Putin murdered dissidents in Communist East Germany

24 September 2011

As reported by the Guardian, Russia's spy agency is waging a massive undercover campaign of harassment against British and American diplomats, as well as other targets, using deniable "psychological" techniques developed by the KGB, a new book reveals.

The federal security service (FSB's) operation involves breaking into the private homes of western diplomats - a method the US state department describes as "home intrusions". Typically the agents move around personal items - opening windows, or setting alarms - in an attempt to demoralize and intimidate their targets.

The FSB operation includes bugging of private apartments, widespread phone tapping, physical surveillance, and email interception. Its victims include local Russian staff working for western embassies, opposition activists, human rights workers and journalists. The clandestine campaign is revealed in Mafia State, a book by the Guardian's former Moscow correspondent Luke Harding, serialized in Saturday's Weekend magazine.

The British and American governments are acutely aware of the FSB's campaign of intimidation. But neither has publicly complained about these demonstrative "counter-intelligence" measures, for fear of further straining already difficult relations with Vladmir Putin's resurgent regime. Putin, a former KGB lieutenant colonel, was head of the FSB.

British sources admit they have files "five or six inches thick" detailing FSB break-ins and other incidents of harassment against Moscow embassy staff. "Generally we don't make a fuss about it," one said. So pervasive is the FSB's campaign the British government is unable to staff fully its Moscow embassy. The intrusions are designed to "short-tour" diplomats so they leave their posts early, the source said.

Despite a recent improvement in US-Russian relations, the FSB has also targeted US diplomats and their families. In a 2009 confidential diplomatic cable leaked by WikiLeaks, the US ambassador in Moscow John Beyrle complains that the FSB's aggressive measures have reached unprecedented levels.

Mafia State recounts how the KGB first became interested in "operational psychology" in the 1960s. But it was the Stasi, East Germany's sinister secret police, that perfected these psychological techniques and used them extensively against dissidents in the 1970s and 1980s. These operations were given a name, Zersetzung - literally corrosion or undermining.

According to former Stasi officers the aim was to "switch off" regime opponents by disrupting their private or family lives. Tactics included removing pictures from walls, replacing one variety of tea with another, and even sending a vibrator to a target's wife. Usually victims had no idea the Stasi were responsible. Many thought they were going mad; some suffered breakdowns; a few committed suicide.

It was Erich Honecker, East Germany's communist leader, who patented these methods after concluding that "soft" methods of torture were preferable to open forms of persecution. The advantage of psychological operations was their deniability - important for a regime that wanted to maintain its international respectability. Putin spent the late 1980s as an undercover KGB officer based in the east German town of Dresden.Harding was himself the victim of repeated FSB break-ins, and last November was, in effect, expelled from Russia when the foreign ministry said it was not renewing his journalist's accreditation.

Mafia State also reveals:
· FSB officers privately admit the agency was involved in the assassination of dissident spy Alexander Litvinenko. They regret, however, the bungled way it was carried out.

· The British embassy in Moscow has a "polonium" chair sat on by Andrei Lugovoi, the chief suspect in the Litvinenko murder. Uncertain what to do with it, officials have locked it in a room in the embassy.

· Russia's footballing union knew a week before a vote in December that Fifa's executive committee would give Russia, rather than England, the 2018 World Cup

The FSB never explained why they targeted Harding with such zeal. Other western correspondents have also suffered from occasional "home intrusions", but on a much lesser scale, the Guardian writes

It is worth mentioning from the side of the Kavkaz Center that contents of this article was briefly retold by some KGB-sponsored Russian media, including a Gazprom radio Ekho Moskvy and an online KGB new agency Gazeta.Ru.

Most interesting with the Russians is not what they write, but what they never write. In this particular case, the Russians censored in the Guardian story all reference to East Germany and Putin, because it is strictly forbidden to write in Russia that Putin was a butcher of the German people and forced German dissidents to commit suicide.

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://tor.kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2011/09/24/15172.shtml.

Mass protest held in front of Russian bandit consulate in Turkey

24 September 2011

According to Turkish sources, a mass rally of representatives of the Chechen and Caucasian diaspora in Turkey, as well as activists of Turkish human rights organizations (Caucasus Foundation, Caucasus-Chechen Solidarity Association, United Caucasus Association) and international lawyers organization MazlumDer, was held on Saturday 1 pm local time in front of the Russian bandit consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

Hundreds of people marched to the den of Russian terrorists, thieves, bandits, spies and money washers. After that, a protest meeting was held against the massacre of the three Chechens by the Russian KGB on September 16.

The demonstrators were stopped by police 15 meters from the wall of the Russian bandit consulate. The participants of the rally accused Russia of launching bloody terror in Turkey.

The demonstrators demanded from the Turkish government to take efficient and resolute actions against Russian terrorism.

A statement that was read at the rally says:

***

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful!

We, the Chechen and Caucasian muhajir living in Turkey, have come here to name the murderer of our brothers.

The murderer is Russia, which sheds blood and terrorizes the Chechens and the whole Caucasus for centuries. The whole world has shuddered from its bloody atrocities in Chechnya.

Bloody Russian terror has gone outside the Caucasus. Now we are being killed in Qatar, Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Shaking hands with Erdogan in Moscow, Putin sent with his other hand the killers to this country. This is the real face of Russia and Russians.

Our sons and brothers continue to be killed. 250,000 Chechens were killed over the past 20 years, our country was turned into a concentration camp. And the words "Russian" "Russia" became for Chechens synonyms for death and terror.

Over 25,000 Chechens and Ingushs are held in Russian torture prisons. They are tortured to break the spirit of the people and to instill fear of Russia in the hearts. But they only fill us with hatred and contempt for everything Russian.

There is no nation in the world, which have been destroyed for so long, for centuries. And there is no nation in the world, except for Russians, who would torture its victims with savage cruelty and hatred.

Russia clings to the Caucasus, as if Chechens, Caucasians were the last breath of its life, without which it would die. So may Allah make us a mouthful with which it will choke.

