. They follow each other around the clock on the Independence Square. But the spontaneous student movement has no leader.
The second group is the veterans of the 2004 Orange Revolution of the year.
The most prominent political figure Gerard calls the leader of the party "UDAR" Vitali Klitschko. This person is “respected because he honestly made a fortune: at the expense of sports victories, not dark deeds”.
Another prominent opposition figure is the head of the Batkivshchyna coalition, Arseniy Yatsenyuk. He is trying to position himself as Tymoshenko's heir.
And the third leader of the Ukrainian opposition is the ultranationalist Oleg Tyagnibok (Svoboda party).
As for Yanukovych, he, confirming Ukraine’s European ambitions and at the same time trying to please Moscow, seems to be losing ground, the journalist said. "... Another alarming sign: Yanukovych announced that on December 6, after a visit to China, he will go to Russia to discuss a new economic cooperation," the journalist writes.
"Moscow must stop treating Ukraine as a country with limited sovereignty." These words of the Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski are included in the headline of an interview published in La Stampa.
“I treat Russia and Ukraine as two different sovereign countries,” stressed the head of the Polish Foreign Ministry. - I am sure that the obligations undertaken in the framework of the WTO, Russia must respect. Otherwise, we have the right to resort to the help of well-known institutions with a request to resolve the contradictions. ”
Answering the question whether the Ukrainian case is not a reason for changing the EU strategy, Sikorsky said: “You can approach the partnership differently. Azerbaijanis and Belarusians take a constructive position. The position of Ukraine became the most mercantilist. ”
On the night from Sunday to Monday, supporters of Ukraine’s European integration, gathered on Maidan Nezalezhnosti, erected a tent camp and barricades, writes the German edition of Die Welt. In general, the correspondent testifies that the protests are peaceful.
According to journalist Gerhard Gnauk, two pro-Russian deputies of the city council of Sevastopol asked Vladimir Putin to send troops to Ukraine. In a petition, deputies spoke in favor of Russia providing military and other assistance to the Ukrainian people and authorities "to protect the sovereignty of the country, the Russian population of the Crimea and other regions of Ukraine from the US army and the NATO aggressors."
Meanwhile, Yanukovych asks the European Commission to accept a delegation from Ukraine in order to "discuss some aspects of association and free trade agreements, including the issue of a free trade zone."
Thus, "Kiev does not want to finally abandon negotiations with Brussels."
As for the latter, the EU finally reared up.
The European Union refused to begin new negotiations on the text of the association agreement and the deep free trade zone with Ukraine. According to Interfax, this was announced last night by Maya Kosyancic, a spokeswoman for the head of European diplomacy Catherine Ashton.
The EU declared its readiness to discuss the execution of the agreement, as well as explain its benefits for Ukraine, but refused to revise the text of the document, notes "Lenta.ru".
European diplomats also did not confirm the information about the Ukrainian delegation’s planned visit to Brussels.
Earlier, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov told the Ukrainian delegation about a trip to Brussels, Lenta reminds.
In addition to the plot - some details about the request to introduce Russian troops into Ukraine.
The authorities of Russia were asked about this by the deputy of the Sevastopol City Council Sergey Smolyaninov. It was he who called for the introduction of Russian troops in Ukraine. With such a request, as reported by “ForPost”, he turned to Vladimir Putin.
"Lenta.ru" notes that the author of the appeal stated that now in the republic “Western intelligence agencies and their agents initiated an attempt to overthrow the legitimate authorities, riots, paid meetings and informational attacks in the media were organized on US-funded Internet resources.”
Then he asked the Russian president to provide military and other assistance "to protect the sovereignty of the country, the Russian population of the Crimea and other regions of Ukraine."
“We ask you to coordinate with the government of Ukraine the entry into the territory of the country of the armed forces of the Russian Federation to protect against the US army and their NATO aggressors,” the deputy concluded.
Signatures in support of this initiative are collected in the city social network "Sevastopol veche". It is known that she was supported by about 30 people.
A request on the Kiev occasion, addressed to the Americans and written with gross spelling errors ("United States Armed Fortses"), had previously appeared on the White House website (Smolyaninov’s deputy mentions it, justifying the appeal to Putin). The petition called for the use of US forces "against the dictatorship of Yanukovich." This appeal gained more than 10 thousands of signatures.
"You are a part of Russian culture." Famous Serbian director Emir Kusturica in an interview with the magazine “Vesti. Reporter ”gave an assessment of what is happening in Kiev. This tells BFM.ru.
Kusturica believes that the choice between the European Union and the Customs Union is contrived:
According to Kusturitsa, Russia and Ukraine can build their own democracy:
Saakashvili spoke with the Ukrainian people. Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National Movement Party sent a delegation to Kiev to “stand next to the Ukrainian people.” Reports about it "Lenta.ru" with reference to Interfax.
Earlier, on December 2, the Novosti-Georgia agency citing the Kviris Chronicle newspaper reported that Saakashvili himself arrived in Kiev. Supposedly, his grandmother Mzia Tsereteli and the former leader of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, Levan Varshalomidze, accompany him. In the "UNM" this information was not confirmed, but not denied.
The president called guest workers home. Kyrgyz President Almaz Atambayev called on compatriots who are working abroad to return to their homeland. It is reported by K-News. “I think the country has reached such a turning point when our labor migrants need to return home,” the head of the republic quotes "Lenta.ru".
The President noted that within the framework of the national development strategy for the 2013-2017 years, agricultural support and allocation of loans to local farmers are planned.
Those who complain about hard life, Atambaev replied that only drunks live in his family village badly, "and those who know how and want to work, they are fine."
Chan Song Taek fell into disgrace. Uncle Kim Jong-un - Chan Song Thaek - was removed from his post as deputy head of the National Defense Commission (the highest military body of the DPRK). This is reported by the South Korean agency "Renhap" with reference to sources in the intelligence of South Korea.
The defense commission is headed personally by Kim Jong-un, and the post of his deputy in this department is considered the second in importance and influence in the country, notes "Lenta.ru".
The South Korean National Intelligence Agency concluded that Chang Sung Tak was resigned on the grounds that two of his closest comrades had been publicly executed. After the execution, Chan Song Thaek did not appear at official events.
Earlier, the South Korean newspaper Daily NK, which specializes in North Korean news, reported on the decline of Uncle Kim Jong-un’s role in domestic politics.
