Mixed reaction in Kabul to Afghan power deal

Mixed reaction in Kabul to Afghan power deal

1 Share
Afghans react following a power-sharing deal between two rival political camps that sees Ashraf Ghani named as president-elect and Abdullah Abdullah as 'CEO'. Duration: 00:56.
Views: 0
    
ratings
Time: 00:56More in News & Politics

'F--- it, I quit': Alaska reporter comes out as head of medical pot business, quits ... - New York Daily News

1 Share

New York Daily News

'F--- it, I quit': Alaska reporter comes out as head of medical pot business, quits ...
New York Daily News
An Alaska TV reporter dropped a bomb on her bosses Sunday night when she admitted to secretly running a medical marijuana biz and announced she was resigning to run it full time, saying "as for this job ... f--- it, I quit." KTVA Anchorage reporter Charlo ...
Video: Alaska CBS Reporter Says, 'F*%k It, I Quit' Live on Air Over Pot LegalizationNewsweek
TV reporter quits live on air as she reveals she is owner of Alaskan cannabis clubTelegraph.co.uk
Alaskan Reporter Drops F-Bomb, Quits On Live TV For MarijuanaBustle
Washington Post (blog) -Huffington Post -Philly.com (blog)
all 78 news articles »

How to wear a manbag: are you a briefcase, bumbag or backpack man? 

1 Share
From Louis Vuitton to Gucci and Ralph Lauren, manbags are definitely a thing. Here are five styles for autumn/winter and how to wear them
Last month, Matthew McConaughey offered a strident defence of the oft-derided bumbag and even some advice on how to wear one with aplomb.
Continue reading...

Islamic State urges attacks on U.S., French citizens, taunts Obama

1 Share
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State urged its followers on Monday to attack citizens of the United States, France and other countries which have joined a coalition to destroy the militant group.
  

Kurds Halt Islamic State Siege on Syrian City

1 Share
Heavy fighting still raging around Ayn al-Arab, as number of Syrians fleeing into Turkey from besieged area reaches 130,000.

Turkey struggles with spillover as Syrian Kurds battle Islamic State

1 Share
MURSITPINAR Turkey (Reuters) - Syrian Kurds battled to defend a key border town from an Islamic State advance on Monday as Kurdish youths from neighboring Turkey rushed to their aid, heightening the pressure on Ankara to act against the Islamist insurgents.






  
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 2

Ukrainian military says it will withdraw big guns after fall-off in separatist fire 

1 Share
Ukraine's army spokesman said separatist artillery attacks had diminished and there had been no firing from Russian territory.

Developments in Ukraine

1 Share

Israel's Mossad takes hunt for foreign spies and informants online

1 Share
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - It is already common for intelligence agencies to recruit their officers online, but Israel's Mossad has gone one further by touting for local agents and informants too.
  

Kerry: Islamic State Threatens Entire Middle East

1 Share
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says Islamic State militants threaten the entire Middle East, and the international community can not allow that threat to go unchecked. Kerry says the strength of Islamic State finances and the size of the area under its control in Syria and Iraq make it a more dangerous threat than al-Qaida. In an interview with MSNBC television Monday, he said the Obama administration is determined to prevent that threat from reaching the United States. "We...

Home sales show biggest drop since 2011 - Crain's Chicago Business

1 Share

Home sales show biggest drop since 2011
Crain's Chicago Business
Chicago-area home sales fell more than 13 percent last month compared with last year, the biggest such decline in more than three years, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors. In a nine-county local area, 10,370 homes sold in August, compared ...

and more »

Isis's online propaganda outpacing US counter-efforts, officials warn 

1 Share
Batch of US initiatives seeking to undermine Isiss sophisticated online image is unlikely to work on internet-affluent youths
Former US public diplomacy officials fear the sophisticated, social media borne propaganda of the Islamic State militant group (Isis) is outmatching American efforts at countering it.
Aimed less at Isis itself than at potential supporters, a bevy of US diplomatic and communications initiatives seek to undermine Isiss portrayal of itself as an authentic, successful Islamic resistance. But even some who helped push the State Department into confronting extremists online fear that US counter-propaganda is amorphous, slipshod and unlikely to persuade internet-fluent youths to whom Isis attempts to appeal.
Continue reading...
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 3

US Existing-Home Sales Fall 1.8% in August - Wall Street Journal

1 Share

Reuters

US Existing-Home Sales Fall 1.8% in August
Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON—U.S. existing-home sales fell for the first time in five months in August, a sign the housing market hit a soft patch after a brisk summer. Sales of previously owned homes fell 1.8% in August from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 ...
US Existing Home Sales Show Unexpected Drop In AugustRTT News

all 17 news articles »

Путин обсудил с членами Совбеза РФ противодействие ИГИЛ и борьбу с Эболой - РБК

1 Share

Диалог.UA - Всегда два мнения

Путин обсудил с членами Совбеза РФ противодействие ИГИЛ и борьбу с Эболой
РБК
РБК 22.09.2014, Москва 14:28:28 Президент России Владимир Путин обсудил с постоянными членами Совета безопасности РФ вопросы противодействия группировке «Исламское государство» и расширение участия России в международной борьбе с вирусом Эбола. Об этом ...
Совбез обсудил выполнение «Плана Путина» на УкраинеКомсомольская правда
Владимир Путин обсудил с Совбезом ход реализации мирного плана на юго-востоке УкраиныКоммерсантъ
Путин обсудил с Совбезом РФ противодействие "Исламскому государству"РИА Новости
Газета.Ru -ИТАР-ТАСС -НТВ.ru
Все похожие статьи: 25 »

