Nord Stream 2 is a pipeline project extending from Russia to Germany that - when completed - will provide a secure means of exporting Russian natural gas to Western Europe - circumventing a now volatile Ukraine all while tying Russia and Europe together further through mutually beneficial economic activity.
Of course, for special interests residing across the Atlantic in Washington and on Wall Street, Russia and Europe building closer ties through constructive economic activity undermines a long-standing strategy of coercing Europe via the constant threat of a supposedly hostile Kremlin Washington claims undermines a free and united Europe.
Ironically, in order to preserve Europe's "freedom" the US has now resorted to punishing interests in Europe - and in Germany specifically - for freely choosing to do business with Russia. It not only fully illustrates the supreme hypocrisy that lies at the very root of Washington's current foreign policy, but also threatens to undermine legitimate US business interests seeking - just as Russia does - to build constructive economic ties with companies and nations around the globe.
Alexander Adams
RTMon, 23 Dec 2019 18:16 UTC
© AFP / Niklas HALLE'N2019 Pride Parade in London
When the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in London issued a press release declaring that in the following month a night would be given to "queer techno rave and porn," long-time observers were not shocked - or even surprised.
The ICA - once the premier venue for great Modernist painting and sculpture - is now a circus of transgression a stone's throw from Buckingham Palace.
A December 17 press release announced that on January 31 "Queer techno rave INFERNO take over the ICA's Theatre, Bar and Cinema with an all-night programme of music, queer porn and performance art." In case you miss it, don't worry. "This is the first in a series of all-night takeovers from club collectives exploring nightlife as a realm of self-expression." This is only the latest in a long line of events held at the centre situated on the Mall, the ceremonial avenue leading to the gates of Buckingham Palace.
RTMon, 23 Dec 2019 17:08 UTC
President Putin has opened railway traffic on the 19-km-long Crimea Bridge, which connects the peninsula with mainland Russia and is the longest in Europe. He called the bridge "a beauty" as he took a ride in the driver's cabin.
The construction of the bridge kicked off in February 2016, less than two years after the Crimean people overwhelmingly voted to reunite with Russia in a referendum. The link was crucial for Crimea, which only has a land border with Ukraine, so the 15,000 builders worked hard, often in difficult stormy conditions, to make it happen.
Automobile traffic across the 19-kilometer bridge, which became the longest not only in Russia, but in the whole of Europe, was opened in May 2018.
"It's not a bridge, but a beauty," Putin exclaimed as he gazed at the engineering marvel.
© AFPDemonstration in support of Bolivia's overthrown president Evo Morales, in Buenos Aires.
Shortly after left-wing Bolivian President Evo Morales was ousted in a
US-supported coup in November - disguised as a noble reaction to alleged electoral fraud -
the self-appointed, fanatically right-wing Bolivian "interim" government announced the renewal of diplomatic relations with Israel.These had been severed by Morales in 2009 during Israel's Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, which killed some
1,400 Palestinians, including more than 300 children. Though Israel naturally cast itself as the singular victim of the affair, the ratio of Palestinian civilian to Israeli civilian deaths was
400:1.During a subsequent Israeli-inflicted bloodbath in Gaza in 2014, this one by the name of Operation Protective Edge and
entailing the slaughter of 2,251 Palestinians (including 299 women and 551 children),
Morales denounced Israel as a "terrorist state" - a perfectly accurate assessment, given the circumstances and Israel's track record.
Comment: Beware the tendrils of Israel and all it reprehensibly represents! The speed at which the usurpers of the Morales government called upon Israeli expertise leaves no doubt as to who collaborated in the coup and what they anticipate to gain by adding Bolivia to their collection.
© Charles Platiau/AFP/Getty
Emmanuel Macron is a spiv, a first class spiv. Yet Emmanuel Macron is President of the French Republic, which is a worry.
The stamp of the man could have been readily gauged from his curious appointment and period as Economy Minister, August 2014 to August 2016, under President François Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls.
Macron's first action as Economy Minister was the privatization of the Toulouse-Blagnac airport (SATB). It was a process steeped in anomalies, for which reason it has been the subject of unprecedented court proceedings.
This is a story of deception, incompetence and corruption at the highest levels of the French state. This account is essentially drawn from Laurent Mauduit, tireless investigative journalist with the online daily
Mediapart.
