U.S. Alarmed Over Russia Air Defense Sale to Iran Friday August 21st, 2015 at 2:31 PM
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“We’ve been making very clearly our objections to any sale of this missile system to Iran, as I said, for quite some time, and we’ll continue to monitor it closely,” said State Department spokesman John Kirby.
On August 18, media outlets reported that Russia will send the regime several S-300 missile units. They originally planned to ship the missiles in 2010, but international pressure forced Russia to withdraw the sale.
“As things stand now, this topic is closed,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogfanov. “We have reached full understanding on the matter together with our Iranian partners. The question has been fundamentally solved. The rest is just technical details.”
The missile defense system would stop the U.S. and Israel from sneaking “into Iranian airspace if they wanted to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities.” If the two countries bombed the defense system, Iranians would know an attack is “on the way.” The S-300 can track “multiple planes at once” while some “have an interception range of 200 kilometers [124 miles].”
“The airspace will be more tense,” explained defense policy expert Michael O’Hanlon. “It will be filled up with more radar beams if you will — invisible, and yet ever present, and they will be… radar signals that we can’t easily stop or evade.”
The entire system allows the regime to protect its assets in many parts of the country.
“With four battalions, they should be able to deploy missile systems in four different locations,” said Pieter Wezeman of the Stockholm International Peace Research.
Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan announced Iranian officials will travel to Moscow next week to sign the deal. The Russian government said they could hand over the S-300 system by the end of the year, which also includes “battery and technological upgrades.” Iranian officials will also talk about buying Russian fighter jets since the regime only possesses “older U.S.-made aircraft.” Sanctions forbid Iran from upgrading its jets.
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Media Feature
August 21, 2015
Belfer Center Programs or Projects: The US-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism
I. U.S. and Russian priorities for the bilateral agenda.
Nuclear security:
- It will take hundreds of millions more dollars to successfully operate a program in South Carolina to convert weapons-grade nuclear material into reactor fuel, while some say an alternative method could do it differently and more cheaply, according to a report commissioned by U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz. The report concludes that the program that includes the mixed-oxide fuel facility at the Savannah River Site needs up to $800 million annually over the next two to three years to be viable. That's contrasted to the roughly $400 million currently allocated to the effort. The issue affects an agreement with Russia to convert both nations' spent nuclear materials. (AP, 08.20.15).
Iran’s nuclear program and related issues:
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said in Moscow on August 17 that both sides hope the agreement on Iran's nuclear program will enter into force "in the nearest weeks." Lavrov said on August 17 that a contract between Moscow and Tehran for the construction of eight nuclear units will strengthen Iran's power industry. Russian media reports say that among items Lavrov and Zarif discussed was the possible delivery of S-300 surface-to-air missiles from Russia to Iran. (RFE/RL, 08.17.15).
- According to Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan Iran is interested in up to four battalions of S-300 launchers. RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday that the S-300 systems would be delivered to Iran by the end of this year, citing an unidentified senior Russian Foreign Ministry official. (Moscow Times, 08.19.15).
- The advanced S-300 air defense system would mean that U.S. or Israeli warplanes likely couldn't sneak into Iranian airspace if they wanted to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities. "We've been making very clearly our objections to any sale of this missile system to Iran, as I said, for quite some time, and we'll continue to monitor it closely," State Department spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday. “We have long expressed our concerns over reports of the possible sale of this missile system to the Iranians,” Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis told Fox News. (CNN, 08.19.15, Fox News, 08.19.15).
NATO-Russia relations:
- U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said he agreed with assessment of top military officials that Russia is an existential threat to the U.S. "by virtue simply of the size of the nuclear arsenal that it's had.” He also laid out the Pentagon's strategy in countering Russia — an approach he called "strong and balanced." "The strong part means we are adjusting our capabilities qualitative and in terms of their deployments, to take account of this behavior of Russia," he said. “The balanced part is we continue to work with Russia, because you can't paint all their behavior with one brush. There are places where they are working with us: in counterterrorism in many important respects, in some respects, with respect to North Korea, in some respects with respect to Iran and elsewhere," he said. (The Hill, 08.20.15).
- Nations on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's eastern flank will hold a summit in November to urge allies for bigger security guarantees for the region, said an aide to Poland's new president who has called for more NATO military presence in the country to deter Russian aggression. Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, sworn-in earlier in August, has repeatedly called for a permanent presence of NATO equipment and troops in Poland, out of concern Russia could deploy forces quickly from its European exclave of Kaliningrad. (Wall Street Journal, 08.17.15).
- Russian lawmakers are calling the largest NATO airborne drills in Europe since the Cold War a threat and provocation rather than a defensive exercise. The war games, dubbed Swift Response 15, involve nearly 5,000 soldiers from 11 NATO countries flying across Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, and Romania, and will continue from August 15 to September 13. (RFE/RL, 08.20.15).
Missile defense:
- No significant developments.
Arms control:
- Moscow has officially informed the United Nations that it is ready to discuss with partners the ways of developing a new regime for conventional arms control in Europe. The new regime should take into consideration current realities and address the concerns of Russia and those of other European states, says the letter that Moscow has sent to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. (Tass, 08.17.15).
- No significant developments.
Counter-terrorism:
- Security forces in Dagestan have killed a militant who studied, trained and fought in Syria, according to pro-Caucasus Emirate social media posts and the Russian media, citing security sources. Magomed Abdullaev, a.k.a. Abu Dudjana, the recently appointed Emir (commander) of the Caucasus Emirate’s Mountainous Sector, was killed in a counter terrorism operation in Gimry. (From Chechnya to Syria, 08.17.15).
- A 25-year-old Uzbek resident of New York has pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support for the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria, U.S. prosecutors said. (RFE/RL, 08.15.15).
- The Boston Marathon bomber is seeking a new trial, telling a federal court that "unrelenting" bad publicity made it impossible for him to get a fair trial in Boston. (RFE/RL, 08.18.15).
Cyber security:
- A UN special report released by experts from 20 countries to spell out norms of state cyber behavior recommends the exclusively peaceful use of the internet, Special Representative of the Russian President for International Cooperation in Cyber Security, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador at Large Andrei Krutskikh has said. (Interfax, 08.17.15).
- The U.S. Internal Revenue Service said Monday that more than twice as many taxpayer accounts were hit by identity thieves than the agency first reported, with hackers gaining access to as many as 330,000 accounts and attempting to break into an additional 280,000.Government investigators previously said they believe many of the attacks came from criminals operating in Russia as well as other countries. They didn't elaborate Monday on who they think was behind the attacks. (Wall Street Journal, 08.18.15).
- Beginning more than a decade ago, one of the largest security companies in the world, Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab, tried to damage rivals in the marketplace by tricking their antivirus software programs into classifying benign files as malicious, according to two former employees. Eugene Kaspersky has taken to his blog to make another stinging rebuttal of a Reuters report that alleged the company that bears his name deliberately sabotaged rival antivirus packages. (Reuters, 08.15.15,Theregister.co.uk, 08.17.15).
Energy exports from CIS:
- No significant developments.
Bilateral economic ties:
- No significant developments.
Other bilateral issues:
- Russia says President Vladimir Putin will attend next month's UN General Assembly in New York and would consider meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at the UN. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on August 19 that Putin would "positively" consider a request from Washington to meet. (RFE/RL, 08.19.15).
- Former Russian nuclear official Vadim Mikerin has agreed to plead guilty in the U.S. to charges that he conspired to launder bribe payments, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Mikerin had previously maintained his innocence and is being held in jail in Washington, D.C. (Wall Street Journal, 08.19.15).
- The United States' securities watchdog is helping German prosecutors to investigate the alleged payment of bribes by Ford to speed the passage of containers through Russian customs, a source at the U.S. carmaker said on Tuesday. (Reuters, 08.19.15).
- Russia's consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor has banned three types of wine from the United States in the latest incident involving food quality from nations that have criticized the country's role in the Ukraine conflict. (Moscow Times, 08.17.15).
