15705
Independent researcher/writer based in Hong Kong since 1997. Reformed academic. My long-form, analytical articles are collected here https://laura-ruggeri.medium.com/ email: lauraru852@yandex.ru
For reference 👉 Status of the Arctic, Sectoral division of the Arctic in the 20th century, 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, The right to expand the marine shelf. https://tass.com/world/1898593
Читать полностью…
Poland has assumed the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. You don’t need to look far for Warsaw’s top priority during its six-month term: "Security, Europe!" is the tagline for the Polish presidency.
Since Russophobia is an integral part of Polish national identity, no brownie points for guessing which country is deemed a threat to European security. A 50 page document outlining the priorities of the Polish presidency states that Russia poses "an existential threat to Europe, the greatest since the end of the Second World War".
To combat this alleged threat, the EU needs "concerted and ambitious action on European defence, complementing the efforts of NATO", reads the document.
"There is a need to boost defence readiness based on increased military spending, a stronger defence industry and addressing defence capability gaps".
The same document calls for greater defence spending in the EU. Poland plans to spend 5% of its annual GDP this year on defence, up from over 4% in 2024 - the largest of all EU member states in percentage terms.
That kind of spending will be music to Donald Trump's ears, who called on NATO members to spend that same amount - 5% of GDP - on defence.
Of course Poland has a vested interest. Its companies are completing a border wall to seal off its border with Belarus.
They are installing night vision and thermal cameras, building a new road to patrol the border and reinforcing the five-metre high steel fence that the previous government built in 2022. It costs more than 2.5bn zlotys (€587mn) to reinforce the border, half of which is allocated by the Tusk government.
Warsaw has also called on EU partners to contribute financially to a separate military project called the East Shield. Tusk has earmarked 10bn zlotys for this project which includes new air surveillance systems, anti-tank barriers and ditches. In the coming months, Warsaw will also build a new road to reach the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad that will "allow Polish troops to react faster to possible security breaches".
Ursula von der Leyen said Brussels would give €170mn to countries neighbouring Russia and Belarus in order to counter “hybrid threats from Russia’s and Belarus’s unacceptable weaponisation of migration”. No wonder the Baltics, Finland and Poland have institutionalized Russophobia. @LauraRuHK
The Kiev regime attempted an attack on the infrastructure of the Russkaya compressor station in the village of Gaikodzor in Russia's Krasnodar Region, which supplies gas to the TurkStream gas pipeline. All UAVs used in the attack were shot down by air defense systems. ▪️The gas pipeline running from Russia to Turkey through the Black Sea with a capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters is designed to supply gas to Turkey and the countries of Southern and Southeastern Europe.
▪️As of today, it remains the only active pipeline for Russian gas supplies to Europe after the North Stream was sabotaged and Kiev decided not to renew a five-year contract allowing Russian gas to flow through Ukraine, losing $1 billion per year in transit fees. @LauraRuHK
At the Asian Financial Forum, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee revealed that the city is working towards developing itself into an international gold trading centre. Hong Kong will build gold storage facilities, and strengthen support services in insurance, testing and certification, as well as logistics. John Lee also stressed that Hong Kong will expand its overseas network and financial cooperation with Belt and Road countries and regions, the Middle East and the 10-member states of ASEAN, as well as other established and emerging markets. @LauraRuHK https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1787249-20250113.htm
Читать полностью…
The new year began with Indonesia formally joining the BRICS as its tenth full member. The mining sector is one of the largest industries in the country. Indonesia holds the world's largest nickel reserve. The nation’s mineral resource exports are dominated by coal, natural gas, oil, nickel, bauxite, gold, tin, and copper. /channel/ThinkBRICS/9920
Читать полностью…
Well, what do you want? This is democracy!
Former European Commissioner Thierry Breton - said that the EU canceled the elections in Romania and will cancel the elections in Germany if the Alternative for Germany party wins: Let's wait and see what happens. In the meantime, let's stay calm and apply our laws in Europe when there is a risk that they will be circumvented and that, if not applied, they could lead to interference. We did it in Romania and we will obviously have to do it in Germany if necessary.