Возвращение железного Феликса. Дивизии ВВ МВД РФ вернули имя Дзержинского - Аргументы и факты

1 Share

Аргументы и факты

Возвращение железного Феликса. Дивизии ВВ МВД РФ вернули имя Дзержинского
Аргументы и факты
У любителей рассуждений о том, что современная Россия стремительно возвращается к мрачным временам сталинизма или, как минимум, в беспросветность эпохи застоя, появился новый повод для разговоров. Как сообщила пресс-служба Внутренних Войск МВД РФ, Отдельной ...
Дивизии внутренних войск вернули имя ДзержинскогоBBC Russian
Дивизии внутренних войск МВД вернули имя Феликса ДзержинскогоИТАР-ТАСС
В СПЧ назвали неуместным возвращение имени Дзержинского дивизии МВДГоворит Москва
Федеральное агентство новостей No.1 -www.SAMARA.ru
Все похожие статьи: 39 »

Трое погибших военных в ходе учений «Восток-2014» посмертно представлены к государственным наградам - Коммерсантъ

1 Share

НТВ.ru

Трое погибших военных в ходе учений «Восток-2014» посмертно представлены к государственным наградам
Коммерсантъ
«Командующий войсками Восточного военного округа представил к государственным наградам посмертно троих военнослужащих контрактной службы, до конца боровшиеся за спасение своих товарищей, оказавшихся под водой в результате затопления одного из бронетранспортеров ...
Погибших на Сахалине десантников наградят посмертноBFM.Ru
Солдат, погибших в ВВО при спасении сослуживцев, наградят посмертноРИА Новости
На Сахалине условного противника победили реальные морпехиНТВ.ru
Газета.Ru -Московский комсомолец -РБК
Все похожие статьи: 90 »

Russia and the West: Looking Back in Anger, and Forward With Dread - The Atlantic

1 Share

The Atlantic

Russia and the West: Looking Back in Anger, and Forward With Dread
The Atlantic
MOSCOW—The standoff between Russia and the West over Ukraine is a relatively recent development, but it is sickeningly familiar to anyone who grew up in the Cold War decades. It is, most of all, uniquely ominous: When nuclear-armed America and ...
Thousands march in Moscow to protest Russia's Ukraine policiesLos Angeles Times
Russian peace march draws tens of thousands in support of UkraineWashington Post
Ukraine crisis: Thousands rally in Moscow against Russia's involvement in ...ABC Online
Voice of America -The Guardian
all 1,256 news articles »

Azerbaijan probed over NGO crackdown

1 Share
Azerbaijan faces scrutiny by Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative over crackdown on human rights activists and non-governmental organisations
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 4

