tagged w/ Vladimir Putin
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It seems Vladimir Putin's quest to pump his public persona has just reached the next level, he's released an instructional Judo DVD ingeniously entitled "Let's Learn Judo with Vladimir Putin."
The film is a follow on from a book which was created by Putin in cooperation with deputy Vasily Shestakov and professor of the University of Physical Culture and Sports, Aleksey Levitsky. It's not all Putin prancing around in his white suit though as he claims the people that watch it, which he thinks will be everyone, "will learn not from your humble servant, but from real leaders: Japanese athletes - the true masters - and Russian world champions, and that’s what is most important."
I'm buying a copy regardless of that fact I can't speak Russian...
It seems Vladimir Putin's quest to pump his public persona has just reached the... more
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There's a problem in the United States. It's plastered all over the TV and it's blasted from billboards in Times Square.
The problem is overexposure.
And Michael Gleason has the solution: censorship.There's a problem in the United States. It's plastered all over the TV and... more
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Putin says ties with Latin America a top priority
NOVO-OGARYOVO, Russia (AP) -- Prime Minister Vladimir Putin vowed Thursday to make relations with Latin America a top foreign policy priority, a pledge backed by the first Russian naval deployment to the Caribbean since the Cold War.
Putin greeted Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, on his second trip to Russia in just over two months, with offers to discuss further arms sales to Venezuela and possibly helping it to develop nuclear energy.
Chavez's visit takes place as a Russian naval squadron sails to Venezuela, across the Caribbean Sea from the United States, in a pointed response to what the Kremlin has cast as threatening U.S. encroachment near its own borders.
Both men suggested their countries are working to decrease U.S. global influence.
"Latin America is becoming a noticeable link in the chain of the multi-polar world that is forming," Putin said at his suburban residence at the start of his talks with Chavez. "We will pay more and more attention to this vector of our economic and foreign policy."
Putin did not mention any specifics of potential Russian-Venezuelan military cooperation in his opening remarks, but Russian news reports said that Venezuela could buy Russian air defense missiles and more Sukhoi fighter jets.
Earlier Thursday, a Kremlin official who spoke on customary condition of anonymity said that Russia would grant Venezuela a $1 billion credit for the purchase of Russian weaponry in an effort to help Venezuela revamp its military forces.
Russia has signed contracts worth more than $4.4 billion with Venezuela since 2005 to supply arms including fighter jets, helicopters, and 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles.
Putin did not specify what kind of cooperation Russia could offer Venezuela in the nuclear field, but Russia is aggressively promoting itself as a builder of nuclear power plants and supplier of fuel to nations seeking nuclear energy.
Chavez, who addressed Putin as "my dear friend Vladimir," said that stronger ties with Russia would help build a multi-polar world - a term Russia and Venezuela use to describe their shared opposition to the perceived U.S. global domination.
More at link...Putin says ties with Latin America a top priority
NOVO-OGARYOVO, Russia (AP) --... more
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"We must finalise and adopt a federal law on the southern border of Russia's Arctic zone," Mr Medvedev told a meeting of the Security Council, in remarks carried by Interfax news agency.
"This is our responsibility, and simply our direct duty, to our descendents," he said. "We must surely, and for the long-term future, secure Russia's interests in the Arctic."
Global warming has stepped up the fight for the disputed Arctic, believed to be laden with vast reserves of oil and gas. Russia has pitted itself against Canada, Denmark, Norway and the United States to fight for a greater part of the region, arguing that most of it is Russian territory since an underwater ridge links Siberia to the North Pole's seabed.
Last August, a Russian mini-submarine carrying politicians and scientists plunged to the depths of the Arctic and claimed to plant a Russian flag to mark ...
(Read The Rest at Link...)
"We must finalise and adopt a federal law on the southern border of Russia's... more
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I'm frustrated because a large portion of America is apparently quite satisfied with having the former mayor of a small town in Alaska and the current governor of that same state who has held office all of 18 months, be the next Vice President of the United States while we're at war.
I'm frustrated because those same Americans apparently believe that this person is ready to sit across the table from Vladimir Putin as Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces and negotiate.
