Putin test-fires hypersonic missiles in the Mediterranean as part of Russian Navy military drills in fresh threat to the West
Putin has test-fired hypersonic missiles in the eastern Mediterranean as part of drills by the Russian Navy in a fresh threat to the West.
The crews of the frigates fired Zircon (Tsirkon) hypersonic anti-ship missiles, while a Russian submarine launched a Kalibr cruise missile, another weapon capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, the Russian Defence ministry said.
The nuclear-capable cutting-edge Zircon missiles can travel at speeds of nearly 7,000mph. Putin as previously claimed the missiles have 'no equivalent in the world'.
A missile system at the coast nearby also carried out a live launch of an Onyx anti-ship missile, the ministry added.
The military, which did not state where the drills took place, said the number of Russian troops stationed in the eastern Mediterranean had been 'increased' to take part in the exercises.
On December 3, during an exercise to test the combined activities of Russian Navy and Air Force troop groups, precision sea-based missiles were launched in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea,' Russia's defence ministry said in a post on Telegram.
Russian vessels test fired hypersonic Zirkon missiles and a Kalibr cruise missile, the ministry added. An Onyx cruise missile was also launched 'from a designated area on the Mediterranean coast'.
Russia has a naval base in Syria at Tartus but the statement did not say where the drills were carried out.
A Russian Navy frigate fires a Zircon (Tsirkon) hypersonic anti-ship missile during drills conducted in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, in this still image from video released on December 3, 2024
Putin (pictured) as previously claimed the missiles have 'no equivalent in the world'
A Russian Navy frigate fires a Zircon (Tsirkon) hypersonic anti-ship missile during military drills conducted in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, in this still image from video released on December 3, 2024
'In the course of preparing for the exercise, the Russian armed forces' troops grouping in the eastern Mediterranean was increased,' the ministry added.
Footage shows his major warning to the West by firing Tsirkon [Zircon] 6,900 mph hypersonic missiles in the Mediterranean.
They were blasted by modern frigates Admiral Gorshkov and Admiral Golovko.
The ministry published images showing the launch of several missiles from ships and land and images of a target in open water being hit and exploding.
The missile test coincides with deep tension in Ukraine, and was aimed to show he has a global reach beyond Russia's backyard.
It was a show of Russian strength to the West, which comes as Russia's ally Syria lost ground to Islamist rebels.
Russia has been a key ally of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad since the Syrian civil war started in 2011 and al-Assad is said to be currently staying in Moscow with his family.
The drills were carried out under the supervision of Russian naval commander in chief Admiral Alexander Moiseyev, who several days ago was despatched to Syria.
Russian MOD footage from the naval exercise in the Mediterranean
It shows an explosion after the missile hit during their test
One of the missiles is pictured after it was fired off during the naval missile test
An aerial view shows Russian Navy frigate Admiral Golovko during military drills conducted in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, in this still image from video released on December 3, 2024
A key message of today's war games may be to warn that Russia's naval port in Syria - Tartus - will be vigorously defended.
A key reason for the rebel advance was that Putin had moved forces from Syria to fight in the Ukraine war.
Today the Russians said that its military strength ahead of the war games in the eastern Mediterranean Sea had been increased.
Its forces conducted 'missile, artillery and torpedo firing, as well as bombing.'
They did not show or report launches of the 9.200mph Dagger ballistic missiles.
'The exercise involves over 1,000 servicemen, ten ships and support vessels, 24 aircraft, including MiG-31I fighters of the Russian Aerospace Forces with Kinzhal [Dagger] hypersonic missiles and the Bastion coastal missile system,' said the Russian Defence Ministry.
'The exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean is being conducted in compliance with current international law, as well as agreements between the Russian Federation and foreign states on the prevention of incidents at sea outside territorial waters, as well as in the airspace above them.'
Цитата:
READY FOR WAR
Putin stages hypersonic war games in Med as two warships blast 6,900mph missiles in message to West over Syria & Ukraine
A MENACING Vladimir Putin staged provocative war games in the Mediterranean today in a blatant show of strength to the West.
Putin fired 6,900 mph hypersonic missiles in a major warning to the West
The missiles were fired in the eastern Mediterranean on Tuesday
They were blasted by modern frigates Admiral Gorshkov and Admiral Golovko
Tuesday's drills were the Kremlin despot's latest show of force
It coincided with deep tension in Ukraine, and was aimed to show he has a global reach beyond Russia’s backyard.
Video shows Putin's major warning to the West by firing Tsirkon [Zircon] 6,900 mph hypersonic missiles in the eastern Mediterranean - Europe’s favourite holiday destination.
They were blasted by modern frigates Admiral Gorshkov and Admiral Golovko.
Both warships were operating as part of the Russian Navy strike group, Russian TV network Zvezda reported.
The Kremlin dictator's diesel-electric submarine Novorossiysk also launched a Kalibr cruise missile at a maritime target position.
The Russian Defence Ministry said a Bastion coastal missile system from the Mediterranean coast - presumably Syria - carried out a "combat launch of an Onyx cruise missile”.
The Ministry added it was all part of military exercises involving more than 1,000 servicemen, 10 ships and support vessels, 24 aircraft, including MiG-31I fighters armed with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.
Russia's Bastion coastal missile system was also involved in the exercises, according to Zvezda.
The drills were carried out under the supervision of Russian naval commander in chief Admiral Alexander Moiseyev.
Several days ago, he was dispatched to Syria amid turmoil in the country as rebels took Aleppo and put on the back foot Putin’s close ally President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.
A key message of today’s war games may be to warn that Russia’s naval port in Syria - Tartus - will be vigorously defended.
A crucial reason for the rebel advance was that Putin had moved forces from Syria to fight in his bloody Ukraine war.
Today the Russians said that its military strength ahead of the war games in the eastern Mediterranean Sea had been increased.
Its forces conducted “missile, artillery and torpedo firing, as well as bombing.”
The Russian Defence Ministry said: “The exercise involves over 1,000 servicemen, ten ships and support vessels, 24 aircraft, including MiG-31I fighters of the Russian Aerospace Forces with Kinzhal [Dagger] hypersonic missiles and the Bastion coastal missile system."
They did not show or report launches of the 9.200mph Dagger ballistic missiles.
“The exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean is being conducted in compliance with current international law, as well as agreements between the Russian Federation and foreign states on the prevention of incidents at sea outside territorial waters, as well as in the airspace above them."
NATO Secretary General pre-ministerial press conference at Foreign Ministers Meeting, 03 DEC 2024
Цитата:
Nato chief warns Trump not to push Ukraine deal that would see Putin ‘high-fiving’ Iran
Mark Rutte called on allies to step up military aid to strengthen Kyiv’s hand should it enter negotiations with Moscow over an end to the war, as he warned Russia is ‘not interested in peace’
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But, in an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Rutte warned of the risks of Russia supplying missile technology to North Korea and cash to Iran.
In what was seen as a reference to Taiwan, he said that Chinese President Xi Jinping “might get thoughts about something else in the future if there is not a good deal [for Ukraine]”.
He added: “We cannot have a situation where we have [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Un and the Russian leader and Xi Jinping and Iran high-fiving because we came to a deal which is not good for Ukraine, because long-term that will be a dire security threat not only to Europe but also to the US.”
He revealed he had made this point to Mr Trump when the two men met in Florida on November 22, as part of an effort to persuade the US president-elect to stick with Nato allies and keep up American support for Ukraine.
On Monday night, Sir Keir made it clear that he believes Mr Trump will not abandon Ukraine, despite appointments to the incoming president’s cabinet which suggest he plans to end the current flow of financial and military aid to the country.
In a speech on foreign affairs the prime minister said: “There’s no question it’s right we support Ukraine. But we must also be clear that it is deeply in our self-interest. I would encourage everyone here to stop and think for a moment about what it would mean to us, to our continent, to the world, if Russia wins. What would it mean for our values – for democracy, commerce, and liberty?”
Цитата:
Tarcza Wschód już w budowie. Polska szykuje się na najgorsze scenariusze na granicy
Minęło 10 miesięcy, od kiedy Donald Tusk podjął decyzję o szybkiej modernizacji zapory na granicy z Białorusią. Premier obiecał inwestycje i adekwatne środki. Wygląda na to, że deklaracja zamienia się w konkrety.
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Liczba osób nielegalnie przekraczających granicę Polski z Białorusią spadła o dwie trzecie, jednak i tak w tym roku dochodzi tam do średnio 100 takich prób dziennie.
• Deklaracja o budowie Tarczy Wschód na granicy z Rosją oraz Białorusią zamienia się w konkrety. Pierwszy odcinek na granicy z Rosją jest już gotowy. To strefa bezpieczeństwa – głęboka, sięgająca 200 m od granicy.
• Rząd zapowiada również podobną zaporę na granicy z Ukrainą. Tu jednak motywy są inne niż przy Tarczy Wschód.
O budowie zapory na granicy z Białorusią premier Donald Tusk poinformował podczas konferencji prasowej, w której uczestniczył również premier Finlandii Petteri Orpo. Początkowo miała ona mieć 400 km długości.
Budujemy Tarczę - czas najwyższy. Ale szczegóły muszą pozostać tajne
Potem dowiedzieliśmy się więcej o koncepcji Tarczy Wschód, która zakłada budowę fortyfikacji obronnych i systemów monitorowania granicy na odcinku 800 kilometrów. Szczegółów technicznych jest nadal niewiele i zapewne tak pozostanie. To zrozumiałe, bo jako część obrony państwa plany rozbudowy umocnień inżynieryjnych przy granicy nie mogą być jawne.
Przeciwnik przecież nie śpi. Jeśli będzie wiedział, gdzie są nasze bunkry, fortyfikacje, to w pierwszej kolejności te obiekty staną się celami jego ataku bronią precyzyjną - przypomina w rozmowie z WNP.PL gen. Stanisław Koziej, były szef Biura Bezpieczeństwa Narodowego.
- Najlepiej byłoby, gdyby do prac nad umocnieniami przystąpić wówczas, kiedy zagrożenie wojną będzie naprawdę poważne, a przeciwnik zacznie grupować swoje wojska na granicy.
Wcześniej jednak powinniśmy przygotować wszystko, co konieczne i niezbędne do budowy tych umocnień i fortyfikowania granicy
- podkreśla gen. Koziej.
Najwyraźniej teraz, kiedy wojna na Ukrainie weszła w decydującą fazę, czas na rozpoczęcie budowy Tarczy Wschód wydaje się uzasadniony. Armia już od pewnego czasu bez rozgłosu pracuje nad umacnianiem granicy, a rząd zabiera się zdecydowanie za ochronę wschodniej granicy.
- Z jednej strony mamy do czynienia z agresją hybrydową reżimu białoruskiego przy wsparciu Rosji, z drugiej z przestępczym procederem, który instrumentalizuje migrację, wykorzystuje ludzi, którzy szukają lepszej przyszłości dla siebie i swojej rodziny - przypomniał Tomasz Siemoniak, minister spraw wewnętrznych i administracji, w Niemirowie na Podlasiu.
To działa. Tam, gdzie granica jest uszczelniona, nie notujemy nielegalnych przekroczeń
Na uszczelnienie całej wschodniej granicy mocny akcent kładzie Rada Ministrów, która 15 października przyjęła dokument pn. "Odzyskać kontrolę. Zapewnić bezpieczeństwo. Kompleksowa i odpowiedzialna strategia migracyjna Polski na lata 2025-2030".
Pod koniec listopada szefowie kluczowych resortów mówili o modernizacji zabezpieczeń i nowych siłach do ochrony polsko-białoruskiej granicy. Dowiedzieliśmy się m.in., że
w drugiej połowie przyszłego roku pojawią się tam nowe, specjalnie skierowane do bezpośredniej, fizycznej ochrony granicy oddziały Straży Granicznej.
Rekrutacja do nich ruszy za kilka tygodni, a po przejściu szkoleń oddziały trafią na miejsce. Oddziały te będą budowane poprzez nabór do służby kontraktowej w SG, co umożliwiła niedawna nowelizacja przepisów. Powodem jest nie tylko wojna.
Wszystkie te decyzje podejmowane są z myślą o tym, jak powiedział Czesław Mroczek, wiceszef Ministerstwa Spraw Wewnętrznych i Administracji, by "wygasić szlak migracyjny" organizowany przez grupy przestępcze, wspierany przez służby białoruskie.
- Tam, gdzie granica została uszczelniona, nie notujemy przypadków nielegalnego jej przekroczenia. Obecnie modernizowana jest bariera optoelektroniczna, budowana także na odcinkach rzecznych. Wiosną przyszłego roku ma być gotowy odcinek zapory optoelektronicznej na Bugu - zapowiedział minister Siemoniak.
W skuteczniejszą ochronę granicy wpisuje się również wprowadzenie strefy buforowej (od czerwca 2024 r. w głąb kraju do 60 km od granicy z Białorusią) wymierzonej głównie w przemytników, którym znacznie utrudnia działanie.
Liczba osób nielegalnie przekraczających granicę z Białorusi do Polski spadła o dwie trzecie
, jednak i tak w tym roku dochodzi tam do średnio 100 takich prób dziennie.
Z tych też względów Polska chce zabezpieczyć nie tylko granice z Rosją i Białorusią, ale również granicę z Ukrainą. Donald Tusk poinformował o tym, wizytując budowę jednego z odcinków Tarczy Wschód; podkreślił po raz kolejny, że inwestycja ta zwiększa gwarancję utrzymania pokoju.
Pierwszy odcinek Tarczy Wschód na granicy z Rosją jest już gotowy
Polskie granice liczą ponad 3572 km. Ta z Białorusią ma ponad 418 km, z czego odcinek najbardziej zagrożony, który wymaga szczególnej ochrony, liczy 172 km. Z rosyjskim obwodem królewieckim graniczymy na długości 232 km, a z Ukrainą na ponad 535 km.
Projekt Tarczy Wschód to przede wszystkim zabezpieczenie granicy z Rosją i Białorusią. Ma się łączyć z podobnymi fortyfikacjami i umocnieniami granicznymi budowanymi na granicy z Rosją przez państwa bałtyckie.
Donald Tusk, będąc z wizytą na budowie pierwszego odcinka Tarczy Wschód na granicy z Rosją, który jest już gotowy, zapowiedział, że wzmocniona zostanie również granica polsko-ukraińska.
Pierwszy odcinek Tarczy Wschód na granicy z Rosją jest już gotowy. W trakcie mojego spotkania z żołnierzami 200 metrów od granicy czułem się naprawdę bezpieczny - powiedział premier.
Wyjaśnił przy tym, że decyzję tę podjęto z innych powodów niż w przypadku odcinków granicy z państwami rządzonymi przez Alaksandra Łukaszenkę i Władimira Putina.
- Nasze działania będą dotyczyły także zabezpieczenia granicy z Ukrainą z innych powodów, ale chcemy, żeby na całej długości wschodniej granicy Polacy czuli się bezpieczniejsi - zapowiedział Tusk.
Granica z Ukrainą ma być odporna na przemyt, a legalne przejścia graniczne przestaną być wąskim gardłami
Według premiera taka konieczność wynika z wyzwań związanych z przestępczością, która może pojawić się zarówno w czasie wojny, jak i po jej zakończeniu, polegającej na przemycie broni, ludzi czy narkotyków. Dlatego
zgodnie z przyjętą strategią migracyjną będą rozbudowywane i modernizowane przejścia graniczne -
tak, aby uniknąć ryzyka tzw. wąskich gardeł dla legalnej wymiany handlowej oraz transportu materiałów do odbudowy i modernizacji Ukrainy.
Według danych MSWiA w tym roku na granicy z Ukrainą i z Białorusią wśród przemycanych towarów w czołówce są samochody. Wartość tego przemytu wzrosła mniej więcej o jedną trzecią wobec tego samego okresu w 2023 r. Sporo z kradzionych aut było kupowanych przez Ukraińców nieświadomie.
Do tego dochodzą tytoń i papierosy, które kiedyś szerokim strumieniem wpływały do Polski zza wschodniej granicy. Teraz nie są już przemycane na taką skalę, przynajmniej z Ukrainy, gdzie przemyt radykalnie spadł. Za to z Białorusi wzrósł o 36 proc.
Budowanie zapory na fragmentach granic nie ma sensu. Skuteczna jest dopiero ochrona przed atakiem z każdego możliwego kierunku
Wszystko wskazuje, że granica z Ukrainą nie będzie tak ufortyfikowana, jak z Rosją i Białorusią, ale wojskowi specjaliści wskazują, że decyzja ta wpisuje się również w
ważny aspekt naszego bezpieczeństwa.
Wojskowe strategiczne myślenie nakazuje bowiem wskazanie wszelkich, także najgorszych, przewidywalnych zagrożeń, by móc się do nich przygotować. W tym kontekście decyzja ta znaczy znacznie więcej.
- Jej podjęcie oznacza mądrość i rozwagę. Od początku mówię, że nie byłbym zdziwiony, gdybyśmy postanowili zbudować taką zaporę również na granicy z Litwą albo Słowacją. Niezależnie od tego, że są to państwa nam przyjazne, a ze Słowacją jesteśmy w jednym bloku - uważa gen. prof. Bogusław Pacek, były rektor Akademii Obrony Narodowej.
Przypadek Linii Maginota (pas fortyfikacji na granicy niemiecko-francuskiej, który nie powstrzymał Hitlera) przypomina, iż
żadne rozbudowane fortyfikacje nie gwarantują zatrzymania przeciwnika
. Z drugiej strony doświadczenia z wojny w Ukrainie, która buduje fortyfikacje na granicy z Rosją w rejonie Chersonia, czy też silnie, głęboko rozbudowana i ufortyfikowana obrona wojsk rosyjskich, która zatrzymała ukraińską kontrofensywę, wskazują, że fortyfikacje we współczesnej wojnie wcale nie odeszły do lamusa.
Wiadomo, że - jeśli tylko jest taka możliwość - przeciwnik zrobi wszystko, by umocnienia obejść.
- W związku z tym od początku było jasne, że budowanie takiej silnej zapory tylko na fragmencie naszych granic jest bzdurą, ponieważ bardzo łatwo byłoby przeciwnikowi zaatakować nas w wybranym przez niego miejscu, np. przez Ukrainę, i wejść na teren Polski gdzieś pod Lublinem, Rzeszowem czy Przemyślem. Dlatego ochrona polskich granic - z każdego możliwego kierunku - jest dla nas ważna. Tak po prostu nakazuje rozsądek - uważa gen. Pacek.
Generał wyjaśnia, że
nie oznacza to obaw, że Ukraina kiedykolwiek stanie po przeciwnej stronie niż Polska
. Jego zdaniem decyzja ta wynika z tego, że Ukraina graniczy z Białorusią będącą faktycznie częścią Rosji i w przypadku eskalacji wojny zapewne udostępni swoje terytorium Rosjanom do uderzenia na Ukrainę.
- Dlatego decyzja o zaporze na granicy Ukrainy jest przykładem rozwagi, co świadczy o kompleksowym myśleniu rządu o obronie państwa - przekonuje gen. Pacek.
Martial Law in South Korea Tests Biden and a Key U.S. Alliance
The Biden administration has hailed South Korea as a model democracy and bolstered military ties as it relies on the country as a bulwark against North Korea, China and Russia.
President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea visited President Biden at the White House last year.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times
For decades, South Korea has been one of the most important U.S. allies in Asia — not only because nearly 30,000 American troops are stationed there, but because it stands as a beacon of democracy in a region where powerful authoritarian nations vie with democratic ones.
President Biden has put a special emphasis on South Korea, choosing it as the first non-U.S. site for his annual international conclave, the Summit for Democracy. And in 2023, he hosted President Yoon Suk Yeol for a state dinner at the White House, where the tuxedo-clad Mr. Yoon sang “American Pie” to an adoring audience. Mr. Biden has also relied on Mr. Yoon to provide munitions for Ukraine’s defense against the Russian invasion.
Now, with Mr. Yoon imposing martial law after wildly accusing the opposition party of conspiring with North Korea to undermine him, the American alliance with South Korea faces its biggest test in decades. And Mr. Biden, who has used democracy versus autocracy as a defining framework of his foreign policy, will have to make hard choices on how to handle the crisis, after years of cultivating relations with Mr. Yoon, a conservative leader, and enhancing military ties to better counter China, North Korea and Russia.
Mr. Yoon’s move appeared to catch the Biden administration by surprise.
On Tuesday afternoon in Washington, hours after Mr. Yoon made his shocking announcement, the White House National Security Council released a terse statement, using an abbreviation for South Korea’s formal name, the Republic of Korea: “The administration is in contact with the R.O.K. government and is monitoring the situation closely as we work to learn more. The U.S. was not notified in advance of this announcement. We are seriously concerned by the developments we are seeing on the ground in the R.O.K.”
Officials said that aides had briefed Mr. Biden, who was visiting Angola.
There was speculation in Washington that Mr. Yoon might have chosen this moment because the U.S. government is in a transition from the Biden administration to the second Trump one, and because Mr. Biden is overseas. Mr. Yoon, a first-term president who barely won the 2022 election, has a low approval rating among South Korean citizens, and his move against the opposition party and the legislature has echoes of the effort by Donald J. Trump to prevent Mr. Biden from taking office after he won the 2020 election.
At a U.S.-Japan diplomatic event in Washington, Kurt Campbell, the deputy secretary of state and former Asia adviser to Mr. Biden, said that “our alliance with the R.O.K. is ironclad, and we stand by Korea in their time of uncertainty.”
He added that “we have every hope and expectation that any political disputes will be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law.”
The upheaval is particularly stinging for an American president who has made the promotion of democracy one of his top priorities, in part because of the rise of anti-democratic forces in the United States. Seoul hosted this year’s installment of the global democracy summit that Mr. Biden launched several years ago.
At the opening ceremony, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken hailed South Korea as a democratic model, saying that it was fitting, “even a little bit poignant,” that the country was hosting the event.
South Korea, Mr. Blinken noted proudly, was “a nation that transformed, over a single generation, into one of the strongest, most dynamic democracies in the world, a champion of democracy for the world.”
Mr. Blinken noted the many threats to the democratic model but said that he remained “more than optimistic that we will meet the challenge of this moment.”
The declaration of martial law also raises questions about what the Pentagon might do with its nearly 30,000 troops and assets in South Korea. United States Forces Korea operates under the Indo-Pacific Command and in coordination with the South Korean military. American soldiers are posted by the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea and in bases elsewhere in South Korea, including in Seoul, where U.S. soldiers wander the streets in uniform.
One of Mr. Biden’s main strategies for trying to establish deterrence against China has been to build up military relations with allies in Asia. He established a new trilateral security partnership with South Korea and Japan, and last year he hosted Mr. Yoon and Fumio Kishida, then the prime minister of Japan, at Camp David in Maryland to announce the new arrangement, an important achievement given the historical enmity between South Korea and Japan.
Mr. Biden called the two nations “capable and indispensable allies.”
In his remarks, Mr. Yoon said that “the ties between our three countries, which are the most advanced liberal democracies in the region and major economies leading advanced technology and scientific innovation, are more important than ever.”
The three nations, he added, have proclaimed they “will bolster the rules-based international order and play key roles to enhance regional security and prosperity based on our shared values of freedom, human rights and rule of law.”
As sabotage allegations swirl, NATO struggles to secure Baltic Sea
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NATO exercise in Baltic Sea faces weather and storm challenges
• NATO uses new tech to detect undersea anomalies, but admits prevention is difficult
• Service disruptions best avoided by adding redundant cable capacity, expert says
TURKU, Finland, Dec 3 (Reuters) - On Nov. 18, hours after two communication cables were severed in the Baltic Sea, 30 NATO vessels and 4,000 military staff took to the same body of water for one of northern Europe's largest naval exercises.
The 12-day 'Freezing Winds' drill was part of a push to step up the transatlantic defence alliance's protection of infrastructure in waters that carry 15% of global shipping traffic and are seen as increasingly vulnerable to attack.
The Baltic Sea is bordered by eight NATO countries and Russia. There have been at least three incidents of possible sabotage to the 40-odd telecommunication cables and critical gas pipelines that run along its relatively shallow seabed since 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.
"NATO is stepping up patrols, ... allies are investing in innovative technologies that can help better secure these assets," said Commander Arlo Abrahamson, a spokesperson for NATO's Allied Maritime Command.
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Цитата:
Один из разрывов интернет-кабеля между Финляндией и Швецией произошел не из-за диверсии, его случайно перерезал экскаватор, сообщает газета Helsingin Sanomat со ссылкой на телекоммуникационную компанию Elisa.
Цитата:
Новые разрывы интернет-кабеля между Финляндией и Швецией, случившиеся текущей ночью, могли произойти из-за диверсии, заявил шведский министр гражданской обороны.
P.S.
А.п. напоминает Уважаемым коллегам, что начиная с 25.11.2024, по независящим от него техническим причинам, все публикации будут возможны только с 9.00 утра, до 23.59 вечера текущих суток.
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С интересом и понятными ожиданиями, Dimitriy.
Opinion / How Trump can end the war in Ukraine for good
No more Munichs, Yaltas — or Budapests.
A destroyed residential building in the town of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region of Ukraine in November. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)
As the bloodiest century in human history drew to a close, Americans looked back at the catastrophic mistakes that paved the way for World War II and the Cold War. Chief among them: the 1938 Munich agreement, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s misguided effort to appease Adolf Hitler, and the disastrous 1945 Yalta agreement that partitioned Europe and left the world teetering on the brink of nuclear Armageddon.
At the start of a hopeful new century came a new axiom of U.S. foreign policy: No more Munichs, no more Yaltas.
To which we must add: No more Budapests.
On Dec. 5, the world will mark the 30th anniversary of the Budapest Memorandum of Security Assurances, the disastrous agreement that paved the way to today’s bloody war in Ukraine. As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to negotiate an end to that struggle, he should heed the lessons of Budapest — so he does not repeat them.
After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Ukraine inherited nearly 2,000 nuclear weapons, along with intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic bombers to deliver them — making it the world’s third-largest nuclear power. So, in 1994, President Bill Clinton brokered an agreement among Russia, Ukraine, the United States and Britain in which Ukraine agreed to give up those weapons. In exchange, Russia pledged to “respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine” and to “refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine.” Moscow also agreed to refrain from the “threat of aggression in which nuclear weapons are used.” And the United States and Britain gave Ukraine security guarantees, promising “to provide assistance to Ukraine … if Ukraine should become a victim of an act of aggression.”
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Those guarantees proved empty. In 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea, in direct violation of the pledges Russia made in Budapest. In the face of this aggression, President Barack Obama’s administration failed to hold up the United States’ end of the bargain, refusing to provide Ukraine with weapons to defend itself. Instead, out of fear that arming Ukraine would provoke Moscow, Obama offered Ukraine only nonlethal aid.
When Trump took office, he reversed Obama’s policy of appeasement and became the first president to provide Kyiv with lethal aid. Trump also got tough on Putin in a host of other ways — imposing crippling sanctions on Moscow, expelling Russian diplomats, launching a cyberattack on Russia targeting St. Petersburg’s Internet Research Agency, giving the green light for the U.S. military to take out hundreds of Wagner Group mercenaries in eastern Syria and persuading NATO members to increase their defense spending by $400 billion. Result? Putin paused his aggression during Trump’s term.
But after Joe Biden took office, Putin resumed his conquest of Ukraine. In the wake of Putin’s 2022 full-scale invasion, Clinton acknowledged that the Budapest agreement he negotiated was to blame. “I feel a personal stake because I got them to agree to give up their nuclear weapons,” Clinton told Irish broadcaster RTÉ. “None of them believe that Russia would have pulled this stunt if Ukraine still had their weapons.”
What lessons can we learn from the failure of the Budapest accord?
First, Putin does not want peace; he wants Ukraine. He will violate any international agreement Russia signs to achieve his objective. The only way to stop him is to make his objective impossible to achieve. As we have seen, Putin believes he can wait out a strong U.S. president until another weak one replaces him. If allowed to do so, he simply will use a cessation of hostilities to pause, reconstitute his forces and resume his invasion when the time is right. If Trump wants a peace that outlasts his presidency, that agreement must create conditions that make a resumption of war impossible.