Shared Intelligence Could Stem Flow of Recruits to IS

1 Share
Telephone hotlines and schemes to strip suspected militants of their passports are among eye-catching strategies to deter European fighters from joining Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq. But a more effective means - intelligence - is being under-utilized, according to diplomats and officials in Turkey, the main gateway from Europe to the militant's self-proclaimed caliphate. Intelligence on recruiting networks is patchy and spy agencies are sometimes reluctant to share information, these officials say. Thousands of foreigners from more than 80 nations, including Turkey, Britain, parts of Europe, China and the United States, have already joined the ranks of Islamic State and other radical groups in Syria and Iraq. Undetected among tourists Many crossed via Turkey, flying into Istanbul or its Mediterranean resorts on Western passports, undetected among the millions of tourists arriving each month. More are trying, despite tighter border controls. Turkish authorities have drawn up a “no-entry” list of 6,000 people, some as young as 14, based largely on intelligence from Western agencies, and have deported more than 500 suspected of seeking to join the extremists this year alone. But the list is far from comprehensive, with gaps from some countries seen as major recruiting grounds in parts of North Africa and the Gulf, and some of the information already out of date by the time the Turkish authorities receive it. “Our partners say we don't know who's going until after they've gone. So it's also about radicalization, about what happens before these people leave their homes,” said a senior Turkish official, declining to be named so as to speak freely. “You can't catch the mice individually. ... There are networks involved. We have to crush these networks.” Reluctance to share data Some intelligence agencies are reluctant to fully share information with their Turkish counterparts, partly because Turkey does not share the same data protection standards and partly for fear of compromising the work of undercover agents seeking to infiltrate jihadist networks, security experts say. “Data protection is an obstacle ... and this issue has put it under the spotlight,” said one European diplomat. “But I think we're sharing more than we used to, lists of names and other data.” Cooperation has been more complicated with other states such as Egypt, the Arab world's most populous nation with which Turkey no longer has full diplomatic relations, or Libya, whose government was forced to flee the capital Tripoli last month after it was taken over by militants. “Turkish intelligence asked us for this information, but we don't deal directly with them these days,” said an Egyptian intelligence official when asked about cooperation with Turkey. “But we do give this information to other countries, like America, and we are sure Turkey can get it from them,” he said. Some successes There have nonetheless been notable successes. A man thought to be one of the main recruiters of French jihadists for the Islamic State group was placed in the hands of judicial authorities in Paris this month after his arrest in Turkey in August, after what French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve described as “excellent cooperation.” Spain, Morocco, Belgium and Germany have also made headway in breaking down recruiting networks, officials say. But Turkish officials, rebuffing suggestions they failed to adequately control their border, point to examples of Western intelligence failings to highlight the challenges they face. On one occasion this year a passenger arrived from a European airport with cartridges and the detachable barrel of a Kalashnikov in his luggage, the senior official said. Another who had been deported once, later appeared again at Turkish immigration with a different passport. In February, two German citizens who were being investigated for links to extremists by the German authorities were caught in the southern city of Gaziantep trying to travel to Munich with explosives, the official said. The German authorities have not commented on the case. Purges among Turkish police A European diplomat meanwhile said that recent purges in the Turkish police force, including of officers in anti-terrorism and organized crime units, had been a set-back. President Tayyip Erdogan has been locked in a battle with a former ally turned foe, Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, whose followers he accuses of using influence in the police and judiciary to plot against him. Thousands of officers have been dismissed or reassigned. “There's a problem because of the purges within the police. People you've been working with and built up trust with are replaced or just disappear. It's hard to get information. Those who replace them are often very cautious,” the diplomat said. “I sometimes get the sense of distrust (within Turkish institutions). ... Important information doesn't always end up in the right place at the right time.” Turkish officials deny a lack of coordination, saying the interior ministry issued instructions to all relevant agencies in April on exactly what measures needed to be implemented. The United States is drawing up plans for military action in Syria against Islamic State fighters, but Turkey, one of its closest allies in the region and a member of the NATO military alliance, is reluctant to take a frontline role. That was due in part to fears for the safety of 46 Turkish hostages held by the militants. The hostages were freed on Saturday in what Erdogan said was a covert operation by Turkish intelligence, but Ankara's stance is not immediately expected to shift. Its main role will instead be stopping the number of foreign fighters among the militant ranks, currently estimated by Turkish officials at between 8,000-11,000, from rising and intercepting those who try to return home via Turkey. Attacks in home countries feared Western governments fear their nationals, radicalized in Iraq or Syria, may stage attacks at home, with Australia warning on Friday of attacks on politicians and government buildings and saying it foiled a plot to behead a member of the public. “There's a growing awareness of this problem, much more so than a year ago. ... There's no lack of political goodwill,” said one European diplomat of Ankara's tighter border security. From Turkey, crossing the 900-kilometer (560-mile) frontier into northern Syria was long relatively straightforward, as the Turkish authorities maintained an open border policy to allow refugees out and support to the Syrian opposition in. That policy has drawn accusations, strongly denied by the Turkish government, that it has supported militant Islamists, inadvertently or otherwise, in its enthusiasm to help Syrian rebels topple President Bashar al-Assad. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, dismissing such suggestions as “unfair,” used a press conference in Berlin on Thursday to urge better information sharing to stop jihadists reaching Turkey. “We are very determined on this issue. We know that every terrorist that comes to this region, whether foreign fighters or fighters from this region, are threats to Turkey,” Cavusoglu said. “But ... it's ideal if they're identified before leaving their home countries,” he said.

Read the whole story
 
· · · ·

Возможен ли в России новый президент? 

1 Share
Михаил Ходорковский заявил, что в кризисной ситуации готов возглавить Россию. Что должна быть за ситуация,...
Views: 0
    
4
ratings
Time: 00:00More in News & Politics

США планируют уточнить роль РФ в борьбе с «Исламским государством» - Полит.ру

1 Share

РИА Новости

США планируют уточнить роль РФ в борьбе с «Исламским государством»
Полит.ру
США во время запланированной на эту неделю серии встреч с российскими официальными лицами рассчитывают прояснить возможную роль Москвы в военной кампании против группировки «Исламское государство». Об этом заявила в воскресенье журналистам представитель ...
Молдова присоединяется к борьбе с боевиками 'Исламского государства'ПрессОРГ24 - Новости Украины
Лавров призвал Керри воздержаться от искажения фактов и двойных стандартовBFM.Ru
Лавров в беседе с Керри отметил необходимость уважать суверенитет Сирии при борьбе с ИГИТАР-ТАСС

Все похожие статьи: 94 »

U.S. Private Equity Group Blackstone to Withdraw From Russia

1 Share
U.S. private equity group Blackstone Group LP is "giving up on Russia," highlighting how even well-connected Western investors are turning away from the country, a news report said.

Немецкие туристы, несмотря на санкции, приплыли в Крым - BFM.Ru

1 Share

Московский комсомолец

Немецкие туристы, несмотря на санкции, приплыли в Крым
BFM.Ru
Круизное судно Ocean Majesty с 500 пассажирами на борту, несмотря на санкции, совершило путешествие из Бремена в Крым, сообщает телеканал NDR. Уточняется, что корабль прибыл в порт Ялты в прошлую среду, 17 сентября. Большинство гостей на борту лайнера решили целый ...
Круизный лайнер с немецкими туристами зашел в Ялту в обход санкций ЕСВзгляд
Вопреки санкционным запретам лайнер с немецкими туристами прибыл в КрымВести.Ru
Лайнер с немецкими туристами прибыл в Ялту, проигнорировав санкции ЕСРИА Новости
NEWSru.com -Интерновости.ру -Дни.Ру
Все похожие статьи: 79 »