© Tree Ring Lab, University of St. Andrews.
Using old tree rings and archival documents, historians and climate scientists have detailed
an extreme cold period in Scotland in the 1690s that caused immense suffering. It decimated agriculture, killed as much as 15 percent of the population and sparked a fatal attempt to establish a Scottish colony in southern Panama. The researchers say the episode-shown in their study to have been during the coldest decade of the past 750 years-was probably caused by faraway volcanic eruptions. But it was not just bad weather that brought disaster. Among other things, Scotland was politically isolated from England, its bigger, more prosperous neighbor that might have otherwise helped.
Propelled in part by the catastrophe, the two nations merged in 1707 to become part of what is now the United Kingdom. Such a famine-related tragedy was never repeated, despite later climate swings.
With Brexit now threatening to isolate the UK from the European Union, the researchers think politicians should take this as a cautionary tale. "By joining England, Scotland became more resilient," said lead author Rosanne D'Arrigo, a tree-ring scientist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
"The bigger message for today is arguably that as the climate changes, nations will be stronger if they stick together and not try to go it alone." The study appears in the early online edition of the
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research.
RTThu, 19 Dec 2019 18:11 UTC
© Instagram / masha_araya; instagram / fishy_god
Gunfire has broken out near central Moscow's Lubyanka Square in the immediate vicinity of the Federal Security Service building. The authorities said
the gunman was neutralized and two FSB officers seriously injured.
The shooting occurred around 6pm local time right at the heart of Russia's capital on a street leading to the square and the iconic FSB building and some 10 minutes on foot from the Kremlin.
Gunfire can be heard in several videos from the scene circulating on social media. The footage also shows multiple law enforcement officers in full gear and ambulances.
Comment: As usual with mass shootings of this sort, reports of multiple shooters are in conflict with the official narrative of a "lone shooter." This case is no different, so far. Despite initial official reports of a single gunman, Russian media sources quoted eyewitnesses reporting up to 3 gunmen. But RT is
reporting that officials are now denying reports of multiple shooters. So the situation is still confused. But live Russian-language coverage claimed that the FSB confirmed that there WERE 3 shooters, one of whom was highly trained, another who was holed up in the FSB HQ parking lot. Two of the shooters are reported dead, and special forces are reportedly planning to attack the third in the parking lot.
The identity of the shooter who was killed by the FSB has yet to be established.
RT
reports:
While the FSB itself is reportedly treating the incident as an "act of terrorism," Russia's Investigative Committee has described it as an "attempted murder of law enforcement officers," while announcing the launch of a criminal probe.
UPDATE (Dec. 20)Reporting has been all over the place on this one. It seems the Russian authorities have settled on a single shooter. Footage emerged of his final moments:
The shooter had a Kalashnikov, and ended up
injuring a total of 5 and killing 2 (one who was described as a police officer in some reports, but was apparently an FSB employee/guard, and another FSB employee who later died from his wounds). A witness says he was constantly reloading his rifle and
shooting indiscriminately at the wall of nearby houses. The shooter has been
identified as Evgeny Manyurov, a 39-year-old ex-security guard described as a loner and firearms enthusiast:
Russian media identified the gunman as Evgeny Manyurov, a 39-year-old man from Podolsk, a small satellite city located about 16km (10 miles) south of Moscow. His identity was later confirmed by Russia's Investigative Committee.
There is not much public information about him, but he is listed as a member of a Moscow shooting club who took third place in a competition last month in the pistol caliber carbine category.
An instructor at the club said Manyurov was a poor shooter who only trained there for several months. The only outstanding thing about the man was that he insisted on practicing in a trench coat, which, according to the newspaper that conducted the interview, the man wore during the shooting. Footage shows the same type of coat on the shooter on Thursday evening.
Manyurov's mother told another outlet that her son took up shooting three or four years ago and was passionate about it. In fact, he legally owned seven firearms, including two Saiga carbines, two hunting shotguns and a non-lethal handgun. One of the carbines was apparently used in the shooting. Since getting a license for rifles in Russia requires at least five years of ownership of a shotgun, his experience with guns must be even longer.