Guerrilla past. 85, a US-based American tourist Merrill Newman who was detained in the DPRK, worked with South Korean partisans during the Korean War 1950-1953, the Associated Press reported, citing former members of the Kuvol squad. This tells correspondent RIA "Novosti" Alexey Bogdanovsky.
Earlier, Newman spoke on North Korean television, where he confessed to war crimes. True, his statement in the United States is considered as received under pressure.
Former South Korean partisans claim that Newman worked as a military adviser and did not participate in combat operations.
Former associates of Newman cannot understand why he moved to the DPRK. “Why did he go to North Korea? The North Koreans are still gnashing their teeth, recalling the Cuvol squad, says Pak Puso, one of the former squad fighters.
On Saturday, the United States called on the DPRK authorities to release Newman, who was detained in November and has been detained for more than a month.
The most capable students in the world are Chinese. Schoolchildren from Shanghai won first place in the global PISA education ranking (“International Program for the Assessment of Pupil Educational Achievements”). This is stated in the press release of the OECD, transmits "Lenta.ru".
Shanghai schoolchildren occupied the first lines in all three categories of research: in mathematics, reading, and scientific literacy.
In addition to China, students among the top five in these categories were mainly from other East Asian countries: Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea.
The only European country whose representatives were among the leaders was Finland: schoolchildren from there were ranked fifth in the ranking of scientific literacy.
The study also involved Russian students. The results, we note, depress. It should also be noted that Russia has finally come close to what it has long wanted to approach: the American education system. The results of the Russians and Americans were similar.
From 65 positions, the Russian participants took the 34-place in math, 41-e in reading and 37-e in scientific literacy.
American students ranked 36, 24, and 28, respectively.
It can be concluded: the Russians have yet to fall.
Russia will save only a planned economy. In the 2013 year, the Russian industry went into “minus”: output in the manufacturing sector in January-October fell by 0,6% compared to the same period last year, and in the production and distribution of electricity, gas and water - by 0,3%. Mineral mining traditionally increased by 1,2% and partially offset the failures of other sectors, but ... only to zero. The agency tells about it Finmarket.
Stagnation will not come out quickly and easily, think Valery Mironov and Vadim Kanofiev from the Center for Development of HSE. With a stable ruble exchange rate, unit labor costs in currency terms continue to grow, and, accordingly, the competitiveness of Russian goods is falling. Only reforms will help: the transition to a new growth model based on de-bureaucratization of the economy and fair competition. Or another option: return to Gosplan!
There is a model according to which the growth rates of industry and the economy of a country, which is strongly dependent on the dynamics of the balance of payments, are calculated by economists on the basis of data on the average annual growth rates of exports by sectors and the elasticity of their imports. The model takes into account the growth of domestic demand in these sectors and their share in imports. Mironov and Kanofiev applied this model to the Russian industry and found out that it would not be able to squeeze out more than 1,1% of growth, even if the growth of the global economy would be 3,5%. And, in order to increase the average annual growth rate of the Russian industry to 2030% by 6,5, it is necessary that the growth of competitiveness in foreign markets be two-fold, and in the domestic market - as much as threefold.
In the framework of the existing economic model, it is impossible to achieve such a breakthrough, economists believe. After all, the acceleration of investment is not a tool, but the result of the economic policy of the authorities, and mostly not even economic.
According to experts, in order to accelerate economic growth, one can strive to increase the share of advanced sectors, where export elasticity is high (for example, agro-industrial complex), and import elasticity is low (as in machine building). But there is a nuance: the sectoral structure can be managed only in a planned economy, and not in a market economy.
However, there can be no return to the State Planning Committee, it is indicated in the material.
Serdyukov was released. Anatoly Serdyukov was interrogated for the first time yesterday as a suspect. As reported Interfax a source familiar with the situation, the event was held in the Military Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in Moscow.
The ex-minister refused to testify in accordance with Article 51 of the Constitution and did not plead guilty.
Well, let me add, Mr. Serdyukov applied the old strategy and tactics. Nothing new.
As stated by the representative of the IC, Vladimir Markin, at the end of the interrogation, Serdyukov will be charged in the near future. In this article "Negligence" can be changed.
The ex-minister was released on bail.
Protection Serdyukov charges rejected. “In fact, our investigators are very talented people; in the Criminal Code of 360 articles, everything can be aroused,” the lawyer of ex-minister Konstantin Rivkin told Interfax last week.
"Stalin is a symbol of order, severity ..." Anna Zafesova ("La Stampa", Italy; translation source - "InoSMI") spoke with Zakhar Prilepin, whom she called one of the best representatives of the new generation of Russian writers and compared him with Gorky.
Zakhar Prilepin answered the question of the journalist “Who is Stalin for the Russian 38 years, how are you?”
Prilepin spoke for a paradigm shift:
Overcoming is possible by revolution:
Who will bring up a new aristocracy?
Prilepin spoke for:
As for the political elite, then she has all the interests not abroad in Russia, but abroad:
Up to seven years. In the article "Social Revolutionaries" insist on a prison term for insulting the memory of the Second World War "Sergey Podosenov ("News") talks about the legislative initiatives of "Fair Russia".
Party members believe that the memory of the Great Patriotic War is not respected enough in our country. “Socialist-Revolutionaries” indicate that insulting the memory of events, participants, veterans and victims of the Second World War is the same desecration of the spiritual sphere, like mockery of the feelings of believers, and suggest introducing a criminal punishment for this: up to seven years in prison.
Mikheev proposes to add to the Criminal Code the article “Insulting the memory of the Great Patriotic War”, in which it is prescribed that actions that insult the memory of events, participants and victims of the Great Patriotic War, committed in the places of war memorials, as well as in the graves of war participants, are punished with a fine of 1 million rubles or imprisonment up to seven years.
Legitimate socialism. At the suggestion of Nicolas Maduro, the National Assembly of Venezuela proclaimed by law the program for building socialism, developed by Hugo Chavez.
Furious developed a program for building socialism in Venezuela for the period of 2013-2019 and declared it its election program on the eve of presidential elections. The document was called the "Plan of the Motherland".
The program provides for the further construction of Bolivarian socialism of the 21st century, the strengthening of new types of socio-economic relations, the introduction of the socialist form of distribution of national wealth, the strengthening of people's power. In addition, it contains a postulate on the superiority of public ownership over private ownership, provides for the adoption of measures to ensure the defense capability of Venezuela, strengthen its independence, note "Vesti" with reference to ITAR-TASS.