Ukraine's Poroshenko Defends Peace Plan as Troops Killed During Cease-Fire 

1 Share
Ukraine has reported more deaths among its troops and separatists despite a cease-fire, but Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko defended his peace plan, saying a military solution was not an option.
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 5

Турчинов намерен запретить работать в Раде 24 депутатам-"предателям", ездившим на заседание Госдумы РФ - NEWSru.com

1 Share

Зеркало недели

Турчинов намерен запретить работать в Раде 24 депутатам-"предателям", ездившим на заседание Госдумы РФ
NEWSru.com
Спикер парламента Украины Александр Турчинов намерен внести на рассмотрение Верховной Рады постановление, которое запретит находиться в Раде 24 депутатам, которые на прошлой неделе ездили на заседание Госдумы РФ. Об этом он заявил в интервью местному ...
Турчинов предложил выгнать из Рады "депутатов-предателей", побывавших в Москве на заседании ГД РФПравда.Ру
На Украине спикер грозит не пускать в Раду депутатов, побывавших в МосквеКомсомольская правда
Турчинов выгоняет депутатов из РадыДни.Ру
Интерфакс - Украина -Российская Газета -Корреспондент.net
Все похожие статьи: 209 »

Аксенов не пустит в Крым никаких «чужих подрядчиков: «Для этого у нас есть самооборона» - Ведомости

1 Share

РБК

Аксенов не пустит в Крым никаких «чужих подрядчиков: «Для этого у нас есть самооборона»
Ведомости
У нынешнего руководства Крыма «полностью конструктивные отношения» с федеральными властями, но приезда федеральных чиновников в регион оно не ждет, поскольку «здесь люди не дурнее, чем москвичи, и лучше знают проблематику». Об этом «Коммерсанту-Власти» заявил 1 ...
Крымскотатарского Меджлиса не существует,- АксеновУра-Информ
Аксенов пообещал решить проблемы крымских татар и наказывать тех, кто против присоединения Крыма к РФNEWSru.com
СМИ: у Аксенова нет четкого плана по интеграции Крыма в РоссиюBFM.Ru
Аргументы и факты -Взгляд -Утро.Ru
Все похожие статьи: 117 »

German Cruise Liner Docks in Crimea Despite Ukraine's Opposition 

1 Share
A German-operated cruise liner has traveled to the Crimean port of Yalta in apparent defiance of the Ukrainian government, which has prohibited international vessels from calling at the Black Sea peninsula.

Рогозин: мы полностью обновим наши ядерные силы через 6 лет - ИА REGNUM

1 Share

Уралинформбюро

Рогозин: мы полностью обновим наши ядерные силы через 6 лет
ИА REGNUM
Вице-премьер РФ Дмитрий Рогозин считает, что формирование технической основы стратегических ядерных сил идет опережающими темпами и обновление вооружения стратегических ядерных сил (СЯС) к 2020 году произойдет не на 70%, а на все 100%. Об этом он заявил в эфире ... 
Новости 22 сентября: к 2020 году Россия обновит стратегический ядерный арсенал — РогозинМировые Новости | Новости России

К 2020 году Россия полностью обновит свой стратегический ядерный арсенал ИА DixiNews
Стратегический ядерный арсенал России к 2020 году будет обновлен на 100%Внешнеэкономические связи
Русская Служба Новостей-
 
Свежие новости сегодня. Последние новости интернет издания "Fresh-News"RT на русском 

Все похожие статьи: 108 »

Russia This Week: How Many Russian Soldiers Have Been Killed in Ukraine? 

1 Share
Updated Daily. This week’s issue:
- Further Peace March Arrests: 7 in St. Petersburg; 2 in Yekaterinburg; 2 in Barnaul
- Peace March of 26,000 in Moscow Finishes Without Incident; A Few Arrests Reported
At Least 10,000 in Peace March in Moscow – AP
5,000 March in St. Petersburg Despite Ban
‘If We’re the Fifth Column, Then You’re the Sixth Ward’
Peace Marcher in Feminist Column Arrested in Moscow
Arrests Reported in St. Petersburg at Unauthorized Peace March
Moscow Peace March Proceeds Despite Harassment from Ultranationalists – Live Feeds
Tens of Thousands Marching in Moscow Against Russia’s War in Ukraine
- Opposition Peace March Begins in Moscow, with Counter-Demonstrators 
Yevtushenkov Temporarily Released from House Arrest; Could Face Large Bail Payment Next Week 
Moscow Peace March to Proceed Despite Claims of Cancellation; Ad Claimed Illegal 
Russians Concerned About Government Plans to Disconnect Russian Internet from World 
US Amb. Tefft Receives Liberals as Well as Hard-liners, and Deftly Parries Insults 
Shake-up — Again — in ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ Military Leadership?
Ukrainian News Site Gordon Confirms More Russian Soldiers’ Deaths – and Military Presence in Ukraine
Russians Satirize Rosneft’s Sechin and Yevtushenkov Arrest
Russian and Ukrainian Analysts Theorize on Arrest of Oligarch Yevtushenkov
Russian Billionaire Arrested on Money-Laundering Charges
- New ‘Novorossiya’ General Korsun Vows to Install Harsh Soviet-like System 
Rights or Revanchism? Russian Human Rights Commissioner Blasts Ukraine, Baltic States
Please help The Interpreter to continue providing this valuable information service by making a donation towards our costs‏.


