The U.S. and Global Security Review - Blog by Michael Novakhov

Российская Газета

Республиканцы назвали Барака Обаму основной угрозой для США
Российская Газета
Сторонники республиканской партии США считают собственного президента-демократа Барака Обаму большей угрозой, нежели зарубежных лидеров, в том числе тех, кого местный политический истеблишмент считает противниками. Таковы неутешительные для администрации ...
Путин для республиканцев меньшая угроза, чем Обама — ОпросАрхангельск-ИНФО
Республиканцы считают, что Обама более опасен для США, чем Путин — ОпросРЫБИНСКonLine
Республиканцы считают Обаму большей угрозой, чем ПутинаТелепорт
РБК -Полит.ру
Все похожие статьи: 33 »

Robert Lustyik Jr - Google Search
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:38 PM

Search Results

Utah judge sentences former FBI agent to 10 years in federal fraud ...

Salt Lake Tribune-22 hours ago

Prosecutors say Lustyik, a counterintelligence officer based in White ... Robert G. Lustyik Jr. was sentenced in Salt Lake City's U.S. District Court ...

Ex-FBI agent sentenced to 10 years in Afghan kickback scheme
Belleville News Democrat-16 hours ago

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Russians In Deep Denial About Their Country And the Worldby Paul Goble

One Dead in Shooting near National Security Agency

How Russia is building a psychological firewall against the West

Russia fighting information wars with borrowed weapons

100 Russian military units created in Crimea – defense minister - RT

German Prosecutors: Crash Pilot Had Suicidal Tendenciesby webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:38 PM

The Germanwings co-pilot suspected of deliberately crashing a plane in the French Alps last week had been treated in the past for suicidal tendencies, German state prosecutors said on Monday. "Several years ago before obtaining his pilot's license the co-pilot was in a long period of psychotherapeutic treatment with noticeable suicidal tendencies,'' the prosecutors' office in Duesseldorf, where the pilot Andreas Lubitz lived and where the flight from Barcelona was heading, said in the statement. The prosecutors' office, which quoted "relevant medical documentation'' as the basis for its findings, added that since that period Lubitz had not shown any signs of suicidal behavior or aggressive tendencies towards others in visits to doctors. The Germanwings Airbus crashed into a remote area of the French Alps last Tuesday, killing everyone on board. Investigators believe 27-year-old Lubitz locked the pilot out of the cockpit and deliberately set the plane to descend into the mountainside. The prosecutors said on Monday that they had not found any evidence Lubitz was planning such an attack, nor his reason behind it. "No special circumstances have come to light, whether in his personal life or his work life, that shed any plausible light on a possible motive,'' the prosecutors' statement said. A spokeswoman for Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, said medical records were subject to doctor-patient confidentiality and that the airline therefore had no knowledge of what they contain. Under German law, employers do not have access to employees' medical records and sick notes excusing a person from work also do not give information on medical conditions. French investigators said on Monday they were digging an access route to the mountain crash site in order to speed up the investigation. The plane's second flight recorder, which contains flight data, has not yet been found. Kay Kratky, a board member of Lufthansa's German airlines unit, told a German talkshow on Sunday evening that, due to the force with which the plane hit the mountain face, it was possible the recorder's locator beacons had been damaged and were not working properly. "I am hopeful that we will find the recorder by physical searching,'' he said. Separately, the police in Duesseldorf said a full evaluation of items removed from Lubitz's homes would take some time.

Read the whole story

· ·

One Dead in Shooting near National Security Agencyby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:38 PM

One person was killed and another injured Monday when a car with two people inside tried to ram security gates at Fort Meade, near Washington, which houses the U.S. National Security Agency. The FBI tells VOA it does not believe the incident is "related to terrorism." "The shooting scene is contained and we do not believe it is related to terrorism... We are working with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland to determine if federal charges are warranted," a spokeswoman for the FBI Baltimore field office said in an emailed statement. Video from news helicopters shows two damaged sports utility vehicles at the scene - including one with NSA police markings. The National Security Agency, a pillar of the United States intelligence program, is based at the Fort George Meade U.S. Army base about 40 kilometers northeast of Washington, D.C, in the U.S. state of Maryland. The military installation is home to other federal agencies, including Defense Informations Systems Agency and U.S. Cyber Command. Approximately 29,000 civilian employees and 11,000 military personnel work at the base, according to Fort Meade's website. VOA National security correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report.

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· ·

More Details on Co-Pilot’s Mental State
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:37 PM

NYT > Europe

Christoph Kumpa, deputy spokesman for the prosecutors’ office, said before the Germanwings co-pilot received his license, Andreas Lubitz was seeking help from a psychotherapist.

Greek Energy Minister Visits Russia, Spurning 'Germanised Europe' - Newsweek
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:37 PM

Newsweek

Greek Energy Minister Visits Russia, Spurning 'Germanised Europe'
Newsweek
Greece's energy minister is visiting Russia today after calling for a confrontation with a “Germanised Europe” in the country's stalling bailout negotiations. Greek energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis will meet his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak ...
Greece to turn to Russia for economic help - mediaRT
Is Europe forcing Greece into the arms of Russia?International Business Times UK
Greek energy minister starts two-day visit to Russia on MondayForexLive

all 10 news articles »

DOE Advisers Warn US Might Lose Arctic Energy War With Russia, China - Daily Caller
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:37 PM

DOE Advisers Warn US Might Lose Arctic Energy War With Russia, China
Daily Caller
The Arctic is home to vast oil and natural gas reserves that Russia and China are eager to tap into, meaning the U.S. needs to start drilling in the north pole to keep ahead of its economic rivals, according to Department of Energy report. The DOE's ...

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Russian Tanks and Fighters Enter Eastern Ukraine, Says Kiev - Newsweek
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:37 PM

Newsweek

Russian Tanks and Fighters Enter Eastern Ukraine, Says Kiev
Newsweek
22 Russian tanks crossed into Ukraine's separatist-held eastern territories over the weekend, as pro-Moscow forces continue to seep into Ukraine's war-stricken Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Donetsk's local pro-government officials reported yesterday.