Cursed be bloody Russia! Cursed be Putin and his dirty puppets in the Caucasus.

We will never give up our homeland.

The death of our brothers and sons will not stop our struggle for liberation of the Caucasus. The bloody Russian terror will not force us to abandon the path of independence.

Our first President Dudayev said: "A slave who doesn't wish to get out of slavery deserves double slavery!"

And we bequeath to our children our hatred of Russia and curse them if they submit to slavery and occupation.

Let Russia and its lackeys in the Caucasus leave hope that we will get tired and courage leaves us and that the Caucasus will not have enough worthy sons to liberate their Homeland. The dead are replaced by a new generation that knows who their enemy is and the price of freedom.

Today we say that we will defend our religion, freedom and independence. Russian invaders will be driven out of the Caucasus.

And we came here to say - We are not broken!

We will not weep! We will not forget! And we will not forgive!

Allah Akbar!

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://tor.kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2011/09/24/15170.shtml.

Revolution inevitable in Russia, and Caucasus Emirate will spark it

26 September 2011

The Guardian published an article by its former Moscow correspondent Luke Harding, recently expelled from Moscow by Putin's terrorist gang FSB, about the impending death of Russia.

The article is called "Vladimir Putin's comeback spells gloom for Russia and the west".

The article has a subtitle "There is no prospect now of any UK-Russian thaw, and Russia itself faces a long period of political and economic stagnation".

The British journalist pointed out that even in 2010 US diplomats had concluded that Project Medvedev was hopeless. One expert describe Russia's ruling model not as a tandem but as "a bicycle with a child's seat in the front".

"Spare a thought for poor Dmitry Medvedev. It was US diplomats who cruelly dubbed him Robin, to Vladimir Putin's Batman", writes Luke Harding.

"The phrase stuck. Over the past four years Medvedev has done nothing to dispel the impression that he is anything other than a useful seatwarmer", the article says.

It wasn't always like this. At the start of Medvedev's presidential term there were faint hopes that he might preside over a partial liberalisation of Russian society. The Obama administration tried to reach out to Medvedev in the hope this would nudge Russia's foreign policy away from its hawkish Putin vector towards a more constructive approach. By 2010, however, US diplomats had concluded that "Project Medvedev was hopeless", the article says. One expert describe Russia's ruling model not as a tandem but as "a bicycle with a child's seat in the front".

Medvedev's announcement on Saturday that he was stepping down to allow Putin a third presidency came as a surprise to no one, then, indicates Harding. Medvedev's only significant act as president was to extend Russia's presidential term from four years to six, he said. "This was seen, rightly, as teeing up the conditions for a triumphant comeback during elections in the spring of 2012: Putin's".

Putin's return means the west faces another decade of difficult relations with Russia. The former KGB agent demonstrated his gift at G8 gatherings and other international get-togethers for sardonic repartee mixed with snide remarks about western hypocrisy and double-dealing. We can expect more of this.

Until Downing Street caves in to the Kremlin's demand that it resumes co-operation with Russia's FSB spy agency - suspended after Alexander Litvinenko's polonium murder - no "reset" is possible with Britain.

"The prospects for Russia itself are equally gloomy. The country now faces a long period of political and economic stagnation and single-party rule", the author thinks.

In theory Putin could go on until 2024. However, the blogger and anti-corruption campaigner Alexey Navalny predicted that "Russia's kleptocractic system would collapse well before that", because it was useless even for the corrupt people who benefit from it. According to Navalny Russian revolution was inevitable, and the Caucasus will spark it.

"Many observers have plausibly argued that Putin is tired of being leader. So why did he come back?", asks the journalist.

Harding points out that the presidency, of course, is more prestigious that then prime minister's office, and gives Putin an international platform. "More than this, though, it allows Putin to protect his own alleged secret assets and those of his team, US diplomats believe".

And it allows him to avoid potential law enforcement prosecution - "inevitable, once he steps down from power", reminds the British journalist.

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://tor.kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2011/09/26/15178.shtml.

Muslim women fined in France over veil

Thu Sep 22, 2011

French police court has fined two Muslim women for wearing the full-face covering Islamic veil for the first time, in a case that could have legal implications across Europe.

The court in the town of Meaux, about 40 kilometers east of Paris, fined Hind Ahmas, 32, and another woman for appearing outside the local town hall in niqab, AFP reported.

“We've been sentenced under a law that violates European law. For us, it's not about the size of the fine, but the principle. We can't allow women to be convicted for freely following their religious beliefs," AFP quoted Ahmas as saying.

The pair vowed to appeal their case all the way to the European Court of Human Rights.

Many Muslims and rights activists say the right-wing French president; Nikolas Sarkozy is targeting Muslims to gain the votes of anti-immigration supporters.

Paris has declared that any woman -- French or foreigner -- who wears a niqab or burqa in public will be fined EUR 150. People who force women to wear such covers will face a much larger fine and a prison sentence of up to two years.

However, France -- home to five million Muslims -- is believed to have fewer than 2,000 women wearing a full face veil.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/200596.html.

Greek students protest education reform

Mon Sep 26, 2011

A group of Greek students has stormed into the studio of a state TV station in the capital city of Athens to voice its opposition to the government's recent education reforms.

According to police sources, around 60 students broke into the state-owned NET TV channel headquarters on Sunday in an effort to air a message challenging the government's plans to reform Greek universities, AFP reported.

"There has been an occupation at the state television channel NET and we are dealing with it," government spokesman Elias Mossialos said, adding, “They are students, this is not an issue related to the channel."

The incident caused station authorities to suspend the news bulletin on air at the time.

Meanwhile, a protest outside the Greek parliament in Athens turned violent after police forces used tear gas to disperse demonstrators who had staged the rally to protest the government's economic policies, including a newly assessed property tax.

This comes as the country's Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos has pledged to press ahead with austerity measures even if they involve great political costs.

Greece is in the front line of the euro zone financial crisis, which has been plunging into the abyss brought on by unprecedented levels of government debt.

