Geopolitical mosaic: a family from Lviv called a child Euromaidan, and in the US, books about blacks and Indians are being taken from libraries
Bandits attempted to seize chemical warehouses weapons in Syria. - Hezbollah against Al-Nusra Front. - Six goals in Gaza. - The resignation of the Turkish Minister. “Peacemakers are hindered by red tape.” - The era of e-commerce. - The reverse side of European multiculturalism. - CIA for Europe? - Snowden: ask is cheaper than spying. - Khodorkovsky will travel to Switzerland. - Outside of Sochi. - Roy Jones Jr. decided to become a citizen of Russia. - Christmas cookies. - Bearded Eurovision. - Received two years. - The Islamic Party of Azerbaijan is against the celebration of the New Year and March 8. - The robber, the thief and the prosecutor. - Evromaydan Evgenievich. “North Korea is preparing for war without warning.” - Remembering Mao. - The habit of copying. - Mujica legalized marijuana. - The management of McDonald's was frightened by the obesity of its employees and invited them to eat from competitors. - About blacks and Indians - do not read. - The black Santa Claus was shot. - Tireless and fast.
The bandits tried to seize warehouses with chemical weapons in Syria. Terrorist groups attacked warehouses with components for chemical weapons in central Syria and in the province of Damascus. Reports about it ITAR-TASS with reference to SANA.
The agency notes: “The criminal groups organized attacks on the facilities where chemicals are located, the agreement on which relocation was reached on December 21 of the current year. Gangs attacked one of these sites in the center of Syria, trying to establish control over it. ”
The armed forces repulsed the militants and thwarted the attack.
Another attack was carried out by the groups "Liva Al-Islam" and "Dzhebhat al-Nusra". Bandits attacked one of the objects with chemical weapons in the province of Damascus. Four people were killed, 28 injured.
“Militants used an armored vehicle with a lot of explosives to attack. The servicemen managed to crush this car before it reached the object, ”said SANA.
Syria has condemned the actions of countries that "support gangs and give them intelligence on chemical weapons."
SANA quotes the representative of the CAP Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “How did the gangs get information about the movement of chemicals from these facilities to others? This means that some states that were aware of this have transferred data to the militants. ”
Hezbollah vs Al-Nusra Front. Not less than 32 radicals from the Syrian front-nusrah group operating in Syria were killed by Hezbollah militants, the Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star writes, citing its own sources. Reports about it "Lenta.ru".
The battle occurred in the east of Lebanon, where last Sunday a Sunni detachment invaded the Syrian side. Shiite fighters ambushed the city of Nakhle, and the participants of the "Front" were killed. Losses "Hezbollah" - one person.
Six goals in Gaza. Israeli Tanks, infantry and aviation attacked six targets yesterday in areas of the Gaza Strip. The attacks were a response to the death of an Israeli on the border of the enclave, reports RIA News".
According to reports by Palestinian doctors, a three-year-old girl and a farmer were victims of Israeli attacks. About a dozen people were injured.
RIA "News»Notes:
The resignation of the Turkish Minister. Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Chaglayan resigned, reports ITAR-TASS with reference to the CNN Türk TV channel.
Earlier, the channel noted that the son of the minister was involved in a corruption scandal.
Peacekeepers interferes with bureaucracy. The process of transferring additional peacekeeping forces to the intertribal violence of South Sudan may take several weeks. A source at UN headquarters explained ITAR-TASS correspondent Oleg Zeleninthat the deployment of troops is hampered by bureaucratic and logistical difficulties.
"This process may be delayed and take longer than some believe," - said the agency interlocutor. The reinforcement will begin to arrive in an African country at best by the New Year. It is difficult to say when the strength of the military component of the UN Mission in South Sudan will be brought to the thousands of people approved by the Security Council 12,5.
Currently, the UNMISS military contingent is about 7 thousand.
The era of e-commerce. UK said goodbye to historical relic - the Jackson Corner department store. The store lasted 138 years. Now it has closed, unable to withstand competition from network trading. They write about it "Vesti" with reference to ITAR-TASS.
Jacksons Corner, which launched 17 in September of 1875, was one of the first stores in Europe that radically changed attitudes towards customers. On the shelves of this department store goods could be taken from the shelf and inspected.
The reverse side of European multiculturalism. The scandal that erupted in Britain around the Muslim cashiers of the M&S (Marks and Spencer) retail chain, refusing to serve the native British, is another harbinger of demographic and cultural shifts looming in Europe, writes Nikita Sorokin ("Voice of Russia").
In February 2011, David Cameron spoke about the threats of multiculturalism in a speech at the annual Munich Security Conference. Earlier, the failure of multiculturalism was publicly recognized by Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy.
Nevertheless, there were no political shifts either in Britain, or in Germany, or in France, or in the European Union at all.
The current British scandal arose due to the fact that the management of the M&S trading network allowed Muslim cashiers to not serve customers based on religious considerations: not to punch customers with pork and alcohol checks.
The British threatened the network with a boycott, and the management of M&S explained that the retail chain meets the wishes of the employees and creates an “environment free of discrimination”.
British and European society as a whole realized that multiculturalism transcends the boundaries of reason. Sergey Mikhailov, an expert at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, notes that in the next twenty years, the demographic situation in Europe will begin to change faster.
Meanwhile, the facts confirm: radical Islamists are advancing on the way of life of the native Europeans. A few years ago, the Islamic community in Britain demanded to cut Piglet out of a fairy tale about Winnie the Pooh, and also to withdraw from the sale of toy pigs: their appearance should not offend the "eyes of Muslim children."
Later, “Sharia patrols” appeared on the streets of London - a group of Muslims who guard the principles of religious morality from Londoners and tourists. "You are in the territory of Islam." This means: you can not drink beer, it is forbidden to wear mini-skirts and shorts.
And in France in October 2012, the Islamists, on pain of death, ousted the owners of wine and meat shops from the territory of the market in Nîmes. Muslim extremists in Belgium promised to “kick out” the Belgians outside the kingdom. In Spain, the leadership of the Real Madrid football club removed a cross from its emblem, which symbolized the patronage of the king from 1920 of the year.
