IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.— That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Keyword: russia
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UNIDENTIFIED gunmen have opened fire on several policemen in Russia's southern region of Ingushetia, killing one and wounding four, Russian media reported. The police officers were shot in Ingushetia's Malgobek district, some 45 km from the capital Magas. "During an attempt to detain them (the gunmen), they escaped into a forest. Their pursuit has been organised," Interfax quoted the Ingushetia Interior Ministry as saying. Russian forces have been combating a growing insurgency in mainly Muslim Ingushetia. The region borders Chechnya, where a pro-Kremlin local commander has dampened a rebellion Russia has been fighting since 1994. Violence flares up almost daily...
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PARIS) - The European Union should free itself from its dependence on Russian gas by developing renewable and nuclear energy, the former head of the International Energy Agency told EU ministers Saturday. "We need to give ourselves a flexibility that we are missing," Claude Mandil told the European bloc's 27 energy ministers at an informal meeting on the outskirts of Paris. "We need more energy efficiency, more liquefied natural gas, more renewable energy, more nuclear energy," he told the ministers, who are wrapping up a three-day gathering that also included environmental ministers. Mandil, a French official who headed the IEA...
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TSKHINVALI, Georgia: Russia accused Georgia of “an open act of aggression” on Friday after the separatist South Ossetia region said Georgian forces had killed two people in a mortar and grenade attack. The Russian-backed separatist administration called up military reservists and put its security forces on alert in response to an overnight clash in which, they said, Georgian forces fired at their capital, Tskhinvali, and nearby villages. Georgia’s Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke from central rule during wars in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia, which has peacekeepers in both unrecognised regions, has provided moral and...
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A third of all money spent by the Russian government on its armed forces is lost to corruption, a senior Russian official has warned. Aleksander Kanshin told reporters 16 generals and 180 colonels were prosecuted last year alone. One of Russia's top military prosecutors has called for new laws to tackle an "explosion of corruption". If Mr Kanshin's figures are correct, it would mean about $13bn is lost to military corruption annually. Flow of money Speaking in Moscow, Mr Kanshin said almost 600 senior military personnel were convicted last year. He said that housing, allocating military hardware contracts, even obtaining...
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To complete nuclear triad, navy to lease Russian sub 4 Jul 2008, 0304 hrs IST, Rajat Pandit,TNN NEW DELHI: India's long-standing quest to have a viable nuclear weapon triad — the capability to fire nukes from the air, land and sea — will finally take a big leap towards completion when it takes a Russian nuclear submarine on lease next year. This morale-boosting news for the country's strategic establishment comes with the fact that the 12,000-tonne Akula-II nuclear-powered attack submarine, which was being built at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur shipyard in Russia, began shore-based trials recently. "The submarine's sea-based trials will follow...
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Separatists in Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia region say at least two people were killed when Georgian forces started shelling the region overnight. Eleven others were wounded in the bombardment, officials said. Shooting broke out after the shelling. South Ossetia's breakaway government ordered a full mobilisation in response, a spokesman said.
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Russia’s new president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, less swaggering than his predecessor but as touchy about criticism from abroad, said in an interview that an America in “essentially a depression” was in no position to lecture other countries on how to conduct their affairs. ... In the interview, Mr. Medvedev was asked about a call by Senator John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, to bar Russia from the Group of 8 because of its record on democracy. ... “The Group of 8 exists not because someone likes or dislikes it, but because objectively, they are the biggest world...
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States and Poland have reached a tentative deal to place part of a ballistic missile defense system on its territory, a plan that has drawn sharp objections from Russia, a senior administration official said Wednesday. Poland's political establishment still has to sign off on the deal and determine the next steps, the official said. The agreement came after several days of negotiations and less than a week before a planned visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
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Testing New Fighter Jet Is Successful Sukhoi Design Bureau is testing a new multipurpose jet Su-35, and the tests are successful, test pilot Sergei Bogdan announced in the interview with the Military & Industrial Courier edition. Thirteen flights have been made, Bogdan specified. Even the first flights of Su-35 confirmed the excellent flying and technical characteristics of the jet, and were completely in line with the stand tests. Stability and controllability of Su-35 was evaluated at the altitude of up to 11,000 meters. The fighter was accelerated up to the speed corresponding to the Mach number of 1.3. In terms...