II. Russia news.
Domestic politics, economy and energy:
- On Friday the ruble was 0.5 percent weaker against the dollar at 68.12 and had lost 0.8 percent to 77.00 versus the euro. The ruble is now at its lowest level against the dollar since Feb. 5 and approaching its 2015 low of 71.85, reached on Jan. 30. (Reuters, 08.21.15).
- As of August 20, 595 tons of contraband fruit and vegetables have been seized in Russia and 555 tons of that amount have been destroyed, Rosselkhoznadzor said on August 21 In addition, 51 out of 307 tons of seized contraband animal products have been destroyed. (Interfax, 08.21.15).
- Russian customs officials have drafted a bill that calls for prison sentences for those who violate the country's retaliatory sanctions on Western food imports. (RFE/RL, 08.20.15).
- Russian customs officials have drafted a bill that calls for prison sentences for those who violate the country's retaliatory sanctions on Western food imports. (RFE/RL, 08.20.15).
- Russian customs officials have drafted a bill that calls for prison sentences for those who violate the country's retaliatory sanctions on Western food imports. (RFE/RL, 08.20.15).
- The production of passenger cars in Russia has declined by more than 25 percent in the first six months of 2015 compared to the same period last year. (RFE/RL, 08.17.15).
- Throughout the first six months of 2015, the overall mortality rate in Russia has increased by about 2.3 percent. The actual levels of mortality are still much better than at any other point in recent history, and vastly better than the 1990s, but for the first time since Putin came to power, the overall demographic trend is not of improvement but of decline. (Moscow Times, 08.16.15).
- Russia's Mining and Chemical Combine said today that its mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facility has completed tests on putting together the first nuclear fuel assemblies for the BN-800 fast neutron reactor, using uranium pellets. The BN-800 is unit 4 at the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant in the Sverdlovsk district. (World Nuclear News, 08.20.15).
- Vladimir Yakunin, the powerful chief of Russian Railways and a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, says he is stepping down as head of the state railway company. Yakunin's announcement follows his nomination for a seat in Russia’s upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, by the acting governor of the western exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea. (RFE/RL, 08.17.15).
- Forty-one percent of the respondents in Russia are sure that officials always or practically always conceal the truth, and a third (34 percent) argues that officials can be honest sometimes and tell lies in other cases, Levada Center told Interfax, quoting an opinion poll. (Interfax, 08.19.15).
Defense and Aerospace:
- While there are currently no satellites in orbit, Russia’s early warning system is still functional, Sergei Boev, the chief designer of Russia's early warning system, told Kommersant. According to Boev, false alarms are not a common occurrence although they are a danger, he said. Boev – who heads Mints Radio-Technical Institute - also said foreign parts are represented in 70% of “our equipment one way or another.”(Kommersant, 08.19.15, Sputnik, 08.19.15).
- Russia is nearing deployment of a new missile capable of targeting all of Europe with nuclear or conventional warheads, according to defense officials. Regarding the SSN-30A, designated as the “Kalibr” missile, Pentagon officials said the new naval weapon can be equipped with both nuclear and conventional warheads and can reach most of Europe when fired from ships in the Black Sea. (Washington Free Beacon, 08.20.15).
- Russia’s Defense Ministry says the first phase of joint air-defense exercises by the Commonwealth of Independent States began on August 18.The ministry says troops from 20 air-defense and missile-defense units in the Moscow region have been put on high alert for the CIS Combat Commonwealth 2015 exercises, which are schedule to continue until September 11.(RFE/RL, 08.18.15).
- Russia’s 20th Combined Arms Army is redeploying from Nizhegorod to Voronezh on Ukraine’s border, according to a TASS news agency source in the General Staff. (Russian Defense Policy, 08.17.15).
- Russia is moving air defense systems modified for the harsh Arctic environment to key areas near its borders with Norway and the US, the US Army's Foreign Military Studies Office notes in its August 2015 report. (Business Insider, 08.18.15).
- The Russian Navy plans a squadron of what would effectively be nuclear powered battlecruisers. Dubbed the Lider class, these warships would feature the nuclear power and armament capacity of the massive Soviet-era Kirov battlecruisers. (National Interest, 08.20.15).
- Russia's Supreme Court has upheld a presidential decree to classify military casualties during wartime and during special operations in peacetime. (RBTH, 08.17.15).
Security, law-enforcement and justice:
- Russia on Thursday dismissed Western criticism over the sentencing of an Estonian police officer to 15 years in prison for espionage, a case that adds to tensions in Moscow's strained ties with the West. A Russian court sentenced the Estonian police officer, Eston Kohver, on Wednesday, triggering an angry reaction from Tallinn and criticism from the European Union and the United States. (Reuters, 08.21.15).
- A German intelligence officer accused of acting as a double agent for the United States and Russia has been charged with treason, breach of official secrecy and taking bribes. (New York Times, 08.21.15).
- Russian prosecutors have asked a court to send Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov to prison for 23 years on charges of conspiracy to commit terrorist attacks. (AP, 08.19.15).
- Outside threats to destabilize the situation in Crimea persist, personnel are being trained to carry out subversive activities and other sabotage, these risks should be taken into account, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting on security in Crimea on Aug. 19. (Interfax, 08.19.15).
- The Leningrad Regional Military Court found Russian citizen Gapur Magomedov guilty of participation in the activities of Hizb ut-Tahrir organization on August 17 and sentenced him to five years in jail. The same court sentenced a Kyrgyz citizen, Makhamadimin Saliev, to five years in jail on the same charges on August 14. (RFE/RL, 08.17.15).
- The Spiritual Directorate of the North Caucasus Muslims in the city of Pyatigorsk said on August 20 that Zamirbek Makhmutov, deputy imam in a local village, was shot dead by unknown assailants. (RFE/RL, 08.20.15).
Foreign affairs and trade:
- Russia and China launched their “Joint Sea-2015 II” naval exercises in Vladivostok on August 21, the Staff of the Russian Eastern Military District has reported. “All in all, both sides have contributed 22 ships and support vessels, up to 200 airplanes and helicopters, more than 5,000 marines and 40 units of hardware to the drills," the military district said. This is the largest ever joint exercise of Russian and Chinese Navies. It will run through Aug. 28 in the Sea of Japan and off the coast of Vladivostok. (Interfax, 08.21.15, Washington Times, 08.18.15).
- King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia and King Abdullah bin al-Hussein of Jordan are expected to attend the opening day of the MAKS-2015 air show in Russia on August 25. (UPI, 08.18.15)
- One of the biggest expected contracts at MAKS-2015 will be a domestic purchase of 48 Sukhoi Su-35 fighters. There is also a lot of speculation that Saudi Arabia is getting ready to buy Russian weapons systems. And Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said Iran was in negotiations with Russia in negotiations for a purchase of Russian-made fighter jets. (Moscow Times, 08.19.15).
- Russia and Egypt have signed an intergovernmental contract for the delivery of Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters. (Interfax, 08.21.15).
- Russian Helicopters Holding's Rostvertol JSC is implementing two contracts for the delivery of modernized heavy-haul helicopters Mil Mi-26T2 to Algeria. (Interfax, 08.19.15).
- The U.N. Security Council on Monday backed a new push for peace talks in Syria adopted by Russia and the other 14 member states, despite reservations from Venezuela. The peace initiative, set to begin in September, would set up four working groups to address safety and protection, counterterrorism, political and legal issues and reconstruction. (AFP, 08.18.15).
- Russia and Iran said on Monday that Syrian groups must decide the future of Bashar Assad, with Moscow opposing any pre-negotiated exit of the Syrian president as part of a peace deal. Speaking at a joint news conference, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, reiterated their countries' backing for Assad. (Reuters, 08.17.15).
- Russian soldiers involved in peacekeeping operations in Africa surpass those of France, the United Kingdom, and the United States combined. (CFR, 08.13.15).