Such incidents are only harbingers of ideological, demographic and cultural shifts, which will be a consequence of the work of the mine mechanism, launched by the policy of multiculturalism, I'm sure Sergei Mikhailov.
According to many experts, the number of immigrants in Europe will grow, and they will begin to assimilate the Europeans ...
CIA for Europe? EU Commissioner for Justice, Viviane Reding, is even more firmly established that the EU needs its own CIA in order to "counterbalance" the American NSA. Redding said that with the consent of all member countries, the agency can be created by 2020 year. This tells Andrei Fedyashin "Voice of Russia".
Creating an office is necessary, Reding said, because today Europe has nothing to oppose to the global espionage of Americans, and there is a need to defend against uncontrolled American penetration: “The NSA must have a counterweight. My long-term proposal is to organize the European Intelligence Service in 2020. ”
Russian experts, however, are confident that such an idea is doomed to failure. Dmitry Danilov, an analyst at the Institute of Europe, RAS, says:
The head of the Russian Agency for Intelligence Technologies Er-Techno, a former FSB officer Roman Romachev, says that it is almost impossible to create an intelligence service that would serve the interests of all EU countries. They are too different ...
Snowden: asking is cheaper than spying. Edward Snowden in a video message urged to stop mass surveillance, reports RIA News" with reference to the TV channel "ABC News". The filming took place in Moscow. We give a quote:
As comrade Snowden noted, modern children will grow up without any idea of their personal life. But confidentiality is “what allows us to realize who we are and what we want.”
Snowden also said:
Well, what about the bloated budgets of the special services and ministries, Comrade Snowden? This is a whole commercial enterprise. No one will voluntarily give up his piece of cake. And when were the governments interested in the opinions of citizens? Governments do not fulfill the will of the people, but the will of those who paid for the elections. Young Strindberg was surprised: “How strange that rulers always want what the people do not want” (“The Red Room”). But in our time it is already possible not to be surprised.
Khodorkovsky will travel to Switzerland. M. Khodorkovsky appealed to the Swiss Embassy in Berlin with a request to grant him a three-month visa. Reports about it Interfax with reference to the Associated Press.
“The request will be reviewed in the coming days, but it may take a little longer due to holidays,” said the agency’s spokesman, Swiss Foreign Ministry spokesman Stefan von Below.
Khodorkovsky's spokesman Christian Hann said that a visa request does not mean that the former head of Yukos is going to settle in Switzerland. “He wants to go to Switzerland early next year to see the place where his sons go to school. But there is no decision on permanent residence yet, ”the source explained to AP.
Interfax reminds that Vladimir Putin signed a decree pardoning Khodorkovsky on Friday. The businessman, who had been imprisoned for 10 years, was taken out of prison and sent to Berlin by private jet.
Last weekend, Khodorkovsky met with his parents in Berlin, gave several interviews and a big press conference. He stated that in the petition for pardon he did not admit guilt, he was not going to be engaged in politics. Nor will he attempt to recover the assets of the bankrupt Yukos. In addition, he said that he could not yet return to Russia: there is a lawsuit filed against him by a lawsuit filed by the Federal Tax Service for the recovery of 17 billion rubles. The former head of YUKOS expressed disagreement with this resolution, the document was appealed by the ombudsman for the Russian president Vladimir Lukin. The European Court of Human Rights considered the penalty excessive. The appeal reached the Supreme Court of Russia, but failed to achieve the abolition of the penalty.
In the mid-November, the Federal Bailiff Service reported that, within the framework of the consolidated enforcement proceedings, Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev charged 132,8 million rubles. A large part of this amount is the price of the P. Lebedev suburban area. As for M. Khodorkovsky, the police officers found two motorcycles with him and sold them.
Outside of Sochi. Russian dissidents and Western politicians have ambiguously reacted to the amnesty, called upon before Sochi to undermine the image of Russia. “It is difficult for me to say that I am grateful to him,” Khodorkovsky said about Putin. “This is a PR move,” declared the liberated Alekhina. The amnesty is devoted to a new review of Western newspapers from "Foreign Press".
“For Russian dissidents and Western politicians who support them, it was a delicate question: should Putin be thanked for a massive amnesty last week, within which the most famous political prisoners of Russia received their freedom? Or was this attempt to launder Russia's reputation on the issue of human rights violation on the eve of the Olympic Games in Sochi too shameless? ”Asked Simon Schuster, a Time columnist.
None of the pardoned ones rushed to thank the person who gave them freedom, “after all, this is the same person who selected it,” notes Mr. Schuster.
“It is difficult for me to say that I am grateful to him,” Mikhail Khodorkovsky said at a press conference in Berlin. Maria Baronova, who was accused of “inciting mass riots” in Moscow, and with whom the charges were dropped under amnesty, said to Schuster by phone: “I will not thank him for this frank attempt to clear his image. This is a propaganda ploy, not an act of goodwill. ” “Pussy Riot” went even further. According to Maria Alyokhina, if she had a choice, she would have refused an amnesty in order to deprive Putin of any political dividends.
The release of Khodorkovsky, Pussy Riot participants and Greenpeace activists was perceived mainly as a gesture of goodwill on the eve of the Olympics. But, according to the author of the article in The Independent, the chairman of the The Russia Foundation, David Clark, the authorities were guided by reflections on Russia's political and economic future far beyond Sochi. Putin understands that "the system he created to save Russia from the post-Soviet decline has begun to show signs of stagnation and must be updated if he wants to perpetuate his contribution."
“With Khodorkovsky’s release, he could draw a line under the past,” says Clark. Today, Russia needs huge financial and technological investments to modernize the energy sector, replace the aging infrastructure and develop new areas of the economy. But where to get that kind of money? Funds can only be found if they manage to convince the Russians that nothing threatens their conditions inside the country. It will be possible to attract significant foreign investment.