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How Russia is building a psychological firewall against the West
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:36 PM

President Vladimir Putin of Russia may fear that the internet is a CIA project, but unfortunately he is not alone.

According to our recently released study about how the Russian public views the internet his views are widely shared by large portions of the the Russian public.

In fact, our research concludes, the Russian public’s distrust of Western sources and dissident information on the internet creates a “perceptual filter” that bolsters Putin’s foreign and domestic policies.

A deep distrust of the internet – domestic and foreign

Based on a survey of 1,600 individuals (see details below), almost half of all Russians believe that information on the internet should be be censored. Likewise, two out of five Russians distrust foreign media and nearly half of Russians believe foreign news websites need to be censored.

These attitudes are partly driven by the fact that 42% of Russians believe the internet is being used by foreign countries against Russia.

In contrast, Central Russian TV news, heavily dominated and controlled by the Russian government, is a primary source of information for 84% of Russians and trusted by 90% of all Russians.

Put together these attitudes about a malicious foreign influence over the internet and perceived threats to political stability from domestic anti-government blogs and websites and you have a toxic mix.

Large majorities of Russians have negative feelings toward anti-government online content. These feelings translate into significant portions of the public supporting censorship – of social network groups that organize anti-government protests (46%); of on-line videos by the dissident rock band Pussy Riot (45%) and of bloggers that call for regime change (43%).

Based on these perceived external and internal threats, it should not be a surprise that the Federal Russian Security Service is the organization most trusted as the regulator of the internet.

A deliberate government campaign

The prevalence of these perceptions amongst the Russian public is no accident.

For some time, the Russian government has been weaving two complementary narratives. The first is that foreign countries use their technological dominance over the internet to pursue economic, political, and military objectives in Russia. The second is that home-grown online activists and “extremists” use the internet to destabilize Russia’s political system.

These narratives have provided the justification for a range of regulatory initiatives by the Russian government over the last two years.

Popular (which is officially defined as 3,000 daily readers or more) blogs and websites have to be officially registered. All websites and social media platforms have to physically store six months of user data inside Russia. Since November 2012 a blacklist law allows the Russian government to filter and block any websites or social media deemed to contain offensive material. A foreign media ownership law that took effect in October 2014 led CNN International, for example, to cease broadcasting inside Russia.

All this can be seen as a larger project by the Russian government to further tighten control over the flow of news and information.

Previously, the internet had been less censored and more pluralistic than the government-dominated mass media. This meant Russians had access to a wider range of views and information than was available in Russian TV news and newspapers.

The new focus on internet regulation and foreign broadcasting will allow the Putin regime greater control over the Russian public’s access to information, regardless of whether it stems from within or outside Russia.

What’s more, the Russian public’s support for government regulation provides an extra “psychological firewall” against alternative sources of information. And this firewall - being based on belief - is particularly difficult to circumvent.

Russia is not alone

Russia is not the only illiberal democracy increasing control over domestic and foreign online content while attempting to convince its citizens of the threat posed by a free and open internet.

The Turkish government, for example, has followed a similar path in recent years with its attempts to block anti-government online and social media content. The recently elected Turkish president went so far as to call social media “the worst menace to society.”

In both the Russian and Turkish cases, internet censorship and information control help the regimes’ efforts to build and maintain public support, or at least passive acceptance, for their foreign policy objectives.

The Turkish government has attempted to block information about its possible support of Islamic extremists fighting the Assad regime inside Syria.

In Russia, government domination of the news cycle has been instrumental in driving the sky-high approval ratings of President Putin (in the mid to high eighties) since the annexation of Crimea and conflict in eastern Ukraine, even as the Russian economy has gone into freefall.

The Russian public has very different views about the situation in Ukraine from the Western public. Even though the Russian government has denied the formal involvement of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine, the Russian media’s depictions of the Ukrainian government as ultra-nationalist, fascist, Western puppets has led [55% of Russians to feel positively about the Russian volunteers fighting with Ukrainian separatists. In fact, 45% of Russians support the idea of Russian military troops joining the fight.

The internet and US foreign policy

Promoting media and internet freedom – and with it public understanding and demand for thesefreedoms – should be considered among key American foreign policy priorities as suggested by former Secretary State Hillary Clinton back in 2010.

As we see with Russia, autocratic-leaning governments may use increased internet regulation and propaganda against dissident voices as a means to close the remaining cracks in the information bubbles surrounding their citizens.

Once hardened, these information bubbles allow governments to build further support for their illiberal regimes and to pursue their foreign policy objectives without the democratic accountability that can prevent unprovoked international conflict — as Russia has been doing in Ukraine over the past year.

Benchmarking Public Demand: Russia’s Appetite for Internet Control was conducted by the Annenberg School for Communication’s Center for Global Communication Studies and Internet Policy Observatory at the University of Pennsylvania, partly funded by the United States Department of State, administered by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM), and produced in collaboration with faculty at the Ohio State University Mershon Center for International Security Studies. The data for the study came from a nationally representative face-to-face survey of 1600 members of the Russian public, nearly two-thirds of which were Internet users, on their attitudes and policy preferences about Internet content, regulation, and government censorship.

Read the whole story

· · · · ·

Russia fighting information wars with borrowed weapons
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:35 PM

“Life would be boring without rumors.”

So said Russian President Vladimir Putin, upon re-emerging from a mysterious ten-day disappearance, during which the internet exploded with speculation he was dead.

The Kremlin added fuel to the fire after posting photos of Putin on its website it claimed were current – but which turned out to have been images from a meeting that had taken place a week earlier.