Second, Western security guarantees are worthless unless they are backed up with Western military might. A lasting peace will require that whatever agreement Trump negotiates creates defensible borders, with a demilitarized zone enforced by an international peacekeeping force (made up of European, not U.S., troops). Putin must understand that this agreement is final, and that if he ever tries to resume his invasion, he will not be fighting just Ukraine.
Third, Ukraine must be militarily strong enough to deter Russia. Giving up its nuclear deterrent, and depending on others to protect it, was a mistake. Ukraine will need to create a conventional deterrent so powerful that Russia will never take it on. This means that, even if Trump succeeds in forging peace, the imperative to arm Ukraine will continue. We must find mechanisms to increase the flow of U.S. weapons headed to Kyiv that do not require U.S. taxpayers to bear the cost.
If Trump wants to avoid presiding over a historic failure like Budapest, he needs to avoid the trap of trying to appease Putin with promises of Ukrainian neutrality and disarmament. He does not want to join Neville Chamberlain in the pantheon of leaders who promised peace in our time but delivered the opposite. Trump says he wants to prevent World War III. If that is the case, he should do what he did in his first term and secure peace through strength.
США могут лишиться крупнейшего союзника в Азии: кому выгоден переворот в Южной Корее?
Представьте, что в декабре 2021 года на территории одного из ключевых союзников США в Европе — Польши — происходит госпереворот и разворачивается гражданская война: как бы это отразилось на действиях Украины? Так зеркально выглядит ситуация у крупнейшего союзника США в сдерживании Китая в Азии — Южной Кореи. Ситуация необычная. Хотя страна не отличается высокой политической этикой и почти все её президенты были фигурантами уголовных дел, военное положение здесь не вводилось с 1987 года.
Союзник Демпартии США — Демократическая трудовая партия Южной Кореи с большинством в парламенте — готовил импичмент Юн Сок Ёлю, борцу с повесткой Демпартии. До истечения президентского срока Байдена им срочно потребовалось убрать потенциального союзника Трампа по урегулированию на Корейском полуострове, а возможно, и привести к власти сторонника конфликта с КНДР.
Тем не менее сам Юн Сок Ёль вряд ли бы решился на такой отчаянный шаг, если бы не имел негласной поддержки крупных внешних политических сил (в стране находится огромный воинский контингент США). Такими силами могли быть приходящие к власти республиканцы и мечтающие вывести из игры Южную Корею китайцы — нейтральная Южная Корея сильно бы увеличивала шансы Китая в противостоянии с США. Напомню, что первый, с кем встретился Юн после избрания в 2022 году, — посол КНР в Южной Корее.
Сейчас в Корее глубокая ночь, но через несколько часов ситуация может разгореться вновь. Армия вышла из парламента, но указ о военном положении, как сообщают СМИ (под контролем военного командования) не отменён, хотя, по данным информагентства Yonhap, президент Южной Кореи заявил на заседании правительства, что отменит военное положение. А ещё чуть позже стало известно, что правительство проголосовало за отмену военного положения.
Как бы то ни было, но пока сохраняются шансы на то, что США потеряют крупного военного союзника в Восточной Азии, если, конечно, не решатся вмешаться в гражданское противостояние. Что из этих двух сценариев для США хуже — неизвестно.
Цитата:
Свергнут, убит, приговорён к тюрьме: на фоне призывов к импичменту Юн Сок Ёля подписчик RT напомнил о судьбе других лидеров Южной Кореи.
Вот что выяснилось по открытым источникам:
▪️Ли Сын Ман (1948—1960) — свергнут на фоне массовых протестов;
▪️Юн Бо Сон (1960—1962) — смещён в результате военного переворота;
▪️Пак Чон Хи (1962—1979) — убит директором Центрального разведывательного управления республики;
▪️Чхве Гю Ха (1979—1980) — смещён в результате военного переворота;
▪️Чон Ду Хван (1981—1988) — обвинён в коррупции, ушёл в отставку;
▪️Ро Дэ У (1988—1993) — осуждён на 17 лет тюрьмы после отставки;
▪️ Ким Ён Сам (1993—1998) — попал под арест при президентстве Пак Чон Хи (№3 в списке), а на посту добился осуждения двух своих предшественников;
▪️ Ким Дэ Чжун (1998—2003) — сидел в тюрьме при президентстве Пак Чон Хи и был приговорён к смертной казни во время правления Чон Ду Хвана (№5), но позднее был помилован;
▪️Но Му Хён (2003—2008) — покончил жизнь самоубийством в связи с коррупционным скандалом;
▪️Ли Мён Бак (2008—2013) — после окончания президентского срока был приговорён к 17 годам тюрьмы по обвинению во взяточничестве и хищении;
▪️Пак Кын Хе (2013—2016) — объявлен импичмент, арестована по обвинению во взяточничестве.
Opinion/Notre Dame’s miracle and France’s meltdown: A pas de deux for the ages
The Notre Dame Cathedral’s reopening and government’s imminent fall show a can- and can’t-do country.
The restored interiors of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Nov. 29. (Stephane de Sakutin/AP)
PARIS — The Notre Dame Cathedral, a sprawling construction site for the past five years, is a quick stroll from where I live, and it is an amazement.
Its turbocharged reconstruction from a devastating fire, in a brief time span that many thought impossibly ambitious, is testament in stained glass, sculpture and masonry to a can-do France.
The rebuilt cathedral stands in magnificent, maddening counterpoint to a can’t-do France — a succession of floundering, failed and loathed governments in this century that have embittered millions of voters.
The paradox of those competing versions of France, as baffling to many French as to foreigners, reaches a moment of dueling denouements this week. Rather than resolving the contradictions of a can- and can’t-do republic, it is more likely to deepen them.
On Saturday, the archbishop of Paris will preside over Notre Dame’s reopening, striking the massive front doors with his staff three times in the presence of thousands of donors, clergy and dignitaries, including Donald Trump. President Emmanuel Macron will deliver an address in the cathedral’s forecourt, followed by a liturgical ceremony inside. An inaugural Mass will follow on Sunday.
Yet that high drama will be preceded by a low one. France’s government — in power less than three months, though “power” is too sturdy a term for so frail an entity — is tottering and probably won’t last until the weekend. Prayers are unlikely to help.
Should the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier be toppled in a no-confidence vote driven by populist extremists from the left and right, France’s already precarious political and fiscal situation could explode in full-blown crisis, including a run on its sovereign debt. Macron’s task in establishing a viable new government amid Parliament’s dysfunction “would mean finding a five-legged sheep,” Benjamin Morel, a constitutional expert, told Le Monde.
I often wander over to Notre Dame to gawk alongside the tourists. It has remained the essential Paris landmark, a place of religious devotion and secular pilgrimage even amid the scaffolding and cranes that have shrouded it since the 2019 blaze.
In May, the fencing in front of the cathedral was transformed into a multiracial, multiethnic photographic homage to craftspeople and others who helped rebuild it — the faces of can-do France.
Black-and-white portraits gave star billing to hundreds of stone masons, carpenters, architects, curators, plumbers, roofers, electricians, historians, scaffolders, equipment handlers, cleaning crews, site managers, administrators, and restorers of sculptures, paintings, and stained glass. They were a sampling of more than 2,000 workers involved in the reconstruction.
Some were highly skilled artisans, others journeymen or even apprentices. One was a friend of mine, Jean-Gabriel Levon, who left a position as a successful start-up executive two years ago to launch a new career in carpentry. Months later, he was tasked with hewing a thick oaken beam — square, shoulder height, thick as a linebacker’s leg — for the massive framework reinforcing the cathedral’s nave, using axes that were replicas of those used in the 12th and 13th centuries, during Notre Dame’s construction. Working methodically, it took him three days.
“I was grateful to work on a project for one of the most emblematic places in the world,” Jean-Gabriel told me. “And I was amazed at the quality of the people who were involved, their technical expertise and personal traits.”
France pulled off the nearly $1 billion reconstruction, on time, on budget — and funded by thousands of individual donors, some oligarchs, many ordinary — despite interruptions caused by the pandemic and disputes over furnishings, design and other features.
It is an awesome achievement by any standard, all the more given the seeming impossibility of executing major projects elsewhere in the world.
Americans, for whom major building projects are frequently emblems of dysfunction, should be envious. Recall New York’s Second Avenue subway, planned for nearly a century before the first, 1.8-mile segment was completed in 2017. Or the decade-long effort to relocate the FBI’s obsolete headquarters — still at least 10 years from the finish line at an estimated price of $10 billion, and counting.
France’s advantage, in addition to a fierce will to revive a national icon, was a highly centralized government under Macron, a president who staked his reputation on the project’s success.
Yet it was also Macron who plunged France into political dysfunction last summer with his colossal misjudgment in calling a gratuitous snap election that yielded a fragmented Parliament. That prompted him to form a jerry-built coalition whose survival depends on the sufferance of an outsider — his archrival, Marine Le Pen, leader of the populist far-right National Rally, the biggest party in Parliament’s lower house.
Now Le Pen, who has problems of her own — she is on trial for alleged embezzlement, and a guilty verdict could ruin her political career — says she will deliver the coup de grâce this week by voting to oust Barnier and his cabinet. The government’s collapse would leave France in a dire political, constitutional and debt-driven financial mess.
France’s can- and can’t-do split screen — workers who pulled off a miracle at Notre Dame and politicians who loosed a wrecking ball on the edifice of government — has produced emotional whiplash for the French. A week of joy and pride, tinged with fury and revulsion.
Цитата:
Ramaswamy muse on ending clock changes.
The “Department of Government Efficiency” may target the century-old practice, the men suggested on social media. It was not immediately clear whether they were serious.
Vivek Ramaswamy, tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to help run a new effort dubbed the “Department of Government Efficiency,” does not like daylight saving time. “It’s inefficient & easy to change,” he wrote on X. (Johnnie Izquierdo/for the Washington Post)
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy say they’re hunting for ways to make American government more efficient. One possible target: the semiannual changing of the clock that so many Americans dislike.
“Looks like the people want to abolish the annoying time changes!” Musk wrote last week on his social platform, X, linking to another user’s online poll that found most respondents wanted to end daylight saving time. The practice of shifting clocks forward one hour in March and back one hour in November is intended to maximize Americans’ exposure to sunlight during working hours but has long been derided for causing groggy mornings, missed appointments and even some public health problems.
“It’s inefficient & easy to change,” Ramaswamy wrote in a reply to Musk.
It was not immediately clear whether the two men, whom President-elect Donald Trump has tapped to run a new effort dubbed the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) were seriously floating a new policy priority or just spitballing on social media. It was also unclear how a Trump White House would seek to end clock changes, given that Congress — not the executive branch — has controlled the nation’s time shifts, and lawmakers’ recent legislation has stalled.
Ramaswamy did not respond to a request for comment. X and Tesla, which Musk also owns, did not immediately respond to requests sent to them asking for comment from Musk.
The simmering fight over how Americans set their clocks, and when they must do it, has drawn unusual coalitions in Washington based more on geography than on politics. Republicans and Democrats, mostly from the coasts, have called for year-round daylight saving time, saying that permanently advancing the clocks one hour and never “falling back” would allow more people to enjoy sunshine and avoid the frustrations involved with resetting clocks.
“Switching the clocks just doesn’t make sense for a country on the move,” Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Massachusetts) said in a statement to The Washington Post. “But we need permanent daylight saving time — more hours of daylight in the evening means more hours to get things done.”
Politicians in the center of the country have often balked at the idea, warning that a year-round “spring forward” would mean winter sunrises that could creep past 9 a.m. in cities such as Indianapolis and Detroit.
Meanwhile, public health groups have said that permanent standard time would be more natural for our circadian rhythms, citing research that the clock changes increase the risk of heart attacks, stroke and other health problems.
“There is a significant stress on the body, and changes that occur, when we are not aligned to the right internal clock,” Lourdes DelRosso, a sleep medicine physician at the University of California at San Francisco-Fresno and co-chair of this year’s World Sleep Day awareness event, said in an interview earlier this year.
A March 2023 YouGov poll found that 62 percent of Americans want to end the practice of changing the clocks, but there was little consensus over what to do next. Half of respondents said they wanted year-round daylight saving time, just under one-third wanted permanent standard time and the remainder said they were unsure or had no opinion.
For more than a century, Americans have shifted their clocks forward every spring and back every fall, a tradition that was eventually enshrined in federal law.
Voters’ complaints about those clock changes are not new. Lawmakers in the early 1970s moved to permanently adopt daylight saving time, but the decision almost immediately backfired with nationwide complaints, such as children waiting in the dark for school buses to arrive. Congress rolled back the change after 10 months.
That defeat has not stopped Markey and other lawmakers who have steadily pushed to lengthen the number of days that Americans spend under daylight saving time, extending that period in 1985, and again in 2005. Most Americans now live with daylight saving time for 238 days a year — nearly eight months. (Two states, Hawaii and most of Arizona, have opted out of the semiannual time changes and remain on permanent standard time, which states are allowed to do.)
But states cannot adopt permanent daylight saving time unless Congress passes a bill that allows them to do so. There is a growing political movement attempting to do just that; the Senate in 2022 passed a bill that died in the House. Twenty states have also approved measures that would allow them to adopt year-round daylight saving time if Congress passed a bill making it permanent nationwide, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Other countries have ended their own clock changes, including Mexico, which moved to abolish daylight saving time in 2022.
Musk was born and spent his childhood in South Africa — which does not follow daylight saving time — and has previously mocked America’s semiannual time changes.
“Finally, an explanation for daylight savings that makes sense …” the billionaire entrepreneur wrote on social media in 2017, linking to a video by the Onion, a satirical news site, that lampooned the practice.
Finally, an explanation for daylight savings that makes sense ... https://t.co/kGpJHNgRJO
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 14, 2017
President Joe Biden’s views on time changes are unclear. The White House has not responded to questions in the past two years about whether Biden supported efforts in Congress to adopt year-round daylight saving time, which may have stifled lawmakers’ attempts to attract support for their bill. But the next president appears more receptive.
“Making Daylight Saving Time permanent is O.K. with me!” Trump wrote on social media in March 2019, the Monday morning after the “spring forward” took effect that year.
The Transportation Department oversees the implementation of daylight saving time, and agency officials have said DOT does not have the authority to change it without an act of Congress.
It is not clear whether Musk and Ramaswamy, who have argued that recent Supreme Court decisions would allow the White House to make regulatory changes without going through Congress, see a path to doing so with daylight saving time. Their commission is supposed to make its recommendations to the president by July 4, 2026 — the date they’ve targeted to wind down their panel.
Making Daylight Saving Time permanent is O.K. with me!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 11, 2019
Musk and Ramaswamy may have other allies in Trump’s emerging administration. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Trump’s pick to serve as secretary of state, has spent years calling to end clock changes and make daylight saving time year-round.
“My Sunshine Protection Act would end this stupid practice of changing our clocks back and forth,” Rubio said in a statement in March, referencing his legislation. His office did not respond to a request for comment about whether Rubio had spoken with Musk and Ramaswamy about ending the semiannual clock changes.
“Can we just stop changing our clocks twice a year?” Jim O’Neill, Trump’s pick to be deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, wrote on X in 2022. “The one industry that doesn’t need disruption is daylight.”
Цитата:
История летнего и зимнего времени в России
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Первое введение летнего времени
Впервые летнее время (сдвинутое на один час вперед относительно принятого в данном часовом поясе) было введено 14 июля (1 июля по ст. стилю) 1917 года постановлением Временного правительства, принятым 10 июля (27 июня по ст. стилю) 1917 года. Это было сделано по примеру западных стран в целях экономии электроэнергии. Летнее время должно было действовать до 13 сентября (31 августа) 1917 года. Однако из-за острого общественно-политического кризиса в стране стрелки часов перевести назад "забыли". Только Декретом Совета народных комиссаров (СНК) РСФСР от 4 января 1918 года (22 декабря 1917 года) было предписано вернуться к прежнему исчислению времени, и в ночь с 9 на 10 января 1918 года (с 27 на 28 декабря 1917 года) стрелки часов перевели на час назад.
Переход на летнее время и обратно на зимнее продолжал проводиться до 1921 года. Так, в 1918 году летнее время действовало с 31 мая по 16 сентября (согласно постановлению СНК РСФСР от 30 мая, или 17 мая по ст. стилю, 1918 год), в 1919 году - с 31 мая по 16 августа. В 1920 году стрелки часов на летнее время не переводились. А в 1921 году перевод времени на час вперед проводился дважды - 14 февраля и 20 марта.
Затем в РСФСР и СССР стали вводить часовые пояса (ныне - зоны), и начало действовать поясное время, не предусматривавшее ежегодного перевода стрелок.
Введение декретного времени
16 июня 1930 года постановлением СНК СССР время было переведено на один час вперед (так называемое декретное время) в "целях более рационального использования светлой части суток". После этого перевод стрелок не осуществлялся более 50 лет.
Возобновление перехода на летнее и зимнее время
Перевод часов на летнее время был возобновлен 1 апреля 1981 года, но уже относительно декретного времени. Таким образом, летнее время стало опережать поясное на два часа. Дата перевода стрелок несколько раз менялась, с 1996 года переход на летнее время и обратно осуществлялся в последнее воскресенье марта и последнее воскресенье октября соответственно.
4 февраля 1991 года кабинет министров СССР постановил отменить декретное время, сохранив ежегодный перевод стрелок на летнее и зимнее время. В связи с тем, что отмена декретного времени "привела к сокращению продолжительности светового дня на значительной части территории РСФСР, вызвала недовольство населения и привела к увеличению расхода электроэнергии", Совет Республики Верховного совета РСФСР 23 октября 1991 года принял решение о восстановлении декретного времени. Возврат был осуществлен 19 января 1992 года.
Отмена сезонного перевода часов
3 июня 2011 года президент РФ Дмитрий Медведев подписал федеральный закон "Об исчислении времени", согласно которому 11 часовых поясов в России были заменены девятью часовыми зонами. Исходным временем при исчислении местного было определено московское время. Состав территорий, образующих каждую часовую зону, и порядок исчисления времени в них устанавливается правительством РФ.
31 августа 2011 года правительство РФ приняло постановление, которым в Москве было установлено время UTC +4 ч (UTC - Всемирное координированное время) и отменен сезонный перевод часов. Таким образом, введенное 27 марта 2011 года летнее время не было отменено - предполагаемый переход в конце октября на зимнее время не состоялся. Россия стала жить по постоянному летнему времени.
Отмена постоянного летнего времени
25 сентября 2012 года президент РФ Владимир Путин заявил, что решение об установлении постоянного летнего времени может быть пересмотрено.
По данным Всероссийского центра изучения общественного мнения, в июле 2014 года 35% опрошенных россиян (из 1,6 тыс. в 130 населенных пунктах в 42 регионах) заявили, что их больше устраивало переводить стрелки два раза в год, чем жить по летнему времени. При этом перейти целиком на зимнее время хотели бы 33% граждан. Предпочтение летнему времени отдали всего 19% опрошенных.
21 июля 2014 года Владимир Путин подписал изменения в федеральный закон "Об исчислении времени", которые вступили в силу 26 октября того же года. Согласно документу, московское время стало соответствовать UTC +3 ч, число часовых зон увеличено с 9 до 11. В итоге Россия возвратилась к зимнему времени - в два часа ночи 26 октября 2014 года. большинство субъектов Федерации перевели стрелки часов на один час назад. Исключением стали регионы, где местное время после изменения зон увеличилось на один час: в Забайкальском крае и Магаданской области стрелки сдвинулись сразу на два часа назад.
Bidens’ final Christmas stays traditional — except for that weird tree
This year’s White House decorations include a heavy dose of “Peace and Light.”
Jill Biden unveiled the decorations for her last White House Christmas on Monday, including arches covered with garland and sleigh bells in the East Colonnade. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
After an election year filled with rancor and ultimately, voters’ rejection of the Biden administration, the White House is calling for a “Season of Peace & Light” with this year’s holiday theme.
“At the holidays, Americans come together every year in fellowship and faith, reminding us that we are stronger as a community than we are apart,” President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden wrote at the end of the holiday guidebook. “The strength of our country, and the soul of our Nation, come from you. May the promise of this ‘Season of Peace and Light’ guide your path forward.”
This year’s decorations, unveiled Monday morning in a media preview, largely stick with the tried-and-true, both in terms of aesthetics and messaging. The East Colonnade, the long hallway that welcomes visitors and sets the tone, is an homage to classic Noel baubles. It features arches of garland wrapped with sleigh bells and red ribbons holding brass-colored bells suspended from the ceiling, culminating in a present-filled red sleigh drawn by a stuffed horse.
White paper doves in the Red Room convey messages of peace. For the trees in the State Dining Room, families of those serving on U.S. Navy vessels provided colorful garland, and students from across the country created charming self-portraits that serve as ornaments. The China Room is an ode to baking bread, with a bountiful presentation of artisanal loaves — even the wreaths in this room are made of braided bread. The Library has a delightful assortment of vintage ceramic trees. And the Diplomatic Reception Room — which the public can now enter — features trees and a mantle place themed with holiday fruits — oranges especially — and flowers.
Orange-themed Christmas tree decorations adorn the Diplomatic Reception Room, which is now open to visitors as part of the recently revamped White House tour. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
The China Room celebrates breadmaking, with artisanal loaves and wreaths made of braided bread. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
White House staffers expect about 100,000 visitors this season, including the guests at about two dozen scheduled holiday parties. The entire operation comes with the kind of festive pomp and circumstance that would be appropriate at the North Pole itself, or at least an FAO Schwarz in its prime. That begins with the “President’s Own” Marine Corps Band playing holiday tunes as visitors step through the East Wing doors festooned with golden wreaths. Guests are never far from the sound of live music — whether old standards or newer classics, such as “Last Christmas” from Wham! — reverberating off the historic walls. Fireplaces in each room emitted warmth and the sounds of popping wood during the preview, which was followed by an event for National Guard families, where Jill Biden gave remarks.
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For the Biden family’s last Christmas in the People’s House, the emphasis is on tranquility. But that doesn’t mean a Beige Christmas: Indeed, the decorations include a healthy heaping of color and, yes, a lot of candy.
The White House Christmas tree, an 18½-foot Fraser fir from Newland, North Carolina, that is displayed in the Blue Room, is decorated to look like an old-school carousel. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
Among the most vivid offerings is the annual White House Christmas tree, which has been turned into an old-school carousel, with carnival music playing in the Blue Room to match. The 18½-foot Fraser fir from Newland, North Carolina, has a large red-and-white striped base that covers the bottom of the tree entirely. Red ribbons strung from the top to the bottom resemble a circus big-top tent. Huge stuffed animals that move up and down circle the tree like real merry-go-round figurines. The effect is playful, though the tree itself takes a back seat in a discordant note. A Season of Peace and Light? Nothing feels particularly peaceful in this room, though there’s a bevy of lights.
The East Room, the largest in the house and the scene of bill signings, receptions and other key events, is more in tune with the broader theme. A sparkling canopy on the ceiling and windows resembles a particularly photogenic snowfall, and white and silver ornaments adorn the trees.
The “President's Own” Marine Corps Band plays festive holiday tunes at the entrance of the East Wing. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
The East Room, the largest in the house, sparkles with white lights and white and silver decorations. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
And the ever-popular Gingerbread White House, in the State Dining Room, also has a refined look this year — all white with deep green trees and white lights, and a scene of moving ice skaters on the South Lawn. The effort required 35 sheets of cookie dough, 65 pounds of pastillage, 45 pounds of chocolate, 50 pounds of royal icing, 40 pounds of poured sugar and 10 pounds of gum paste.
Lest one think this year’s theme is a pointed response to, well, anything that occurred in the past year, brainstorming for holidays at the White House begins in January, basically as soon as the previous year’s decor comes down. Planning starts in earnest after the annual Easter Egg Roll, and the execution phase kicks off in the fall, with the final push after the tree arrives. (This year’s tree arrival ceremony happened on Nov. 25.) The final 72 hours before the reveal is filled with the last-minute glue-gunning, manic ribbon-creating and holiday hustle familiar to many people scrambling to get their own decorations just right.
“We’ve been working, putting stuff together and doing, I mean, everything you could possibly think of,” says Darrion Cockrell, who was named Missouri’s Teacher of the Year in 2021. “There’s so many little things that you don’t think about, all the details, that I’m just so grateful to be a part of.”
Cockrell is one of more than 300 volunteers from across the United States who spent a week bringing the White House decorations to life. For this year’s project, they were armed with 9,810 feet of ribbon, more than 28,125 ornaments, more than 2,200 doves and more than 165,075 holiday lights for the garlands, wreaths, displays and 83 Christmas trees. (These numbers are largely in step with last year, though there are 15 fewer trees.)
This year's gingerbread reproduction of the White House required 35 sheets of cookie dough and 65 pounds of pastillage. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
Hand-drawn self-portraits from students around the United States decorate a Christmas tree in the State Dining Room. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
A teddy bear drives a red truck through the White House entrance hall. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
This year’s friendly feeling is in keeping with past Biden White House displays, all of which have been an elevated version of what many do in their own homes, rather than a more haute presentation. Last year, the White House aimed to capture the exhilaration of the holidays from a child’s perspective, including an East Colonnade with candy cane columns and holiday treats hanging from the ceiling. In 2022, the theme “We The People” was full of homespun touches designed to make the decor at the People’s House feel approachable, including a display of the first lady’s oft-used recipe cards. The Biden family’s first Christmas in the White House in 2021, which was scaled back because of the pandemic, had a “Gifts From the Heart” theme, with rooms designed to honor members of the military, front-line workers and first responders.
While the future of White House holiday decorations was not a salient question for voters in the 2024 election (nor should it be), either outcome would have promised a dramatic shake-up in this arena. Former and now incoming first lady Melania Trump made waves with her hallway of 40 crimson topiary trees in 2018, still among the most-discussed of any White House decoration. And a win by Vice President Kamala Harris would have meant the first-ever first gentleman and the first Jewish first spouse steering the merry ship.
This time next year, Melania Trump will once again be in charge of the holiday sparkle. But secret recordings released by a former confidante in 2020 show her frustration with the task traditionally left to First Ladies. “I’m working … my a-- off on the Christmas stuff, that you know, who gives a f--- about the Christmas stuff and decorations?” she said in 2018, according to the recordings. “But I need to do it, right?”
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С интересом и понятными ожиданиями, Dimitriy.
Американские СМИ: Герасимов звонил главе Объединенного комитета начальников штабов США на прошлой неделе
ABC и New York Times сообщают, что начальник российского Генерального штаба Валерий Герасимов на прошлой неделе имел то, что NYT называет «крайне необычным» телефонным разговором с председателем Объединенного комитета начальников штабов США генералом Чарльзом Брауном.
Как пишет ABC, Герасимов позвонил Брауну 27 ноября и предупредил о грядущих испытательных пусках гиперзвуковых ракет с российских военных кораблей в Средиземном море. Он предложил американским кораблям отойти на безопасное расстояние. 3 декабря российское Министерство обороны объявило об этом испытании публично, оно состоялось в восточной части Средиземного моря.
По данным New York Times, Герасимов также сказал американскому коллеге, что испытание новой ракеты, которую Кремль называет «Орешник», было запланировано задолго до того, как администрация Байдена разрешила Украине применять ATACMS по целям на признанной территории России. Путин представлял удар этой ракетой как ответ на первый удар ATACMS по российской территории.
ABC и New York Times сообщают о содержании беседы со слов анонимных источников в Пентагоне. Пресс-секретарь Брауна, капитан Джерил Дорси, подтвердил факт звонка и добавил, что «по просьбе генерала Герасимова генерал Браун согласился не объявлять о содержании звонка по своей инициативе», цитирует NYT.
Москва пока ничего не сообщала об этом разговоре.