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With the demise of Communism, reasons for the West and Russia to be in confrontation vanished. Russia entered on the path of European democracy. In many areas, cooperation between Russia and NATO has yielded positive results. This is true in Russia's support for the transit of cargo by the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. We are also gaining momentum in civil emergency planning, and our scientists are successfully collaborating on equipment to fight terrorism. Such successes, however, are largely overshadowed by contradictions in another issue - NATO enlargement and the admission of Ukraine and Georgia into the alliance. As...
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NICE, France: In patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), immunosuppressive therapy followed by autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation elicited high response rates and improved quality of life for up to 6 years. The results of the study were presented here at the 18th Meeting of the European Neurological Society (ENS) by Tatiana Ionova, MD, PhD, Department of Haematology, Pirogov National Medical Surgical Center, Moscow, Russia. During the last decade, high-dose immunosuppressive therapy followed by autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation has been used with increasing frequency as a therapeutic option for patients with MS. "The aim of the study was to assess...
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Moscow, June 27, Interfax - At its final Friday session, the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church ruled that the Bishop of Anadyr and Chukotka Diomid should be defrocked. An absolute majority of the Bishops' Council (with three abstainers) voted for "stripping Diomid of priestly privileges" due to his disobedience to hierarchy, Interfax-Religion reports. "The Council calls Diomid to immediately repent and stop his activity. If he refuses, the Council's ruling shall be enforced," one of the Council's participants told to the agency. The Council also fixed the deadline for such repentance - before the next session of the...
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Strategic bombers off the American coast, battleships in the Mediterranean -- the Russian military is displaying its might once again with Moscow pumping billions into new weapons. But where does the Kremlin see its enemies today, and why is it risking another nuclear arms race with Washington? At eleven o'clock at night, when the moon is reflected in the slow-moving waters of the Volga River, when the steppes are exhaling the heat of the day, and when the last bars are closing in Yekaterinburg and Pokrovsk -- old provincial cities on the river's left bank that are now called Marx...
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Russia, EU launch talks on new strategic relations09:45' 28/06/2008 (GMT+7) European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Janez Jansa of Slovenia and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana (R-L) meet the media after the two-day Russia-EU summit in Khanty-Mansiysk, central Russia, June 27, 2008. Russia and the EU announced here Friday that they will open talks on new strategic relations in coming days.(Xinhua Photo) The Russia-EU summit concluded Friday in Russia's West Siberian city of Khanty-Mansiysk, with the issuing of a joint statement saying that Russia and the European Union (EU) will hold the...
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As I was waiting in the service lounge of an auto dealership a few days ago, I glanced up and saw the following banner on Fox News: RUSSIAN WARNS ISRAEL NOT TO ATTACK IRAN This simple line was rather profound in that it demonstrates just how much the world has changed in such a short period of time. While I certainly believed in biblical prophecies twenty years ago, the issue of the Gog/Magog War was a bit abstract. For while it seems crystal clear that Russia is Magog (and Gog its leader during the war), twenty years ago it was...
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Russia joins the war in Afghanistan By M K Bhadrakumar Jun 25, 2008 Moscow is staging an extraordinary comeback on the Afghan chessboard after a gap of two decades following the Soviet Union's nine-year adventure that ended in the withdrawal of its last troops from Afghanistan 1989. In a curious reversal of history, this is possible only with the acquiescence of the United States. Moscow is taking advantage of the deterioration of the war in Afghanistan and the implications for regional security could be far-reaching.
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When Iran sought to strengthen its relations with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization earlier this year, it found a willing friend in Imomali Rahmon. The president of Tajikistan assured his hosts on a visit to Tehran in February that Iran “had a real possibility” to become a full member of the organization. Now, Rahmon has taken that pledge one step further. Earlier this month, the Tajik president sent a letter addressed to SCO heads of state. In it, according to Iranian Ambassador to Tajikistan Ali Asghar Sherdust, the president supported Iran’s possible bid for membership at the August SCO summit in...