It’s not the first time that Putin and the Kremlin have played fast and loose with the facts. At the annual G-20 summit in Australia last fall, when the Prime Minister of Canada told Putin to get his country’s troops out of Ukraine, the Russian leader apparently responded, “Unfortunately, this cannot be done, as we are not there.” (And remember the “little green men” in Crimea whom Putin suggested were not Russian soldiers, but unknown citizens masquerading in used Russian uniforms?)

Yet according to polls, 85% of Russians voters trust Putin, an all-time high. And even though it’s common knowledge that the state has seized control of the country’s three main television stations, somewhere between 80% and 90% of citizens continue to rely on those stations for their news. (Russians watch an average of 3 ½ hours of state TV a day.)

Why are Russians so willing to swallow misinformation? Have the country’s citizens – after decades of learning to read between the lines during the Soviet era – suddenly become gullible?

Not exactly. Instead, the Kremlin has become increasingly sophisticated in its media strategy. Even as it continues to enforce conformity of coverage at home, it criticizes conformity abroad. Moreover, it borrows from the playbook of its former Cold War enemy, the US, to shape public opinion – in part by concocting a powerful story of Western spin.

Newspeaking from both sides of the mouth

To the international audience, the Kremlin advertises pro-Russian coverage as an “alternative point of view” that any truly “free” press should acknowledge.

“Question More” reads the slogan of the Kremlin’s English-language news service Russia Today (RT).

Such rhetoric borrows heavily from that of Fox News. Upon launching in 1996, the nascent network introduced itself to US viewers as a “Fair and Balanced” alternative to what it claimed was the country’s overwhelming “liberal media bias.”

Likewise, in selling their product as more open-minded alternative to the supposed “Anglo-Saxon mass-media monopoly,” RT has enjoyed astonishing success.

Last November, the government went even further, announcing the formation of a new global media service named Sputnik to challenge US-led “aggressive propaganda promoting a unipolar world.”

These media agencies are slick – and not stupid.

In particular, their criticism of the American political establishment is often hard-hitting, conveying concerns about US-led hegemony shared by other countries across the world.

Such outlets typically argue that the US media frames the Ukraine conflict in outdated Cold War clichés, and that it too readily embraces Ukrainian leaders who are also manipulating information to elicit Western sympathy (not to mention vast amounts of financial aid). It also argues that Western media hypocritically avoids probing into the United States' own checkered record of overseas crimes.

“We’ve switched roles,” crowed Sputnik chief Dmitry Kiselev last year. “Russia is for freedom of expression and the West is not.”

A Western toolbox

Some accuse the Kremlin of “weaponizing information,” combining the Newspeak of George Orwell with “the savvy of Don Draper.” According to journalists Peter Pomerantsev and Michael Weiss, Russian “political technologists” work behind the scenes to insert deliberately false material into international public debate in the name of balanced and objective coverage.

At the same time, they strive to discredit the very principle of objectivity, encouraging viewers to believe that – especially during international conflicts – all journalism is skewed by politics and preconceptions.

It’s a deeply cynical strategy. But it works. Most Russians appear to embrace the argument that “everybody lies” – including the West.

“Isn’t the labeling that CNN and BBC use also propaganda?” opined leading Russian state television anchor Andrei Kondrashov. “We [in Russia] have simply adopted the same methods that they use today.”

Kondrashov and others point out that US corporations and Hollywood celebrities (not to mention US presidential candidates) all hire expensive PR firms to place stories, tactically leak information and cultivate point people who can be relied upon for appropriate spin. And, indeed, a recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a decrease of 7,200 journalism jobs by 2022, but an increase of 27,400 positions in PR.

Then there’s the mass hiring of internet trolls to articulate a pro-Putin message on Western media sites. Many US journalists have called it a “Kremlin attack” to “claim control over the internet.” Moderators at the British Guardian – where articles can be flooded with as many as 40,000 comments a day – have termed it an “orchestrated campaign.” Meanwhile, the English-language Moscow Times has been forced to shut down its online discussion forum, citing floods of spam.

Russia’s only remaining independent investigative newspaper interviewed individuals who admitted to being paid to produce a quota of 100 posts a day. But in explaining their responsibilities, the interviewees echoed the language of US election campaign managers who organize “rapid response” teams of volunteers to write letters to the editor, post on social media and comment on articles – all to shape and influence debate.

Entertainment’s agenda

Russian celebrities also play a role in molding public opinion.

Director Nikita Mikhalkov, for instance, is a long-time critic of Soviet-style dictatorship. (He won an Oscar for his anti-Stalin 1995 film Burnt By the Sun.) Yet he’s also an outspoken Russian nationalist – and a close friend of Putin. At the premier of his most recent film, Mikhalkov declared, “Anyone who says Crimea is not Russian is the enemy.”

His next project will be a television series about the death of legendary 19th century Russian writer-diplomat Aleksandr Griboedov. The director claims that he will correct the historical record, to “prove” that Griboedov was killed in Tehran by Muslims acting under the direction of British spies during a time of Anglo-Russian competition for influence in Central Asia.

Though set in the distant past, the project reinforces contemporary media messages: just as the British connived to undermine Russian interests in 19th-century Persia, so, too, are the Americans meddling in Ukraine.

But US popular culture is also filled with anti-Russian allusions. For example, the third season of House of Cards depicts US President Frank Underwood locking horns with his Russian counterpart, Viktor Petrov – a figure who shares not only the same initials as his real-life model, but also a KGB background, an extended term in office, a failed marriage and a penchant for political cynicism.

“Russia has nothing to gain from peace in the Middle East and, more importantly, nothing to gain from working with America,” Petrov intones in one episode, minutes after being received at the White House.

Meanwhile NBC’s Allegiance centers on Russian spies in America who are plotting a terrorist operation to retaliate against US sanctions. It’s an attack that will, exults one character, “allow us to operate as we wish, in Ukraine, in Europe, in the world.”

One early scene depicts the plotters slowly feeding one of their colleagues suspected of betrayal into a furnace, after reminding him that the name of their organization may have changed but “the rules remain the same.”