Other news from Venezuela demonstrates Comrade Maduro’s practical commitment to the ideals of socialism. The country continues the merciless struggle with speculators.
The President announced the issuance of a decree according to which the car sector will have to drastically reduce the prices of cars, reports "RT" with reference to Interfax.
“The primary goal, which I hope we will achieve by January next year, is the balance in our economy,” the Venezuelan leader explained to journalists.
About marijuana. The President of Uruguay, José Mujica, appealed to the heads of other states to support him in the implementation of the project on the legalization of drugs. The Uruguayan leader said this in an interview with the Brazilian edition of “A Folha de Sao Paulo”, reports "RT".
“We ask the whole world to help us get this experience,” the president said. According to him, this “experiment” will help to exercise control over an already existing market, to which “one should not turn a blind eye, because the effect of drug trafficking is worse than the influence of drugs”.
José Mujica recalled that the repressive measures against drug dealers had no effect, and therefore Uruguay is trying to regulate drug trafficking through legalization.
In August, reminds «RT», Muhik introduced a bill to the discussion of the Parliament, which envisages the legalization of the production and sale of cannabis. It was planned that the state would take over the functions of the mafia.
In principle, let us add from myself, even Augustine understood that the state is not far from the gang of robbers.
The end of shale euphoria? The euphoria of shale oil will soon subside. This was stated by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, reports Oleg Obukhov ("Voice of Russia").
Maximum 5 years, and the American shale revolution will order to live long.
OPEC research has shown that in many shale oil fields in the United States, production volumes are declining. In some areas there has been a sharp decline - more than half.
And indeed, by 2018, only illusions will remain of the effect, notes the director of the analytical department of Alpari, Alexander Razuvaev:
In addition, American environmentalists are sounding the alarm: drilling rocks will lead to contamination of underground sources of drinking water. Plus, the threat of earthquakes in seismically active regions of the United States is increasing.
Detroit went bankrupt. A federal court in Detroit, Michigan, declared the city bankrupt. Judge Stephen Rhodes announced that the city is not able to pay its debts, reports correspondent ITAR-TASS Andrey Bekrenev.
“The court concluded that Detroit was and remains insolvent,” Rhodes said.
The city’s total debt is estimated at 18,5 billion. Detroit has become the largest bankrupt city in stories USA.
America, take care of yourself. More than half of Americans who took part in a sociological study of the Pugh Center called “America’s Place in the World - 2013” believe that the United States should not interfere in the affairs of other states, reports correspondent ITAR-TASS Ivan Pilshchikov.
Record 52% of Americans agreed with the statement that the US "should go about its own business and allow other countries to solve their problems on their own." Only 38% of respondents adhere to the opposite point of view. 10% of respondents refrained from responding.
When asked whether "the United States has become more influential and powerful over the past 10 years," 17% of study participants responded positively. 53% of respondents believe that the situation is quite the opposite.
In the entire history of this case study, which has been conducted since 1964, so many Americans have never answered this question negatively.
The overwhelming majority (70%) of respondents believe that the United States no longer enjoys such respect as before.
Illegal Obama. The Immigration Court of Boston, Massachusetts, allowed Uncle Barack Obama - Oniango Obama - to remain in the country.
It turned out that the 69-year-old relative of the president has been illegally living in the country for more than 20 years.
Judge Leonard Shapiro ruled, guided by federal law on immigration policy, which allows people who have arrived in the United States before 1972, to obtain a permanent residence permit. Oniango Obama stated that he lived in the United States for fifty years, regularly paid taxes and was arrested only once.
As noted "Vesti"referring to ITAR-TASS, Oniango came to the USA from Kenya in 1963, when he was only 17 years old. He gnawed granite science in the elite school of Cambridge.
Before the end of 1970, O. Obama was supposed to leave the United States, but ... did not. Moreover, the courts have repeatedly issued decisions on his deportation.
Thus, let us add, Oniango is not a law-abiding citizen at all, as he portrays himself.
Of course, the White House hastily declared that Barack Obama had never met his uncle.
But here's the problem: Oniango refuted this statement. According to him, his nephew lived with him at the end of 1980 in Cambridge, while he was a student at Harvard Law School.
However, this is not the first case with the Obama family.
In 2010, Zeytuni Oniango, Aunt Baraka, was granted political asylum in the United States. At first she was denied this. But she wanted to live in America, so for six years a woman lived there illegally. Journalists found out about this shortly before the 2008 presidential election of the year. Presidential candidate Barack Obama immediately explained to the public that he does not communicate with relatives, and he has no idea that one of them has problems with the law.
Let us add to myself from the journalists and policemen, it remains to do quite a bit: to dig into the biography of Obama himself. Who knows what papers the student of the law school lived in the country who believed that the United States consists of 57 states!
And again the prince. Vladimir Putin met in Moscow with Prince Bandar bin Sultan, director of Saudi Arabia’s general intelligence service. This was reported by the TV channel "Al-Arabiya". The information was confirmed by the press secretary of the head of state Dmitry Peskov. “During the conversation, the situation in the Middle East and North Africa was discussed,” ITAR-TASS said.
“In particular, positive dynamics were noted in the framework of international efforts to resolve the problem of the Iranian nuclear dossier,” the press secretary quotes Newsru.com. "In addition, a detailed exchange of views took place on the state of affairs around Syria, including in the context of the preparation of the Geneva-2 conference," he added.
Saudi trace. The leader of Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, accused Saudi Arabian intelligence of organizing a terrorist attack at the Iranian embassy in Beirut, which killed 23 people. Reports about it "Lenta.ru" with reference to France-Presse.
Nasrallah aired on the Lebanese television channel OTV. According to the sheikh, the head of the Sunni group "Brigade Abdullah Azzam", who took responsibility for the attack, is a citizen of Saudi Arabia. This, according to the sheikh, indicates that the group is associated with Saudi intelligence.
Nasrallah said that the attack on the embassy, which is in controlled Hezbollah Beirut, is explained by Saudi Arabia’s revenge on Iran for supporting the Assad regime in Syria.
The destruction of the Syrian chemical weapons is not enough money. The United Nations Trust Fund for the Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons has 2 million dollars allocated by the United States. This is stated in the letter of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, sent to the Security Council of the world organization, reports correspondent ITAR-TASS Oleg Zelenin.
According to the Secretary General, another on 250 thousand euros pledged to provide Denmark and Luxembourg.