Since last year, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund have provided Greece with two rescue packages worth over $380 billion in return for tough austerity measures.

The measures, which include cuts to public sector salaries and pensions, tax increases and an overhaul of the pension system, have sparked nationwide protests in the country.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/201176.html.

Last bullfight staged in Catalonia

Mon Sep 26, 2011

In Spain, clashes have broken out between fans and anti-bullfighting protesters, as animal welfare activists win in a campaign to ban bullfighting.

The demonstration came as matadors held the last bullfight in the country's north-eastern region of Catalonia.

The brief fight broke out in Barcelona as fans confronted about 20 animal welfare activists.

"This is like a dictatorship. We don't do anything wrong to anyone and we are banned from having a 300 year-old show," Josep Navarro, 60, a longtime fan, told Reuters.

Meanwhile animal welfare activists celebrated the last day of "death in the afternoon" in Catalonia, saying that they would push their campaign for other regions to follow.

Hundreds of anti-bullfight protesters gathered outside the bull ring carrying posters reading "A great day for the bulls" and "Goodbye" as the police monitored the event.

"It is a small victory, but the thought of having it in the rest of Spain and still having Correbous (local fiestas) here does not make me happy. I am here because six animals are going to be tortured here today," said an anti-bullfighting activist.

The event marked a heated debate over bullfighting which has drawn attention to the cultural, political and economic divisions in modern Spain.

Catalonia's regional parliament banned bullfighting in July 2010, following a signature-collection campaign by animal rights activists.

However, the ban does not take effect until January the first 2012. Bullfighting's popularity in Catalonia has decreased in recent decades.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/201219.html.

Anti-regime protests resume in Morocco

Mon Sep 26, 2011

Thousands of Moroccans have once again taken to the streets to call for deep political changes despite recent reforms aimed at curbing powers of King Mohammed VI.

The demonstrations were held in the country's biggest city of Casablanca as well as in Tangiers, Marrakesh and the capital city of Rabat on Sunday, AFP reported.

The demonstrations were organized by the February 20 movement, named after the date Moroccans, inspired by revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, first began their anti-government protests.

Protesters urged the government to fight corruption and called for “more social justice.

Demonstrators in Rabat also called for the release of a protester detained during rallies in Casablanca in June.

The king's proposed reforms received people's positive vote in a referendum on July 1. However, critics believe the changes do not go far enough.

The reforms include the transfer of some of the powers of the king to the prime minister and the parliament, but the king will remain the head of state and the military as well as the highest religious authority in the country.

The Moroccan government has announced that the country's parliamentary elections will be held in November.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/201173.html.

Turkish parties oppose NATO radar

Mon Sep 26, 2011

Opposition parties in Turkey have expressed their disagreement with the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan government's decision to host a NATO radar system on the country's soil.

The leader of Turkey's Democratic Party (DP), Namik Kemal Zeybek, voiced his opposition to the Turkish government's decision and warned about its negative consequences.

In an interview with Turkey's TV 8 on Friday, Zeybek said NATO's decision to deploy its missile-tracking radar system on Turkish soil is aimed at monitoring Iran's moves and pitting the two neighboring countries against each other.

He added that the West is seeking to cause rifts in the world of Islam as Iran has resisted its dominance in spite of heavy pressure.

This comes as other opposition parties in Turkey have similarly disagreed with the plan, expressing concerns about its negative impact on the country's relations with its neighbors.

The Republican People's Party (CHP), headed by Kemal Kilicdaroglu, criticized the plan and stated that it is aimed at protecting Israel in the face of Iran's missiles.

The leader of People's Voice Party, Numan Kurtulmus, was also among the critics of the plan, saying that Erdogan's government opposes Israel on the one hand while agreeing to a plan that is chiefly intended to defend Israel on the other.

Another Turkish politician, Mustafa Kamalak, who is the leader of Felicity Party, has additionally pointed out that Turkey's agreement with the deployment of a NATO missile defense system on its soil will distance it from its neighbors.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal recently announced Ankara's plan to host the Western military alliance's radar system.

The Turkish official said the plan, which would “boost NATO's defense capacity and strengthen [Turkey's] national defense system,” is in line with the alliance's “New Strategic Concept” adopted in a summit in Lisbon last year.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/201263.html.

Fresh protests held in Bahrain

Mon Sep 26, 2011

Fresh anti-regime protests have been held in several villages in Bahrain despite the country's heavy-handed crackdown on people, Press TV reports.

Bahraini regime forces clashed with the protesters in several villages including Dair, Sitra, Nuwaidarat and Muqaba on Sunday night.

Witnesses said on Monday that protesters also created massive traffic jams in the capital Manama, ignoring threats of confiscating driver's licenses and barring protesters from driving for up to four years.

Hundreds of Bahrainis flooded the roads with their cars during the morning commute on Monday.

The Bahraini opposition had organized the gathering, which was named the "the Second Dignity Blockade."

Meanwhile, Bahraini clerics have condemned the massive arrests and the disrespectful treatment of Bahraini women by regime forces over the past few days.

The protests intensified after the opposition boycotted last week's parliamentary elections. Less than one in five Bahrainis reportedly participated in the country's by-elections.

The Al Khalifa regime held the polls to fill 18 seats abandoned by members of the largest opposition party, al-Wefaq.

Al-Wefaq said that the 40-member parliament has lost its legitimacy and that it does not represent the will of the Bahraini people.

Bahrainis have been holding anti-government rallies since mid-February, demanding an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/201217.html.

Bahrain jails teachers' union officials

Mon Sep 26, 2011

A military court in Bahrain has sentenced the head of the country's Teachers Association to ten years in prison and his deputy to three for supporting anti-government protests.

Union chairman Mehdi Issa Mohammed Abu Deeb and his deputy Jalila Mohammed Reza al-Salman were convicted on Sunday by the court of national safety of “inciting hatred of the [Persian] Gulf kingdom's monarchy and calling for its overthrow during protests earlier this year”.