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Russian bombers have stepped up provocative flight exercises off the Alaskan coast, reminiscent of Cold War incursions designed to rattle U.S. air defenses. U.S. Northern Command, which protects North American airspace, told The Washington Times that TU-95 Bear bombers on 18 occasions the past year have skirted a 12-mile air defense identification zone that protects Alaska. The incursions prompted F-15s and F-22 Raptor fighters to scramble from Elmendorf Air Force Base and intercept the warplanes. The last incident happened in May. The venerable propeller-driven TU-95 came to symbolize the Cold War, as did its counterpart, the U.S. B-52 Stratofortress. "They...
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India, Russia develop airborne supersonic cruise missile 16:49 | 20/ 06/ 2008 NEW DELHI, June 20 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian-Indian BrahMos Aerospace joint venture has finished the development of the airborne version of an advanced supersonic missile, the company's managing director has said. Established in 1998, BrahMos Aerospace designs, produces, and markets supersonic missiles, whose sea-based and land-based versions have been successfully tested and put into service with the Indian Army and Navy. "For the airborne version...we had to reduce the mass of the missile and to ensure aerodynamic stability after its separation from the aircraft. The air-launched platform...
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Russia plans Arctic training exercises Link only
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MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Ministry of Defense plans to cut the size of its Chechen battalions, a general has said, two months after a stand-off with soldiers loyal to Chechnya's Kremlin-backed leader. Groomed by Russian leader Vladimir Putin to be Chechnya's president, Ramzan Kadyrov called for the Ministry of Defense to disband the battle-hardened Vostok battalion and sack its commander after the roadside stand off in April. The Vostok battalion is commanded by Sulim Yamadayev -- one of the few Chechens powerful enough to rival the 31-year-old Kadyrov. Reducing its strength would bolster Kadyrov's power. Russian General Vladimir Shamanov told...
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The birth rate in Russia in the first four months of 2008 increased by 12 percent from the same period of 2007. In the first four months of this year, 547,100 children were born, an increase of 58,400 from the same period of 2007, the Ministry of Health and Social Development said. “The number of applications for maternity capital certificates is also growing,” the ministry said. According to the Pension Fund, 218,032 maternity capital certificates had been issued by June 7, and 17,569 applications are under consideration. As the birth rate grows, the natural decrease situation is also improving. In...
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A giant, bronze monument to the enema has been erected as a tribute to the cleansing procedure. An 800-pound syringe bulb held by three cherubs has been unveiled at the Mashuk-Akva Term spa in Zheleznovodsk, Russia. "There is no kitsch or obscenity, it is a successful work of art," spa director Alexander Kharchenko told the Associated Press. "An enema is almost a symbol of our region."
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Moscow, Jun. 24, 2008 (CWNews.com) - The head of the Russian Orthodox Church has cautioned against any political movement aimed at assigning responsibility for the persecutions of the Communist era. “The Church keeps the prayerful memory of all the faithful who became victims of the godless government’s policy,” Patriarch Alexei II told a meeting of the Russian bishops’ synod. He acknowledged that Communist repression caused the deaths of millions of innocent people, under a regime that was anti-religious and anti-human. However, the Patriarch continued, “The memory of the victims must not be cause of political speculations.” He discouraged the sort...
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A senior Russian lawmaker warned yesterday that discussions between the US and Lithuania over co-operating on Washington's missile defence system "could not but provoke anxiety" in Moscow. Konstantin Kosachev, head of the international committee of Russia's lower house of parliament, said the development confirmed Russia's fears about the creation of a Baltic "grey zone", in which the US could deploy "serious" weapons close to its borders - in countries formerly part of the Soviet Union. Such concerns were part of the reason Russia last year suspended implementation of the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty, one of the cornerstones of the...
