Posted: 16 Jul 2014 04:54 AM PDT

Moscow and Havana have reportedly reached an agreement on reopening the SIGINT facility in Lourdes, Cuba, once Russia’s largest foreign base of this kind which was shut down in 2001 due to financial problems and under US pressure.
When operational, the facility was manned by thousands of military and intelligence personnel, whose task was to intercept signals coming from and to the US territory and to provide communication for the Russian vessels in the western hemisphere.
Russia considered reopening the Lourdes base since 2004 and has sealed a deal with Cuba last week during the visit of the Russian President Vladimir Putin to the island nation, reports Kommersant business daily citing multiple sources.
“I can say one thing: at last!” one of the sources commented on the news to the paper, adding that the significance of the move is hard to overestimate.
The facility in Lourdes, a suburb of Havana located just 250km from continental USA, was opened in 1967. At the peak of the cold war it was the largest signal intelligence center Moscow operated in a foreign nation, with 3,000 personnel manning it.
From the base Russia could intercept communications in most part of the US including the classified exchanges between space facilities in Florida and American spacecraft. Raoul Castro, then-Defense Minister of Cuba, bragged in 1993 that Russia received 75 percent of signal intelligence on America through Lourdes, with was probably an overstatement, but not by a large amount.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union the base was downscaled, but continued operation. After Russia was hit the 1998 economic crisis, it found it difficult to maintain many of its old assets, including the Lourdes facility. In Soviet times Cuba hosted it rent-free, but starting 1992 Moscow had to pay Havana hundreds of millions dollars each year in addition to operational costs to keep the facility open.
An additional blow came in July 2000, when the US House passed the Russian-American Trust and Cooperation Act, a bill that would ban Washington from rescheduling or forgiving any Russian debt to the US, unless the facility in Lourdes is shut down.
Moscow did so in 2001 and also closed its military base in Vietnam’s Cam Ranh, with both moves reported as major steps to address Americans’ concerns. But, in the words of a military source cited by Kommersant, the US “did not appreciate our gesture of goodwill.”
No detail of schedule for the reopening the facility, which currently hosts a branch of Cuba’s University of Information Science, was immediately available. One of the principle news during Putin’s visit to Havana was Moscow’s writing off of the majority of the old Cuban debt to Russia. The facility is expected to require fewer personnel than it used to, because modern surveillance equipment can do many functions now automatically.
With the Lourdes facility operational again, Russia would have a much better signal intelligence capability in the western hemisphere.
“Returning to Lourdes now is more than justified,” military expert Viktor Murakhovsky, a retired colonel, told Kommersant. “The capability of the Russian military signal intelligence satellite constellation has significantly downgraded. With an outpost this close to the US will allow the military to do their job with little consideration for the space-based SIGINT echelon.”
Source

Posted: 16 Jul 2014 04:49 AM PDT

At least 35 Disney World theme park workers have been arrested in the United States over child sex crimes in recent years.
The employees have been arrested since 2006 in Florida. So far, 32 of those cases have resulted in convictions.
“Wherever you find children, you’ll find sexual predators that want to be there,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.
The toll of the park’s employees arrested was revealed after a six-month investigation by CNN.
Those arrested over possession of child pornography or arranging to meet minors for sex include security guards, a costumer, a tour guide, a gift shop employee and maintenance workers.
Law enforcement officials have urged Disney and Universal Studios to take action on the matter by starting mandatory polygraph tests before new hires join the company.
During a sting operation in February, 32-year-old Patrick Holgerson, then a character actor with Disney was accused of sending nude photos to someone he thought was a 13-year-old boy. When he arrived to meet the boy, he was greeted by police. Holgerson also faces charges for failing to disclose his HIV status to a sexual partner.
In another case, Tyler Edge, a Disney employee, allegedly brought a knife and condoms to the sting operation. Joel Torres, 32, who listed his employer as Walt Disney World, allegedly brought condoms to a home where he thought he was meeting a 14-year-old.
The Disney theme park in Florida has about 70,000 employees.
“The numbers reported by CNN represent one one-hundredth of 1 percent of the 300,000 people we have employed during this time period,” spokeswoman Jacquee Wahler said.
“We continue to work closely with law enforcement and organizations, like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, as we constantly strengthen our efforts.”
Source