@Slavyangrad
#AZERBAIJAN #IRAN Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, received the Secretary of the National Security Council of Iran, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, on January 8. As Tehran's enemies grow bolder Iran is trying to secure its northern borders where it has good reasons for concern, given the transformation of Armenia into an outpost of the West.
The meeting also addressed political, economic, transportation, energy, and other areas of cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Islamic Republic of Iran.
President Ilham Aliyev highlighted the strong bonds between the Azerbaijani and Iranian peoples, emphasizing the importance of cultivating friendly and brotherly relations between the two countries. Aliyev reaffirmed Azerbaijan's support for resolving regional issues by regional states, noting that Azerbaijan initiated the 3+3 format, which emphasizes regional cooperation. The President reiterated that the involvement of external forces from outside the region is unacceptable.
The meeting also focused on the importance of developing the North-South transport corridor, as well as the trilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan, Russia, and Iran in this regard. It was noted that Azerbaijan handles a significant volume of cargo within this corridor. Additionally, discussions were held on the “Araz corridor” project, particularly the construction of bridges and road-transport infrastructure along the Araz River, towards the Aghband checkpoint. Both sides recognized the project’s importance for developing regional transport connectivity. The discussion also covered the construction of hydroelectric power plants along the Araz River between Azerbaijan and Iran. The issue of connecting electricity lines between Azerbaijan, Russia, and Iran was touched upon, with an emphasis on the significant potential for cooperation in this sector. @LauraRuHK
Biden’s Sanctions: Shooting Europe in the Foot, Elevating Russia to Economic Superpower
Joe Biden’s last act of geopolitical sabotage? A sanctions blitz targeting Russia’s oil industry, hitting Gazprom Neft, Surgutneftegas, and over 180 vessels tied to Russian energy exports. The goal? Starve Russia of revenue. The result? Elevating Russia to an economic superpower while Europe crumbles under the weight of its own hubris.
Since 2014, the West has imposed over 40,000 sanctions on Russia, the most sanctioned country on Earth. And what has it achieved? Far from collapsing, Russia’s economy has catapulted. Moscow is now the fourth-largest economy in the world, surpassing Japan and Germany, a feat unimaginable a decade ago. Meanwhile, Europe, the sanctions’ biggest cheerleader, faces energy crises, deindustrialization, and economic stagnation. Russia says thank you for the sanctions, we couldn’t have built this Eurasian economic fortress without you.
Biden’s latest stunt, slapping new restrictions just before leaving office, is designed to hurt not just Russia but also Europe and the incoming Trump administration. Higher energy prices will cripple Europe further, forcing it to rely on overpriced U.S. LNG while its industries bleed jobs. Meanwhile, Trump will face a tangled web of sanctions, ensuring any attempt to end the Ukraine conflict or ease tensions with Moscow will face insurmountable obstacles. This is less about helping Ukraine and more about preserving the globalist agenda.
Let’s call it what it is: the sanctions have boomeranged. They’ve crippled Europe, inflated global energy prices, and pushed Russia into a sovereign, self-sustaining economy. Moscow now commands not just military supremacy but an economic dynamism rooted in Eurasia, free from Western control. These sanctions forced Russia to pivot eastward, solidifying its ties with China, India, and the Global South. The West’s unipolar fantasies have created a multipolar reality, Russia as a rising Eurasian powerhouse, while NATO allies sink into irrelevance.
Europe isn’t a victim, it’s a willing accomplice in its own destruction. NATO’s vassals, from Berlin to Brussels, have hollowed themselves out for a U.S.-led proxy war that’s drained their economies and shattered their sovereignty. And Biden? He couldn’t care less. For the globalists, Europe is expendable—a pawn sacrificed to contain Russia while the U.S. reaps the spoils of LNG sales and geopolitical chaos.
Meanwhile, Russia thrives. Its energy sector adapts, its economy grows, and its military dominance remains unmatched. What was meant to isolate Russia has only strengthened it, forcing it to build a Eurasian-focused economy immune to Western pressure. Europe? It’s left with empty promises, cold winters, and shuttered factories.
