Archive for May, 2010
Posted on May 31, 2010 - by Venik
US hegemony in Middle East is ending | Chris Phillips
Talk of a Middle East cold war is inaccurate – Russia and Turkey are simply capitalising on the region’s new power vacuum A recent arms deal between Russia and Syria has raised the prospect of a new cold war in the Middle East. Foreign Policy’s Josh Landis, for example, suggests that unconditional US support for [...]
Posted on May 30, 2010 - by Venik
Hamas leader says American envoys making contact, but not openly
• Khaled Meshal says US ‘not brave enough to do so openly’• Hamas leader praises Russian president for meeting him The United States is sending a succession of envoys to engage with Hamas but lacks the bravery to talk to the Islamist movement openly, its leader, Khaled Meshal, said in an interview with the Guardian. [...]
Posted on May 30, 2010 - by Venik
Deepwater Sombrero
According to the latest news reports every attempt to plug the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico has failed. At some point last week it became obvious that BP has been copying the failed attempts to stop the 1979 Ixtoc spill. It is interesting to note, that the two drilling rigs – the Ixtoc [...]
Posted on May 29, 2010 - by Venik
Snapshot: Russia to get its own Woody Allen statue
The Russian enclave of Kaliningrad is proposing to put up a statue of Woody Allen, a plan that has met with the film-maker’s approval An unlikely plan to put up a statue of Woody Allen in Kaliningrad has won the tentative approval of the veteran director. Allen, 74, has been approached by a young film-maker, [...]
Posted on May 29, 2010 - by Venik
Yak-130 Crashes in Russia
A Yak-130 advanced trainer jet crashed earlier today at the Lipetsk combat flight training center of the Russian AF. Both pilots ejected and were treated for minor injuries. There was no damage on the ground. The aircraft went out of control on takeoff during a routine training mission. This is first crash of an in-service [...]
Posted on May 28, 2010 - by Venik
Moscow’s limos halted by blue buckets
Russian protesters hit upon novel idea to limit accidents involving VIP vehicles – but officials are not amused They have become the ultimate symbol of power in Russia and the brazen disregard for the law that comes with it – spinning blue lights on VIP vehicles that give drivers the right to speed and cut [...]
Posted on May 28, 2010 - by Venik
Why Belgium is a microcosm of the European Union | Ilana Bet-El
Belgians are just like the EU with its eurozone crisis: neighbours united by history and politics – and mutual resentment For a long time, it seemed as if Belgium was the cuckoo in the nest of the European Union: the state that could muster neither a hard core of cohesive national pride like most of [...]
Posted on May 27, 2010 - by Venik
Reports of a Stalinist revival have been exaggerated | Colin Graham
Coverage suggesting Russia and Ukraine are nostalgic for Stalinism reveals the media’s reliance on tired surface imagery Stalin, or Stalinism, whichever you prefer, is back in Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union, it would appear. During the past few weeks, the Russian and Ukrainian press haven’t been able to put the brutal [...]
Posted on May 24, 2010 - by Venik
Anatoly Karpov battles Kremlin for control of world chess
Ex-champion stands for president of Fide against Moscow-backed candidate who claims to have encountered aliens It is a surreal inversion of the chessboard logic of the cold war, which pitted a string of Soviet prodigies against the best of the west. In those days the Kremlin would bask in the reflected glory of a succession [...]
Posted on May 22, 2010 - by Venik
Red Star Over Russia: A Visual History of the Soviet Union | Book review
David King’s collection of images provides a valuable record of the Soviet Union’s elusive past David King is the outstanding individual collector of visual artefacts from the Soviet past. His house is almost a museum by itself, and he offers a generous welcome to historians wishing to see his treasures. King himself has a Trotskyist [...]
Posted on May 19, 2010 - by Venik
Russian president adds enduringly sinister Soviet-era ZiL limo to wish list
Dmitry Medvedev’s nostalgia for superpower trappings extends to trading in his Mercedes and bringing back the ZiL They were the ultimate symbols of Soviet power, used to whiz politburo members through snowy Moscow streets to the forbidding walls of the Kremlin. The ZiL limousine was the favoured mode of transport for a succession of leaders. [...]
Posted on May 19, 2010 - by Venik
Russia shows US how to deal with Syria | James Denselow
Syria’s relationship with Russia – which is cultural as well as strategic – highlights how US non-engagement has failed This has been a busy month so far for the Syrians. The US Congress blocked Obama’s attempt to appoint Robert Ford as ambassador following reports of Syrian Scud missiles being transferred to Hezbollah, and on 3 [...]
Posted on May 19, 2010 - by Venik
‘Passengers in cockpit’ in Polish president’s plane crash
Russian officials identify non-crew member in cockpit of Polish plane, fuelling theory that officials pressured pilots to land Investigators today revealed that there were passengers in the cockpit of the Polish government plane that crashed in Russia last month, fuelling speculation that the disaster may have been partly caused when high-ranking officials on board pressured [...]
Posted on May 19, 2010 - by Venik
Eyewitness: Sweeping for the president
Photographs from the Guardian Eyewitness series Original article Share on bebo Blog this! Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin Share via MySpace share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post