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Russian General Calls U.S. Chairman of Joint Chiefs
In a highly unusual call, the two men “discussed a number of global and regional security issues, to include the ongoing conflict in Ukraine,” a spokesman said.
Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov last spoke with his American counterpart in 2022, when he and Gen. Mark A. Milley had a phone call.Credit...Alexander Zemlianichenko/Associated Press
Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, the architect of President Vladimir V. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, called President Biden’s top military adviser last week and talked about how to manage escalation concerns between the two countries, according to defense and military officials.
The rare phone call took place last Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving and just six days after Russia launched a new, nuclear-capable, intermediate-range ballistic missile at Ukraine that Mr. Putin said was in response to Ukraine’s use of American and British weapons to strike deeper into Russia.
During the call, General Gerasimov told Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that the Oreshnik ballistic missile launch had been planned long before the Biden administration agreed to allow Ukraine to use American ATACMS to strike deeper into Russia, officials said.
Though the Oreshnik missile carried only conventional warheads, using it signaled that Russia could strike with nuclear weapons if it chose. The missile struck a Ukraine weapons facility in Dnipro.
Capt. Jereal Dorsey, a spokesman for General Brown, said in a statement after he was approached by a reporter about the call that “at the request of General Gerasimov, General Brown agreed to not proactively announce the call.”
The two men “discussed a number of global and regional security issues, to include the ongoing conflict in Ukraine,” Captain Dorsey said.
The call came at a tense time. Mr. Putin had escalated an already tense showdown with the West, asserting that Russia had the right to strike the military facilities of countries “that allow their weapons to be used against our facilities.”
“The regional conflict in Ukraine, previously provoked by the West, has acquired elements of a global character,” Mr. Putin said in a rare address to the nation at the time. “We are developing intermediate- and shorter-range missiles as a response to U.S. plans to produce and deploy intermediate- and shorter-range missiles in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.”
Mr. Putin’s comments came as Mr. Biden loosened restrictions that he had kept in place for much of the war. He authorized the use of those missiles, known as ATACMS, for Army Tactical Missile Systems, deeper into Russia, and Ukraine has used them, including in a strike last month on an ammunition depot in southwestern Russia, according to Ukrainian officials.
The Biden administration also last month approved supplying Ukraine with American anti-personnel mines to bolster defenses against Russian attacks as front lines in Ukraine’s east buckled.
It was unclear why General Gerasimov wanted the phone call with General Brown kept quiet. General Gerasimov last spoke with his American counterpart in October 2022, when he and Gen. Mark A. Milley, General Brown’s predecessor as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke on the phone. That call also came amid fears that Moscow was looking to escalate its war in Ukraine.
Russian warship 'fires at' German helicopter: NATO reconnaissance aircraft incident over Baltic Sea sparks new conflict escalation fears
A Russian warship has fired warning shots at a German helicopter carrying out patrols over the Baltic Sea, it has been reported.
The crew of the Russian ship fired signal ammunition, the German Press Agency in Brussels has learned.
According to the German newspaper Bild, the warning shots were fired at the Nato reconnaissance aircraft but this is yet to be confirmed.
Signal ammunition is used for warning shots rather than attack, but this sort of incident is a sign of how close Nato and Russia are getting to facing each other directly.
German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock mentioned the incident at a Nato meeting but did not give further details.
However, a spokesperson for the German ministry of defence has so far been unable to confirm the reports of signal ammunition being fired.
It follows a dramatic escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict over the past two weeks with both the UK and US giving approval for Kyiv to fire western-made missiles over the border.
Former Russian president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev even declared late last month that Nato and the US is at 'full war' with Russia.
Nato is currently carrying out increased surveillance in the Baltic Sea to prevent hybrid attacks on pipelines and data cables by Russia and its supporters.
The Baltic Sea is bordered by eight Nato countries and Russia.
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Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth Have the Same Enemies
Illustration by The New York Times. Photograph by Andrew Harnik/Associated Press
I can never decide whether “embattled” or “beleaguered” is the preferred adjective to describe a cabinet secretary pick whose confirmation chances appear to be vanishing. But with Donald Trump reportedly shopping around for backup candidates to run the Pentagon in his new administration, let’s just say that Pete Hegseth, Trump’s original choice for defense secretary, is officially embattled, as well as beleaguered. And we can throw in a “besieged,” too.
The irony of the situation is that Hegseth, a former Fox News host and combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan with two Bronze Stars and (here’s his problem) multiple allegations of sexual and managerial misconduct to his name, is in fact aligned with the once and future president in one critical respect. He is more concerned about domestic enemies than foreign ones, and he is willing to break rules to defeat them — even the rules his potential job requires him to uphold.
Throughout his latest presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly warned Americans about “the enemy within,” an amorphous collection of left-wing ideologues whom he said pose a greater danger to the country than Russia or China. Sometimes he was specific, calling out Democratic politicians like Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff. At other moments he spoke broadly of “radical left lunatics” and “very smart, very vicious people.”
Hegseth invokes the same concept in his recent book, “The War on Warriors.” He is eager to wage war against that enemy within. Hegseth believes that the battle has already been joined — and that his side is losing.
“America today is in a cold civil war,” Hegseth asserts in the book, which was published in June. “Our soul is under attack by a confederacy of radicals.” While his generation was fighting wars abroad, Hegseth writes, “we allowed America’s domestic enemies at home to gobble up cultural, political and spiritual territory.”
If Hegseth somehow manages to win confirmation as secretary of defense, he’ll seek to take that terrain back. And “The War on Warriors” shows the convictions he would bring to the effort. If Hegseth doesn’t make it through, his worldview will still matter, if only because it neatly fills in the details of Trump’s own vision, and his certitude that even the military, one of the few remaining trusted institutions in American life, must be disrupted and remade.
The territory preoccupying Hegseth most is the 6.5 million square feet in Northern Virginia that house the Pentagon, which he says is overrun with progressive ideas and policies promoting diversity, critical race theory, feminism, transgender “lunacy” and the misguided search for violent extremists in the ranks. (“We will not stop until trans-lesbian black females run everything!” he writes in the first paragraph of his first chapter, mocking the supposed priorities of the military brass.) There is a “cultural Marxist revolution ripping through the Pentagon,” Hesgeth argues, and military standards, readiness, recruitment and meritocracy are all suffering. If unqualified officers are promoted to satisfy diversity imperatives, leadership will erode and people will die.
“Forget D.E.I.,” Hegseth writes. “The acronym should be D.I.E. or I.E.D. It will kill our military worse than any I.E.D. ever could.”
Hegseth does not use the term “enemies” as a hyperbolic euphemism for ideological rivals or competing policy visions. He reminds readers that his oath of service is to protect the Constitution “against all enemies — both foreign and domestic. Not political opponents, but real enemies. (Yes, Marxists are our enemies.)”
In particular, he calls out politicians such as Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden for manipulating weak, foolish generals, such as Wesley Clark, Mark Milley and Lloyd Austin. “This unholy alliance of political ideologues and Pentagon pussies has left our warriors without real defenders in Washington,” Hegseth writes. (Yes, his writing is packed with tough-guy insults and expletives; his favorite weapon is the F-bomb, which he deploys against Biden, Milley and others.)
The problem is not really the politicians — there’s no reason to expect better from them, Hegseth says — but rather the generals that kowtow to it all, eager for praise from the liberal media. They are “cowards with stars, complicit as they laud the enemy within,” Hegseth writes. “The next president of the United States needs to fire them all — or at least most of them — and install leaders with real fidelity to the Constitution.”
Trump, of course, is eager to do so. “I would fire them. You can’t have a woke military,” Trump said in a June interview with Fox News. “You need people that want to win. They want to win wars. That’s what their purpose is, to win wars. Not to be woke.” One of the Fox News hosts interviewing the president? Hegseth himself, whose book was coming out just days later.
Moments in the book almost read like Hegseth was fantasizing about the very job he’d be offered less than six months later. “We have only one Pentagon,” he writes. “One secretary of defense. One Army. If we lose it — we are toast.”
Diversity initiatives trouble Hegseth because the kind of people he wants in the military are, well, just regular guys. “Our key constituency is normal men, looking to be heroes and not victims,” he writes. “Normal dudes have always fought, and won, our wars. Prove me wrong.” He loves the 2022 movie “Top Gun: Maverick” because it was a story of “brave men, normal men.” The guys he served with as an Army National Guard officer were normal, too: “Strong. Tough. From Nowhereville, America, just like me. My men. They all look different. Different races, and different dialects. But all normal dudes.”
When you define one group as normal dudes doing normal stuff, the rest are reduced to various forms of abnormality. In Hegseth’s world, some people are just weird, at odds with his beloved normal dudes. He refers to his left-wing enemies, for example, as “a cartoonish circus” or “the freak squad.” And in Hegseth’s vision of the armed forces, women have no place in combat, and transgender troops no place at all.
Rather than fight, women are best suited to “carry the banner of Christian love” into war as nurses and support staffers, Hegseth writes. (Clara Barton comes up right away.) Women’s physical shortcomings compared with male warriors — in terms of bone density, muscle mass and lung capacity — would make the U.S. military “softer” and easier to defeat. Hegseth also emphasizes that women are naturally “life-givers,” so do we really want to train them to become killers? Besides, if men grow accustomed to treating women as equal targets in wartime, he reasons, “then you will be hard-pressed to ask them to treat women differently at home.”
Perhaps not everyone would be hard-pressed. I could not help but recall that passage when The Times reported that Hegseth’s mother called him out as “an abuser of women” in a 2018 email; she called it an “ugly truth” and urged her son to “get some help and take an honest look” at himself.
It’s hard to know whom Hegseth denigrates more casually in his book: the women whom he believes can only function as nurturers or the men whom he imagines would so easily become abusers.
There is little ambiguity with Hegseth’s views on transgender troops, whom he mocks as the left’s “very special” forces. While he expresses concern that some medical treatments required for gender transitions make it harder for transgender troops to deploy for prolonged periods, such logistical matters don’t seem to be his primary complaint. “Men who are pretending to be women, or vice versa, are a distraction,” he writes. “It might be your thing, but it’s weird and does not add substantive value to anyone.” His conclusion is straightforward: “Transgender people should never be allowed to serve. It’s that simple.” (This echoes the position Trump announced during his first term — “the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” he tweeted — and which Biden reversed upon taking office.)
There is a frequent sexualized subtext, not particularly subtle, to Hegseth’s critiques. One of his favorite verbs is “neuter,” which is what the bad guys want to do to the good guys. “The Left must control everything — and today they are obsessed with controlling, and neutering, our military,” he writes. If the enemy within wins the war, he writes, America will be “neutered at home and neutered abroad.”
It’s an odd fixation, particularly when the tools of cultural castration include, for example, the existence of a diversity and inclusion studies minor at the United States Military Academy, which Hegseth believes is setting cadets “on the same ideological path as Che Guevara.” Seeking to confirm the left-wing radicalization of West Point, I reviewed the 18 other minors listed on the academy’s website: aeronautical engineering, America in the world, American foundations, applied statistics, cybersecurity, engineering management, general history, geography, grand strategy, mathematics, nuclear science, photonics, regional studies, robotics, space science, systems engineering, terrorism studies and war, technology and society.
They’re not exactly recreating the Sierra Maestra up there on the banks of the Hudson.
For all his concerns about the weirding and weakening of the armed forces, Hegseth concludes, with typical dismissiveness, that “there just aren’t enough trannies from Brooklyn or lesbians from San Francisco who want to join the 82nd Airborne.” His real worry is that his normal dudes may not want to join, either. “Across America, from small town to small town, there are still hundreds of thousands of patriotic, strong, manly men ripe for recruitment,” Hegseth writes. But he fears that “all the ‘diversity’ recruiting messages made certain kids — white kids — feel like they’re not wanted.”
Hegseth’s expectations of normality flow not just from his experiences in war but also from a juvenile obsession with pop-culture depictions of the military and manhood. In addition to his “Top Gun: Maverick” references, Hegseth quotes from “Team America: World Police,” a savage 2004 satire of mindless militarism. (When he recalls capturing insurgents in Iraq, Hegseth adds, “’Merica, [expletive] yeah.”) He also draws inspiration from the 1988 blockbuster “Die Hard” and argues that America needs more men like Bruce Willis’s character, John McClane, the down-on-his-luck cop who saves the day. “Our elites are like the feckless drug-addled businessmen at Nakatomi Plaza,” Hegseth writes in his introduction. “But there will come a day when they realize they need John McClane.”
Hegseth sees himself as a yippee-ki-yay kind of guy. “When the traditional types scream about ‘norms,’ I embrace the chaos,” he wrote in an earlier book, “American Crusade,” published in 2020. “When the media punches, I punch back. When the Left attacks, I counterattack.” The book jacket features a blurb from Trump: “You’re a f**king warrior, Pete. A f**king warrior.”
If Hegseth becomes Trump’s warrior at the Pentagon, we know one of his early tasks. The president-elect has made clear that he plans to declare a national emergency over immigration and enlist military resources in his mass deportation efforts. I would not expect much opposition from Hegseth, who warns of an “invasion” at the southern border and regards illegal immigration as a leftist ploy to amass more Democratic voters. “We need to build a big, beautiful wall along our border,” he writes in the 2020 book, “because the Left has used every mechanism at its disposal to ensure that illegal immigrants can come to our country and steal — yes, steal — the benefits paid for by taxpayers.”
Debates over the legality and propriety of using the U.S. military in support of the president’s immigration policy may not matter much either because, over time, Hegseth has voiced growing indifference for norms of military conduct and rules of engagement. In “The War on Warriors,” he looks back on Army lawyers’ instructions over when and how they could engage the enemy in Iraq as “nonsense” and says he told men under his command to disregard them. During Trump’s first term, Hegseth urged the president to intervene on behalf of U.S. troops who had been charged with war crimes. And he minimizes the value of international agreements governing the treatment of civilians and prisoners of war.
“Should we follow the Geneva Conventions?” he asks. “What if we treated the enemy the way they treated us? Would that not be an incentive for the other side to reconsider their barbarism?” He reveals his indifference toward allies and partners when he wonders, “Aren’t we just better off winning our wars according to our own rules?!”
Hegseth’s disdain for rules is perplexing in part because, in “The War on Warriors,” he worries that domestic enemies might abuse their own powers when they control the U.S. military. He urges “perpetual vigilance” against a “rogue or radical executive branch” that might use the military “extraconstitutionally,” even “against our own people.”
Hegseth describes the battle against this enemy in martial terms. “Just like an enemy at war, the radical Left never stops moving and planning,” he writes. “They do not respect cease-fires, do not abide by the rules of warfare, and do not respect anything except total defeat of their enemy.”
“They’re traitors,” he concludes. “Plain and simple.”
The notion that he could be the rogue, that abuse of power is not the domain of just one side or one party, does not seem to cross his mind. After all, in his vision of the Pentagon, the normal dudes will be back in charge, as they must be. “The Department of Defense — before the full-out assault from the Obama and Biden administrations — was the last bastion of meritocracy in America,” Hegseth writes. He wants to restore it.
No matter that, in a truly meritocratic America, someone like Pete Hegseth would come nowhere close to running the Department of Defense. This beleaguered, embattled and besieged man just needs to take an honest look at himself to grasp that ugly truth. Or perhaps some Republican senators will do it for him.
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Finns have soured slightly on Nato, indicates survey
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According to Eva, the results point rather to the prevalent geopolitical uncertainty than to a more profound change in public opinion.
The views varied by factors such as age, gender, political affiliation and socio-economic status.
Reservations about Nato were widespread especially among supporters of the Left Alliance. Over one-third, or 37 per cent, of the left-wing opposition party’s supporters viewed the membership in a positive and 23 per cent in a negative light. The Green League was the only other party with a base that is more sceptical than average about the defence alliance, 63 per cent of them regarding the membership as a positive.
Mikko Laakso, the communication director at Eva, stated to Helsingin Sanomat last week that the results suggest that a “peace wing” is evolving within the Greens and Left Alliance. The scepticism, he gauged, may be linked to discussion about participation in the alliance’s nuclear exercises and US policy toward the Middle East.
The US is Nato’s largest and most influential member.
Over four-fifths, or 77 per cent, of men and almost two-thirds, or 65 per cent, of women have a positive view of Nato, according to Eva. Positive views of the alliance also correlated with older age and higher socio-economic status.
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Alcohol banned for USS George Washington crew following sailor deaths
The crew of the carrier George Washington has been banned from drinking alcohol on or off base under a new set of liberty restrictions implemented in the wake of the deaths of two sailors following the ship’s arrival in Japan.
The updated rules, which apply to approximately 3,000 sailors assigned to the hulking ship, went into effect Nov. 26, a spokesperson for the carrier told Stars and Stripes. The restrictions are not intended to be permanent.
Also under the regulations, which were implemented four days after the ship pulled into Yokosuka Naval Base on Nov. 22, sailors under the age of 20 will not be allowed to take overnight liberty, Stripes reported.
Since October, restrictions put in place — beyond the temporary order — have prohibited Japan-based sailors from visiting or drinking alcohol in off-base businesses between midnight and 5 a.m.
The tightened guidelines come in the wake of two GW sailors’ deaths in separate incidents after the ship pulled into port.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Cuyler Burnett Condon and Seaman Dimitri Isacc Morales died within days of the ship’s return to U.S. 7th Fleet.
Condon was found unresponsive Nov. 22 in an on-base hotel room and was pronounced dead at the scene. Three days later, Morales was discovered unresponsive off base in Yokosuka and subsequently pronounced dead by local authorities.
The Naval Criminal Investigation Service is investigating the deaths alongside Japanese law enforcement, Stripes reported.
The enhanced restrictions, meanwhile, will remain in place as officials “monitor activities in town and communicate any changes to the policy,” the spokesperson told Stripes.
The GW, which includes the first F-35C Lightning II squadron to join forward-deployed naval forces in Japan, is now the Navy’s only forward-deployed carrier.
The ship replaced the carrier Ronald Reagan in Japan so the latter could undergo maintenance work in Bremerton, Washington.
President Biden has issued pardons to just 26 people during his term, and granted the commutation of 132 prison sentences. Though he has been criticized for his reluctance to extend clemency, his choices mostly represented the best form of it, wiping away the criminal stains of everyday people who had been unjustly convicted or reducing prison time for those whose sentences were excessive. And his modest record spoke to Mr. Biden’s attempt to project an admirable restraint in using his absolute, easily abused power to overrule the judgment of the justice system.
Then on Sunday, in direct violation of his own pledges not to do so, Mr. Biden pardoned his own son, Hunter. Though he claimed the decision was made out of fatherly love, his explanation also attacked the investigation of his son and, implicitly, his own Justice Department.
This was a significant misstep that could leave lasting damage. It will not only tarnish Mr. Biden’s own record as a defender of democratic norms, it will also be greedily embraced as justification for Donald Trump’s further abuses of pardon power and broader attacks on the integrity of the justice system.
At the most base level, it reinforces the sense that Mr. Trump’s systematic abuse of the pardon system in his first term was not an aberration, that presidents of every party exploit their constitutional privilege to benefit their relatives and cronies, that justice is only for those with the right connections. It is easy to imagine the “they did it too” defenses being offered should Mr. Trump pardon the perpetrators of the violent Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, as he has suggested he will. Hunter Biden’s crimes are not nearly equivalent to the destruction caused by the rioters, but his father’s action muddles the defenses against future abuses.
As Hunter Biden’s firearms and tax cases wound through the courts, the president and his aides repeatedly pledged he would not intervene and would not issue a pardon, even after Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges in September. This was consistent with his broader pledge, central to his campaign and electoral mandate, to protect the independence and integrity of the justice system.
On the day after the Jan. 6 riot in 2021, as he introduced Merrick Garland as his choice for attorney general, Mr. Biden condemned Mr. Trump’s interference in the judiciary and said the nation’s democratic institutions were the nation’s guardrails.
“There is no president who is a king, no Congress that’s a House of Lords,” Mr. Biden said that day. “A judiciary doesn’t serve the will of the president or exist to protect him or her. We have three coequal branches of government. Coequal. Our president is not above the law. Justice serves the people. It doesn’t protect the powerful. Justice is blind.”
Presidents have the unlimited right to issue pardons for crimes that could be charged by federal prosecutors. But when they use that power on behalf of their loved ones, or their political allies or their financial supporters, they erode confidence in ideals that justice is blind, that all are equal before the law.
In the modern era, the most notorious (though much contested) example was Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon in 1974. Presidents of both parties earned scorn for using the power for seemingly self-serving ends. In 1992, George H.W. Bush pardoned Caspar Weinberger, the former defense secretary, along with five others involved in the Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan administration, and in 2001, during his last week in office, Bill Clinton pardoned Marc Rich, the fugitive financier whose ex-wife had donated heavily to the Clintons and the Democratic National Committee, along with his half brother, Roger Clinton, who pleaded guilty to cocaine distribution.
But abuse of pardon authority escalated significantly during Mr. Trump’s first term in the White House. He pardoned his advisers — Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort and Roger Stone. He pardoned Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. He pardoned three service members accused or convicted of war crimes, over the objections of his own leaders in the Pentagon, after campaigns by his allies in conservative media.
Mr. Trump has obviously never demonstrated any interest in the principle that presidents should not use the levers of power — including the Justice Department — to punish enemies and reward friends, supporters and family members. He is already vowing to pardon “a large portion” of the more than 1,500 people who have been federally charged with crimes in relation to participation in the Jan. 6 riot to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Five police officers died in the wake of that attack, four of them by suicide, and Mr. Trump’s clemency would effectively reward violent anti-democratic vigilantes willing to fight on his behalf.
Mr. Biden has been consistent enough in his defense of judicial independence to understand the implications of this abuse. This week, in justifying his decision, he accused his own Justice Department of “selectively and unfairly” prosecuting his son. To use a word that Democrats have often used in warning of the dangers of overlooking Mr. Trump’s defiance of the norms and values of our democracy, Mr. Biden has now “normalized” the abnormal. In doing so, he has made further abuses more likely.
“It further erodes Americans’ faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all,” said Senator Michael Bennet, Democrat of Colorado.
There’s little doubt, as Mr. Biden took pains to note, that the prosecution of Hunter Biden occurred in an environment of significant political pressure from the president’s enemies. The nonviolent firearms charges on which Hunter Biden was convicted are rarely prosecuted on their own, especially against first-time offenders. And it’s clear that many of Mr. Trump’s choices for top executive positions, particularly his pick for F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, are determined to carry out Mr. Trump’s orders to pursue his critics and perceived enemies through the legal system, which raised the possibility that they might have pursued further charges against Hunter Biden, including those that may be unjust.
But that doesn’t change the fact that Hunter Biden, whose long history of exploiting his family’s name and influence consistently crossed all lines of propriety, did indeed break the law. He pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges after being convicted by a jury of his peers for the firearms-related crimes. It’s not sufficient justification for such a self-interested use of a presidential pardon, particularly one as sweeping as this one, which exonerates Hunter Biden for any crime he might possibly have committed over the past 10 years. (It’s probably the broadest pardon since the one Nixon received.)
Mr. Biden instead should be using his clemency powers to address real inequities in the legal system, and there are a vast number of them. He did issue mass pardons for thousands of people convicted of marijuana possession under federal law (although no one was in prison for that crime alone at the time of the pardon) and for veterans earlier convicted of engaging in gay sex. But there are more than 8,000 petitions for clemency pending with the Justice Department, and the White House should examine as many cases as possible and pardon those more deserving of clemency than the president’s own son.
_________________
С интересом и понятными ожиданиями, Dimitriy.
Western states criticise Russia's Lavrov over Ukraine at OSCE meeting
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"My message to the Russian delegation is the following: We are not taken in by your lies. We know what you're doing. You're trying to rebuild the Russian empire and we will not let you. We will resist you every inch of the way," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in a speech.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told the meeting that his country was continuing to fight for its right to exist.
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Цитата:
Rosja zamyka polski konsulat generalny w Petersburgu (aktualizacja)
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Minister Sikorski powiedział, że Rosja nie ma prawa reagować w ten sposób, ponieważ decyzja Polski o zamknięciu konsulatu w Poznaniu była reakcją na rosyjski sabotaż i dokonywane w Polsce podpalenia. "My nie dokonujemy podpaleń ani sabotażu w Rosji. Jednak wszyscy wiedzą, jaka jest Rosja, więc nie jest to działanie niespodziewane" - skomentował szef polskiej dyplomacji.
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Цитата:
Putin's foreign minister Lavrov blames West for 'reincarnation of the Cold War' and warns it could turn 'hot' in latest WW3 rant
Sergei Lavrov (pictured) said the West failed to heed the Kremlin's warnings over the dangers of dispatching troops to support Ukraine and warned it risked turning into an East-West conflict
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Vladimir Putin's foreign minister has blamed the West for the 'reincarnation of the Cold War' and warned that it could turn 'hot' in a chilling rant.
Sergei Lavrov said the West failed to heed the Kremlin's warnings over the dangers of dispatching troops to support Ukraine and warned it risked turning into an East-West conflict, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.
Speculation over possible Western deployments, potentially as a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire, has ratched up amid an escalation in the near three-year war.
Lavrov was quoted as saying that the West was behind a 'reincarnation of the Cold War, only now with a much greater risk of a transition to a hot one'.
Asked about Western media reports on the topic, Lavrov said: 'All these fantasies are only exacerbating the situation, and show that the people who hold such ideas, prefer not to hear the very clear warnings that President Putin has repeatedly given.'
France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said last month that there were no 'red lines' when it came to Paris's support for Ukraine.
Asked whether this included a French troop deployment, he said: 'We do not discard any option.'
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday it was too early and 'inappropriate' to discuss whether Berlin would in future send troops to a possible peacekeeping force in Ukraine.
Lavrov also accused Washington of military exercises in the Asia-Pacific region that sought to 'destabilise the entire Eurasian continent.'
'Military exercises are growing with native participation in the South China Sea, in the Taiwan Straits around the Korean Peninsula. Clearly, this is an attempt to destabilise the entire Eurasian continent,' Lavrov said at an OSCE meeting in Malta.
Lavrov was speaking after an OSCE summit in Malta, his first trip to an EU country since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
His rant is the latest stoking WW3 fears and comes after former US Army General tapped to be Donald Trump's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia warned at the end of November 'we're on the precipice of World War III'.
Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, 80, told Fox News of the precarious geopolitical circumstances after Vladimir Putin launched a never-before-seen hypersonic missile on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
The retired general, who also served as a national security adviser in Trump's previous administration, said: 'I don't think World War III has begun, but we're right on the precipice.'
'When you look at what's happening... with an alliance that President Trump kept apart. You know, he had North Korea over here, he had China over here, he had Iran here and Russia over here.
'What you've seen now is they've all joined. You've got an axis together, and they're feeding off one another.'
Kellogg's plan to force a ceasefire in Ukraine was laid out in a
published earlier this year that is likely to form the backbone of the incoming Trump administration's approach to managing the conflict.
In it, Kellogg along with co-author Fred Fleitz lambasted the Biden administration's handling of the Ukraine war and said the US' economic and military might should be used to leverage Kyiv and Moscow into talks.
The retired general advocated for pushing Ukraine into ceasefire negotiations by threatening to pull US aid, while simultaneously telling Moscow that Washington would boost support to Kyiv should Putin not agree to a diplomatic solution.
Under Kellogg's plan, Ukraine would have to cede a considerable chunk of occupied territory to Russia and agree with Western countries not to attempt to join NATO for an extended period of time.
In return, the US would help Ukraine to develop a 'long-term security architecture' to reinforce its defensive capabilities for the future - and levies would be placed on Russian energy sales to pay for Ukraine's reconstruction.
Цитата:
Radosław Sikorski wyszedł z sali obrad OBWE. Miał wtedy przemawiać Siergiej Ławrow! "Ja nie będę słuchać tych kłamstw"
Minister spraw zagranicznych Radosław Sikorski wyszedł z sali obrad Rady Ministerialnej OBWE na Malcie, gdy na jej forum przemawiał szef rosyjskiej dyplomacji Siergiej Ławrow. To dopiero zmiana po minionych latach, gdy razem palili papierosy w okresie resetu relacji Warszawy z Moskwą.