It also follows from the published letter that in a similar trust fund of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, as of 25 in November, there were 10,8 million euros. “This amount came from contributions from Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Canada, Latvia, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States, Finland, Switzerland and Estonia,” Ban Ki-moon explained.
The Secretary General also recalled that on November 10, the OPCW established a third trust fund to finance the activities of private companies as part of international efforts to eliminate Syrian chemical weapons. The estimated cost of work that the private sector can undertake is estimated at 19-35 million dollars.
The Secretary General noted the acute shortage of material and technical resources allocated by the international community and recommended that Member States "resolve these issues bilaterally with the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic."
UN: Assad's army kills, tortures, rapes and kidnaps. According to the UN, the Bashar Assad regime is responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria, according to an editorial article "Die Welt". The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, stated that her office had collected a huge amount of evidence of the involvement of the country's top leadership in these crimes, notes "Inopressa".
The lists of suspected war criminals, according to Pillay, are kept locked up and will be made public only if a case is initiated in a national or international court.
The investigation, which was conducted by the UN Commission, refers to systematic killings, torture, rape and kidnapping by government troops.
Well, now about who and who is actually abducting.
Captured nuns. As transmits correspondent ITAR-TASS Dmitry Zeleninthat the nuns from the Syrian monastery of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Föcklah taken hostage "are alive and in the city of Yabrud," said the representative of the Patriarchate of Antioch, Metropolitan Luka Khuri. According to him, “they managed to establish contact with their captors and pass on the products to the sisters”.
As the correspondent reminds, twelve novices together with Mother Superior Baladzhia fell into the hands of extremists after their attack on Monday at the ancient monastery in the city of Maalyulya in 55 km north of Damascus.
Metropolitan Luke informed the service News An-Nashra that "all sisters are healthy, and none of them was hurt." He did not mention which group had abducted the nuns, but emphasized that the militants had been requested to “immediately release the hostages”.
According to the Al-Mayadin TV channel, the Syrian soldiers and the people's defense forces are preparing to storm Maalyuli. Now the city is captured by jihadists associated with al-Qaeda.
Israeli construction. Israeli bulldozers are clearing the land on which construction is planned for a home for settlements in Judea and Samaria, said Palestinian official Abdullah Lavadeh on the eve of the visit of John Kerry, reports MIGnews.com.
In the Nakhle settlement, 255 houses will be built from the planned 800, which were approved by the Ministry of Construction in October. The Palestinians were given two months to "real objections to the decision," but, according to Lavadeh, "the authorities did not wait, and the bulldozers were already preparing the land to create housing for the Israelis."
"The construction of 829 houses was approved this month by a special commission of the Israeli military administration of the West Bank," said a representative of the organization Lior Amihai.
The houses will be built in the settlements of Givat Zayev north of Jerusalem, Nofei Prat, Shiloh, Givat Shalit and Nokdim.
A spokesman for the President of the Palestinian Authority, Nabil Abu Rudeine, was negative about the construction plan.
According to Israeli officials, settlement settlement is part of the agreements reached with the Palestinians. However, the latter categorically deny and condemn the construction of settlements.
Death of Arafat: no poisoning. Yesterday, French experts completely excluded the possibility that Yasser Arafat died as a result of poisoning, reports "Lenta.ru" with reference to France-Presse.
According to French experts, Arafat died a natural death, and the immediate cause of his death was a “common infection,” writes BBC News.
Geneva police detained eight polar bears. In Geneva, eight Greenpeace activists were detained yesterday, staging a protest at an international conference on energy. He writes about it "Lenta.ru" with reference to France-Presse.
The detainees were taken to the police station for interrogation.
The protest was arranged at the hotel where the Global Energy - 2013 conference was held. Greenpeaceists opposed oil drilling in the Arctic, which Gazprom plans (the latter was one of the main sponsors of the conference). Greenpeace in polar bears costumes doused the snow in front of the hotel with oil from barrels with the Gazprom logo and stretched a banner on the roof of the hotel. Other protesters entered the building, disguised as waiters. They delivered black cocktails to the guests with polar bears figures floating in them. Through the audio system installed in the conference room, activists turned on a loud speech denouncing the management of Gazprom, which the guards managed to stop by breaking the audio system.
In Britain, journalists are confused with terrorists. Accusations against journalists of the Guardian can be brought under the article of the British anti-terrorism law because of the publication of documents from the Snowden file. This was stated at a hearing in parliament by the head of the special operations of Scotland Yard, Cressida Dick, writes "Voice of Russia" with links to RIA Novosti and ITAR-TASS.
The reason for the charges can be documents confiscated in August from a citizen of Brazil, David Miranda, assistant journalist Glenn Greenwald.
Scotland Yard cites article 58A of the anti-terrorism law, which states that the disclosure of secret information about British military and special services is a crime.
At the hearings in the parliamentary internal affairs committee, the chief editor of the Guardian newspaper, Alan Rasbridger, spoke He stated that journalists "will not let themselves be intimidated."
At the same time, Rasbridgeru reported that the newspaper published only 1% of the information from the Snowden documents, and assured that the newspaper selectively refers to which part of the “dossier” to make public.
According to correspondent ITAR-TASS Alan BadovTo the question of the deputy Kita Vaza, whether the Guardian journalists love this country, Alan Rasbridgeru said that he and his colleagues are patriots.
Corr. RIA Novosti Victoria Ivanova reports that journalist Glen Greenwald intends to publish new papers related to the activities of American intelligence services. This is written by the French media referring to the Greenwald interview, which will be released today in the magazine Telerama.
“I intend to publish these documents to the last. I'm not saying that the worst is ahead - people tend to get used to revelations, but I have a lot of papers about the National Security Agency, ”Greenwald said, stressing that he“ literally “sits on a mountain of documents.”
As the correspondent reminds. RIA Novosti, after being fired from the Guardian, Greenwald started his own project, which is funded by the money of the creator of the eBay trading platform, Pierre Omidyar.
Rights non-citizens. The Union of Non-Citizens of Latvia and the Union of Non-Citizens of Estonia decided to combine efforts in the protection of rights. Cooperation will help to draw more attention to the situation of non-citizens and will speed up the solution of the problem, says the head of the Union of Non-Citizens of Estonia, Oleg Besedin, writes Marianna Ozhereleleva ("Voice of Russia").
Estonian public figures decided to unite in solving the problems of stateless persons. The new public organization "Union of Non-Citizens" was headed by film documentary filmmaker Oleg Besedin. He answered the questions of the Voice of Russia correspondent.