I'm frustrated because this Vice President, if elected, statistically speaking stands a good chance of becoming President in the next 4 years when one takes in account John McCain's medical history and age.
I'm frustrated because many of these same people who are making these judgments also decided that George W. Bush was a good choice in 2000 and 2004.
I'm frustrated because their decision-making process affects every single American, even those who don't believe that being an attractive hockey mom who frustrates liberals is all that's required to run this country.
I'm frustrated that I'm unable to make Sarah Palin a Democrat for one week so that we could all sit back and watch the same hypocritical gasbags who have exalted her as the new Ronald Reagan tear her experience and background to shreds.
I'm frustrated that the same people who call Democrats sexist for criticizing Palin for anyting can't see how sexist it is to nominate and cheer Palin, primarily because she is a woman.
I'm frustrated because Republicans have become silly caricatures of the "cult of personality" that they so railed against earlier in the campaign and they could care less.
I'm frustrated because I can't understand why a large portion of this country is apparently willing to put the USA at great risk simply to win an election.
I'm frustrated because even though I live less than 200 miles from Cuba, many people don't consider me ready to take on foreign policy matters at the Executive Branch level for the United States.
I am frustrated that many Republicans have apparently decided that the enemy is no longer Osama bin-Laden but their fellow Americans who don't think exactly like them.I'm frustrated because a large portion of America is apparently quite satisfied... more
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At the height of the crisis over Russia's invasion of Georgia last month, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin summoned the top executives of his nation's most influential newspapers and broadcasters to a private meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
The Kremlin controls much of the Russian media, and Putin occasionally meets with friendly groups of senior journalists to answer questions and guide news coverage. On Aug. 29, though, for the first time in five years, he also invited the editor in chief of Echo Moskvy, the only national radio station that routinely broadcasts opposition voices.
For several minutes, according to people who attended the session or were briefed about it, Putin berated the editor in front of his peers, criticizing Echo's coverage of the war with Georgia and reading from a dossier of transcripts to point out what he considered errors.
"I'm not interested in who said these things," one participant quoted Putin telling the editor, Alexei Venediktov. "You are responsible for everything that goes on at the radio station. I don't know who they are, but I know who you are... "
(Read The Rest at Link...)
At the height of the crisis over Russia's invasion of Georgia last month, Prime... more
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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, a champion judoka, could soon be flooring France's Nicolas Sarkozy with some of his famous throws after agreeing to pass on some of his black belt skills to the French president. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, a champion judoka, could soon be flooring... more
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In a thinly veiled dig at George Bush, Vladimir Putin today suggested that the US President was not in charge of American affairs, saying that it was “the court that makes the king”.
Amid heightened tensions with the US in the wake of the war in Georgia, the Russian Prime Minister insisted that the US leader was a man of honour and integrity, but blamed members of the administration for the sharp deterioration of relations with Russia.
”I still hope we will maintain good relations, but it is the court that makes the king,” he told a group of foreign journalists in an interview at his residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
In a thinly veiled dig at George Bush, Vladimir Putin today suggested that the US... more
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Vladimir Putin was dismissive of European leaders today who suggested that concrete action would be taken against Russia after its military action in Georgia – including suspension from the G8.
The Russian Prime Minister – shown in new macho-style pictures apparently tranquilising a tiger – said that any attempts at severing relations would be hampered by the self-interest of European nations.
EU leaders meet tomorrow for an emergency summit to discuss the Georgian crisis, and Gordon Brown said today that there should be a “root and branch” review of ties with Russia.
“In the light of Russian actions, the EU should review – root and branch – our relationship with Russia,” he wrote in The Observer today. He made no mention of possible EU sanctions against Russia.
Carl Bildt, the Swedish Foreign Minister, said the EU should create an “Eastern Partnership” to help ex-Soviet states such as Georgia that want to pull out of Moscow’s orbit.
But Mr Putin struck a confident note, saying he did not see any signs of “practical steps which would indicate a cooling in relations.”
“If any of the European countries wants to serve someone’s narrow political interests, then go ahead. We cannot stop them. But we think, as they say in such cases, ‘You have to look out for No1’,” Mr Putin said in an interview with the state-owned Rossiya television channel.