They were also found guilty of using the union to "instigate acts that are considered criminal like calling for sit-ins by teachers, obstructing teaching, holding protests near schools... and calling upon parents not to send their children to school,” Bahraini human rights activist Maryam al-Khawaja wrote in an e-mail to Press TV.

Abu Deeb, 49, who was arrested in April, started a hunger strike on September 11 to demand his release and for all false charges against him to be dropped. Abu Deeb, who suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, is reported to be in critical health condition.

The court also sentenced Hadi Ahmeh Hasan Mekki to three years in prison for “witnessing an attack on two policemen and refusing to report the incident” as well as an additional 12 months in jail for attending anti-regime protests.

Three others were also jailed for three years for harboring Shaikh Mohammed Habib Al Saffaf, a clergyman. Al Saffaf, also known Al Meqdad, who was earlier sentenced to life imprisonment, is accused by the Manama regime of involvement in a plot to overthrow the monarchy.

The verdicts came a day after the kingdom held by-elections boycotted by the opposition to replace 18 lawmakers, who resigned from the parliament to protest the violent crackdown on anti-regime demonstrators.

On April 7, the Ministry of Social Development dissolved the Bahrain Teachers' Association (BTA), accusing the union of “issuing statements and speeches aimed at inciting teachers and students against the government and disrupting educational establishments.

Bahrainis have been holding anti-government rallies since mid-February, demanding an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty's 40-year rule.

Scores of people have been killed and hundreds more have been arrested in the brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters in Bahrain, home to a huge American military installation for the US Navy's Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/201259.html.

Over 80% of Bahrainis refused to vote

Sun Sep 25, 2011

Election results in Bahrain show that more than 80 percent of the electorate refused to vote in the recent parliamentary by-elections in the country.

According to a Bahraini government website, less than one in every five voters cast their ballots in the recent by-elections, Reuters reported on Sunday.

The controversial by-elections were held on Saturday to replace 18 Bahraini lawmakers from the main opposition party, al-Wefaq, who walked out of the parliament in February after security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters, killing and wounding scores of them.

Of the 144,513 eligible voters in 14 districts only 25,130 came out to vote, representing a 17.4 percent turnout, the Bahraini government's elections website www.vote.bh reported.

Voting did not take place in four districts where candidates were running uncontested and automatically won the seat.

Al-Wefaq leader Sheikh Ali Salman said the results showed that Bahrainis rejected the king's reforms, adding, “There is no such thing as Bahraini democracy. There has to be peaceful rotation of power.”

“If there is no transition, Bahrain will remain in a crisis of security and human rights, this is a historic moment,” he added.

Meanwhile, Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa is to travel to Riyadh and meet with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on Monday to hold talks regarding the relations between the two countries.

Bahrainis have been holding anti-government rallies since mid-February, demanding an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty, which has ruled the country for over 40 years.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/201146.html.

Russia to resume deep space explorations with Phobos expedition

Moscow (XNA)
Sep 26, 2011

Russia would resume its program of inter-planetary explorations after a long break with an unmanned mission to the Martian satellite Phobos, a Russian space company said Thursday.

According to Victor Khartov, head of the Lavochkin Scientific and Production Company, the launch of the Phobos-Grunt vehicle was scheduled for November.

"Our country is about to return to planets and stars. We must learn how to fly to deep space, to Mars, after a 20-year break," Khartov told the Interfax news agency.

He admitted the Phobos mission would be "very risky", but said "the first step must be made".

Russia had spent about 5 billion rubles (161 million U.S. dollars) preparaing for the three-year mission, which would include drilling Phobos' surface and returning 200 grams of soil back to Earth in 2014, he said.

The mission would also collect bacteria samples for two Russian and one U.S. biological experiments.

According to the director of the Russian Space Explorations Institute Lev Zeleny, scientists want to find out if the bacteria can survive a long space trip.

The vehicle itself would be disinfected before the launch to prevent micro-organisms being inadvertently transferred between Earth and Phobos.

Source: Mars Daily.
Link: http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Russia_to_resume_deep_space_explorations_with_Phobos_expedition_999.html.

Russia may launch its first Earth remote sensing satellite in 2012

Arkhangelsk, Russia (RIA Novosti)
Sep 26, 2011

Russia's first Earth remote sensing satellite, the Kondor, may be launched in January 2012, a space official said on Thursday.

"We are developing Kondor and Arkon [satellites]," deputy head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos Anatoly Shilov said. "Arkon is a distant future, but Kondor will hopefully fly in January."

The Kondor is an 800 kg Earth remote-sensing spacecraft designed to provide high-resolution radar imagery and terrain mapping in real-time. It will be launched as part of the so-called Arktika Earth observation satellite grouping.

"As a rule, 90% of the time the Arctic region is covered with clouds or remains in darkness due to long polar night season. In such conditions these satellites are indispensible," Shilov said.

The official added that Russia was planning to launch in 2012 two Earth optical observation satellites - the Resurs-P and the Canopus-B - to provide precision monitoring of natural and man-made disasters, particularly wildfires and environmental pollution.

Source: Space Daily.
Link: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Russia_may_launch_its_first_Earth_remote_sensing_satellite_in_2012_999.html.

Sea Launch resumes operations after 2-year break

Moscow (RIA Novosti)
Sep 26, 2011

International consortium Sea Launch resumed its operations on Saturday with a launch of a Russian-Ukrainian Zenit-3SL rocket carrying a European telecoms satellite, the company said.

The rocket put the Atlantic Bird 7 satellite into a high-perigee transfer orbit at 21:25 GMT.

The 4.6-ton satellite was built by Astrium for Eutelsat Communications to provide digital broadcasting services for Eutelsat's customers in the Middle East and North Africa. Its scheduled in-orbit lifetime exceeds 15 years.

Sea Launch was created in 1995. It incorporated Russian space corporation Energia with a 25% stake, a Boeing subsidiary with 40%, Norwegian company Aker ASA with a 20% stake and Ukraine's SDO Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash with 15%.

A total of 30 rocket launches have been made from the Odyssey platform in the Pacific from 1999 until 2009, with 27 of them successful.