Posted: 16 Jul 2014 04:35 AM PDT

Entry from IP traced to U.S. House of Representatives describes Alex Jones as ‘Kremlin disinformation agent’.
Edits to the Wikipedia profiles of Alex Jones and Abby Martin which malign the two alternative media personalities as Kremlin propagandists are linked to an IP address associated with the House of Representatives, prompting suggestions that the U.S. government is involved in an online smear campaign.
Yesterday evening a Wikipedia user attempted to edit radio host Alex Jones’ profile to add the sentence, “Following his appearances on Russia Today, there were allegations that he was a disinformation agent with ties to the Kremlin.”
A simple trace on the IP address that posted the entry reveals that the computer involved “is registered to Information Systems, U.S. House of Representatives.”
A separate edit describes RT host Abby Martin as a “Russian propagandist,” despite the fact thatMartin made headlines back in March for publicly criticizing Russia’s involvement in Crimea on her own show. The IP address leads back to the same computer.
Although the Alex Jones entry remained pending, the entry describing Abby Martin as a “Russian propagandist” was posted live to Wikipedia before being amended a minute later.

A Wiki News article notes that IP addresses linked to Capitol Hill have been “vandalizing” Wikipedia since 2006 and that, “Members of Congress or their staff were vandalizing Wikipedia by removing critical information in various articles, or adding false or offensive information. These edits were and continue to be done using computers owned or operated by the United States government.”
It’s possible that the IP address is being spoofed to make it look like the edits are being made from someone on Capitol Hill when in fact they’re not, although the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Wiki News seem convinced that the edits are indeed being made from government-owned computers.

The notion of governments and large institutions gaming websites in order to spread disinformation is a firmly established practice.
Newly released files obtained from whistleblower Edward Snowden confirm that the British government engages in “fake victim blog posts,” online “false flag operations,” as well as using tools that can sway online polls and manipulate public sentiment on the Internet.
According to journalist Glenn Greenwald, the objective of the program is to, “inject all sorts of false material onto the internet in order to destroy the reputation of its targets.”
Last month it emerged that the U.S. federal government was collaborating with Wikipedia editors to ‘improve’ Wikipedia entries related to government information.
Source

Posted: 16 Jul 2014 04:28 AM PDT

The World Health Organization (WHO) says the death toll from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has risen to 603.
The UN health agency said on Tuesday that officials recorded 85 new cases, including 68 fatal, from July 8-12.
Some 52 fatalities were reported in Sierra Leone, 13 in Liberia and three in Guinea, the international body also said, adding that the overall number of laboratory-confirmed, probable or suspected cases of the illness in the region has jumped to 964.
“We still have a high level of transmission taking place into the communities,” said WHO spokesman Daniel Epstein.
Guinea is the worst-hit country, it has recorded 406 cases and 304 deaths since the outbreak began in January. Liberia has announced172 cases and 105 deaths, while Sierra Leone reported 386 cases, 194 of them fatal.
“It’s very difficult for us to get into communities where there is hostility to outsiders. We still face rumors, and suspicion and hostility…. People are isolated, they’re afraid, they’re scared,” Epstein added.
There is currently no known cure for Ebola, a form of hemorrhagic fever whose symptoms are diarrhea, vomiting and bleeding.
The virus spreads through direct contact with infected blood, feces or sweat. It can also be spread through sexual contact or the unprotected handling of contaminated corpses.
Ebola was first discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976 in an outbreak that killed 280 people.
It remains one of the world’s most virulent diseases, which kills between 25 to 90 percent of those who fall sick.
Source