“I think that many of our partners, and first of all our European partners, will be guided by this fairly crude but very descriptive saying,” he added.
Analysis say that Russia’s role as a supplier of more than a quarter of Europe’s gas makes tough EU action unlikely at the summit.
The emergency summit is a test of unity for the EU, which struggles to reconcile differences between states which want punitive action and others, including European heavyweights France and Germany, which favour a more calibrated approach.
Russia sent in its troops after Georgia’s military tried to retake South Ossetia, one of two Moscow-backed breakaway regions.
It has pulled out the bulk of its forces in line with a French-brokered ceasefire deal but has kept soldiers and equipment in“security zones,” which include undisputed Georgian territory around South Ossetia and the second region of Abkhazia.
Western governments have demanded that Moscow pull its troops back to pre-conflict positions. The Kremlin says the troops are peacekeepers needed to protect the separatist regions from new Georgian aggression.
President Dimitry Medvedev said today that Russia would not backtrack on its decision to recognise Georgia’s breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. “We have taken our decision and we took it irrevocably,” he said.Vladimir Putin was dismissive of European leaders today who suggested that concrete... more
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Russians are lauding Prime Minister Vladimir Putin after he reportedly saved scientists and a film crew from a huge escaped tiger in the Russian Far East. The tiger was no match for the judo champion and former KGB agent with a tranquilizer rifle.
In an act of bravery that could (almost) be made for TV, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin saved a Russian film crew from an enormous escaped tiger in eastern Russia Sunday, adding yet another set of images to his cultivated portfolio of manliness.
Link : http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,575548,00.htmlRussians are lauding Prime Minister Vladimir Putin after he reportedly saved... more
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What should the West do about Russia. Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told SPIEGEL that the West needs to work together -- and look for ways to isolate Russia internationally.
SPIEGEL: Madame Secretary, Russian troops are still in Georgia. Moscow has recognized the independence of the Georgian provinces South Ossetia and Abkhazia and promised them military assistance if necessary. Are we at the beginning of a new Cold War?
Albright: Well, we can't be at the beginning of a new Cold War. That would be a huge step backwards. On the other hand, we can't afford to stay on the sidelines in this complicated situation. With the invasion of a sovereign country, the Russians have crossed the red line. What is troubling is that Russia is behaving in a way that reminds us of the Russian empire in the 19th century -- that is unacceptable in the 21st century.
SPIEGEL: If you were still US Secretary of State, what would you tell the Russians?
Albright: First of all, I would have gone to Moscow, unlike the current Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. It is very important to be direct. I would tell them: That is not acceptable behavior -- but also reassure them not to worry about security threats at their borders. I would tell them that they simply misjudged the situation. That has to be corrected.
SPIEGEL: Who would you have delivered your message to? Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin or Russian President Dmitry Medvedev?
Albright: Putin, whatever he calls himself, is in charge. There were many questions about the fact that he had given up the presidency. It is now very clear that he is still calling the shots and has created a Russia that in many ways is not compatible with the 21st century. We want to be able to have a cooperative relationship but the Russians currently make it much more complicated.
(interview continued at link)What should the West do about Russia. Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright... more
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Vladimir Putin accused President Bush tonight of orchestrating the war in Georgia in a plot to get John McCain elected to the White House.
In his most explosive allegation since the South Ossetia crisis erupted, the Russian Prime Minister said that the United States had provoked the conflict to aid the Republican candidate, who is an outspoken critic of the Kremlin.
“It is not just that the American side could not restrain the Georgian leadership from this criminal act. The American side in effect armed and trained the Georgian army,” Mr Putin said.
“Why spend years holding difficult negotiations and looking for complicated compromises in ethnic conflicts? It’s easier to arm one of the parties and push it to kill the other party, and the job is done.
there's more......
Vladimir Putin accused President Bush tonight of orchestrating the war in Georgia in a... more
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When British General Sir Michael Rose commanded United Nations forces protecting Bosnia in the mid-1990s, he gained first-hand knowledge of Russia's army, which participated in the mission.
``They were worse than useless,'' the 68-year-old retired officer said in an interview.
Not any more.