This isn’t just about sanctions—it’s about the collapse of the unipolar order. The globalists are playing their final hand, and it’s failing spectacularly. The lesson? You can’t strangle a nation that’s already building its own future. Russia thanks you, Joe Biden. The sanctions worked, but not in the way you intended.
🎙Subscribe @TheIslanderNews
Olaf Scholz is blocking the allocation of an additional 3 billion euro military aid package to Ukraine, which is being promoted by Foreign and Defense ministers Annalena Baerbock and Boris Pistorius. The ministers would like to provide new assistance before the Bundestag elections, which are scheduled for the end of February this year. The article states that experts at the German Ministry of Defense have even prepared a list of weapons, which includes three IRIS-T air defense systems, including shells, missiles for Patriot, 10 howitzers and ammunition.
However, Scholz's office unofficially made it clear that it would not approve an additional package of military assistance to Ukraine. The Chancellor does not want to present the new German government with a fait accompli. @LauraRuHK
🇮🇹🇮🇷 Prisoner swap - Tehran released Cecilia Sala, the Italian journalist arrested last month for violating the laws of the Islamic Republic, and Rome will soon release Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, who was detained at Milan airport at the request of the United States. Giorgia Meloni got Donald Trump's OK to turn down a US extradition request for the Iranian engineer so he could be freed in a prisoner swap, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Read more here /channel/LauraRuHK/9549
The Biden administration on Jan 7 added 11 Chinese companies to its list of "military companies" including Tencent Holdings, the world’s largest gaming publisher, and Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), a key battery supplier to Tesla. Neither of them appear to have business dealings with the PLA.
Since the first list was put out in 2021, as mandated by a law passed in the waning days of Donald Trump’s first presidency, it has expanded to 134 companies – including four of China’s top 20 in terms of market capitalisation, which together are valued at almost $1 trillion (S$1.36 trillion). ▪️While the list carries no specific sanctions, unlike the US Commerce Department’s Entity List, it still discourages US companies from dealing with its members.▪️ It is an approach that risks backfiring on Washington, according to Mr Kishore Mahbubani, Singapore’s former ambassador to the United Nations, who called the latest addition “unwise”.“ If the US tries to decouple from Chinese companies and their global reach, the US is not just decoupling from China,” Mr Mahbubani said, “it is decoupling from the rest of the world too.”
Although the list comes at the end of President Joe Biden’s term, one major proponent of tagging CATL and other major Chinese companies has been Mr Marco Rubio, who is nominated to become secretary of state in President-elect Trump’s second term. Tencent, China’s most valuable company, is seen as a pioneer in China’s internet and private sector, creating a so-called everything app that Mr Musk has held up as a model for X.
During the first Trump administration, the US government sought to ban WeChat – Tencent’s messaging service that has evolved into a payment, a social media and an online services platform – citing national security concerns.
CATL is not only a major supplier to Tesla but also to many of the world’s biggest carmakers, including Stellantis to Volkswagen. ▪️China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Tuesday expressed firm opposition to the US' addition of 11 Chinese companies to its "Entity List" urging the US to immediately stop its wrongdoing and vowing to take necessary measures to protect Chinese entities' rights and interests. https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/us-blacklist-of-chinas-tech-giants-risks-even-faster-decoupling
Last month the Russian army liberated the village of Shevchenko, in the Donetsk People's Republic. You may have never heard of it, but on the eastern outskirts of this village, in the Velikonovoselkovsky district, is one of the largest lithium deposits in Europe. This was reported in his telegram channel by military correspondent Boris Rozhin.
A stone's throw away lies Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk) — the largest coking coal mine in Ukraine and one of the largest in Eastern Europe, is located 10 km west of Pokrovsk. The mine produces coal for coke production needed in steelmaking, which is Ukraine's second-largest source of foreign currency after agriculture.
US and European corporations are getting nervous... Russian forces are steadily advancing and bringing under their control the resource-rich part of Ukraine Western elites had set their eyes on. Let's not forget that when the Soviet Union was dissolved Ukraine received (for free!) mines and factories, hydroelectric power plants and nuclear power plants, gas pipelines and ports built by generations of Soviet workers. @LauraRuHK
Tulou had two main functions: communal living and defense. Each earth building usually holds the extended family of a single Hakka clan. These structures espoused equality and unity as family areas were the same size and shape, and everyone lived under the same roof, sharing communal areas.