Russia's neighbors:
- As Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces took over Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in early 2014, the interim Ukrainian government was debating whether or not to fight back against the "little green men" Russia had deployed. But the message from the Barack Obama administration was clear: avoid military confrontation with Moscow. As U.S. officials told us recently, the White House feared that if the Ukrainian military fought in Crimea, it would give Putin justification to launch greater military intervention in Ukraine, using similar logic to what Moscow employed in 2008. (Bloomberg, 08.21.15).
- Fighting flared between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels near the port of Mariupol in the southeast and at rebel-held Horlivka, killing at least two Ukrainian soldiers and several civilians, Kiev's military and separatist sources said on Monday. Kiev accused the separatists of shelling civilians on the outskirts of Mariupol. In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blamed Kiev for the violence. Ukrainian officials said on Thursday that four soldiers have been killed and 14 wounded in recent fighting in eastern Ukraine (Reuters, 08.17.15, RFE/RL, 08.20.15).
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is pushing for European powers to get Ukraine to comply with a truce in eastern Ukraine. Lavrov said Wednesday that he hopes Germany and France, as signatories of the February truce, "will do everything to make sure" Kiev complies with the deal. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will meet with the leaders of France and Germany on Monday. Germany's foreign minister says the situation in eastern Ukraine is "explosive" and that urgent talks must be held to prevent "a new military escalation spiral." (RFE/RL, 08.16.15, AP, Reuters, 08.19.15).
- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday slammed alleged "external control" over Ukraine's government as he made his third visit to the Crimean peninsula since Moscow seized the region from Kiev last year. "Ukraine will rise to its feet and will develop positively, and build its future together with Russia," he said in Crimea. (AFP, Unian, 08.17.15).
- NATO has warned Moscow that any attempt by Russian-backed separatists to take more territory in eastern Ukraine would be "unacceptable. “NATO said in a statement on August 19 that its 28 member states had discussed the recent escalation in violence in Ukraine and added that "Russia has a special responsibility to find a political solution" to the crisis. (RFE/RL, 08.19.15).
- Ukraine will have to resume the import of Russian gas to last through the winter season, the country's energy minister warned on Friday. In August, Ukraine had 13 billion cubic meters of gas in its underground storages, six billion short of the 19 billion it needs for the winter season, Coal and Energy Minister Vladimir Demchyshyn said. (Sputnik, 08.15.15).
- U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump has responded with blunt indifference to Ukraine’s possible membership in NATO. “I wouldn’t care. If [Ukraine] goes in, great. If it doesn’t go in, great,” Trump said in an interview with NBC on August 16. Trump also said that Europe should bear the brunt of the responsibility for standing up to Russia in the Ukraine conflict. (RFE/RL, 08.16.15).
- The council of ministers of the self-declared Lugansk People's Republic (LNR) has decreed that the Russian ruble will become the main monetary unit on the territory of the LNR starting on September 1. (Interfax, 08.19.15).
- In January 2015, Ukraine shipped 470,047 tons of corn to China, overtaking the United States, according to official customs data. (RFE/RL, 08.16.15).
- The Kazakh currency lost more than a quarter of its value against the dollar on Thursday, after the central bank of Kazakhstan let the tenge float freely The tenge quickly slid to 255.26 against the U.S. dollar from about 188 overnight. A year ago, the tenge traded at 182 versus the dollar. The Asian Development Bank has provided a $1 billion loan for Kazakhstan. (Wall Street Journal, 09.20.15,RFE/RL, 08.21.15).
- Russia's largest private oil firm Lukoil has sold some of its Kazakh stakes to China's energy giant Sinopec for $1.09 billion, the company said on August 20. (RFE/RL, 08.21.15).
- Thousands of members of Uzbekistan's security forces have been mobilized in the country's Fergana region to search for two women they allege are potential suicide bombers. (RFE/RL, 08.17.15).
- U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter hosted Georgian Defense Minister Tinatin Khidasheli today at the Pentagon to discuss regional security issues and the U.S.-Georgia defense relationship. The leaders reviewed ongoing U.S. security assistance to Georgia's armed forces, including plans for the $20 million in additional funding in 2015 through the European Reassurance Initiative. (DoD, 08.18.15).
- Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili has condemned Russia’s military exercises in Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. (RFE/RL, 08.19.15).
- Azerbaijan’s state budget relies on hydrocarbons for 70 percent of its revenue and 95 percent of exports. (Washington Post, 08.20.15).
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Russia in Review: a digest of useful news from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism for August 14-21, 2015.
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Georgian Defense Minister Tina Khidasheli has called on NATO to take tangible steps toward eventual membership for Tbilisi when the alliance meets in Warsaw next year.
Speaking to RFE/RL in Washington on August 20, Khidasheli said any tentativeness by NATO to fulfill its membership promises risks encouraging Russia to continue pursuing aggressive policies.
"By putting an Iron Curtain on Article 5 countries and closing up, they are opening doors widely to everybody...[to] say, 'Well, that's where the NATO limits are. That's how far we can go.'"
The 28 NATO countries are bound under Article 5 of their mutual defense treaty to come to the aid of any alliance state that is attacked if so requested. Georgia and other nations hoping to join NATO are not covered by that security umbrella until they become members.
Georgia was promised eventual membership at the NATO summit in Bucharest in 2008 but did not receive what it hoped would be a clear first step toward membership -- a Membership Action Plan (MAP) -- at either of NATO's two most recent summits, in 2012 in Chicago and 2014 in Wales.
Khidasheli said this sends "a very wrong message" to Moscow.
"A strong decision on [NATO enlargement] looks like, today at least, the only deterrence policy," she said. "And not only for Russia but for anybody who might get this wrong idea, looking at Russia's behavior, advancement, and progress in Ukraine, that they can get away with things like that."
The Georgian official spoke during a state visit to Washington this week on which she met with U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter. Tbilisi has said her visit aimed to "strengthen the partnership"' with the United States and "search for answers, advice, and support" for Georgia's NATO path.
She has said previously that Tbilisi would like to see the NATO Warsaw summit recognize that Georgia already has put in place all of the mechanisms for cooperation with the alliance that are envisioned by a MAP, which offers assistance and support to countries wishing to join the alliance. She has also called for the Warsaw summit to make a "political statement that Georgia has passed one step and now is on the membership track."
Khidasheli told RFE/RL that Russia's occupation of the two Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, composing 20 percent of Georgia's territory, poses a continuing threat to her country's security and to regional stability.
"We have Russians standing 20 minutes' drive from the capital city [Tbilisi]," she said. "There are 6,000 Russian troops back [on Georgian territory], those that were driven out after the Rose Revolution (November 2003) with the closure of the Russian military bases."
Tensions have risen higher this year as Moscow-backed security forces in occupied South Ossetia have pushed forward the administrative boundary dividing it from the rest of Georgia, encroaching further on Georgian territory.
The Georgian defense minister, who has been a leading voice inside Georgia for closer ties with the United States and NATO, discounted any concerns that more NATO enlargement might be seen as a provocation by Moscow.
"The perception that somebody might be provoked or might get angry because of NATO's or the European Union's actions does not create a legitimate space for no action when that someone is conquering territories on a daily basis, is occupying independent states, and changing the entire international order," she said.
The NATO summit in Warsaw is scheduled for July 8-9, 2016.
