- Russia

Medvedev: Russian Radar Stations On Combat Alert

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 23:43:49 -0700

Source: Zero Hedge - November 24, 2011

Earlier today, we presented the latest developments in the escalating possibility of an imminent air (and potentially land) campaign targeting Syria by the "western world", a move that would infuriate not only Iran, but also Russia and China, both of which have made it clear they would not sit idly by and let such an "aggression" stand. Now it is Russia's turn to retaliate. Cutting straight to the chase - in a nationally televized appearance by Russian president Dmitry Medvedev: in response to what the Russian believes is an active incursion and a potential act of eventual aggression on behalf of NATO countries in Eastern Europe (and hence the US), he he said the following (7 minutes in):
"First, I am instructing the Defense Ministry to immediately put the missile attack early warning radar station in Kaliningrad on combat alert. Second, protective cover of Russia's strategic nuclear weapons, will be reinforced as a priority measure under the programme to develop out air and space defenses. Third, the new strategic ballistic missiles commissioned by the Strategic Missile Forces and the Navy will be equipped with advanced missile defense penetration systems and new highly-effective warheads. Fourth, I have instructed the Armed Forces to draw up measures for disabling missile defense system data and guidance systems if need be... Fifth, if the above measures prove insufficient, the Russian Federation will deploy modern offensive weapon systems in the west and south of the country, ensuring our ability to take out any part of the US missile defense system, in Europe. One step in this process will be to deploy Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad Region. Other measures to counter the European missile defense system will be drawn up and implemented as necessary. Furthermore, if the situation continues to develop not in Russia's favor we reserve the right to discontinue further disarmament and arms control measures. Besides, given the intrinsic link between strategic offensive and defensive arms, conditions for our withdrawal from the New START Treaty could also arise."
That said, he concludes that Russia is still open to dialog. However, if Obama merely intends to bomb any nation at will, we are very much concerned that everything Medvedev has just threatened will be enacted. And exponentially more so when Putin comes back in charge. One thing is certain - Russia is not North Korea, and taking this speech for more empty jawboning is probably not the wisest option.

NATO Chief Rasmussen Grilled LIVE On RT

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:54:53 -0600

War is a racket, that's what they say, war is a racket, it's a game they play, pulling the ties of binds of tribes, pulling the veins, and stains of pains, pulling and heaving on the chains of gain, where one eye in is another mans gain.

War is a racket, that's for sure, engorged beyond reason, stuffed full of limb, pigs in a trough, dealing out blows, fancy for power, hungry for more, never believing, in anything more. Shell for the taking, empty and grey, casks left open, for any old play, who happens along, with power to move it, with hunger to do it, and the means to prove it.

They talk without talking, riddled with lies, stormy minds brewing, glittery eyes, jittery knowing, calm outlook, never revealing, the innermost shook. I am a robot, this is a script, stick with the script, always the script, never reveal, my inner rift.

The Race To Carve Up The Arctic

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Mon, 16 May 2011 20:40:41 -0600

(Click Image For Video link)

U.S. Sen. John McCain Calls For U.S. To Arm Rebels

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 20:49:52 -0600

Libya is being set up as an arms sales bonanza, another Vietnam for the world, only this time involving an entree of European flavour, making the whole endeavour rather a coming out, or a who's who in the world of global arms trafficking. The UN/NATO military force will wisely direct the war, always insuring a pretty even playing field, heavy losses on both sides, but not so much as to deplete the long term objective too quickly (see Gaddafi's gold horde). Many missiles, and many more lives later the show is rolled up, the invaded country is divided, and that which remains is carved up and taken by those whose power of force allows them to do so. I can only imagine what Russian and Chinese power brokers think about this cascade of audacious maneuvers throughout the Middle Kingdom....

Source: International Business Times - April 22, 2011

Sen. John McCain, who visited the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi on Friday, called for the United States and every other nation to recognize the rebels fighting against forces led by Col. Muammar Gaddafi and for "responsible" nations to arm them.

McCain is the most senior U.S. official to visit Libya since the conflict began, said Friday's visit was "one of the most exciting and inspiring days of my life" and applauded the rebel leadership for "their remarkable progress in this struggle for liberation."

"First, I would encourage every nation, especially the United States, to recognize the Transitional National Council as the legitimate voice of the Libyan people. They've earned this right, and Gaddafi has forfeited it by waging war on his own people," McCain said in a released statement.