The dilemma of mature Putinism is the choice between reform and repression. One of the options threatens to lose control, as under Gorbachev. The second is associated with the risk of sharing the fate of Mubarak.
"It is completely incomprehensible how Putin will solve this dilemma, but at least it seems that he asked himself such a question," Clark sums up.
The Russian judicial system wanted to “fix” the punkers from Pussy Riot, but it was a waste of work, writes Le Figaro. Coming out of Nizhny Novgorod IR-2, Maria Alekhina explained something to the public.
“My attitude towards the president has not changed at all. I do not consider the amnesty a humane act, I think this is a PR move, ”she told the Dozhd TV channel. She added: “If there was even the slightest opportunity to refuse amnesty, I would do it. I was in a state of moving body. ”
“Everything is just beginning, so buckle up! We will continue the political struggle, ”Nadezhda Tolokonnikova assured journalists.
Roy Jones Jr. decided to become a citizen of Russia. World boxing champion and rapper Roy Jones Jr. is going to get Russian citizenship “in the very near future,” said his promoter Vlad Khrunov. About this newspaper writes Global Times with reference to Xinhua.
44-year-old US citizen Jones wished to receive a Russian passport. According to the boxer, Jones plans to buy property in the city of Belorechensk (Krasnodar region) and live there permanently. The choice is explained by the fact that Khrunov is a native of this small town.
Christmas cookies. Latvian nationalist Janis Iesalnieks tweeted pictures of swastika cookies. From the explanations it follows that these are “gingerbreads” - Christmas cookies, which are made in Latvia and some other countries and are also used to decorate the Christmas tree. He writes about it "Lenta.ru".
The use of cookies in the form of a “fire cross” was described by the politician as a tradition.
Jesalnieks is a member of the governing board of the VL — TB / LNNK bloc of nationalists (the alliance of the parties “All for Latvia” and “The Fatherland and Freedom / Latvian National Independence Movement”).
Bearded Eurovision. Russia and Belarus urge to boycott Eurovision-2014. Many are outraged by Conchita Wurst, she is Thomas Neuwirth, a transvestite from Austria. With the external female appearance - male bristles. Alisa Romanova spoke about the protests ("Vesti").
The first outraged in Belarus. In a petition on change.org, citizens demanded to boycott the contest "as a hotbed of sodomy."
The transgender artist was not to the liking of the All-Russian Parent's Assembly. The petition was released by activists from Tver. Conchita-Thomas’s lifestyle in it was called propaganda of the “unacceptable way of life for Russia”.
“It is very important for me to enter this stage, not only because I am a musician, and I will participate in a song contest, but also because I really want to teach people a little more tolerance. So what if I have a beard? The person’s personality is more important than the person’s image, ”explains Thomas Neuywirt himself (Conchita Würst), a participant in the Eurovision Song Contest-2014.
Received for two years. In Tajikistan, convicted three students who, while studying in Syria, participated in the rebellion against government forces. Reports about it "Lenta.ru" with reference to Radio Ozodi. Young people received two years in prison.
Students studied at the International Institute of Arabic. The source does not report on what article they were convicted. The lawyer of one of them believes that the convicts' guilt is not proven.
The Islamic Party of Azerbaijan is against the celebration of the New Year and March 8. The Islamic Party of Azerbaijan appealed to the Caucasian Muslims Office, calling for December 31 not to hold New Year's festive events. Reports about it "Lenta.ru" with reference to Contact.az.
As explained in the party, this year’s December 31 marks the anniversary of the death of the Prophet Mohammed. According to SalamNews, Muslims offered to “publicly mark this day as a day of sorrow,” limit television shows on television and, instead, “devote space to preaching and conversations of theologians.”
As reported by IA "REGNUM", the Islamic Party spoke against the celebration of the International Women's Day 8 Martha. Party members said that “this holiday is becoming more and more common every year, although in the Islamic world the day of the daughter of the prophet Fatima is considered to be women's day.”
Lenta reminds that the Islamic Party has no official registration in Azerbaijan.
Robber, thief and prosecutor. Georgian Chief Prosecutor Otar Partskhaladze has been tried for robbery in the past. This statement was made by the dismissed mayor of Tbilisi, Gigi Ugulava, reports "Lenta.ru" with reference to "News-Georgia".
The trial of Partskhaladze took place in 2001, in Germany. For robbery and theft, the future prosecutor was sentenced to probation for a year and one month. As Ugulava further noted, Partskhaladze was restricted in his right to hold certain posts until the 2016 year.
The former mayor called on the Minister of Justice to request the Partkhaladze case from Germany and dismiss him.
As for Gigi Ugulava, this person is now under investigation in a case of embezzlement of public funds on a particularly large scale.
Euromaidan Evgenievich. A young Lviv family called his newborn son Euromaidan, writes MIGnews.com with reference to "TSN".
The name of the child was given by the father, Yevgeny Tihun. This person spends a lot of time at rallies.
The boy's mother, Maria, does not see anything wrong with the unusual name. She believes that in this way the family has contributed to the history of Ukraine.
Historical streets may appear in Ukraine soon.
According to "Lenta.ru" with reference to “Firtka”, in Ivano-Frankivsk, Proektnaya Street was proposed to be renamed to European - certainly, in honor of the campaign for European integration. With such initiative the mayor Victor Anushkevichus has acted.
“We are now in the time of Euromaidan and the struggle of the Ukrainian society for European integration, and in this context it would be very appropriate to call it (the street) that way,” he said.
North Korea is preparing for war without warning. On the anniversary of the proclamation of Kim Jong-il "great leader" Kim Jong-un visited the 526-th part of the Korean People's Army, instructing the military to be ready to start a war without warning. Reports about it RIA Novosti correspondent Daria Krutova with reference to "Ronhap".
It clarifies the Central Telegraph Agency of Korea, the visit of the country's leader was held on Tuesday. The 526 part in Nampho town, Phenan Namdo province, is “a part of great glory”. It served 57 "heroes of the republic" who fought in the Korean war 1950-1953.