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Wall Street Journal |
Beijing Picks the Winners in China Stocks
Wall Street Journal In early July, the China Securities Regulatory Commission deputized China Securities, a unit of the regulator that in normal times provides financing to brokerages, as its tool for supporting the market. The regulator hasn't disclosed specifics about ... and more » |
TIME |
These 5 Facts Explain Why China Is Still on the Rise
TIME Stock market plunges, currency devaluations and warehouse fireballs out of China have dominated headlines this summer. But make no mistake—this is the opening of the “ChinaDecade,” the moment when the emerging giant's international influence ... No need to idolise China's accident-prone technocratsFinancial Times Meet Xi's Team of Wise Men Trying to Avert China's Hard LandingBloomberg all 19 news articles » |
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Forbes |
Capitulation On China To Continue
Forbes Last month, oil economist Daniel Yergin noted that between 2003 and 2013, China accounted for at least half of all global oil consumption growth. In 2014, that number was estimated to be 43%. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates China ... and more » |
New York Times |
China Woes Send Stocks Into Tailspin
New York Times The biggest source of uneasiness right now appears to be China's economy. The country surprised the world last week by announcing changes in the way it manages its currency, the renminbi, which led to the currency falling in value against the dollar. 'Want big returns over the next 20 years? Buy China and India'Telegraph.co.uk Got China? Two big emerging market ETFs diverge on their exposureReuters all 115 news articles » |
New York Times |
Big Slump for the Market as Concerns Over China Increase
New York Times The global rout started in China, where sharp declines in energy and property stocks pushed the Shanghai Composite down more than 3 percent. That selling soon spread to European and U.S. markets, where the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index moved ... Stocks tumble on China, growth fears; dollar fadesReuters Dow drops 358 points after China fears spur global sell-offYahoo News Global markets tumble on China, growth fearsSydney Morning Herald all 246 news articles » |
Wall Street Journal |
Pentagon Says China Has Stepped up Land Reclamation in South China Sea
Wall Street Journal Washington fears that the islands will be used for military purposes and could create instability in one of the world's biggest commercial shipping routes as China lays claim to what many other countries see as international waters. And, as China's ... Land reclamation: Halt reef destruction in South China SeaNature.com all 19 news articles » |
Democratic presidential candidate and former Sen. Jim Webb (D., Va.) said Friday that he opposed the Iran nuclear deal for, among other reasons, giving the rogue regime a greater balance of power in a fragile region.
“The danger in the Iran agreement is in what it does not address, other than nuclear issues, that allows Iran to continue to gain a greater balance of the power in a very fragile region,” Webb said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “It affects Israel. It affects the Sunni countries.”
Webb noted he voted against the Iraq War while he was in the Senate because he felt it would shift too much influence to Iran. This flies against the White House’s continued insistence that foes of the deal all supported the Iraq War . President Obama has also claimed the only alternative to the agreement is eventual warfare, an opinion not shared by top military experts.
“We’ve had no signals from Iran through this whole process, no confidence-builders … that would indicate Iran is ready to move forward in a different way in the region,” Webb said.
Iran remains the world’s foremost sponsor of terrorism, and the deal has been fiercely criticized for allowing the country sanctions relief to assist in those efforts.
A senior official at the State Department refused to deny that Iran will “play a role” in the inspections of the Parchin nuclear site believed to have housed nuclear arms development.
According to CNN, the official insisted Thursday that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would exercise “total oversight” regarding the inspection of Iran’s Parchin military site a day after an apparent draft of one of the secret side deals between the IAEA and Tehran indicated that Iran will be permitted to use its own experts to inspect the site.
The IAEA is the United Nations agency responsible for ensuring that Tehran abides by the stipulations in the nuclear deal finalized in Vienna on July 14.
“Iran is not self-inspecting,” the State Department official said, though he would not deny that Iran will “play a role” in the inspection and sampling.
Moreover, a senior Obama administration official alleged that, though Iranian experts may be permitted to take samples at the military facility, individuals from other countries will play a role in analyzing them.
The secret agreements between Iran and the IAEA—at least two of which exist—have to do with the inspection of Parchin as well as the extent to which Tehran must admit to the details of its alleged nuclear weapons program.
Many congressional lawmakers have expressed outrage at their lack of access to the details of the secret agreements, accusing Obama of breaking the law by refusing to disclose them as Congress conducts its 60-day review of the Iran deal.
The draft of one of the secret deals, obtained by the Associated Press Wednesday, suggests that IAEA officials will monitor Iranian experts as they conduct the Parchin inspections and provide the U.N. agency with photos and videos taken only of areas that Iran has not deemed off-limits because of military implications.
Iranian technicians are also to take samples from weapons development work, which will be capped at seven samples inside the building.
The IAEA on Thursday dismissed the draft report of the secret agreement as a “misrepresentation.”
After becoming the first Democratic senator to oppose the nuclear agreement, Chuck Schumer (N.Y.)stressedlast week that the United States should not trust European nations to sufficiently inspect Iran’s sensitive facilities.
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The Obama administration advised the Ukrainian government not to fight Russian forces when Vladimir Putin invaded Crimea in 2014, the main reason for which was a desire not to anger the Russian president.
Bloombergreported that, according to U.S. officials, the Obama White House believed pushback from Ukraine would move Putin to launch a larger military campaign against the country, similar to what Russia did in Georgia in 2008.
However, experts and officials now view this advice as that which gave way to Ukraine’s consistent hesitancy toward military conflict with Russia in fear of angering Putin, a policy that has been largely unsuccessful. Crimea overwhelmingly voted to secede from Ukraine in March 2014, pro-Russian rebels currently hold areas of the Lugansk and Donetsk regions in Ukraine and the rebels have indicated that they will continue to push westward and gain territory.
President Obama has held firm in his decision not to deliver lethal aid to Ukraine, which, according to a Republican lawmaker, is anchored in his desire not to engage militarily with Putin. Meanwhile, senior administration officials—reportedly including Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter—have encouraged Obama to send lethal aid to Ukraine.
A senior White House official refused to comment on the administration’s conversations with the Ukrainian government.
“We remain committed to maintaining pressure on Russia to fulfill its commitments under the Minsk agreements and restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity, including Crimea,” the anonymous official said.
Earlier this week, NATO expressed “serious concern” about the current violence in Ukraine and warned pro-Russian rebels against seizing more territory in the eastern part of the country.
As of late last month, nearly 1,000 combatants and civilians had been killedsince the alleged peace agreement was brokered between Russia and Ukraine in February in Minsk. The conflict has resulted in at least 7,000 deaths since it began in April 2014.
Last month, Pentagon officials proposedequipping Ukraine with more powerful, longer-range radar to help the country fight back against the separatists, but the Obama White House has not yet approved the proposal.
The Pentagon could withhold hundreds of millions of dollars from Pakistan's military over concerns that it is not doing enough to combat insurgent groups that plan and coordinate attacks from its soil on neighboring Afghanistan, according to U.S. and Pakistani officials.
JPMorgan Chase, which fell prey to a major cyberattack last year, is bringing on recently retired Army chief of staff. Gen. Raymond Odierno to advise the company on managing its cybersecurity risks.
Gen Odierno's hiring is part of the banking company's larger effort to ramp up its digital defenses. Recent ...
The Kremlin says it will ban Wikipedia within Russia unless the website blocks access to an article about drugs. The warning from Roskomnadzor, the government's online regulator, comes weeks after similar threats were made over content on Reddit and YouTube.
Roskomnadzor said through one of its social media accounts on ...
One the world's testier strategic relationships is deteriorating by the day as Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of meddling in its affairs and prolonging a 14-year war by aiding Taliban militants in a cynical quest for influence.
They called it the Cold War. But for the crew of a Navy patrol bomber based in Kodiak, things got very hot when Soviet MiG fighter jets swarmed them, guns blazing, during a routine maritime patrol over the Bering Sea on June 22, 1955.
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A quarter century after the fall of the USSR, Kremlinologists sense a putsch in the air, despite Vladimir Putin’s overwhelming approval ratings. The tea leaves say that the Kremlin elite, dubbed by some as Politburo 2.0, is currently deciding whether Putin should go before he makes a bad situation worse. The founder of the respected daily Kommersant predicts that a dramatic change is about to take place and advises Russians who have the means to leave the country for a month or so and take their children with them.
The Politburo 2.0 must ask itself: What is Putin’s next step, and can we afford to go along? (Alexei Nikolsky/RIA-Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Putin’s failures are becoming more evident on a daily basis. No one denies that Russia is akleptocratic state whose leaders have stolen much of the national wealth. But Russia has also become a pariah that breaks rules of the international order, engages in official lies, and owes huge damages in international courts. Putin’s Kremlin promotes and supports a view of the world that causes world leaders to scratch their heads in dismay.