“The problem of non-citizens exists only in the Baltic countries. In Estonia today, more than 90 thousand people have no citizenship, and most of these people were born in this country. We looked at the experience of our neighbors, the Latvians. In Latvia, too, the same situation, only there are much more non-citizens - about 300 thousand people do not have citizenship.
A year ago, the Union of Non-Citizens of Latvia was created in Latvia. We looked at how actively they work, and decided to continue working together. If earlier it was a Latvian organization, now it can be called international, because we have joined the Latvian organization. ”
A year ago, the Union of Non-Citizens of Latvia was created in Latvia. We looked at how actively they work, and decided to continue working together. If earlier it was a Latvian organization, now it can be called international, because we have joined the Latvian organization. ”
He told the activist and a little about his human rights activities:
“... As a Russian journalist in Estonia, I have already experienced a lot of pressure in our country. In Estonia, a collection of "Security Police". In 2011, I was registered there three times as an enemy of the Estonian state. Last year, a criminal case was filed against me on the fact of forging my own signature. This year this case was closed, we won it.
I want people living in our country to have equal opportunities and equal rights, so I took up this ”.
I want people living in our country to have equal opportunities and equal rights, so I took up this ”.
As for non-citizens in Estonia, the activist believes that the situation in Estonia can be changed for the better: to ensure that people will be represented in state bodies.
For two weeks about 300 people have shown a desire to join the new. social organization.
Polish business. In Strasbourg, hearings began on the secret CIA prison in Poland. Two Guantanamo prisoners filed a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights, says Asya Emelyanova ("Vesti").
The doors of the European Court of Human Rights are open. Details of the abduction and torture are now known to all.
“Dehydration, hypothermia, the famous“ warming up ”plus the threat of death, when a gun is attached to the back of the head of a person or a drill is turned on, but chained to the wall, he cannot see that the drill is twisted. In the language of CIA agents, this is the “advanced interrogation technique.” And Poland actively contributed to this: it was in such a way that prisoners were interrogated in a secret CIA prison near the village of Stare Kejkuty, that in 170 kilometers from Warsaw. What everyone previously suspected is now a formal accusation. The defense for the first time nominated him in the presence of judges.
Lawyer Abu Zubeida Hughes said: “We hope that the conspiracy of silence will be broken, and the Human Rights Convention will be respected. This meeting should help my client who has been abducted and tortured. ”
Lawyer Abu Zubeida Hughes said: “We hope that the conspiracy of silence will be broken, and the Human Rights Convention will be respected. This meeting should help my client who has been abducted and tortured. ”
What remains to answer Poland? Something like this: “We are cooperating ... We are still conducting an investigation ... Five years have passed, but we cannot speak ... It harms the national interests of the country."
In addition to Poland, two more countries were mentioned at the hearing: Lithuania and Romania. The prosecution suggests that the abandoned bases, converted into torture, were there.
Maidan greetings from the West. Topical topic Maidan devoted to a new review of Western publications from "Foreign Press".
Demonstrations in Ukraine are both humiliation and a threat to Putin: tens of thousands of Ukrainians are ready to tolerate frost and batons, if only the country is not drawn deeper into the sphere of Russian influence. So says the columnist of The Financial Times, Gideon Rahman.
The Russian government in vain "started a clumsy" tug-of-war "with the EU, forgetting the obvious lesson of the first Orange Revolution: if you try to decide the future of Ukraine, acting" over the heads ", people can take to the streets in such crowds that they can change the country's political orientation."
How the West is changing its “orientation”, we all know very well, we’ll add on our own. As for the “obvious lesson,” the teachers live in the West.
The reviewer of The Financial Times believes that for Putin the struggle for Ukraine is a struggle of civilizations, Russian and European. On this account the author, we note, has an opinion. He knows what is best for Ukraine. and for Russia.
“But in reality, the prospect of rapprochement between Ukraine and the rest of Europe is in the interests of Russia. Such a prospect can become a model for the further development of Russia itself. However, for the same reason, the events in Ukraine are a huge threat to the personal interests and ideology of President Putin and his entourage, ”writes Rahman.
For ten days now, numerous crowds of protesters have been demanding the resignation of Viktor Yanukovych. The journalist of "Le Monde" Matilda Gerard decided to find out who the main characters of the "battle for Kiev."
The first group of protesters are students. They follow each other around the clock on the Independence Square. But the spontaneous student movement has no leader.
The second group is the veterans of the 2004 Orange Revolution of the year.
The most prominent political figure Gerard calls the leader of the party "UDAR" Vitali Klitschko. This person is “respected because he honestly made a fortune: at the expense of sports victories, not dark deeds”.
Another prominent opposition figure is the head of the Batkivshchyna coalition, Arseniy Yatsenyuk. He is trying to position himself as Tymoshenko's heir.
And the third leader of the Ukrainian opposition is the ultranationalist Oleg Tyagnibok (Svoboda party).
As for Yanukovych, he, confirming Ukraine’s European ambitions and at the same time trying to please Moscow, seems to be losing ground, the journalist said. "... Another alarming sign: Yanukovych announced that on December 6, after a visit to China, he will go to Russia to discuss a new economic cooperation," the journalist writes.
"Moscow must stop treating Ukraine as a country with limited sovereignty." These words of the Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski are included in the headline of an interview published in La Stampa.
“I treat Russia and Ukraine as two different sovereign countries,” stressed the head of the Polish Foreign Ministry. - I am sure that the obligations undertaken in the framework of the WTO, Russia must respect. Otherwise, we have the right to resort to the help of well-known institutions with a request to resolve the contradictions. ”
Answering the question whether the Ukrainian case is not a reason for changing the EU strategy, Sikorsky said: “You can approach the partnership differently. Azerbaijanis and Belarusians take a constructive position. The position of Ukraine became the most mercantilist. ”
On the night from Sunday to Monday, supporters of Ukraine’s European integration, gathered on Maidan Nezalezhnosti, erected a tent camp and barricades, writes the German edition of Die Welt. In general, the correspondent testifies that the protests are peaceful.
According to journalist Gerhard Gnauk, two pro-Russian deputies of the city council of Sevastopol asked Vladimir Putin to send troops to Ukraine. In a petition, deputies spoke in favor of Russia providing military and other assistance to the Ukrainian people and authorities "to protect the sovereignty of the country, the Russian population of the Crimea and other regions of Ukraine from the US army and the NATO aggressors."