Posted: 16 Jul 2014 04:25 AM PDT

Fourteen different rice paddies outside of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant evacuation zone were contaminated with radioactive material in August 2013, Japan’s agriculture ministry has found.
Despite the findings – which blamed the removal of a large piece of debris from the Fukushima No. 3 reactor building for the contamination, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) is moving ahead with plans to remove more highly radioactive debris from the No. 1 reactor building later this month.
According to the Asahi Shimbun, TEPCO’s removal process was halted when the agriculture ministry informed it of the contamination back in March, but operations are set to begin again soon. The ministry instructed the operator to implement protective measures for future work, but it’s unclear how extensive those changes are. One thing TEPCO officials will do is deploy more anti-scattering agents than they did before, but the company cautioned that “a large amount of radioactive substances” would likely be released anyway.
“(If TEPCO hopes to resume rubble-clearing operations), providing information on the possibility of the spread of (contaminated substances) is a major premise,” Takehiko Murayama of the Tokyo Institute of Technology said to the newspaper.
In addition to the fourteen paddies contaminated beyond the Fukushima evacuation zone, five sites within the zone were also contaminated. The rice paddies are located in the city of Minami-Soma – more than 20 kilometers away from the nuclear plant itself and government officials said that crops gathered in August featured cesium levels beyond Japan’s safety limit of 100 becquerels per kilogram
So far, officials believe Minami-Soma is the only city within Fukushima prefecture containing multiple sites with such high cesium levels.
Although the agriculture ministry’s findings were completed in March, neither the government nor TEPCO opted to inform the public about the situation. As a result, residents – including Minami-Soma Mayor Katsunobu Sakurai – are voicing anger over the lack of transparency.
“We cannot help but distrust the agriculture ministry, which did not promptly let us know of the matter, despite it being a serious issue,” Sakurai said, as quoted in a separate Asahi Shimbun report.
“We protest (TEPCO’s) irresponsible clearing of rubble that raises concern among farmers. We demand an explanation.”
TEPCO officials claim it’s not 100 percent clear that removing debris from the No. 3 reactor building was to blame for the incident, noting it still doesn’t know just how far away the cesium spread. Government officials, meanwhile, said an uptick in contamination readings following the August 19 operation would only make sense if radiation was dislodged and spread during the removal process.
“We cannot think of any other factors,” a prefectural official told the Shimbun. “It is almost certain that the rise in readings was caused by the clearance work.”
The news comes after rice harvested from several fields in Fukushima prefecture was fed to government officials last December, as a way to show that decontamination efforts had been successful. As RT reported then, that rice was collected from Kawamata Town (about 40 kilometers from Minami-Soma) and Iitate Village (roughly 27 kilometers away).
Source

Posted: 15 Jul 2014 03:58 PM PDT

The Indiana State Department of Health has been collecting babies’ blood and DNA without their parents’ permission since 1991, according to an investigation by a local news station. Now the state wants to know what to do with the blood samples.
When a baby is born in Indiana, as with other states, the state conducts a newborn screening test. A nurse or midwife takes a few drops of blood from the heel of each infant. The blood is collected on a specialized filter paper, which is then sent to the state’s Newborn Screening Lab in downtown Indianapolis.
At the lab, researchers conduct tests on the blood for more than 50 medical disorders, including hypothyroidism, sickle cell disease and conditions where a child is unable to process certain nutrients. Parents and doctors are then notified of the results.
“All babies are screened, even if they look healthy, because some medical conditions cannot be seen by just looking at the baby,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. “Finding these conditions soon after birth can help prevent some serious problems, such as brain damage, organ damage, and even death.”
Indiana’s Newborn Screening Program annually identifies about 200 children who have serious metabolic, genetic or endocrine conditions; detects genetic heart defects in another 45 babies; and identifies hearing loss in about 200 babies.
But along with the newborn screening, the ISDH has kept the leftover blood samples for possible use in medical research, according to an investigation by WTHR. And the state admits it never received parental permission to do so, making the samples unusable for research.
“No, we did nothing to notify parents,” Bob Bowman, director of ISDH’s Genomics & Newborn Screening Program, said to the Indiana NBC affiliate. “That’s why we are struggling right now to try to figure out what is the best and most appropriate thing to do.”
“I’m curious why they didn’t share that,” Mallory Ervin, the mother of a 4-year-old named Theo, said. “It now makes me think ‘what are they hiding?’ As a parent, I’d absolutely like to know.”
The samples are stored in 666 bankers boxes in a warehouse without temperature or humidity controls in Indianapolis.
“Right now we have samples dating back to 1991, so there are approximately 2.25 to 2.5 million samples currently being held,” said Bowman. “We do have a lot.”
Bowman says that the samples of dried blood have been detached from any identifying personal information, which are maintained in a separate computer database.
Since the samples cannot be used for research without parental consent, the state is trying to figure out what to do next.
“In medical research, you do need to get formal permission. You need to tell someone what you are planning to do. That was not happening,” Dr. Eric Meslin, director of the Indiana University School of Medicine’s Center for Bioethics, said.
He also said that collecting blood for one purpose and then storing it for another is not good public policy.
In 2013, Indiana changed its notification policy. Parents are now asked up front whether they will allow their newborn’s blood to be used for future research. If they say no, the samples will not be stored.
“Those are stored in the lab for six months, after which time we destroy them,” said lab director Barb Lesko.
As for the 2.25 to 2.5 million samples from before last year, many of those may be unfit for research because of improper storage, WTHR reported. (Samples collected under the new policy are kept in locked freezers maintained at sub-zero temperatures.)
Now the state has decided to let the parents decide what’s to be done with their children’s samples.
“We are eager to hear what parents have to say,” Bowman said. “We know there are some parents who would definitely like those samples destroyed. There are some parents who would like those samples kept. Determining how to exactly figure out which parents would want those samples kept and which ones would want them destroyed is presenting a challenge for us.”
Parents with children born in Indiana can fill out consent forms, either allowing for their children’s samples to be used or destroyed, on the ISDH website.
Source