Putin’s economic policies are a disaster. Despite promises of diversification, Russia remains a petro state at the mercy of the price of oil. Struck by a perfect storm of falling oil prices, international sanctions and self-imposed embargoes, the Russian economy is in its sixth quarter of recession with only miserly growth in sight. Living standards are falling despite Putin’s promises of stability and prosperity. The investment collapse has served to mortgage Russia’s economic future. Only Putin’s bureaucracy seems to be surviving unscathed. The vaunted reserve funds are close to being depleted. Little is left for a rainy day, and Putin’s handouts are ceasing even to his friends.
What have the Russian people gotten in return? They have gained Crimea, which many Russians believe belongs to Mother Russia. Putin’s saber-rattling has garnered attention and fear. His plans to return Russia to superpower status please those shamed by the USSR’s collapse. Many Russians are an easy mark for Putin’s propaganda that the West covets its resources and plans to attack, with the Ukraine conflict being the first step in its evil plan. They believe transcripts of two alleged CIA agents plotting (in thinly disguised Russian accents) to shoot down MH17 in one of the most sinister and complicated plots in history. (Listen to tape here.) Russian parents and spouses must secretly bury their loved ones killed on the Ukrainian field of battle.
Unlike the Russian people, Russia’s Politburo 2.0 understands the true state of the economy, including that Russia’s economists, contrary to earlier claims, are no Houdinis. The Russian economy, which stopped growing well before Crimea, will be mired in recession until oil prices recover, possibly many years hence. Russia’s highly indebted companies cannot borrow, and China will not and cannot come to their rescue. The Kremlin embargo of food imports raised inflation above 15%, more than triple any indexation of wages and pensions. In his annual direct line with the Russian people, Putin could only express hope for a recovery of the world economy but that they should not worry, his economic team has everything under control.
Nor can the Politburo 2.0 find much positive in Putin’s foreign policy. It did annex Crimea without firing a shot, but Crimea costs billions of dollars and is sinking into a swamp of corruption. Although Western support for Ukraine has been less than effective, the West has not abandoned Ukraine and seems willing to supply it with funds to keep it going. Putin’s war has at long last created a united Ukraine that will hate Russia for generations to come.
The war in southeast Ukraine has solidified the positions of pro-Russian rebels who wantindependence rather than the Kremlin’s disrupting Ukrainian politics from within. As the Kremlin arms separatist forces, it is risking a heavily armed and unpredictable force on its own border. In the so-called lull following the Minsk 2 accords, the Ukrainian army has strengthened its forces, so there is no assurance that the pro-Russian rebels could defeat them even were they to be unleashed.
The Politburo 2.0 must therefore ask itself: What is Mr. Putin’s next step, and can we afford to go along?
None of Putin’s options are good. If he pulls weapons, troops and support from the pro-Russian rebels, Ukraine will retake the Donbass, and Putin and his Politburo 2.0 will be labeled losers. If he approves a new offensive against Mariupol or to gain a land bridge to Crimea, the West will impose sanctions that will demolish the moribund economy and put the assets of the members of Politburo 2.0 at risk. Sanctions may include the “nuclear option” of expelling Russia from the SWIFT banking transfer system and bring Russian financial transactions to a standstill. Those who benefited from Putin’s kleptocracy would face ruin.
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· · · ·
Hillary Rodham Clinton is facing fresh worries among congressional Democrats about her use of a private email account while serving as secretary of state, as new polls signal that the inquiry is taking a toll on her presidential campaign.
The problem of Donbass residents’ legal status is serious. While Ukraine no longer recognizes them, procedures to acquire Russian citizenship are now envisaged. Denis Pushilin, Vice Chairman of the People’s Council of the Donetsk People’s Republic suggested that a procedure…
MSNBC host Chris Hayes and one of his guests Thursday night attacked the credibility of an Associated Press reporter who revealed damaging information about the secret deals negotiated between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as part of the Iran nuclear agreement.
Hayes and his guest, Iran deal advocate Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, dismissed the bombshell story as a “wonderful destructive leak” that was accepted uncritically by AP reporter George Jahn, although the Associated Press has released evidence that corroborates Jahn’s reporting.
Lewis stated that Jahn, who is the AP’s Austrian bureau chief, was not a “real reporter” because he did not find out how the IAEA planned to authenticate Iran’s evidence, information that the IAEA typically keeps secret. On Wednesday, Lewis told Vox’s Max Fisher that Jahn was a “friendly reporter” to opponents of the nuclear deal, who he insinuated were leaking misleading documents to the press.
Jahn reported Wednesday that the IAEA will allow Iran to take its own samples from Parchin, a military site that the nuclear watchdog believes was once used to test components for a nuclear weapon.
This highly-unusual arrangement provides Iran with an opportunity to hide the extent of its past nuclear weapons activities. The Islamic republic has reason to cover up such activities—it officially denies any attempt to build nuclear weapons.
Hayes and Lewis said that the AP story would be highly damaging to the Iran nuclear deal if true, but asserted that it was untrue.
“The sense that one got from reading the initial AP story was that the Iranians were going to be able to take their own samples and give them to the IAEA, and say, yeah, that stuff’s from Parchin. Is that what’s going to happen?” Hayes asked.
“Yeah, that sounds terrible, right? But, no, that’s not what’s going to happen,” Lewis said.
Lewis’s statement contradicts a draft copy of the side deal released by the AP on Thursday. The draft states that Iran will take its own samples and give them to the IAEA.
Iran will provide “pictures,” “videos,” and “environmental samples” to the IAEA from predetermined locations in and around the Parchin facility. IAEA inspectors will not be allowed to accompany Iranian inspectors as they compile evidence at Parchin, although the IAEA director general will be taken on a “courtesy” visit of the facility after inspections have taken place.
Hayes and Lewis cited broad assurances by IAEA and Obama administration officials that they can authenticate evidence provided by Iran.
The IAEA said in a statement that the AP story is a “misrepresentation” of its ability to verify Parchin samples, but did not dispute any of the story’s particulars.
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 Диалог.UA - Всегда два мнения |
Происходит ли медленный путч против Путина?
Inopressa "Четверть века спустя после распада СССР кремлинологи чуют в воздухе путч, несмотря на зашкаливающие рейтинги одобрения Владимира Путина. Гадание на кофейной гуще показывает, что кремлевская элита, прозванная некоторыми "Политбюро 2.0", сейчас решает, должен ли ... Forbes: В Кремле готовят несколько сценариев свержения ПутинаДиалог.UA - Всегда два мнения Западные СМИ: в Кремле готовятся к свержению ПутинаГлавред Все похожие статьи: 9 » |
 Forward |
Crimea Rabbi Thanks Vladimir Putin for Russia Annexation
Forward During a meeting with Vladimir Putin, a leader of Reform Jews in Crimea said his community's situation has improved since Russia annexed the peninsula from Ukraine. Anatoly Gendin, chairman of the Ner Tamid Reform Synagogue in the Crimean capital of ... |
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Angie’s List built its reputation on being a grassroots, trustworthy review site. But some business owners and former employees claim it’s anything but.
Angie’s List built its $363-million dollar empire on a friendly-faced Midwesterner delivering a simple promise: “Reviews you can trust.”
With a toothy grin and a knack for a good deal, Angie Hicks and her ratings website for local businesses became the “darling of Main Street USA.” Hicks giggles spontaneously, wears a single pearl necklace, and assures Americans that when they’re ready to spend money on home repair or health care, she’ll make sure “it’s money well spent.”
A small town girl turned Harvard educated businesswoman, she’s a force America loves to believe in. Based on the site’s 3 million paying subscribers in 200 cities and businesses in 700 categories, they do.
The company she helped build from the ground up defines itself as a place where “real people” leave “real reviews” for everything from dog walkers to carpenters. It’s a site where the “members come first” and their trust is the “number one priority.”
But a Philadelphia woman punched holes in the airtight model this March, alleging that the company “does not help members find the ‘best’ service provider, but rather the one who paid the most money to Angie’s List.”