The suspect also had a background in law and spent some time as a private consultant. That career was apparently not very successful, since it lasted for just five months. For the past several years, he worked as a security guard, but resigned some time ago.
In one interview, Manyurov's mother said her son "spoke on the phone to some Arabs," but they communicated in English, which she does not understand.
The man is said to have been a loner, without any close friends or a long-term partner.
A loner, a poor shooter, the FSB's HQ targeted despite no apparent motive, and mystery calls from English-speaking 'Arabs'.
Hmmm, it sounds like this could be yet another 'wet-op'. But the Russian authorities, like the US authorities lately with the 'random mass shootings' in Pensacola and New Jersey, have elected to 'eat them' by playing them down rather than hyping them in the media.
David Reid
CNBCThu, 19 Dec 2019 14:16 UTC
© Valery SharifulinPresident Vladimir Putin during the 15th annual end-of-year news conference at the World Trade Centre in Moscow.
Russian President
Vladimir Putin said Thursday he expects President
Donald Trump to survive impeachment proceedings and that the legal move against him was a Democratic Party trying to get results "using other methods and means."
Late Wednesday, Trump became only the
third president in history to be impeached by the House of Representatives. In a largely party-line vote, the House impeached Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over his attempt to pressure Ukraine's president into opening up investigations into his political rivals, including former Vice President Joe Biden, a leading contender to face Trump in the November election.
This sets up a trial in the Senate that will decide whether Trump remains in office.
At his annual year-end press conference in Moscow, Putin said he didn't expect to see Trump's reign to end via impeachment as his Republican Party would save him.
Comment: See also:
More on the Impeachment:
RTThu, 19 Dec 2019 09:08 UTC
© Sputnik / Alexandr Vilf
Hundreds of Russian and foreign journalists are attending the annual 'big press conference' with President Vladimir Putin. RT is reporting live from the event.
08:11 GMT The press conference is expected to last anywhere from three to four hours, and
will primarily focus on domestic policy, including specific issues of various Russian regions voiced by the media from those places. Foreign policy is usually given about a quarter of the time.
08:11 GMT The Russian president usually hosts the 'big press conference' in December, using the occasion to provide a year-end report on the state of the nation to the Russian people.
This Thursday's event is the 15th for Putin.09:07 GMT Putin's big presser begins.
Comment: Comment: RT provides more detail on some of the discussion
above:
Russia only seeks to protect itself from foreign meddling - Putin on 'sovereign internet' & 'foreign agents' laws
During his major annual press conference, Putin was asked about two controversial laws regarding 'sovereign internet' and 'foreign agents' - which have been criticized as big steps towards having a closed society.
The legislation, commonly known as the 'Sovereign Internet Bill,' was adopted earlier this year and took effect on November 1. It envisions a system that would ensure the autonomous functioning of the Russian-language segment of the global web in case of a global internet shutdown. Critics of the law, however, expressed concern that the government might use it to impose strict control over the web, manipulating the flow of information and censoring online content.
"Free internet and sovereign internet are not mutually exclusive concepts. The law is aimed only to prevent negative consequence of being potentially cut off from the global web, which controls are located primarily abroad," Putin stated, dismissing allegations of conspiring to impose strict state control over the web.
The law, which introduced the mandatory designation of 'foreign agent', was initially focused on foreign-funded NGOs, but later its scope was expanded to media outlets. Organizations designated as 'foreign agents' are obliged to disclose their leadership architecture, their spending, as well as undergoing frequent audits. Late this year, the law was expanded again, now affecting private individuals, too.
The legislation still requires certain improvements, the Russian president said, warning against a "broad interpretation" of it, especially regarding private individuals, to not harm actual humanitarian work. The law was expanded to private individuals since foreign-funded organizations have been trying to circumvent the restrictions - they have started receiving money from locals, who, in turn, receive cash from abroad, Putin explained.
"If you get money from abroad to partake in domestic political activities - say so explicitly. He who pays the piper calls the tune, you know. And if you receive funding from abroad, there are strong reasons to believe you are taking orders from those who pay you."
Every nation seeks to protect itself from foreign meddling, and the legislation has been designed as a tool to minimize that influence, Putin said. Similar legislation exists in many countries, and the 'foreign agent' designation itself originated from the US, where it has been in active use since the late 1930s, he noted. Unlike in the US, however, the repercussions in Russia for not being registered as a foreign agent while acting as one are very mild - organizations and individuals are only subject to fines, Putin added, bringing up the case of Russian gun activist Maria Butina.
