Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Book Review: 'Red Fortress' by Catherine Merridale: Citadel of Tyranny - Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303670804579233940465229228

Wall Street Journal
Were icons really plastered over in the Stalin era, only to be miraculously uncovered in the heyday of Putinism? Such "discoveries" are as phony as the "amnesties" of the innocent or the Winter Olympics held in one of the least suitable places in ...

Global Terrorism and Saudi Arabia: Bandarís Terror Network - Al-Manar TV - ‎Jan 20, 2014‎

Bandar

Global Terrorism and Saudi Arabia: Bandarís Terror Network

Al-Manar TV - ‎Jan 20, 2014‎
Saudi Arabia has all the vices and none of the virtues of an oil rich state like Venezuela. The country is governed by a family dictatorship which tolerates no opposition and severely punishes human rights advocates and political dissidents. Bandar. Hundreds ...

MINA
Russian intelligence has now reportedly obtained solid proof that Saudi Arabia was directly involved in the twin terror attacks on the city of Volgograd. The attacks killed more than 32 people and injured over 100 others. Most of the victims were ...

Intifada Palestine
Russian intelligence has now reportedly obtained solid proof that Saudi Arabia was directly involved in the twin terror attacks on the city of Volgograd. The attacks killed more than 32 people and injured over 100 others. Most of the victims were ...

Putin’s Olympic Fever Dream - 1/22/2014 - By STEVEN LEE MYERS - NYT


The story of the exile of Leon Trotsky by the Cuban writer Leonardo Padura - NYT

“The Man Who Loved Dogs,” published in Spanish in 2009 and now appearing in an English translation by Anna Kushner, tells the story of the exile of Leon Trotsky, founder of the Red Army and the Soviet people’s commissar for foreign affairs, who was assassinated in Mexico on Aug. 20, 1940. Its Russian quality comes not only from its length — almost 600 pages — and the fact that it returns constantly to Moscow, but also from its Tolstoyan passion for historical trifles and Dostoyevskyan pleasure in examining the moral life of its characters.

U.S. Offers Russia High-Tech Aid to Thwart Sochi Terror

Click photo for screen-resolution image

U.S. Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks with his Russian counterpart during a NATO meeting for defense chiefs in Brussels, Jan. 21, 2014. Dempsey is on a three-day trip where he is slated to meet with his NATO and Russian counterparts. DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel Hinton  
(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.


U.S., Russian Leaders Discuss Afghanistan, Sochi, History

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
BRUSSELS, Jan. 21, 2014 – Two tankers who as young men could have squared off against each other on the East German border sat in the Russian Embassy here today and talked about ways their two nations could cooperate.

» U.S. Offers Russia High-Tech Aid to Thwart Sochi Terror
21/01/14 20:16 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. Military officials from both countries are discussing the use of sophisticated American equipment designed to counter improvised explosive devices. 


U.S. and Russia Discuss Olympic Security

By THOM SHANKERJAN. 21, 2014



нато Россия - Google News
Начальники генштабов России и США обсудили проблемы безопасности Зимней Олимпиады - Московский комсомолец
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Начальники генштабов России и США обсудили проблемы безопасности Зимней Олимпиады
Московский комсомолец
«Я думаю, у нас есть возможность для развития наших отношений в областях, где наши интересы сходятся», — сказал генерал Демпси. Он подчеркнул, что Москва является важным партнером, предоставляющим коммуникационные линии для миссии НАТО в Афганистане. Россия ...
План военного сотрудничества России и США предусматривает учения всех видов войскИТАР-ТАСС

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Глава российского Генштаба генерал Валерий Герасимов встретился в Брюсселе со своим американским коллегой Мартином Дэмпси. Оба политика приняли участие в заседании совместной рабочей группы по военному сотрудничеству России и США, сообщает телеканал "Россия 24".
Участники заседания говорили о проблемах глобальной безопасности, в частности, о ситуации в Сирии, Афганистане и о противоракетной обороне. Кроме того, по предложению Демпси стороны обсудили, как отпраздновать 70-летие встречи союзников на Эльбе, которое его будут отмечать в будущем году. По итогам встречи был подписан меморандум об утверждении рабочего плана двустороннего военного сотрудничества России и США на 2014 год. По оценке Валерия Герасимова, оно развивается позитивно. 