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UNITED NATIONS - Russia, one of the world's major powers, has warned of "disasterous consequences" if Israel attacked Iran's nuclear facilities. "If things happen like threats of force and unilateral sanctions outside the framework of the [UN] Security Council, it is distracting from the negotiating process," Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, said when asked to comment on a newspaper report about a large military exercise carried out by Israel this month as a rehearsal for a bombing attack on Iran. On Saturday, The Washington Post said senior U.S. officials confirmed that Israel had held a massive operation...
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Quote:This poster design inspires you to learn about design history. There are a lot of interesting artists and art movements. The past is a rich design resource that can have a positive influence on your designs.It is a poster design inspired by an art movement called Russian Constructivism. I cut up some images and paste them together to create a stylized revolutionary design and then tied it all together by overlaying some texture to give it a vintage feel.
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MOSCOW: Nearly 60% of Russians agree with state censorship of the media, according to an opinion poll this week, arguing it was necessary to tackle misinformation, violence and vulgarity. Results from the survey for the Russian Centre for Public Opinion Research (VTSIOM) showed that 26% of respondents said censorship was “absolutely necessary”, and a further 32% called it “fairly necessary”. Only 8% said it was “completely unnecessary.” After coming to power in 1999 the former Russian president Vladimir Putin, put large parts of the media under state control and, according to media rights campaigners, silenced several privately owned independent TV...
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Russia's second-largest oil producer, LUKOIL (LKOH.MM: Quote, Profile, Research), said on Friday it has started testing oil production at a delayed Siberian field it expects will help accelerate output growth. LUKOIL, which is carrying out exploration work at the Yuzhno Khylchuyu field in the Timan-Pechora region with ConocoPhillips (COP.N: Quote, Profile, Research), has delayed the production launch from last year, blaming difficult weather in the Arctic region.
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----snip---- As news outlets pointed out, most of the G-8 countries have little control over production. One, however, does, and it has leveraged that control, and its enormous reserves, to regain status as a world power. ----snip---- He does have a stern warning for Western Europe, however. The region has become dangerously dependent on Russia for natural gas, he writes. With its spreading network of pipelines, Gazprom now has the power to let Europe freeze if it so chooses. ----snip---- While the Europeans and Americans have sought to break Gazprom's pipeline monopoly by promoting the construction of a bypass gas...
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June 18 (UPI) -- Russian state television taunted Sweden with past military victories before the two countries vie for a place in the quarterfinals of Euro 2008, the continent's most prestigious soccer tournament. Vesti-24, the government's cable channel, played a commercial every half-hour today using Soviet-era movie footage of Russian soldiers killing Swedes during Peter the Great's victory over Charles XII in 1709 and Alexander Nevsky's defeat of invaders in 1240. Each scene was followed by a scorecard reading ``Russia 1 Sweden 0'' and accompanied by the theme to the movie ``Gladiator.'' ``It's part of a revival of Russian nationalism,''...
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In Russia, sometimes it rains cement Tue Jun 17, 11:17 AM ET Russian air force planes dropped a 25-kg (55-lb) sack of cement on a suburban Moscow home last week while seeding clouds to prevent rain from spoiling a holiday, Russian media said on Tuesday. "A pack of cement used in creating ... good weather in the capital region ... failed to pulverize completely at high altitude and fell on the roof of a house, making a hole about 80-100 cm (2.5-3 ft)," police in Naro-Fominsk told agency RIA-Novosti. Ahead of major public holidays the Russian Air Force often dispatches...
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TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgian police detained 14 Russian peacekeepers on Tuesday near its breakaway region of Abkhazia and Georgia said they were found transporting weapons without permission, a charge Moscow denied. Ties between Moscow and Tbilisi have deteriorated sharply in recent months after Russia bolstered economic support for Abkhazian separatists and increased its peacekeeping presence
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The Silesian Autonomy Movement has sent a petition to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk asking him to allow all regional communities to gain autonomy status. If he does not agree, the Silesians say they are ready to raise the issue of separation, according to Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta. The movement officially declares its support for the autonomy of Silesia. The association was founded in 1991 and is based mainly in the Polish part of Upper Silesia. A similar petition has been sent to the Polish Sejm, the lower house of parliament, which along with the Senate (the upper house) has...