Po raz pierwszy od początku pełnoskalowej agresji Rosji na Ukrainę w 2022 roku Ławrow uczestniczy w spotkaniu zorganizowanym w kraju Unii Europejskiej.
„Ławrow przyjechał, by kłamać”
Wchodząc na spotkanie 31. Rady Ministerialnej OBWE Sikorski powiedział dziennikarzom, że „nie będzie słuchał kłamstw Ławrowa”. W trakcie wystąpienia rosyjskiego ministra salę obrad opuściły też delegacje Litwy, Łotwy i Estonii oraz Czech.
Antony Blinken został na sali
W sali pozostał amerykański sekretarz stanu Antony Blinken, który potem oskarżył ministra spraw zagranicznych Rosji Siergieja Ławrowa o sianie dezinformacji i doprowadzenie do dalszej eskalacji wojny Rosji przeciwko Ukrainie. Ławrow nie był obecny w czasie wystąpienia Blinkena.
Żałuję, że nasz kolega pan Ławrow wyszedł z sali i nie był na tyle uprzejmy, aby mnie wysłuchać, tak jak my wysłuchaliśmy go
— powiedział Blinken, cytowany przez AFP.
Ocenił, że „nasz rosyjski kolega jest bardzo utalentowany w topieniu swoich słuchaczy w tsunami dezinformacji”.
Według mediów Ławrow rozmawiał wcześniej z ministrem spraw zagranicznych Węgier Peterem Szijjarto.
Nie taki znów antyrosyjski…
Warto przypomnieć, że według informacji z portalu TVP Info z listopada 2022 r. Radosław Sikorski stawiał na budowanie strategicznego partnerstwa z Rosją, czemu dał wyraz w jednej z tez na spotkanie z szefem MSZ Rosji Siergiejem Ławrowem. Dokument pochodzi ze stycznia 2008 r. i został przygotowany przez Departament Polityki Wschodniej w ministerstwie spraw zagranicznych, któremu przewodził wówczas Sikorski.
Rosja jest największym bezpośrednim sąsiadem i strategicznym partnerem Unii Europejskiej. Popieramy rozwój zrównoważonej polityki wschodniej UE, którym jednym z zasadniczych elementów są stosunki z Rosją. W ramach UE aktywnie uczestniczymy w budowaniu strategicznego partnerstwa z Rosją
— podkreślano w dokumencie, cytowanym wówczas przez portal TVP Info.
Także Telewizja Polska wyemitowała serię serialu dokumentalnego „Reset”, gdzie autorzy ujawnili szokujące dokumenty dot. stosunków polsko-rosyjskich.
Okazuje się, że Radosław Sikorski prowadził korespondencję z Sergiejem Ławrowem, która miała pomóc w ustaleniu drogi, która pozwoli na „usunięcie sprawy zbrodni katyńskiej z listy spraw spornych”
Autorzy serialu dokumentalnego „Reset” dotarli do nieznanej dotychczas korespondencji pomiędzy Siergiejem Ławrowem a Radosławem Sikorskim. Rząd Donalda Tuska współdziałał wraz z władzami Rosji, by usunąć zbrodnię katyńską z listy spraw spornych i doprowadzić do nieuznania jej za ludobójstwo – aby ułatwić Putinowi tworzenie nowej architektury Europy
— napisał wówczas portal tvp.info.
W 2009 roku Sikorski pisał do Ławrowa: „Drogi Ministrze, drogi Siergieju, przestudiowałem list przewodniczących Grupy do spraw Trudnych dotyczący sprawy Katynia, który zaadresowany został do nas, a także do premierów Polski i Rosji, Donalda Tuska oraz Władimira Putina. Jak pewnie pamiętasz, list ten jest skutkiem prośby, jaką premier Tusk oraz premier Putin skierowali do przewodniczących, aby przygotowali konkretne propozycje, które w satysfakcjonujący sposób dla obu stron pomogłyby rozwiązać ten problem
— miał pisać do Ławrowa Sikorski w 2009 r.
Co Wy tam palicie, @sikorskiradek ?
— przypominał z kolei na X Mateusz Morawiecki.
Цитата:
Rosja zamyka konsulat generalny RP w Petersburgu. Trzech polskich dyplomatów zostało uznanych za persona non grata. Jest reakcja MSZ
Federacja Rosyjska postanowiła zamknąć konsulat generalny RP w Petersburgu. To odpowiedź na zamknięcie przez Polskę konsulatu rosyjskiego w Poznaniu. Do informacji odniósł się minister spraw zagranicznych Radosław Sikorski.
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„Dostojna obojętność”
Szef MSZ Radosław Sikorski powiedział dziś, że Polska przyjmuje z „dostojną obojętnością” informację o tym , że Rosja zamyka polski konsulat w Petersburgu. Ocenił, że Rosja nie ma prawa do kontrposunięć.
Podczas spotkania z dziennikarzami na Malcie Sikorski, odnosząc się do odpowiedzi Rosji na zamknięcie jej konsulatu w Poznaniu czyli zamknięcia konsulatu RP w Petersburgu, oświadczył: „Przyjmujemy tę decyzję rosyjską z dostojną obojętnością, bo się jej spodziewaliśmy”.
Rosja tak naprawdę nie ma prawa do kontrposunięć, bo zamknięcie konsulatu w Poznaniu było spowodowane aktami dywersji w Polsce i krajach sojuszniczych. Te akty dywersji to są przestępstwa, które tylko dzięki szczęśliwym zbiegom okoliczności nie doprowadziły jeszcze do ofiar. Ale Rosja jaka jest każdy wie
— dodał szef MSZ.
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Цитата:
Глава МИД Польши Сикорский пригрозил закрыть оставшиеся два российских консульства — в Гданьске и Кракове.
Цитата:
Jest odpowiedź Moskwy na decyzję polskiego MSZ. Rosja zamyka polski konsulat
Rosja zamyka polski konsulat generalny w Petersburgu — informuje Agencja Reutera. Z kolei rosyjska agencja RIA Nowosti dodaje, że trzech pracowników Konsulatu Generalnego RP zostało uznanych za persona non grata. — Moskwa działa i będzie podejmować zdecydowane działania w reakcji na wszelkie nieprzyjazne kroki Polski wobec Rosji — przekazało MSZ Rosji.
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Polska zamknęła rosyjski konsulat w Poznaniu
Decyzja rosyjskiego MSZ jest odpowiedzią na ruch polskiego ministerstwa. Koniec działalności rosyjskiego konsulatu w Poznaniu zapowiedział w październiku Radosław Sikorski, minister spraw zagranicznych. Decyzję argumentował podejrzeniem o działalność dywersyjną Rosjan w Polsce. "Rosja prowadzi wojnę hybrydową. [...] Jako minister spraw zagranicznych moim obowiązkiem jest stanowczo zareagować" — pisał Sikorski na platformie X.
— Podjąłem decyzję o wycofaniu zgody na funkcjonowanie Konsulatu Federacji Rosyjskiej w Poznaniu. Jego personel zostanie uznany za osoby niepożądane w Polsce. Żądamy zaprzestania prowadzenia wojny hybrydowej przeciwko Polsce i jej sojusznikom — mówił w rozmowie z dziennikarzami Radosław Sikorski.
Ostatecznie rosyjscy dyplomaci z konsulatu w Poznaniu wyprowadzili się 27 listopada. Po południu budynek opuścił Iwan Kosogonow — od sześciu lat konsul generalny Rosji — który odjechał czarną limuzyną. Od momentu inwazji Rosji na Ukrainę w 2022 r. Kosogonow nie był zapraszany na spotkania i uroczystości państwowe i samorządowe.
Nie wiadomo jeszcze, co powstanie w miejsce placówki dyplomatycznej. Pojawiło się kilka pomysłów. Zainteresowana jest m.in.
Ukraina, która zwróciła się do Polski z wnioskiem o przekazanie obiektu.
(выделено а.п.)
Цитата:
Rosja zamyka konsulat generalny RP w Petersburgu
Rosja zamyka Konsulat Generalny RP w Petersburgu w odpowiedzi na zamknięcie w Poznaniu rosyjskiej placówki - poinformowało MSZ Federacji Rosyjskiej. Moskwa uznała też trzech pracowników konsulatu za personae non gratae. Dyplomaci mają opuścić Rosję - informuje agencja Reutera.
Budynek polskiego konsulatu w Petersburgu
O cofnięciu zgody na funkcjonowanie konsulatu w Petersburgu Moskwa poinformowała już Warszawę.
„5 grudnia Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych Rosji przesłało stronie polskiej notę informującą, że w odpowiedzi na zamknięcie przez władze polskie Konsulatu Generalnego Rosji w Poznaniu w dniu 30 listopada, strona rosyjska wycofuje zgodę na funkcjonowanie Konsulatu Generalnego RP w Petersburgu od dnia 10 stycznia 2025 r.” – czytamy w oświadczeniu opublikowanym w czwartek na stronie internetowej rosyjskiego MSZ.
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Материал полностью.
Цитата:
В ответ на закрытие российского консульства в Познани Россия закрывает генконсульство Польши в Петербурге, сообщил МИД РФ
Кроме того, Россия объявляет persona non grata трех дипломатических сотрудников польского генконсульства – они должны покинуть страну.
Illustration by George Douglas; source photographs by Enrique Díaz/7cero and Keystone-France, via Getty Images
Well, that was dangerous — and absurd.
On Tuesday, the president of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, suddenly declared martial law. He suspended political activity in one of the world’s most advanced and prosperous democracies and attempted to place the media under government control.
Seemingly confused and surprised troops struggled to contain a rebellious National Assembly, which voted immediately to end military rule, but not before a series of chaotic scenes that shocked the nation. The president backed down, mere hours after triggering a political crisis that threatened democratic rule.
As the drama played out in South Korea, my phone lit up with a question from friends and media colleagues — including from some of the most sober-minded people I know. Can this happen here? Can an American president — or any other American leader — create a similar political emergency?
The short answer is no. The longer answer is yes — if a president (or a governor) exploits ambiguities in American law.
Let’s deal with the short answer first. Unlike South Korea, the United States has no clear constitutional mechanism for a president to simply declare military rule. State governors do have the ability to declare martial law in the event of an emergency, but governors can’t abrogate the federal Constitution, and any declaration of state military control is subject to judicial review.
There have been a number of limited declarations of martial law in American history. Gen. Andrew Jackson declared martial law in New Orleans for three months during the War of 1812, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared martial law in Hawaii after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, to give two examples.
In addition, President Abraham Lincoln declared martial law in 1862 and applied it to “all rebels and insurgents, their aiders and abettors, within the United States, and all persons discouraging volunteer enlistments, resisting militia draft or guilty of any disloyal practice affording aid and comfort to rebels against the authority of the United States.” But there is no American constitutional authority for military rule comparable to the one in the South Korean Constitution.
The longer answer, however, is far less reassuring. While there is no constitutional mechanism for military control, history demonstrates that American leaders will sometimes press their war powers beyond the constitutional breaking point (while Roosevelt’s declaration of martial law in Hawaii was defensible, his internment of Japanese Americans was not).
Even worse, there is a statutory basis for military intervention in domestic affairs, and the statute — called the Insurrection Act — is so poorly drafted that I have come to call it America’s most dangerous law.
The Insurrection Act is almost as old as the United States itself. The law dates to 1792, and it permits the president to deploy American troops on American streets to impose order and maintain government control.
There is nothing inherently wrong with granting a president such power, so long as it is properly circumscribed. There are numerous examples of lawless defiance of government authority, from the Whiskey Rebellion in George Washington’s second term, to the Civil War, to southern resistance to Reconstruction and to the Los Angeles riots in 1992 (the last time the act was invoked).
But the statute itself is terribly written. The first section isn’t problematic — it permits the president to deploy the military upon the request of a state legislature or governor, if the legislature can’t convene. That makes sense. If a governor has lost control, he should be able to appeal to federal forces for help.
The next two sections of the statute, however, are much worse. Section 252 of the act gives the president the authority to deploy troops domestically “whenever the president considers that unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion against the authority of the United States, make it impracticable to enforce the laws of the United States in any state by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings.”
Section 253 has similar language, granting the president the power to “take such measures as he considers necessary” to suppress “any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination or conspiracy.”
Note the extreme trust placed in the president. He can call out troops when he considers it necessary. There is no congressional oversight. If he believes he needs troops in the streets, he can order troops in the streets.
And in fact, Trump almost invoked the Insurrection Act during his first term. In the summer of 2020, he considered ordering federal troops to suppress the urban unrest that exploded after the murder of George Floyd, but he ultimately backed down after his secretary of defense, Mark Esper, publicly stated his opposition to Trump’s plan.
Since he left office, however, Trump has openly regretted not deploying troops in 2020, and his allies have urged him to use the Insurrection Act during his second term, to control the border or to suppress demonstrations. Or both.
But the Insurrection Act isn’t the only dangerously ambiguous and open-ended provision of American law that could expand the authority to use the military for domestic law enforcement. Presidents aren’t the only American leaders who can cause chaos, and a number of Republican governors are seeking to expand their own authority to use force.
Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution denies states the power to engage in war unless they are “actually invaded.” Article I, Section 9 protects the writ of habeas corpus (an ancient legal doctrine that allows an imprisoned person to petition for release) “unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public safety may require it.”
Lincoln relied on Article I, Section 9 when he revoked habeas corpus during the Civil War, an obvious case of rebellion.
You might think that the meaning of these passages is clear, that an invasion is easy to define. Think, for example, of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or of North Korea’s invasion of South Korea in 1950 — violent attacks that are intended to destroy or occupy sovereign nations.
Yet a number of red-state governors — including, most notably, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas — have deemed the surge of migrants at the border an “invasion.” Texas used this purported invasion to justify placing barriers in the Rio Grande, although those barriers would otherwise violate federal law.
Earlier this year, Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason, wrote a piece in Lawfare explaining the original public meaning of “invasion” in the Constitution. In the words of James Madison, the term refers to “an operation of war,” and “to protect against invasion is an exercise of the power of war.”
Frank Bowman, a professor emeritus at the University of Missouri School of Law, wrote in Just Security that throughout the 1787 Constitutional Convention and the ratification debates, “With a handful of exceptions where ‘invasion’ is used metaphorically, as when referring to an ‘invasion of rights,’ the word invariably refers to a hostile armed incursion into or against the territory of the states or the nation, an incursion that must be met with a military response.”
In a decision issued in July, the Fifth Circuit held that the Texas barriers did not conflict with federal law, but they did so without answering whether the migrant surge constituted an invasion within the meaning of the Constitution.
In a concurring opinion, however, Judge James Ho — who is reportedly on Trump’s short list to fill the next Supreme Court vacancy — wrote that it’s not for courts to decide whether an invasion occurred. That’s a political question, to be decided by the elected branches of government. Under this reasoning, if the president says there’s an invasion, then there’s an invasion. Similarly, if a governor says there’s an invasion, then there’s an invasion.
If Ho’s reasoning was adopted by the Supreme Court, then unscrupulous presidents and governors would enjoy immense new authority over war, peace and due process. Economic migrants and asylum seekers could be treated as enemy combatants. Presidents could order large-scale detentions, without granting detainees access to federal courts.
Before the Trump era, not that many Americans perceived how much our democracy’s very survival depended on the honor and decency of American presidents. Yes, our Constitution is full of checks and balances, but it doesn’t address every contingency, and broad statutes give presidents far too much potential authority.
President Biden and his allies in Congress did important work to shore up American democracy. By amending the Electoral Count Act, they helped protect presidential elections from another effort at a Trump-style coup, to give one example. But the Biden administration focused on preserving elections, not on reforming the powers of the presidency.
Trump can still use the Insurrection Act to call out the troops when he wants to call out the troops. He can declare an invasion and dare the courts to disagree. Neither power is as broad as a South Korean president’s power to declare martial law, but they are dangerous to American democracy.
We have long trusted presidents not to abuse their power, and most presidents have proven worthy of that trust. Trump is not. While we can hope that the courts and Congress will restrain him in his second term, American law gives him more power than he should rightfully possess.
...
И комплектом в этот букет обращение вдовы лёгкого поведения:
Цитата:
Russia's Yulia Navalnaya asks supporters to design 'people's gravestone' for late husband
…
LONDON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, asked his supporters on Thursday to design "a people's gravestone" for him as a symbol of his political struggle against the Kremlin.
Navalny, whose death in February aged 47 in a prison above the Arctic Circle deprived the opposition of its most determined and charismatic leader, is buried in a Moscow cemetery where supporters come to pay respects.
In a YouTube video, Navalnaya said she and other family members were holding a competition to design his gravestone and invited supporters to submit ideas before the end of January.
She and the family would choose their three favourites and then allow supporters to vote on which one they liked best before announcing the result on Feb. 16, the first anniversary of Navalny's death.
"And let it be not just a monument, but a symbol. For some, a symbol of hope. For some, a symbol of strength and struggle. For some, a symbol of what we've been through together. And a symbol of how expensive freedom is.
...
Цитата:
_________________
С интересом и понятными ожиданиями, Dimitriy.
British Army ‘depleted in months’ during a major war
The British Army could be depleted within six to twelve months if faced with a large-scale conflict akin to the war in Ukraine, Defence Minister Alistair Carns has warned.
Speaking at a conference hosted by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), Carns highlighted the critical role of reserves in addressing the challenges of modern warfare and sustaining the armed forces during protracted conflicts.
Citing casualty rates from Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, where an estimated 1,500 soldiers are killed or injured daily, Carns said such attrition would rapidly exhaust the British Army’s current capabilities.
“In a war of scale – not a limited intervention, but one similar to Ukraine – our army, for example, on current casualty rates, would be expended in six months to a year,” Carns said. He stressed the need for the UK to enhance its ability to “generate depth and mass rapidly in the event of a crisis.”
Carns, who recently joined the reserves himself after serving as a Royal Marines colonel, highlighted the importance of rebuilding the UK’s reserve forces. He argued that while the British Army does not necessarily need to grow in size, it must have the capacity to quickly expand in times of crisis.
“The reserves are critical, absolutely central, to that process,” Carns stated. “Without them, we cannot generate mass; we cannot meet the plethora of defence tasks.”
He called for an overhaul of the reserve recruitment process, describing it as overly complex and in need of simplification. Carns noted he had been holding discussions on streamlining the system to make joining the reserves more accessible.
Carns also pointed out that the UK lags behind its NATO allies in leveraging its reserve forces, calling for a shift in focus to align with the practices of other member states.
“We need to catch up with NATO allies,”
he said, underlining the importance of fully integrating reservists into the broader defence strategy.
General Sir Jim Hockenhull, Commander of UK Strategic Command, echoed Carns’ sentiments at the conference, describing reservists as “fundamental to our national security.”
Hockenhull highlighted the critical contributions of specialist reservists, including the 2,000 personnel working at Strategic Command, which account for 7.5% of its workforce. He noted their role in various capacities, including training Ukrainian medics to address the unprecedented number of amputations caused by the war.
“There are more amputees as a consequence of the war in Ukraine than there are service personnel in the British Army,” Hockenhull remarked. “Many of our reserve medics are on the front line of helping that support and building capacity.”
The general argued for the need to integrate reservists into the armed forces fully, stating that their contributions must be “baked in, not bolted on.”
Carns’ comments underline the vulnerability of the British Army in the face of sustained attritional warfare. He said Russia’s ability to endure heavy losses and rebuild its forces highlights the importance of having a layered and adaptable military structure.
Цитата:
Annual Chief of the Defence Staff Lecture 2024 with Admiral Sir Tony Radakin | RUSI Highlights 2024 г. (а.п.: фонограмма целиком пока не опубликована.)
Цитата:
UK defence policy in a heightened security landscape - Admiral Sir Tony Radakin 2023.
Цитата:
Senior UK commander warns of ‘Third nuclear age’
LONDON (AP) — The head of Britain’s armed forces has warned that the world stands at the cusp of a “third nuclear age,’’ defined by multiple simultaneous challenges and weakened safeguards that kept previous threats in check.
Admiral Tony Radakin, chief of the defense staff, said Britain needs to recognize the seriousness of the threats it faces, even if there is only a remote chance of Russia launching a direct nuclear attack on the U.K. or its NATO allies.
While the Cold War saw two superpowers held at bay by nuclear deterrence and the past three decades were characterized by international efforts to restrict the spread of nuclear weapons, the current era is “altogether more complex,” Radakin said Wednesday in a speech to the Royal United Services Institute.
“We are at the dawn of a third nuclear age…’’ he said. “It is defined by multiple and concurrent dilemmas, proliferating nuclear and disruptive technologies and the almost total absence of the security architectures that went before.”
Challenges faced by the West include Russia’s threat to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, China’s drive to build up its nuclear stockpiles, Iran’s failure to cooperate with international efforts to limit its nuclear program, and “erratic behavior” by North Korea, Radakin said. All of this comes against a backdrop of increasing cyber-attacks, sabotage and disinformation campaigns aimed at destabilizing Western countries.
He described the deployment of North Korean soldiers alongside Russian forces on Ukraine’s border as the year’s “most extraordinary development,’’ and warned that further deployments were possible.
The annual lecture by the chief of Britain’s defense staff is a tradition at RUSI, one of the country’s foremost think tanks on military and strategic issues.
Radakin used the lecture to make the case for continued reforms in the British military so the U.K. is prepared to respond to the changing international landscape. That includes maintaining Britain’s nuclear deterrent, which is “the one part of our inventory of which Russia is most aware and has more impact on Putin than anything else,” he said.
Britain keeps at least one submarine armed with nuclear missiles at sea at all times so that it can respond in the event of a nuclear attack.
The U.K. government is currently conducting a strategic defense review to determine how its armed forces should be staffed and equipped to confront the new challenges. The results are due to be published in the first half of next year.
Цитата:
Holandia: Minister obrony uważa, że Ukraina przegrywa wojnę z Rosją
Minister obrony Holandii Ruben Brekelmans jest pesymistą, jeśli chodzi o sytuację Ukrainy w wojnie z Rosją. Według niego Rosja ma teraz przewagę i „można nawet powiedzieć, że Ukraina przegrywa wojnę”. Takie stanowisko Brekelmans przedstawił podczas debaty w parlamencie Holandii.
Minister, cytowany przez agencją ANP, powiedział, że Rosjanie zajmują coraz więcej ukraińskiego terytorium, a infrastruktura energetyczna kraju jest stale atakowana rakietami i dronami. "Jednocześnie siła militarna Rosji rośnie" - dodał.
Według niego zawieszenie broni lub pokój nie położą kresu zagrożeniu ze strony Rosji, bo Kreml mógłby wtedy zwrócić uwagę na państwa bałtyckie.
W odpowiedzi partie opozycyjne postawiły pytanie, dlaczego rząd w Hadze nie inwestuje więcej w pomoc dla Kijowa, skoro Brekelmans tak pesymistycznie ocenia sytuację na Ukrainie. Jak podała ANP, uważają one, że w tym krytycznym okresie należy zapewnić więcej wsparcia.
Minister odparł, że trudno jest dostarczyć więcej broni częściowo z powodu dużego międzynarodowego popytu na nią. "Rakiet Patriot po prostu nie ma" - stwierdził.
Brekelmans zwrócił również uwagę, że rząd inwestuje bezpośrednio w ukraiński przemysł obronny, co obejmuje zdolność do budowy zaawansowanych dronów. Minister zadeklarował na ten cel 400 mln euro. Jednak według partii opozycyjnych jest to za mało.
Цитата:
Ukraina: AFP: Kijów odrzuca wezwanie Waszyngtonu do obniżenia wieku mobilizacji
Ukraina odrzuca wezwanie Stanów Zjednoczonych do obniżenia wieku mobilizacji wojskowej do 18 lat z obecnych 25 - powiedział w czwartek agencji AFP anonimowo wysoki rangą ukraiński urzędnik państwowy. Według niego problemem nie jest liczba żołnierzy na froncie, ale za mała pomoc militarna z USA.
"Nie będziemy obniżać wieku mobilizacji - powiedział rozmówca AFP. - Administracja (ustępującego prezydenta Joego Bidena) wykorzystuje tę kwestię do usprawiedliwienia niewystarczającej pomocy wojskowej dla Kijowa".
AFP przypomina, że Waszyngton od kilku tygodni wywiera presję na Kijów, aby zmobilizował mężczyzn w wieku od 18 lat w celu uzupełnienia niedoborów żołnierzy w ukraińskiej armii. W zeszłym miesiącu doradca ds. bezpieczeństwa narodowego USA Jake Sullivan powiedział, że Ukraina zdaniem Waszyngtonu "musi zrobić więcej, aby wzmocnić swoje linie pod względem liczby sił na froncie".
"Już dzisiaj mobilizujemy więcej ludzi, niż jesteśmy w stanie uzbroić" - odpowiada na te żądania ukraiński urzędnik, oskarżając Biały Dom o próbę "przerzucenia odpowiedzialności na Ukrainę" za niepowodzenia Kijowa na froncie.
"Armia musi być zaawansowana technologicznie i posiadać wystarczające uzbrojenie, nie będziemy rekompensować np. braku broni lub jej niewystarczającego zasięgu młodością mężczyzn" - powiedział rozmówca AFP.
"Poprosiliśmy naszych partnerów o uzbrojenie określonych brygad, w sumie około dziesięciu, ale jak dotąd wyposażono tylko dwie i pół brygady. Dlaczego więc mielibyśmy wysyłać na wojnę więcej osób?" - mówił.
Na początku roku Ukraina obniżyła wiek mobilizacji z 27 do 25 lat.
Цитата:
Ukraine Makes a Case to Trump’s Team as Its Officials Visit U.S.
Kyiv is feeling a sense of urgency leading up to the Jan. 20 inauguration, given the American president-elect’s vow to end the war quickly.
Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, in Washington in July. Ukrainian officials have been appealing to both Democrats and Republicans since before the election.Credit...Eric Lee/The New York Times
Ukrainian officials are visiting the United States this week to seek continued American support, and met with members of Donald J. Trump’s transition team to appeal to a president-elect who has pledged to bring a quick end to Ukraine’s war with Russia.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andriy Sybiha, said at a NATO meeting in Brussels on Wednesday that Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s powerful chief of staff, had made the visit for meetings that are “important for establishing relations, including with the leaders of the new administration.”
Mr. Yermak and Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, met on Capitol Hill on Wednesday with JD Vance, the vice president-elect, and Representative Mike Waltz of Florida, Mr. Trump’s pick for national security adviser, said a person with knowledge of the meeting who spoke on condition of anonymity. Also present was a representative for Keith Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general who is the president-elect’s choice for envoy to Ukraine and Russia.
Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister, was also in the U.S. this week. She spoke of her country’s energy investment opportunities at an Energy Transition Forum in Washington, in which she appealed to American businesses for investments such as oil and gas extraction, she said on social media.
With Ukraine’s war effort showing signs of exhaustion and its forces losing ground daily, there are fears in the country that the period leading up to Mr. Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 could be exceedingly violent as Russia tries to capture more land before any talks are held.
Ukraine’s leadership has been trying to court Mr. Trump and his team since before the election, and an added sense of urgency is compelling Ukraine’s government to seek their support even before he takes office.
Some Ukrainian officials, including Mr. Zelensky, have presented the American election result as an opportunity for a new strategy in the war, but other Ukrainian politicians and political experts have expressed fear that it will mean reduced military aid.
On Tuesday, Speaker Mike Johnson dealt a blow to Ukraine’s war effort by refusing to allow a House vote on the Biden administration’s request for $24 billion in additional aid.
That echoed moves by him and other Republicans last winter to hold up a Ukraine aid package for months, although the Pentagon said this week that it was sending Kyiv an additional $725 million in military assistance from its stockpiles. That tranche that will be the largest that the United States has sent to Ukraine since a $1 billion shipment was announced in April.