After meeting with the command of the unit and seeing how the soldiers live, Comrade Kim instructed them: “Do not forget that you cannot declare when we will start a war, and continue preparations for the battle.”
Remembering Mao. A poll conducted by the newspaper "Huanggyu Shibao" on the eve of the 120 anniversary of the birth of Mao Zedong showed that the "great helmsman" enjoys great prestige among the Chinese population. 85% of respondents believe that Mao has more merit than mistakes, and 90% of respondents expressed respect and respect for the historical person. This tells correspondent ITAR-TASS Svetlana Karpova.
More than a thousand respondents from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other Chinese cities participated in the survey.
About 90% of respondents believe that the main merit of Mao is the creation of a new China. 60% celebrates his devotional service to his people and the struggle to establish a just order. According to 55% of respondents, Mao Zedong "played a huge role in strengthening China's position in the international arena." Half of the respondents recognize Mao's merit in turning China into a nuclear power.
48% of respondents praised the role of Mao in promoting the policy of openness, including through establishing relations with the United States. 46% recognized the importance of its activities for the development of the PRC economy.
At the same time 80% of respondents pointed to Mao’s guilt in unleashing the “Cultural Revolution”. 60% of respondents accused him of pursuing the “Big Leap” policy (1958-1961), and 46% accused of creating a personality cult.
More than 90% of respondents believe that the era of Mao Zedong as a whole had a significant impact on China.
Habit to copy. The administration of the Mentougou Chinese District has built a complex of offices that replicate the temples of the Moscow Kremlin. He writes about it correspondent ITAR-TASS Alexey Selishchev with reference to the "Beijing Zinnian Bao".
At the beginning of next year, the local seismological department, the water department, the forestry department and the meteorological department will move to office buildings copying elements of the Kremlin churches, with the exception of crosses on domes.
The newspaper writes that the pompous construction runs counter to the official position of Beijing, which is leading the campaign against corruption and waste.
Well, what kind of corruption is there ... Just add on our own, the habit of copying affects. Beijing, in this case, needs to conduct a campaign to combat copying. But he cannot do this: the Chinese civilization is still following the school way, which can be expressed in three verbs: copy, write off and draw. This path is fraught with the consequences that, as long as someone sketches, a real artist continues to paint new ...
Mucha legalized marijuana. The President of Uruguay signed the law on the legalization of marijuana, transmits RIA News" with reference to France Press.
The document provides that residents of the country will be able to grow marijuana in limited quantities on their own or in cannabis clubs. Also, marijuana can be bought at pharmacies upon presentation of a card (up to 40 grams per month). The sale will begin in the middle of the 2014 year.
In early December, the government launched the “Any drug is a risk” campaign, designed to reduce cannabis use in the country.
The management of McDonald's was frightened by the obesity of its employees and invited them to eat from competitors. McDonald's advises its employees not to eat a lot of hamburgers and french fries, that is, the specialties of this restaurant chain, writes "Voice of Russia" with reference to ITAR-TASS.
On the McDonald's corporate website, which only employees of the company have access to, it says:
There are two pictures on the site. At the first - a hamburger and french fries, and on the second - a sandwich and salad, which offers visitors one of the main competitors of McDonald's - snack bar "Subway". The dishes on the first picture, according to the creators of the site, are less useful than those shown in the second figure.
About blacks and Indians - do not read. Representatives of the human rights group "Kids' Right to Read" said that American schools introduced censorship of books. Reports about it "RT" with reference to The Guardian.
Among the books that attempted to remove the "champions of morality" from school libraries were works written by representatives of various national and social groups.
Often the book "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison falls into the list of "forbidden literature". She tells of the plight of a black young man in America in the middle of the 20th century. In order not to become a victim of racism, the main character is forced to wander and hide his abilities.
In some schools, the book “Flowers of Purple Fields” by Alishia Walker was banned. It tells about the fate of a raped Negro girl. And Steven Spielberg made a film based on this book.
Keepers of libraries are hiding from children and books on the fate of American Indians.
It comes to the point that in other cases even books devoted to the fight against fascism are banned. From the library of a school in Michigan, the publication of the diaries of Anne Frank, who died at the hands of the Nazis in March 1945, disappeared. Voluntary censors believe her diaries contain “too much pornography.”
Black Santa Claus was shot. In Washington, a black Santa Claus was fired from a pneumatic weapon. He writes about it "Lenta.ru" with reference to The Washington Post.
Xavier Hawkins walked down the street and congratulated passersby on Merry Christmas. He was going to give out presents to some 600 children. Suddenly, he was shot several times with airguns. One of the bullets hit the man in the back.
At the hospital, Hawkins stayed for several hours, after which he returned to work and helped colleagues distribute the remaining gifts.
Hawkins was shot from a building window. It is assumed that adolescents are behind the attack.
The attack on Xavier Hawkins dressed as Santa Claus captured on video. Link.
Tireless and fast. Santa Claus, who started the Christmas journey yesterday, has already delivered over 3 billions of gifts, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). He writes about it RIA News".
Santa started from the North Pole to congratulate the children of the planet on Christmas and give them gifts. A nine-deer Santa sleigh headed by Rudolph the deer, whose red nose serves as a reference for NORAD radars. The route of Santa Claus can be tracked at www.noradsanta.org.
According to this site, on 1 an hour of 12 minutes of Moscow time, Santa managed to deliver over 3 billions of gifts. He flew over the territory of Russia several times.
As RIA “Novosti” reminds, a project called “NORAD Watches Santa” was launched in 1955 year - due to an error in the figure. One of the largest department stores in the state of Colorado placed an advertisement calling for children to call Santa Claus, but the phone number was indicated with an error. Instead, Santa had to answer calls to the operator of the hotline of the continental air defense command - the predecessor of NORAD.
The bandits tried to seize warehouses with chemical weapons in Syria. Terrorist groups attacked warehouses with components for chemical weapons in central Syria and in the province of Damascus. Reports about it ITAR-TASS with reference to SANA.