Sea Launch announced its bankruptcy in June 2009. In July 2010, Energia subsidiary Energia Overseas Limited (EOL) received 95% in Sea Launch by a bankruptcy court ruling.

Sea Launch currently has ten Zenit-3SL's on order to satisfy existing and future customer requirements for launches through the end of 2013, the company said.

Source: Space-Travel.
Link: http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Sea_Launch_resumes_operations_after_2_year_break_999.html.

Russian Prime Minister Putin to run for presidency next year

MOSCOW (BNO NEWS) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Saturday announced he will participate in next year's presidential elections for a third term as president. It is a move which had been expected for years.

The announcement was made during the United Russia party congress in Moscow where both President Dmitry Medvedev and Putin were addressing supporters about the upcoming elections. Medvedev used his speech to endorse Putin's presidential run.

"I propose we decide on another very important issue which naturally concerns the party and all of our people who follow politics, namely the candidate for the role of president," Medvedev told the audience. "[..] I think it's right that the party congress support the candidacy of the current prime minister, Vladimir Putin, in the role of the country's president."

Medvedev's endorsement was met with applause from the audience, and the Russian leader admitted that this scenario had been planned a long time ago. "What we are proposing to the congress is a deeply thought-through decision," he said. "And even more, we already discussed this scenario back when we first formed a friendly alliance."

Medvedev added: "But while we waited a long time to reveal publicly our positions and the scenario for the next elections, I hope that you, and our citizens, will understand that this was a matter of political expediency, linked to the specific political practices of our country. But I would like to emphasize one thing: we have always told the truth."

In response to Medvedev's endorsement, Putin said he welcomed the support. "I want to express to you my gratitude for the positive response to the invitation for me to stand as president," he told party members. "For me this is a great honor. Thank you. I hope for your support in the future. After the presidential elections we will form a new government."

With Putin likely to win a presidential run next year, the prime minister also proposed Medvedev to head the election list of United Russia during the legislative elections. This would make him prime minister at the end of his presidential term. "I suggest that United Russia's list for the State Duma elections on December 4 this year be headed by President Dmitry Medvedev," Putin said. "I believe that this will enhance the party's prestige and will guarantee its anticipated and honest victory."

Putin first became acting president in December 1999 until he was elected for his first full term which began in May 2000. He won re-election in March 2004 and continued to serve in the country's highest office until May 2008 when term limits prevented him from running for a third consecutive presidential term.

Days before the end of Putin's second term as president, he undertook a series of controversial steps to increase the power of the prime minister. Medvedev had been widely expected to serve only one term so Putin could again become president after a short break.

Sunday, September 25th, 2011

Source: WireUpdate.
Link: http://wireupdate.com/news/russian-prime-minister-putin-to-run-for-presidency-next-year.html.

The five things you really need to know about HPV vaccines

Monday, September 26, 2011
by: Tony Isaacs

(NaturalNews) After the political tempest about Gardasil and mandatory HPV vaccinations, CNN posted an article about the things they claimed should be known. The article contended that the HPV vaccine controversy was mostly political and that HPV vaccines were safe. It also noted that we have been vaccinating children for many years.

For those who prefer the truth over mainstream propaganda, here are five things you really need to know about HPV vaccines:

1. Merck needed a new cash cow to replace the billions in profits lost due to Vioxx finally being pulled from the market after it caused upwards of 50,000 deaths. Gardasil was selected to become the new cash cow and, just like happened with Vioxx, Merck has resorted to rigged and misreported study results and hidden evidence of harm.

Initial Merck safety tests used a placebo, which was identical to the Gardasil vaccine minus only the HPV virus components - instead of a truly benign placebo such as saline solution. The placebo contained highly toxic aluminum, polysorbate 80 and sodium borate - items whose side effects are markedly similar to those being experienced after Gardasil injections.

Actual trial data for Gardasil reveals that a shocking 73.3 percent of the participants who received Gardasil acquired a new medical condition ranging from flu-like symptoms to paralysis. Almost 60% had systemic reactions. The "placebo" recipients had similar results, but obviously no mere saline solution would have produced even a fraction of such reactions.

2. Studies have actually shown that Gardasil and its sister vaccine Cervarix (from GlaxoSmithKline) provide no protection for women already exposed to the HPV virus, and in fact present highly elevated risks for already exposed women as well as for expectant mothers. When the vaccine is administered to a woman with a dormant or harmless form of HPV, her likelihood of developing precancerous lesions increases by a staggering 44.6 percent.

The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has reported 45 cases of spontaneous abortion, or miscarriage, following Gardasil vaccination. At the time the vaccine was approved, five babies had been born with congenital birth defects after their mothers had been given Gardasil compared to zero in a placebo group. Later reports put the number of birth defects in the vaccinated group closer to 40.

3. Vaccination safety organization SANE Vax announced that they discovered that Gardasil has been contaminated with a substance many government health and safety agencies classify as a bio-hazard. HPV recombinant DNA (rDNA) was found in 100% of the 13 samples which had different lot numbers and came from New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Poland, France, and three states in the U.S.

4. Due to lack of prescribing information furnished to doctors by Merck, doctors are reluctant to report adverse events and other factors; actual deaths and adverse events for Gardasil are hugely under-reported. It has been estimated that only 10% of adverse events for other vaccines are reported. With Gardasil the estimates range as low as 1%.

5. Anyone who doubts that Gardasil has caused deaths and permanent injuries and devastated families should check out the SANE Vax vaccine safety site (www.sanevax.org). The site, created by mothers of daughters killed or injured by HPV vaccines, details story after story illustrating the harm HPV vaccines can cause.

Behind Gardasil's trail of deception is a very large and mostly hidden trail of tears. Parents and the general public richly deserve to be told the full truth to keep that trail from leading to an ever larger ocean of suffering.

Source: NaturalNews.
Link: http://www.naturalnews.com/033688_HPV_vaccines_Gardasil.html.