Плотницкий: вокруг ЛНР украинские силовики возводят укрепрайоны - Независимая газета

1 Share

СЕГОДНЯ

Плотницкий: вокруг ЛНР украинские силовики возводят укрепрайоны
Независимая газета
Вокруг провозглашенной Луганской народной республики /ЛНР/ украинские вооруженные силы строят укрепрайоны. Об этом сегодня заявил журналистам глава ЛНР Игорь Плотницкий. По его словам, третий тур переговоров в Минске проходил тяжело, было много спорных вопросов.
Силовики Украины передают пленных ополченцев ЛНР в тяжёлом состоянииРусская Служба Новостей
Террористы планируют провести собственные "выборы" в ноябреСЕГОДНЯ
Киев фактически признает независимость Донбасса, считает глава ЛНРРИА Новости
Газета.Ru -MIGnews.com.ua -Интернет журнал @-news.info
Все похожие статьи: 60 »
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 6

Western Sanctions Could Damage One-Fifth of Russia's Oil Production - The Moscow Times

1 Share

The Moscow Times

Western Sanctions Could Damage One-Fifth of Russia's Oil Production
The Moscow Times
Some 100 million tons of annual oil production — or about 20 percent Russia's total oil output — is at risk because of sanctions related to the supply of Western technology and expertise toRussia, Vagit Alekperov, the head of Russia's No. 2 oil ...
US sanctions against Russia aimed at 'demonizing' Moscow: Jeff SteinbergPress TV
US, EU levy new sanctions on Russia, take aim at Moscow's energy futureCanada.com
Norway's Dolphin Says Russia Arctic Contract Not Affected by SanctionsWall Street Journal

all 32 news articles »

IS Urges Attacks on Citizens of Coalition Members

1 Share
The Islamic State group urged its followers on Monday to attack citizens of the United States, France and other countries that have joined a coalition to destroy the militant group. Islamic State spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani told the militant group's followers: "If you can kill a disbelieving American or European -- especially the spiteful and filthy French -- or an Australian, or a Canadian or any other disbeliever ... including the citizens of the countries that entered into a coalition against the Islamic State, then rely upon Allah, and kill him. "Kill the disbeliever whether he is civilian or military," Adnani also said in the message, which was released in multiple languages and carried by the SITE monitoring website. Adnani's message gave instructions on how the killings could be carried out without military equipment. He made his calls in a 41-minute audio statement to militants released on the SITE monitoring website. Reuters could not independently verify the audio statement. International coalition The United States is building an international coalition to combat the radical Sunni Muslim group, which has seized large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria and proclaimed a caliphate in the heart of the Middle East. U.S. and French warplanes have struck Islamic State targets in Iraq and on Sunday the United States said other countries had indicated a willingness to join it if it goes ahead with airstrikes against the group in Syria, too. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has said that more than 50 countries have come forward with commitments as part of the coalition, including Egypt and other Arab states. The Islamic State group also urged insurgents in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Monday to press ahead with attacks against Egyptian security forces and beheadings. "Rig the roads with explosives for them. Attack their bases. Raid their homes. Cut off their heads. Do not let them feel secure. Hunt them wherever they may be. Turn their life into fear and hell," Adnani said. Warning to coalition The IS spokesman also taunted President Barack Obama and other Western “crusaders” in the statement carried by SITE, saying their forces faced inevitable defeat at the militants' hands. Adnani said the military intervention by the U.S.-led coalition would be the “final campaign of the crusaders,” according to the transcript published by SITE. “It will be broken and defeated, just as all your previous campaigns were broken and defeated,” he said in the statement that urged followers to attack U.S., French, Canadian, Australian and other nationals. Obama has authorized airstrikes in Syria aimed at denying Islamic State fighters safe havens there. Washington has also committed $500 million to arm and train Syrian rebels and has sent 1,600 U.S. troops back into Iraq to fight the group. In his statement, Adnani mocked Western leaders over their deepening military engagement in the region and said Obama was repeating the mistakes of his predecessor, George W. Bush. “If you fight it (Islamic State), it becomes stronger and tougher. If you leave it alone, it grows and expands. If Obama has promised you with defeating the Islamic State, then Bush has also lied before him,” Adnani said, according to the transcript. Comment to president Addressing Obama directly, Adnani added: “O mule of the Jews, you claimed today that America would not be drawn into a war on the ground. No, it will be drawn and dragged. It will come down to the ground and it will be led to its death, grave and destruction.” Obama, who has spent much of his tenure extracting the United States from Iraq after its costly 2003 invasion and  occupation, is sensitive to charges that he is being drawn into another long campaign that risks U.S. soldiers' lives. Also on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed with his Security Council the potential for cooperation with other countries on fighting against Islamic State militants, Russian news agencies cited the Kremlin's spokesman as saying. Russia, whose ties with Washington are at their lowest since the end of the Cold War, has not yet responded to calls from the United States to build an international coalition to destroy the radical Sunni Muslim group. “Permanent members of the Security Council exchanged opinions on possible forms of cooperation with other partners on a plan to counter Islamic State in the framework of international law,” Interfax quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. Peskov did not say who the other partners were. Some material for this report came from Reuters and AFP.