"Second, governments that have frozen assets of the Qaddafi regime should release some of that money to the Transitional National Council so that they can sustain, improve, and expand their capacity to govern justly," he added.

McCain also said NATO - which is in charge of protecting civilians in Libya from Col. Muammar Gaddafi's forces - should "urgently step up" the air campaign, especially in Misurata, the site of intense fighting in recent days.

He said more close air support in the form of A-10 and AC-130 jets were needed. He also applauded the recent use of Predator drone aircraft to help in the effort. U.S. defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday that the aircraft would allow for more precise airstrikes from low altitudes in populated areas.

McCain also called for nations to provide help to the TNC through command and control support, battlefield intelligence, training, and weapons.

"I have met with these brave fighters, and they are not Al-Qaeda. To the contrary: They are Libyan patriots who want to liberate their nation. We should help them do it," he said.

Russia's Seed Bank Under Threat

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 08:18:55 -0600

Related Post - Russia’s Rare Plant Reserve

Russia Steps in to Supply Japan’s Energy Needs

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 17:13:30 -0600

Source: The Trumpet - March 16, 2011

The recent earthquake in Japan unleashed a chain of events that shut down five to eight oil refineries and partially melted down three nuclear reactors. As the specter of energy shortages stalks the country, the Kremlin is riding to the rescue.

As the scope of the tragedy became clearer over the course of last weekend, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev came to the rescue and pledged to help make up Japan’s energy deficit by boosting supplies from nearby Siberia. “Our moral duty is to help in this situation,” stated Medvedev on Monday as he ordered Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin to look into ways of redirecting up to 6,000 megawatts of electrical power to Japan. Medvedev also arranged for the delivery of an additional 200,000 tons of liquefied natural gas and an unspecified amount of Siberian coal over the next two months.

The Tokyo earthquake and resulting tsunami is forcing Japan to build both political and economic bridges to energy-laden Russia. A strong tri-corner alliance between Tokyo, Moscow and Beijing is about to form.

Iran To Unload Fuel From Nuclear Plant

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 21:53:26 -0700

Source: AP - February 26, 2011

In a major setback to Iran's nuclear program, technicians will have to unload fuel from the country's first atomic power plant because of an unspecified safety concern, a senior government official said.

The vague explanation raised questions about whether the mysterious computer worm known as Stuxnet might have caused more damage at the Bushehr plant than previously acknowledged. Other explanations are possible for unloading the fuel rods from the reactor core of the newly completed plant, including routine technical difficulties.

While the exact reason behind the fuel's removal is unclear, the admission is seen as a major embarrassment for Tehran because it has touted Bushehr — Iran's first atomic power plant — as its showcase nuclear facility and sees it as a source of national pride. When the Islamic Republic began loading the fuel just four months ago, Iranian officials celebrated the achievement.

Iran's envoy to the U.N. nuclear monitoring agency in Vienna said that Russia, which provided the fuel and helped construct the Bushehr plant, had demanded the fuel be taken out.

"Upon a demand from Russia, which is responsible for completing the Bushehr nuclear power plant, fuel assemblies from the core of the reactor will be unloaded for a period of time to carry out tests and take technical measurements," the semiofficial ISNA news agency quoted Ali Asghar Soltanieh as saying. "After the tests are conducted, (the fuel) will be placed in the core of the reactor once again."

...

Foreign intelligence reports have said the control systems at Bushehr were penetrated by the malware — malicious software designed to infiltrate computer systems — but Iran has all along maintained that Stuxnet was only found on several laptops belonging to plant employees and didn't affect the facility's control systems.

Some computer experts believe Stuxnet was the work of Israel or the United States, two nations convinced that Iran wants to turn nuclear fuel into weapons-grade uranium.

The Islamic Republic is reluctant to acknowledge setbacks to its nuclear activities, which it says are aimed at generating energy but are under U.N. sanctions because of concerns they could be channeled toward making weapons. Only after outside revelations that its enrichment program was temporarily disrupted late last year by Stuxnet did Iranian officials acknowledge the incident.

35 Dead, 145 Injured In Russian Airport Bombing

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 13:14:41 -0700

Source: The Toronto Star - January 24, 2011

MOSCOW—An explosion ripped through the international arrivals hall at Moscow's busiest airport on Monday, killing at least 31 people and wounding up to 145 as it coated the terminal in blood. The Russian president called it a terror attack.

The mid-afternoon explosion at Domodedovo Airport may have been caused by a suicide bomber, the state RIA Novosti news agency reported. Other Russian media reports said the bomb was packed with shrapnel, screws and ball bearings.