Meanwhile, Yanukovych asks the European Commission to accept a delegation from Ukraine in order to "discuss some aspects of association and free trade agreements, including the issue of a free trade zone."
Thus, "Kiev does not want to finally abandon negotiations with Brussels."
As for the latter, the EU finally reared up.
The European Union refused to begin new negotiations on the text of the association agreement and the deep free trade zone with Ukraine. According to Interfax, this was announced last night by Maya Kosyancic, a spokeswoman for the head of European diplomacy Catherine Ashton.
The EU declared its readiness to discuss the execution of the agreement, as well as explain its benefits for Ukraine, but refused to revise the text of the document, notes "Lenta.ru".
European diplomats also did not confirm the information about the Ukrainian delegation’s planned visit to Brussels.
Earlier, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov told the Ukrainian delegation about a trip to Brussels, Lenta reminds.
In addition to the plot - some details about the request to introduce Russian troops into Ukraine.
The authorities of Russia were asked about this by the deputy of the Sevastopol City Council Sergey Smolyaninov. It was he who called for the introduction of Russian troops in Ukraine. With such a request, as reported by “ForPost”, he turned to Vladimir Putin.
"Lenta.ru" notes that the author of the appeal stated that now in the republic “Western intelligence agencies and their agents initiated an attempt to overthrow the legitimate authorities, riots, paid meetings and informational attacks in the media were organized on US-funded Internet resources.”
Then he asked the Russian president to provide military and other assistance "to protect the sovereignty of the country, the Russian population of the Crimea and other regions of Ukraine."
“We ask you to coordinate with the government of Ukraine the entry into the territory of the country of the armed forces of the Russian Federation to protect against the US army and their NATO aggressors,” the deputy concluded.
Signatures in support of this initiative are collected in the city social network "Sevastopol veche". It is known that she was supported by about 30 people.
A request on the Kiev occasion, addressed to the Americans and written with gross spelling errors ("United States Armed Fortses"), had previously appeared on the White House website (Smolyaninov’s deputy mentions it, justifying the appeal to Putin). The petition called for the use of US forces "against the dictatorship of Yanukovich." This appeal gained more than 10 thousands of signatures.
"You are a part of Russian culture." Famous Serbian director Emir Kusturica in an interview with the magazine “Vesti. Reporter ”gave an assessment of what is happening in Kiev. This tells BFM.ru.
Kusturica believes that the choice between the European Union and the Customs Union is contrived:
"Do you speak Russian. You are a part of Russian culture. Most of the inhabitants of your country are Orthodox. In a sense, Russia is leading its pedigree from Kiev. And now you are deciding whether to go to Europe or not? In War and Peace, one hero asks, when will Napoleon finally come and make Russians Europeans? This will never happen. You are already in Europe. ”
According to Kusturitsa, Russia and Ukraine can build their own democracy:
“The technological revolution has changed the minds of people. Democracy is needed for those imperialist countries that want to conquer the world, because democracy makes it possible. An alternative to democracy can be a social revolution. She is in your country now. Ukraine is only as democratic as possible. But in 10 years you will be more democratic if Ukraine stays with Russia than if you accept the imposed democracy from Europe. ”
Saakashvili spoke with the Ukrainian people. Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National Movement Party sent a delegation to Kiev to “stand next to the Ukrainian people.” Reports about it "Lenta.ru" with reference to Interfax.
Earlier, on December 2, the Novosti-Georgia agency citing the Kviris Chronicle newspaper reported that Saakashvili himself arrived in Kiev. Supposedly, his grandmother Mzia Tsereteli and the former leader of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, Levan Varshalomidze, accompany him. In the "UNM" this information was not confirmed, but not denied.
The president called guest workers home. Kyrgyz President Almaz Atambayev called on compatriots who are working abroad to return to their homeland. It is reported by K-News. “I think the country has reached such a turning point when our labor migrants need to return home,” the head of the republic quotes "Lenta.ru".
The President noted that within the framework of the national development strategy for the 2013-2017 years, agricultural support and allocation of loans to local farmers are planned.
Those who complain about hard life, Atambaev replied that only drunks live in his family village badly, "and those who know how and want to work, they are fine."
Chan Song Taek fell into disgrace. Uncle Kim Jong-un - Chan Song Thaek - was removed from his post as deputy head of the National Defense Commission (the highest military body of the DPRK). This is reported by the South Korean agency "Renhap" with reference to sources in the intelligence of South Korea.
The defense commission is headed personally by Kim Jong-un, and the post of his deputy in this department is considered the second in importance and influence in the country, notes "Lenta.ru".
The South Korean National Intelligence Agency concluded that Chang Sung Tak was resigned on the grounds that two of his closest comrades had been publicly executed. After the execution, Chan Song Thaek did not appear at official events.
Earlier, the South Korean newspaper Daily NK, which specializes in North Korean news, reported on the decline of Uncle Kim Jong-un’s role in domestic politics.
Guerrilla past. 85, a US-based American tourist Merrill Newman who was detained in the DPRK, worked with South Korean partisans during the Korean War 1950-1953, the Associated Press reported, citing former members of the Kuvol squad. This tells correspondent RIA "Novosti" Alexey Bogdanovsky.
Earlier, Newman spoke on North Korean television, where he confessed to war crimes. True, his statement in the United States is considered as received under pressure.
Former South Korean partisans claim that Newman worked as a military adviser and did not participate in combat operations.
Former associates of Newman cannot understand why he moved to the DPRK. “Why did he go to North Korea? The North Koreans are still gnashing their teeth, recalling the Cuvol squad, says Pak Puso, one of the former squad fighters.
On Saturday, the United States called on the DPRK authorities to release Newman, who was detained in November and has been detained for more than a month.
The most capable students in the world are Chinese. Schoolchildren from Shanghai won first place in the global PISA education ranking (“International Program for the Assessment of Pupil Educational Achievements”). This is stated in the press release of the OECD, transmits "Lenta.ru".
Shanghai schoolchildren occupied the first lines in all three categories of research: in mathematics, reading, and scientific literacy.
In addition to China, students among the top five in these categories were mainly from other East Asian countries: Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea.
The only European country whose representatives were among the leaders was Finland: schoolchildren from there were ranked fifth in the ranking of scientific literacy.
The study also involved Russian students. The results, we note, depress. It should also be noted that Russia has finally come close to what it has long wanted to approach: the American education system. The results of the Russians and Americans were similar.