The agency notes: “The criminal groups organized attacks on the facilities where chemicals are located, the agreement on which relocation was reached on December 21 of the current year. Gangs attacked one of these sites in the center of Syria, trying to establish control over it. ”
The armed forces repulsed the militants and thwarted the attack.
Another attack was carried out by the groups "Liva Al-Islam" and "Dzhebhat al-Nusra". Bandits attacked one of the objects with chemical weapons in the province of Damascus. Four people were killed, 28 injured.
“Militants used an armored vehicle with a lot of explosives to attack. The servicemen managed to crush this car before it reached the object, ”said SANA.
Syria has condemned the actions of countries that "support gangs and give them intelligence on chemical weapons."
SANA quotes the representative of the CAP Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “How did the gangs get information about the movement of chemicals from these facilities to others? This means that some states that were aware of this have transferred data to the militants. ”
Hezbollah vs Al-Nusra Front. Not less than 32 radicals from the Syrian front-nusrah group operating in Syria were killed by Hezbollah militants, the Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star writes, citing its own sources. Reports about it "Lenta.ru".
The battle occurred in the east of Lebanon, where last Sunday a Sunni detachment invaded the Syrian side. Shiite fighters ambushed the city of Nakhle, and the participants of the "Front" were killed. Losses "Hezbollah" - one person.
Six goals in Gaza. Israeli Tanks, infantry and aviation attacked six targets yesterday in areas of the Gaza Strip. The attacks were a response to the death of an Israeli on the border of the enclave, reports RIA News".
According to reports by Palestinian doctors, a three-year-old girl and a farmer were victims of Israeli attacks. About a dozen people were injured.
RIA "News»Notes:
“The parties reported that the militants of the ruling Hamas movement and the large Islamic Jihad group, an armory and camouflaged rocket launchers were hit. The last time Israel had so intensely bombed Gaza in November last year during Operation Cloud Pillar, followed by more than a year of relative calm. ”
The resignation of the Turkish Minister. Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Chaglayan resigned, reports ITAR-TASS with reference to the CNN Türk TV channel.
Earlier, the channel noted that the son of the minister was involved in a corruption scandal.
Peacekeepers interferes with bureaucracy. The process of transferring additional peacekeeping forces to the intertribal violence of South Sudan may take several weeks. A source at UN headquarters explained ITAR-TASS correspondent Oleg Zeleninthat the deployment of troops is hampered by bureaucratic and logistical difficulties.
"This process may be delayed and take longer than some believe," - said the agency interlocutor. The reinforcement will begin to arrive in an African country at best by the New Year. It is difficult to say when the strength of the military component of the UN Mission in South Sudan will be brought to the thousands of people approved by the Security Council 12,5.
Currently, the UNMISS military contingent is about 7 thousand.
The era of e-commerce. UK said goodbye to historical relic - the Jackson Corner department store. The store lasted 138 years. Now it has closed, unable to withstand competition from network trading. They write about it "Vesti" with reference to ITAR-TASS.
Jacksons Corner, which launched 17 in September of 1875, was one of the first stores in Europe that radically changed attitudes towards customers. On the shelves of this department store goods could be taken from the shelf and inspected.
The reverse side of European multiculturalism. The scandal that erupted in Britain around the Muslim cashiers of the M&S (Marks and Spencer) retail chain, refusing to serve the native British, is another harbinger of demographic and cultural shifts looming in Europe, writes Nikita Sorokin ("Voice of Russia").
In February 2011, David Cameron spoke about the threats of multiculturalism in a speech at the annual Munich Security Conference. Earlier, the failure of multiculturalism was publicly recognized by Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy.
Nevertheless, there were no political shifts either in Britain, or in Germany, or in France, or in the European Union at all.
The current British scandal arose due to the fact that the management of the M&S trading network allowed Muslim cashiers to not serve customers based on religious considerations: not to punch customers with pork and alcohol checks.
The British threatened the network with a boycott, and the management of M&S explained that the retail chain meets the wishes of the employees and creates an “environment free of discrimination”.
British and European society as a whole realized that multiculturalism transcends the boundaries of reason. Sergey Mikhailov, an expert at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, notes that in the next twenty years, the demographic situation in Europe will begin to change faster.
Meanwhile, the facts confirm: radical Islamists are advancing on the way of life of the native Europeans. A few years ago, the Islamic community in Britain demanded to cut Piglet out of a fairy tale about Winnie the Pooh, and also to withdraw from the sale of toy pigs: their appearance should not offend the "eyes of Muslim children."
Later, “Sharia patrols” appeared on the streets of London - a group of Muslims who guard the principles of religious morality from Londoners and tourists. "You are in the territory of Islam." This means: you can not drink beer, it is forbidden to wear mini-skirts and shorts.
And in France in October 2012, the Islamists, on pain of death, ousted the owners of wine and meat shops from the territory of the market in Nîmes. Muslim extremists in Belgium promised to “kick out” the Belgians outside the kingdom. In Spain, the leadership of the Real Madrid football club removed a cross from its emblem, which symbolized the patronage of the king from 1920 of the year.
Such incidents are only harbingers of ideological, demographic and cultural shifts, which will be a consequence of the work of the mine mechanism, launched by the policy of multiculturalism, I'm sure Sergei Mikhailov.
According to many experts, the number of immigrants in Europe will grow, and they will begin to assimilate the Europeans ...
CIA for Europe? EU Commissioner for Justice, Viviane Reding, is even more firmly established that the EU needs its own CIA in order to "counterbalance" the American NSA. Redding said that with the consent of all member countries, the agency can be created by 2020 year. This tells Andrei Fedyashin "Voice of Russia".