нато - Google News
ООН: урегулирование в Афганистане требует сотрудничества ОДКБ и НАТО - РИА Новости

РИА Новости

ООН: урегулирование в Афганистане требует сотрудничества ОДКБ и НАТО
РИА Новости
МОСКВА, 22 янв — РИА Новости. Проблемы мирного урегулирования в Афганистане требуют более тесного международного содействия, поэтому ОДКБ и НАТО в перспективе могут найти возможности для сотрудничества, заявил в интервью РИА Новости спецпредставитель...
Генерал США об Афганистане: НАТО уйдет, талибы останутся Zakon.kz

all 38 
 news articles »


нато - Google News
Начальники генштабов НАТО обсудят операции в Афганистане и Косово, партнерство с Россией - ИТАР-ТАСС

Начальники генштабов НАТО обсудят операции в Афганистане и Косово, партнерство с Россией
ИТАР-ТАСС
БРЮССЕЛЬ, 22 января. /Корр. ИТАР-ТАСС Александр Шишло/. Начальники генеральных штабов 28 стран-членов НАТО, собирающиеся на двухдневную встречу в Брюсселе, обсудят будущее операций в Афганистане и Косово, партнерство с российскими военными, а также... 
Белорусские военные участвуют в заседании Военного комитета евроатлантического партнерства в БрюсселеИнтерфах-Запад

all 4 news articles »

from www.kremlin.ru
January 21, 2014, 21:30
Tags: foreign policy, United States
Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the United States Barack Obama on the American side’s initiative. The two presidents had a substantive discussion concerning the international conference on Syria, opening on January 22 in Montreux.
In addition, Mr Putin and Mr Obama touched on several other current issues, including the implementation of the agreements reached in November 2013 on settling the Iranian nuclear problem.
The two leaders exchanged views on further developing Russian-US relations with a focus on trade and economic cooperation.
The conversation was business-minded and constructive in nature.
January 21, 2014, 21:30

Obama and Putin talk Sochi security, Syria

By Carrie Dann, NBC News

President Barack Obama spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday amid safety concerns about the upcoming Olympic games in Sochi. 
The White House said the two men "discussed how best to advance shared U.S.-Russian interests, including a safe and secure Sochi Olympics, for which the United States has offered its full assistance." 
Russian security officials are working to thwart what they believe to be planned terror attacks on the Olympic torch relay by "black widows" -- would-be suicide bombers who are the wives of militants killed by police. 
Obama and Putin also spoke about the situation in Syria and efforts to roll back Iran's nuclear program, the White House said. 

 They discussed the situation in Syria, including preparations for the Geneva II conference and the ongoing international program to remove and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons.  They discussed U.S.-Russian cooperation in the P5+1 process on Iran and the start this week of implementation of the Joint Plan of Action, which will halt progress on Iran’s nuclear program and roll it back in key respects.

See more:

Russia, US in talks to use US technology to secure Sochi
In-Depth
-The Globe and Mail-1 hour ago
Russians want US tech to spot bombs during Sochi Olympics
Blog
-NBCNews.com (blog)-4 minutes ago


Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, talking to U.S. military personnel in Tokyo last April.
Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, talking to U.S. military personnel in Tokyo last April.

Gen. Dempsey: Better To Get Others To Solve Their Own Problems

by TOM BOWMAN
January 17, 2014 2:27 PM

Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov - Google Search

Valery Vasilevich Gerasimov - From Wikipedia

(Russian: Вале́рий Васи́льевич Гера́симов; born 8 September 1955) is the current Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia, and first Deputy Defence Minister, replacing Nikolay Makarov. He was appointed by President Vladimir Putin on 9 November 2012

File:Valery Gerasimov (2012-11-09) cropped.jpeg

Gerasimov was appointed Chief of General Staff following the dismissal of Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov on 6 November 2012.[5] The previous Chief of General Staff, Army General Nikolay Makarov, was seen as close to Serduykov and was seen by commentators as likely to be replaced by new Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu. It has been reported that Makarov resigned, but he was formally dismissed by President Vladimir Putin. 