From 65 positions, the Russian participants took the 34-place in math, 41-e in reading and 37-e in scientific literacy.
American students ranked 36, 24, and 28, respectively.
It can be concluded: the Russians have yet to fall.
Russia will save only a planned economy. In the 2013 year, the Russian industry went into “minus”: output in the manufacturing sector in January-October fell by 0,6% compared to the same period last year, and in the production and distribution of electricity, gas and water - by 0,3%. Mineral mining traditionally increased by 1,2% and partially offset the failures of other sectors, but ... only to zero. The agency tells about it Finmarket.
Stagnation will not come out quickly and easily, think Valery Mironov and Vadim Kanofiev from the Center for Development of HSE. With a stable ruble exchange rate, unit labor costs in currency terms continue to grow, and, accordingly, the competitiveness of Russian goods is falling. Only reforms will help: the transition to a new growth model based on de-bureaucratization of the economy and fair competition. Or another option: return to Gosplan!
There is a model according to which the growth rates of industry and the economy of a country, which is strongly dependent on the dynamics of the balance of payments, are calculated by economists on the basis of data on the average annual growth rates of exports by sectors and the elasticity of their imports. The model takes into account the growth of domestic demand in these sectors and their share in imports. Mironov and Kanofiev applied this model to the Russian industry and found out that it would not be able to squeeze out more than 1,1% of growth, even if the growth of the global economy would be 3,5%. And, in order to increase the average annual growth rate of the Russian industry to 2030% by 6,5, it is necessary that the growth of competitiveness in foreign markets be two-fold, and in the domestic market - as much as threefold.
In the framework of the existing economic model, it is impossible to achieve such a breakthrough, economists believe. After all, the acceleration of investment is not a tool, but the result of the economic policy of the authorities, and mostly not even economic.
According to experts, in order to accelerate economic growth, one can strive to increase the share of advanced sectors, where export elasticity is high (for example, agro-industrial complex), and import elasticity is low (as in machine building). But there is a nuance: the sectoral structure can be managed only in a planned economy, and not in a market economy.
However, there can be no return to the State Planning Committee, it is indicated in the material.
Serdyukov was released. Anatoly Serdyukov was interrogated for the first time yesterday as a suspect. As reported Interfax a source familiar with the situation, the event was held in the Military Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in Moscow.
The ex-minister refused to testify in accordance with Article 51 of the Constitution and did not plead guilty.
Well, let me add, Mr. Serdyukov applied the old strategy and tactics. Nothing new.
As stated by the representative of the IC, Vladimir Markin, at the end of the interrogation, Serdyukov will be charged in the near future. In this article "Negligence" can be changed.
The ex-minister was released on bail.
Protection Serdyukov charges rejected. “In fact, our investigators are very talented people; in the Criminal Code of 360 articles, everything can be aroused,” the lawyer of ex-minister Konstantin Rivkin told Interfax last week.
"Stalin is a symbol of order, severity ..." Anna Zafesova ("La Stampa", Italy; translation source - "InoSMI") spoke with Zakhar Prilepin, whom she called one of the best representatives of the new generation of Russian writers and compared him with Gorky.
Zakhar Prilepin answered the question of the journalist “Who is Stalin for the Russian 38 years, how are you?”
“This is a figure that confronts the colossal mistakes of neoliberalism. 70 of millions of people were in the abyss of poverty, the war in Chechnya was unleashed, Yeltsin fired on parliament in 1993 year. All this is justified by the fact that "under Stalin it would be even worse." From the left demanded repentance in the past. Stalin becomes the scum of social Darwinism in the last twenty years. Of course, this is not about justifying cleaning. Stalin is a symbol of order, severity, ruler, without any admixture of hedonism. He left behind only a military overcoat and a pair of boots. It was dedication and something religious. As Joseph Brodsky said, “God is violence. Namely, this is the God of the Old Testament. ”
Prilepin spoke for a paradigm shift:
“The solution is a new elite that will not be elected because of money: the new military, spiritual, scientific, and religious aristocracy. We need to change the paradigm: cultivate courage and intelligence, not indulge in human weaknesses, but try to overcome them. ”
Overcoming is possible by revolution:
“Of course, we need a revolution: a new power, cultivating the metaphysical aristocracy, an army of educated and trained children. Enough 20 years and 3% of the population. It is necessary to abandon the liberal matrix, the idea that the individual is primarily a member of society, that your freedom ends where the freedom of your neighbor begins. Liberalism can work in the greenhouse conditions of a protected Europe. It does not work in Russia. ”
Who will bring up a new aristocracy?
“There are young people born and raised in the USSR. She 90-s turned into a generation that did not get anything at the division of Russian wealth. They are 30-40 years old, they are not hypocrites like the Soviet people, but they do not have liberal illusions. ”
Prilepin spoke for:
“Nationalization of natural resources. It is also necessary to transfer the capital from Moscow to the Urals, to the part of the country that is losing population, and after all, on the other side of the border is China, whose government allowed families to have a second child. ”
As for the political elite, then she has all the interests not abroad in Russia, but abroad:
“The trouble is not in Putin’s authoritarianism, but in neoliberalism. Putin is not a dictator, he is trying to demonstrate his strength, because he knows that this is what the people want. Indeed, there are political prisoners in the country, and it is impossible to form real opposition parties. But he is not a real dictator, it is only from Europe that it seems that he spends time shooting journalists. The modern Russian elite has all the interests, money, homes, children, dogs, mother-in-law — outside of Russia. This is not the Russian elite. ”
Up to seven years. In the article "Social Revolutionaries" insist on a prison term for insulting the memory of the Second World War "Sergey Podosenov ("News") talks about the legislative initiatives of "Fair Russia".
Party members believe that the memory of the Great Patriotic War is not respected enough in our country. “Socialist-Revolutionaries” indicate that insulting the memory of events, participants, veterans and victims of the Second World War is the same desecration of the spiritual sphere, like mockery of the feelings of believers, and suggest introducing a criminal punishment for this: up to seven years in prison.
“We have a student who took a ride on a jeep at the Eternal Flame, was given only three days of arrest in an administrative case, and even then - not for insulting the memory of the fallen, but for disobeying the police! - resents the author of the amendments, a member of the presidium of “Fair Russia” Oleg Mikheyev. ”
Mikheev proposes to add to the Criminal Code the article “Insulting the memory of the Great Patriotic War”, in which it is prescribed that actions that insult the memory of events, participants and victims of the Great Patriotic War, committed in the places of war memorials, as well as in the graves of war participants, are punished with a fine of 1 million rubles or imprisonment up to seven years.