Creating an office is necessary, Reding said, because today Europe has nothing to oppose to the global espionage of Americans, and there is a need to defend against uncontrolled American penetration: “The NSA must have a counterweight. My long-term proposal is to organize the European Intelligence Service in 2020. ”
Russian experts, however, are confident that such an idea is doomed to failure. Dmitry Danilov, an analyst at the Institute of Europe, RAS, says:
“It seems to me that creating such a central intelligence device or service within the European Union is unlikely to succeed. For many reasons. This is such a delicate area that we can talk only about channels of bilateral exchanges, and not about a centralized system. Even in matters of cooperation in the defense and security policy areas of the EU, if it moves forward, it is very small steps. ”
The head of the Russian Agency for Intelligence Technologies Er-Techno, a former FSB officer Roman Romachev, says that it is almost impossible to create an intelligence service that would serve the interests of all EU countries. They are too different ...
Snowden: asking is cheaper than spying. Edward Snowden in a video message urged to stop mass surveillance, reports RIA News" with reference to the TV channel "ABC News". The filming took place in Moscow. We give a quote:
“Earlier we learned that the authorities of our countries, acting together, have created a system of mass surveillance. George Orwell warned us about the danger <...> The methods of collecting information in his book (1984), such as microphones, video cameras and television are nothing compared to today. "
As comrade Snowden noted, modern children will grow up without any idea of their personal life. But confidentiality is “what allows us to realize who we are and what we want.”
Snowden also said:
“Together we must end mass surveillance and remind the government that wants to know how we feel that asking is cheaper than spying.”
Well, what about the bloated budgets of the special services and ministries, Comrade Snowden? This is a whole commercial enterprise. No one will voluntarily give up his piece of cake. And when were the governments interested in the opinions of citizens? Governments do not fulfill the will of the people, but the will of those who paid for the elections. Young Strindberg was surprised: “How strange that rulers always want what the people do not want” (“The Red Room”). But in our time it is already possible not to be surprised.
Khodorkovsky will travel to Switzerland. M. Khodorkovsky appealed to the Swiss Embassy in Berlin with a request to grant him a three-month visa. Reports about it Interfax with reference to the Associated Press.
“The request will be reviewed in the coming days, but it may take a little longer due to holidays,” said the agency’s spokesman, Swiss Foreign Ministry spokesman Stefan von Below.
Khodorkovsky's spokesman Christian Hann said that a visa request does not mean that the former head of Yukos is going to settle in Switzerland. “He wants to go to Switzerland early next year to see the place where his sons go to school. But there is no decision on permanent residence yet, ”the source explained to AP.
Interfax reminds that Vladimir Putin signed a decree pardoning Khodorkovsky on Friday. The businessman, who had been imprisoned for 10 years, was taken out of prison and sent to Berlin by private jet.
Last weekend, Khodorkovsky met with his parents in Berlin, gave several interviews and a big press conference. He stated that in the petition for pardon he did not admit guilt, he was not going to be engaged in politics. Nor will he attempt to recover the assets of the bankrupt Yukos. In addition, he said that he could not yet return to Russia: there is a lawsuit filed against him by a lawsuit filed by the Federal Tax Service for the recovery of 17 billion rubles. The former head of YUKOS expressed disagreement with this resolution, the document was appealed by the ombudsman for the Russian president Vladimir Lukin. The European Court of Human Rights considered the penalty excessive. The appeal reached the Supreme Court of Russia, but failed to achieve the abolition of the penalty.
In the mid-November, the Federal Bailiff Service reported that, within the framework of the consolidated enforcement proceedings, Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev charged 132,8 million rubles. A large part of this amount is the price of the P. Lebedev suburban area. As for M. Khodorkovsky, the police officers found two motorcycles with him and sold them.
Outside of Sochi. Russian dissidents and Western politicians have ambiguously reacted to the amnesty, called upon before Sochi to undermine the image of Russia. “It is difficult for me to say that I am grateful to him,” Khodorkovsky said about Putin. “This is a PR move,” declared the liberated Alekhina. The amnesty is devoted to a new review of Western newspapers from "Foreign Press".
“For Russian dissidents and Western politicians who support them, it was a delicate question: should Putin be thanked for a massive amnesty last week, within which the most famous political prisoners of Russia received their freedom? Or was this attempt to launder Russia's reputation on the issue of human rights violation on the eve of the Olympic Games in Sochi too shameless? ”Asked Simon Schuster, a Time columnist.
None of the pardoned ones rushed to thank the person who gave them freedom, “after all, this is the same person who selected it,” notes Mr. Schuster.
“It is difficult for me to say that I am grateful to him,” Mikhail Khodorkovsky said at a press conference in Berlin. Maria Baronova, who was accused of “inciting mass riots” in Moscow, and with whom the charges were dropped under amnesty, said to Schuster by phone: “I will not thank him for this frank attempt to clear his image. This is a propaganda ploy, not an act of goodwill. ” “Pussy Riot” went even further. According to Maria Alyokhina, if she had a choice, she would have refused an amnesty in order to deprive Putin of any political dividends.
The release of Khodorkovsky, Pussy Riot participants and Greenpeace activists was perceived mainly as a gesture of goodwill on the eve of the Olympics. But, according to the author of the article in The Independent, the chairman of the The Russia Foundation, David Clark, the authorities were guided by reflections on Russia's political and economic future far beyond Sochi. Putin understands that "the system he created to save Russia from the post-Soviet decline has begun to show signs of stagnation and must be updated if he wants to perpetuate his contribution."
“With Khodorkovsky’s release, he could draw a line under the past,” says Clark. Today, Russia needs huge financial and technological investments to modernize the energy sector, replace the aging infrastructure and develop new areas of the economy. But where to get that kind of money? Funds can only be found if they manage to convince the Russians that nothing threatens their conditions inside the country. It will be possible to attract significant foreign investment.
The dilemma of mature Putinism is the choice between reform and repression. One of the options threatens to lose control, as under Gorbachev. The second is associated with the risk of sharing the fate of Mubarak.
"It is completely incomprehensible how Putin will solve this dilemma, but at least it seems that he asked himself such a question," Clark sums up.
The Russian judicial system wanted to “fix” the punkers from Pussy Riot, but it was a waste of work, writes Le Figaro. Coming out of Nizhny Novgorod IR-2, Maria Alekhina explained something to the public.