09 ноября 2012, Пятница, 21:07


Назначен новый руководитель Генерального штаба Вооруженных сил РФ

Monday, January 20, 2014

Islamist group threatens Sochi Winter Olympic in video



Published on Jan 20, 2014
Subscribe to ITN News: http://goo.gl/zRYiYn

An Islamist group is claiming responsibility for two December suicide bombings in the Russian city of Volgograd, in which 34 people died. In a video posted online, the Islamist militant group also threatened more attacks on next month's Winter Olympics in Sochi. In a warning to Vladimir Putin, a man says in Russian that he has prepared a present for the Russian president, claiming that it is also a present for any tourists that visit during the Olympics. He goes on to say the present will be a revenge attack for Muslim blood shed in countries like Afghanistan, Somalia and Syria. The video says two men called Suleiman and Abdurakhman carried out the Volgograd attacks on behalf of a group known as Vilayat Dagestan, linked to an Iraqi faction called Ansar al-Sunna. Putin has staked much personal and political prestige on the Games, which are intended to show how far Russia has come since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Report by Mark Morris.

"Шито белыми нитками - Sewn with white thread": Intelligence chair: NSA leaker Edward Snowden may have had Russian help

» Intelligence chair: NSA leaker Edward Snowden may have had Russian help
19/01/14 20:12 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from World news: Russia | theguardian.com. Republican Mike Rogers says Snowden 'a thief whom we believe had some help' and claims Obama NSA speech created 'uncertainty' Dominic Rushe

» Edward Snowden 'may have been working with Russians' claims US intelligence committee chairman
19/01/14 20:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russian news, all the latest and breaking Russia news. Chairman of congressional intelligence committee says NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is "a thief who we believe had some help" and claims it is no c...


» Edward Snowden 'may have been working with Russians' claims US intelligence committee chairman
19/01/14 20:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russian news, all the latest and breaking Russia news. Chairman of congressional intelligence committee says NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is "a thief who we believe had some help" and claims it is no c...


» U.S. lawmaker investigates whether Russia behind Snowden's leaks
19/01/14 17:49 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Reuters: Top News. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee said on Sunday he is investigating whether former spy agency contractor Edward Snowden had hel...


» Congressional Leaders Suggest Snowden Was Working for Russia
19/01/14 17:44 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NYT > Politics. Edward J. Snowden may have worked with Russian spy agencies while he was a contractor for the National Security Agency, Senator Dianne Feinstein and Representative Mike Rogers said. &nbs...


» House Intel chair: Snowden possibly aided by Russian intelligence
19/01/14 16:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Home - CBSNews.com. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., says Snowden took more documents relating to U.S. military capabilities than Americans' privacy




Attention, Mr. Putin: "The empirical research does not show that gay or bisexual men are any more likely than heterosexual men to molest children."

The following is the quote from Mr. Putin's recent pronouncements on the issues of homosexuality and "anti gay propaganda law" (17:21 - 19:50 on the video);
as WSJ put it, "Mr. Putin appeared to lump homosexuality and pedophilia together": 