The terminal at Domodedovo Airport was engulfed by smoke and splattered with body parts. Amateur video posted on YouTube showed a pile of bodies on the floor, and other bodies scattered around. Luggage lay strewn across the ground and several small fires burned. A dazed man in a suit pushed a baggage cart through the carnage.

“From the preliminary information we have, it was a terror attack,” President Dmitry Medvedev told officials in a televised briefing, saying it was clear that security had been breached.

He immediately ordered authorities to beef up security at Moscow's two other commercial airports and other key transport facilities. Medvedev also postponed his own planned departure Tuesday for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he was to give the opening address on Wednesday.

...

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion. Chechen militants have claimed responsibility for previous terror attacks in Moscow, including a double suicide bombing on the subway in March 2010 that killed 40 people and wounded more than 100.

Large-scale battles in Chechnya ended years ago, following two devastating wars between Russia and the region's separatists, but Islamic militants have continued to carry out suicide bombings and other attacks. Most of the attacks have been in Chechnya and other predominantly Muslim provinces in the southern Caucasus region, but some have targeted Moscow, including its subways, buses and trains.

Car rental agent Alexei Spiridonov, 25, was at his desk when the blast struck about 100 metres away.

“The explosion was so strong that it threw me against the wall,” he told the Associated Press outside the airport. “People were panicking, rushing out of the hall or looking for their relatives. There were people just lying in blood.”

A man in blood-soaked clothes said he was just a few yards (meters) away from the explosion and saw a man who may have been the suicide bomber.

“I saw the suitcase, the suitcase was on fire,” said Artyom Zhilenkov, a 35-year-old driver. “So, either the man blew up something, or something went off on the man's body, or the suitcase went off.”

Zhilenkov said he thought he had been severely injured, but doctors told him was just coated in other victims' blood.

“The guy standing next to me was torn to pieces,” he said.

Yelena Zatserkovnaya, a Lufthansa official, said she was a similar distance away. “There was lots of blood, severed legs flying around.”

Airport workers were using baggage trolleys to cart out the injured, she said.

Domodedovo Airport spokeswoman Yelena Galanova said 35 people were killed. The Emergencies Ministry said 31 people were killed, 51 hospitalized with injuries and 94 were given medical treatment. The discrepancy could not immediately be explained.

Eurocontrol, the European air traffic control agency in Brussels, said Domodedovo was briefly closed to air traffic immediately after the blast, but soon reopened.

Sergei Lavochkin, who was waiting in the arrivals hall for a friend to arrive from Cuba, said emergency teams carried bloodied people out of the terminal.

“I heard a loud bang, saw plastic panels falling down from the ceiling and heard people screaming. Then people started running away,” Lavochkin told Rossiya 24 television.

Mark Green, a British Airways passenger who had just arrived, told BBC television he heard the huge explosion as he left the terminal.

“Literally, it shook you,” he said. “As we were putting the bags in the car a lot of alarms. . . were going off and people started flowing out of the terminal, some of whom were covered in blood.”

“One gentleman had a pair of jeans on that was ripped and his thigh from his groin to his knee was covered in blood,” he added.

Green said thousands of people were in the terminal at the time of the blast.

Oil Giants Rosneft and BP Join Forces to Exploit Arctic Oil and Gas

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 09:29:04 -0700

Russia-China Oil Pipeline Opens

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 18:17:25 -0700

Source: BBC - January 2, 2011

The first oil pipeline linking the world's biggest oil producer, Russia, and the world's biggest consumer of energy, China, has begun operating.

The pipeline, running between Siberia and the northeastern Chinese city of Daqing, will allow a rapid increase in oil exports between the two countries.

Until now, Russian oil has been transported to China by rail.

Concentrated in western Siberia, Russia's network of pipelines for oil exports has so far run towards Europe.

Russia is expected to export 15m tonnes of oil through the new pipeline each year during the next two decades - about 300,000 barrels a day.

'New phase'

The project cost $25bn ($16bn) and was partly financed by Chinese loans.

Russia overtook Saudi Arabia as the world's largest oil producer in 2009.

China surpassed the US as the world's largest consumer of energy last year.

"The operation of the China-Russia crude oil pipeline is the start of a new phase in China-Russia energy co-operation," said Yao Wei, general manager of Pipeline Branch of Petro China, as he pushed a button near the Russia-China border to start the flow of oil.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said in the past that the pipeline would help Russia diversify its exports.