Five health-enhancing foods that don't even seem like health foods: Mustard, cole slaw and more

Monday, September 26, 2011
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

(NaturalNews) When observing the typical diet of American consumers, with all the fried foods, aspartame-laced "diet" products and pasteurized, hormone-ridden dairy products that typical people consume, I sometimes ask myself a question that perhaps you've pondered, too: What on Earth is keeping all these people alive?

The answers may surprise you. Hidden inside the typical western diet of highly-toxic processed foods are gems of natural medicine that you'd never suspect are really health foods. So here, I've assembled a short list of the five most powerful health-enhancing foods that don't seem like health foods but which are quite possibly the one remaining source of natural medicines for mainstream consumers.

#1 - Mustard

Mustard, believe it or not, is a medicinal paste made from the seed of the mustard plant. It's a superfood that's been around for at least 5,000 years, and it's one of the few common sources of cancer-busting selenium, a trace mineral often missing from over-farmed soils.

Mustard is known to help in reducing migraines, and it's a natural anti-fungal and antiseptic. Another benefit of mustard is that it's never made with MSG or yeast extract. Mustard products -- even conventional products from non-health-food companies -- are still very healthful to consume.

You can also make your own mustard using nothing more than a Vita-Mix blender...

#2 - Cole Slaw

Cole slaw is made out of one of the most powerful natural medicines in the food kingdom: Raw cabbage.

Raw cabbage is a proven cure for stomach ulcers. It's also an amazing anti-cancer food with that can help prevent (or even reverse) many types of cancer. Throughout the history of the civilized world, cabbage has been one of the most medicinal foods ever consumed. It's also good for you when cooked (cabbage soup) or fermented (sauerkraut).

Cabbage is rich in indole-3-carbinol (I3C), one of its many anti-cancer nutrients.

It's best to make your own cole slaw at home, but if you purchase store-bought cole slaw, be sure to avoid processed ingredients often used in cheaper cole slaw recipes such as high-fructose corn syrup and canola oil (which is often GMO).

#3 - Cinnamon, cloves, rosemary, paprika and other spices

Nearly all the pungent cooking spices are actually powerful medicines.

Cinnamon, for example, helps regulate blood sugar in diabetics. Cloves are the No. 1 source for the highest density of antioxidants found in the entire food supply. (Yes, they have a higher ORAC value than any other food or spice.)

Rosemary is a powerful digestive tonic and internal detoxification herb. Ginger is legendary as an immune-boosting, circulation-enhancing tonic herb that's also fantastic for beating winter colds and flu. Ginger even works to relieve muscle pain!

If you're into curry, then you'll be glad to know that turmeric, the main ingredient in curry, is also an amazing source of natural medicines. It's a powerful anti-cancer as well as an anti-inflammatory medicine. If you really want great pricing on curry powder and other spices in bulk, visit a Middle Eastern food store in your local area, where these aromatic spices are often sold at the best prices in town.

In Southern and Midwestern cuisine, barbeque sauce is a surprisingly good source of bitter alkaloids and health-enhancing spices (often including mustard and paprika), but this is only true with the rich, homemade sauces, not the processed "Kraft Foods" sauces (which are usually loaded with sweeteners and highly processed ingredients).

Nearly all the common spices you find in grocery stores are medicinal foods. But avoid common table salt (or white "sea salt") because it's just a processed, refined combination of two poisons. The only salt you should regularly consume is a full-spectrum salt that's off-white in color, such as Celtic salt or Royal Himalayan Pink Crystal salt.

#4 - Raisins

Raisins may not sound super cool, but if you think about what they really are, it becomes obvious how powerful they can be as natural medicine. Raisins are dried grapes, of course, meaning they contain all the natural medicine of grape skins.

Remember: Most of the medicine in grapes is found in the skin (and the seeds, but most raisins are made from seedless grapes). This is why it's so important to buy only organic raisins, because grapes sprayed with fungicides have low levels of resveratrol. Organic grapes have the highest levels of resveratrol, which is one of the most miraculous natural medicines in the world.

Raisins are also very high in naturally-occurring antioxidants, making them a fantastic overall source of nutrition. When consumed with nuts, their glycemic index is slowed, so I recommend eating raisins with things such as pecans or walnuts (both of which superfoods in their own way, as you'll see below).

#5 - Common nuts: Walnuts, pecans, peanuts and more

Once again, nuts may not be on your list of the "coolest" foods, but they probably should be: Walnuts are an amazing natural medicine that helps reduce the risk of heart attacks and cardiovascular disease. They're very high in natural antioxidants and also help reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

Pecans boost brain protection and also help lower cholesterol levels. Almonds are now being widely used to make almond milk (a natural anti-cancer milk beverage), and even peanuts are now making a comeback as a health food.

Just remember: When you buy nuts, raw is best because heat processing destroys the natural medicine found in foods. Avoid "salted" nuts because they're almost always salted with toxic sodium chloride (simple table salt). Avoid "flavored" nuts because they almost always -- yes, nearly ALWAYS -- are made with MSG flavor enhancers such as yeast extract or autolyzed proteins.

Just look for plain, simple, unsalted nuts... then find ways to work those into your recipes or smoothies. I like to blend cashews into smoothies to give them a creamy milk-like flavor!

The five common health foods in review

So there you have it, the five health foods that you probably didn't even know were health foods!

The good news about these is that they're available in virtually every grocery store in North America (and around the world). Once again, they are:

• Mustard
• Cole Slaw
• Common spices: Cinnamon, cloves, paprika, etc.
• Raisins
• Walnuts, pecans, almonds and other nuts

Eat more of these (and less processed junk food) and you'll be healthier as a result!

Source: NaturalNews.
Link: http://www.naturalnews.com/033695_health_foods_mustard.html.

Three KGB hit teams were involved in terrorist attack on Chechens in Turkey

23 September 2011

Investigation continues into the massacre of three Chechens in Istanbul on September 16.

It is to be recalled that the Turkish security forces got on trail of the alleged killer Alexander Zharkov, after they had captured the crime weapon and a set of spy accessories during the raid on a hotel room, where the killer stayed.