The plaintiff, Janell Moore, who filed the class action suit in March, says she became suspicious of Angie’s List after a contractor she hired from the company failed to finish remodeling her kitchen and refused to refund her $4,000. Moore claims it was only after leaving a negative review of the company that she was able to see other negative reviews, which led her to believe that the rating system wasn’t done fairly.
“Angie’s List falsely assures consumers that ‘service providers cannot influence their ratings on Angie’s List,’” reads an opening section of the 28-page complaint. “These and similar statements dupe potential and existing members into believing that Angie’s List reviews, ratings, and search results are valuable and trustworthy because they reflect unfiltered feedback of consumers, for consumers.”
After two months in court, Angie’s List filed a motion to dismiss on May 13, 2015 citing—among other things—Moore’s inability to “fairly trace” injury to their advertising model. In a section titled “How Angie’s List Works,” the company says that it’s transparent about money being involved in its rating mode. “Members are expressly told that service providers may pay to offer such promotions and that as a result they may be placed ‘at the top’ of search results,” the motion for dismissal reads.
In August, the case was transferred to Judge Stewart Dalzell, who suggested the case “had teeth.” He’s ordered a settlement conference for October 26, 2015.
***
Questions about the authenticity of Angie’s List have been around for years, fueled by the company’s revenue stream, which relies heavily on advertising. In 2014, for example, 76 percent of the company’s $315 million total revenue came from service providers (advertising). Twenty three percent came from membership.
Similar numbers raised flags for Consumer Reports’ Jeff Blyskal, who reviewed the site along with Yelp and others in 2013. “[Angie’s List] makes a big point to say they’re consumer-driven, when in fact 70 percent of their revenue comes from advertising,” Blyskal wrote. “It’s not advertising Coca Cola, it’s advertising from the companies they rate.”
A spokesperson for Angie’s List at the time called the allegations “baseless,” and pointed to the company’s public SEC filings, which “contain robust disclosures regarding its operations.”
In 2014, for example, 76 percent of the company’s $315 million total revenue came from service providers (advertising). Twenty three percent came from membership.
Moore’s lawsuit echoes Blyskal’s concerns. “Angie’s List secretly alters the order in which service providers are listed… [It] ranks service providers based on how much providers pay in ‘advertising’ fees,” the suit reads. “A plumber with an ‘A’ rating and all positive reviews… who did not pay any ‘advertising’ fees will be ranked below a plumber who did pay ‘advertising’ fees but has worse reviews or ratings.”
While awaiting a settlement, Angie’s List continues to push forward, even emailing users offering a “movie on Angie” if they refer a member. Looking back at the company’s history, the roots of the “people first” model it promotes become clearer.
***
On a page titled “our story,” the company’s history is written like a storybook. It was the brainchild of William Osterle, a venture capitalist from Indianapolis who was struggling to find a heating and cooling contractor for a house he was remodeling in Ohio. Since the 1970s, Indianapolis had circulated a newsletter called “Unified Neighbors,” which provided reviews on local contractors. Columbus, he decided, needed one too.
To get the business off the ground, he enlisted the help of a former intern who had worked at his firm—one he’d remembered as “exceptionally smart and hard-working.” Her job, going door-to-door looking for members, required not only brains, but humility. Hicks, a native of Fort Wayne, Indiana and a first generation college grad, fit the bill.
“Columbus Neighbors,” as it was then called, started off slow as a newsletter circulating around the few neighborhoods that joined. Over time, thanks to the Internet, it grew—becoming a fully interactive site by the early 2000s. When it came time for an official name, Osterle dedicated it to the woman who marched it into homes across America: Angie.
By October 2001, with 100,000 members, it was added to Inc. 500’s list of fastest growing companies and, following a decade of steady growth, went public in 2011. In November 2014 it was named one of the fastest growing companies in North America by Deloitte.
This January, the company made headlines for several milestones: 1,950 employees, a new mobile iOS app, and three million subscribers nationwide. In March it made the rounds on Twitter again when CEO Osterle withdrew the company’s applications for a $40 million downtown headquarters in response to Governor Mike Pence’s passing of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Osterle’s response to the act was motivated by concern that the legislation would allow for discrimination against members of the LGBT community.
The incident inspired Osterle to step down as CEO in April and pursue state politics in hope of to fixing the “damage” the bill did to Indiana. Angie’s List has yet to replace Ostelere, tapping their Chief Operating Officer J. Mark Howell as temporary CEO. This month it seems to be gunning for more positive press, announcing the “first annual service industry job fair,” hosted by Angie herself.
Moore’s lawsuit may very well get the company publicity—just not the kind it wants. If the hundreds ofcomplaints written about in Consumer Affairs are any indication, Moore may not be the only one that has beef with the company.
“I have had zero spike in my business despite multiple claims from AngiesList rep Jackie** that the money I pay them every month is doing anything for me,” George from San Francisco wrote on Aug. 11. “Angie’s List sales reps call 4-5 times weekly and email constantly. I told them to stop calling me, which only lasted briefly. Talking with them about their advertising services is like speaking to a cult member who’s trying to lure you into their conclave,” Clint from Nashua, New Hampshire wrote on Aug. 4.
Not all the reviews are negative. On Feb. 23 of this year, Charlie from Millbrook, Alabama gave the company five stars, writing: “Angie’s list has been the best advertising outlet we have ever used and we have serviced 1,000s of customers through them…The Reason we have GREAT reviews is because we take care of our customers and they in turn give us GOOD REVIEWS.”
“Talking with them about their advertising services is like speaking to a cult member who’s trying to lure you into their conclave.”
Stanley Genadeck, owner of a landscape and construction business in Minneapolis (whose company has a 5-star rating on Google) says he is an active “advertiser” with Angie’s List. After a few positive reviews on his page, reps called asking if he’d be willing to pay $33,000 to stay at the top of the page. Genadeck, who talked them down to $3,000, created a YouTube video to help protect other business owners from spending too much.
His monthly fee of $581.51 comes in the form of an invoice with the description “AL.COM Web Ad” and a reminder to make checks payable to “Angie’s List.” He says the money is the key to getting “optimized”—positioned higher on the site so that you’re one of the first to show up when members search. “When you pay them, they take the key words that make you sound like a superhero and put them in big bold letters,” he says.
While Genadeck thinks the “advertising scheme” is shady, he doesn’t think it’s illegal. “There’s absolutely no lying. You cannot pay to be on Angie’s List, but as soon as you get two reviews… the sales reps are calling you,” he says. “It’s hunter-gatherer sales model—they go for the jugular. They are trained to go for the absolute most they can get, whether that’s in the contractor’s best interest or not.”
After watching Genadeck’s YouTube video, which has racked up nearly 3,000 views since February, a former employee named Bill Ross called Genadeck to clarify a few things and offer more help for how to save money.
Ross was hired as a sales representative in May 2013, with little to no experience. His time at Angie’s List, which he elaborated on for Genadeck, Moore’s attorneys, and now me, lasted just 10 months. In July 2014, he was fired for failing too many times to meet his monthly goal. Ross admits he “wasn’t good at sales,” and that his firing was warranted.
He says he was reluctant to give his full name and to speak about his time there in general. He claims his intention is not to “destroy the company,” but rather to help small business owners from losing money. “I wanted to add transparency to the process for Service Providers because they actually do something,” he tells me. “They fix or build something. I just want them to know more so they cannot be cheated.”
***
On May 5, 2013, Ross’s first day at Angie’s List, he was ushered into an orientation with 95 new hires—29 of them sales reps. “It blew me away,” he tells me over the phone. “How could your company be growing so much that you need to add 29 salespeople at one time?”
The orientation lasted two weeks, with the final days spent making phone calls with supervisors near the sales area—a place internally coined the “bullpen.” Each month graduates were placed on teams and assigned a “territory” with anywhere from 400 to 900 clients. He said company policy mandated that anyone who didn’t sell $7,500 worth of products in 80 days (including the 14 training days) be fired.