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There are a few things Kadyrov won't talk about. The first is the war. When Chechnya fought the first of its two wars for independence from Moscow, Kadyrov and his father fought against the Russians. He shrugs that he was "15, maybe 16" when he led his first militia. He says he didn't have a childhood. He doesn't want to remember those times. The process of switching sides to the Moscow camp -- that, too, is an unwelcome topic. "I was always with the people," he says. "I don't know who changed which side, but I was always with the...
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MOSCOW, June 16 (RIA Novosti) - Kosovo's new constitution is in violation of a UN Security Council Resolution, Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Monday. Kosovo's new constitution came into force on Sunday after nine years of UN administration. "This act [the entry of the constitution into force] continues a string of measures for the arbitral formalization of the territory's sovereignty and the policy of violating international law, only aggravating the tense situation in Kosovo and isolating the Serb population," the ministry's information and press department said. The ministry said that Pristina, by declaring its intention to curtail cooperation with the...
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SAO PAULO: US presidential hopeful John McCain backs Brazil's inclusion on the UN Security Council and in an expanded G8, and would bump Russia from the exclusive club of leading world economies, a Brazilian newspaper reported Sunday. McCain "supports a permanent seat on the UN Security Council for Brazil and an increased participation for the country in the G-8," the O Estado de Sao Paulo daily reported, after interviewing the Republican presidential contender. Echoing remarks he has made in the past, McCain reportedly told the daily that he is also in favour of India's admission to the G8, while he...
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China Copies Russian Ship Technology For Use and Profit By James C. Bussert June 2008 As the Middle Kingdom sells pirated materiel, Russia shifts export patterns. China has been buying and adapting Russian naval technologies as it introduces new ships to the fleet in fits and starts. Instead of standardizing ship designs and deploying large numbers of similar ships to its emerging blue water fleet, the People’s Liberation Army Navy keeps introducing new types of guided missile destroyers largely in pairs. The answer to the question of why China produced only one or two of four recent new guided missile...
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The U.S. Navy extended an open invitation this week to the Russian Federation Navy to join forces for missions on the world’s high seas. Both marine forces have increased their presence around the globe. The U.S. Navy asked the Russians to join the Navy’s new maritime initiative, a plan much different from the sea-combat strategies of yesteryear — those of fighting in deep blue water to sink other navies or deliver missiles inland from the oceans. Now, focus is placed on maintaining safe seas, delivering humanitarian aid, disaster response and countering terrorism. "The point that we brought out in discussions...
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After 11 years of providing Moscow readers with investigative journalism, irreverent commentary, and sophomoric gags, the English-language newspaper the "The eXile" is closing down after investors fled in the face of a government inspection of the paper's content. The alternative tabloid -- known for its Gonzo-style journalism on drugs, sex, politics, and the seamier side of Moscow nightlife -- announced the closure in a blog posted on its website on June 11. The paper's demise, and the investors' flight, was sparked by a visit on June 6 by inspectors from the Federal Service for Mass Media, Telecommunications, and the Protection...
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The International Energy Agency says Russia has turned into the biggest crude oil producer, a title traditionally belonged to Saudi Arabia. The IEA declared on Tuesday that Russia has been the biggest crude oil producer in the first quarter of 2008, extracting 9.5 million barrels per day, ahead of Saudi Arabia at 9.2 million barrels, AFP reported. The IEA ranks the United States as the third-biggest producer with 5.1 million barrels per day, followed by Iran, pumping 4 million barrels per day China is in fifth place with output of 3.8 million barrels per day. In principle, Russia’s oil bonanza...
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Russia plans Arctic military build-up By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow Last Updated: 10:49PM BST 11/06/2008Russia has raised the stakes in the international scramble for the Arctic by announcing it will boost its military presence in the region to protect its "national interests". The defence ministry said naval vessels would be sent to the Arctic Ocean, which is believed to be home to 25 percent of the world's untapped energy resources, as part of a Summer training zone. Gen Vladimir Shamanov, the head of the combat training directorate, stated that Russia had "highly trained military units" prepared for Arctic warfare. He...