Viewers are thereby encouraged to link contemporary Russian intelligence operatives to the Soviet-era KGB, with a twist of modern-day ISIS thrown in.

Still, Russia’s in a league of its own

But differences in degrees of media freedom matter, and borrowed strategies do not mean equivalent ones. What’s important is to find a way to criticize the shortcomings of US media practice and policy, without fully embracing Russian spin.

While both countries may be promoting a “new Cold War” along cultural lines, what distinguishes Russia is the level of manipulation involved in, as Putin’s critics phrase it, “activating hatred.”

It’s a process fueled by an increasingly organized, largely invisible set of censorship personnel and practices. Government pressure on the handful of independent outlets that remain continues to grow. (The haunting question of who’s behind the death of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov looms large.)

Meanwhile, the most popular programs remain the ones where fact and fiction unapologetically blur.

A self-described “documentary film” that aired in mid-March to commemorate the first anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the Crimea opens with a shot of a Russian Orthodox church, a military helicopter and an interview with Putin.

“I invited the head of Special Operations to the Kremlin,” Putin somberly recounts, “and told him, ‘let’s speak directly, that we must save the life of the President of Ukraine.’”

Combining professional History Channel-style packaging with staged re-enactments of events (that may not have even taken place), the film, titled Crimea: The Way Home has already garnered more than five million views online.

It’s a testament to the immense – and rapid – growth of Russia’s mighty media megaphone.

To read about how Russia is building a psychological firewall against the West, click here.

Read the whole story

· · · · · · ·

100 Russian military units created in Crimea – defense minister - RT
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:34 PM

100 Russian military units created in Crimea – defense minister
RT
"In accordance with the presidential order, we were instructed to deploy a self-sufficient combined group of forces in the Crimean Peninsula capable of effectively protecting the interests of Russia in this area. That task had been fulfilled by the end ...
Ukraine Today launches new online project 'From Russia with Love'Ukraine Today
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gulfnews.com -EuroBelarus (blog) -Today's Zaman
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Gibraltar stabbing: British man found dead alongside Spanish partner and two children
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:34 PM

A family of four, including a baby, have been found dead with stab wounds in a flat in Gibraltar.

Правительство Эстонии подало в отставку - Telegraf.by
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:34 PM

Telegraf.by

Правительство Эстонии подало в отставку
Telegraf.by
Правительство Эстонии сегодня, 30 марта, в полном составе подало в отставку. "Правительство подает в отставку согласно статье 92 конституции Эстонии пункт 1: в связи с созывом нового состава Государственного собрания", – заявил на первом заседании нового состава ...

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Greece to turn to Russia for economic help - media - RT
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:33 PM

Greece to turn to Russia for economic help - media
RT
The Greek government reportedly plans to negotiate a possible reduction in gas prices fromRussia and the lifting of the embargo on certain types of Greek products. Relief from the food embargo would particularly cover fresh fruit, reported Der Spiegel ...
Greek Energy Minister Visits Russia, Spurning 'Germanised Europe'Newsweek
Is Europe forcing Greece into the arms of Russia?International Business Times UK
Greece to turn to Russia and China for economic help?InSerbia News
vestnik kavkaza -ForexLive
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Page 3

US Military Faces High-Tech Recruiting Challengeby webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:33 PM

The U.S. military faces a challenge recruiting people with the high-tech skills it needs for the future as those who joined after the September 11, 2001 attacks leave the service and the U.S. economy creates more jobs, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said on Monday. Carter, in a speech at his former high school, said the military has to attract about 250,000 people a year just to keep up with those who retire or leave the service to pursue jobs, education and other opportunities in the civilian world. At the same time, only about a third of the 21 million Americans age 17 to 21 are eligible to join the military, with half unable to pass the entry examination and the rest ineligible because they are unable to meet the physical fitness or character standards, he said. He urged young people to consider joining the military, noting that while the sacrifices were real, there were great opportunities as well, including up to $284,000 through the GI bill to help pay for college. “No one should gloss over the hardships and danger,” Carter said, “but I do want you to understand how fulfilling and rewarding military life can be.” Carter's speech at Abington Senior High School north of Philadelphia was part of the secretary's effort to spark a national discussion on what the Pentagon needs to do to build a future force that can maintain U.S. military superiority. He is looking at steps like easing age restrictions on enlistment for certain specialty jobs like cyber and challenging the military services to consider innovative approaches to advancement, including promoting based on performance without regard to time in a military rank. Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work is leading a companion push to identify the technologies the Pentagon must develop for the U.S. military to maintain the edge that has enabled it to dominate potential rivals for 70 years. Carter told the high school students their facility with technology made them particularly suited for the military of the future. “You've grown up using technology as second nature, which has probably helped you learn more than any prior generation about all the opportunities that life can offer,” Carter said. Despite Carter's concerns, the military met its recruitment goals during the last fiscal year, as it has in previous years. The military faced some recruitment challenges during the height of the surge in Afghanistan but was able to attract more people with financial incentives.

Read the whole story

· ·

Costa Concordia: Shipment of Mob drugs was hidden aboard cruise liner when it hit rocks off Italian coast, investigators say
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:33 PM

The doomed Costa Concordia was carrying a huge shipment of Mafia-owned cocaine when it set off on its final voyage, investigators have said.

A Look Behind The News, by Ferdinando Riccardi: Europe, Russia, the atom bomb by Milana M
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:32 PM

EU-RussiaCentre

Here is published an opinion piece by journalist Ferdinando Riccardi, who writes that the prospect of an end to EU sanctions on Russia “continues to make progress.” He reports on a debate held in Brussels last week on relations between Russia, Europe and the US, where EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Federica Mogherini was quoted as saying that the EU needs to work with Moscow, while Victoria Nuland, the Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia at the US State Department, stressed that it was still hard to have confident relations with Russia.

