К.Пауэлл тоже показывал...

В Израиле:
- Беня, а шо там такое на Украине происходит?
- Украина с Россией воюет.
- И шо, как там дела?
- Ну Украина потеряла таки два миллиона гражданских, полуостров Крым, несколько вертолетов, пару десятков бронетранспортеров, убито много военных и еще на грани перехода к России две большие области на Востоке.
- А у русских шо?
- Таки не поверишь, они вообще на войну не явились.

Чья бы корова мычала, а США молчала




Американцы – мастера делать заявления, которые погружают публику в состояние недоумения. В самом деле, сложно понять, была ли это откровенная глупость или некий, совершенно неуместный в официальной речи, сарказм.

Обратите внимание, для примера, на опубликованное сегодня в ряде мировых СМИ заявление официального представителя Госдепа США Марка Тонера, в котором фигурирует такая фраза: «…Не подтверждая сам факт того, что они (РФ) использовали кассетные боеприпасы, мы бы призвали их не делать этого…», – приводит его слова информационное агентство ТАСС.

К слову, официальный представитель Минобороны РФ генерал-майор Игорь Конашенков уже озвучивал ответ на эти беспочвенные обвинения, заявив, что ВКС РФ не использует кассетные боеприпасы в антитеррористической операции в Сирии. Однако Западу этого, как водится мало.

Зато сами США безо всякого зазрения совести использовали запрещённые кассетные и фосфорные боеприпасы в процессе демократизации Ирака и Ливии, а подконтрольные Вашингтону саудиты использовали такие бомбы против хуситов в Йемене.

В лучших традициях двойных стандартов Запада. Сами делают что хотят, а других бездоказательно обвиняют в этом и не имея возможности доказать свои небылицы оправдываются предостережениями.

К тому же американцев и их союзников на Ближнем Востоке можно упрекнуть ещё и в нападении на гражданские объекты, случайно или целенаправленно – это уже другой вопрос. А ВКС РФ, при всей интенсивности авиационных ударов, которая не снилась все проамериканской коалиции, ни разу не промахнулись мимо объектов боевиков ДАИШ, попав в гражданские. Это ли не показатель?!

И кто кого после этого должен поучать и призывать придерживаться установленных рамок?

***
Roger Annis is a longtime soсiаlist and trade union activist. He began his political activism with the Young Soсiаlists of the day in Nova Scotia while at university. Since then, he has lived in most regions of Canada, including in Montreal where he became fluent in French. He is a retired aerospace worker living in Vancouver. Roger writes regularly on topics of social justice, peace.

- Observers of American politics frequently call members of the U.S. two-party establishment "Republicrats", referring to their allegiance to roughly the same political interests. Is the Canadian political system, with its three main parties - the Conservatives, the Liberals, and the New Democrats - similar?

Yes. In both countries the political system is controlled by large corporate interests. The political parties act as their direct representatives, or they represent them indirectly by way of sharing the same ideology and outlook.

That said, the founding of the social democratic New Democratic Party in 1961 was potentially an important break from this mold. The party was a merger of the main trade union federation of the day with the social democratic Cooperative Commonwealth. The founding of the NDP was a progressive step to be built upon.

Social policy was strong in the NDP's founding program. The party was a voice for the working class population. It advocated a national medical care program and stronger national pension and unemployment i######## programs. It was sympathetic to the language and national rights demands of the French-language people of Quebec, including in October 1970 when it was the only party in Parliament to vote against the declaration of the War Measures Act by then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. (The War Measures Act was a measure intended to break the rising Quebec independence movement.)

The NDP also favored Canadian withdrawal from NATO. In general, the party membership was antiwar and pro-peace in its outlook. Unfortunately, the NDP's 'out of NATO' policy was reversed by party leaders about eight years ago.

Over the past 35 years, the progressive policies in the NDP program have been steadily watered down or even abandoned. Today, the NDP still has a moderately progressive social program compared to the Liberal Party. Another example of the difference between the two was seen on May 6 of this year when the Liberals voted for the Harper government's draconian, police-state Bill C51 whereas the NDP voted against it.

But the differences between the two parties are getting more narrow as the NDP slides to the political right. And importantly, the NDP does not typically fight outside of the Parliamentary chamber for the improvements it says it wants. In other words, much of its program, however progressive or not, is just talk.

On foreign policy, the NDP's policies today are little different from those of the Liberals and Conservatives.

As I have been writing for several years now, Canada needs a genuine party of the political left. I believe that much of the present NDP membership and its trade union affiliates can be won to this. But it won't happen through incremental change within the party. A distinct, new voice needs to be built.