Posted: 15 Jul 2014 03:23 PM PDT

Russia has declared a “day of mourning” as death toll from an underground train derailment in Moscow rises to 21.
“Wednesday will be a day of mourning in Moscow, given the scope of the tragedy,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Tuesday.
According to the Russian Emergencies Ministry, the accident occurred as a train going from the city center halted abruptly between the Park Pobedy and Slavyansky Bulvar stations early on Tuesday morning. The incident derailed three train cars.
The ministry also believes that the accident was a result of a sudden sharp decline in the voltage, but Moscow’s electricity company denies any fall in the rails voltage.
The Russian Health Ministry announced that around 129 people were injured, 49 of whom are in critical condition.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation by Russian authorities.
The incident remains one of the most serious accidents to hit Moscow’s metro system in recent years.
Back in March, one person died after Moscow’s subway was flooded due to leakage from broken water pipes.
At least 18 people were killed and 40 others injured in a deadly accident involving a passenger bus near Moscow in July last year.
In Russia, some 25,000 people lose their lives in traffic accidents every year.
Source

Posted: 15 Jul 2014 02:47 PM PDT

Below is President Putin’s complete address to the Russian diplomatic corps. It reveals Putin to be a person well aware of the threats that US unilateralism poses to the entire world. Washington’s belief that the US is exceptional and indispensable results in dictatorial behavior toward other countries and the overriding of their legitimate national interests. From such arrogance, wars are launched. Putin’s remarks show him to be a leader of restraint who responds to provocations with reason and not with anger and who is working to avoid conflict and war. Putin is well aware that he is getting no help from Washington or EU leaders. Putin’s address shows that he is, without question, the most important leader on the world scene at this time.
I have put a few passages in bold typeface and added two remarks of my own in [brackets].
Conference of Russian ambassadors and permanent representatives
July 1, 2014, 15:45 Moscow
PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Colleagues, friends, meetings with the diplomatic corps have become a tradition. We need this direct conversation to make an overall assessment of the situation in the world, to set current and long-term foreign policy objectives and on that basis to more effectively coordinate the work of our missions abroad.
I would like to begin by saying that the Foreign Ministry and our embassies are under a lot of pressure; we see this, we are aware of this, but this pressure will not be reduced. It will only increase, just as the requirement to show efficiency, precision and flexibility in our actions to ensure Russia’s national interests.
You know how dynamic and unpredictable international developments may sometimes be. They seem to be pressed together and unfortunately are not all of a positive nature. The potential for conflict is growing in the world, old contradictions are growing ever more acute and new ones are being provoked. We come across such developments, often unexpectedly, and we observe with regret that international law is not working, the most basic norms of decency are not complied with and the principle of all-permissiveness is gaining the upper hand. [Putin is referring to Washington placing its unilateral action above US law, the US Constitution, and International Law.]
We are observing this in Ukraine as well. We need to understand clearly that the events provoked in Ukraine are the concentrated outcome of the notorious deterrence policy. As you may know, its roots go deep into history and it is clear that unfortunately, this policy did not end with the end of the Cold War.
In Ukraine, as you may have seen, at threat were our compatriots, Russian people and people of other nationalities, their language, history, culture and legal rights, guaranteed, by the way, by European conventions. When I speak of Russians and Russian-speaking citizens I am referring to those people who consider themselves part of the broad Russian community, they may not necessarily be ethnic Russians, but they consider themselves Russian people.
What did our partners expect from us as the developments in Ukraine unfolded? We clearly had no right to abandon the residents of Crimea and Sevastopol to the mercy of nationalist and radical militants; we could not allow our access to the Black Sea to be significantly limited; we could not allow NATO forces to eventually come to the land of Crimea and Sevastopol, the land of Russian military glory, and cardinally change the balance of forces in the Black Sea area. This would mean giving up practically everything that Russia had fought for since the times of Peter the Great, or maybe even earlier – historians should know.
I would like to make it clear to all: this country will continue to actively defend the rights of Russians, our compatriots abroad, using the entire range of available means – from political and economic to operations under international humanitarian law and the right of self-defense.
I would like to stress that what happened in Ukraine was the climax of the negative tendencies in international affairs that had been building up for years. We have long been warning about this, and unfortunately, our predictions came true.
You know about the latest efforts to restore, to maintain peace in Ukraine. Foreign Ministry staff and the Minister himself took an active part in this. You know about the numerous telephone conversations we had on this subject.