A second stage of construction on the pipeline is due to be finished by 2014. It will then span a distance of about 4,700 kms (2,900 miles).

Russia Goes Open Source

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 22:36:27 -0700

Source: International Business Times - December 28, 2010

In what can prove to be massive blow to Microsoft, Russia has taken another step towards the transition into complete usage of free software. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday signed an order for the transition of federal bodies and agencies to use free software.

This comes after the 2008 campaign to rid schools of all paid proprietary software and encourage free software.

Although Russia's expanding campaign against proprietary software will negatively impact several software developers, world's software behemoth, Microsoft stands to lose out on the most.

Russia has so far worried Microsoft with its notoriously high-rate of software piracy, following China and other Asian countries. While the majority of the population uses pirate Microsoft softwares, now the country is completely planning to cut off paid proprietary software.

Moreover, Microsoft is already down licking its wounds in the United States, where the internet giant and rival company Google has managed to grab the attention in the software market as well. Businesses, universities, and government institutions are increasingly opting for professional Google Docs solution over Microsoft's offerings.

....

Several organisations and countries have tried and continue to try their hand at encouraging migration to free software. One of the campaigns that failed in the past was China's Jiangsu deployment of Linux in secondary education. The feedback was extremely poor. It later led to a trade deal between China and Microsoft that allows students in the Asian giant to legally buy Windows+Office bundles for just $3.

The latest order

The order that affects all Russian federal agencies and any organizations funded by the federal budget maps a step-by-step transition, slated to be completed by 2015.

Each point of the 25-point document, which can be read and accessed on Google Translate, specifies an action that needs to be taken by an agency within the specified time; besides the expected result from the event.

CNews reported that one of the interesting points of the plan was a reference to the national repository, which must be created to the II (second) quarter of 2012. Deputy Minister of communications Ilya Massuh explained that the document refers to "not so much an assembly repository distro Linux, many applications store similar to App Store, but for free operating systems. "

WikiLeaks Joins Forces With Billionaire Lebedev

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 10:49:22 -0700

Source: Bloomberg - December 22, 2010

Novaya Gazeta, the Moscow newspaper controlled by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and billionaire Alexander Lebedev, said it agreed to join forces with WikiLeaks to expose corruption in Russia.

Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, which publishes secret government and corporate documents online, has materials specifically about Russia that haven’t been published yet and Novaya Gazeta will help make them public, the newspaper said on its website today.

“Assange said that Russians will soon find out a lot about their country and he wasn’t bluffing,” Novaya Gazeta said. “Our collaboration will expose corruption at the top tiers of political power. No one is protected from the truth.”

The weekly newspaper is known in an industry dominated by state-run companies for its critical reports of the Kremlin and investigative coverage of Russian affairs.

Novaya Gazeta correspondent Anna Politkovskaya, who wrote about graft under then-President Vladimir Putin and chronicled abuses by military forces in Chechnya, was shot dead in her Moscow apartment building in 2006, on Putin’s birthday.

Novaya Gazeta received unlimited access to the WikiLeaks database, which has a “wide range” of materials, including documents about Politkovskaya’s murder as well as information about Russian politicians’ ties to organized crime, Nadezhda Prusenkova, a Novaya Gazeta spokeswoman, said by phone from Moscow. The newspaper will start releasing materials next month.

Russia Raises Oil Export Duties

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:20:16 -0700

Given that Russia is the worlds largest energy producer, fluctuating export duties on energy allow it to minimize price fluctuations that would otherwise impact their domestic budget.

Source: Xinhuanet - December 15, 2010

MOSCOW, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Starting from Jan. 1, Russia would raise its oil export duties by 4.5 percent, from the current 303.8 U.S. dollars per ton to 317.5 dollars per ton, said an official from Russian Finance Ministry Wednesday.

Alexander Sakovich told reporters that the average price for Russian oil between Nov. 15 and Dec. 14 had been 85.7757 dollars per barrel.

Duties for light oil products would be up from 217 dollars to 226.2 dollars per ton, and those for dark oil products would reach 121.9 dollars per ton, from the current 116.9 dollars per ton.

Oil from Eastern Siberian deposits would continue to enjoy favorable taxes as its export duties will increase from the current 108 dollars per ton to 117.5 dollars per ton.

The Russian government has set duties for oil and oil products on a monthly basis since December 2008 to respond more quickly to fluctuations in world oil prices.