Several Ukrainian officials have been looking for opportunities to reach out to Mr. Trump’s incoming administration. Oleksandr Merezhko, the chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Policy, said in an interview that he was planning a trip to Washington this month. “I would like to meet those people who are close to Trump — it is important,” he said.
Цитата:
Pistorius schließt Bundeswehr-Einsatz nicht aus
Soll sich die Bundeswehr an einer Friedenstruppe beteiligen, wenn der Krieg in der Ukraine vorbei ist? Während Kanzler Scholz die Diskussion darüber ablehnt, will Verteidigungsminister Pistorius einen solchen Einsatz nicht ausschließen.
Noch tobt der russische Angriffskrieg gegen die Ukraine, und ein Ende ist nicht absehbar. Dennoch gibt es in Deutschland bereits Diskussionen über mögliche Nachkriegsszenarien. Konkret geht es um die Frage, ob sich Bundeswehrsoldaten an einem möglichen friedenssichernden Einsatz in der Ukraine beteiligen sollten.
Bundesverteidigungsminister Boris Pistorius hält eine solche Beteiligung für offen. "Wir bereiten uns vor, wir spielen die Szenarien durch, aber das machen wir vertraulich", sagte Pistorius im Deutschlandfunk. Nun sei noch nicht der Zeitpunkt gekommen, öffentlich über Szenarien zu diskutieren. Die Antwort auf die Frage nach einer militärischen Beteiligung an einer Friedenstruppe werde am Ende davon abhängen, "wie die Bedingungen sind", sagte der SPD-Politiker. Es gebe hier aktuell noch "viele Wenn-Fragen und Falls-Fragen."
Er fügte hinzu: "Falls es zum Waffenstillstand kommt und falls es dann dazu kommt, dass jemand - wer auch immer - friedenssichernde Maßnahmen mit militärischen Mitteln dort vorsieht, hängt das von der Art des Mandats ab, vom Umfang, von den Anforderungen, von der Akzeptanz durch die heute kriegsführenden Parteien."
Scholz hält Diskussion für unangemessen
Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (SPD) hatte es am Mittwoch bei einem Auftritt vor dem Bundestag als "unangemessen" abgelehnt, über eine deutsche Beteiligung an einer möglichen Friedenstruppe für die Ukraine zu diskutieren. Dem vorausgegangen waren Äußerungen von Bundesaußenministerin Annalena Baerbock (Grüne), die so interpretiert worden waren, dass Baerbock sich eine deutsche Beteiligung an einer Friedenstruppe vorstellen könne.
"Über alles nachdenken, aber nicht alles offenlegen"
"Baerbock hat sich sehr allgemein geäußert", sagte Pistorius dazu. Und der Kanzler habe "zu Recht" gesagt, dass es um zwei verschiedene Dinge gehe. "Das eine sind Bodentruppen jetzt - das schließt Deutschland aus. Das andere ist: Was ist am Ende der Kampfhandlungen?", fügte der Minister hinzu. "Darüber wird man reden müssen, wenn es soweit ist, aber nicht über die Köpfe der Beteiligten hinweg." Es müsse "über alles" nachgedacht werden, aber das "heißt ja nicht, dass wir alle Szenarien offenlegen".
Russische Provokationen in der Ostsee
Pistorius äußerte sich auch über die zunehmende Präsenz russischer Schiffe in der Ostsee. Man sehe daran "die strategische Bedeutung der Ostsee für viele, unter anderem eben vor allem auch für Russland und für China, auch was die Umgehung der Sanktionen angeht." Russland zeige immer wieder provozierendes Verhalten, wie man es aus Zeiten des Kalten Krieges kenne. "Wir hatten immer wieder Vorfälle in der Ostsee, die sich dann daraus ergeben, dass es Warnschüsse gibt in die Luft, dass es Warnschüsse ins Wasser gibt." Pistorius verglich dieses Verhalten mit Vorfällen in der Luft, bei denen russische Kampfflugzeuge ohne Kennung über dem Baltikum in die Luft gingen, um zu testen, wie die NATO reagiere.
Pistorius äußerte sich nicht zu einem am Mittwoch bekannt gewordenen Vorfall zwischen einem Hubschrauber der Bundeswehr und einem russischen Schiff. Dabei hatte die Besatzung des russischen Schiffs nach dpa-Informationen mit Signalmunition geschossen. Der Einsatz dieser Munition auf See ist eigentlich nur in Notsituationen üblich. Außenministerin Baerbock hatte darauf verwiesen, dass in der Ostsee immer wieder Schiffe unterwegs sind, die an der Umgehung von Sanktionen wegen des russischen Angriffskriegs gegen die Ukraine beteiligt sind.
Zur Frage einer möglichen Eskalation sagte Pistorius, die deutsche Marine und die Marine der Alliierten verhielten sich sehr umsichtig: "Sie registrieren die Vorfälle, sie berichten sie, sie reagieren durch deeskalierende Maßnahmen und lassen sich auf keinerlei provozierendes Verhalten ein, weil das ist das Letzte, was wir gebrauchen können."
Цитата:
«Минск-3 не нужен». В чем совпадают позиции Зеленского и Путина?
Вчера замглавы МИД РФ Рябков заявил, что на данном этапе позиции Украины и России несовместимы.
И это, в целом, верно: Киев и Москва диаметрально противоположно видят условия завершения войны.
Однако, есть один пункт, в котором позиции и Банковой, и Кремля совпадают. Причем совпадают вплоть до конкретных формулировок.
«Нам не нужен Минск-3», - говорят и у Зеленского, и у Путина, подразумевая, что их не устраивает просто «заморозка» войны путем введения режима прекращения огня (как это произошло в 2015 году на Донбассе). И Киев, и Москва хотят завершения войны через «окончательное решение» тех вопросов, которые их интересуют, с полноценным юридическим оформлением для достижения «устойчивого мира», а не перемирия.
Об этом, в частности, говорил и Путин, и Лавров. Об этом постоянно говорят Зеленский, Ермак и другие представители украинской власти.
Так, американские СМИ, рассказывая о визите Ермака в Вашингтон, пишут, что украинская сторона высказала готовность начать переговоры с РФ о мире, но при этом заявила, что «это должен быть устойчивый мир. Нестабильный, временный мир не отвечает интересам ни США, ни интересам Украины».
Собственно, примерно в таких же формулировках излагают позицию и представители российской власти.
Проблема, однако, в том, что под «устойчивым миром» в Киеве и Москве понимают очень разные вещи.
Украина, прежде всего, понимает получение гарантий безопасности через вступление в НАТО. Зеленский недавно завил, что готов согласиться на завершение огня по линии фронта, сняв требование выхода на границы 1991 года, но в обмен на вступление в Альянс. Есть мнение, что такая постановка вопроса - лишь попытка Киева изначально сорвать любые договоренности с Россией, которая требует нейтрального статуса Украины. Однако, тем не менее, это отражает логику украинских властей – итогом войны должна ситуация, которая бы гарантировала, что РФ вновь на страну не нападет. И вступление в НАТО в Киеве видится самым прямым способом решения этого вопроса. Правда, сам Альянс пока не очень хочет открывать свои двери для Украины, но это отдельный вопрос, который мы подробно рассматривали здесь.
Что касается России, то ее условия «устойчивого мира» изложил лично Путин еще в июне 2024 года. Они включают в себя нейтральный статус Украины, передачу России всей территории четырех областей, об аннексии которых РФ завила в 2022 году, фиксацию нового кордона как международно-признанной границы РФ, снятие с России всех санкций, «демилитаризация» и «денацификация» Украины.
Западные СМИ периодически пишут со ссылкой на источники, что российские власти готовы рассматривать в качестве компромисса отказ от требования передачи всей территории четырех областей, чтоб завершить войну по линии фронта (при условии вывода украинских войск из Курской области). Правда, официально пока такая готовность Москвой не подтверждалась. При этом Кремль постоянно делал акцент на неизменности как минимум двух условий – нейтральный статус Украины и заключение полноценного мирного соглашения (а не перемирия) с юридическим признанием Украиной, а значит и миром, новых границ России. Киев же категорически против последнего пункта, заявляя, что если он и согласится на остановку войны по линии фронта, то только без официального признания российской юрисдикции над захваченными территориями.
Итак, желание «устойчивого мира» есть у обеих сторон, однако условия его достижения противоположны. Поэтому ситуация может разрешиться, теоретически, тремя способами.
1. Одна из сторон идет на уступки, снимая свои требования и соглашаясь с требованиями противника. Это возможно, однако, лишь в случае, если ситуация на фронте или внутри государства для одной из сторон радикально ухудшится. Либо если к уступкам одну из сторон принудят внешние силы.
2. Стороны приходят к компромиссу, удовлетворяющему часть требований каждой из воюющих стран. Например, Россия соглашается со вступлением Украины в НАТО, а Украина признает новые границы по линии фронта и российскую юрисдикцию над захваченными территориями, после чего с РФ снимаются санкции.
3. Стороны соглашаются завершить войну на основе изложенного в плане Келлога «нулевого варианта», который ни одно из базовых требований ни одной из воюющих стран не удовлетворяет: прекращение огня по линии фронта, мораторий на вступление Украины в НАТО, отсутствие международного признания территориальных завоеваний России. То есть не «устойчивый мир», а перемирие по «корейскому сценарию», которое, впрочем, как показывает опыт Кореи, также может быть очень долгим.
Пока ни Киев, ни Москва, не демонстрируют готовности отказаться от своих ключевых условий. Однако, в случае с Украиной у Запада есть рычаги влияния, чтоб заставить украинские власти принять условия, которые они принимать изначально не хотели. С Россией все сложнее. У Запада незадействованных способов давления на нее, которые можно использовать без угрозы прямой войны между НАТО и РФ, осталось не так уж и много. Рычаги есть у стран Глобального юга, но не факт, что они захотят их задействовать для давления на Кремль по Украине.
Поэтому ключевым вопросом с точки зрения дальнейшего хода событий будет исход переговоров между США и РФ – сумеют ли они о чем-то договориться. Также, естественно, прямое влияние окажет ситуация на поле боя – сможет ли одна из сторон ее стратегически переломить в свою пользу, чтоб побудить противника согласиться с требуемыми условиями завершения войны.
Либо если к каждой из сторон придет понимание стратегического тупика, в который зашла война, что может побудить начать поиск компромиссов на основе общего желания достичь долгосрочного устойчивого мира.
Цитата:
UK Government outlines new defence industrial strategy
According to the government, the Ministry of Defence aims to prioritise UK-based firms and strengthen supply chains.
The UK government has announced a new Defence Industrial Strategy aimed at bolstering economic growth, creating jobs, and strengthening national security. Defence Secretary John Healey introduced the initiative at a London Defence Conference, highlighting its focus on supporting UK-based defence firms and fostering innovation across the sector.
“Our defence sector should be an engine for jobs and growth, strengthening our security and economy,”
Healey said, according to a Government press release.
The Defence Industrial Strategy seeks to address what the Government describes as inefficiencies in the sector, such as skills shortages and fragmented supply chains. It sets an ambition to increase defence sector employment in all parts of the UK and to improve the resilience of critical supply chains, including semiconductors and steel.
According to the Ministry of Defence (MOD), the strategy is intended to make the UK defence industry an integral part of the national economy, supporting long-term growth and stability.
The initiative also aims to position the UK to adapt to increasing global threats.
“National security is the foundation for national stability and growth,”
Healey said in his speech.
Key Investments
The announcement coincides with several major investments from private defence companies, according to the Government:
•
Helsing
, a European defence AI company, has committed £350 million over five years to develop and mass-produce AI-enabled drones in the UK.
•
BAE Systems
plans to recruit thousands of workers and expand its skills training initiatives.
•
Babcock
intends to create 1,500 graduate and apprenticeship opportunities in the coming year.
•
Rolls-Royce
has opened a new office in Glasgow, expected to generate 120 jobs to support submarine programmes.
The strategy also seeks to tackle long-standing issues. The Government has acknowledged inefficiencies in defence spending and export strategies, noting that previous approaches have limited growth.
Kevin Craven, CEO of ADS Group, which represents aerospace, defence, and security industries, expressed optimism about the Government’s focus on defence as a driver of economic growth.
“The Government underlining the importance of the defence sector to the UK economy is hugely welcomed,” he said. “To deliver the right capability to support the UK’s ability to deter, it is pivotal that we continue to contribute to military planning activities.”
The MOD also plans to run a “wargame” to explore how the industry could sustain supply chains during wartime conditions.
According to the Government, the new strategy will align with the forthcoming Strategic Defence Review and reflect lessons from recent global events, such as the war in Ukraine. The Defence Industrial Strategy replaces the 2021 version, which was developed prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Government has committed to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence and claims this approach will create a more integrated and resilient sector.
Future Plans
The Government aims to release the full Defence Industrial Strategy by mid-2025. It has framed the initiative as part of its broader growth mission, which includes creating jobs and improving productivity across the UK.
Healey concluded:
“We will mobilise the private sector to help face down global threats, direct more public investment to British businesses, and create jobs and growth in every nation and region of the UK.”
Będzie można strzelać do dronów i karać latających nimi. Zmiana prawa coraz bliżej
Dozwolone będzie strzelanie do dronów, karanie ich operatorów, a Polska Agencja Żeglugi Powietrznej zyska dodatkowe środki na zarządzanie tym segmentem ruchu lotniczego. Do 17 grudnia mają być gotowe ostateczne uwagi do projektu nowego Prawa lotniczego, które usankcjonuje rynek dronów w Polsce.
• Sejmowa Komisja Infrastruktury skierowała w środę, 4 grudnia, projekt nowelizacji ustawy Prawo lotnicze do prac w specjalnie powołanej do tego celu podkomisji.
• Projekt ma dostosować polskie prawo do unijnych przepisów dotyczących dronów oraz ich systemów. Czasu na prace nad projektem jest ekstremalnie mało - sprawozdanie z prac sejmowej podkomisji ma być upublicznione 17 grudnia.
• Wiceminister infrastruktury Maciej Lasek mówiąc o konieczności szybkich prac nad ustawą, użył argumentu o stworzeniu podstaw prawnych umożliwiających zapobieganie atakom terrorystycznym z udziałem dronów.
• Przepisy mają ułatwić pracę służbom m.in. w związku z toczącą się za naszą granicą wojną, ale także z powodu coraz większej liczby incydentów z udziałem dronów, które podleciały za blisko lądujących samolotów pasażerskich.
To miała być tylko formalność – podczas obrad sejmowej Komisji Infrastruktury miało się odbyć pierwsze czytanie rządowego projektu nowelizacji Prawa lotniczego, która ma
uregulować rozrastający się w Polsce rynek dronów
. Przepisy posłom dobrze znane, bo pisał je jeszcze poprzedni rząd. Dlatego miało być krótkie głosowanie i przekazanie prac nad ustawą do kolejnych instancji.
Jednak na wniosek byłego ministra infrastruktury w rządzie PiS, posła Andrzeja Adamczyka, komisja skierowała projekt nowelizacji ustawy do prac
w specjalnie powołanej do tego celu podkomisji
. Adamczyk chce prowadzenia prac nad projektem "w sposób spokojny i w pełni poparty analizami".
Czasu jednak jest mało, bo podkomisji - składającej się z 7 posłów - dano czas na przygotowanie stosownych wniosków do 17 grudnia.
Wiceminister infrastruktury Maciej Lasek, który w rządzie obecnie odpowiada za cały sektor lotnictwa cywilnego, podczas środowego posiedzenia komisji podkreślał, że przyjęcie proponowanych rozwiązań pozwoli zapobiegać bezprawnemu wykonywania operacji z wykorzystaniem dronów. A to ważne głównie z powodu toczącej się za naszą wschodnią granicą wojny.
Projekt zakłada przyznanie odpowiednim służbom, w tym funkcjonariuszom służb specjalnych, policji, straży granicznej i żołnierzom sił zbrojnych
prawa do zniszczenia, unieruchomienia bezzałogowych statków powietrznych (BSP), czyli dronów
, lub przejęcia kontroli nad ich lotem w przypadku, gdy np. przebieg operacji zagraża życiu lub zdrowiu ludzi czy stwarza zagrożenie dla chronionych obiektów. Taką samą możliwość służby będą miały w przypadku, gdy "BSP może zostać użyte jako środek ataku terrorystycznego".
Długa lista przypadków, gdy będzie można oddać strzał w kierunku drona
Polska Agencja Żeglugi Powietrznej co roku odnotowuje
20-23-proc. wzrost liczby operacji dronami
. Sam przyrost operacji to jedno, ale w ślad za nimi przybywa świeżo wyuczonych operatorów tych maszyn, którzy nierzadko nie liczą się ze wszystkimi zasadami obowiązujących tych pilotów.
- Widać bardzo duży wysyp nowych użytkowników, którzy kompletnie nie rozumieją nic.
Obecnie próg wejścia w bycie pilotem drona jest bardzo niski
. Szkolenie i egzamin odbywa się online. Nie weryfikuje się, w sposób praktyczny, umiejętności takiego pilota. W praktyce po krótkim szkoleniu i egzaminie trwającym około godziny jesteśmy w stanie latać nawet 2,5-kg dronem poza obszarem zabudowanym. Dla mnie, przedstawiciela instytucji lotniczej, jest to przerażające – podkreślał podczas debaty dotyczącej dronów na Europejskim Kongresie Gospodarczym w Katowicach Maciej Włodarczyk, który w Polskiej Agencji Żeglugi Powietrznej jest kierownikiem Ośrodka Rozwoju Systemów UTM i Operacji BSP.
Problem stał się realny już w ubiegłym roku, gdy
doszło do całej serii incydentów z udziałem dronów, które podleciały za blisko lądujących samolotów pasażerskich
. Rozpoczęła się wtedy dyskusja o możliwości zestrzeliwania takich intruzów. Odbyły się nawet
testy systemów antydronowych na lotniskach
w Warszawie i w Krakowie. Kwestią drażliwą pozostaje jednak to, kto prawnie odpowiada za szkody wyrządzone przez spadającego w sposób niekontrolowany drona.
Nowe przepisy Prawa lotniczego będą w tym aspekcie bezwzględne.
"W projekcie wskazuje się
odpowiedzialność osoby pilotującej bezzałogowy system powietrzny za potencjalne skutki zniszczenia
, przejęcia, unieruchomienia BSP, co stanowi jednoznaczne uporządkowanie zakresu odpowiedzialności funkcjonariuszy służb" – czytamy w projekcie.
Do drona
służby będą mogły strzelać
(lub unieruchomić go metodami cyfrowymi), gdy "zagraża lub może zagrażać życiu lub zdrowiu ludzi lub zwierząt". Wachlarz jest więc dosyć szeroki.
Wątpliwości nie będzie żadnych, jeśli operator drona zakłóca przebieg masowej imprezy, zagraża przelatującym samolotom i śmigłowcom, a także gdy istnieje "uzasadnione podejrzenie, że może zostać użyty jako środek ataku terrorystycznego".
- W rękach osób nieodpowiedzialnych drony mogą stanowić zagrożenie dla obiektów infrastruktury krytycznej. Inną sprawą jest kwestia
środowiska przestępczego, które też będzie coraz częściej korzystało z tego typu narzędzi
. Służby (…) powinny się już teraz do tego przygotowywać – mówił WNP.PL Zygmunt Trzaskowski, prezesem firmy Hertz New Technologies, która produkuje systemy antydronowe w Zielonej Górze.
Posypią się dotkliwe kary dla omijających przepisy. Grzywny powiązane procentowo z przychodami
Nowe przepisy zakładają, że pojawią się
kary dla latających dronami
, którzy nie przestrzegają zasad i np. wlatują w zakazane strefy lub latają bez wymaganych zgłoszeń. Mandaty będą
powiązane procentowo z uzyskiwanym przychodem
(przez osobę lub firmę).
"Należy spodziewać się, że wysokość dochodów z kar będzie nawet wyższa niż przewidziana. Z drugiej strony należy podkreślić, że wprowadzane kary nie mają stanowić w pierwszej kolejności źródła wpływów do budżetu państwa, lecz pełnić funkcję prewencyjną i wpływać na zwiększenie poziomu bezpieczeństwa" – czytamy w ocenie skutków wprowadzenia nowych regulacji.
Operatorzy dronów, by latać, będą mieli
obowiązek wykupienia ubezpieczenia OC.
Polska Agencja Żeglugi Powietrznej z „dotacjami celowymi z budżetu państwa”
Polska Agencja Żeglugi Powietrznej (PAŻP) będzie pobierała opłaty za "obsługę systemów bezzałogowych statków powietrznych".
Z opłat będzie zwolniona większość służb
działających na terenie kraju. Takiego zwolnienia, choć pierwotnie się na nie zgodzono, nie otrzymały jednostki samorządu terytorialnego.
Wspomniane wyżej zwolnienia staną się niejako
wytrychem do dofinansowywania bieżącej działalności PAŻP
, gdyby pojawiła się taka potrzeba. Będzie się to odbywało na wniosek prezesa Urzędu Lotnictwa Cywilnego w postaci dotacji celowej z budżetu państwa.
Nowo powołana (4 grudnia) specjalna
sejmowa podkomisja ma niespełna dwa tygodnie na przepracowanie nowelizacji
Prawa lotniczego. Nowe rozwiązania mają wejść w życie po 14 dniach od ogłoszenia w Dzienniku Ustaw, z wyjątkiem niektórych przepisów, które zaczną obowiązywać w innym terminie.
Для проведения митинга антифашистов “Хельсинки без нацистов” предложена площадка Taivallahden aukio.
В пресс-релизе полицейского ведомства сказано, что место было назначено в связи с тем, что заявка от организаторов неофашистского факельного марша “612” поступила раньше заявки антифашистов. Помимо этого, пресс-служба полиции Хельсинки, сообщила, что организаторы митинга антифашистов не выразили готовности к переговорам по поводу места проведения своего митинга. По заявлению полиции, решение было принято в соответствии с законом о публичных собраниях.
Оба митинга пройдут в Хельсинки во время Дня независимости, 6 декабря.
Организаторы митинга антифашистов заявили, что не намерены подчиняться требованиям полиции и менять место проведения своего мероприятия.
В прошлом году, полиция была вынуждена задержать некоторых участников акций и разогнать митингующих при помощи конных патрулей.
Цитата:
Ukraine verhängt Sanktionen gegen georgische Führung
Die Ukraine hat wie angedroht Einreiseverbote und andere Strafmassnahmen gegen die Führung Georgiens verhängt. Präsident Wolodymyr Selenskyj unterzeichnete in Kiew einen Erlass, der sich gegen den georgischen Ministerpräsidenten Irakli Kobachidse und 18 weitere Politiker der Ex-Sowjetrepublik im Südkaukasus richtet.
Hintergründe sind das Abrücken der georgischen Regierungspartei Georgischer Traum vom EU-Beitrittskurs und das gewaltsame Vorgehen gegen Proteste. Die Ukraine vermutet dahinter genau wie die Opposition in Georgien die Hand Moskaus. "Es handelt sich um Sanktionen gegen den Teil der Regierung in Georgien, der Georgien an (Russlands Präsident Wladimir) Putin ausliefert", erläuterte Selenskyj in einer Mitteilung.
Vermögen werden blockiert
Auf der Sanktionsliste stehen auch der Milliardär Bidsina Iwanischwili, der eigentliche Führer von Georgischer Traum, Innenminister Wachtang Gomelauri und Kacha Kaladse, Bürgermeister der Hauptstadt Tiflis (Tblissi). Deren eventuell vorhandenes Vermögen in der Ukraine wird blockiert, wirtschaftliche Tätigkeit wird untersagt.
Auch wenn die Massnahmen eher symbolisch sind, markieren sie einen tiefen Einschnitt zwischen der Ukraine und Georgien. Sie waren in ihrer Abwehr Moskauer Machtansprüche lange Jahre Weggefährten. "Wir dürfen niemanden in dieser Region verlieren - weder Georgien, noch Moldau, noch die Ukraine", sagte Selenskyj. "Wir müssen uns gemeinsam gegen Moskau wehren."
Am Mittwochabend hatten in Tiflis erneut Tausende proeuropäischer Demonstranten gegen die Regierung protestiert. Im Unterschied zu den Abenden davor wurde die Kundgebung nicht mit Gewalt aufgelöst.
P.S.
А.п. напоминает Уважаемым коллегам, что начиная с 25.11.2024, по независящим от него техническим причинам, все публикации будут возможны только с 9.00 утра, до 23.59 вечера текущих суток.
_________________
С интересом и понятными ожиданиями, Dimitriy.
Количество публикаций на тему интервью, стремиться к «0».
Буквально несколько статей на всю Европу и Америку.
С реакцией на интервью Путина не сравнить.
Разумеется, это не значит, что Россию не услышали.
Услышали. По тому что даже косвенных реакций практически нет: а так не бывает.
Вероятно, имеет место тотальный запрет на обсуждение.
Первое общее впечатление: англосаксы поверят только после того, как получат материальный весомый нокаутирующий удар в виде сбитого самолета, утопленного корабля или взорванного пункта управления войною.
Цитата:
Цитата:
Putin mouthpiece Sergei Lavrov renews threats of WW3 in interview with Tucker Carlson as he discusses what it would take to END war in Ukraine
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has declared Russia will 'keep sending messages' in the form of devastating strikes on Ukraine if Western officials continue their course of action in supporting Kyiv.
Lavrov said that Moscow doesn't want a war with the United States but will use 'all means' to defend its interests in an interview with former Fox News host and X broadcaster Tucker Carlson.
He went on to argue that, while Russia and the US are officially not at war, Washington's permission for Ukraine to use American longer-range missiles for strikes on Russian territory marked a dangerous escalation.
'It is obvious that the Ukrainians would not be able to do what they're doing with long-range modern weapons without direct participation of the American servicemen. And this is dangerous, no doubt about this,' he said, adding that the Western belief that Russia's red lines could be 'moved again and again' is 'a very serious mistake.'
Lavrov, the world's longest-serving foreign minister who has been on the job for 20 years, said that the recent Russian strike on Ukraine with a new hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile called Oreshnik was a signal to the West that Russia is prepared to use all means to achieve its goals.
'The message which we wanted to send by testing in real action this hypersonic system is that we will be ready to do anything to defend our legitimate interests,' he said.
'Since some people in Washington, London and Brussels seem not very capable to understand - we will send additional messages if they don't draw necessary conclusions.'
Putin's trusted international representative covered a variety of topics in the 80-minute interview and also revealed what conditions Moscow is seeking to end the war in Ukraine.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaks during an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, back to a camera, in Moscow, Russia on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024
Lavrov said the 'Oreshnik' strike on Ukraine was a message to the West
Speaking about the Kremlin conditions for a potential peace deal, he reaffirmed Putin's declaration that Ukraine should pull back its forces from the four regions that Russia annexed in September 2022 and renounce its bid to join NATO.
Lavrov said Russia is willing to negotiate based on the permutations set out in the Minsk agreements in 2014 and 2015 but that subsequent developments, including Russia's annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in Ukraine, must be taken into account.
He added that any peace agreement must secure the rights of Russian speakers in Ukraine.
'The key principle is non-bloc status of Ukraine and we are ready to be part of the group of countries who would provide collective security guarantees to Ukraine.
'No military bases, no military exercises on Ukrainian soil with participation of foreign troops.
'We cannot tolerate a deal which would keep the legislation which I quoted prohibiting Russian language, culture and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,' he said.
Lavrov also told Carlson that Russia views US and Western involvement in Ukraine as part of a ploy to uphold its hegemonic domination of global affairs.
He claimed the US wants 'Ukrainian servants' and said Russia by contrast cares about the people whose ancestors worked to develop the Donbas region of Ukraine, adding that Washington's support of Volodymyr Zelensky's government is another example of US foreign policy 'adventures'.
'The US historically in foreign policy was motivated by making some trouble and seeing if they can fish in the muddy water,' Lavrov declared.
'The Iraqi aggression, the Libyan adventure ruining the state... I think if you analyse American foreign policy steps - adventures is the right word - that's the pattern.'