Unfortunately, President Poroshenko has resolved to resume military action, and we failed – when I say ‘we’, I mean my colleagues in Europe and myself – we failed to convince him that the road to a secure, stable and inviolable peace cannot lie through war.
So far Mr Poroshenko was not directly linked to the orders to begin military action, and only now did he take full responsibility, and not only military, but political as well, which is much more important.
We also failed to agree to make public the statement approved by the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine on the need to maintain peace and search for mutually acceptable solutions.
I would like to draw your attention to the fact that after the ceasefire was declared, no substantive, as you say, negotiations on the settlement of the situation ever began. Virtually, a disarmament ultimatum was given. However, even the ceasefire was not bad overall, though not enough to settle the situation on a long-term basis in a way that would be acceptable to all the people living in the country, including those in its southeast.
A constitution was made public, but it was never discussed. Even within Ukrainian society there is a discussion of whether it is good or bad, but nobody definitely ever discussed it with the east.
Of course, everything that is going on in Ukraine is the internal affair of the Ukrainian state. It pains us to see people dying, especially civilians. As you may know, the number of refugees in the Russian Federation is growing. We will of course provide assistance to all those who need it. However, killing journalists is unacceptable. I reminded the Ukrainian President of this yesterday yet again.
In my view, we are observing a focused effort to liquidate all media representatives. This applies to both Russian and foreign journalists. Who could be afraid of fair reporting? Probably those, who are committing crimes. We strongly hope that the Ukrainian authorities act on their promises to carefully investigate the crimes.
More new hotspots are appearing on the world map. There is a deficit of security in Europe, in the Middle East, South-East Asia, in the Asia-Pacific region and in Africa. The global economic, financial and trade systems are becoming unbalanced, and moral and spiritual values are being washed out.
There is hardly any doubt that the unipolar world order did not come to be. Peoples and countries are raising their voices in favour of self-determination and civilizational and cultural identity, which conflicts with the attempts by certain countries to maintain their domination in the military sphere, in politics, finance, the economy and in ideology.
I know this has no direct bearing on us, however what is being done to the French banks can cause nothing but indignation in Europe in general and here as well. We are aware of the pressure our American partners are putting on France to force it not to supply Mistrals to Russia. We even know that they hinted that if France does not deliver the Mistrals, the sanctions will be quietly lifted from their banks, or at least they will be significantly minimized.
What is this if not blackmail? Is this the right way to act on the international arena? Besides, when we speak of sanctions, we always assume that sanctions are applied pursuant to Article 7 of the UN Charter. Otherwise, these are not sanctions in the true legal sense of the word, but something different, some other unilateral policy instrument.
In the past 20 years, our partners have been trying to convince Russia of their good intentions, their readiness to jointly develop strategic cooperation. However, at the same time they kept expanding NATO, extending the area under their military and political control ever closer to our borders. And when we rightfully asked: “Don’t you find it possible and necessary to discuss this with us?” they said: “No, this is none of your business.” Those who continue insisting on their exclusivity strongly dislike Russia’s independent policy. The events in Ukraine prove this. They also prove that a model of relations full of double standards does not work with Russia.
Nevertheless, I hope pragmatism will eventually prevail. We need to get rid of ambitions, of attempts to establish a ‘world barracks’ and arrange everybody by rank, or to impose single rules of behavior and life, and to finally begin building relations based on equality, mutual respect and concern for mutual interests. It is time we admit each other’s right to be different, the right of every country to live its own life rather than to be told what to do by someone else.
Colleagues, in its foreign policy Russia has been consistently proceeding from the notion that solutions to global and regional conflicts should be sought not through confrontation, but through cooperation and compromise. We advocate the supremacy of international law while supporting the UN’s leading role.
International law should be mandatory for all and should not be applied selectively to serve the interests of individual select countries or groups of states, and most importantly, it should be interpreted consistently. It is impossible to interpret it in one way today, and in a different way tomorrow to match the political goals of the day.
World development cannot be unified. However, we can look for common issues, see each other as partners rather than competitors, and establish cooperation between states, their associations and integration structures.
These are the principles we were guided by in the past, and they continue to guide us now as we promote integration within the CIS. Strengthening close friendly ties and developing mutually advantageous economic cooperation with our neighbours is the key strategic priority of Russia’s long-term foreign policy.