Most Tulou have three or four floors with different functions: the first floor is used for kitchens and dining rooms; the second floor is for grain stores; and the third and fourth floors are used for bedrooms. The main building materials are clay, sandy soil and gray tiles, with bamboo strips playing the role of rebar in modern construction.
The foundation walls are three meters wide, able to withstand an earthquake, fire, or any attack at that time. The outer walls are mostly thicker than 1 meter.
On December 16 the Italian police at the request of the United States arrested an Iranian citizen, Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, 38, the CEO of Sanat Danesh Rahpooyan Aflak (SDRA), an Iranian company specializing in precision measurement equipment and head of Illumove SA, a Switzerland-based company focused on manufacturing motion capture equipment. All activities of these companies were conducted under the legal and financial oversight of the Swiss government. He was arrested at Milan airport while preparing to travel to Switzerland. Hostage-taking of Iranian nationals under the pretense of circumventing unilateral US sanctions constitutes a violation of international law. Tehran on Friday repeated its demand that Italy release the Iranian businessman. This case is becoming a test for Italian authorities - they acted on a US request rather than an international warrant, and at the same time are seeking the release of an Italian journalist, Cecilia Sala, who was arrested in Tehran for violating the laws of the Islamic Republic. Cecilia Sala works for il Foglio, an Atlanticist newspaper dubbed "the voice of the CIA" in Italy, and hails from a well-connected family - her father is an independent Director of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, was a JP Morgan's senior advisor and member of the Greenmantle Think Tank. @LauraRuHK
Читать полностью…
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has distanced himself from US President-elect Donald Trump's call for increasing defense spending by NATO countries to 5% of their GDP.
"Five percent would mean more than 200 billion euros a year. Germany’s budget is less than 500 billion euros," Scholz said during a trip to the city of Bielefeld. "This is only possible on the condition of a significant tax increase or major cuts in spending on many things that are important to us," the DPA news agency quotes him as saying.
The chancellor vowed that Germany would continue to spend no less than the NATO target of 2% of GDP on defense.
"I guarantee that we will continue to spend 2% of our GDP on defense," he said. "Anyone who says this is not the way to go should also say where to get the money from," Scholz stated.
Germany's GDP in 2023, according to some estimates, was around 4.2 trillion euros.
Earlier, Trump told a news conference that he intended to push for an increase in military spending by NATO member-states to 5% of their GDP. (Source: TASS) @LauraRuHK
Croatia's President Milanovic wins another term after defeating ruling party candidate.
Croatia's opposition-backed President Zoran Milanovic overwhelmingly won reelection for another five-year term on Sunday, defeating a candidate from the ruling conservative party in a runoff vote, official results showed.
Milanovic won more than 74% of the vote compared to his challenger Dragan Primorac, who received nearly 26%.
The result is a major boost for Milanovic, who is a critic of Western military support for Ukraine and a fierce opponent of Croatia's conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and his government. @LauraRuHK
Indonesia’s recent accession to the BRICS bloc is expected to significantly bolster its economy and expand its global influence, according to Chinese economist Song Qinghui. Indonesia, as the largest economy in Southeast Asia and the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, already holds significant weight in the region. However, Song pointed out that its international influence has not yet matched its status. “By joining the BRICS organization, Indonesia aims to enhance its influence and voice in the international market,” Song said.
Despite being a regional leader, Indonesia's industrial sector lags behind that of other BRICS members like China and Russia. While Indonesia is a major nickel producer, the country's position in the global industrial chain remains at the lower end.
Song believes that Indonesia’s membership in BRICS will deepen its relationships with the bloc's member nations, particularly in areas such as industrial development. In response to potential concerns about Indonesia’s BRICS membership affecting its trade relations with the US, Mari Elka Pangestu, deputy chairwoman of Indonesia’s National Economic Agency, reassured the public that Indonesia’s foreign policy is “free and active.” She emphasized that Indonesia can partner with any nation without feeling the need to pick sides or join military blocs. She also addressed the issue of de-dollarization, saying that the shift away from the dollar is part of an inevitable evolution in international finance. “It is every country’s right to choose the currency they transact in,” she said. “Indonesia already has local currency settlement frameworks with countries like China, allowing it to use the rupiah or yuan in bilateral trade.”
Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, senior economic advisor to President Prabowo Subianto, shared Pangestu’s sentiment, stating that Indonesia is “too big” to rely on any one country, including the US or China. “We have to be independent, but there is nothing wrong with being a bit rebellious by showing that we have a say on things.” China is Indonesia’s top bilateral trading partner. @LauraRuHK https://jakartaglobe.id/business/chinese-economist-indonesias-global-influence-to-grow-with-brics-membership
Prisoner swap - Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, who was arrested at Milan airport, is back in Iran. His liberation is the result of negotiations between Iranian and Italian intelligence services. Tehran released Cecilia Sala, the Italian journalist arrested last month for violating the laws of the Islamic Republic, and Rome released the Iranian engineer who was detained at the request of the United States. Giorgia Meloni got Donald Trump's OK to turn down a US extradition request for the Iranian engineer so he could be freed in a prisoner swap.
Читать полностью…
▪️Denmark sent private messages to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's team expressing willingness to discuss boosting security in Greenland or increasing the U.S. military presence there without claiming the island, Axios reported on Saturday, citing two sources.
Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has described U.S. control of Greenland as an "absolute necessity". He did not dismiss the potential use of military or economic means, including tariffs against Denmark.
▪️The global race for critical minerals and rare earth metals has reached new heights. The investments by Gates, Bezos, and other American entities signal a new era in the global competition as the fourth industrial revolution drives the demand for these resources.
Take KoBold Metals, a mining and artificial intelligence start-up backed by Gates, Bezos, Michael Bloomberg, Ray Dalio, venture capital group Andreessen Horowitz et al. and valued at $2.96bn. It has raised $537mn in its latest funding round.
KoBold, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to hunt for raw materials, in 2021 secured a 51% stake in the Disko-Nuussuaq project on Greenland’s west coast, which is operated by London-listed Bluejay Mining.
“The objective is to target massive nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group metals,” Bluejay Mining Chief Executive Bo Steensgaard told Reuters.
The cherry on the cake? KoBold claimed that the incumbent supply of cobalt and other metals is "ethically challenged" because China is mining them in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Taking control of Greenland to exclude China from the US supply chain and from the tendering process in Greenland is apparently done out of consideration for "human rights, rule of law and environmental protection." You can't make this shit up. Read more /channel/LauraRuHK/9569
The list of US sanctions that target Russia's energy sector include sanctions on Chinese, Indian and Kazakh companies. For instance Chinese companies involved in the construction and transportation of modules for the Arctic LNG 2 project and eight subsidiaries of Novatek China Holdings Co Ltd. https://www.state.gov/office-of-the-spokesperson/releases/2025/01/sanctions-to-degrade-russias-energy-sector
Читать полностью…
Biden admits an increase in gas prices in the US due to anti-Russia sanctions.
"It is probable that gas prices could increase as much as 3-4 cents a gallon,” the US president said. The US imposed its most aggressive sanctions on Russia’s oil industry yet as the Biden administration claims it's looking for last-minute ways to boost Ukraine’s leverage in possible peace negotiations after Donald Trump takes office. This is wishful thinking. If anything, these sanctions will boomerang like all the other sanctions imposed on Russia. The US is already dealing with high inflation and any increase in energy prices will worsen the problem and have a devastating effect on Americans’ livelihoods. The US miscalculated when it imposed harsh sanctions on Russia - not only has the Russian economy weathered the impact and grown to become the first-largest economy in Europe and the fourth in the world, but the West is facing the negative effects of the economic restrictions it imposed.
The West has opened a "Pandora's box of unintended consequences" by enforcing restrictions on Russia.
The most obvious of those consequences has been the resurrection of inflation, which had been long buried for more than four decades. Sanctions were the trigger for its revival as they resulted in higher prices for Western consumers. Food and energy prices have soared, partly because Russia is one of the world's largest exporters of oil and grain. @LauraRuHK
The United States has imposed new sanctions against the Russian energy sector.