Read the whole story
 
· · ·

Moscow Voices Stance On Caspian Before Summit

1 Share
Russia is pressing its opposition to the division of the Caspian Sea into five sectors ahead of a summit of the five nations with coastlines on the inland sea.

Russia plans state controls in case of internet crisis - BBC News

1 Share

BBC News

Russia plans state controls in case of internet crisis
BBC News
Russia is making plans to ensure state control over the country's internet traffic in a national emergency, Russian media report. War or an Arab Spring-style uprising would class as such an emergency. Plans for boosting cyber security are reported to ...

and more »

Russia Considers Cooperation In Fight Against IS Militants

1 Share
Russia is considering how it could cooperate with other nations in the fight against Islamic State militants.

Russia Wants to Keep Ukraine off UN Radar - ABC News

1 Share

ABC News

Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 7

Window on Eurasia: How Putin Broke the Overton Window in Russia and Made the Unthinkable Acceptable

1 Share

Paul Goble

 

            Staunton, September 22 – In every country at all times, there is a range of views which are considered politically acceptable and ones which are beyond that range.  American analyst Joseph P. Overton called the first the Overton Window and argued that political figures straying too far from these are doomed to fail.

 

            But some leaders are able to break the Overton Window and change the range of positions which are acceptable to include something that earlier were unthinkable. That, St. Petersburg commentator Mikhail Komin argues, is exactly what Vladimir Putin and his propaganda machine have accomplished in the last six months.

 

            Indeed, he argues, the sophisticated new political technology Putin has employed has “attacked the defenseless [Russian] television viewer and gradually led him to the thought that freedom is slavery and black is white,” a technology that goes beyond that of the totalitarian past (slon.ru/russia/bit_okna_overtona_chto_politologiya_govorit_o_tekushchem_rossiyskom_bezumii-1159495.xhtml).

 

            Most analysts have focused on what Russians now believe and asked themselves whether the country has “gone mad,” but a more useful investigation, Komin argues, focuses on “how this is being done.”

 

            He begins with rational choice theory which assumes that individuals are clever and egocentric and that their “basic interest” is to maximize that which is useful to them while minimizing the amount of effort they have to exert in order to achieve that. That affects their consumption of information as well.

 

            “The less time” people have to spend searching for information, the more pleased they are with what they receive, he argues.  That in turn leads to two conclusions. On the one hand, people will seek to obtain as little information as they can and process it as little as possible. And on the other, they will “not diversify their sources” or will do so only to reinforce what they already believe.

 

            Sociologist Irving Goffman calls this “flaming,” and his work suggests that a massive information attack by the most easily accessible media “leads to the domination in society of a single point of view,” Komin says. That in turn allows the formation of “an administered majority,” but it creates certain problems when the elite wants to move in new directions.

 

            That constitutes “the drama of authoritarianism,” he continues, and he gives as an example of an elite’s need for change the formation by Moscow of what was in the past not an idea widely accepted by the population, “the conception of ‘fascist Ukraine.’”  Getting Russians who have relatives in Ukraine and who have been told Ukrainians are a fraternal people is not something that could be done in one day.

 

            According to Overton’s theory, Komin says, “it is possible to broaden the limits of the permissible and normal for a given society during a crisis or threat.” But “this threat must not be direct … we must not really suffer from it or otherwise for the reduction of risks our need for analysis will grow,” something authoritarian elites do not want populations to do.

 

            According to Komin, “any absurd idea must pass through four stages in order to become generally accepted.” In the first, media people begin talking about things that they had never talked about before. In the second, experts or “pseudo-experts” are brought in to suggest that the idea is not as absurd as it may appear.

 

            In the third, the media offers what it says are precedents for concluding that the absurd idea was always true but unrecognized.  And in the fourth, Komin continues, political leaders take up the issue and raise it to the level of state policy. In the Ukrainian case, that occurred when Putin and Lavrov began talking about fascism in Ukraine.

 

            By breaking open the Overton Window, the St. Petersburg analyst continues, it is possible to transform almost any idea from the absurd to a commonplace and unquestioned one be it “the eternal Third Rome, the return of Alaska, or the anti-Russian conspiracy of the Anglo-Saxons and Atlanticists,” and to distract and divert attention as needed.

 

            But there is a problem here too for those who shatter the window, Komin says.  “In order to maintain control over the situation, they face a growing need” to come up with various “enemies” and thus they unintentionally unleash “activists of a new type,” people like Col. Strelkov, “for whom the only acceptable form of civic life is the unleashing of World War III.”

 
Read the whole story
 
· · · · ·

Window on Eurasia: West’s Realpolitik has Convinced Putin He Can Do What He Likes, Khodorkovsky Says

1 Share
Paul Goble

 

            Staunton, September 22 – The West bears part of the blame for the crisis in Ukraine, Mikhail Khodorkovsky says, because its pursuit of “so-called ‘Realpolitik’” has convinced Vladimir Putin that “he and his entourage can do anything they want” and thus made the situation worse rather than better by encouraging Putin to become even more aggressive.

 

            In an interview published in “Der Spiegel,” the former Yukos head and longtime political prisoner said, however, that most of the blame for what has happened falls on what he calls “the irresponsible policy” of the Kremlin leader who refuses to accept that Ukraine has a right to make its own choices (rufabula.com/news/2014/09/21/useless-realpolitik).