Russia's five-day drubbing of the U.S.-trained and equipped Georgian military this month followed a 5 trillion ruble ($200 billion) buildup undertaken in 2006 and lessons learned from misadventures in Afghanistan and Chechnya.
When British General Sir Michael Rose commanded United Nations forces protecting... more
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The United States on Thursday welcomed China's apparent reluctance to support Russia's action recognizing the independence of two Georgian secessionist regions.
"It was not what I would call an endorsement of Russia's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said, referring to a joint statement by China and other members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) regional summit in the Tajik capital Dushanbe.
The United States on Thursday welcomed China's apparent reluctance to support... more
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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he suspected someone in the United States provoked the conflict in Georgia in an attempt to help a candidate in the U.S. presidential election.
"It is not just that the American side could not restrain the Georgian leadership from this criminal act. The American side in effect armed and trained the Georgian army," Putin said in an interview with CNN, part of which was broadcast on Russian state television.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he suspected someone in the... more
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A new Cold War between Russia and the West grew steadily closer yesterday after the Kremlin gave a warning about “direct confrontation” between American and Russian warships in the Black Sea.
Dmitri Peskov, a spokesman for Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister, declared that Russia was taking “measures of precaution” against American and Nato naval ships. “Let’s hope we do not see any direct confrontation in that,” he said.
Any attempt by countries in the West to isolate Russia would “definitely harm the economic interests of those states”, he said.
A new Cold War between Russia and the West grew steadily closer yesterday after... more
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"Don’t blame the mirror if your face is crooked." Vladimir Putin quoting Russian proverb
If the Bush administration proceeds with its plan to deploy its Missile Defense System in Poland, Russian Prime Minister Putin will be forced to remove it militarily. He has no other option. The proposed system integrates the the entire US nuclear arsenal into one operational-unit a mere 115 miles from the Russian border. It's no different than Khrushchev's plan to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba in the 1960s.
Early last year, at a press conference that was censored in the United States, Putin explained his concerns about Bush's plan:
“Once the missile defense system is put in place it will work automatically with the entire nuclear capability of the United States. It will be an integral part of the US nuclear capability....And, for the first time in history---and I want to emphasize this---there will be elements of the US nuclear capability on the European continent. It simply changes the whole configuration of international security…..Of course, we have to respond to that.”
Nuclear weapons specialist, Francis A. Boyle, says the Bush administration's plans represent the “longstanding US policy of nuclear first-strike against Russia." In Boyle’s article “US Missiles in Europe: Beyond Deterrence to First Strike Threat” he states:
“By means of a US first strike about 99%+ of Russian nuclear forces would be taken out. Namely, the United States Government believes that with the deployment of a facially successful first strike capability, they can move beyond deterrence and into "compellence."… This has been analyzed ad nauseam in the professional literature. But especially by one of Harvard's premier warmongers in chief, Thomas Schelling --winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics granted by the Bank of Sweden-- who developed the term "compellence" and distinguished it from "deterrence." …The USG is breaking out of a "deterrence" posture and moving into a "compellence" posture. (Global Research 6-6-07)
Bush's real goal is to force Moscow to conform to Washington’s diktats or face the prospect of first-strike nuclear annihilation. Putin must respond.
Putin needs to present his case before the UN General Assembly emphasizing how the proposed US system upsets the nuclear balance of power and poses a direct threat to Russia's national security. He should give an account of US activities in Central Asia since the fall of the Berlin Wall showing how the Bush administration has pursued a hostile policy of encirclement and strangulation towards the Russian Federation. The US has brought most of the former Soviet satellites into NATO, including Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and now is seeking membership for Georgia and Ukraine right on Russia's border.
The US has expanded its military installations in other areas of Central Asia, primarily Afghanistan, posing long-range problems for the entire region.
"Don’t blame the mirror if your face is crooked." Vladimir Putin... more
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Recent John McCain quotes and videos on the Russia-Georgia conflict which highlight McCain's "expertise".Recent John McCain quotes and videos on the Russia-Georgia conflict which highlight... more
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As a second front begins forming as Russians press fight. Bush expresses "grave concern."As a second front begins forming as Russians press fight. Bush expresses "grave... more
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