- How much influence does the United States wield in Canada in political, economic and military terms? Has Washington applied pressure on Ottawa to join the sanctions regime against Russia? Why was Harper's government so eager to impose economic sanctions on Moscow?

The U.S. wields a great deal of influence. It is a close economic partner as well as military ally of Canada's economic elite. Canada's capitalist economy is hugely dependent on the U.S. market—80 per cent of Canadian manufactures are sold south of the border.

Canada's precise relationship to the U.S. is one of the most important subjects in Canadian political economy and has been debated throughout the country's history. I believe the relation between the two countries is fundamentally one of common interest, not of U.S. dominance. The idea of U.S. dominance might seem self-evident, considering the overwhelming size of the U.S. economy and military compared to those of Canada. But Canada is the seventh largest of the G7 countries and wields a distinct role in world affairs, just as do the other five, non-U.S. members of the G7.

Canada's anti-Russia belligerence is of its own making. The now-defeated government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper joined in creating the anti-Russia alliance for the same reasons as its NATO allies. They refused to recognize and accept the referendum vote in Crimea in March 2014 and they backed the civil war course of the new right-wing government in Kyiv against the people of eastern and southern Ukraine. Just as they could not accept the decision of the Greek people to reject the harsh, anti-austerity policies of the European Union.

The big imperialist countries in NATO are no longer content to live with the European consensus embodied in the foundation of the European Union and later in the fleeting consensus in eastern Europe following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Their system is in crisis and they are embarked on creating a new world order of dominance in which non-imperialist countries such as Russia, China or Brazil face aggressive competition and attack and the weaker countries of the consensus zone, notably Greece and Ukraine, become targets for financial colonization.

- Are there political parties and movements in Canada that oppose Ottawa's anti-Russian stance? Do they have a chance in the Canadian political arena? How are they treated in the mainstream media?

There are no parties of consequence which oppose Canada's support to the right-wing government in Kyiv and its anti-Russia stance. The three large parties mentioned at the outset of this interview share very similar outlooks on the conflict in Ukraine, just as they define themselves as very strong backers of Israel's policies against the Palestinian people.

With some exceptions, mainstream media has acted as a mere echo chamber of the Ottawa's and NATO's belligerence. That's a sign of how undemocratic our political system has become, because once you look into the views of Canadian citizens, you find serious doubts and outright opposition to Ottawa's belligerent policies internationally. For example, the comments sections of the daily newspapers frequently reflect widespread doubt and opposition to Ottawa's support for Kyiv. But people with such views have little voice in media or the Parliament.

One of the more widely-read online journals on the Canadian left is Rabble.ca. It welcomes articles which challenge the anti-Russia dogma of the mainstream media and political parties. In mainstream media, journalists such as David Pugliese at the Ottawa Citizen, Thomas Walkom at the Toronto Star (Canada's largest daily), Scott Taylor at the Halifax Chronicle Herald, and writers and editors at the Winnipeg Free Press regularly write commentary that challenges the overwhelming, mainstream narrative. But they are the exception. Sadly, cuts to the financing and the editorial independence of the state-funded Canadian Broadcasting Corporation have rendered it ineffectual, or worse, on foreign policy matters.

- What are the main reasons for growing voter discontent with the ruling Conservatives? Do the Liberals and New Democrats offer an alternative that is not congruent with reigning neoliberal dogma?

The immediate answer to the first question is that the majority of Canadians do not share the hateful and militaristic outlook of the now-departed Conservative Party government and Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Even in 2011 when the Conservatives won a majority government, only about 20 per cent of the adult population voted for them.

But the deeper answer is that Canadians are waking up from a 70-year sleep in which they thought the post-World War Two arrangements were something permanent that could be constantly improved but never reversed. It has taken three Conservative governments—minority governments in 2006 and 2008 and a majority government in 2011--for that realization to mature.

Even so, the defeat of the Conservatives in this election cannot be viewed as a step forward for the country, it is a step sideways. We got rid of the hated Conservatives, but in their place is a majority Liberal government that will not act a whole lot differently on the world stage.

- In Russia, elections are held on days when most citizens do not have to go to work and have plenty of time to cast their ballot for the candidate of their choice. Why are elections in Canada and the U.S. always held on workdays, when most voters have limited time to visit their local polling station? What percentage of Canadians actually take part in the voting?

In both Canada and the U.S., the tradition of holding elections on workdays stems from the Christian tradition of Sunday as a day of rest and worship. Even though the frenetic pace of the capitalist business cycle has made Sunday into just another day of shopping or of work, the 'no voting on Sunday' election carries on, if rather hypocritically.