According to Turkish media, which refer to sources in police investigation departments, the killer used a 9 mm pistol of Russian GRU special troops "Groza 3" (pistol "Groza 1" with 7.62 mm bullets was used in the murder of Musa Atayev in 2009).

It was also established that there had been 3 Russian teams involved, each of them consisting of two or three persons, who had been have involved in the slaughter and direct execution of the terrorist attack.

The name of another Russian terrorist, Nadim Ayupov, who seems to have acted in team with Alexander Zharkov, leaked to the press.

The killer group rented 6 cars in total. Two squads conducted surveillance and logistics, the third one, apparently the squad of Zharkov, was involved in the direct killing.

Some Turkish media write that some members of the killer group of killers, which included 7 to 9 people in total, were probably able to leave Turkey before the massacre.

Meanwhile, a press statement from several human rights and public Turkish organizations was published, which accuses Russia of unleashing bloody terror in Turkey and calls on the government to take rapid and effective measures to prevent Russians from further terrorist attacks.

The statement says:

***

The aggression of Russia has resulted in the deaths of 250,000 people in Chechnya in front of the world's public opinion.

In the present situation there is, on one hand the aggressors' collaborating Chechen government which is claiming legitimacy with its propaganda, especially in Muslim public opinion, and on the other hand they have developed an elimination policy against the dissident population.

A part of the dissident people, who are opposed to the collaborator Kadyrov's regime, took refuge in Turkey only seeking safety, as has happened in many other countries.

While today the winds of freedom are blowing all over the world and democratization is occurring in a push to terminate autocratic governments, our demand from the government, law enforcement and judicial powers is below:

The only entity responsible for the safety of the people, which includes both life and property, who are in the country as refugees, is the government and the state of the Republic of Turkey.

The investigation into and judicial process for both the previously committed murders, which still are not solved, as well as the recent attack which resulted in the deaths of three Chechen asylum seekers, should be carried out urgently and sensitively; and the necessary security measures against probable future attacks should be taken.

We present this matter to the attention of those who are concerned in the public arena.

Caucasus Foundation
Caucasus-Chechen Solidarity Association
United Caucasus Association
MAZLUMDER Istanbul branch

***

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://tor.kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2011/09/23/15171.shtml.

Animal rights groups want end to Italy horse race

August 17, 2012

MILAN (AP) — Animal rights campaigners are calling for an end to the famed Palio bareback horse race in Siena after six of 10 horses crashed during the latest edition.

The LAV animal rights group said Friday the accident on the first curve of the dirt-covered course in Siena's main square was just the "umpteenth confirmation that the Palio needs to put the safety of the horses and all the participants ahead of tradition."

One of the horses broke a front leg in the collision on Thursday. Critics have long held the race, a fierce competition among the Tuscan city's quarters, should be held without animals. Horses frequently fall, collide, or are trampled during the race, and some 50 have died since 1970.

The Palio is held each July and August.

UN: Algeria's Brahimi will replace Annan in Syria

August 17, 2012

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Lakhdar Brahimi, a former Algerian foreign minister and longtime U.N. diplomat known as a strong-willed, independent broker, has agreed to replace former Secretary-General Kofi Annan as peace envoy to Syria, the United Nations announced Friday.

Brahimi, who served as a U.N. envoy in Afghanistan and Iraq, formally accepted the post and will resume efforts to find a diplomatic solution to Syria's crisis, said Eduardo del Buey, deputy spokesman for Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

"The violence and the suffering in Syria must come to an end," del Buey said. "The Secretary-General appreciates Mr. Brahimi's willingness to bring his considerable talents and experience to this crucial task for which he will need, and rightly expects, the strong, clear and unified support of the international community, including the Security Council."

Annan announced earlier this month that he would resign on Aug. 31 as joint U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria, after failing to broker a cease-fire as the country descended into civil war. The U.N. says at least 18,000 people have been killed since March 2011.

Brahimi will travel to New York and then Cairo in the coming days. Speaking to The Associated Press by telephone from Paris, Brahimi said "I realize it's an extremely complicated and very, very difficult mission." He said he hopes military intervention isn't necessary, and that talking about a military option is akin to admitting diplomatic failure.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed Brahimi's appointment, saying he "will continue the pursuit of an end to the conflict and a peaceful transition in Syria." "My message to special envoy Brahimi is simple: The United States stands ready to support you and secure a lasting peace that upholds the legitimate aspirations for a representative government of the people of Syria," Clinton said. "And to the Syrian people: you are not alone. The international community remains fully committed to a Syrian-led political transition leading to a pluralistic political system representing the will of the people."

Brahimi, 78, who emerged last week as the leading candidate to replace Annan, brings a long record of working in the Arab and Islamic world. He served as Algeria's foreign minister from 1991-93 and joined the United Nations in 1994, where he served in a variety of high-profile posts until he retired in 2005.

As an Arab League envoy, Brahimi helped negotiate the end of Lebanon's civil war. Several U.N. diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said Brahimi had delayed taking the job as Syria envoy because he wanted a signal of support from the council. What kind of support Brahimi wanted remains unclear.

Gerard Araud, the French U.N. ambassador and current Security Council president, has called the special envoy post something of an "impossible mission" and said he could understand why someone would take their time before deciding to take it.

Annan said when he announced his resignation on Aug. 2 that the Security Council's divisions prevented the united approach needed to stop the fighting in Syria. Russia and China have used their veto power three times to block strong Western- and Arab-backed action against President Bashar Assad's regime.

On Thursday, Araud announced that the Security Council had agreed to end the U.N. military observer mission and back a small new liaison office that will support any future peace efforts. The 15 council members agreed that international efforts to significantly reduce violence and end the Syrian government's use of heavy weapons — conditions set for possibly extending the observer mission — had failed.

Expectations for what Brahimi can accomplish should be lower than they were for Annan, whose mission suffered from unrealistic hopes, said Richard Gowan, associate director of the New York University Center on International Cooperation. Still, Brahimi is the right kind of negotiator for the job, he said.