The driving force behind Eurasian integration is the trio of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The Agreement on the Eurasian Economic Union, signed in Astana on May 29, symbolises a qualitatively new step in our relations. A powerful centre of economic development that attracts business and investors, a common market is being formed in Eurasia. That is why our CIS partners show a strong interest in this union. I hope that very soon, Armenia will become a full-fledged member of this union. Negotiations with Kyrgyzstan are at an advanced stage. We are open to other Commonwealth states as well.
As we promote the Eurasian integration project, we are in no way trying to separate ourselves from the rest of the world; we are ready to consider prospects for creating free trade zones both with individual states and with regional associations and unions, primarily the European Union, of course.
Europe is our natural and most significant trade and economic partner. We strive to find new opportunities to expand our business cooperation, to open up new prospects for mutual investment and to lift trade barriers. This requires an upgrade of the legal contractual base of our cooperation and the stability and predictability of ties, primarily in such strategically important areas as energy. Stability on the entire territory of Eurasia and sustainable development of the EU economies and Russia depend on well-coordinated cooperation based on consideration for mutual interests.
We have always held high our reputation of a reliable supplier of energy resources and invested in the development of gas infrastructure. Together with European companies, as you may know, we have built a new gas transportation system called Nord Stream under the Baltic Sea. Despite certain difficulties, we will promote the South Stream project, especially since ever more European politicians and businessmen are coming to understand that someone simply wants to use Europe in their own interests, that it is becoming a hostage of someone’s near-sighted ideologized approaches.
If we return to Ukraine, the violation by Ukraine of its commitments regarding the purchase of our natural gas has become a common problem. Kiev refuses to pay on its debt. This is absolutely unacceptable. They have not paid for November-December of last year, though there were no arguments whatsoever then.
Our partners are using blatant blackmail – this is what it is. They demand an ungrounded reduction of prices on our goods, though the agreement was signed in 2009, and the parties complied with it in good faith. Now, as you may know, the court in Kiev has lifted all accusations against Ukraine’s former Prime Minister Tymoshenko, who signed the contract. Thus, the Kiev court authorities admit that they have done everything right not only by international law, but by Ukrainian law as well. But they do not wish to comply, or to pay for the product already received.
As of June 16, as you may know, we have transferred Ukraine to a pre-payment system, so they will get exactly the amount of gas they pay for. Today they do not pay; therefore, they are not getting anything – only in the so-called reverse mode. We know all about this reverse mode: it is a fake; there is no reverse mode. How can you supply gas two ways along the same pipeline? One does not have to be a gas transportation expert to understand that this is impossible. They are playing tricks with some of their partners: in fact, they are getting our gas and paying some western partners in Europe who are not receiving their volume. We are quire aware of this.
We are not taking any action at this point only because we do not want the situation to deteriorate. However, everyone should draw the proper conclusions from the situation. The main thing is that honest gas consumers and suppliers should not suffer from the actions of Ukrainian politicians and bureaucrats.
Generally, all of us – Ukraine, our European partners, and we – should seriously consider how to reduce the probability of any type of political or economic risks or force majeure situations on the continent.
In this connection, I would like to remind you that in August 2015 we will be marking 40 years of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. This anniversary is a good reason not only to turn to the basic principles of cooperation on the continent that were laid back in 1975, but also to jointly make them work, to help them take root in practical European politics.
We have to work consistently to rule out any unconstitutional coups in Europe, any interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states, the use of blackmail or threats in international relations or the support of radical and neo-Nazi forces.
All of us in Europe need a sort of safety net to make sure that Iraqi, Libyan or Syrian – and unfortunately, I have to say also Ukrainian – precedents do not become contagious. This is especially dangerous for the post-Soviet area, because the states have yet not gained political or economic strength, they do not have a stable political system. It is very important that the constitutions of these states be treated with great care and respect. [Washington does not respect the US Constitution, so why would it respect constitutions of other countries?]
Why is this important – and not only on the post-Soviet area, but all over Europe? Because even in those countries of Western and Eastern Europe where things seem to be going fine, there are quite a few hidden ethnic and social contradictions that may become acute any moment, may serve as ground for conflicts and extremism, and may be used by external forces to rock the social and political situation to achieve an illegitimate undemocratic change of power with all the negative consequences.