The new sanctions target the following companies:
Gazprom Neft, Surgutneftegaz and their subsidiaries;
the Russian-Serbian oil company NIS;
about 100 vessels involved in the transportation of Russian hydrocarbons and associated with Sovcomflot, Rosneft and Gazprom Neft;
Gazprom Neft's Moscow and Omsk refineries, as well as Surgutneftegaz's Kirishi refinery;
more than 30 Russian oilfield service companies, including RN-Drilling and HEF Technologies;
the joint venture of Norilsk Nickel and Rosatom - the Polar Lithium company;
gas liquefaction plants of Gazprom and Novatek in the Leningrad Region - Gazprom LNG Portovaya and Cryogas-Vysotsk;
Rosneft's Vostok Oil project in the Krasnoyarsk Territory;
"Ingosstrakh" and "AlfaStrakhovanie".
As for individuals, the new US sanctions affected:
head of Rosatom Alexei Likhachev;
Deputy Director General for Ensuring State Powers and the Budget Process of Rosatom Sergey Novikov;
Deputy Ministers of Energy of Russia Roman Marshavin and Eduard Sheremettsev;
the heads of Bashneft and Zarubezhneft Vladimir Chernov and Sergei Kudryashov;
General Director of Tatneft Nail Maganov;
the heads of Gazprom Neft and Lukoil, Alexander Dyukov and Vadim Vorobyov;
the son of the co-owner of Lukoil, billionaire Vagit Alekperov.
The United States has changed its sanctions policy: now restrictions can be imposed against any person who has worked or continues to work with the Russian energy sector.
After the start of the special operation in Ukraine Western countries have stepped up sanctions to put additional pressure on Moscow.
Nevertheless, Russia is coping with this pressure - the West itself acknowledges that the restrictions it imposed are ineffective. At the same time, the states that have joined the sanction regime do not have the courage to admit the failure of this anti-Russian policy. (Source: RIA Novosti) @LauraRuHK
#Greenland - The US is creating airfield infrastructure in Greenland for fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear weapons, Russian Ambassador to Denmark Vladimir Barbin told RIA Novosti. The modernization of US Military Space Base Pituffik (formerly Tula) is underway including a radar station worth billions of US dollars and infrastructure for the F-35, which are capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Such fighter jets have already used the base's airfield during exercises.
When Donald Trump states that Greenland should become part of the US and refuses to promise not to use military force to establish control over Greenland we should remember that bullying and bombastic claims that stir controversy are part and parcel of Trump's negotiation tactics. Let's call it overconfidence combined with a stretch goal. A stretch goal is something that is unlikely, something that has a 10 percent chance of occurring, but is nevertheless stated as a goal to improve your bargaining position. The actual goal, consistent with American policy, is to strengthen control over the Arctic, a region of strategic importance and rich in natural resources. If you threaten Denmark with the loss of Greenland you are more likely to extort anything you want from this NATO member. And Washington makes no mystery of what it wants: the militarization of Greenland, a privileged access to its critical mineral resources, the exclusion of China and Russia. Last year U.S. and Danish officials lobbied the developer of Greenland's largest rare earths deposit last year not to sell its project to Chinese-linked firms. Reuters reports that Greg Barnes, CEO of privately held Tanbreez Mining, said U.S. officials who visited the project in southern Greenland twice last year had repeatedly shared a message with the cash-strapped company: do not sell the large deposit to a Beijing-linked buyer. Barnes ultimately sold Tanbreez to New York-based Critical Metals (CRML.O), as part of a deal that will be complete later this year.
"There was a lot of pressure not to sell to China," Tony Sage, CEO of Critical Metals. Barnes accepted payment of $5 million cash and $211 million in Critical Metals stock for Tanbreez, far less than Chinese firms offered. There you go. @LauraRuHK
A newly declassified long memo, written in March 1994 by Wayne Merry, a U.S. diplomat in Moscow who was serving as chief of the U.S. Embassy’s internal politics division at the time, contains both a warning and a scathing criticism of U.S. policies toward Russia.