“My attitude towards the president has not changed at all. I do not consider the amnesty a humane act, I think this is a PR move, ”she told the Dozhd TV channel. She added: “If there was even the slightest opportunity to refuse amnesty, I would do it. I was in a state of moving body. ”
“Everything is just beginning, so buckle up! We will continue the political struggle, ”Nadezhda Tolokonnikova assured journalists.
Roy Jones Jr. decided to become a citizen of Russia. World boxing champion and rapper Roy Jones Jr. is going to get Russian citizenship “in the very near future,” said his promoter Vlad Khrunov. About this newspaper writes Global Times with reference to Xinhua.
44-year-old US citizen Jones wished to receive a Russian passport. According to the boxer, Jones plans to buy property in the city of Belorechensk (Krasnodar region) and live there permanently. The choice is explained by the fact that Khrunov is a native of this small town.
Christmas cookies. Latvian nationalist Janis Iesalnieks tweeted pictures of swastika cookies. From the explanations it follows that these are “gingerbreads” - Christmas cookies, which are made in Latvia and some other countries and are also used to decorate the Christmas tree. He writes about it "Lenta.ru".
The use of cookies in the form of a “fire cross” was described by the politician as a tradition.
Jesalnieks is a member of the governing board of the VL — TB / LNNK bloc of nationalists (the alliance of the parties “All for Latvia” and “The Fatherland and Freedom / Latvian National Independence Movement”).
Bearded Eurovision. Russia and Belarus urge to boycott Eurovision-2014. Many are outraged by Conchita Wurst, she is Thomas Neuwirth, a transvestite from Austria. With the external female appearance - male bristles. Alisa Romanova spoke about the protests ("Vesti").
The first outraged in Belarus. In a petition on change.org, citizens demanded to boycott the contest "as a hotbed of sodomy."
The transgender artist was not to the liking of the All-Russian Parent's Assembly. The petition was released by activists from Tver. Conchita-Thomas’s lifestyle in it was called propaganda of the “unacceptable way of life for Russia”.
“It is very important for me to enter this stage, not only because I am a musician, and I will participate in a song contest, but also because I really want to teach people a little more tolerance. So what if I have a beard? The person’s personality is more important than the person’s image, ”explains Thomas Neuywirt himself (Conchita Würst), a participant in the Eurovision Song Contest-2014.
“In the history of Eurovision, such ambiguous women have already been, and even won. In 1998, Dana International from Israel took the main prize - before the sex reassignment operation, she was a man. Six years ago, Verka Serdyuchka took second place. The contest was remembered for sex scandal in the 2002 year, when three transvestites dressed as stewardesses represented Slovenia. And in May of 2013, a singer from Finland kissed a girl from a dance. However, more often than not even more is heard about the most scandalous participants after the contest. ”
Received for two years. In Tajikistan, convicted three students who, while studying in Syria, participated in the rebellion against government forces. Reports about it "Lenta.ru" with reference to Radio Ozodi. Young people received two years in prison.
Students studied at the International Institute of Arabic. The source does not report on what article they were convicted. The lawyer of one of them believes that the convicts' guilt is not proven.
The Islamic Party of Azerbaijan is against the celebration of the New Year and March 8. The Islamic Party of Azerbaijan appealed to the Caucasian Muslims Office, calling for December 31 not to hold New Year's festive events. Reports about it "Lenta.ru" with reference to Contact.az.
As explained in the party, this year’s December 31 marks the anniversary of the death of the Prophet Mohammed. According to SalamNews, Muslims offered to “publicly mark this day as a day of sorrow,” limit television shows on television and, instead, “devote space to preaching and conversations of theologians.”
As reported by IA "REGNUM", the Islamic Party spoke against the celebration of the International Women's Day 8 Martha. Party members said that “this holiday is becoming more and more common every year, although in the Islamic world the day of the daughter of the prophet Fatima is considered to be women's day.”
Lenta reminds that the Islamic Party has no official registration in Azerbaijan.
Robber, thief and prosecutor. Georgian Chief Prosecutor Otar Partskhaladze has been tried for robbery in the past. This statement was made by the dismissed mayor of Tbilisi, Gigi Ugulava, reports "Lenta.ru" with reference to "News-Georgia".
The trial of Partskhaladze took place in 2001, in Germany. For robbery and theft, the future prosecutor was sentenced to probation for a year and one month. As Ugulava further noted, Partskhaladze was restricted in his right to hold certain posts until the 2016 year.
The former mayor called on the Minister of Justice to request the Partkhaladze case from Germany and dismiss him.
As for Gigi Ugulava, this person is now under investigation in a case of embezzlement of public funds on a particularly large scale.
Euromaidan Evgenievich. A young Lviv family called his newborn son Euromaidan, writes MIGnews.com with reference to "TSN".
The name of the child was given by the father, Yevgeny Tihun. This person spends a lot of time at rallies.
The boy's mother, Maria, does not see anything wrong with the unusual name. She believes that in this way the family has contributed to the history of Ukraine.
Historical streets may appear in Ukraine soon.
According to "Lenta.ru" with reference to “Firtka”, in Ivano-Frankivsk, Proektnaya Street was proposed to be renamed to European - certainly, in honor of the campaign for European integration. With such initiative the mayor Victor Anushkevichus has acted.
“We are now in the time of Euromaidan and the struggle of the Ukrainian society for European integration, and in this context it would be very appropriate to call it (the street) that way,” he said.
North Korea is preparing for war without warning. On the anniversary of the proclamation of Kim Jong-il "great leader" Kim Jong-un visited the 526-th part of the Korean People's Army, instructing the military to be ready to start a war without warning. Reports about it RIA Novosti correspondent Daria Krutova with reference to "Ronhap".
It clarifies the Central Telegraph Agency of Korea, the visit of the country's leader was held on Tuesday. The 526 part in Nampho town, Phenan Namdo province, is “a part of great glory”. It served 57 "heroes of the republic" who fought in the Korean war 1950-1953.