A year into a conflict with Russia, are sanctions working?by Milana M
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:29 PM

EU-RussiaCentre

Here is published a comment piece by Moscow bureau chief Michael Birnbaum, who asks whether sanctions against Russia are working. A year after the annexation of Crimea, the West has been able to do little to alter President Vladimir Putin’s battlefield calculus. Russia is still fuelling a bloody conflict in eastern Ukraine that has cost more than 6,000 lives, according to US officials. Putin denies involvement in Ukraine, and he shows little sign of backing down. His popularity at home is sky high even as his nation’s economy is in turmoil. It notes that although sanctions have hurt, analysts say much of Russia’s current economic weakness has to do with the 48% drop in the price of oil since June. However, most Russians are pointing their fingers toward the White House. Sanctions, the West’s primary tool to try to sway Kremlin policies, have become a punching bag. It adds that analysts say the effects of the sanctions on Kremlin policymaking are difficult to assess, since there is no way to know whether the economic pressure helped avert an even bloodier fight in Ukraine.

Cultural Figures Demand Minister's Sacking Over Opera Scandalby By Ivan Nechepurenko <moscowtimes@themoscowtimes.com>
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:29 PM

Leading cultural figures have called for the dismissal of Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky, saying his position on a controversial opera production was an attack on freedom of creativity.

Песков не увидел проблем в "рассекречивании" данных лидеров G20 - Российская Газета
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:28 PM

Российская Газета

Песков не увидел проблем в "рассекречивании" данных лидеров G20
Российская Газета
Говорить о рассекречивании персональных данных лидеров, которые участвовали в саммите G20 в Брисбене, в том числе президента России, не совсем верно, потому что они не были опубликованы, пояснил журналистам пресс-секретарь главы государства Дмитрий Песков. читайте ...

и другие »

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Page 4

Russian Cat Famed for Stealing $1,000 of Fish to Star in Moscow Talk Showby By Peter Spinella <moscowtimes@themoscowtimes.com>
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:28 PM

A cat famous for stealing $1,000 worth of fish and caviar from an airport shop in Vladivostok has arrived in Moscow to film the April 1 episode of popular talk show "Pust Govoryat."

How to fix Greece: A seven-point plan for economic salvation
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:28 PM

All eyes are on Greece, again. After six years of austerity that drove some four million Greeks on to the breadline as economic activity declined by 25 per cent, citizens are holding their breath, watching as the newly elected leaders present their case to the powerbrokers of the eurozone. Ordinary Greeks have endured huge economic hardship as previous governments implemented the austerity economic programme demanded as a condition of the bailout by the "troika" of the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2010 – and then again in 2012 – to address the country's debt crisis.

Меркель назвала условие, при котором ЕС сможет повлиять на Россию - Главред
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:28 PM

Home - Institute Of Modern Russia

Главред

Меркель назвала условие, при котором ЕС сможет повлиять на Россию
Главред
Канцлер Германии Ангела Меркель заявили, что если Евросоюз будет придерживаться "единой линии" насчет России, то ему удастся повлиять на эту страну. Об этом она сообщила по итогам встречи с премьер-министром Финляндии Александером Стуббом в Хельсинки, пишет DW со ...
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Меркель призывает строить политику безопасности вместе с РоссиейАрхангельск-ИНФО
Panorama.am -Telegraf.by -Аргументы.ру
Все похожие статьи: 60 »

The Long Winter Ahead for EU-Russia Relations
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:27 PM

Over the past year, following the annexation of Crimea, relations between Russia and the European Union deteriorated to the point of raising the discussion of a second Cold War. Independent Russia analyst Ezekiel Pfeifer reviews the key developments of this bilateral relationship and the recent EU efforts to come up with an adequate policy for dealing with Putin’s Russia.

Worker Strikes Will Only Boost Kremlin's Popularity, Say Analystsby By Gabrielle T&#233;trault-Farber <moscowtimes@themoscowtimes.com>
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:27 PM

A handful of strikes are more likely to bolster workers' support for the Kremlin than weaken it, political analysts said Monday.

What's What in Iran Nuclear Dealby webdesk@voanews.com (Steve Baragona)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:27 PM

As a deadline nears for a deal on Iran’s nuclear program, the talk centers around centrifuges, enriched uranium, and heavy-water reactors. To understand what they are and why they matter, start with a look inside an atomic bomb. Stray bits of atom called neutrons collide with uranium or plutonium in the bomb's core, splitting the atoms apart and releasing enormous amounts of energy. But not just any uranium will do. The radioactive element comes in two main forms, or isotopes: U235 and U238. Only U235 will split. But this isotope makes up less than one percent of the uranium mined from the ground. So the U235 has to be purified, or enriched. That is where the centrifuges come in. First, uranium is turned into a gas. That gas is fed into a centrifuge, a machine that spins at extremely high speed, separating the heavier U238 from lighter U235. But they only separate a little. So the slightly enriched U235 goes into another centrifuge to separate a little more. Then another, and another. How many times depends on what it is for. “If you enrich it to around three or four percent in the isotope uranium 235, you can use that to provide fuel for a nuclear power reactor,” said former nuclear negotiator Robert Einhorn at the Brookings Institution. “But if you enrich it to about 90 percent, then you can use it to build a nuclear bomb.” Plutonium Iran has also built a nuclear reactor that can run on natural, instead of enriched, uranium. Experts worry because this kind of plant can turn uranium into the other bomb material, plutonium. Plutonium forms when a neutron strikes U238, the isotope that makes up most natural uranium. Unlike U235, which splits when a neutron hits it, U238 absorbs the neutron and turns into plutonium. When fed with natural uranium, the type of facility Iran has built, called a heavy-water reactor, can produce substantial amounts of plutonium. It would not be the first time. “This is the kind of reactor that a number of other countries that are now nuclear-armed used to begin their nuclear weapons program,” Einhorn said. But the heavy-water reactor can also produce radioactive chemicals used to treat cancer. With a few changes, it can still make those chemicals, but produce much less plutonium. Even if Iran did produce plutonium in this reactor, it would still have to extract the bomb material from the reactor fuel. That requires a “reprocessing” facility, which experts do not believe Iran has built. Negotiations But using the uranium it has on hand, U.S. negotiators say Iran could produce enough material for a bomb in two to three months. The United States and others aim to push that time frame back to at least a year, in order to give the world time to react. Some of the main issues on the table are reducing the size of Iran’s stockpile of partially enriched uranium and limiting the number of centrifuges. The design of the centrifuges is also important, according to Barry Blechman, co-founder of the Stimson Center, a Washington research institute. “You want to make sure they do not develop more advanced centrifuges, because the ones they have working now are kind-of the Model T version and it is very slow,” Blechman said. Faster centrifuges would mean less time to a bomb. And more for the world to worry about.