Merry’s memo, titled “Whose Russia Is It Anyway: Toward a Policy of Benign Respect,” was written as Russian President Boris Yeltsin’s experiment with democracy and free-market economics was in heightened turmoil. The party of his prime minister, Yegor Gaidar, the architect of his economics policy, had recently lost an election as a result of popular discontent with the policy. Yeltsin mobilized tanks in downtown Moscow to put down an attempted putsch in Russia’s Parliament. Yet, to the frustration of Merry, many senior officials in Washington saw Yeltsin as a still-strong figure and “shock therapy” economics as a success. Merry warned that Russians were disillusioned by the U.S./West and had a less than positive view of democracy because it became associated with poverty, crime and chaos. Merry wrote:
In contemporary American rhetoric, “democracy” and “the market” are treated as almost synonymous terms. … Russians (and most non-Americans) are simply baffled by this vision. … Very, very few Russians impart positive ethical content to market forces, and unfortunately more of these are mafia than economists.
Sadly, very few of the multitudes of American “advisors” in Russia since the Bolshevik demise acquainted themselves with even the most basic facts of the country whose destiny they propose to shape. As a result, to say that America is wearing out its welcome in Russia is no longer a prediction, it is a descriptive fact. Even the most progressive and sympathetic of Russian officials have lost patience with the endless procession of what they call “assistance tourists” who rarely bother to ask their hosts for an appraisal of Russian needs. … Russians of all political persuasions are also less than charmed by the frequently expressed American attitude that their country is a social-economic laboratory to test academic theories."
I found this book in my Santa's stocking and am reading it with great pleasure. Highly recommended. Aaron Good examines the dissimulation and the disaggregation of the state in the context of U.S. hegemony. His account builds on dual state theory which posits that alongside the “democratic state,” there exists an authoritarian “security state.” America’s post–World War II hegemony has been accompanied by the rise of a security state operating in a de facto state of emergency. Aaron Good uses the term exceptionism to describe this phenomenon.
He argues that a supra-national "deep state", a closed network more powerful than the public state, is intertwined with, and has captured, both the “democratic state” and the “security state” (national security council, CIA, FBI, Pentagon etc.) to advance the interests of a transnational capitalist class. @LauraRuHK
Last year Telecom Italia SpA, the country’s former phone monopoly, sold its landline network, a strategic asset, to the US private equity firm KKR & Co. The grid sale was the first of its kind for a European phone company, and it was strongly backed by Meloni government. On Monday the Italian government confirmed it is in talks with Elon Musk’s SpaceX over a possible €1.5 billion deal for secure telecoms, Bloomberg reported.
The deal had been in the works for more than a year. According to the Bloomberg report, the contract would last five years and has already been approved by the Italian intelligence services and Ministry of Defense. If successful, SpaceX would provide encryption services for the government and communications infrastructure for the military and emergency services.
Italian intelligence may have approved the deal, but Elisabetta Belloni, Director General of the Department of Security Information (Dis) Italy's top intelligence agency, has officially announced her resignation. Belloni's decision to leave her post ahead of the expiry of her mandate in May seems to be related to disagreements with Alfredo Mantovano, the undersecretary of State delegated to the Authority for the Security of the Republic, who is one of Meloni's closest allies.
The kind of encrypted telecommunication services being sold by Musk is similar to what the EU is looking to offer through its own IRIS² project, a €10.6 billion network of cyber-secure satellites that has been approved but will only go online after 2030. Meloni's move has already enraged the opposition and drawn the ire of Brussels. @LauraRuHK
Quando si dice le coincidenze, eh? Il fidanzato di Cecilia Sala, Daniele Raineri, anch'egli pennivendolo de Il Foglio, nel 2014 era ad Aleppo con Greta Ramelli e Vanessa Marzullo. Ricordiamo che per la liberazione delle due simpatizzanti degli islamisti anti-Assad il governo italiano verso' al Fronte al-Nusra (legato ad al-Qaida) un riscatto di 12 milioni di dollari secondo alcune fonti (20 milioni secondo altre). @LauraRuHK
Читать полностью…
Inspecting China's nuclear missile silos. 😅 During the first Cold War satellite images of these round, fort-like buildings known as Tulou puzzled Western military 'experts' for years, leading to all sorts of speculations.
Читать полностью…