Each rep was a given a number to quote to each company, but told that sticking to it was not a requirement. “You could add 100 percent to it and just the same you could discount it,” he says. “Price was an illusion.” He says the phrase “you can never quote to high” was used frequently—even displayed on an LCD monitor in the sales department. “If there’s a dog walker and I could get $10,000 out of them, I would try,” he says.
Over time, the tactics ate away at him, he says. “It was difficult for me to keep my integrity and feel like I was being fair. When I struggled with the moral and ethics of selling what I felt was overpriced advertising, I was told that I couldn’t be sure it wouldn’t work and that as long as they were happy it didn’t matter. I suppose to a certain degree that was true.” As long as no guarantees were made, he said, generalities were encouraged.
At the end of the month, each rep changed territories, adopting the clients another had failed to sell. With two other departments selling special “deals” to the same list of clients, repeat calls were frequent—and, to the clients, infuriating. “Angie’s List is a relatively well known name,” he says. “If you’re getting three calls a week with different sales people, you don’t understand what the company does anymore,” he says.
He said company policy mandated that anyone who didn’t sell $7,500 worth of products in 80 days (including the 14 training days) be fired.
Ross worried the company was exploring ways to unfairly target small business owners who didn’t pay to be on the list—people he claims top management referred to as “freeloaders.”
It’s unclear to Ross where exactly the “optimizing” strategy came from, and when. He says he worked on a great team with “wonderful people” who tried to look past the fact that their product was vague and their methods, in his opinion, less than genuine. His direct manager was one of the “best people” he’s ever worked for, he says.
Ross claims met Angie “a couple times” but wasn’t convinced she played a major role. “She was nice but she was a figurehead. She’s not a person who says: ‘This is the plan, this is how we’re moving forward,’” he says. “She does corporate speak and ‘brand ideal.’ If you eliminated her job I don’t think the company would change.”
In Ross’s mind, it was the co-founder, Osterle, who was more likely to be driving the advertising ship. Osterle, he says, took high-performing sales reps on “lavish” vacations and gave them $1,000 bonuses for every $5,000 sale. He hosted a service provider conference complete with musical entertainment guests like Train, and charged business owners hundreds of dollars to come. “I think he fancied himself a Jeff Bezos,” Ross says.
After three warnings for not meeting his goal, Ross was fired—writing he claims he had seen on the wall months before. These days he works as an advertising sales rep for a newspaper. Ross’s perception of the company is impossible to separate, entirely, from his firing.
The careers page on Angie’s List website shows several employee testimonies that run in stark contrast to his statements. “I am extremely proud to be a part of a forward thinking company that’s glowing with innovation, determination, and the persistence to always offer the best,” says Erin Beckman from advertising sales. “Daily, I am surrounded by an energized pulse of creativity, genuine interest, and support.”
After reviewing Ross’s allegations, a spokesperson from Angie’s List sent the following statement: “As we understand it, the statements were made by a former employee to an attorney who is actively engaged in litigation against Angie’s List, and should be considered in that context. Many of the statements are untrue and others are taken out of context such that they are misleading.”
The attorneys for Janell Moore did not return The Daily Beast’s request for comment.
Correction 8/21/15 12:53 PM: A previous version of this article stated that 73% of Angie's List revenue in 2014 came through service providers' advertising and 30% from membership. In reality, 76% of the 2014 revenue came from service providers' advertising and 23% through membership.
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· · · · · · · · · ·
Defense Secretary Ash Carter is calling Russia a "very, very significant threat," agreeing with an assessment made by top military officials.
A chorus of top military officials have said recently that Russia is the top threat to the U.S.'s national security in comparison to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
At a Pentagon press conference, Carter said he agreed with their assessment that Russia is an existential threat to the U.S. "by virtue simply of the size of the nuclear arsenal that it's had."
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"Now, that's not new," he added. "What's new — and I think also that they were pointing to and where I agree with them — is that for a quarter century or so, since the end of the Cold War, we have not regarded Russia as an antagonist.
"Vladimir Putin's Russia behaves, in many respects, as — in some respects and in very important respects, as an antagonist. That is new. That is something, therefore, that we need to adjust to and counter," Carter continued.
He also laid out the Pentagon's strategy in countering Russia — an approach he called "strong and balanced."
"The strong part means we are adjusting our capabilities qualitative and in terms of their deployments, to take account of this behavior of Russia," he said.
"We are also working with NATO in new ways, a new playbook, so to speak, for NATO ... more oriented towards deterrence on its eastern border and with hardening countries [on] the borders of Russia, NATO members and non-NATO members, to the kind of hybrid warfare influence or little green man kind of influence that we see associated with Russia in Ukraine," he said.
The "little green man" refers to Russian forces in green military uniforms acting in Ukraine.
However, Carter said the U.S. would continue to work with Russia on areas where both countries' interests align.
"The balanced part is we continue to work with Russia, because you can't paint all their behavior with one brush. There are places where they are working with us: in counterterrorism in many important respects, in some respects, with respect to North Korea, in some respects with respect to Iran and elsewhere," he said.
"So where Russia sees its interests as aligned with ours, we can work with them and will continue to do that," Carter added.
Russian troops last year invaded Ukraine and annexed the Crimean peninsula, prompting the U.S. and Western allies to impose several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Despite a ceasefire negotiated late last year, Ukrainian forces are locked in heavy battle with separatists in the eastern part of the country, who U.S. and Western officials say are armed and trained by Russian forces.
"We'll continue to hold open the door so that if either under Vladimir Putin or some successor of his in the future, there's a leadership that wants to take Russia in the direction that, I believe, is best for Russia," Carter said.
He said a new direction would be "not one of confrontation with the rest of the world and self-isolation, which is the path they're on now, but better economic and political integration with the rest of the world."
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As Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces took over Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in early 2014, the interim Ukrainian government was debating whether or not to fight back against the "little green men" Russia had deployed. But the message from the Barack Obama administration was clear: avoid military confrontation with Moscow.
The White House's message to Kiev was advice, not an order, U.S. and Ukrainian officials have recently told us, and was based on a variety of factors. There was a lack of clarity about what Russia was really doing on the ground. The Ukrainian military was in no shape to confront the Russian Spetsnaz (special operations) forces that were swarming on the Crimean peninsula. Moreover, the Ukrainian government in Kiev was only an interim administration until the country would vote in elections a few months later. Ukrainian officials told us that other European governments sent Kiev a similar message.
But the main concern was Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As U.S. officials told us recently, the White House feared that if the Ukrainian military fought in Crimea, it would give Putin justification to launch greater military intervention in Ukraine, using similar logic to what Moscow employed in 2008 when Putin invaded large parts of Georgia in response to a pre-emptive attack by the Tbilisi government. Russian forces occupy two Georgian provinces to this day.
Looking back today, many experts and officials point to the decision not to stand and fight in Crimea as the beginning of a Ukraine policy based on the assumption that avoiding conflict with Moscow would temper Putin's aggression. But that was a miscalculation. Almost two years later, Crimea is all but forgotten, Russian-backed separatist forces are in control of two large Ukrainian provinces, andthe shaky cease-fire between the two sides is in danger of collapsing.
"Part of the pattern we see in Russian behavior is to test and probe when not faced with pushback or opposition," said Damon Wilson, the vice president for programming at the Atlantic Council. "Russia's ambitions grow when they are not initially challenged. The way Crimea played out, Putin had a policy of deniability, there could have been a chance for Russia to walk away."
When Russian special operations forces, military units and intelligence officers seized Crimea, it surprised the U.S. government. Intelligence analysts had briefed Congress 24 hours before the stealth invasion, saying the Russian troop buildup on Ukraine's border was a bluff. Ukraine's government -- pieced together after President Viktor Yanukovych fled Kiev for Russia following civil unrest -- was in a state of crisis. The country was preparing for elections and its military was largely dilapidated and unprepared for war.
There was a debate inside the Kiev government as well. Some argued the nation should scramble its forces to Crimea to respond. As part of that process, the Ukrainian government asked Washington what military support the U.S. would provide. Without quick and substantial American assistance, Ukrainians knew, a military operation to defend Crimea could not have had much chance for success.