"Brahimi has an incredibly strong reputation around the U.N., but is also well-known for not taking orders from the big powers or worrying too much about media attention," Gowan said in an e-mail. "This may be just what is needed in Syria now: a hardened but independent mediator, who will stick with diplomatic efforts even if he faces a lot of criticism for failing to cut a deal fast."

Brahimi is a member of the Elders, a group of former world leaders working for global peace that includes Nelson Mandela. Last week, Brahimi issued a statement through the Elders on Syria, where he last visited while on a delegation with the group in 2010.

"Syrians must come together as a nation in the quest for a new formula," he said. "This is the only way to ensure that all Syrians can live together peacefully, in a society not based on fear of reprisal, but on tolerance. In the meantime, the U.N. Security Council and regional states must unite to ensure that a political transition can take place as soon as possible.

"Millions of Syrians are clamoring for peace. World leaders cannot remain divided any longer, over and above their cries." Brahimi's long U.N. career took him to countries like Haiti, Yemen, Sudan and South Africa, where he led U.N. efforts to oversee democratic elections that brought Mandela to power.

In Afghanistan, Brahimi served as the U.N. envoy both before the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and after a U.S.-led force ousted the Taliban. In Iraq, he helped piece together the interim government that took power in 2004, following the U.S.-led war that ousted Saddam Hussein.

Brahimi served as Annan's special advisor on conflict prevention and resolution. He also headed independent panels that reviewed U.N. peacemaking efforts and security worldwide. During Annan's six-month tenure, the Syrian government and its allies did at least agree to his six-point peace plan. The plan included a cease-fire leading to a Syrian-led political process to end the crisis. While Annan singled out the regime for failing to take steps to end the violence, as required by the peace plan, he also blamed the opposition's increasingly militant tactics for dooming his plan.

Araud last week defended the need for appointing another special envoy to Syria. "We simply can't let down the Syrians and say to these people 'Go fight and come back when you are done with your fighting,'" he said. "Maybe the special envoy will be useless in the first week or in the first weeks, but at least there will be somebody to seize every opportunity to find a political solution."

Associated Press writers Angela Charlton in Paris, Aomar Ouali in Algiers, Edith Lederer at the United Nations and Julie Pace in Washington contributed to this report.

Bosnian boy's death puts focus on mine fields

August 17, 2012

OLOVSKE LUKE, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — The last clothes that 6-year-old Tarik Bijelic wore hang on a line in his yard: a red "Miami" basketball jersey, a pair of gray pants, blue size 2 sneakers.

The blood has been washed off. But the jersey carries the mark of tragedy: a long incision between the "i'' and the "a'' where doctors tried to get to the boy's shattered chest. Tarik was hit by a land mine last week as he scavenged in the forest for firewood to help his family make ends meet.

He died in his father's arms. Under an international treaty, Bosnia was supposed to be free of mines by 2009. Instead, it has quietly obtained another decade to clear the estimated 1,300 remaining square kilometers (500 square miles) of mine fields. In the 16 years since Bosnia's three-year war ended, mines have killed 591 people. So far this year, seven people have been killed and 3 maimed.

Tarik had been looking forward to starting school wearing a backpack stamped with his favorite cartoon character. Instead, he became his village's sixth land-mine victim — the casualty of a war that ended a decade before he was born.

Living next to mine fields is accepted as a fact of life here. The village was a front line during the 1992-95 Bosnian war and when the residents returned to their homes in 1996, they found their houses devastated, surrounded by mine fields. The Bijelic family, like many others in the village, makes a living by selling wood from nearby forests, ignoring signs bearing a white skull and the warning "Attention Mines."

Familiarity with tragedy doesn't blunt the pain. At the hospital, Tarik's father, Ibro Bijelic, repeatedly whispered: "I wish it would have been me." "Bosnia-Herzegovina is one of the most (mine) infested countries in the world," said Dusan Gavran, the head of the country's Mine Action Center. He said the only obstacle to making Bosnia mine-free is the cost: "We have the capacity, qualified deminers, equipment, but we lack funds."

Bosnia's war over its independence from Serb-led Yugoslavia took more than 100,000 lives. All three sides in the conflict — Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats — secured their front lines with mine fields that, laid end to end, would form a belt stretching 8,700 miles, more than a third of the circumference of the earth.

Bosniaks, the least armed group, often laid mines hastily around cities they controlled and the Serbs besieged. This made it harder for the much better equipped Serbs to conquer them. That's how the capital of Sarajevo remained completely encircled by mine fields when the war ended.

Bosnia needs 40 million euro ($50 million) every year to meet its new goal of clearing the mines by 2019. It costs $2.50 to scan a square yard of territory — more than the going price for some land. It may sound cheap until you consider the vast areas of Bosnia that must be poked and prodded to ensure they're safe. All told, locating and removing a single mine costs $10,000.

By now, almost all mine fields are clearly marked. Villagers brave the mines out of economic necessity in a region where the unemployment rate is almost 30 per cent. "The key factor is the economy. Life is very hard for the population," Gavran said. In the past five years all mine accidents happened in marked mine fields. "People enter them consciously. When we investigate, they tell us 'we have to,' and often even after they witness casualties, they still go."

In one case, he said, the Mine Action Center recorded three deaths in one family that occurred within 300 meters (yards) of one another. The victims were cutting wood in a forest marked as a mine field.

Searching for wood with his father, Tarik picked up a branch, apparently setting off the land mine. His father, wounded himself, carried him to a road and stopped a car, which drove them to a hospital. Doctors made a frantic attempt to revive the boy but it was too late.

At the Bijelic home, neighbors gather around a family album looking at Tarik's pictures. One shows him playing with children; in another he's in a plastic pool playing with a yellow rubber duck. Tarik's younger brother, Bakir, plays with an old chair in the yard. He will inherit his brother's drying clothes.

"Hey," the 4-year-old calls out to mourners walking out of the house. "Do you know when Tarik will come home? "It's boring without him."