 

            In a second interview, given to Madrid’s “El Pais,” Khodorkovsky said that in his view, the Putin regime is nearing its end. He said that he was nonetheless “a pessimist” about the exact time because it could be “between two years if he makes mistake and 20” if he doesn’t.  Khodorkovsky said he hopes Putin will make mistakes and thus be removed.

 

            He added that civil society in Russia “has not disappeared although Putin has done everything he can to repress and divide those who are oriented toward Europe.” At the same time, the exiled leader said that he doesn’t feel any personal hostility to Putin: “for me, he is an opponent, with whom it will be interesting to compete,” Khodorkovsky continued.

 

            And in a third interview, this one with the French newspaper “Le Monde” on Saturday, he indicated that he just might do that: he said he did “not exclude” the possibility that he will become president of Russia if “this will be needed to overcome the crisis and to carry out constitutional reform.

 
Read the whole story
 
· ·

Министр обороны Польши готов продавать оружие Украине - РБК

1 Share

Зеркало недели

Министр обороны Польши готов продавать оружие Украине
РБК
РБК 22.09.2014, Москва 13:40:41 Польша готова продавать оружие Украине, если будет такая необходимость. Такое заявление сделал министр обороны страны Томаш Семоняк, передает Reuters. «Я подтверждаю, что большая оборонной промышленности заинтересована в этом ...
Польша готова продавать оружие УкраинеГлавная | Deutsche Welle
Польша готова поставлять Украине оружиеПетербургский репортер
Польша готова помочь Украине с оружиемФедеральное агентство новостей No.1
Главред -NEWS.BCM.ru
Все похожие статьи: 38 »

Window on Eurasia: Moscow Blocks Numerically Small Peoples from Attending UN Meeting 

1 Share

Paul Goble

 

            Staunton, September 22 – In a break with recent practice but a return to harsher Soviet traditions, Moscow has blocked several representatives of its numerically small nationalities from travelling to New York to attend a United Nations conference of such peoples from around the world which opens today.

 

            FSB officers confiscated the Russian passport of Rodion Sulyandziga, one of the leaders of the numerically small peoples of the North, at Sheremetyevo airport thus preventing him from attending the New York meeting where he was to be a co-chair of the Roundtable on Lands, Territories and Resources (nazaccent.ru/content/13225-predstavitelyam-korennyh-malochislennyh-narodov-ne-dali.html).

 

            Two days earlier, he reported, the FSB did the same thing to Anna Naykachina, a senior leader of this community, and Russian officials appear to be behind delays that have prevented Valentina Sovkina, the chairman of the Saami parliament of the Kola Peninsula, from attending the New York meeting as well.

 

            And Russian officials have also blocked several Crimean Tatars from travelling to New York. On September 18, they seized the passport of Nadir Bekirova, the director of the International Foundation for Research and Support of the Indigenous Peoples of Crimea, in order to prevent her from attending.

 

            The meeting will be addressed by the leader of one numerically small people that Moscow is no longer in a position to prevent from taking part: Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves whose country has played a key role in developing cooperative relations among the Finno-Ugric nations inside and outside the borders of the Russian Federation.

 

 

 
Read the whole story
 
· ·

Марш мира в Москве - Еще одна попытка 

1 Share
В Москве прошел «Марш мира». Основное требование участников шествия – остановить российское вмешательств...
Views: 0
    
ratings
Time: 05:43More in News & Politics

Rohani Says Iran Will Help Defend Middle East Against 'Terrorists'

1 Share
Iranian President Hassan Rohani says Tehran will help people in the Middle East defend themselves against "terrorists."
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 8

Kyiv Says Preparing To Withdraw Heavy Weapons In East

1 Share
Kyiv says Ukrainian government forces are preparing to withdraw artillery and heavy armored vehicles within a proposed 30-kilometer buffer zone.

Putin Considers Forming Alliance to Fight Islamic State Terrorists 

1 Share
President Vladimir Putin discussed with his Security Council on Monday potential cooperation with other countries on fighting against Islamic State, according to his spokesman.

Ukraine Liveblog Day 217: Russia Says OSCE To Monitor Buffer Zone As Donetsk Airport Attacked Again 

1 Share
Yesterday’s liveblog can be found here. An archive of our liveblogs can be found here. For an overview and analysis of this developing story see our latest podcast.
Please help The Interpreter to continue providing this valuable information service by making a donation towards our costs.

View Ukraine: April, 2014 in a larger map
For links to individual updates click on the timestamps.
For the latest summary of evidence surrounding the shooting down of flight MH17 see our separate article: Evidence Review: Who Shot Down MH17?
Below we will be making regular updates so check back often.


 
Read the whole story
 
· ·

Window on Eurasia: Kaliningrad Separatism Now a Foreign Policy and Domestic Issue 

1 Share

Paul Goble

 

            Staunton, September 22 – Statements by Lithuanian and Polish commentators about Kaliningrad and actions by the Russian authorities against activists in that non-contiguous Russian Federation exclave suggest that the issue of separatism there is an increasingly lively one even if the prospects for any change in its status are not great.

 

            Last week, Laurynas Kasciunas, an analyst at the Vilnius Center for Research on Eastern Europe, said that “having seized Crimea and attacked the territory of Eastern Ukraine, Russia is violating international agreements about the inviolability of state borders, and this provides a basis for reminding it that in 1945 at the Potsdam conference, Karalaucius [the Lithuanian name for Koenigsberg] was given to it for 50 years” (regnum.ru/news/polit/1849507.html).