After meeting with the command of the unit and seeing how the soldiers live, Comrade Kim instructed them: “Do not forget that you cannot declare when we will start a war, and continue preparations for the battle.”
Remembering Mao. A poll conducted by the newspaper "Huanggyu Shibao" on the eve of the 120 anniversary of the birth of Mao Zedong showed that the "great helmsman" enjoys great prestige among the Chinese population. 85% of respondents believe that Mao has more merit than mistakes, and 90% of respondents expressed respect and respect for the historical person. This tells correspondent ITAR-TASS Svetlana Karpova.
More than a thousand respondents from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other Chinese cities participated in the survey.
About 90% of respondents believe that the main merit of Mao is the creation of a new China. 60% celebrates his devotional service to his people and the struggle to establish a just order. According to 55% of respondents, Mao Zedong "played a huge role in strengthening China's position in the international arena." Half of the respondents recognize Mao's merit in turning China into a nuclear power.
48% of respondents praised the role of Mao in promoting the policy of openness, including through establishing relations with the United States. 46% recognized the importance of its activities for the development of the PRC economy.
At the same time 80% of respondents pointed to Mao’s guilt in unleashing the “Cultural Revolution”. 60% of respondents accused him of pursuing the “Big Leap” policy (1958-1961), and 46% accused of creating a personality cult.
More than 90% of respondents believe that the era of Mao Zedong as a whole had a significant impact on China.
Habit to copy. The administration of the Mentougou Chinese District has built a complex of offices that replicate the temples of the Moscow Kremlin. He writes about it correspondent ITAR-TASS Alexey Selishchev with reference to the "Beijing Zinnian Bao".
At the beginning of next year, the local seismological department, the water department, the forestry department and the meteorological department will move to office buildings copying elements of the Kremlin churches, with the exception of crosses on domes.
The newspaper writes that the pompous construction runs counter to the official position of Beijing, which is leading the campaign against corruption and waste.
Well, what kind of corruption is there ... Just add on our own, the habit of copying affects. Beijing, in this case, needs to conduct a campaign to combat copying. But he cannot do this: the Chinese civilization is still following the school way, which can be expressed in three verbs: copy, write off and draw. This path is fraught with the consequences that, as long as someone sketches, a real artist continues to paint new ...
Mucha legalized marijuana. The President of Uruguay signed the law on the legalization of marijuana, transmits RIA News" with reference to France Press.
The document provides that residents of the country will be able to grow marijuana in limited quantities on their own or in cannabis clubs. Also, marijuana can be bought at pharmacies upon presentation of a card (up to 40 grams per month). The sale will begin in the middle of the 2014 year.
In early December, the government launched the “Any drug is a risk” campaign, designed to reduce cannabis use in the country.
The management of McDonald's was frightened by the obesity of its employees and invited them to eat from competitors. McDonald's advises its employees not to eat a lot of hamburgers and french fries, that is, the specialties of this restaurant chain, writes "Voice of Russia" with reference to ITAR-TASS.
On the McDonald's corporate website, which only employees of the company have access to, it says:
“Although the food served in fast food restaurants is very convenient and economical, it contains a lot of calories, fat, sugar and salt. Its use can lead to obesity. "
There are two pictures on the site. At the first - a hamburger and french fries, and on the second - a sandwich and salad, which offers visitors one of the main competitors of McDonald's - snack bar "Subway". The dishes on the first picture, according to the creators of the site, are less useful than those shown in the second figure.
About blacks and Indians - do not read. Representatives of the human rights group "Kids' Right to Read" said that American schools introduced censorship of books. Reports about it "RT" with reference to The Guardian.
Among the books that attempted to remove the "champions of morality" from school libraries were works written by representatives of various national and social groups.
Often the book "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison falls into the list of "forbidden literature". She tells of the plight of a black young man in America in the middle of the 20th century. In order not to become a victim of racism, the main character is forced to wander and hide his abilities.
In some schools, the book “Flowers of Purple Fields” by Alishia Walker was banned. It tells about the fate of a raped Negro girl. And Steven Spielberg made a film based on this book.
Keepers of libraries are hiding from children and books on the fate of American Indians.
It comes to the point that in other cases even books devoted to the fight against fascism are banned. From the library of a school in Michigan, the publication of the diaries of Anne Frank, who died at the hands of the Nazis in March 1945, disappeared. Voluntary censors believe her diaries contain “too much pornography.”
Black Santa Claus was shot. In Washington, a black Santa Claus was fired from a pneumatic weapon. He writes about it "Lenta.ru" with reference to The Washington Post.
Xavier Hawkins walked down the street and congratulated passersby on Merry Christmas. He was going to give out presents to some 600 children. Suddenly, he was shot several times with airguns. One of the bullets hit the man in the back.
At the hospital, Hawkins stayed for several hours, after which he returned to work and helped colleagues distribute the remaining gifts.
Hawkins was shot from a building window. It is assumed that adolescents are behind the attack.
The attack on Xavier Hawkins dressed as Santa Claus captured on video. Link.
Tireless and fast. Santa Claus, who started the Christmas journey yesterday, has already delivered over 3 billions of gifts, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). He writes about it RIA News".
Santa started from the North Pole to congratulate the children of the planet on Christmas and give them gifts. A nine-deer Santa sleigh headed by Rudolph the deer, whose red nose serves as a reference for NORAD radars. The route of Santa Claus can be tracked at www.noradsanta.org.
According to this site, on 1 an hour of 12 minutes of Moscow time, Santa managed to deliver over 3 billions of gifts. He flew over the territory of Russia several times.
As RIA “Novosti” reminds, a project called “NORAD Watches Santa” was launched in 1955 year - due to an error in the figure. One of the largest department stores in the state of Colorado placed an advertisement calling for children to call Santa Claus, but the phone number was indicated with an error. Instead, Santa had to answer calls to the operator of the hotline of the continental air defense command - the predecessor of NORAD.
Observed and commented on Oleg Chuvakin
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- especially for topwar.ru
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