"[In the US] it affects private individuals as well. Our citizen Maria Butina is a private individual. Yet she was thrown behind bars without any reason. What kind of agent is she? She's nowhere near being one. But she was jailed, spent time behind bars - and was even threatened with a lengthy prison term."
On the US initiated arms race:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that a global arms race is inevitable if the US and Russia do not agree to extend the ten-year Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which is due to expire in early 2021.
Speaking at a Q&A session with reporters in Moscow on Thursday, Putin said that Russia stands ready "to simply renew the existing New START agreement," even if it happens as fast as by the end of this year.
"They can send us the [agreement] tomorrow, or we can sign and send it to Washington. Let their designated official sign it too, including the president, if they're ready to do so."
"But so far our proposals have been left unanswered" by the US, Putin stressed.
"If the New START ceases to exist, nothing in the world will hold back an arms race. I believe this is bad."
Signed by the US and Russia in 2010, the treaty limits the development and deployment of nuclear weapons and their means of delivery.
On how dialogue is necessary dialogue between Kiev and the breakaway regions in Eastern Ukraine if they're to work towards peace:
Putin was asked about crisis resolution in Ukraine and the future of the Normandy Four talks between the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany. The president said that some progress has been made in resolving the crisis, but it is direct dialogue between the authorities in Kiev and the people of Ukraine living in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics that could really help the cause. Yet, this is precisely what is lacking.
"A direct dialogue with Donbass is needed. Yet, there is no dialogue."
Any move related to the status of the rebellious eastern Ukrainian regions should be coordinated with those regions, Putin said, adding that Kiev should not unilaterally take decisions on any "decentralization" issues that go beyond the framework of the Minsk Agreements which still remain the only plausible way to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.
Some positive steps have been made, the president admitted, such as troop withdrawal from several areas in eastern Ukraine, and the extension of the law on the special status of Donbass. Some new areas along the line of contact were further designated for troop withdrawal in 2020, during the latest Normandy Four meeting.
Yet, it is not enough, Putin added, questioning in particular Kiev's reluctance to pull its forces out from the entire line of contact in Donbass. "It was Kiev that cut the Donbass off by imposing a blockade of this territory," Putin told the media conference.
On the issue of security cooperation with countries and of terrorists, as highlighted by the Chechen militant killed in Berlin:
"We see how such people [like this terrorist] are freely roaming the European capitals," Putin told reporters at a Q&A event in Moscow on Thursday.
"And what will happen if people who are currently sitting in [prison] camps [for terrorists in Syria] come to you? Would you like that? Would allow them to freely walk in your cities too?"
Putin said there should be comprehensive cooperation between Moscow and Western states on tackling extremists. He reminded everyone that Moscow alerted the US about Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev before the brothers bombed the Boston Marathon in 2013.
"We requested for them to be extradited [to Russia] and said they were dangerous. We were then simply ignored... And here you had criminals like that strolling through Berlin."
Putin
denies there's a military alliance with China, although it is helping it develop defensive technologies, the US, however,
is seeking to form a military block in Asia with Japan and South Korea:
"This system does not push a nation to any form of aggression but only helps it defend its territory."
Besides, such a development would not significantly affect the regional or global balance of power as China is capable of creating such a system on its own, Putin argued. Russia only helps to develop it faster.
While little is known about the early warning system developed for China, such complexes usually involve a network of ground-based radars and orbital satellites. The devices are used for long-range detection of missile launches, giving a nation's air defenses the maximum time to respond to a sudden strike. Since it takes a matter of minutes for a strategic missile to reach its target, such a system is a game-changer, significantly increasing the chances of repelling a massive - and in all likelihood, nuclear - strike.
Putin highlighted that Russia has surpassing the US and Canada to become the world's number 1 exporter of wheat and other agricultural produce:
"The Soviet Union was always buying grain, we were one of the largest buyers of grain, wheat. I would like to mention that today Russia is the largest supplier of wheat to the world market, we are number one," he said, adding: "We are ahead of the United States and Canada."