Встреча с волонтёрами Олимпиады-2014 - 17 января 2014 года, 15:20  Сочи

"РЕПЛИКА: У меня есть второй вопрос. Его просили задать волонтёры-иностранцы. Он немножко легкомысленный, может быть, даже хулиганский, но я рискну.
Как так получилось, что у нас есть закон, запрещающий пропаганду гомосексуализма, а форма волонтёров, цветовая гамма – радужная?
В.ПУТИН: Если Вы думаете, что я эту форму создавал, то Вы глубоко заблуждаетесь. Это во-первых.
Во-вторых, у нас нет запрета на нетрадиционные формы сексуального взаимодействия между людьми, у нас есть запрет на пропаганду гомосексуализма и педофилии, я хочу это подчеркнуть, на пропаганду среди несовершеннолетних. Это разные вещи абсолютно. Абсолютно разные вещи – запрет на определённые отношения либо на пропаганду этих отношений.
У меня ещё встреча с журналистами сегодня, наверняка будут эти вопросы. Мы ничего не запрещаем, никого не хватаем, у нас нет никакой ответственности за такие отношения в отличие от многих других стран мира, я хочу это подчеркнуть – в отличие от многих других стран мира, в том числе и в США в некоторых штатах предусмотрена уголовная ответственность за нетрадиционную сексуальную ориентацию. У нас ничего подобного нет, поэтому можно себя чувствовать свободно, непринуждённо, но оставьте детей в покое, пожалуйста.
В некоторых странах мира, кстати говоря, уже ставят вопрос о легализации педофилии. Да-да. Уже обсуждают на практическом уровне в законодательных органах.
РЕПЛИКА: А какие это страны?
В.ПУТИН: Не будем их задевать всуе.
РЕПЛИКА: Секрет?
В.ПУТИН: Нет, ничего секретного нет, посмотрите в интернете – вы сразу найдёте. Но партии ставят вопрос в некоторых парламентах. И что, мы должны за ними, как бобики, шлёпать в сторону неизвестных последствий?
У нас свои традиции, своя культура, мы с уважением относимся к любым нашим партнёрам и просим, чтобы так же с уважением относились к нашим традициям и к нашей культуре."

See also:

Gays Can Be ‘Relaxed and Calm’ at the Olympics, Putin Says - NYTimes

» No One Will Be Targeted at Olympics, Putin Says
17/01/14 15:38 from NYT > International
President Vladimir V. Putin said visitors to Sochi for the Olympic Games, including gay men and lesbians, could be “relaxed and calm,” but he defended a ban on “homosexual propaganda.”

» Putin to gays: Leave children in peace
17/01/14 21:17 from CNN.com - World
Russian President Vladimir Putin assures gay individuals that they are safe, but asks that they leave children in peace. 

» Putin: Gay people will be safe at Olympics if they ‘leave kids alone’
17/01/14 17:43 from World: World News, International News, Foreign Reporting - The Washington Post
MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin said Friday that gay people have nothing to fear in Russia as long as they leave children alone. Putin met with a group of volunteers in the Olympic mountain venue at Krasnaya Polyana on Friday to wish t... 


» Olympics: Putin Says Russia is not 'Going After' Gays
17/01/14 14:10 from Voice of America
Russia is not “going after” gays, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, defending a ban on “propaganda” about homosexuality that has brought criticism from the West ahead of the Winter Olympics.   The Kremlin hopes the games, starting...


» Putin: Russia must "cleanse" itself of homosexuality
19/01/14 17:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Home - CBSNews.com. In a failed attempt to reassure the world ahead of the Sochi Olympics, the Russian president defends anti-gay laws


» Russian President Putin links gays to pedophiles
19/01/14 16:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from AP Top Headlines At 2:30 p.m. EST. MOSCOW (AP) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered new assurances to gay athletes and fans attending the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics next month. Yet he defended R...


» Putin, the Winter Olympics and why there are two kinds of homophobia | Barbara Ellen
19/01/14 09:36 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from World news and comment from the Guardian | theguardian.com. State-sanctioned gay harassment is horrible – but prejudice still lurks in supposedly enlightened countries Valdimir Putin is out and proud – as ...


» CNN on Russia`s serial kidnapper/torturer of gays who Putin refuses to arrest - AMERICAblog (blog)
19/01/14 20:19 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. CNN on Russia `s serial kidnapper/torturer of gays who Putin refuses to arrest AMERICAblog (blog) Russian vigilante groups have organized around the country to kidnap young gay people...


» Gay protester detained in Russia - ESPN
19/01/14 20:15 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. RT Gay protester detained in Russia ESPN MOSCOW -- A gay Russian protester was detained on Saturday for unfurling a rainbow flag during the Olympic torch relay as it passed through hi...