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Britain's EasyJet Cuts Flights to Russia Amid Aviation Downturnby By Howard Amos <moscowtimes@themoscowtimes.com>
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:27 PM

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

British budget airline EasyJet halved the number of flights it offers on its Moscow-London route Monday as international carriers scale back their Russian operations amid falling demand.

Iran Confirms Journalist Defected While Covering Nuclear Talks In Switzerland by noreply@rferl.org (RFE/RL)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:26 PM

Iran's government has confirmed that an Iranian journalist had defected while covering negotiations in Switzerland between Tehran and world powers on the country's nuclear program.

Iran Deal Could Help Regional Securityby webdesk@voanews.com (Pamela Dockins)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:26 PM

A State Department spokeswoman says the Arab League decision to create a joint military force that would counter Iranian and Islamic extremist influence in the region is not having a direct impact on Iran nuclear talks. However, spokeswoman Marie Harf added that a nuclear deal with Iran could help counter Tehran’s “destabilizing action” in the Middle East region. Harf commented from Lausanne, Switzerland, on Monday, where negotiators for Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany are trying to reach a framework understanding for future talks on Tehran’s nuclear status, ahead of a self-imposed Tuesday deadline. “The fact that the [Middle East] region is facing a number of challenges right now is one of the main reasons why we want to diplomatically prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon,” said Harf. On Sunday, leaders of the 22-nation Arab League announced they had agreed to form a unified military force that would work to counter security threats in countries such as Yemen and Libya. Speaking at the group’s summit in Egypt, Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said he blamed Iran for what he said was the country’s intervention “in many nations.” Once formed, the joint military force could play a role in Yemen, where Iranian-backed Houthi rebels seized the capital, Sana’a, last year and began advancing toward the port city of Aden, Yemen’s economic center. Earlier this month, a Saudi-led coalition began launching airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. Arab leaders have also expressed concern about Iran’s influence in Iraq. Iran has been helping Iraq push Sunni-dominated Islamic State extremists from some of their Iraqi strongholds. They have also voiced concern about Iran’s support of Lebanese-based Hezbollah extremists. But Brookings Institution analyst Bruce Riedel questions whether the Arab League plan for countering extremism will work. “The Arab League has a long history of failed experiments in joint military plans,” he said in an article for the Washington-based think tank. Arab leaders have vowed to meet in the coming months to work out operational details of the new force. Harf said the U.S. will “probably wait to see what shape that takes.” She noted that while the U.S. was not part of the joint Arab military force, it does have “significant security cooperation” with its partners in the region.

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Saudi Arabia's hostile relationship with Russia is leaving Egypt stuck in the ... - Washington Post (blog)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:26 PM

Saudi Arabia's hostile relationship with Russia is leaving Egypt stuck in the ...
Washington Post (blog)
"We support Arab nations in their effort to ensure a safe future and urge them to resolve all emerging challenges peacefully without any foreign involvement," the Russian president's message read, according to Sputnik News. These comments did not go ...

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Pentagon Denies Iran Report that Coalition Airstrikes Killed 2 Iranians by webdesk@voanews.com (Carla Babb)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:25 PM

The Pentagon is denying claims by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard that U.S. airstrikes killed two of its guardsmen in the Islamic State-held Iraqi city of Tikrit last week. The Guard says on its news website, sepahnews.ir, that a U.S. strike killed two of its members on March 23 as they were supporting Iraqi forces trying to retake Tikrit. But Pentagon spokeswoman Elissa Smith tells VOA the timing makes that claim impossible. “The coalition initiated airstrikes near Tikrit on March 25, which is two days after the alleged incident occurred, and no airstrikes were conducted in or near Tikrit on March 23.” The Iranian claim comes as the coalition continues to bomb Islamic State targets in and around the militant-held city. The coalition said Monday the latest three airstrikes near Tikrit struck multiple Islamic State buildings and destroyed two of the group’s armored vehicles. Gen. Lloyd Austin, who overseas U.S. operations in Iraq, told a Senate hearing Thursday that the withdrawal of Iranian-led Shi'ite militias had been a precondition for joining the fight for the city. He said no Shi'ite militias remain in Tikrit. Smith could not confirm that all Shi'ite militias were out of Tikrit Monday, because she said some militias there are under Iraqi control rather than Iranian control. Under the U.S. precondition, those militiamen would still be allowed to fight for Tikrit.

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Эстонское правительство ушло в отставку, но продолжает исполнять свои обязанности - Экспресс-новости
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:25 PM

Экспресс-новости

Эстонское правительство ушло в отставку, но продолжает исполнять свои обязанности
Экспресс-новости
Политические перемены произошли на первом же заседании парламента. Напомним, что кабинет министров во главе с премьером Рыйвасом ушел в отставку. Таави Рыйвас получил назначение на должность премьер-министра согласно с указом президента Эстонии Тоомасом ...

и другие »

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The Story Behind ‘Woman in Gold’: Nazi Art Thieves and One Painting’s Return by PATRICIA COHEN
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:25 PM

NYT > Europe

Gustav Klimt’s painting “Adele Bloch-Bauer I” was returned to Maria Altmann and her family.