Canadian voting participation rates have declined along with those of the United States, although less rapidly. In the 2011 national election, only half of the adult-age population voted. Participation rates in municipal elections are even much lower. There are several reasons for this. Those who do not vote are disproportionately young, working class or First Nation, or all of the above. They don't see their interests being voiced by any of the parties. On top of that, the Conservatives have changed the voting laws and procedures to make it harder for marginalized people to vote.

All indications are that voting participation went up in this 2015 election. But the downward trend won't change until working class people feel they have someone they can vote for who speaks in their interest. A system of proportional representation would be more democratic, but none of the main parties want to see that.

- What methods of voter suppression are most commonly used in Canada?

Two methods have come into play. The now-defeated Conservative government elected in 2011 changed certain voting laws and procedures to try and make it more difficult for poorer and marginalized people to vote. They changed the boundaries of electoral districts to give themselves greater advantages. And their aggressive election messaging is designed such that a voter is either convinced to vote for them or becomes discouraged by the whole spectacle and opts not to cast a ballot. We saw a classic example of this in the just-concluded election campaign where the Conservatives aggressively put forward a disgraceful proposal whereby women of Muslim faith who wear clothing that covers their face and bodies would be denied government services.

- What role does racism play in the voting suppression mechanism?

I would say racism is not as prominent as in the United States. There, government and court decisions in recent years have blatantly disenfranchised Black voters and can fairly be described as racist. But Canada's First Nations, Metis and Inuit (northern) populations are victims of a whole range of racist government policies which act to discourage them from taking part in the political process. I think it is fair to call that a racist outcome, if not directly racist policy.

- Do you foresee changes in the Canadian establishment's political outlook that could lead to a more constructive relationship between Ottawa and Moscow?

Sadly, I do not in the short term. The newly elected Liberal Party government is stacked with hard-line, pro-Kyiv and anti-Russia ideologues. Former Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's visit with President Putin in April of this year raised some hope of a thaw in Ottawa's hardline policy. But we learned nothing of what Mr. Chrétien said during that meeting. I doubt he said much of anything different from the NATO and Harper government line.

Meanwhile, the Canadian population is very misled and misinformed about Russia. On matters of foreign policy in general, it is disenfranchised. Governments in Ottawa are used to doing what they wish on the international stage without suffering too many consequences at home. They go to war, or they approve so-called free trade agreements, and Canadians have little or no say or influence. The political left in Canada is not much help, either, because too much of it clings to dogmas and clichés that prevent it from properly understanding modern Russia.

But don't get me wrong, I am optimistic that this will change. The world is facing a huge environmental crisis and growing social inequalities. How on earth can we solve these problems if NATO governments keep threatening the world and wasting enormous resources with their war machines? These wasted resources should be put to constructive use. Growing numbers of people are awakening to this reality, of that I have no doubt.

На Первом канале подтвердили, что канал будет транслировать в прямом эфире новогоднее шоу с Красной площади.
Это первый подобный случай за последние несколько лет в истории российского телевидения.

Ранее в пресс-службе канала сообщали, что зрителей в Новый год ждет "грандиозное представление, в котором примут участие абсолютно все звезды отечественной эстрады от Земфиры до Аллы Пугачевой".

Организаторы обещали, что "такого зрелищного и захватывающего шоу еще не было", однако подробности праздничного эфира держатся в строжайшем секрете и будут раскрыты лишь за час до боя курантов.

За два дня в США зарегистрировано 45 тысяч любительских дронов
В понедельник, 21 декабря, Федеральное управление гражданской авиации США (FAA) открыло на своем сайте специальный раздел, предназначенный для владельцев дронов, желающих зарегистрировать свои беспилотники в официальном реестре.
Как сообщает Gizmodo, за первые двое суток в системе было зарегистрировано 45 тысяч дронов.
http://gizmodo.com/the-faa-registered-45-000-dr...

Напомним, что согласно правилам, разработанным FAA совместно с компаниями-производителями, регистрации подлежат дроны, вес которых составляет от 250 граммов до 25 килограммов.

Владельцы таких летательных аппаратов должны указать на сайте FAA свои данные, включая полное имя, адрес и email, на сайте FAA. После этого система вышлет пользователю уведомление о регистрации и персональный номер, к которому можно привязать несколько беспилотников, указав их серийные номера. Полученный номер необходимо нанести на корпус беспилотного аппарата или аппаратов.

О том, что в Америке покупателей беспилотников обяжут регистрировать свои летательные аппараты, стало известно еще в октябре.
Ранее Федеральное управление гражданской авиации США (FAA)выписало рекордный штраф на сумму в 1,9 миллионов долларов за 65 неавторизованных полетов беспилотников.
https://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_sto...