"I don't think the Ukrainian military was well prepared to manage the significant challenge of the major Russian military and stealth incursion on its territory," said Andrew Weiss, a Russia expert and vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment, told us. This was also the view of many in the U.S. military and intelligence community at the time.
There was also the Putin factor. In the weeks and months before the Crimea operation, Russia's president was stirring up his own population about the threat Russian-speakers faced in Ukraine and other former Soviet Republics.
"They did face a trap," said the Atlantic Council's Wilson, who was the senior director for Europe at the National Security Council when Russia invaded Georgia in 2008. "Any Ukrainian violent reaction to any of these unknown Russian speakers would have played into the narrative that Putin already created, that Ukraine's actions threaten Russian lives and he would have pretext to say he was sending Russian forces to save threatened Russians."
The White House declined to comment on any internal communications with the Ukrainian government. A senior administration official told us that the U.S. does not recognize Russia's occupation and attempted annexation of Crimea, and pointed to a series of sanctions the U.S. and Europe have placed on Russia since the Ukraine crisis began.
"We remain committed to maintaining pressure on Russia to fulfill its commitments under the Minsk agreements and restore Ukraine's territorial integrity, including Crimea," the senior administration official said.
Ever since the annexation of Crimea in March, 2014, there have been a group of senior officials inside the administration who have been advocating unsuccessfully for Obama to approve lethal aid to the Ukrainian military. These officials have reportedly included Secretary of State John Kerry, his top Europe official, Victoria Nuland, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, and General Philip Breedlove, the supreme allied commander for NATO.
Obama has told lawmakers in private meetings that his decision not to arm the Ukrainians was in part due to a desire to avoid direct military confrontation with Russia, one Republican lawmaker who met with Obama on the subject told us. The U.S. has pledged a significant amount of non-lethal aid to the Ukrainian military, but delivery of that aid has often been delayed. Meanwhile, Russian direct military involvement in Eastern Ukraine has continued at a high level.
Even former Obama administration Russia officials acknowledge that Ukraine's decision last year to cede Crimea to Moscow, while making sense at the time, has also resulted in more aggression by Putin.
"Would a devastating defeat in Crimea serve the interest of the interim government? Probably not," said Michael McFaul, who served as ambassador to Russia under Obama and is now a scholar at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. But nonetheless, McFaul said, the ease with which Putin was able to take Crimea likely influenced his decision to expand Russia's campaign in eastern Ukraine: "I think Putin was surprised at how easy Crimea went and therefore when somebody said let's see what else we can do, he decided to gamble.”
The Obama administration, led on this issue by Kerry, is still pursuing a reboot of U.S.-Russia relations. After a long period of coolness, Kerry's visit to Putin in Sochi in May was the start of a broad effort to seek U.S.-Russian cooperation on a range of issues including the Syrian civil war. For the White House, the Ukraine crisis is one problem in a broader strategic relationship between two world powers.
But for the Ukrainians, Russia's continued military intervention in their country is an existential issue, and they are pleading for more help. While many Ukrainians agreed in early 2014 that fighting back against Russia was too risky, that calculation has now changed. The Ukrainian military is fighting Russian forces elsewhere, and Putin is again using the threat of further intervention to scare off more support from the West. If help doesn't come, Putin may conclude he won't pay a price for meddling even further.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
To contact the authors on this story:
Josh Rogin at joshrogin@bloomberg.net
Eli Lake at elake1@bloomberg.net
Josh Rogin at joshrogin@bloomberg.net
Eli Lake at elake1@bloomberg.net
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It would be rash to equate the president with Russia and declare new cold war, writes John Thornhill
I
t is hard to find a more spirited supporter of Russian president Vladimir Putin than Konstantin Malofeev, the so-called “Orthodox businessman” who has been outspoken in his backing of the separatists in Ukraine.
In Mr Malofeev’s telling, Mr Putin’s accomplishments have been to crush the oligarchs, reassert the Kremlin’s authority across the country, revive the economy, bolster the Orthodox church and re-establish Russia as an independent geopolitical actor.
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“Russia is not Belgium. Russia can only exist as an empire,” he told my Moscow colleagues and me earlier this year in his offices resplendent with tsarist regalia. “Putin is a historic leader. The best leader in the past 100 years.”
But when asked about whether Mr Putin had succeeded in creating a system of governance that would outlast him, the voluble Mr Malofeev expressed some uncharacteristic doubts. “Finding another Putin is very difficult. I am not sure this system can continue after Putin,” he said.
Mr Malofeev’s hesitation touches on the cardinal sin of Mr Putin’s rule that should be considered by western policymakers dealing with Moscow. Mr Putin has consolidated the Kremlin’s power by stripping all rival institutions of authority and legitimacy. Over the past 15 years, he has neutered parliament, the regional governors, the free press, the opposition and the law courts. From any longer-term perspective, the striking feature of Mr Putin’s Russia is not its strength but its alarming brittleness.
For the moment, Mr Putin may convey the impression of being the master of all he surveys, leading a resurgent Russia and intimidating her former Soviet neighbours. If anything, western debates about Russia tend to exaggerate the country’s cycles and its politicians are shivering at the prospect of a new cold war. But before long, Russia may have slipped again into a cyclical downturn, leaving the west to fret about the dangers of economic and social chaos, virulent nationalism and nuclear proliferation. A weak Russia may be even more worrying than a strong one.
It is not only Mr Putin’s political model that looks outdated. Russia’s economy appears equally threadbare. Under the strains of lower energy prices, western sanctions and massive capital flight,Russia’s economy contracted 4.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2015 compared with the same period the previous year. Real incomes are falling for the first time in Mr Putin’s rule.
The Soviet Union once vied with the US for economic supremacy; now, America’s gross domestic product using purchasing power parity is five times larger than Russia’s. If, as some suggest, we have reached “peak demand” for oil then Russia’s economy looks vulnerable given its failure to diversify. It has no new model for growth.
Underlying this economic fragility is a demographic disaster. Russia’s population has fallen to 142m, smaller than that of Bangladesh. Many of its best brains are quitting the country, or are being forced to do so. A recent Russian report into the country’s demographic trends concluded: “If the situation does not improve the country can expect problems in the economy, international competitiveness and, in a long-term perspective, geopolitics too.”
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Abroad, Russia has few reliable allies. The Eurasian Union it has cobbled together to rival the EU is a palace built on sand. Moscow has made much of its partnership with China but the relationship is wildly lopsided and Beijing has been adept at exacting a high economic price for its political goodwill. In a pre-nuclear age, China would have surely annexed Siberia by now.
Russia’s projection of soft power looks no more promising in spite of the expansion of state-backed English-language media outlets. A report published this month by the Pew Research Centre into the attitudes of 45,000 people in 40 countries found that Russia and Mr Putin were held in low regard around the world. “Favourable opinion of Russia trails that of the US by a significant margin in most regions of the world,” it found. A median of 58 per cent in each country outside Russia held a negative opinion of Mr Putin.
Considering all these weaknesses, one liberal Russian friend compares Mr Putin to the monster cockroach in the children’s poem by Korney Chukovsky. For a while, the cockroach, with his ugly threats and fearsome moustache, throws all the larger animals on a picnic into a panic.
“Into the fields and woods they dash —
Terrorised by the Roach’s moustache!”
But then a sparrow swoops down and snaps up the cockroach, leaving the animals to wonder why they were ever afraid in the first place.
Mr Putin’s fate remains uncertain and Russia’s future wildly unpredictable. Calibrating a response is difficult. The west carries more weight when it is united and strong. It has surely been right to sanction Mr Putin’s regime for trampling over Ukraine’s sovereignty. It is right to bolster the defences of Nato member countries that border Russia.
But it would be rash to equate Mr Putin’s regime with Russia and reinforce it by declaring a new cold war. To the limited extent that it is possible, the west should make clear to the Russian people that it has no wish to isolate them. It should leave the door to Russia ajar in case any future leader wishes to walk back through it.
<a href="mailto:john.thornhill@ft.com">john.thornhill@ft.com</a>
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