Legitimate socialism. At the suggestion of Nicolas Maduro, the National Assembly of Venezuela proclaimed by law the program for building socialism, developed by Hugo Chavez.
Furious developed a program for building socialism in Venezuela for the period of 2013-2019 and declared it its election program on the eve of presidential elections. The document was called the "Plan of the Motherland".
The program provides for the further construction of Bolivarian socialism of the 21st century, the strengthening of new types of socio-economic relations, the introduction of the socialist form of distribution of national wealth, the strengthening of people's power. In addition, it contains a postulate on the superiority of public ownership over private ownership, provides for the adoption of measures to ensure the defense capability of Venezuela, strengthen its independence, note "Vesti" with reference to ITAR-TASS.
Other news from Venezuela demonstrates Comrade Maduro’s practical commitment to the ideals of socialism. The country continues the merciless struggle with speculators.
The President announced the issuance of a decree according to which the car sector will have to drastically reduce the prices of cars, reports "RT" with reference to Interfax.
“The primary goal, which I hope we will achieve by January next year, is the balance in our economy,” the Venezuelan leader explained to journalists.
About marijuana. The President of Uruguay, José Mujica, appealed to the heads of other states to support him in the implementation of the project on the legalization of drugs. The Uruguayan leader said this in an interview with the Brazilian edition of “A Folha de Sao Paulo”, reports "RT".
“We ask the whole world to help us get this experience,” the president said. According to him, this “experiment” will help to exercise control over an already existing market, to which “one should not turn a blind eye, because the effect of drug trafficking is worse than the influence of drugs”.
José Mujica recalled that the repressive measures against drug dealers had no effect, and therefore Uruguay is trying to regulate drug trafficking through legalization.
In August, reminds «RT», Muhik introduced a bill to the discussion of the Parliament, which envisages the legalization of the production and sale of cannabis. It was planned that the state would take over the functions of the mafia.
In principle, let us add from myself, even Augustine understood that the state is not far from the gang of robbers.
The end of shale euphoria? The euphoria of shale oil will soon subside. This was stated by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, reports Oleg Obukhov ("Voice of Russia").
Maximum 5 years, and the American shale revolution will order to live long.
OPEC research has shown that in many shale oil fields in the United States, production volumes are declining. In some areas there has been a sharp decline - more than half.
And indeed, by 2018, only illusions will remain of the effect, notes the director of the analytical department of Alpari, Alexander Razuvaev:
“Well operation, in contrast to traditional drilling, continues for a rather short period of time. That is, they will have a maximum production, and then a landslide drop in volume. In the short term, they wanted to greatly reduce their dependence on supplies from the Middle East, they will succeed. They tried their technology. It turned out that they are not so profitable. ”
In addition, American environmentalists are sounding the alarm: drilling rocks will lead to contamination of underground sources of drinking water. Plus, the threat of earthquakes in seismically active regions of the United States is increasing.
Detroit went bankrupt. A federal court in Detroit, Michigan, declared the city bankrupt. Judge Stephen Rhodes announced that the city is not able to pay its debts, reports correspondent ITAR-TASS Andrey Bekrenev.
“The court concluded that Detroit was and remains insolvent,” Rhodes said.
The city’s total debt is estimated at 18,5 billion. Detroit has become the largest bankrupt city in stories USA.
America, take care of yourself. More than half of Americans who took part in a sociological study of the Pugh Center called “America’s Place in the World - 2013” believe that the United States should not interfere in the affairs of other states, reports correspondent ITAR-TASS Ivan Pilshchikov.
Record 52% of Americans agreed with the statement that the US "should go about its own business and allow other countries to solve their problems on their own." Only 38% of respondents adhere to the opposite point of view. 10% of respondents refrained from responding.
When asked whether "the United States has become more influential and powerful over the past 10 years," 17% of study participants responded positively. 53% of respondents believe that the situation is quite the opposite.
In the entire history of this case study, which has been conducted since 1964, so many Americans have never answered this question negatively.
The overwhelming majority (70%) of respondents believe that the United States no longer enjoys such respect as before.
Illegal Obama. The Immigration Court of Boston, Massachusetts, allowed Uncle Barack Obama - Oniango Obama - to remain in the country.
It turned out that the 69-year-old relative of the president has been illegally living in the country for more than 20 years.
Judge Leonard Shapiro ruled, guided by federal law on immigration policy, which allows people who have arrived in the United States before 1972, to obtain a permanent residence permit. Oniango Obama stated that he lived in the United States for fifty years, regularly paid taxes and was arrested only once.
As noted "Vesti"referring to ITAR-TASS, Oniango came to the USA from Kenya in 1963, when he was only 17 years old. He gnawed granite science in the elite school of Cambridge.
Before the end of 1970, O. Obama was supposed to leave the United States, but ... did not. Moreover, the courts have repeatedly issued decisions on his deportation.
Thus, let us add, Oniango is not a law-abiding citizen at all, as he portrays himself.
“The immigration problems of the uncle of the American president came to light in August of 2011, when he was detained in a suburb of Boston for drunk driving. Driving a SUV, Onyango almost pulled down a police patrol car. The guards stopped the driver and carried out a test that showed that the blood alcohol level was exceeded by almost two times the allowable one. The offender was sent to prison where he spent more than two weeks. ”
Of course, the White House hastily declared that Barack Obama had never met his uncle.
But here's the problem: Oniango refuted this statement. According to him, his nephew lived with him at the end of 1980 in Cambridge, while he was a student at Harvard Law School.
However, this is not the first case with the Obama family.
In 2010, Zeytuni Oniango, Aunt Baraka, was granted political asylum in the United States. At first she was denied this. But she wanted to live in America, so for six years a woman lived there illegally. Journalists found out about this shortly before the 2008 presidential election of the year. Presidential candidate Barack Obama immediately explained to the public that he does not communicate with relatives, and he has no idea that one of them has problems with the law.
Let us add to myself from the journalists and policemen, it remains to do quite a bit: to dig into the biography of Obama himself. Who knows what papers the student of the law school lived in the country who believed that the United States consists of 57 states!
Observed and commented on Oleg Chuvakin
- especially for topwar.ru
- especially for topwar.ru
Information