Lavrov is the world's longest-serving foreign minister who has been on the job for 20 years
Lavrov's interview with Carlson comes as officials, military chiefs and civilians on all sides of the Ukraine conflict wait to see what approach the Trump administration will take
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
When asked about his view of Donald Trump, who is set to return to the White House next month, Lavrov described him as 'a very strong person, a person who wants results, who doesn't like procrastination on anything.'
But he dismissed the idea that Trump is in any way 'pro-Russian', saying that the Kremlin will wait to examine the president-elect's attitude toward Russia and the Ukraine conflict.
'He's very friendly in discussions but this does not mean that he's pro-Russian as some people try to present him. The amount of sanctions we received under him was very very big.
'As Putin said, we have been open all along with contacts, with the current administration... we hope that when Donald Trump is inaugurated we will understand.
'The ball, as Putin said, is on their side.'
...
Цитата:
Russia will use 'any means' to defend itself, Lavrov tells Tucker Carlson
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in an interview broadcast on Thursday, said the use of a hypersonic missile in the Ukraine war sought to make the West understand that Moscow was ready to use any means to ensure no "strategic defeat" would be inflicted on Moscow.
…
Russian President Vladimir Putin has since threatened to use the weapon on Kyiv in response to Ukraine's strikes on Russia's territory.
"We are sending signals and we hope that the last one, a couple of weeks ago, the signal with the new weapons system called Oreshnik... was taken seriously," Lavrov said.
While he insisted that Russia doesn't want to escalate the situation and wants to "avoid any misunderstanding" with Washington and its partners, Lavrov warned that "we will send additional messages if they don't draw necessary conclusions."
Putin said the Oreshnik missile flies at 10 times the speed of sound and cannot be intercepted by air defenses.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called the strike "the latest bout of Russian madness" and appealed for updated air-defense systems to meet the new threat.
Цитата:
Foreign minister says in interview that Russia will use ‘all means’ to defend its interests
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 3.Uncredited/Associated Press
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s top diplomat said in an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson released Friday that Moscow doesn’t want a war with the United States but will use “all means” to defend its interests.
Sergey Lavrov argued that while Russia and the U.S. are officially not at war, Washington’s permission for Ukraine to use American longer-range missiles for strikes on Russian territory marked a dangerous escalation.
“It is obvious that the Ukrainians would not be able to do what they’re doing with long-range modern weapons without direct participation of the American servicemen. And this is dangerous, no doubt about this,” he said, adding that the Western belief that Russia’s red lines could be “moved again and again” is “a very serious mistake.”
Lavrov, the world’s longest-serving foreign minister who has been on the job for 20 years, said that a recent Russian strike on Ukraine with a new hypersonic intermediate range ballistic missile called Oreshnik was a signal to the West that Russia is prepared to use all means to achieve its goals in Ukraine.
“The message which we wanted to send by testing in real action this hypersonic system is that we will be ready to do anything to defend our legitimate interests,” he said. “The United States, and the allies of the United States who also provide these long-range weapons to the Kyiv regime, they must understand that we would be ready to use any means not to allow them to succeed in what they call strategic defeat of Russia.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the Nov. 21 attack with Oreshnik as a response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian military facilities in Bryansk and Kursk regions with Western-supplied weapons.
He has declared that in the case of new attacks on Russia with Western longer-range weapons, Russia could use Oreshnik to hit the government district in Kyiv. Putin also warned that Russia could use the new missile to strike military facilities of Kyiv’s Western allies that allow Ukraine to use their weapons for attacks on Russian territory.
Putin hailed Oreshnik’s capability, saying that its multiple warheads that plunge to a target at 10 times the speed of sound are immune to intercept by any existing air defense systems. Russia’s missile forces chief said that the missile, which can carry conventional or nuclear warheads, has a range allowing it to reach all of Europe.
Lavrov said that Russia has issued a warning to the U.S. about the Oreshnik launch 30 minutes before it happened using an automated system used to exchange such advance notices.
He said that “we hate even to think about war with the United States, which will take nuclear character,” but he warned that any potential exchange of nuclear strikes between Russia and NATO allies in Europe will inevitably escalate into a wider conflict in which the U.S. will be targeted.
“To speak about limited exchange of nuclear strikes is an invitation to disaster, which we don’t want to have,” Lavrov said.
Speaking about the Kremlin conditions for a potential peace deal, he reaffirmed Putin’s demand that Ukraine should pull back its forces from the four regions that Russia annexed in September 2022 and renounce its bid to join NATO. He added that any peace agreement must secure the rights of Russian speakers in Ukraine.
Asked about his view of Donald Trump, Lavrov described him as “a very strong person, a person who wants results, who doesn’t like procrastination on anything.”
Цитата:
Цитата:
Цитата:
«Exclusive: Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Describes the War With the US and How to End It»
Кандидат в президенты Румынии Кэлин Джорджеску назвал отмену итогов первого тура выборов «узаконенным государственным переворотом».
Пост с заявлением он опубликовал в своих соцсетях. По словам Джорджеску, судебная система Румынии «утратила свою суть».
Ранее оппонент Джорджеску, сторонница антироссийской политики Елена Ласкони, назвала решение Конституционного суда незаконным. Она, напомним, заняла второе место в первом туре выборов.
Цитата:
19.16
Румынские СМИ сообщают, что Конституционный суд страны аннулировал результаты первого тура президентских выборов. А победил на нём кандидат, из-за которого США намекнули Румынии на необходимость "правильных" итогов голосования. Почему? Потому что "очень неудобный" для Запада Джорджеску выступает за следующее:
▪️война на Украине должна быть немедленно остановлена;
▪️запрет экспорта украинского зерна через Румынию;
▪️пересмотр отношений с ЕС, поскольку эффективность фондов ЕС, которые способствовали экономическому росту и развитию инфраструктуры в Румынии, весьма сомнительна;
▪️Бухарест не обязан придерживаться обязательств НАТО по расходам на оборону;
▪️интересы Румынии для Бухареста должны стоять на первом месте.
Цитата:
19.10
В Румынии Конституционный суд отменил результаты первого тура президентских выборов, на которых больше всего голосов получил ультраправый кандидат Кэлин Джорджеску. Это произошло после публикации документов, которые намекали на вмешательство России в избирательный процесс. Суд решил, что и голосование, и предвыборные кампании должны начаться с нуля.
…
Цитата:
19.08
В Румынии - фактический госпереворот: Конституционный суд, ранее подтвердивший результаты 1-го тура президенских выборов, теперь отменил их ! И это за 2 дня до второго тура. Причина - победа в 1-ом туре независимого кандидата Джорджэску. Отныне всем странам ЕС угрожает либеральная диктатура: к власти должны приходить только либеральные, пробрюссельские кандидаты, сторонники однополых браков и транссексуальных операций. Остальных будут выбраковывать. Таков смысл решения румынского суда. Да это, впрочем, было и не его решение.
Цитата:
18.47
"Россия точно не вмешивалась в румынские выборы, как и в молдавские, как и в грузинские и в американские в 2016 году. Но очевидные факты не останавливают апологетов западной гегемонии, которые пытаются блокировать прорыв конструктивных политических сил в Европе ценой жесткой диктатуры и попрания права. Даже оппонент Джеорджеску — прозападный кандидат Ласкони — заявила, что в Румынии "была растоптана демократия" после решения КС страны", — написал в своем Telegram-канале глава комитета Госдумы по международным делам Леонид Слуцкий.
Политик добавил, что очень грубо действуют западники перед страхом прихода новых здравых политиков "типа Фицо и Орбана".
"Именно якобы российский след стал причиной сегодняшнего решения румынского Конституционного суда, аннулировавшего "весь избирательный процесс" и итоги первого тура, где победил Кэлин Джеорджеску. Но едва ли его можно было назвать пророссийским кандидатом, на самом деле он отстаивает национальные интересы в противовес агрессивной повестке Вашингтона и Брюсселя"
, — заключил депутат.
Цитата:
18.34
Новые выборы президента Румынии могут состояться в марте следующего года, заявил СМИ румынский сенатор Даниел Фенечиу.
Источник.
Цитата:
17.58
Премьер-министр Румынии Марчел Чолаку,
проигравший в первом туре президентских выборов и занявший третье место
(выделено а.п.), назвал решение Конституционного суда об аннулировании первого тура голосования единственно правильным.
"Решение КС об аннулировании президентских выборов является единственно правильным после рассекречивания документов Верховного совета обороны страны, которые показывают, что результат голосования румын был грубо искажен"
, - написал он в соцсети.
Цитата:
17.36
"Вы разрушаете демократию, ведете страну в анархию! Нужно было идти дальше с голосованием, уважать желание румынского народа. Нравится вам или нет, но более 9 миллионов граждан внутри страны и из диаспоры проголосовали и выразили свой голос"
, — заявила кандидат в президенты Румынии Елена Ласкони, комментируя решение КС Румынии.
▪️Победитель первого тура, независимый кандидат Кэлин Джеорджеску пока хранит молчание.
Цитата:
17.33
ЦИК Румынии проведет заседание по вопросу приостановки процесса голосования на выборах президента в связи с постановлением Конституционного суда в пятницу в 17:00.
Цитата:
17.21
Генпрокуратура Румынии завела два уголовных дела из-за вмешательства в выборы.
"По факту вмешательства в президентские выборы открыты два уголовных дела. Это стало возможным после того, как были рассекречены документы, указывающие на создание тысяч фальшивых аккаунтов в интернете с целью воздействия на избирателей.
Речь идет о новом типе преступлений, ранее не встречавшихся в стране. В рамках параллельных расследований прокуратура также проверяет возможные экономические преступления, отмывание денег и попытки подкупа избирателей"
, — сообщают румынские СМИ.
Цитата:
17.16
Чубашенко: Отмена президентских выборов в Румынии, стране ЕС и НАТО — грандиозный провал как самой Румынии, так и ЕС и НАТО.
По словам публициста Дмитрия Чубашенко, это полная дискредитация правового государства и демократических норм.
"Это скандал европейского и мирового уровня. И эти люди, которые неспособны провести выборы главы государства, учат молдаван не ковыряться в носу", — добавил он.
Цитата:
16.20
Избирательный процесс по выборам президента Румынии будет полностью возобновлен.
Правительство страны обязано установить новую дату проведения выборов, а также утвердить обновлённый календарный график для реализации необходимых мероприятий, свидетельствует постановление Конституционного суда Румынии.
Цитата:
16.05
Конституционный суд Румынии аннулировал первый тур президентских выборов — СМИ.
Цитата:
13.07
Судьи Конституционного суда Румынии в пятницу проводят консультации, чтобы решить, стоит ли проводить заседание по вопросу возможной отмены выборов президента.
"КС проанализирует, есть ли на данный момент достаточные аргументы, чтобы не допустить проведения второго тура, отменить выборы. Если по итогам неформальной встречи судьи примут решение пойти на судебное заседание, то это станет для всех нас сигналом о том, что не исключено, что выборы сегодня будут аннулированы", - сообщает телеканал Digi 24.
Цитата:
11.07
Конституционный суд Румынии получил четыре новых обращения с требованием аннулировать первый тур президентских выборов
.
Национальная школа политических и административных исследований, Национальный институт по изучению тоталитаризма, журнал "Европейский путь" и бывший кандидат в президенты Кристиан Терхеш утверждают, опираясь на рассекреченные Верховным советом обороны страны документы, что независимый кандидат Кэлин Джорджеску незаконно финансировал свою предвыборную кампанию, что имели место хакерские атаки на цифровую инфраструктуру, используемую в избирательном процессе в Румынии, а также, что Румыния якобы является мишенью для гибридных действий со стороны России.
Ранее КС утвердил результат первого тура. Второй тур голосования уже начался среди румын, проживающих за границей, где он будет проходить в течение трех дней.
Цитата:
8.43
Отмена результатов первого тура голосования на президентских выборах станет настоящим кошмаром для Румынии, заявила в телеэфире прозападный кандидат в президенты, лидер партии "Союз спасения Румынии" (USR) Елена Ласкони.
"Ситуация в Румынии и так уже напряженная, люди обсуждают выборы на каждом шагу. Я бы хотела увидеть обоснованное решение, чтобы все могли понять, почему это нужно. Но я не думаю, что стоит говорить о повторных выборах, так как первый тур уже был признан действительным Конституционным судом. Юридически это невозможно"
, — заявила она.
Лидер USR добавила, что в случае отмены итогов президентских выборов Конституционным судом она продолжит борьбу.
Цитата:
8.32
Независимый кандидат на пост президента Румынии Кэлин Джеорджеску заявил, что приветствует внимание США к событиям в стране, но подчеркнул, что любые попытки внешнего вмешательства недопустимы.
Он также отметил, что намерен защищать интересы Румынии на международной арене, сохраняя баланс между национальным суверенитетом и стратегическим партнерством с другими странами.
Цитата:
Romanian Court Annuls Presidential Election Results and Orders a New Vote
The decision came days after the government asserted that there had been “cyberattacks” meant to undermine the vote and security council documents indicated possible Russian meddling.
Romania’s Constitutional Court on Friday canceled the final round of a pivotal presidential election with only two days before the vote, saying it needed to ensure the “correctness of the electoral process.”
The surprise decision, in a NATO member state that shares a border with Ukraine, came days after Romanian leaders raised allegations that “cyberattacks” had tried to undermine the vote. The court’s ruling was also the latest in a series of political upheavals across Europe, where right-wing and nationalist movements have surged this year.
(выделено а.п.)
The front-runner in Romania’s now canceled election had been Calin Georgescu, an ultranationalist whose victory in a first-round vote late last month stunned Romania’s political establishment.
George Simion, a far-right leader who had endorsed Mr. Georgescu, denounced the court ruling, saying “a coup is underway,” but he urged supporters not to take to the street in protest. “The system must fall democratically,” Mr. Simion said.
The court gave no explanation for its decision on Friday, and it was not clear when a new first round would take place. “The electoral process for the president of Romania will be entirely redone,” it said in a statement.
The move set off angry reaction among right-wing groups on social media, but was welcomed by the prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu, the leader of the governing Social Democrats and a losing candidate in the opening round of the presidential vote.
(выделено а.п.)
The decision to annul the vote, he said, was the “only correct solution” after the declassification of security council documents that indicated Russian meddling in the election.
A little-known soil expert, Mr. Georgescu was widely dismissed as a fringe candidate before the first round of the election last month. Mr. Georgescu has praised both President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and Romania’s fascist leader during World War II, and presented himself as an outsider who would wrest Romania from corrupt politicians.
He is also a skeptic of vaccines and the pharmaceutical industry, and wrote the foreword to the Romanian edition of a book by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald J. Trump’s pick to be health secretary.
He won more votes than any of his 13 competitors in the election’s first round, with 22.9 percent of ballots, taking a lead that shocked many centrist and liberal Europeans. That was still far short of the majority needed to win outright, however, setting up a runoff with the second-place finisher, Elena Lasconi, a mayor and former journalist who took 19.2 percent.
Ms. Lasconi, of the Save Romania Party, had also presented herself as an outsider, but within the mainstream opinion of support for the European Union and opposition to Russia.
Days after the first round, Romania’s Supreme Council of National Defense, which oversees national security, announced that there had been “cyberattacks” meant to undermine the vote and social cohesion. Mr. Georgescu benefited from the campaign, according to Romanian intelligence documents declassified by the president this week.
“Romania, along with other states on NATO’s Eastern Flank, has become a priority for the hostile actions of some state and nonstate actors,” the statement said, singling out Russia.
The council, which is led by President Klaus Iohannis and includes other senior officials, also criticized TikTok, which is owned by a Chinese company, saying the platform had violated electoral laws because it had not identified Mr. Georgescu as a candidate.
One of the race’s presidential candidates also made allegations of irregularities in the vote, and the Constitutional Court took up the case, ordering a recount. The issue seemed resolved when, on Monday, the court validated the voting and ruled out ordering a redo of the presidential vote.
This month, Romanians also voted for lawmakers — electing a highly fragmented Parliament divided between centrist parties that want to strengthen bonds with the West, and anti-establishment nationalists who want to loosen those ties.
The Social Democrats took the most votes but fell short of a majority. It is likely to be difficult for the Social Democrats to keep the next governing coalition aligned with Romania’s Western allies in NATO, given that three hard-right, Russia-friendly parties had strong showings in the election.
Цитата:
Romania’s top court annuls presidential election result
Romanian presidential candidate Calin Georgescu speaks to the media on November 26. Andrei Pungovschi/Getty Images
…
It also comes just days after the vote was hit with fears over foreign interference, after declassified documents from Romania’s top security council revealed evidence of “aggressive hybrid Russian attacks.”
They also showed how Georgescu was boosted by potential interference on TikTok – the social media platform on which he largely ran his campaign – through algorithms, coordinated accounts and paid promotion, Reuters reported.
One of the declassified documents, from the Romanian intelligence agency, detailed more than 85,000 attempted cyber-attacks on election websites and IT systems, and concluded that “the attacker has considerable resources specific to an attacking state,” Reuters reported.
These findings prompted the US State Department to express concern and warn that a shift away from the West “would have serious negative impacts on U.S. security cooperation with Romania.”
In comments made Wednesday, ahead of the court’s annulment on Friday, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement: “We are concerned by the Romanian Supreme Council for National Defense (CSAT)’s report of Russian involvement in malign cyber activity designed to influence the integrity of the Romanian electoral process.”
Miller added that the “data referenced in the report should be fully investigated to ensure the integrity of Romania’s electoral process.”
Georgescu, 62, started out his campaign with single-digit support but enjoyed a shock rise to prominence, narrowly emerging as leader in the election’s first round with 22.9% of the vote to Lasconi’s 19.2%.
While he has not described himself as specifically pro-Russian, Georgescu had previously labeled Ukraine as an “invented state” and declared he wants a “strategy” of “peace with everyone, regardless of who they are.”
A Romanian official on Wednesday described Georgescu’s success in the first round as shocking. They told CNN that his victory would be “an extraordinary triumph for… (Russian President Vladimir) Putin” and “would cancel the whole progress that Romania has made in the past 35 years.”
Georgescu centered his campaign on tackling the country’s cost of living crisis, and vowed to end Romania’s support for Ukraine. Romania shares a 400-mile border with its northern neighbor and under its previous presidency helped export millions of tons of grain out of the war-stricken country.
Meanwhile, the center-right Lasconi, of the Save Romania Union (USR) party, ran a campaign pledging to keep Romania on its pro-Western course.
The court’s decision to cancel the election came the day after a large protest in the Romanian capital Bucharest, when hundreds turned out to rally in favor of Lasconi and against the far-right. A small group of counter-protesters also rallied in support of Georgescu on Thursday night.
Protesters held banners reading “Romania, a landmark in the EU and NATO” and “No fascism.”
“I’m here today to protest against this fascist movement that is coming here, to Romania, against this leader that they have, Calin Georgescu, who appeared out of nowhere, clearly sponsored by Putin and by Moscow and we’re fighting against all the things that went wrong during this campaign,” one demonstrator called Mihai told Reuters.
Another protester, a student named Daniel, pointed to “a lot of fraud, suspected fraud at the voting stations” in the first-round vote.
Цитата:
Romania's top court annuls presidential vote amid Russia interference fears
Romania's top court annulled the result of the first round of the country's presidential election on Friday, adding that the entire election process would have to be rerun. The decision came after security services warned the vote had been distorted by a massive Russian influence campaign in favour of far-right candidate Calin Georgescu.
…
Georgescu's surprising success left many political observers wondering how most local surveys were so far off, putting him behind at least five other candidates before the vote.
Many observers attributed his success to his TikTok account, which now has 5.8 million likes and 531,000 followers. But some experts suspect Georgescu’s online following was artificially inflated while Romania’s top security body alleged he was given preferential treatment by TikTok over other candidates.
In the intelligence release, the secret services alleged that one TikTok user paid more $381,000 (361,000 euros) to other users to promote Georgescu content. Intelligence authorities said information they obtained “revealed an aggressive promotion campaign” to increase and accelerate his popularity.
Asked by the AP in a interview Wednesday whether he believes the Chinese-owned TikTok poses a threat to democracy, Georgescu said: “The most important existing function for promoting free speech and freedom of expression is social media.”
Цитата:
Romanian top court annuls presidential election result
…
"The electoral process to elect Romania's president will be fully re-run, and the government will set a new date and ... calendar for the necessary steps," the court said in a statement.
Georgescu scored single digit numbers in opinion polls before the first round vote on Nov. 24 but then surged to a first-place finish that raised questions over the result.
Georgescu wants to end Romanian support for Ukraine against Russia's invasion. If he won the presidency it would upend the pro-Western politics of the EU and NATO member, pushing Romania closer to a belt of states in central and eastern Europe that have powerful populist, Russia-friendly politicians, including Hungary, Slovakia and Austria.
...
Цитата:
Gericht: Präsidentenwahl in Rumänien muss wiederholt werden
Die Präsidentenwahl in Rumänien muss wiederholt werden. Das hat das Verfassungsgericht nach eigenen Angaben entschieden.
Вчерашние публикации на эту тему: ------------------------------
Цитата:
Te wybory to sygnał ostrzegawczy dla całej Europy. Zwolennik Putina dojdzie do władzy?
Już 8 grudnia Rumunii wybiorą nowego prezydenta. W drugiej turze wyborów zmierzą się kandydat radykalnej prawicy Calin Georgescu i liderka centroprawicowej USR Elena Lasconi. Wygrana w pierwszej turze reprezentanta skrajnej narodowej prawicy głoszącego hasła prorosyjskie to sygnał ostrzegawczy wskazujący na ogólnoeuropejską tendencję rosnącego znaczenia partii narodowych.
• Calin Georgescu wygrał pierwszą turę wyborów prezydenckich w Rumunii. Choć nie jest faworytem drugiej tury, to wynik reprezentanta skrajnej narodowej prawicy, na dodatek głoszącego hasła prorosyjskie, powinien zastanawiać.
• W Rumunii równolegle odbywały się wyniki parlamentarne. W ich wyniku władzę winna utrzymać dotychczasowa koalicja centrolewicowa.
• Wedle wielu komentatorów wyniki rumuńskiej elekcji to ogólnoeuropejska tendencja rosnącego znaczenia partii narodowych i eurosceptycznych.
Pierwszą turę wyborów prezydenckich w Rumunii 24 listopada wygrał człowiek twierdzący, że w Coca-Coli ukryte są mikrochipy, a Władimir Putin to wspaniały przywódca. Po pewnych wątpliwościach, związanych ze wsparciem kandydatury Calina Georgescu przez platformę TikTok, rumuński Sąd Konstytucyjny zatwierdził wyniki pierwszej tury. Tym sposobem w drugiej turze wyborów prezydenckich zmierzy się Georgescu z Eleną Lasconi, z centrowej partii USR.
Calin Georgescu zdobył w pierwszej turze 22,95 proc. głosów.
Ten nieoczekiwany wynik to między innymi efekt ogromnego wsparcia od chińskiej platformy TikTok
. Konto Georgescu było faworyzowane algorytmami. Wpisy kandydata docierały więc z łatwością do wyborców. A jednocześnie za tę kampanię Georgescu nie zapłacił ani grosza.
W związku z tą sytuacją Komisja Europejska nakazała 5 grudnia TikTokowi zamrożenie i zachowanie danych związanych z wyborami prezydenckimi w Rumunii i innymi głosowaniami, które odbędą się w UE do końca marca 2025 r.
Rząd utworzą socjaldemokraci, kierunek proeuropejski zostanie utrzymany
Między pierwszą i drugą turą wyborów prezydenckich odbyły się w Rumunii wybory parlamentarne. Najlepszy rezultat (22,4 proc. głosów w wyborach do Senatu i 22,1 proc. w tych do Izby Deputowanych) współtworząca koalicję rządzącą, Partia Socjaldemokratyczna (PSD). Drugie miejsce, z 18 proc. głosów zajął eurosceptyczny Związek Jedności Rumunów (AUR), a trzecie – współrządząca centroprawicowa Partia Narodowych Liberałów ok. 14 proc. głosów.
Do parlamentu dostała się też, z siedmioprocentowym poparciem, skrajnie prawicowa i prorosyjska partia SOS Romania
.
Komentatorzy polityczni z Bukaresztu przewidują, że najprawdopodobniej powstanie koalicja partii głównego nurtu. Ze względu na wzajemną nieufność i wcześniejsze konflikty między nimi negocjacje będą jednak trudne.
Wyniki wyborów to jednak sygnał, że
w siłę rosną ugrupowania niechętne integracji europejskiej, a niekiedy wprost prorosyjskie
.
Na popularność radykałów wpłynęło rozczarowanie części wyborców członkostwem w UE, oskarżanej o traktowanie Rumunii gorzej niż inne kraje. Może dlatego już teraz z dużym zadowoleniem została przyjęta decyzja Brukseli o włączenie od 1 stycznia Rumunii i Bułgarii do systemu Schengen.
Nowa stara ekipa rządząca będzie jednak musiała przypodobać się także wyborcom radykalnej prawicy. Można się więc spodziewać narracji "suwerenistycznej", mającej wykazywać, że
władze Rumunii potrafią się "stawiać" Brukseli
. Przejawy tego typu zmian pojawiły się już po ogłoszeniu wyników exit poll, gdy premier Ion Marcel Ciolacu oświadczył, że głos wyborczy Rumunów "jest ważnym sygnałem", by rozwijać kraj dzięki inwestycjom i środkom europejskim, ale równocześnie "chronić tradycję, wartości narodowe i wiarę".
Czy zwycięstwo Georgescu w wyborach prezydenckich może zakończyć się umniejszeniem roli Rumunii w NATO?
Niepokojące scenariusze w przypadku zwycięstwa Georgescu w wyborach prezydenckich przedstawia natomiast komentator polityczny dziennika Romania Libera, Narcis Rosioru.
Wedle niego potencjalne zwycięstwo radykała
umniejszy znaczenie Rumunii w NATO
. Komentator przypomina, że antynatowska retoryka Calina Georgescu budzi niepokój w Sojuszu, zwłaszcza w kontekście strategicznej roli, jaką odgrywa Rumunia w regionie.
Calin Georgescu w przeszłości krytykował zaangażowanie wojskowe Rumunii we wsparcie Ukrainy i określił obecność amerykańskich rakiet w Rumunii jako "wstyd narodowy". Ponadto argumentował, że
"rosyjska mądrość" powinna odgrywać rolę w kształtowaniu rumuńskiej polityki zagranicznej
. Choć Georgescu twierdzi, że nie chce, aby Rumunia opuściła NATO i Unię Europejską, jego wypowiedzi budzą niepokój. Ten 19-milionowy kraj jest członkiem NATO od dwudziestu lat i jest siedzibą bazy lotniczej, która rozrasta się, stając się największą bazą bloku w Europie.
W Kijowie i Kiszyniowie widzą wyniki wyborów w Rumunii jako ogólnoeuropejską tendencję
Nie podzielają tych pesymistycznych prognoz komentatorzy z sąsiednich Mołdawii i Ukrainy. Wedle Sergeya Tarana, analityka politycznego z Kijowa, Georgescu na początku musiałby wygrać wybory, a na to, mimo wszystko, wcale się nie zapowiada. Sensacją rumuńskich wyborów prezydenckich był sam fakt, że w tym, generalnie bardzo proeuropejskim, kraju nagle dużo głosów zdobył przedstawiciel sił nacjonalistycznych - to podkreśla ukraiński politolog.
Inna rzecz, iż wybory rumuńskie to sytuacja dość typowa dla całej Europy, gdzie widzimy ofensywę sił prawicowych, a nawet skrajnych – mówi Taran.
- Choć jednocześnie żadna z tych sił, z żadnego kraju, nie wystąpiła otwarcie przeciw integracji europejskiej.
Nikt nie chce występować tak z Unii Europejskiej jak i z NATO
. Na dodatek również tendencją europejską jest to, że choć dobre wyniki uzyskują partie skrajnie prawicowe to jednocześnie i tak rządy formują partie dotychczasowego establishmentu. Dlatego też zakładam, iż Rumunia nadal będzie popierać Ukrainę jak i pozostanie we wszelkich europejskich strukturach ponadnarodowych - dodaje.