Russia fires director of Wagner's Tannhauser opera after modern interpretation offends nation's Orthodox Christians
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:25 PM

Russia’s culture minister has fired the director of a Siberian theatre, after his modern staging of Wagner’s opera Tannhauser offended members of the country’s powerful Orthodox Church.

Washington DC Has First Marijuana Seed Exchangeby webdesk@voanews.com (Deborah Block)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:24 PM

The InterpreterThe Interpreter

It’s springtime in Washington, D.C. And while some people may be planting their gardens, others may be planting indoors -- growing marijuana plants. To help them get seeds, two marijuana seed exchanges recently took place in the nation’s capital. In February, after it became legal for residents 21 and older to possess pot for recreational use, people wanted seeds to grow it. That’s legal, but because Congress controls much of what happens in Washington, lawmakers put language in its budget to block the city’s funding for regulating marijuana use -- setting up a host of challenges. People are allowed to have a small amount of the drug, and to share it with others. But they can't smoke it in public, or buy or sell it. Residents are permitted to grow up to six plants for their personal use in their homes. Outside a local Washington restaurant where one of the seed exchanges was held, people stood in long lines that wrapped around the block. Pat Thompson, 62, who said he’s been smoking pot for 47 years, was there for the same reason as a lot of people. “We're allowed to smoke it but we're not allowed to purchase it anywhere,” he explained. The event was sponsored by the D.C. Cannabis Campaign, which pushed the initiative to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Campaign member Poncho Popcorn said the seed exchange helped people who may not be able to get seeds unless it’s illegally. “So the answer to that is to grow your own,” she said. Lidio Arais brought seeds but says he doesn't smoke pot. He said a friend gave him some seeds while he was in Colorado a couple of months ago, where it's been legal to buy and sell marijuana for more than a year. “So I came to share the seeds that he gave me,” he said. Some people came because they use marijuana for medical purposes, which was legalized in the city five years ago. Among them is Jason Drawhorn, who wants to grow his own plants instead of buying marijuana at a licensed dispensary. He says pot helps him cope with diabetes. “While it doesn't take away those problems,” he said, “it absolutely takes away a lot of the anxiety and stress I feel from day to day living with a chronic illness.” Lawrence Thomas said he’s been growing marijuana for some time and came to the restaurant to add to his collection of seeds. He said the plants can be difficult to grow. “[The] plants take a lot of love, so if you're a nurturing person then it's easy,” he said. If not, then I don't suggest it because you'll be wasting your time and money.” The seed exchanges were a long time coming, according to Malik Burnett, policy manager for the Drug Policy Alliance, which promotes liberalizing the country’s drug regulations. “Naturally, the most optimum sort of situation is when you can have a robust regulatory market where people can come in and gain access to cannabis, and know all about the strains they are getting,” he said. “But until that time, we have to work with what we've got.” He’s hoping the budding movement will spread across the United States, even though it’s still illegal to possess marijuana under federal law.

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Russians In Deep Denial About Their Country And the Worldby Paul Goble
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:22 PM

Staunton, March 30 — “The longing for ‘former greatness’” that many Russians feel is “playing a bad joke” on them, Olga Idrisova writes in Moskovsky Komsomolets today, because it has led them to don “thick rose-colored glasses” and engage in deep denial about reality, “subconsciously blocking out” anything which doesn’t fit with their preferred imagery.

As a result, the Moscow commentator says, “the majority of Russians cannot accept the fact that with their support the leadership has committed a mistake which has cost the country its economic well-being and solid international status” but thinks it is now the leader of an alliance with China.

Most of them, Idrisova continues, cannot cope with the notion that “in the world at large, Russia is viewed not as a superpower and guarantor of security but more often as an unpredictable player.” They think that Vladimir Putin gained stature when he threatened to use nuclear weapons, forgetting that his role model was a North Korean leader no one respects.

Indeed, none of the ideas about effectively challenging the US and the unipolar world or standing on its own or allying with China to oppose the West stand up to even the most cursory examination, she says.

Russia is in no position to dictate to China no matter how much many Russians would like to believe otherwise.

“No one in Beijing intends to make a fateful bet on a Russia-China union,” the Moscow commentator says. China isn’t even willing to recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Instead, China has given Kyiv 3.6 billion US dollars in loans so that the Ukrainian government can end its dependence on natural gas from Russia.

Moscow TV’s “talking heads” for the last year have been telling Russians how fortunate they are to have turned from the West to the East. “We don’t need the West,” they claim. “We have a wonderful partner in the form of China.” But in fact, China views Russia not even as playing the “elder sister” role Andrey Kortunov has suggested.

Beijing does not even see Moscow as a sister at all. Instead, its interest in Russia is indistinguishable from its interest in African or Latin American countries which have natural resources China can use, Idrisova says. But Russians cannot see this through “the rose-colored glasses” they use to look at the world.

China is an economic giant, as is the West. The Russian economy is only one-fifth the size of either. And in high technology areas, the gap between China and the West, on the one hand, and Russia, on the other, is only getting larger.

Russians should be able to see this economic situation, but they don’t. But they also are failing to see that China is playing a much larger role in international security affairs, a role it is assuming not by entering into a confrontation with the US and driving itself into a corner as Russia has but by showing itself capable of playing a cooperative role.

China is hardly likely to scrap what has been an effective approach in favor of Russia’s which has failed, but Russians who remain in deep denial about this as well as about almost everything having to do with the power and status of their country can’t see it. That of course points to more troubles ahead.