According to data published by the Russian Federal State Statistics Service on Thursday, grain harvest in Russia increased by 6.5 percent this year, up to 120.6 million tons in net weight. The production figure is better than that projected by the Russian Ministry of Agriculture.
Putin earlier said that Russia has ensured its independence on the global wheat market. According to the Russian president, enormous natural resources should serve as a guarantee for high-quality food production and should be used specifically to increase the production of organic, non-GMO food products.
On the 25% discount Russia is ready to offer Ukraine on natural gas:
"I think we will find an agreement with Ukraine on gas," he said during his press conference, adding "there's no desire to escalate this situation with energy."
According to the president, Russian gas transit through Ukraine will continue despite the construction of alternative pipelines because Moscow itself is interested in keeping the route.
On the issue of Ukraine and how the US should put its money where it's mouth is:
Putin's words come as the US Senate approved a $738 billion defense budget this week, which includes funds to "counteract Russia" in different spheres, as well as sanctions against the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline, and military assistance to Ukraine.
"They practically never give money - they only give guarantees for possible loans, and this is not real money. There is no real support, and the IMF, which is ruled by the US, requires that all discounts on energy resources, including gas, be canceled," said Putin. As a result, Ukraine's citizens will see more gas price hikes, he added.
"They accuse us of something in relation to Ukraine. They claim they want to help. But what do they want us to do? Help Ukraine replenish its budget at Russia's expense? Give them money yourself, give good loans at good rates for a long period," the Russian president suggested.
On how his hardest moments as President were Russia's terror attacks:
During Thursday's Q&A session in Moscow, reporters asked Putin what events affected him the most during his years in power. The president said that the "most difficult" moments for him personally were the two major terrorist attacks in Moscow and the city of Beslan in the North Ossetia region in southern Russia in the early 2000s.
"I will never forget it," Putin said.
The first tragedy occurred in October 2002, when Chechen militants took 916 people hostage in the Dubrovka Theater Center in Moscow. The standoff lasted for nearly four days, after which 130 people died and others were freed, as SWAT teams stormed the building and killed all the militants.
In 2004 in Beslan, terrorists took more than 1,000 students and teachers hostage in a school during celebrations of the beginning of the school year. More than 330 of them died during a three-day siege. All of the terrorists were killed, except for one attacker who was captured alive and sentenced to life in prison.
When asked about the brightest moments, Putin preferred to talk about the most important achievements, among which he stressed growing incomes.
Paul Joseph Watson
Summit NewsThu, 19 Dec 2019 12:56 UTC
Nancy 'goes right' to outflank Trump at yesterday's House vote on impeachment of the president. It won't work as its ostensibly designed to, but it might in a roundabout way...
Nancy Pelosi has suggested she will delay sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate in order for Democrats to build up more evidence against Trump and delay a swift acquittal.
Last night, the House voted along party lines to impeach Trump, a partisan move that enables Democrats to continually undermine and discredit Trump as the "impeached President."
However, with the effort virtually guaranteed to fall flat in the Senate,
Democrats are planning to delay and drag the process in yet another underhanded stunt.
Following the impeachment vote, Pelosi said she would withhold the articles of impeachment until the Senate makes rules that she determines will be "fair" to the prosecution.
Comment: To be clear, they won't be 'gathering evidence' for the purpose of actually strengthening their chances of Trump being impeached (because they have nothing, and they know it). Instead, they will be pretending to 'gather evidence' so that as many headlines as possible with 'Trump impeachment' in them can be generated for as long as possible through 2020, an election year.
What they may also do, in parallel, is cook up something more 'sensational' than 'withholding military aid to Ukraine' as 'evidence' of Trump's 'malfeasance', but its purpose won't be to support the formal legal proceedings, but to convince the minds of the general public in 'trial by media' that Trump really is 'Orange Man Bad'.
This is all designed to influence voters to not vote for Trump next November. Their plan will likely fail, but you never know; populations do succumb to heavy, targeted infowar campaigns of repetitive media lies...
Comment: Beware the tendrils of Israel and all it reprehensibly represents! The speed at which the usurpers of the Morales government called upon Israeli expertise leaves no doubt as to who collaborated in the coup and what they anticipate to gain by adding Bolivia to their collection.