Taran jest pewny, że wybory prezydenckie w Rumunii wygra Elena Lasconi. Choć w pierwszej turze zdobyła mniej głosów, to teraz pewnie zbierze poparcie od wszystkich pozostałych "systemowców". Czyli jest to coś podobnego do fenomenu francuskiego, gdzie Marie Le Pen dochodzi do pewnego dość wysokiego pułapu, ale już przekroczyć nie ma jak, bo brak jej szerszego poparcia. A jeśli by nawet Georgescu wygrał, to pewnie i retorykę będzie zmieniał na bardziej umiarkowaną. Bo prezydent to nie jest tylko wybraniec swojego elektoratu. To także prezydent całego państwa, całego narodu.
Krajem mocno powiązanym z Rumunią jest Mołdawia.
Tam też nie widzą jakiegoś większego zagrożenia wynikami.
Jak twierdzi Arcadie Barbarosi, politolog pracujący w stołecznym Kiszyniowie: - Niezależnie od tego, co będzie się działo w Rumunii, my i tak
nie zbaczamy z naszego proeuropejskiego kursu
. Choć zdecydowanie korzystniej dla naszego kraju, aplikującego do struktur europejskich, by było gdyby Rumunia zachowała dotychczasowy kurs polityczny. Bo to obecnie jedyny kraj Unii Europejskiej, z którym mamy wspólną granicę. Potencjał wyborczy Georgescu szacujemy na maksimum 35 proc. elektoratu, czyli wszystko wskazuje, że wygra wybory jego konkurentka.
Jak podkreśla Barbarosie, ważne jest jednak to, by zwrócić uwagę na tendencje polityczne. Tak by siły skrajne nie umacniały się w żadnym europejskim kraju.
Do tego trzeba zdecydowanie prospołecznej polityki nowych władz, tak by zagospodarować elektorat o nastawieniu obecnie antysystemowym.
Ponadto
trzeba zwracać uwagę na to, co stało się w Rumunii z TikTokiem
. Jaką siłę wykazały wiadomości przekazywane przez ten komunikator.
Wedle mołdawskiego analityka, wyniki wyborów w Rumunii to także sygnał dla Brukseli, by większą uwagę poświęcać krajom aspirującym do Unii. Takim jak Mołdawia. Barbarosie także uważa, iż ważnym sygnałem idącym z Brukseli jest
przyjęcie Rumunii i Bułgarii do systemu Schengen
. To wreszcie pozwoli mieszkańcom tych dwóch krajów czuć się bardziej Europejczykami, których nikt już nie zatrzymuje na granicach strefy dla kolejnych kontroli. To także wpłynie na postrzeganie Europy i jej instytucji przez Rumunów czy Bułgarów.
Цитата:
Rumunia: Prawicowy kandydat na prezydenta Calin Georgescu zapowiada zakończenie pomocy dla Ukrainy
Calin Georgescu, skrajnie prawicowy lider wyścigu prezydenckiego w Rumunii, powiedział w czwartek w wywiadzie dla BBC, że zakończy wszelkie wsparcie dla Ukrainy, jeśli obejmie najwyższy urząd w państwie.
Georgescu w niedzielę, w drugiej turze wyborów prezydenckich, zmierzy się z Eleną Lasconi, liderką centroprawicy. W wywiadzie dla BBC oświadczył, że priorytetem będzie dla niego "naród rumuński".
O sobie mówił, że jest osobą nieustępliwie walczącą z establishmentem. "Nie mogą zaakceptować, że naród rumuński w końcu powiedział: chcemy odzyskać nasze życie, nasz kraj, naszą godność" - ocenił obecnie rządzących w Rumunii.
Georgescu chwalił prezydenta elekta USA Donalda Trumpa i węgierskiego premiera Viktora Orbana, a Władimira Putina nazwał "patriotą i przywódcą". Dodał jednak, że "nie jest jego fanem".
Zapytany o ocenę sytuacji na Ukrainie, odpowiedział, że Rumunia jest zainteresowana jedynie dążeniem do pokoju na swojej granicy. Z kolei pytanie, czy zgadza się na stanie po stronie Ukrainy, jak to ujmuje UE, "tak długo, jak będzie trzeba", skwitował krótką odpowiedzią: "Nie".
Następnie podkreślił, że Rumunia, chociaż jest członkiem UE i NATO, nie zapewni swojemu sąsiadowi żadnego wsparcia militarnego ani politycznego. "Zero. Wszystko się kończy. Muszę zadbać tylko o swoich ludzi. Sami mamy wiele problemów" - stwierdził.
Georgescu zapowiedział, że utrzyma Rumunię w UE i NATO, ale że od tej pory wszystko będzie "negocjowane" i skupione na interesach jego kraju.
Ausweg gesucht: Der Ukraine-Krieg als Wahlkampfthema
Im beginnenden Bundestagswahlkampf streiten die Parteien weiter über mögliche Auswege aus dem seit fast drei Jahren andauernden russischen Angriffskrieg gegen die Ukraine.
Unions-Kanzlerkandidat Friedrich Merz kritisierte Gedankenspiele von Aussenministerin Annalena Baerbock (Grüne), die Bundeswehr im Falle eines Waffenstillstands zur Friedenssicherung in der Ukraine einzusetzen.
Er halte solche Spekulationen zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt für unverantwortlich, sagte der CDU-Vorsitzende in der ARD-Sendung "Maischberger". Der Krieg in der Ukraine dauere an, Russland gehe unverändert mit brutaler Härte gegen die Zivilbevölkerung vor. "Wir ringen alle um die Frage, wie man diesen Krieg beenden kann", sagte Merz. Die Frage sei, wie das gelingen könne.
Baerbock hatte beim Nato-Aussenministertreffen in Brüssel gesagt, dass verschiedene Elemente eines Friedens in der Ukraine im Raum stünden. Zu einer möglichen deutschen Rolle sagte sie, man werde alles, was dem Frieden in der Zukunft diene, von deutscher Seite unterstützen. Auch eine Beteiligung der Bundeswehr schloss sie nicht aus.
SPD-Fraktionschef wirbt für mehr Diplomatie
SPD-Fraktionschef Rolf Mützenich warb für noch stärkere diplomatische Bemühungen um ein Ende des von Russland initiierten Krieges. "Nach drei Jahren des Krieges müssen wir anerkennen, dass dieser Krieg vermutlich nicht allein auf dem Schlachtfeld entschieden wird", sagte er in einer aussenpolitischen Grundsatzrede in Berlin.
Mützenich verteidigte in diesem Zusammenhang das Telefonat von Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (SPD) mit dem russischen Präsidenten Wladimir Putin. "Dabei geht es keineswegs um Scheinverhandlungen oder Reden um des Redens willen. Solche Gespräche sind entscheidend, um Positionen auszutauschen und wenigstens ein Stück strategische Stabilität in diesen gefährlichen Zeiten zu wahren", sagte er bei der Veranstaltung "Willy Brandt Lecture 2024".
Der SPD-Fraktionschef hatte früh für mehr Diplomatie geworben und war dafür heftig kritisiert worden. Rückblickend räumte Mützenich Fehler in der Russland-Politik der SPD ein: "Als Sozialdemokraten müssen wir anerkennen, ich tue es, dass wir die imperialistischen Ambitionen Putins und die Gefahr durch die Energieabhängigkeit von Russland unterschätzt haben."
Stoltenberg: Krieg mit Russland nicht herbeireden
Der ehemalige Nato-Generalsekretär Jens Stoltenberg warnte davor, die Gefahr eines Krieges des Westens mit Russland zu überzeichnen. Man dürfe "keine selbsterfüllenden Prophezeiungen konstruieren", sagte er dem "Handelsblatt". "Wenn wir so sprechen, als ob ein Krieg bevorsteht, steigt die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass genau das passiert. Das ist gefährlich." Stoltenberg ist sich sicher: "Solange Russland oder anderen potenziellen Gegnern klar ist, dass wir zusammenhalten, wird es keinen Angriff auf die Allianz geben."
Damit grenzte sich Stoltenberg, der ab kommendes Jahr die Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz leiten soll, von Kanzler Scholz ab. Der SPD-Spitzenkandidat will mit dem Bild als Friedenskanzler im Bundestagswahlkampf punkten und warnt vor einer Eskalation des Kriegs.
Schwere Kämpfe in der Ostukraine
Das Schicksal der Ukraine ist mehr als 1000 Tage nach Beginn der russischen Invasion weiter in der Schwebe. Ihre eigenen Kräfte und die bisherige westliche Hilfe reichen zur Verteidigung nicht aus. Eine zentrale Frage ist, welche Ukraine-Politik der künftige US-Präsident Donald Trump verfolgen wird und ob beziehungsweise wie stark er die Hilfe seines Landes zurückfährt.
Im Osten der Ukraine stehen die Verteidiger weiter unter schwerem Druck russischer Truppen. Besonders heftig seien die russischen Angriffe an den Frontabschnitten Pokrowsk und Kurachowe, teilte der ukrainische Generalstab in Kiew in seinem abendlichen Lagebericht mit. An diesen Abschnitten wurden im Tagesverlauf jeweils fast 40 Sturmangriffe gezählt. Entlang der gesamten etwa 100 Kilometer langen Front seien es 156 Attacken gewesen.
Solche Zahlen des Militärs sind nicht im Einzelnen überprüfbar, erlauben tendenziell aber Rückschlüsse auf die Intensität der Gefechte. Kurachowe im Gebiet Donezk ist bereits zur Hälfte in der Hand russischer Truppen. Etwas weiter nördlich steht Pokrowsk seit Monaten unter Beschuss.
Ukrainische Armee erobert Dorf zurück
Einen taktischen Erfolg sah der ukrainische Militärblog "DeepState" bei dem Ort Welyka Nowosilka. Dort sei es gelungen, russische Angreifer aus dem Dorf Nowyj Komar zu vertreiben. Bei dem Gefecht seien russische Gefangene gemacht worden. Überprüfbar waren diese Angaben nicht.
In der Nacht operierten wie üblich Schwärme russischer Kampfdrohnen über der Ukraine, wie die ukrainische Luftwaffe mitteilte. Gleichzeitig wurden Raketenangriffe auf die Industriestadt Kriwyj Rih im Süden gemeldet. Angaben über Schäden oder Opfer gab es von militärischer Seite nicht.
P.S.
А.п. напоминает Уважаемым коллегам, что начиная с 25.11.2024, по независящим от него техническим причинам, все публикации будут возможны только с 9.00 утра, до 23.59 вечера текущих суток.
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С интересом и понятными ожиданиями, Dimitriy.
DAN HODGES: 'Pensioners will die freezing and alone', a minister confided to me about the winter fuel axe. And more Labour MPs tell me they fear worse is to come
It will begin with an unanswered knock on the door. Or perhaps a phone that simply rings and rings. There might be other clues. Some unretrieved post jutting out of the letterbox. Faded curtains that neighbours will recall haven’t been opened for days. And it will be cold. Very, very cold.
‘It’s only a matter of time until we get some terrible case,’ a minister confided to me. ‘It happens every year, some tragedy where a pensioner dies alone. But this year it will be blamed on us – for winter fuel allowance cuts. And then we’re going to be in the midst of a full-blown crisis.’
In recent weeks, it hasn’t been dominating the news agenda. Or even the political agenda. The farmers. Soaring immigration. HaighGate. These are the issues that have been grabbing the headlines and air-time.
But among the Cabinet, Labour MPs and party activists, there is a growing belief the decision to unexpectedly axe pensioners’ £300 winter fuel allowance has become a ticking timebomb under Sir Keir Starmer’s fledgling premiership. And they fear it’s about to explode.
‘It’s not simply another mistake,’ another minister warned. ‘This isn’t like the freebies or the P&O row [referring to colleagues accepting gifts from Lord Alli and the Transport Secretary urging people to boycott the ferry firm just before a £1 billion investment announcement].
‘If you speak to anyone in the party about the biggest reason we’ve lost our way, it’s winter fuel. We’re all getting flak – on the doorsteps, in our inboxes, even at the constituency surgeries. It’s cut through more than any other issue.’
This anxiety is being exacerbated by a lack of comprehension at precisely what Starmer and Rachel Reeves are seeking to achieve with the policy.
There is a broad realisation that while overhyped, the ‘black hole’ the Chancellor says she inherited from the Tory government is real. There’s also an understanding there is no scope for additional tax rises, and that cash needs to be found for sacred cows such as the NHS and education.
But they cannot align the relatively small saving with the potentially catastrophic political cost of being seen to target some of the most vulnerable in society in wintertime.
One MP told me: ‘Our own analysis shows 100,000 pensioners could be driven into poverty by this. Yet the saving is tiny – just over £1 billion. In the scheme of things, that’s peanuts. Rachel’s supposed to be a smart economist and politician. But where’s the cost-benefit analysis? For the hit we’re going to take politically, it’s bonkers.’
The saving may not even be £1 billion. Ironically, the publicity surrounding the cut has encouraged a surge in applications for pensions credit from those who remain eligible. And, as a result, some estimates put the net saving to the Treasury as low as £500 million – a drop in the ocean of the £22 billion deficit supposedly left to Reeves by her predecessors.
Other ministers believe the policy may just be about defensible. But the way it has been handled has raised serious doubts about whether Downing Street and the Treasury are astute enough in communications terms to successfully plough through the potential storm.
‘Look at the way it was trailed,’ one minister complained. ‘It was left hanging there on its own. It wasn’t bundled up with other positive measures in the Budget. Basically, we put up a big sign saying, “Come and kick us over this”. And people have done.’
The view within No 10 and No 11 is that while the winter fuel allowance row will prove painful, it is ultimately manageable. They concede it is unpopular with focus groups, but claim when the policy is presented in the wider context of tough spending choices, a need to protect wider public service spending and the toxic legacy
of the Tory years, there is a grudging acceptance.
‘People don’t like it. But they understand it,’ one Labour official claimed to me.
But this is just wishful – and many Labour MPs would say delusional – thinking.
So far, the Government has been riding its luck on winter fuel. The weather has been unseasonally mild. For some inexplicable reason, Kemi Badenoch has chosen not to push hard on the issue.
The furious reaction over other Budget issues, from Jeremy Clarkson, James Dyson and big business, has drowned out the plaintive cry from pensioners.
But soon Starmer’s luck will run out. And when it does, the backlash will make him long for the days he was fielding brickbats about Lord Alli’s flat.
That’s because the Prime Minister’s flagship policy is utterly indefensible. Literally.
If it was a case of simply facing down his political opponents, that would be one thing. His Commons majority of 174 would enable him to blindly steamroll his cuts through.
But it is not just his external enemies who oppose him.
I’ve spoken to Cabinet ministers, junior ministers, MPs, councillors, party officials, activists, trade union officials. I have yet to find a single person within Labour’s ranks who genuinely believes in the winter fuel benefit cut. Or thinks it is politically sustainable. ‘For the first time I’ve felt unable to walk round my own constituency’ a minister told me. ‘And it’s not just because of the reaction from my constituents. It’s because I feel totally ashamed.’
Speaking to people in Westminster about the winter fuel policy reminds me of the conversations I had over Liz Truss’s 45p tax cut. As debate raged over that similarly politically incontinent policy, I bumped into a Tory MP who I had just seen on television robustly defending the tax change.
‘Do you actually think you can ride this out?’ I asked.
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ he replied. ‘It’s lunacy! She’s going to have to drop it. It’s just a matter of when.’
Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are going to have to ditch their winter fuel policy. The only question is whether they do it before, or after, the blizzard engulfs them. And, more importantly, before it engulfs the nation’s pensioners.
Last week Starmer delivered his much-vaunted relaunch. It was widely ridiculed as he
robotically trotted out a list of ‘measurable deliverables’ he claimed would be met by his ‘mission-led government’.
That ridicule is nothing compared to the visceral, white-hot fury that will be directed at him, when (not if) that first fateful knock on a pensioner’s door goes unanswered.
Цитата:
Payments Are Going Digital, but Many Seniors Still Rely on Cash
“We’re putting another burden on the elderly that we don’t have to,” one researcher said.
Cashless policies disadvantage a number of groups, including low-income people, the homeless, undocumented immigrants and older adults.Credit...Bridget Bennett for The New York Times
Some things you can no longer do with cash: Buy a well-loaded hot dog at any of the five Devil Dawgs eateries in and around Chicago. Order a Vermont Pale Lager from Hill Farmstead Brewery’s taproom in Greensboro Bend, Vt.
Attend the annual BeachLife Festival in Redondo Beach, Calif., or buy food, drinks or merchandise there. Purchase admission to the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site in Hyde Park, N.Y., or to many other sites maintained by the National Park Service.
The park service’s expanding no-cash policy exasperated several would-be visitors enough for them to sue in federal court earlier this year.
Anne Ronan, 70, a retired attorney, walks around Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif., a few times a week. After the three-mile-plus trek, she sometimes stops at one of two local cafes. Neither accepts payment in cash.
Nor do a restaurant and a cocktail lounge nearby on Grand Avenue. “I don’t find it unusual anymore,” Ms. Ronan said.
To buy coffee and a croissant, she routinely carries a credit card in her pocket. She doesn’t find that bothersome, but “as a public policy, it’s not a good thing.”
Jay Zagorsky, an economist at the Boston University Questrom School of Business and author of a forthcoming book called “The Power of Cash,” agrees.
Though the United States is not yet a cashless society, “this is picking up speed all over the world,” he said.
Some no-cash practices date to contagion fears after the outbreak of Covid; others are intended to discourage robberies.
“It has deterred a lot of crime,” Dena Bachenheimer, the chief executive of Devil Dawgs, said. The chain went cashless in 2021.
But such policies disadvantage a number of groups, including low-income people who don’t have bank accounts, people who have accounts but don’t qualify for credit or debit cards, the homeless, undocumented immigrants and older adults.
Consumers of any age can encounter problems with electronic payments, despite their convenience and ubiquity. (Although every bill declares it is “legal tender for all debts, public and private,” there is no federal law mandating that private businesses accept cash.)
One example: “We’re seeing an increase in major natural weather disasters, and they take down the cashless society,” Dr. Zagorsky said. “It depends on electricity, telecommunication networks and secure computer networks,” all threatened by floods, hurricanes and fires.
Moreover, “the idea that we have trustworthy computer networks is farcical,” he added. “In a cashless society, mobsters from Thailand or Kenya can attack you.” At least with cash, “a thief has to be within striking distance.”
Researchers have reported for years that consumers spend more when they’re using credit and debit cards, which obscure what economists call the “pain of paying.”
Tapping or swiping, gratifying consumers immediately while delaying the eventual pang, feels less real than handing over cash.
“It’s too easy to make a purchase with your phone or credit card — you just touch it,” said Ruth Susswein, the director of consumer protection at Consumer Action, the national educational and advocacy organization. “It’s like magic, until the bill arrives.”
Privacy concerns, too, cut across age differences.
“If I give you a $5 bill and you give me a sandwich, no one is the wiser,” said Jay Stanley, the senior policy analyst at the A.C.L.U.
Some no-cash practices date to contagion fears after the outbreak of Covid; others are intended to discourage robberies.Credit...Jeff Chiu/Associated Press
By contrast, the middlemen facilitating digital transactions — credit card companies, banks, the tech giants behind mobile apps — “surveil the hell out of everything we do,” then sell consumers’ data, he said.
But older people may face particular obstacles as cash loses ground to electronic payments.
“A lot of these cashless systems are implemented through smartphones,” Mr. Stanley said. “The level of smartphone ownership is lower among older adults, and facility with using them is also lower.”
True. Pew Research has reported that only 79 percent of people over 65 have a smartphone, compared with 97 percent of people aged 30 to 49. Consumers over 55 used cash for 22 percent of payments last year, according to the Federal Reserve, compared with 12 percent among younger groups.
Last fall, when a federal survey asked respondents if they had used the internet for financial services like online banking and bill paying, or for sending money via services like Cash App, Venmo or PayPal, 85 percent of those in their 20s and 30s said yes.
The proportion dropped substantially among older consumers, to 70 percent of people in their 60s and to 64 percent of those in their 70s. Among consumers over 80, only about half used the internet for financial services.
“Cash is very simple,” Dr. Zagorsky noted. “No buttons to push. No passwords to remember.” When businesses and government agencies insist on electronic payment, “we’re putting another burden on the elderly that we don’t have to.”
The threat of fraud also affects seniors disproportionately. “Online scams often target older adults,” Ms. Susswein said.
The Federal Trade Commission recently reported that adults over 60 are less likely than younger adults to report losing money to fraud, but when they do, the lost totals run substantially higher. The number of seniors who have reported losing $100,000 or more has tripled since 2020.
Older adults are far more likely than younger ones to lose money to tech support scams, lottery and sweepstakes swindles, and family impersonations, the report said. Losses to investment and romance cons continue to climb, too.
Electronic payment can also harm low-income seniors by making overspending easier.
About 14 percent of people receiving Social Security retirement benefits rely on them for 90 percent or more of family income, the Social Security Administration said. The average monthly retirement benefit in 2024: $1,907.
There’s not much margin for the kind of overspending that digital transactions make easier.
A few states (including Massachusetts, Colorado and New Jersey) have passed legislation requiring businesses, with certain exceptions, to accept cash. Legislators in other states (Florida, Vermont) have introduced similar bills.
Several cities — New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco among them — have also adopted laws prohibiting no-cash policies.
The action may soon shift to Congress. A bipartisan group of senators and representatives has sponsored the Payment Choice Act, requiring retail businesses to accept cash for on-site purchases of $500 or less.
First introduced in 2019 and reintroduced with some revisions last year, “it’s gathering dust,” said Jeff Thinnes, whose consulting firm in Virginia represents the newly formed Payment Choice Coalition.
Its corporate supporters include armored car companies, a bank based in Cincinnati, a risk management firm and a manufacturer of currency printing and sorting machines. The coalition intends to resurrect the legislation and push hard for its passage.
“We’re not arguing for the demise of credit cards or payment apps,” Mr. Thinnes said. “We want cash to remain a choice.”
Resistance from the biggest banks, credit card companies and tech giants could be fierce, but consumer advocacy and privacy groups might lend the bill their support.
“We have a good shot at moving this forward,” Mr. Thinnes predicted.
Plenty of older adults are adept at mobile apps or comfortable with credit cards, but still want the cash option preserved.
Maureen Edelson, a consultant in Montclair, N.J., visited the Penn Museum on the University of Pennsylvania campus a few years ago and stopped to buy a bottled drink at its cafe. The cashier regretfully told her she could not pay with cash (a policy related to Covid that has since been dropped).
Ms. Edelson, 67, could have pulled out a credit card, but “it’s not my habit to use it for things like that,” she said. “That’s not what my generation does.”
On principle, she asked for directions to the nearest water fountain.
Some on Social Media See Suspect in C.E.O. Killing as a Folk Hero
The authorities have pleaded for help in finding the person who killed Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare. But some seem more interested in rooting for the gunman.
A grainy image of his face drew comparisons to Hollywood heartthrobs. A jacket similar to the one he’s wearing on wanted posters is reportedly flying off the shelves. And the words written on the bullets he used to kill a man in cold blood on a sidewalk on Wednesday have become, for some people, a rallying cry.
Three days after a gunman assassinated a top health insurance executive in Midtown Manhattan and vanished, the unidentified suspect has, in some quarters, been venerated as something approaching a folk hero.
The authorities have pleaded for help from the public to find the person who killed the UnitedHealthcare executive, Brian Thompson, who was a husband and father of two children. But in a macabre turn, some people seem to be more interested in rooting for the gunman and thwarting the police’s efforts.
The Upper West Side hostel where officials believe the unknown man stayed during his time in the city has reportedly received a deluge of bad reviews online, with some people calling the workers there “narcs.” The business has been cooperating with the police.
And while high-profile crimes have in recent years mobilized internet sleuths hellbent on finding answers, civilian efforts to find Mr. Thompson’s killer have appeared muted. Instead, the executive’s killing has released a tide of online frustration toward the health insurance industry, with some people even voicing their support for the gunman.
It is unclear what motivated the killing or whether it was tied to Mr. Thompson’s work in the industry. The police have yet to identify the shooter, and he remained at large as of Saturday.
The killing, which occurred at around 6:45 a.m. on Wednesday, just outside the New York Hilton Midtown hotel, incited an immediate citywide manhunt by law enforcement. Police officials have said that their assumption is that the gunman left the city by bus about an hour after he shot Mr. Thompson because they have video of him entering a bus depot but not leaving it.
Police officers searched Central Park on Friday for clues to the suspect’s whereabouts. Credit...Jeenah Moon for The New York Times
The shooter left a trail of evidence for the police to track: a distinctive backpack abandoned in Central Park; a water bottle with DNA found at the crime scene; and a collage of surveillance video of him throughout the city, including a photo of him with his mask down at the hostel.
But the clue that has ignited the most chatter online, and that appears to have garnered the gunman a following, are the words officials say they found scribbled in permanent marker on bullet casings discovered at the scene: “depose,” “deny” and “delay.” Although the words could have multiple meanings, they may be a reference to the tactics used by insurers of all kinds to avoid paying claims.
In some circles, those words alone have been enough for people to openly root for the shooter and hope that he escapes the grasp of law enforcement.
Alex Goldenberg, a senior adviser at the Network Contagion Research Institute, which tracks online threats, said the internet rhetoric had left experts “pretty disturbed” by the glorification of the murder of Brian Thompson and the “lionization of the shooter.”
In a report this week, the institute found that of the top 10 most-engaged posts on X about the shooting on Wednesday, six “either expressed explicit or implicit support for the killing or denigrated the victim.” The dynamic is similar to the discourse that often emerges after a mass shooting on websites like 4chan and 8chan, where perpetrators of extreme violence become memes themselves, Mr. Goldenberg said, “but what’s disturbing about this is it’s mainstream.”
“It’s being framed as some opening blow in a broader class war, which is very concerning as it heightens the threat environment for similar actors to engage in similar acts of violence,” Mr. Goldenberg said.
On Saturday afternoon, about half a dozen men gathered in the December cold at Washington Square Park in Lower Manhattan to participate in a look-alike contest for the gunman. One had the words “deny, defend, depose” painted on his jacket.
The contest drew a crowd of around 30 people who had heard about the event through fliers that were advertised on social media platforms, including X and Bluesky.
The winner of a look-alike contest for the gunman, held Lower Manhattan on Saturday, said that he celebrated the shooter’s actions. He declined to give his name.Credit...Amir Hamja for The New York Times
The winner, a 39-year-old who does data entry for a labor union, declined to give his name but said that he celebrated the actions of the gunman and that he believed it was important to make people understand how people were hurting under the health care system.
For executives of large corporations, particularly those in the pharmaceutical and insurance industries, Mr. Thompson’s killing heightened their safety concerns. Hours after the shooting, dozens of private security officers joined a call to discuss additional protective measures for executives.
But for others, the message that the internet has assigned to the shooter’s motives has resonated and spread.
More than 100 miles away from Manhattan, in a Philadelphia alleyway next to a graffitied dumpster, the words “deny” “defend” and “depose” were spray-painted on the side of a building.
Нотре-Срам де Пари: прежде химеры были снаружи, а теперь внутри.
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The Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, walks past American First Lady Jill Biden, President-elect Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron at the end of the official reopening of the Notre-Dame de Paris on Saturday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, center, talks to guests as he arrives at the cathedral on Saturday.
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Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, from Haute Couture to the Holy Halls of Notre Dame • FRANCE 24
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Comment Jean-Charles de Castelbajac a-t-il conçu les habits religieux de la cérémonie de réouverture de Notre-Dame ?
Mgr Ulrich, archevêque de Paris, lors de la cérémonie officielle de réouverture de la cathédrale Notre-Dame. (Le 7 décembre 2024.) Abaca
Le styliste a créé les nouvelles tenues liturgiques arborées par les prêtres, évêques et diacres durant la réouverture de la cathédrale, célébrée ce samedi 7 décembre.