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Carter: US Supports, Would Cooperate With Proposed Arab Force by webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:22 PM

The United States supports Arab plans to create a unified military force to counter growing security threats in the Middle East, and the Pentagon will cooperate with it where U.S. and Arab interests coincide, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Monday. Carter told reporters during a visit to Fort Drum in New York that U.S. military leaders who met with him in Kuwait several weeks ago thought that regional members of the coalition fighting Islamic State militants should be encouraged to do more if they were able. “So I think if they are willing to do more, in this case with respect to Yemen, then that is a good thing because ultimately it is their region. ... The willingness of the parties there to step up and do more for stability in the Middle East is a good thing,” Carter said. His remarks came a day after Arab leaders meeting at a summit in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, announced the formation of a unified military force to counter growing security threats from Yemen to Libya. Previous efforts have failed to produce an effective force, and participation would be voluntary. At least two countries were said to have committed to participating in the force. Asked if the U.S. military would cooperate with the new force, the U.S. defense secretary said it would, noting that many of the participants, like Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, are already bilateral security partners with the United States. “These are partners and security allies of ours, and when they act in a way that we regard as in our interests as well as theirs we will continue to partner with them as we have been in other matters,” Carter said.

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US State Dept Official: Cuba Aims to Ramp Up Internet Accessby webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:21 PM

Cuba, a few decades late to the Internet era, is committed to getting the web into 50 percent of its households by 2020, as well as achieving 60 percent mobile phone access, a senior U.S. State Department official said on Monday. Cuba has one of the lowest Internet and mobile phone penetration rates in the world, but the recent U.S. rapprochement toward the Communist-led island may have added pressure to modernize. "I believe they are extremely eager to do so," said the State Department official, who spoke to reporters after officials from both countries met last week for telecommunications talks in Havana. "They are falling behind, and that's denying their people access to knowledge and to the opportunity to grow as an economy and as a people, and they're aware of that," he added. Barely 5 percent of Cubans have home access to the Internet, and scarcely 2 million out of its 11 million population have cellphones, according to U.S. officials. Cuba's ability to reach the goals it agreed to under the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a United Nations agency, will depend not just on political will, but also its ability to purchase needed infrastructure upgrades, the official said. "There's real potential here if there's a real will on the Cuban side," he said. "As long as the Cubans create an environment that's attractive to investment ... and attractive to the delivery of services, I believe those services will reach the island." The United States has set connectivity as a priority in its new relationship with Cuba. Telecommunications equipment, technology and services were among the first exemptions to the embargo after Washington and Havana announced on Dec. 17 they would restore diplomatic relations. After last week's talks Cuba issued a statement saying the delegations exchanged information, but gave no details. Cuban officials cite the U.S. embargo and as the reason for its weak development. An exploratory team from Google visited Cuba this month and U.S.-based IDT Corp has also agreed with Cuba to provide direct international telephony. The Geneva-based ITU ranks Cuba 125th out of 166 countries in telecommunications development. Ordinary Cubans mostly have access to state-controlled Intranet at workplaces and schools, or can pay for expensive Internet sessions by the hour at state-run outlets. The U.S. official said Cuban official stated at the talks that they were committed to providing unrestricted Internet access.

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Singapore Police Arrest Teen for Anti-Christian Online Comments by webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:21 PM

A Singapore teenager, who criticized Lee Kuan Yew on social media soon after the former leader's death, has been arrested and will be charged with making “insensitive and disparaging” comments about Christians, police said on Tuesday. Police did not give the teenager's name, saying only that he was 16, but Singapore's Straits Times newspaper and other media identified him as Amos Yee. The case has reignited concerns about censorship in the Asian financial hub. In a widely viewed YouTube video, Yee celebrated the death of Singapore's founding father Lee, who died last week aged 91 and was cremated after a state funeral on Sunday. Yee also made insensitive remarks about Christianity in the video, which was seen by hundreds of thousands before it was taken down. He will be charged on Tuesday with offenses that include intentionally wounding the religious or racial feelings of another person or group, and could face up to three years in jail, police said in a statement. More than 20 reports about the video had been received, it said. “Police take a stern view of acts that could threaten religious harmony in Singapore,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Investigations & Intelligence Tan Chye said in the statement. “Any person who uploads offensive content online with [the] deliberate intention of wounding the religious or racial feelings of any person will be firmly dealt with in accordance with the law,” Tan said. Human Rights Watch's Asia deputy director, Phil Robertson, said the government's move would only result in more people seeing the video. “However crass Amos Yee’s statements in the video may be, nothing he said should have landed him in a criminal court. Religions are resilient and able to defend themselves, and in a real democracy, his allegations should have been easily rebutted by the weight of public opinion. All Singapore has managed to do in this instance is make more people want to see Amos Yee’s video. The government should drop the charges and release him, and end its repression of free expression,” said Robertson. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in a statement it was concerned about Yee's arrest on Sunday and called on authorities to release him immediately. “The arrest of a young blogger for comments made in a video highlights the restrictive environment in which Singaporean journalists are forced to work,” said Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator. Singapore has tight rules on censorship, blocking dozens of websites and publications ranging from Playboy magazine to some children's books and comics.

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News Analysis: Role of Illness in Germanwings Crash Raises Worry About Stigma by ERICA GOODE
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:21 PM

NYT > Europe

The intense focus on the co-pilot’s mental illness has raised concerns that it could stigmatize mentally ill people and make it harder to identify troubled workers.

Террористы не предоставляют ОБСЕ отчет об отводе вооружения - OstanniPodii.com
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:19 PM

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Террористы не предоставляют ОБСЕ отчет об отводе вооружения
OstanniPodii.com
Террористы «ЛНР» не предоставили наблюдателям ОБСЕ информации об отводе тяжелого оружия. Кроме того, ОБСЕ зафиксировала факты использования боевиками «отведенных» 120-мм минометов. «27 марта Специальная мониторинговая миссия в луганском офисе Общего ...
ОБСЕ: Новотошковское обстреляли "Градами"Телеграф
Боевики самопровозглашенной "ЛНР" отказываются предоставить отчет об отводе тяжелого вооружения – ОБСЕСЕГОДНЯ
ОБСЕ: боевики ЛНР не предоставили отчет об отводе вооруженийЛІГА.net
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Австралия ввела санкции в отношении России - BBC Russian
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 4:19 PM