S.Korea to Go Ahead With Drills Despite Threat of War

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 22:59:04 -0700

Source: Reuters - December 20, 2010

YEONPYEONG, South Korea (Reuters) – South Korea will go ahead with live firing drills from a disputed island on Monday, local media said, despite threats of attack by Pyongyang and pressure from Russia and China to cancel the exercise.

The drills were delayed from the weekend by bad weather, giving time for an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting to try to calm tensions. But the meeting ended without agreement after more than eight hours of talks, with the five big powers split on whether to publicly blame North Korea for the crisis.

The meeting may resume Monday but Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said disagreements between the major powers were "unlikely to be bridged."

The last time Seoul conducted live firing drills from Yeonpyeong close to the disputed maritime border off the west coast of the peninsula, Pyongyang shelled the island, killing two civilians and two marines in the worst attack on South Korean territory since the Korean war ended in 1953.

North Korea warned last week that it would strike even harder if the latest drills went ahead. China and Russia have said the exercise should not go ahead, while the United States has backed South Korea's right to hold the drills.

The tension hit Korean markets when they opened Monday, with the won falling more than one percent to a four-week low against the dollar and stocks also down one percent.

Pyongyang has raised an alert for artillery units along its west coast, Yonhap news agency said, quoting a South Korean government source.

Marines on Yeonpyeong ordered residents into air raid bunkers ahead of the expected start of the drill. Korean TV said residents of nearby islands were also told to take cover.

Both sides have said they will use force to defend what they say is their territory off the west coast, raising international concern that the standoff could quickly spiral out of control.

The 15 Security Council had met behind closed doors to try to agree on a statement that Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said he hoped would send a "restraining signal" to both the North and the South.

Western envoys inside the meeting said the five permanent veto-wielding members were split over whether to blame North Korea for the crisis, as the United States, Britain, and France -- along with Japan -- demand, or to urge both sides to avoid acts that could deepen the crisis, as Russia and China want.

The Chinese, North Korea's staunchest supporters on the council, and Russians reject the idea of assigning blame to Pyongyang, the envoys told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

The U.S., British and French delegations rejected a Russian draft that called for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to send an envoy to Seoul and Pyongyang and urged the two sides to exercise "maximum restraint."

Russia and China then revised the text to make it more acceptable to the Western powers, but this was not enough to win an agreement.

Russia Urges Seoul to Skip Military Drills in Yellow Sea

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 00:41:32 -0700

Source: News.Xinhuanet.com

MOSCOW, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday urged South Korea to skip planned military drills in the Yellow Sea, the ministry said in a statement.

"The Russian Foreign Ministry importantly urges the Republic of Korea to restrain from the planned artillery gunnery to prevent further escalation of the tension in the Korean peninsula," the ministry said, adding that Moscow has been "highly concerned" with the possible aggravation of the situation there.

The Foreign Ministry called on Pyongyang and Seoul to resume dialogue and to resolve all problems between the two states through political and diplomatic means.

South Korea plans a live fire artillery drill from Dec 18 to Dec 21 near the island of Yeonpyeong in the Yellow Sea. The firing range practice in the same area in November led to the exchange of artillery fire between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea, killing two marines and two civilians.

And the warmongers response....

U.S. Defends South Korea's Planned Drills

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- South Korea has a right to exercise its military as it sees fit and the exercises do not pose a threat to Pyongyang, U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said on Friday.

"Clearly, you know, we are concerned about events and North Korean provocations, we want to see tensions reduced," Crowley told reporters at the department. "We've clearly called on North Korea to do that. We want to see other countries, including China, Russia and others, send a clear message to North Korea to cease its provocations."

"But, you know, by the same token, we recognize that South Korea is a sovereign country. It has a right to exercise its military as it sees fit," the spokesman added.

...

South Korea has declared plans for a live shell artillery drill in the waters southwest of Yonphyong Island on a selected date from Dec. 18-21 depending on weather conditions.

The DPRK military on Friday urged South Korea to immediately stop its plan for the exercise, warning that if South Korea persisted in its plan, the DPRK would deliver a second and third " unpredicted self-defense counterattack" that would be bigger and more powerful than the previous one to defend its territorial waters.

"It's hard to see how a routine live-fire exercise, which has been held in the past, poses any kind of threat to North Korea," Crowley said. "In fact, it does not. A country has every right to train and exercise its military in its own self-defense."

He added that "nobody wants to see a further escalation of tensions in the Korean peninsula. We are in touch with South Korea. We are closely monitoring ongoing events. But at its heart, South Korea has a legitimate right to train its military as it sees fit. "