Il l’a vécu comme un véritable «aboutissement». Jean-Charles de Castelbajac s’est en effet vu demander de créer les nouvelles tenues liturgiques de Notre-Dame de Paris, arborées par les hommes d’église durant la réouverture de la cathédrale, ce samedi 7 décembre. Celui qui a ressenti une «terrible émotion» lorsque l’édifice a brûlé en 2019 postait, dès le lendemain, le dessin de son nouveau toit en vitrail. Sans imaginer qu’il serait contacté pour réaliser les quelque 2000 pièces qui vêtiront les près de 1500 évêques, prêtres et diacres permanents de Notre-Dame.
Des tenues immortalisées lors de la cérémonie officielle de réouverture de la cathédrale Notre-Dame à Paris le 7 décembre 2024. Abaca
Son mot d’ordre ? «Simplicité, solennité et modernité». Celui qui a habillé le pape Jean-Paul II lors des Journées mondiales de la jeunesse en 1997 a donc dessiné des tenues aux éclats de velours rouge, bleu, vert et jaune autour d’une grande croix d’or, inspirée de celle de l’artiste Marc Couturier, floquée sur une gabardine de laine écru. Le styliste a ainsi opté pour ses teintes «fétiches», qu’il a estimées «universelles», comme il l’a déclaré à l’AFP. Le rouge pour le sang du Christ, le bleu pour Marie, le vert pour l’espérance, et le jaune pour l’or, «synthèse de tout». Le résultat ? Une sorte de «Mondrian médiéval».
«Il ne s’agissait pas de faire des vêtements de luxe, il s’agissait de parler de "lux" (lumière en latin, NDLR)», a expliqué le créateur de mode à l’AFP. Avant d’ajouter : «On a décidé, avec le diocèse, qu’il n’y aurait pas de dessin et que je ferai un travail simplissime avec des ornements qui créent une proximité.» Des chasubles «chevaleresques», qu’il a conçues avec l’aide des meilleures maisons françaises d’artisanat de luxe, comme Lesage ou Maison Michel, regroupées dans les ateliers du 19M à Paris, durant un an et demi. «C’est presque plus rock’n’roll aujourd’hui de travailler pour l’Église que d’être avec les Sex Pistols sur la Tamise en 77», a ainsi plaisanté Jean-Charles de Castelbajac dans les colonnes de l’AFP.
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С сожалением и понятными ожиданиями, Dimitriy.
Комментарий пресс-секретаря Президента Дмитрия Пескова.
Мы внимательно ознакомились с заявлением избранного Президента США Дональда Трампа, которое он сделал после встречи в Париже с Макроном и Зеленским.
Президент Путин неоднократно говорил о том, что Россия открыта для переговоров по Украине и приветствует мирные инициативы, исходящие в первую очередь от стран Глобального Юга, наших партнёров по БРИКС – Китая, Индии, Бразилии, ЮАР, также работающих на гуманитарном треке Объединённых Арабских Эмиратов, Катара и Саудовской Аравии.
Наша позиция по Украине хорошо известна. Условия для моментального прекращения боевых действий были изложены Президентом Путиным в июне текущего года в его выступлении в Министерстве иностранных дел России.
Здесь важно напомнить, что от переговоров отказалась и продолжает отказываться именно Украина. Более того, Зеленский своим декретом запретил самому себе и своей администрации любые контакты с российским руководством. Эта их позиция не меняется. Между тем для выхода на мирную траекторию Зеленскому достаточно отменить этот свой декрет и дать указание о возобновлении диалога на базе Стамбульских договорённостей и с учётом реалий, складывающихся на земле.
Что касается приведённых цифр о потерях с обеих сторон, то очевидно, что они изложены в украинской трактовке и отражают официальную позицию Украины. Реальные цифры потерь совершенно другие. Украинские потери кратно превышают потери с российской стороны.
Дальнейшее продолжение таких темпов ведёт к полному истощению украинской армии и понижению мобилизационного возраста до 18 лет, а также ужесточению насильственной мобилизации. Однако даже всё это складывающуюся для украинской армии катастрофическую ситуацию не поменяет. Для самой Украины и международных наблюдателей это и не является новостью.
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Syria's Assad and his family are in Moscow after Russia granted them asylum, say Russian news agencies
MOSCOW Dec 8 (Reuters) - Syria's Bashar al-Assad and his family have arrived in Russia and have been granted asylum by the Russian authorities, Russian news agencies reported on Sunday, citing a Kremlin source.
The Interfax news agency quoted the unnamed source as saying: "President Assad of Syria has arrived in Moscow. Russia has granted them (him and his family) asylum on humanitarian grounds."
Лидеры вооруженной сирийской оппозиции гарантировали безопасность военных баз и дипломатических учреждений РФ на территории Сирии, сообщил ТАСС со ссылкой на источник в Кремле.
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Fall of Damascus sidelines Russia and brings Turkey to the fore
As Moscow’s top diplomat reeled in Doha, his Turkish counterpart appeared to know he had the upper hand
As celebratory gunfire was heard across liberated Syria, the diplomatic guns of Iran and Russia, in Doha to attend a major dialogue forum, fell silent, rendered powerless and irrelevant by events in Damascus.
Only 12 hours earlier the key external powers – Russia and Iran along with Turkey – had met five Arab states on the sidelines of the forum to issue a joint statement appealing for an end to military operations, preservation of Syria’s territorial integrity and consultations on a political solution between Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the opposition. It was a last attempt to retain a semblance of control over events, but the diplomats also anxiously discussed the fate of the Syrian president at the meeting, and whether there would be fighting on the streets of Damascus soon.
Russian representatives reported to the meeting that Assad was inflexible, refusing to accept reality or the necessity of dialogue with Turkey, the country sponsoring the military forces threatening the capital. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi looked pained and distracted.
Six hours after the weary diplomats left the meeting they woke to the news that Assad had fallen. Rarely have so many diplomats been rendered so irrelevant so quickly.
Earlier at the summit on Saturday, the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, had been questioned onstage about Syria’s future, an increasingly uncomfortable encounter as he was asked to explain Russia’s role in the country over the past decade. At one point he was reduced by his interlocutor, James Bays from Al Jazeera, to blurting out: “If you want me to say: ‘yes we lost in Syria, we are so desperate,’ if this is what you need, let’s continue”.
Irritated, he badgered his interviewer to switch the discussion to Ukraine, familiar ground on which he could assert Russian military strength and American hypocrisy.
But he continued to hold the line that jihadist groups could not take hold in Syria, and Assad was the bulwark to prevent this. “It’s inadmissible to allow the terrorist groups to take control of the lands in violation of agreements which exist,” he said, a reference to insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which had led the breakout from Idlib province to Aleppo and then, extraordinarily, to Damascus.
He went through the ritual of referring to the need to implement UN security council resolution 2254 passed in December 2015, with a call for a democratic transition in Syria with which Assad had refused to engage.
Asked why Assad had not helped in the transition of power, Lavrov said: “No one’s perfect.” He made no reference to the 17 times Russia had vetoed UN security council resolutions in order to protect Assad.
As the interview continued, Lavrov fiddled uneasily when he was asked about the future of Russia’s naval base at Tartus and it airbase at Hmeimim, saying he was “not in the business of guessing” what would happen. All he knew was that Moscow was doing all it could to prevent “terrorists” from prevailing, adding that he was sorry for the Syrian people if they followed the fate of Libya and Iraq, two countries that suffered prolonged civil wars after strongmen were toppled by chaotic revolutions.
Asked if he truly thought Assad would win free and fair elections called for in resolution 2254, Lavrov changed the subject to the US presence in eastern Syria “supporting Kurdish separatists, including on the lands which historically belonged to Arab tribes, exploiting oil and food resources, selling them in the world market and financing the quasi-state they are building there”.
Lavrov is probably the most experienced diplomat on the globe, but never could he have been interviewed so self-evidently on the brink of humiliation.
Araghchi had also been doing the rounds in Doha, insisting it was possible for Assad to survive and clinging to the point that all external powers had agreed that Syria’s territorial integrity must be protected. But he had the haunted look of a man who knew events had suddenly run away from him. In previous days every effort to persuade Iraq, Tehran’s last bastion in the Arab world, to come to Assad’s rescue had failed. Iran’s 12-year engagement in Syria was coming to an end, marking the closure of its land corridor into Lebanon and Hezbollah. Iran’s whole security strategy of forward defence had collapsed, and now the government may need to rethink how it survives.
By contrast the Turkish foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, also a former head of Turkish intelligence, surrounded by a vast entourage, said little in public, sensing his country may be the biggest external beneficiary of Assad’s fall. Turkey has at its disposal the umbrella group of Syrian militias called the Syrian National Army and a relationship of sorts with HTS. But with power comes responsibility. More than any other country in the region it has the power to help Syrians form the independent consensus government their long struggle for liberation deserves.
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«Exclusive: Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Describes the War With the US and How to End It»
Московскому патриархату Эстонской православной церкви в Таллине в два раза повысили арендную плату.
Ранее сумма компенсации составляла 819,48 евро в месяц или столько же, сколько церковь платила городу за аренду помещения.
Однако центральное правительство заказало экспертное заключение о рыночной цене недвижимости. Согласно нему рыночная арендная плата за помещение, используемое церковью, составляет 1706,70 евро в месяц.
Видимо, власти решили действовать по принципу "не запретим, так сживем".
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Ukraine says Assad's fall underscores Russian weakness
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"Events in Syria demonstrate the weakness of Putin's regime, which is incapable of fighting on two fronts and abandons its closest allies for the sake of continued aggression against Ukraine," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
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Russia silent on future of its military bases and Assad
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Israeli army says curfew imposed in 5 Syrian towns
Israel's military on Sunday imposed a curfew for residents of five Syrian towns in a demilitarised buffer zone of the Golan Heights which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered troops to seize.
"For your security you must stay at home and not go out until further notice," Lieutenant Colonel Avichay Adraee, an Israeli army spokesman, said on X, after Netanyahu's order earlier Sunday for the military to seize the zone, which abuts the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, after the fall of Syria's president.
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With Assad’s Fall, Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’ Unravels
Tehran’s main regional allies are weakened or collapsing: Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, has fled his country, Hezbollah is battered by conflict with Israel, and Hamas is still at war.
A bullet-riddled portrait of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president who fled the country, adorning Hama’s municipality building on Friday.Credit...Omar Haj Kadour/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Over the past four decades, Iran devoted its best military minds, billions of dollars and sophisticated weapons to a grand project — countering U.S. and Israeli power in the Middle East through what it called the “axis of resistance.”
The alliance, made up of like-minded armed groups or governments in five Middle Eastern countries, allowed Iran to project power as far west as the Mediterranean and south to the Arabian Sea.
But in a breathtakingly short time, it has largely unraveled.
Syrian rebel groups ousted the country’s longtime dictator, Bashar al-Assad, in less than two weeks as the government’s military forces put up little resistance. The Lebanese militant and political group Hezbollah and the Palestinian faction Hamas in Gaza are both weakened by more than a year of warfare with Israel.
Still intact are the Iran-linked Iraqi militias and the Houthis in Yemen, but they are more peripheral players in the alliance. And even if Iran were intent on rebuilding that alliance, it would likely take years to return to its former strength.
“The most significant regional development is this Iranian strategic loss,” Robert Ford, a former U.S. ambassador to Syria and a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, a Washington-based think tank, said of the collective defeats suffered by Iran’s allies.
Syria under Mr. al-Assad was critical to the alliance because it provided a land corridor for Iran to supply weapons and money to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel sought to sever this pipeline. Defending it was just as important to Iran.
With the ouster of Mr. al-Assad this weekend and the future leadership of Syria now in question, it is not clear whether Iran can retain this strategic route.
“The Iranians suffer a major strategic defeat if the Assad government is replaced by some other kind of government that takes an uncooperative attitude toward Lebanese Hezbollah because their land bridge to Lebanon is cut and it’s a big blow to any hope Iran may have had for a slow, steady rebuilding of Hezbollah,” Mr. Ford said on Saturday, just before the Syrian capital, Damascus, fell to the rebels.
Iran had long propped up Mr. al-Assad, giving him military support to hold back opponents during the country’s 13-year civil war. But advisers and commanders of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards force, many of whom had also worked closely with Hezbollah, started leaving Syria on Friday.
Analysts said Iran realized it could not offer a military solution to Mr. al-Assad any longer, especially given that his own forces seemed reluctant to fight for him.
The Syrian rebels picked an opportune moment to launch their offensive, when Mr. al-Assad’s allies — Iran, Russia and Hezbollah — were either depleted or distracted with other conflicts. The rebel assault began on Nov. 27, just days after a cease-fire in the Israel-Hezbollah war forced Hezbollah to retreat from Lebanon’s border with Israel.
In some corners of Lebanon, there was an expectation that Iran would come to Hezbollah’s aid more forcefully during the war with Israel.
When Israel and Iran traded strikes in April and again in October, Israel, backed by the United States, shot down most of Iran’s missiles. Those that reached Israel did little damage but in its own attacks Israel was able to penetrate Iran’s air defenses with little resistance.
All told, these events demonstrated that Iran had limited ability to defend itself and its allies, shattering any notion in the eyes of Tehran’s allies that Iran was invincible.
Now Iran appears to be striking a somewhat more conciliatory tone, at least on Syria. Its Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that the country’s future was “solely the responsibility” of Syrians and called for a national dialogue to form an “inclusive government,” according to Tasnim, a semiofficial news agency associated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
But also this week, international monitors at the U.N. atomic energy agency said that Iran had dramatically accelerated its enrichment of uranium to close to the level needed for use in a weapon.
The unraveling of Iran’s alliance accelerated dramatically over the past few months.
Hamas, which long ruled Gaza, has been degraded by more than a year of war set off by its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. There is growing evidence that it is losing its grip on at least parts of the territory and is increasingly unable to govern.
At the end of July, Israel assassinated Hamas’ political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, while he was staying in a Tehran guesthouse under the eye of the Revolutionary Guards. He was there to attend the inauguration of Iran’s new president.
In mid-September, Israel crippled Hezbollah’s commanders and leaders ability to communicate by exploding their pagers and walkie-talkies.
At the end of September, Israel killed Hezbollah’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, a military and political strategist who played a significant role in developing the Iranian regional alliance.
In October, Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah escalated rapidly. Israeli forces blew up much of the group’s sophisticated tunnel and bunker system in south Lebanon in barely six weeks of intense fighting, according to analysts.
Israel’s defense minister estimated that about 80 percent of Hezbollah’s 150,000 missiles and rockets were destroyed. It was the largest arsenal in the world in the hands of a nonstate armed group, according to weapons analysts.
The weakening of Hezbollah will resonate far beyond Lebanon.
The group had sent fighters to help Mr. al-Assad during the Syrian civil war and helped train other Iran-backed groups, including Houthi fighters from Yemen.
“Hezbollah had been considered a success story for Iran because of 2000 and 2006,” said Hanin Ghader, a Lebanese analyst now at the Washington Institute, referring to the group’s previous wars with Israel. Hezbollah came out far less damaged after that conflict.
“Hassan Nasrallah proved himself to be the guru of the resistance for the Iranians, and they invested so much in him,” she said, adding that Hezbollah got far more Iranian support than the Houthis or Iraqi militias.
The broader impact of Israel’s onslaught on Hezbollah, which apparently forced the group to call many of its fighters home from Syria, according to diplomats and analysts, was to hollow out Mr. al-Assad’s defenses.
Syria was Iran’s closest state ally in the Middle East. Mr. al-Assad had come to rely on Iranian commanders and units under the control of the Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah fighters — whose support helped him survive over a decade of civil war, until this weekend.
But for the past several years, while the conflict in Syria was seemingly frozen, opposition forces were quietly preparing a new challenge to Mr. al-Assad. When they chose to strike again, Mr. al-Assad’s regime turned out to be a paper tiger.
In addition to Iranian and Hezbollah forces, his government had depended on Russian support, primarily its air force. His own military forces turned out to have had little inclination to fight anymore.
Despite this accretion of losses, for many years the alliance has served its purpose in Iran’s view, said Hassan Ahmadian, a political science professor at Tehran University. Iranians believed it would be a deterrent to Israel, not an impregnable defense, he said.
Iran, he said, has always recognized that it was in an asymmetric fight with Israel, which has a nuclear arsenal and is backed by sophisticated U.S. arms and staunch American political support.
“The Iranians don’t have either one. But the strategy was to balance those capabilities — nuclear weapons and U.S. backing — with an alliance of like-minded armed groups and governments,” he said.
Although Israel is widely believed to have nuclear weapons, it has never officially confirmed it.
Longtime observers of Iran warn against counting it out just yet.
“Clearly, Hezbollah has been badly weakened and Iran clearly emerged as the weaker power in its direct confrontation with Israel,” said Ryan Crocker, a former U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. “But you know, tactical and operational success don’t necessarily translate into strategic victory.”
Hezbollah has not been completely defeated, he cautioned. And Iran is not likely to retreat behind its own borders just yet.
“I don’t think either Iran or Hezbollah see themselves as defeated here,” he said. “And one thing that Iran has shown is that they have the capacity to play a long game.”
Canada Moves to Protect Arctic From Threats by Russia and China
Ottawa says its focus on the Arctic comes after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “has shaken the foundations” of international cooperation in the northern region.
Tuktoyaktuk, a hamlet in northern Canada, in September. Many Inuit communities in the high Arctic are reachable only by airfields that are often in poor repair.Credit...Renaud Philippe for The New York Times
Citing growing interest by China and Russia in the Arctic as global warming makes the region more accessible, Canada on Friday said it would focus on building stronger alliances with other nations in the region, particularly the United States.
“For many years, Canada has aimed to manage the Arctic and northern regions cooperatively with other states as a zone of low tension,” according to a statement by the Canadian government.
But more recent developments, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, had “shaken the foundations of international cooperation in the Arctic,” the statement said.
Canada has long debated how best to assert control over its vast but very sparsely populated Arctic.
The policy statement calls climate change “the overarching threat” to that control. Warmer temperatures and thinning ice make it increasingly likely that it will soon be possible in the summers for ships to regularly travel from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean by way of an Arctic route known as the Northwest Passage.
Canada’s government said the country was committed to increasing military spending in the Arctic, including a 5 billion Canadian dollar, or $3.6 billion, upgrade of defense systems used by the North American Aerospace Defense Command — a joint operation of the two countries.
“It is clear that Russia has no red lines, its designs on the Arctic and its resources are well known,” Mélanie Joly, the foreign minister said in announcing the policy on Friday. “But what is new is that Russia is increasingly dependent on China because of its war in Ukraine.”
A warming Arctic climate is already playing havoc in the region. Melting permafrost threatens coastal communities with inundation and unstable sea ice is limiting the ability of the Inuit, who dominate the region, to hunt.
China has already declared its interest in becoming an Arctic power and many experts say that may be partly driven by the prospect of an expansion of mining being made commercially viable by a less icy Arctic.
China, which also has an Arctic cooperation agreement with Russia, regularly sends “dual purpose” ships into the area to conduct scientific research and to collect military intelligence, according to Canada’s government.
It also listed a number of joint military exercises by China and Russia, as well as Chinese incursions into airspace patrolled by the United States, to underscore how the Arctic is become an increasingly active theater of global competition.
While the Canadian government said that “close partnership with the United States is essential to the maintenance of a secure, strong and well-defended North American homeland,” it also doubles down on a longstanding Arctic dispute between the two countries.
The United States and several other countries regard the Northwest Passage as international waters. But the Canadian government’s statement reiterates the position that “the waters of Canada’s Arctic Archipelago, including the various channels comprising the Northwest Passage, are internal waters of Canada by virtue of historic title and in accordance with international law.”
The statement does, however, commit Canada to resolving another dispute with the United States over a portion of the Beaufort Sea now claimed by both countries but offers no details on how that will be achieved. And it commits Canada to working out the final details with Denmark over the border of a tiny, uninhabited island both countries claim.
Canada also plans to revive the office of Arctic ambassador and open diplomatic posts in Alaska and Greenland. The ambassador, who will be an Indigenous person, would be Canada’s top Arctic official and would work with Indigenous groups and governments throughout the region.
Natan Obed, the president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national body for the largest group of Indigenous people living in the high Arctic, said he was pleased that the government had consulted Indigenous groups in forming its policy.
Still, he said, he believed that a key step for Canada to increase its presence in the region must be to significantly improve the infrastructure.
He said that 49 of the 51 Inuit communities in the high Arctic lack road connections to anywhere else in the region.
The communities also, Mr. Obed added, lack deep seaports, leaving them accessible only by airfields built mainly during World War II and the Cold War that are now often in poor repair. Sewer and water systems are also inadequate in many Inuit settlements.
“If Canada wants to assert its sovereignty it needs to deal with the basics,” Mr. Obed said. “There is a long way to go and I hope this isn’t lost on the Canadian government.”
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Unidentified Drones Light Up New Jersey’s Skies, Baffling Residents
People across the state have reported seeing scores of large, low-flying objects in recent weeks. Officials haven’t said where they’re coming from, or why they’re here.
A recent image of a drone in Bernardsville, N.J. Sightings of the flying machines have been reported in at least 10 counties in the state since mid-November.Credit...Fox News
Brightly lit against a dark night sky, the low-flying object wasn’t a star, and it wasn’t moving like a plane or a helicopter.
Kat Dunbar spotted the strange object early one night several weeks ago while driving home with her children, and she was stumped.
“I was like, ‘What is that? Is that a U.F.O.?’” said Ms. Dunbar, a 37-year-old acupuncturist and mother of three. “And we watched it the whole way home.”
Then, she said, she thought nothing more about it. Until earlier this week, when similarly bright, large and buzzing objects began flying low over her home in Bedminster, N.J.
They were drones, she realized. And since then, she said, they have been back every night. Usually she and her husband, Nick Dunbar, see the first drone not long after sunset. Then they keep coming, one after another: sometimes five or more, following the same flight path.
“In the last week, it became a little bit of a menacing and, like, creepy thing,” Ms. Dunbar said.
Ms. Dunbar is not alone. Drone sightings have been reported in at least 10 New Jersey counties since mid-November. They have been spotted flying over important infrastructure, like reservoirs, power lines and railroads, in people’s backyards and above highways. They often fly in groups and emit a loud humming noise that Mr. Dunbar, 39, described as similar to the sounds made by electric cars. The drones appear to be significantly larger than those widely available to hobbyists.
The sightings have prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to temporarily ban drones from flying over a military base in Morris County and a golf club owned and frequented by President-elect Donald J. Trump. On Nov. 26, drones flying near a landing zone prevented a medical helicopter from picking up a person injured in a car crash in Somerset County, according to NJ.com.
State leaders and elected officials have said the drones do not pose any threat to the public. But they have yet to provide any information about who might be operating them, or why.
The reported sightings have alarmed local law enforcement officials. The police chief of Florham Park, N.J., said in a statement on social media that the drones’ presence appeared “nefarious in nature.” In Hunterdon County, officials said that drones had been seen near the county’s emergency communications center and near Round Valley Reservoir, the largest in New Jersey and a critical part of the state’s water supply.
In recent days, drone sightings, which had been concentrated in northern New Jersey, have been reported in the southern part of state, in the Philadelphia suburbs and in towns near the coast. In New York, some Staten Island residents have reported drones near the Howland Hook Marine Terminal and on the west shore. Vito Fossella, Staten Island’s borough president, asked the F.B.I. and the F.A.A. to investigate the sightings in a letter, describing the ongoing mystery as “odd and quite bizarre,” according to reports.
The F.B.I.’s Newark field office has urged anyone with “relevant information” about the drones to call the bureau’s tip line or submit information online.
On Thursday, Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey said in a statement on social media that his office was “actively monitoring the situation” in coordination with federal and state law enforcement officers, and that there was “no known threat to the public at this time.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday evening.
Unmanned objects in the sky have been spotted near U.S. military bases several times in the past year. In December 2023, drones swarmed the Langley Air Force Base in Virginia for 17 days, according to a Wall Street Journal report, which added that similar sightings had been made this year near an Air Force base in California.
In the last few weeks, the U.S. Navy said “small unmanned aerial systems” had been seen flying near or above four military bases used by the United States in Britain. Pentagon officials said they were taking the reports seriously, but that they did not present “any significant mission impact.”
For many New Jersey residents like the Dunbars, the drones feel more like an oddity, and a nuisance, than a threat. Still, the family is on edge, unnerved by the nightly mystery. They wonder when, or if, the flyovers will end.
“The thing that really feels unsettling is just like, is this always going to be like this?” Ms. Dunbar said, adding that she feared for her family’s privacy, not knowing what surveillance capabilities the drones might have.
“I’m not a conspiracist by any means,” she said, “but I don’t love the idea of massive drones patrolling where I live.”
«Щелкуниада мозга из Москвы дошла до нас»: В Петербурге нашли супердорогие билеты на главный новогодний спектакль
Главной культурной темой этой зимы стал «Щелкунчик».
Главный Новогодний спектакль становится популярнее с каждым годом и цены на билеты лезут вверх. В Москве разразился скандал из-за стоимости билетов на постановку в Большом театре. Здесь за билеты просят по 100 тысяч рублей, более того, билеты продают с аукциона и цена растет в процесс торгов. В Петербурге расценки на «Щелкунчика» тоже кусаются.
Блогер, балерина Ирина Бартновская опубликовала в своем телеграм-канале скриншот с сайта Мариинского театра, где место на спектакль предлагают за 45 тысяч рублей.
- Ну что, щелкуниада мозга из Москвы дошла и до нас. Билет в партер на «Щелкунчик» 31 числа по 45 тысяч в партер. Такого не было никогда! – написала она.
На сайте главного театра страны есть билеты на «Щелкунчик» по «московским» ценам. На места с ограниченной видимостью стоимость билета доходит до 30 тысяч рублей. Такой же порядок цен на спектакль в Михайловском театре. Здесь самый дорогой билет предлагают за 40 тысяч рублей.
P.S.
А.п. напоминает Уважаемым коллегам, что начиная с 25.11.2024, по независящим от него техническим причинам, все публикации будут возможны только с 9.00 утра, до 23.59 вечера текущих суток.
_________________
С интересом и понятными ожиданиями, Dimitriy.
Штудируя на выходных каталоги Метрополитен, по интересующим его позициям средневековых предметов быта, а.п. обнаружил вот эту позицию:
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This straw is one of an ensemble containing some of the elements needed for the celebration of the Eucharist: the paten for the bread (acc. no. 47.101.27), the chalice to hold the wine (acc. no. 47.101.26), and, exceptionally, a straw to sip the wine. Straws such as this rare example were used to prevent spilling even a drop of the consecrated wine. The representation of Saint Trudpert on the paten indicates that the ensemble was made for the monastery dedicated to him near Freiburg im Breisgau, where he was martyred.
По сути, это соломинка для бережного использования религиозных напитков.
Но, дело не в этом.
А.п. несколько раз встречал такие предметы быта и для простолюдинов и для знати.
Данная трубочка - предмет роскоши. А есть похожие попроще и не из позолоченного серебра, а из жести и керамики (фарфор по технологии похожей на используемые при изготовлении голландских трубок).
То есть употребление напитков через трубочку было характерно для Европы еще в средние века.
В то же время, на Руси, в схожих ситуациях, соломинками не пользовались: с чем - с чем, а с красным вином в средневековой Руси никогда проблем не было (в России, красное вино по примеру Византии, используют с Х века).
The complete ensemble, containing a paten, chalice, and straw, с 1240.
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Straw
The third item in the ensemble is a straw, also known as a fistula or calamus, used to sip the wine held by the chalice. Historically, a straw was needed to ensure that none of the consecrated wine was spilled during the Eucharist. Made from gilded silver, the straw features an intricate, vine-like grip made from silver and studded with gems.[7].
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10 сентября – Всемирный день психического здоровья. Специально к этой дате компания HINT опросила коллег в сфере маркетинга, рекламы и пиара, чтобы понять, как представители этих профессий могут помочь себе и другим поддержать в норме психическое здоровье.
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