Firm guarantees of indivisible security, stability, respect for sovereignty and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs should become the basis that we can use to build a common space for economic and humanitarian cooperation that would spread from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean – I already spoke of this as a single space from Lisbon to Vladivostok.
I would like to ask the Foreign Ministry to draft a set of proposals in this respect, with special focus on the inadmissibility of any attempts to influence internal political processes from the outside. The job is to work the traditional principle of non-interference into the modern European realities and initiate a serious international discussion on the subject.
We also need to continue strengthening the eastern vector of our diplomacy, to more intensively use the impressive potential of the Asia-Pacific region in the interests of the further development of our country, primarily, of course, of Siberia and the Far East. We should continue to direct Russia’s policy in Asia and the Pacific at maintaining the security of our eastern borders and at supporting peace and stability in the region. The coming leadership of Russia in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and the SCO and BRICS summits to be held in Ufa in the summer of 2015 work to support this.
We need to strengthen overall partnership and strategic cooperation with the People’s Republic of China. We can say that a strong Russian-Chinese connection has taken shape on the international arena. It is based on a coincidence of views on both global processes and key regional issues. It is of primary importance that Russian-Chinese friendship is not directed against anyone: we are not creating any military unions. On the contrary, this is an example of equal, respectful and productive cooperation between states in the 21st century.
We intend to further develop our relations with our traditional partners in this area of the world: with India and Vietnam, who are playing an ever-greater role in the world; with Japan and other countries, including the ASEAN states. We intend to further use the potential of the growing markets in Latin America and Africa and the great experience of political and humanitarian relations with the countries there.
Our contacts with the United States of America are of great importance for the whole world. We do not intend to shut down our relations with the USA. True, bilateral relations are not in their best shape, but – I would like to stress this – not through Russia’s fault. We have always tried to be predictable partners and conduct our affairs on the basis of equality. However, in return, our lawful interests were often ignored.
Now over to various types of international meetings. If we are assigned the observer role without a decisive vote on key issues that are of vital importance to us, then such meetings are of little interest to us. We should not sacrifice our vital interests just for the sake of being able to sit and observe. I hope our partners will eventually come to understand this obvious fact. So far, we have been hearing ultimatums or mentoring. Nevertheless, we are ready for dialogue, but I would like to stress that this should be an equal dialogue.
Colleagues, the complicated and unpredictable situation in the world places great demands on Russian diplomats’ professional level. The Foreign Ministry’s staff in Moscow and the Russian embassies abroad worked effectively and in coordinated fashion during the serious situation with Crimea and Ukraine, and I want to thank you for this. I particularly note the work done by the heads and staff of Russia’s representative missions at the UN and other key international organizations.
We must continue working with just such energy and dignity, in a spirit of tact, restraint and sense of measure of course. Our position must be based on clear and unshakeable principles of international law and legal and historical justification, on truth, justice, and the strength of moral superiority.
For my part, I can say that our country’s leadership will continue to do everything necessary to give you good conditions for your professional activity. As you know, I have signed presidential executive orders raising the wages of Foreign Ministry staff. Wages of people working at the central office will increase 1.4-fold on average.
Pensions for diplomatic personnel taking their retirement after January 1, 2014, will increase 3.5-fold on average. Pay for the heads of foreign diplomatic missions will increase four-fold on average in ruble equivalent. Pension top-ups for ambassadors and permanent envoys going into retirement have also increased considerably.
Wages in rubles for personnel at diplomatic missions abroad will be increased a bit later, from January 1, 2016, but this will be a four-fold increase. I hope that these steps will help to boost the Foreign Ministry’s human resources potential and thus make us more effective in carrying out our foreign policy.
I also ask the Government to speed up the decision on providing additional guarantees for personnel from other agencies and administrative and technical personnel working at Russian missions abroad, especially in situations where there are terrorist threats.
The Foreign Ministry has raised the question of giving diplomatic service the official legal status as a special type of civil service in Russia. We will examine this proposal.
This concludes my opening remarks.
I thank the members of the media for the attention they have given our work.
Source