» Anti-Gay Russian Vigilante Arrested in Cuba
19/01/14 20:14 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The Moscow Times Top Stories. A Russian far-right A Russian far right activist known for his violent campaign targeting alleged pedophiles has been arrested in on Cuba on an international arrest warrant, R...
-
I think that these issues have to be addressed and commented on to clear this misconception which is deliberately and erroneously perpetuated. This article presents the scientific research in this area: 
"In summary, each of these studies failed to support the hypothesis that homosexual males are more likely than heterosexual men to molest children or to be sexually attracted to children or adolescents. 
The Mainstream View  
Reflecting the results of these and other studies, as well as clinical experience, the mainstream view among researchers and professionals who work in the area of child sexual abuse is that homosexual and bisexual men do not pose any special threat to children. For example, in one review of the scientific literature, noted authority Dr. A. Nicholas Groth wrote: 
Are homosexual adults in general sexually attracted to children and are preadolescent children at greater risk of molestation from homosexual adults than from heterosexual adults? There is no reason to believe so. The research to date all points to there being no significant relationship between a homosexual lifestyle and child molestation. There appears to be practically no reportage of sexual molestation of girls by lesbian adults, and the adult male who sexually molests young boys is not likely to be homosexual (Groth & Gary, 1982, p. 147).
In a later literature review, Dr. Nathaniel McConaghy (1998) similarly cautioned against confusing homosexuality with pedophilia. He noted, "The man who offends against prepubertal or immediately postpubertal boys is typically not sexually interested in older men or in women" (p. 259).
This well known lack of a linkage between homosexuality and child molestation accounts for why relatively little research has directly addressed the issue. For example, a 1998 comprehensive review of published empirical research on the sexual abuse of boys reported only one study (the 1994 study by Jenny and colleagues, cited above) that included data about the self-reported sexual orientation of perpetrators (Holmes & Slap, 1998).
Proving something that is already widely known simply isn't a priority for scientists. Indeed, a commentary that accompanied publication of the study by Jenny et al. in Pediatrics noted that debates about gay people as molesters "have little to do with everyday child abuse" and lamented that they distract lawmakers and the public from dealing with the real problem of children's sexual mistreatment (Krugman, 1994). 
...
Conclusion 
The empirical research does not show that gay or bisexual men are any more likely than heterosexual men to molest children. This is not to argue that homosexual and bisexual men never molest children. But there is no scientific basis for asserting that they are more likely than heterosexual men to do so. And, as explained above, many child molesters cannot be characterized as having an adult sexual orientation at all; they are fixated on children." 

M.N.: 

Do not insult gay people by implying that they are the "child molesters", they are not! 

See also: 

pedophilia - Google Search

Pedophilia - From Wikipedia

pedophilia and homosexuality - Google Search 

Furthermore:
" ...the scientific consensus is that sexual orientation is not a choice.[13][14][15] There is no consensus among scientists about why a person develops a particular sexual orientation;[1] however, biologically-based theories for the cause of sexual orientation are favored by experts,[16] which point to genetic factors, the early uterine environment, or both combinations.[14] Moreover, there is no substantive evidence which suggests parenting or early childhood experiences play a role when it comes to sexual orientation;[14] when it comes to same-sex sexual behavior, shared or familial environment plays no role for men and minor role for women.[17] Research over several decades has demonstrated that sexual orientation ranges along a continuum, from exclusive attraction to the opposite sex to exclusive attraction to the same sex.[1]

Sexual orientation - From Wikipedia 


This is what the Science tells us, Mr. Putin. 

Sexuality is a very important part of our lives. If you want your children to grow up healthy, to enjoy life and to be productive members of the society, you have to let them develop naturally, just like flowers do, without the undue pressures which might harm their souls. I am sure that if you had a gay son or a lesbian daughter, you would love them just the same and would want them to to be happy in life. 


The so called "anti gay propaganda law" is clearly harmful and discriminatory. Some of our best minds, the group of Nobel laureates appealed to you recently to repeal this "law"


Ambassador McFaul summarized the evolution of views on Gay Rights in American society in his recent, detailed and thoughtful article


As Hillary Clinton expressed it so aptly, "Gay Rights are Human Rights". 

That is why we feel that this issue is so important to us: this is not just the question of individual sexual preferences, these are the questions of respect for human dignity, fairness and liberty. 

And these issues are universal across nations and cultures. They oppose not the traditional Russian cultural values, as you put it but the traditional Russian tendency towards ignorance and prejudice, I must say with regret. If you want to be on the same level with Nigeria or Iran, for example, be my guest. If you are a part of European culture and history, then share the same values and mentality.