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Without addressing Sen. Schumer's central premise that sanctions would be effective against Iran, I would like to address what appears to be a dangerously myopic view of Russia and Russian foreign policy. Mr. Medvedev was not mentioned once in Sen. Schumer's editorial and I cannot believe this was accidental or the result of ignorance. Therefore, is Sen. Schumer implicitly acknowledging that Mr. Medvedev's election was a sham and that Russia is a dictatorship? Does this indicate a disagreement with the current U.S. policy of pretending Russia is a democracy? Would this be the senator's policy recommendation to his Senate colleague...
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Obama's Defense Policy By Ed Lasky Barack Obama's defense policy plans threaten foreign policy consequences inimical to American interests, and would pose perilous problems for some of our key allies around the world, should he assume the Presidency. Senator Obama has made quite clear that he intends to eviscerate our most advanced defense programs. In a message to Caucus 4 Priorities, a liberal pacifist organization, (available on YouTube), the Senator called for major cuts in defense spending, for slowing or suspending the development of future combat systems, for the abolition of spending on the "weaponizing of space" ("Star Wars") and...
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Calling the post-Soviet world situation “an international disaster,” Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) urged that U.S. policy “be directed toward supporting Prime Minister Putin's dream of eventually restoring Russian hegemony over Eastern Europe.” “A strong Soviet Union provided a counterbalancing force to offset U.S. imperialism,” Schumer contended. “In its absence, President Bush has been free to bully the world.” The New York senator argued that the “mutually assured destruction of the Cold War era helped keep American aggression in check. Now, there’s no telling what new atrocities will be perpetrated by this country.” As a start, Schumer insisted that all U.S....
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U.S. military planners are working on how to deal with another round of major cutbacks, in terms of budgets and manpower. This is because one of the major candidates for Commander-in-Chief (president of the United States), Barak Obama, has a video in circulation, of a short speech he gave earlier this year, about how he planned on handling the Department of Defense. His major points were; "I'm the only major candidate who opposed this war from the beginning; and as president, I will end it. "Second, I will cut tens of billions of dollars in wasteful spending. I will cut...
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LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Virginia (AFP) — Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday the importance of the US nuclear arsenal was likely to grow in importance in coming years as Russia moves to strengthen its nuclear forces. Gates said he made the comment in a closed door question-and-answer session with rank-and-file airmen in explaining his decision to replace the air force leadership over two major nuclear blunders. In a speech earlier, Gates told airmen he regretted having to remove General T. Michael Moseley as chief of staff and Michael Wynne as air force secretary. "But there is no room for...
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Turns out that Obama's opening act at the megarally was The Decemberists, a hugely popular indie rock band, which typically opens their concerts with the Soviet National Anthem. How odd that the MSM didn't tell us that a few of the 75K in attendance may have come for the tunes. And did the Obama rally begin with the Soviet National Anthem? The concert went for 45 minutes and was widely pitched on Facebook etc. But did the band trim their act to make it Obama-appropriate? BTW: Here's an except of an interview with the band's guitarist: We’re a city magazine,...
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Senator Charles Schumer (D, NY), June 3, 2008: "we must treat Russia as an equal partner when it comes to policy in the Caspian Sea region, recognizing Russia's traditional role in the region... we must offer to make Russia whole if it joins in our Iranian boycott... we should tell Mr. Putin we will cease building the ineffective antinuclear missile defense sites in Eastern Europe in return for him joining the boycott... The antimissile system strengthens the relationship between Eastern Europe and NATO, with real troops and equipment on the ground. It mocks Mr. Putin's dream of eventually restoring Russian...
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The problems faced by BP in dealing with its oligarch partners in their joint venture, TNK-BP, and the Russian authorities, demonstrate the big risks still inherent in doing business in Russia. The TNK-BP affair is not like the attack on Yukos by the Kremlin, which was a naked projection of state power, although BP executives in the joint venture do look to have been subjected to a campaign of harassment. It does not take a ministerial intervention to get foreign companies investigated for labour law violations or tax evasion. Nonetheless, the case provides a vivid example of Russia’s central problem:...
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