Posted: 15 Jul 2014 02:16 PM PDT

Israeli warplanes have targeted three administrative and military centers in the Syrian Golan Heights region, killings at least four people and injuring several others.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group based in the UK, says the attack which took place in southern Syria’s Quneitra Province left at least four people dead, including two women.
The attack came after Israel claimed that a rocket fired from Syria hit the Israeli-occupied sector of the Golan Heights.
According to Israeli sources, the rocket fell on open ground, leaving no casualties.
This comes as al-Qaeda-linked militants are fighting the Syrian government forces and stray mortar rounds have hit the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on several occasions.
Israel has confirmed today’s attacks on the Golan Heights but says it responded with artillery fire without mentioning airstrikes.
At least 10 Syrian soldiers were killed and several others injured after Israeli jets attacked Syrian army positions in the Golan Heights in late June.
Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since March 2011. Over 160,000 people have reportedly been killed and millions displaced due to the violence fueled by the foreign-backed Takfiri terrorists.
According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies, especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are supporting the Takfiris fighting the legitimate government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The Golan Heights has been under Israeli occupation since the 1960s.
The Israeli regime captured the Golan Heights during the Six-Day War of 1967, when it also took control of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
It annexed the Golan Heights in 1981, although the move was never recognized by the international community and was a violation of international law.
The UN Security Council has rejected the de facto annexation in Resolution 497. The UN also regards the Golan Heights as an occupied territory.
Source

Posted: 15 Jul 2014 02:03 PM PDT

The group of emerging economies signed the long-anticipated document to create the $100 bn BRICS Development Bank and a reserve currency pool worth over another $100 bn. Both will counter the influence of Western-based lending institutions and the dollar.
The new bank will provide money for infrastructure and development projects in BRICS countries, and unlike the IMF or World Bank, each nation has equal say, regardless of GDP size.
“BRICS Bank will be one of the major multilateral development finance institutions in this world,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday at the 6th BRICS summit in Fortaleza, Brazil.
The big launch of the BRICS bank is seen as a first step to break the dominance of the US dollar in global trade, as well as dollar-backed institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, both US-based institutions BRICS countries have little influence within.
“In terms of escalating international competition the task of activating the trade and investment cooperation between BRICS member states becomes important,” Putin said.
Russia, Brazil, India, China and South Africa account for 11 percent of global capital investment, and trade turnover almost doubled in the last 5 years, the president reminded.
Each BRICS member is expected to put an equal share into establishing the startup capital of $50 billion with a goal to reach $100 billion. The BRICS bank will be headquartered in Shanghai, India will preside as president the first year, and Russia will be the chairman of the representatives. Each country will send either their finance minister or Central Bank chair to the bank’s representative board.
Membership may not just be limited to just BRICS nations, either. Future members could include countries in other emerging markets blocs, such as Mexico, Indonesia, or Argentina, once it sorts out its debt burden.
BRICS represents 42 percent of the world’s population and roughly 20 percent of the world’s economy based on GDP, and 30 percent of the world’s GDP based on PPP, a more accurate reading of the real economy. Total trade between the countries is $6.14 trillion, or nearly 17 percent of the world’s total.
The $100 billion crisis lending fund, called the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), was also established. China will contribute the lion’s share, about $41 billion, Russia, Brazil and India will chip in $18 billion, and South Africa, the newest member of the economic bloc, will contribute $5 billion.
The idea is that the creation of the bank will lessen dependence on the West and create a more multi-polar world, at least financially.
“This mechanism creates the foundation for an effective protection of our national economies from a crisis in financial markets,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
The group has already created the BRICS Stock Alliance an initiative to cross list derivatives to smooth the path for international investors interested in emerging markets.
Russia has also proposed the countries come together under an energy alliance that will include a fuel reserve, as well as an institute for energy policy
“We propose the establishment of the Energy Association of BRICS. Under this ‘umbrella’, a Fuel Reserve Bank and BRICS Energy Policy Institute could be set up,” Putin said.
Documents on cooperation between BRICS export credit agencies and an agreement of cooperation on innovation were also inked.
Bringing emerging economies closer has become vital at a time when the world is guttered by the financial crisis and BRICS countries can’t remain above international problems, said Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff.
She cautioned the world not to see BRICS deals as a desire to dominate.
“We want justice and equal rights,” she said.
“The IMF should urgently revise distribution of voting rights to reflect the importance of emerging economies globally,” Rousseff said.

Source