 

            That 50 year period “ran out long ago,” he continued, but despite there being a legal and political basis for raising the issue, neither Great Britain nor the United States currently has the political will to do so.  “Most likely,” Kasciunas said, “this case will simply be forgotten as was forgotten the Budapest Memorandum” about the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

 

            The only way that the status of Kaliningrad could be changed, he suggested, is by the actions of residents of the exclave who could demand a referendum on their status and by a change in Moscow’s attitude. The former is possible, of course, but there is little prospect for the latter.

 

            Thomas Janeliunas, a political scientist at the University of Vilnius, responded that the West has good reason not to raise this issue: If it did, he told Regnum.ru, that would open a Pandora’s box of border issues going back not only to the period of World War II but much earlier. 

 

            Meanwhile, in Poland, Mariusz Cielma, the editor of the portal “Dziennik Zbroyny,” suggested that Warsaw should respond to Putin’s threats to occupy the Baltic capitals, Warsaw and others by pointing out that the Polish army could take Kaliningrad in the course of 48 hours (dziennikzbrojny.pl/artykuly/art,10,51,7959,komentarze,1,w-48-godzin-mozemy-byc-pod-kaliningradem).

 

            The ability of Poland’s forces to do just that, Cielma argued, is greater than Putin’s ability to carry out his threat, and that possibility is something the Kremlin leader ought to be taking into account before he makes any more threats.

 

Meanwhile, inside Kaliningrad itself, activists are calling Oleg Savvin, Mikhail Feldman and Dmitry Fonaryov political prisoners and arguing that the Russian authorities are making the situation worse by charging them with attempting to break Kaliningrad off from Russia and have it join the European Union (svobodnykaliningrad.com/main/2426-politzeki-kaliningrada.html).

 

Russian prosecutors have brought charges of that against the four because they raised the German flag on the top of a garage opposite FSB headquarters in Kaliningrad, an action the portal says did not last very long or attract much attention at the time.  But by bringing charges of separatism against the four, Moscow is doing more than they could to promote such ideas.
Read the whole story
 
· · ·

Трехсторонняя встреча Россия-ЕС-Украина пройдет 26 сентября в Берлине - Российская Газета

1 Share

Российская Газета

Трехсторонняя встреча Россия-ЕС-Украина пройдет 26 сентября в Берлине
Российская Газета
26 сентября в Берлине пройдет трехсторонняя встреча по вопросам поставок газа с участием России, Украины и Евросоюза. Об этом официально объявили в понедельник представители Еврокомиссии. читайте также. Алексей Миллер: У "Газпрома" нет никакого интереса к участию в ...
Еврокомиссия заявила, что не прекращала расследование против "Газпрома"Независимая газета
Еврокомиссия опровергла прекращение дела против ГазпромаВзгляд
Еврокомиссия официально объявила о трехсторонней встрече по газу 26 сентября в БерлинеГазета.Ru
Интерфакс - Украина -НТВ.ru -euronews
Все похожие статьи: 11 »

Soldiers' Graves Bear Witness to Russia's Role in Ukraine

1 Share
Even as the Kremlin tries to deny its involvement and families are pressured to keep quiet, the deaths of soldiers sent to fight in Ukraine are impossible to ignore.
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 9

Top Shots

1 Share
Some of the most compelling photographs from RFE/RL's broadcast region and beyond. For more photo galleries, see our "Picture This" archive by clicking on the banner above.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

New questions arise about House Democratic caucus’s loyalty to Obama | » Democrats Stymie Obama on Trade 12/06/15 22:13 from WSJ.com: World News - World News Review

Немецкий историк: Запад был наивен, надеясь, что Россия станет партнёром - Военное обозрение

8:45 AM 11/9/2017 - Putin Is Hoping He And Trump Can Patch Things Up At Meeting In Vietnam

Review: ‘The Great War of Our Time’ by Michael Morell with Bill Harlow | FBI File Shows Whitney Houston Blackmailed Over Lesbian Affair | Schiff, King call on Obama to be aggressive in cyberwar, after purported China hacking | The Iraqi Army No Longer Exists | Hacking Linked to China Exposes Millions of U.S. Workers | Was China Behind the Latest Hack Attack? I Don’t Think So - U.S. National Security and Military News Review - Cyberwarfare, Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity - News Review

10:37 AM 11/2/2017 - RECENT POSTS: Russian propagandists sought to influence LGBT voters with a "Buff Bernie" ad

3:49 AM 11/7/2017 - Recent Posts

» Suddenly, Russia Is Confident No Longer - NPR 20/12/14 11:55 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks | Russia invites North Korean leader to Moscow for May visit - Reuters | Belarus Refuses to Trade With Russia in Roubles - Newsweek | F.B.I. Evidence Is Often Mishandled, an Internal Inquiry Finds - NYT | Ukraine crisis: Russia defies fresh Western sanctions - BBC News | Website Critical Of Uzbek Government Ceases Operation | North Korea calls for joint inquiry into Sony Pictures hacking case | Turkey's Erdogan 'closely following' legal case against rival cleric | Dozens arrested in Milwaukee police violence protest